Aquascape Update

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, so been remarkably slow on updating the blog.

On the 22nd October, I returned to my location, that had been scouted out the week previously, and took some more photographs. This time I took a tripod to allow myself to take photographs on a much slower shutter speed, thus improving the lighting of the scene. It also allowed me to take multiple exposures for bracketing purposes. I took many pictures, from all angles, I was keen to get into shot the port holes, and the hanging lamps that really sell the place as a boat rather than the inside of a pub.

I've also spent a lot of time researching. I've looked at a lot of general under water images, but for this project to be successful I need references from inside a shipwreck. I found the following image whilst hunting through Google images. I particularly like the colouring of this shot, and the fact that the structure is wooden should significantly help with the final colour grade.


This is the final concept art. I'm intending for the phone to cast light on the foreground elements, and then the light from the window to cast light onto the phone as it passes into the midground.


Once the final backplate was selected, and the concept was complete I could begin work on creating dummy geometry for the scene. This is still a work in progress, though nearing completion, and should hopefully be finished and textured by the end of this week. The dummy geometry creates surfaces for the CG phone to illuminate. These light passes can then be rendered off and composited onto the real scene, creating lighting as the phone passes through the scene. I intend to use area lights to light the scene through the windows, so I can also get a realistic lighting on the phone.


On Saturday 26h October, I spent the day, with a team, in the studio filming practical effects to use in the composition. This largely involved filming bubbles and particles in a water on a black background. The idea is to combine real effects which should add a level of realism and depth, with CG simulation, which will interact with the 3D model.

The 3D model in question is a mobile phone. I have spent much of this week modelling and texturing. This has taken me longer than anticipated because I have never really tried my hand at 3D modelling before, and Houdini is a whole new system for me. However I seem to be learning it quickly and I am quite happy with my efforts so far. The largest issues I've met so far, are; correcting topology issues, which were causing my initial texture attempts to turn out badly; and getting my phone model to realistically emit light. 

Again, this is still a work in progress, but I am hoping that by the end of next week I shall have an iphone that not only emites light, but has an image on the screen. I'd also like to have an some early animation attempts complete as well.

Final Edit

I have finally finished my project. I have to hand in a few days early due to personal commitments, so there are still a few tweaks that I would like to work out but I feel I don't have the time. There was also a great idea for a falling shot, to fit between the leap of faith and landing shot.  I opted however to spend my time trying to clean up the flaps in the opening shot, as this is the hero shot of the piece and ultimately the shot I am most proud of. I have also gone back through each shot cleaning up keys and colour grades where possible, and trying to carry out the advice of my tutor and the guys on concept share.

There are a few things that I did not do however. The general consensus seemed to be that lengthening the camera move in the opening shot would have been an improvement, however, without refilming this was incredibly fiddly. After experimenting for a short time in Maya with some static footage and extending the camera move, I decided that there was no way I could do this and make it look good in the time remaining and I preferred to spend my time fixing the shots I already have. I am keen however to return tot his project for my showreel, as the opening few shots would look really great if polished.

I have also added some Assassin Creed style interference/static and echo. Though this film has a more orange and green colour scheme (Heinz Salad Cream colours) as opposed to blues and purples (Assassin Creed colour scheme) I have tried to emulate the feel of the games adverts at every opportunity. Hopefully it works!

Assassins Cream Rough Edit

This is the first complete rough edit of my Assassins Cream commercial. A lot of the fight scene was cut out due to the sheer amount of post production required. It already has 20 shots and I felt I didn't need another 20 of much of the same. I look forward to feedback and will make a list of alterations to work on over the next few days.

Alterations:
Shadows in Shot One.
Roto tunic flaps in Shot One.
New rock texture in Shot One.
Colour matching jumping shots to shot one.
Improve key on struggle shot and last shot.
Colour matching sauce spray shot.
General colour grading.

Something needs to be done with the music. Suggestions are welcome.

I also want to get in there some cool Assassin Creed style static edits, and obviously I need a tag at the end. A lot of work to do in a week, but I'll get there!

Leap of Faith and Costume Secrets.

A very iconic part of Assassins Creed is the "Leap of Faith." This therefore is an important shot to get into the sequence. Here is my latest version of this shot.

There are some obvious colour grade issues with this shot that need to be addressed, but this is perhaps something to be left until the editing so all the shots are consistent.

