3D Update

Just a quick update on the 3D aspect of the project. I have decided that mocap is not the way to go with this project and that a mixture of tracking and key frames will be a better workflow.

Moving onto other things in the 3D world of my project. I decided on a sword for the main character. This will be the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda. Ive always loved this game and it has inspired me a lot over the years, so it only seems right to add a tribute my project. I found some blueprints online for the basic outline of the sword and started to create it in Maya. Thinking this was going to be somewhat of a challenge I wanted to get straight into it and make sure everything was working in time for the VFX. Modelling has gone extremely well and a lot faster than expected. As you can see below its come together quite pleasing but the materials and the lighting will have to be set up shot by shot. I intend on creating a HDR sphere and use image based lighting to some degree to match the colours of the scene. Hopefully the day for night approach will not get in the way. This may result in colour grading the HDR files but that could degrade the quality of the image. Tests shall be made for this task to make sure everything is working well.

There are no images of the topology but it seems to me to be quite tidy. Any weird parts to the topology will not be in the outer shell and should not cause any artefacts. I need to create a small bump map on the sword blade for the engraving but that shouldn't be difficult or time consuming.

In other news the choreographing of the fight in well under way and working out very well. I will upload some production videos in my next post. 

Also I was thinking about the Vlog. I didn't know if it would be needed for a FYP blog. I have it set up, but I'm still sitting on the bench thinking weather I should upload it. I guess this is more of a confidence issue on my part. Maybe I should just post it for my own development. I'll work that over with myself over the next couple of days.

But for now its just the 3D aspect that ive been working on mainly.

Everybod needs their own style, ...Right?

Before going into more detail about the project as a whole. I want to take some time to talk about style and how I feel that it could make or break a VFX showreel.

Looking though show reels on the internet you can quickly get an idea of the average level people are at in the world for compositing and VFX. This is a good way to see the competition and what I need to do to improve my work. But lately I have been witnessing some show reels that are a complete carbon copy of Video Copilots tutorials and some CG tutorials out there. It confuses me when people think that they can make a show reel based on a step by step lego book tutorial. I feel that the major pitfall is that some people don't think about how to use the techniques applied in the tutorial and how to make it into your own style or version of the tutorial. I'm slipping into a rant so ill make my point. I need to make sure that my show reel after this project has a unique feel to it and is enough to catch someone's eye. So for this I have started looking into how I could apply different styles to my short such as mashing Anime type of shots with Edgar Wright's unique take on an action movie 'Scott Pilgrim'.

For an example, 'Scott Pilgrim' has a special comic book feel to it which I found interesting. I'm not a huge fan of comic books but this has a fast style which I guess is what Edgar Wright is known for.

Here is an example of how Edger Wright can summarise a scene in a few seconds without wasting too much time.

This is a nice technique and I would love to add this to my short but I don't know where I could add it in. But I would also like to combine this style with a comic book style Edgar Wright created in 'Scott Pilgrim'. Look at the split screen technique that is used in this next clip at 0:05 in. I like how this shot has two focal points, again summarising the moment in half the time needed.

If you have a film that can keep an audience that like this style I feel that it could be used as a very nice device to progress the plot. But I feel that this can only be used in a specific situation. Any cinema movie could not get away with this technique.

Here is a test shot of my take on the former styles discussed. This is a shot that I didnt know if it would work so I thought I should try it out and see.

I thought this shot worked well and I think it will turn out to be a nice input to the path towards my style.

I know this is kinda contradicting what I first stated in this post but I guess my main point is that I am aware of what I need to achieve in style for my work to become interesting and different to others. I need to do a little more research into a few other areas of cinematography styles and by the time I shoot this short I should have a good collection of research to apply to my work.


Next post I have decided it will be a Vlog and you guys can put a face to my name. Hopefully I can cover some areas that will be more interesting from the production point of view.

Until then, here is my You Tube channel which has a collection of clips related to the project and some that are from old projects created. Enjoy!

You Tube Channel

VFX Breakdown

In order to get this done I need to declare what VFX shots are to be created and how I would achieve them.

VFX shots:

Computer generated Sword

• Collectively there are a variety of shots to be taken for the CG swords. My plan is to use wooden poles with strips of coloured tape in sections to record the movement of the pole. This will then be used as a reference for the motion capture sword fight. 
• Particles will be emitting from the sword. This may be done in compositing or in Maya. I need to create some tests to see which is the most time efficient and with the best quality.
• Sparks from sword will be done in Compositing. It will be easier to use stock footage for this effect.
• I will need to create a HDRI dome for any reflections in the swords for the scene.
• Some roto will need to be done to mask off hands above sword hilts.
• Of course the shots will all need to be 3D tracked to declare the ground plane in a 3D world.

