To anyone who grew up in the shadow of the Cold War, the mushroom cloud is an icon as unmistakable as it is terrifying. The image connotes death, poison, heat—Nature's violent response to the destruction of its very physics. These days, while the fate of nuclear testing is uncertain, making it increasingly less likely that nuclear testing will continue, through the power of CGI, motion graphics experts have ensured the pyrocumulus cloud's cautionary specter will never die.
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In the video above, motion design studio Awesome Motion Graphics and Visual Effects, or, AMGVFX, have put together a face-melting test render of a CGI nuke going off in the desert. From the initial flash through the adrenaline-pumping destruction it left behind, the short video is an immersive exploration into what it takes to create realistic computer-generated devastation, and an awesome metaphor for the dazzling complexity of nuclear destruction. Fight the urge to duck and cover to avoid the explosion—we know it looks real, but that's just AMGVFX's CGI skills.
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