I've has some question about the costume, people want to know where I bought it. I did not buy this costume from a shop, it was mostly made by me.

It consists of brown leggings, white long sleeved t shirt, grey hoodie and knee length leather boots from Primark. The cape came from a children's Dracula costume, the sash from a pirates costume, the tunic I made from a white bed sheet, and the rest (the jewellery and belts, wrist cuffs etc.) are kind donations from (mostly) my mother and the actor himself.  A lot of work went into getting this costume looking good, and was ultimately cheaper than buying either an Assassins Creed costume, of the substitute English Knight costume mentioned elsewhere is my blog. 

Opening Shot Revamp

So I dealt with a lot of the issues with the initial project, in this version. I have noticed that I missed a track marker in root, and will go back for that at some point, however it is time I moved on to the next few shots. I will return to this shot however as it is the hero shot of the piece.

Pre-Roto Render Shot 1

I haven't updated for a while, this shot has required quite a bit of roto to get the shadows back in the feet area. This is a pre-roto render to see how the shot works with the matte painting. I have had a list of things to alter on this shot which I am working on now. Nearly there now!

The most notable problem is the stone platform. I have produced a better texture for it, but it always seems to pixilate. Still awaiting feedback from my the Maya Lecturer before I push on too much with this aspect, though I intend to upload a new render to Concept Share to see if they have any ideas. I have been experimenting with UV texturing, which has helped but not perfected the problem.

There is still a lot to do on this shot, and many other shots to get working, so I fear if I have not finished with this shot before too long I shall have to leave it and come back to it at the end.

With filming now finished, I'm onto the post production side of things. Much of the work on the matte paintings has been done, though still requires a lot of work.

The shoot underwent a lot of issues. Primarily one of the actors failed to show up to pour costume meeting and so I had to improvise with a bed sheet on the day. This was a real shame as everyone else looked really good in their costumes and he stood out. This however could not be helped and hopefully won't be held against me when my final product is complete.

The shoot took longer than expected, and though the major shots were completed, my camera battery went flat before I could finish, and when recharged my memory card malfunctioned and required formatting. This put an end to my filming.

Unfortunately, due to the business of the studio, it would be impossible to get in there to reshoot with enough time to carry out the post production. I had to book this studio several weeks before Christmas just to get a full day in there!

The footage however is good. I've spent the day working on the planned opening shot, which has keyed and tracked.

The plan is to build the platform the Assassin is sitting on in Maya and track in a matte painting. This video is just a basic ket and track to see how the shot would work.

I aim to have a rough edit uploaded by the end of tomorrow.

And At Last...

I have finally finished my list of adjustments, and completed my final edit. My project is now complete! I have also put together some shot breakdowns, unfortunately I have run out of space on vimeo and will not be able to upload them until next week (I will hand them in with my project however so no worries there). There is however space for one very low resolution copy of my final edit. Enjoy!

This project is by far the best piece of work I have ever produced, and allowed me to push my skill set to the maximum. Shots have been put together in Photoshop, After Effects and Maya, allowing me to work in both 2D and 3D. 

I'd like to thank everyone who helped out in this project. Particularly Christopher Hansford, my actor, and  Finlay Duncan who was very helpful in the green screen studio and has a great critical eye. The tutors at my university and the guys on CG Coach provided excellent feedback which helped me take my work to a new level.

I'm very pleased that I managed to complete everything on my list a day ahead of schedule, even if I did venture away from initial work schedule due to reshoots, and the detailed feedback from CG Coach. The only two shots which I wish I could work on more are the close up of the face and the magic blast shots. I'm happy with the VFX work, I just wish I would have been able to get a reshoot as the footage was not quite as I wanted it. The expression on the face of my actor in the flying shot is too relaxed, and in the magic blast shot there are a few issues with blurring and grain. Also I felt that because all the other shots around it are moving, a static shot was a jolt to the flow. A reshoot would allow me to perhaps frame it closer and add a camera move. However, this is most likely the best work I have produced to date and so I am very happy with what I have managed to do. Fingers crossed for a good grade. Bring on the next project! :) 

Flying Shot Breakdown

This is how the magic is performed!

Rough Edit v01

This is a rough edit of my project as the shots stand at this moment. I have a list of tweaks and changes to make for each shot, some longer than others. I am still looking for feedback so I can perfect each shot as well as the editing. My style of editing has been inspired by the teaser trailer style of editing seen at the end of TV shows such as Doctor Who, Merlin and Misfits. Hopefully this will have an impact as well as portraying the creepy intensity that I am trying to get across.

