Week 8 Group Projects Update

With the start of the new modules in week 5 we started EL837 which is a group project module we have guest speakers in and work in teams towards a larger project. Here is a breakdown of how Ive been contributing to that so far.

Week5: Egyptian Tomb

This week we started work on a project that intersects with our EL833 Module. We had to create a tomb full of treasure for us to composite some live action characters into. Both DVE and CA courses worked on this and we were split into 3 groups. Each group assigned to creating different objects or parts of the tomb. I lead the group in charge of small objects, Tito lead the group in charge of large objects and Lisa took the group assigned to creating the architecture.

The project was something new for me as it meant managing 7 or 8 people for a half the day and getting them to create sufficient small object to create a cluttered looking tomb. Co-ordinating with the other groups to make sure we had no overlap and that everyone was being used in the correct way.

It was tough but I was happy with the results. I think that things may have gone better with more planning. If the group leaders had been assigned the week before I think we would have been able to formulate a better approach. As it was everything was a little rushed.

Week 6: Composited Animatic

This week we had to create an animatic from the storyboard provided by David. We had to compose and time the elements in about an hour. Then we had an hour and a half to record live action footage that matched our animatic.

Again this project was a bit of a rush job as we had just an hour to assess the storyboard, come up with an original way to put it together, create any additional frames to support our read of the story and then composite sound in. This pressure on the timing meant that the result was to a certain extent, sub-standard. However I feel that our group produced an original slant on the story focusing on a more comical feel and pushing the timing in that direction.

The live action was fun to do as it meant getting involved with cameras and acting. We had a lot of fun preparing and filming, although due to the way the filming was organised we were left a little short when it came to capturing and replacing footage.

The final result was a bit sloppy due to the time restrictions, but for a quick project it wasnt that bad. Again I felt that if we had time to plan the week before for the session we may have been able to produce more polished work. However it was a fun project and the short time line added to the sense or urgency and energy in the room.

Week 7: Short Live Action / CG Composite

This project was to take some footage and a storyboard that David provided and create a riot progression. In the scenes the CG characters aggrovate the live action characters. James Rustad took Producer, Sid took Editor, Tito Director and VFX Supervisor and I took Animation Supervisor.

We had a longer time to produce the final piece this week but the complexity of the task was far and above the previous tasks. Liasing with Tito, James and Sid we roughed out how we were going about the task and began assigning jobs. The main issues we had in animating were sticking to the frame ranges and conveying the attitudes and moods or our characters without facial rigs and with very short amounts of time on screen. Also as I hadnt spent alot of time discussing rendering and cameras with VFX we had some inconcistancies with how the scenes were handed over.

Again most of the difficulties we encountered would have been solved if we were able to discuss the project in the week leading up to it. Also the differences in animation methods between different people meant it was often hard to solve issues later in the project. Overall the result was okay, I felt that the shots my team and I provided didnt really do justice to the work the other teams produced, however I think we are all still learning alot. Also I thought Adam, Wai and Chris contributed especially nice animations this week.