 Ground Runes

• This will be created in compositing by a graphic, animated and various effects applied to make it more appealing. a small amount of roto* will be needed for this.
• This shot will need a crane at achieve a overhead shot. Because of the lack of access to the crane though the evening (5pm onwards), my plan is to use the green screen for the overhead shot and then hoist a camera on location to get the image. If this becomes problematic, I can create the scene in 3D space with texture projection and use this as a backplate to my green screen footage. 

Assassins Smoke

• This effect is the smoke the assassin uses to escape the scene.
• In this effect there are three choices.
1. Is to use fluid effects and use a proxy scene and then composite it into the footage.
2. To use stock footage and comp it in (this will be quicker and easier but I don't feel that it would create a realistic effect).
3. Is to use practical effects and use smoke machines to create the smoke. This will create the most realistic effect but my worries would be health and safety and access to smoke machines.

This is a brief breakdown of my effects in the short and a few of my thoughts on how to create them with efficiency and quality.

*: Rotoscope - Roto

Sword Developments

The swords are going to be one of the focal points of the short and I need to design them for practicality (not to seem to heavy or unrealistic). Because of this my design research has spanned over many different types. I don't want a particular style of sword fighting but any specific type of sword would imply that instantly. Due to this I have come to the conclusion that I will create a hybrid of sword types.

 

These are a few I have been looking though but there are a couple of swords that have really caught my eye for larger symbols to show more detail from afar. The viewers will not see any close up detail so I would rather opt towards larger details on the sword.

And of course I have a huge temptation to use a design that would loosely follow The Legend of Zelda Master Sword.

This was a little insight towards my thoughts on the VFX and what Sword designs im looking at. Next up will be a few ideas I have thought of to make this video a little more unique to a normal video. I have plans for its own stylised feel.

Thought's

Now that I have established what the story is about I'll go into some extra detail.

This short is intended to show off my skills in a mixture of areas from Compositing and VFX to film production. My intentions are to work with people in their areas of expertise. So for this project I will be outsourcing music to a professional to gain the best quality possible and if I can find someone I will out source sound design too. I would love to learn this skill but at the moment I need to concentrate on the areas I have experience in and how to improve them.

This short, is a sword fight with computer generated swords integrated into live action footage. The script says it is set, exterior night but I have a few bumb's along the road that I need to look into.

 Day for Night?

First is the choice between full night shooting where I will get real shadows in the lighting or day for night shooting where it would be easier to light in general. I'm starting to think I want to film at night and provide lighting but I am not sure at the moment. This is where testing comes in. I will need to take images of day shooting and convert them to night or take the camera out at night and take the images again from the same spot to compare.

Day for night image taken from: http://ifsstech.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/day-for-night/

Mo-cap or sword slap?

Next challenge is weather to use tracking points in the image and track the sword movement straight form the camera or shall I use the motion capture studio the university has on offer. I have tracking experience but to track a sword I will have to shoot on at least 1/250 shutter speed to collect the data I need to track. This can cause a mass of problems such as 1/250 is very dark for a night shoot so to track, the previous decision of Day for Night would be very appealing. That or I light the scene a lot but that would start creating a false look to the scene. 1/250 would make it look very odd in the first place. Adding motion blur would be another issue here.

Or I could go for another option where I use the motion capture studio to apply the movement to the swords in 3D space where I could still shoot at night and without a worry of hight shutter speeds or adding unreal light. Only fear here is I have no experience in motion capture and I would be learning the skill from the ground up. I love a challenge but I wouldn't want it to hinder my production time.

Mo-cap image taken from Tigermyuou user in DeviantArt

So this is a couple of stumps in the road which I need to decide on a solution though testing. Next things are CG designs for the swords and a full VFX list of what I need to do to achieve this short.

Final Year Project

So its time to get started with production of my FYP.

I took a while on deciding on what to do for this project. Some choices were to scrap VFX and compositing and attempt a study into producing and film making. This is a huge passion of mine and I believe this to be a major part in my study towards the film industry. But I need an area of expertise so if I cant find a job I can at least drop back to my well known area to generate a healthy income. Second was a study into different major areas in the compositing world. This was a strong idea where I would study advanced techniques over 4 months but fell short with footage acquisition. What would I need for each shot? How would I acquire said shot and how much time and relevance would it be towards the technique. In the end I decided that this study would be too unrestricted and I could easily fall off the tracks towards the end. 

In the end I decided to make a short VFX video lasting approximately 3 minutes which would be a mixture of VFX and compositing. Here is a quick description of the narrative I have created and should give you a quick idea on what my plan is.

Alley Encounter

A young man is walking down a dark street at night. He is looking down at his phone periodically looking up to see where he is going. He stops in his tracks as there is a dark figure down the street staring at him. The dark figure is dressed in a black draping coat that has a large hood covering half of her face. The attire is quite elegant and would suggest that it was a female.