The feet shot, is being of particularly difficulty to me due to the shadows and grain, and requires rotoscoping. This is quite consuming and as this is not one of the hero shots of the piece may well be dropped if time constraints make it difficult for me to complete on time. My main focus needs to be on the magic blast shot, which at this point stands out amongst the other shots. Though I am quite happy with the VFX, the colour grade, brightness and sharpness are significantly different from the rest of the shoot.

Big Video Update

After a week without any Vimeo space I am finally back and uploading my work. I apologise for the resolution of some of the videos, I am trying to save as much space as possible so I can post tweaks and updates throughout the rest of the week.

This week has been very busy. I have been doing a Final Cut Pro intensive course to get my Apple Accreditation whilst juggling my project with a deadline next week. I've managed to put together a castle matte painting and a 3D corridor in Maya.

This shot is an updated version of the flying shot, with colour grading fixed and a few other minor issues. It is looking much better now.

This shot is to be cut into the wizard creeping down the corridor scene. This is what he is creeping towards, a big ominous door with some sort of beastie behind it. The door was made in Maya and integrated into the corridor matte painting using After Effects. The lighting and colour grade in this needs  some work but this is not bad for an early run through.

The final project a supposed to be a promo, which is why I have added some text to the end of this shot. The font in this is NOT the font I will use in the final project, but I am looking for something a little distorted which I can texture.

This shot is a castle matte painting to go with my establishing shot matte painting. This is the destination of the hero character whilst flying on his broom. This is a first run through for this matte painting so there is still work to be done, but this is the overall look I am going for. Comments and feedback is much appreciated.

Next week will be dedicated to tweaking my existing shots to make them look the best they can, and editing them into a promo trailer and adding music and sound effects. Fingers crossed this turns out awesome!

Second Corridor Sequence

As part of my storyboard, I had my hero character creeping down a dark corridor toward an ominous door. The door bursts open revealing whatever that is behind this door, and the character falls back and the sequence ends. This posed a bit of a problem, as obviously I can great still shots of castle doors, and did in fact when I went on my trip to Caerphilly, but footage of one bursting forward is more difficult to get hold of. Because of this (and the reasons I described yesterday) I turned to 3D. At the moment I can not upload any videos to Vimeo, but I thought I'd share some still images from my sequence to show you what I have managed to do.

Obviously this is not the finished article, I am hoping to insert some atmospherics and smoke, possibly some flickering and a light halo from the heroes wand in the foreground. I'm also considering altering the door animation, so that one door flies off, as if something huge and scary has attacked it from behind. This however will be very reliant on time, as rendering this shot was lengthy and there is only one week to go. Panic stations!

3D Elements

I'm hard at work at the moment, wrestling with footage that is far too grainy, working on a matte painting which my muse just won't let me finish and waiting patiently for Maya to finish rendering. Personally I prefer working in 2D, I feel much more in control with Photoshop and After Effects, so much so that thinking about Maya makes me break out in cold sweats. In my mind however, to call myself a visual effects artist, I feel I should at least be able to jump into Maya and know my way around and produce something that is at least semi decent. Because of the overwhelming need to prove to myself that I can do this, I have opted to do one of the elements of my project in Maya. So far i have produced an ocean (one which I am rather happy with) and this week, I have modelled, textured, bump mapped and rendered an animated swinging door. To someone who works in 3D, this may not sound massively impressive, but for me this is quite an achievement. More so when I incorporate this into my corridor matte painting and thus finishing my project!

Texturing in Maya has always kind of stumped me, I love the idea of producing cool and elaborate textures in Photoshop, but the getting them into Maya and onto the 3D shape is somewhat difficult, files always seem to be too small, or warp when wrapped and generally look rubbish. This week however I have been looking into UV mapping, which works brilliantly. This involves exporting the net of the 3D shape into Photoshop (weeee! :) ), putting the texture straight onto the net and putting it back in Maya. Somehow Maya knows exactly what it is, and wraps it perfectly. It worked really well, though still looked suspiciously like a 3D rectangle with an image on it. To give it that realistic look one has to use a bump map, which adds the sensation of a groove into dark areas and bumps into lighter areas, making an object, such as my door, seem weathered and real.

Watch this space for the final rendered image!