Tuesday

loldidntmeantopost :>:>:>

Quick Update

Been a bit of a nightmare lately, internet in my house has gone to absolute arse and it's been practically unusable. Been working on the R&D recently which has required streaming/downloading a lot of high quality videos and images and with a poor internet connection, it makes such a simple task nearly impossible.

To get around this, I've been to the Library today and got a fair bit done. Quite pleased with it so far. Reading week from tomorrow onwards, I've made myself a schedule of things I want to get done during it. It's mostly tests etc, if all goes well I'll be in good speed to get things under way properly.

I'm looking forward to making this film now, although I'm a little hesitant about the render/simulation times as my computer isn't the best. I need to get in touch with Dave about the Universities rendering farm actually, so i'll attempt to do that now.

Biped Animations

Here are some screenshots of me fitting bipeds into a 3D model and a subsequent biped animation.

Updatez

Ok, pretty much ignore everything that I've posted so far. I've come up with my final idea and I'm sticking with it. I've kept the narrative much simpler, but the general concept and technicality of it is still very complex. The storyboards and script are done, both of which I'm happy with. Once these have been handed in, I'll begin the practical side. First thing to do will be some general tests animating bipeds and so on. From there, I'll begin to play with Realflow and it's emitter settings and daemons.

It's extremely ambitious, but f*ck it.

Idea Development

Ok, so the problem I'm really having right now is the fact that I'm worried i'll bite off more than i can chew so to speak. I think i'm trying to do a bit too much with the narrative and it's going to potentially hinder my progress.

The original idea yesterday was to have an individual (made from liquid) break out of a shell, run off, dive forwards and morph back into liquid, turn into a car or something else... Yeah as you can see I've scrapped that one. Bearing in mind this is pretty much the first time i'll have ever used 3D software and realflow.

However, my new idea is slightly more realisitc. I'm still going to be using a water figure running. I've already worked out how to rig and animate a model to run within 3D max and it looks pretty good. I then need to work out how to turn the model into a watery figure. I know this is possible from this video

And that uses a lot of stylistic devices I want to achieve.

I particularly like the look of bullets travelling through water and other objects and this is something i'd like to have a go at incorporating also

So from these ideas, the general kind of thing i have in mind at the moment is using the running liquid model, perhaps could be getting shot at, falls to the ground in a splashing type moment, only to then either morph back into the figure again and take revenge or to morph into something else.

It's a cool idea that i'm going to play with a bit more i think.

First Ideas

So after meeting with Nancy today, she urged me to begin thinking up narratives for the film.

Here's what I have so far...

I really like the idea of using a 3D character that's running at high speed. One of the biggest things I've seen in other peoples 3D work that in my opinion has severely let them down is the motion of their characters. I want to really nail this and create something spectacular. I know i'm setting the bar extremely high here, but in my head the idea at the moment is quite ambitious.

I want the 3D figure to be in the starting position as if he's about to race, the starting gun will go off and the body will shatter, with a liquid person exploding out of them, running at high speed.

I have absolutely no idea what will happen from here on out, this will be updated however with many ideas.

I'll be using a fair few different bits of software to make this, and hopefully my computer will be able to handle this.

So, plus and minus points so far.

Plus:

• Crazy idea
• If I can pull it off, it will be immense.
• Challenging
• I'll learn so much, not just with 3D but other plug ins and software.

Minus:

• Crazy idea.
• Render times are going to be inhuman
• It could very easily look crap if I don't learn quickly

New Idea

I don't particularly want to go into the specifics of my new idea, however I will say the following on it.

It's going to be an exposition, rather than a traditionally structured narrative short. Why?

• Because less is more, I'd rather create a stunning visual piece than a disappointing short film.
• I'm new to the software, It makes sense to keep it as simple as possible.
• Rendering times for scene after scene of 3D and composited footage would hinder the project seriously.

The film is going to be taking many elements from graphical techniques. This is something I wanted to achieve in my last project, however failed in doing so.

The film will be made using programs such as 3D Max, Poser, Realflow, fumefx, photoshop and aftereffects.

I'm going to spend the next few days/week experimenting with the software (which I've literally just got my hands on) to get an idea of the capabilities and what I feel comfortable with doing. Once I have done this, I can move on to looking at narrative structures.

First Blog Entry

So it's been a few weeks now since I began this project, and I've done it in a fairly non-linear manner. Although the proposal was due to be handed in within the last week, I opted not to as I'm still working out my idea.

This is the last project I'll ever be involved with at University and so I want to take my time in deciding exactly what I want to do with it. I've had many ideas, but I've abandoned nearly all of them.

The first idea I had was to use a digital SLR to take photos in quick succession, creating a video that's effectively been recorded at a very low frame rate. I would then edit each individual photo separately and manipulate them to create my film.

I decided against this idea because I don't think I'd be able to achieve the look I'm going for, and it would be an extremely time consuming experience. Not to mention, I have no idea what I would do with it either or how I would deliver it.

The second idea I had was to use advanced 3D mapping and texturing techniques to map a photograph over a 3D model of a head, effectively making the image 3D. By then using a camera within 3Ds Max, It would be possible to emulate the effects of a extremely high FPS camera without the audience noticing it was a 3D model.

This was scrapped simply because it was an extremely advanced and complex project, and being so new to 3D as I am, even if i was able to somehow pull it off, I know I don't have the technical capabilities to make a film that I'd be happy with.

I have got a new idea which I'm going to stick with, however it's going to be edited and modified significantly over time, so i don't want to write too much about it now.