The hooded figure turns to the side to reveal a large curved sword with green glowing etchings that emit sparks as it slides across the floor. The man looks at the hooded figure for a moment and then sighs as like he has been in this unique situation before and knows how to handle it.

He sets his bag down and rummages through for a moment until he pulls out a hilt of a sword. He stands back up and looks towards the figure then quickly slams the hilt on the floor. Large runes appear on the ground around him as there is a large glowing centre. A sword starts to materialise out of the ground as he pulls upward.

The man spins his sword then sets himself into a defensive position. The hooded figure stares at him and cracks a small smile. The character tilts her head back a little to reveal it is a female with an intricate set or runes painted onto her face like a tattoo. She charges off towards the man, sparks are spraying everywhere. They connect and begin to battle. Each character getting a subtle blow in at each other before they break to rest. They rotate in the alley watching for a move to be made. Suddenly the female attacks again and they break into another battle. This time the man is getting the upper hand and manages to go for a final blow until she flips him onto the floor and vanishes in a cloud of smoke. Scene ends with the man standing around waiting for her to come back. She does not…

 Here are a few images I have found on the internet to give you some visuals towards the story:

 Hooded figure taken from "The Walking Dead" TV Series

One of my thoughts were to paint runes on the Hooded woman's face to show a little background about the character because nothing is explained in the short. This could imply that she is an assassin from a guild.

This is a little too extravagant  for a hooded style but this is a mix of face make-up and hoods.

Doing it the right way!

So the other day I decided that my workflow needs to be correct to the job ill be doing in a company once I leave University.

By this I mean using fellow students on my course to create the correct pipeline in the industry.

I'm a compositor... Which means my skills are going to be specialized in taking live action and other 2D elements and making them look real. This is fantastic! BUT... My previous problems in my workflow have started at modelling. I can model and I don't always mind doing it but my job is to be a compositor and not to model. I find that this is where the quality falls in my work. I NEED to get past the modelling stage, skip over the animation stage and jump into compositing. If I don't do this I fear that my skills in compositing are going to be shadowed by my lesser skills in modelling and other areas of the pipeline.

So because of this my decision is to find other students willing to aid each other in our task of our Final Year Project. My fist steps are to find a modeller and an animator happy to work in a pipeline where they do their specific skills and they take the credit for them. Then they pass the assets onto me and I use my specific skills to composite the assets into a background plate or whatever the shot entails.

I was then stumped in my own thoughts...

What if I don't get into a larger studio and I need this generalist skill. Fear struck me! Yes I can model and yes I can animate but they're not roles that I work well in. Do I take back my last thought and just get on with it?

I cant... My goal IS to get into a studio as a compositor and that will be what I aim for.

So from here on my task is to recruit people with any areas of skills that I feel I lack in and focus on my job and that alone. This way I can get the best out of my work and focus on getting that dream job.

Final year

So it's final year. Time to set down my social life, forget that I'm a student and start treating University as a full time job!

Some of my aims this year which are top of the list. Too many late nights last year when I could be fitting the same amount of time working while there is light.

At least in the darkness I can adjust the lights correctly for colour grading.


So I'm a final year student with two modules with a constant state of "crunch time" imminent. Balancing this with a Film Production Club will be enlightening to see which area dominates my attention. Ive figured that if my university work is being treated as a full time job from 9am to 5pm (and a lunch break if I allow myself) then I can work 6 days a week and have one day break. Then the running of the Film Production Club will be a personal project after 5pm. So my main thought at this point in time is Time Management. Something that has been a progressive achievement from the age of 16. I remember back in school when I was useless at time management. I couldn't even manage my time from getting out of bed, clothing myself and getting somewhere in time without having one sock on or forgetting to wear school uniform. Much has changed in the 8 years but time management is something I have forced upon myself. My experience of university has set my time management into stone and I'm finding myself hitting deadlines with time to spare these days.

I'm constantly reminding myself that University is not to be looked at as a break. Its better to say that University is a time to study and fix some areas of life that creates a more desirable employee. Some may say this is a bit of a mundane way to look at things but I believe it to be the truth. After all if you really love what you're studying then its never going to be mundane and I love what I do and love learning everything I can about it. So connecting my love to study and work with my current state of time management will be an achievement on its own. This year is a year of firsts and ill be happy to confront my graduation with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye knowing that its not just animation that I have studied at university. But I have studied the foundations of my life and from here on I will create amazing architecture through my career.



Deep thoughts but I thought people should know how I feel about the importance of my time at Teesside Univeristy.

I hope you enjoy my blog in the time to come, because I will enjoy rambling on about the passion of my study.