RESEARCHING THE FUTURE

With every film we work on, we always conduct detailed research into the tech we are creating. Everything is based on real-world advancements and possibilities. While our work for Black Panther was heavily based in sound and acoustic levitation, our contributions to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever focused on light and how that light-based UI could be manipulated.

One aspect we heavily researched was how to potentially give screens dimension. Screens are typically flat, but we studied how a screen could be perceived as a container. From the front, the information would be perfectly visible, but how would that information be seen if the viewer was standing to the side of the screen. Since screens are so prominent throughout this film, we researched different ways for these screens to operate.

GRIOT'S MAP

One of Griot’s most notable features is the map display. In an urgent search to locate Shuri and her Kimoyo Beads, Griot enters “map mode”, displaying a map while also calling Agent Ross. The appearance of Griot’s map and call feature would pair with the look of Griot itself. As we ran through design choices for Griot, we experimented with how the map could appear.

Our final design puts the map in the center of Griot’s main circle. This allows Griot to naturally zoom in on the map and pinpoint location destinations of items or people. The call feature is also smaller and dedicated to the edges of Griot’s circle, highlighting the map as the more prominent feature.

IRONHEART BLUEPRINT

Along with research, the screens are also used to help Riri Williams build her Ironheart suit. Our team crafted the build of the Ironheart suit and the supporting calculations. Since Riri is an engineer, we designed her screen to feel more like a structured blueprint, rather than the range of graphs and charts of Shuri’s screens.

NAKIA'S DRONE HUD

On a rescue mission for Shuri, Nakia takes remote control of an underwater drone ship using her Kimoyo Beads. Mimicking the look and function of the Kimoyo Bead hologram UI, the HUD of this drone is designed around pinpointing location and search and rescue.

ROYAL TALON

Another one of our contributions that we revisited in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the Royal Talon, a critical ship in Wakanda’s fleet. Taking another step away from Vibranium Sand, as was used in the navigational sand basin in Black Panther, our team conceptualized various light-based elements to the Royal Talon.

These light-based elements are used for several features inside of the Royal Talon, such as the UI and flight control holograms used by Okoye as the ship enters Wakanda. These holograms allow for an interactive and precise flight to pilot the ship through the barriers of Wakanda.