Major Project : Final Creation

 In this post, I will present my final project.

The video below is the Short temporary scene that represents my starting point for my film "Seep into Reality". This will showcase a short temporary video rendering that should be presented on the final product. It is a simple VFX project comprising of an object edited into reality.

Project 0.1

(Seep into Reality)

A better quality version would be located on my website located at the "Project 0.1" tab.

Major Project : Further study and creation of Project 0.1

 In this post I will be continuing briefly discussing the process of creation of Project 0.1.

I continued the creation by firstly removing the square presented from the start up screen from Blender and proceeded to add the "ground" and tweakable object to the scene as shown on the top-right hand side of the software. After which I tested its adaptability to the tracking and how it fits through the keyframes of the scene. I furnished the object and the "ground" by adding points from the center of the tracking points I had beforehand that will act as the guide for the object and "ground" presented. I affixed the object to the top middle tracking point of of paper and set that tracking to the object Y-axis to make the object face the camera view throughout the scene.

Object and "ground" addition

I then simply went to to Object selection tab and selected the cube I had placed before and clicked the change object and chose the exosphere option as it closely resembles a gem from a fantasy world. From there I went to to the editing tab of the software and focuses on molding the object into the bigger and more "chunkier" looking rock to add a bit more fantastical nature to the object created onto the scene. I did not have any problems when I viewed the scene once more as I had already fixed the faulty tracking points and added a guide for the object to follow even as I changed it. I lastly changed the ground to be the same as the scene, however, it still exists as it would be used in a later part of the process.

Object tweaking and angle adjusting (Ground editing)

In this next part, I focused on making the shadows for the object in order to create this sense of realism. Firstly, I clicked on the "ground" I had made the same as the scene in order to create to shadow effect I wanted. Here I clicked on the scene tab of the software and clicked on the shadows tab below as seen on the lower right hand side of the software. I then proceeded to use their latest feature of solve motion tracking object that automatically fixes the object's shadow creation. I then clicked on the edge selection tool as when I viewed the render image to test a frame of my creation, it appeared to have a shadow overlapping over the table's edge. After uses the edge selection tool of the object and solving the unrealistic shadow properties, I furnished up the "ground's" position to make it more realistic.

Shadow addition

Here was my frame-collection process in which I had to render the animation of the object itself without the scene background in order to make less pixelated and hardware-heavy when processing the animation. It took me approximately 3 hours of waiting time for each frame to be processed as my laptop was not as strong as a Desktop (It only has 8GB of ram). I made a folder specifically for the blender image files for the next process of the project.

Rendering the animation of the object alongside folder creation

Though technical, in this picture it can be noticed that I am in the compositing tab of the software in order to make sure the relation of each scene is correct. Here I added an "image node" for images within the "Blender" file I have created to be placed in for the project to utilized. Here it will be connected to the "Alpha over node" which will process both the scene and the animation frames of the object to make it a smooth and non-pixelated scene as if I had skipped this process the scene would be low in framerate and would be very pixelated for the object.

Compositing and node connection management

Lastly, I assessed the video 3 more times to check for faults and if there any black screen pauses within the scene.

Last Assessment

I started the rendering process which lasted for about an hour and the video was finally processed after the 296 frames were done with the rendering.

Rendering the scene

My next post will contain my final product.

Major Project : Study and creation of Seep Into Reality

 This post will be discussing the process of my work for my Final Project Creation also known as "Project 0.1".

Firstly I opened up blender and went to the add scene tab of the 3D creation software via the "Plus" sign tool located beside the Scripting tab then selected the VFX part of the pop-up when I hovered over it.  I then began to add the video I wanted to utilise for my short temporary scene.

Opening Screen of Blender

Here I began to first take off the filter that was automatically added by blender whenever you add a scene which was named "Filmic", this was to make the scene seem realistic enough for the viewer as any filter would make the scene seem a bit off. I also made sure that each frame of the video did not contain any black screen pauses as it would interrupt and ruin the immersion that the editing may bring.

Default setting tweaking and preparation for editing and rendering

I next made sure to study where I am going to put the motion tracking guides for the software from the video as I have to carefully center the said motion tracking points on the points I want to be tracked precisely. This is where the use of the tracking paper I have created comes into play, I as it acts as a guide both for me and the software in creating the positions of the tracking points. It also acts as a border control as any lines that go over the paper may shown signs of faulty-editing.

Careful placement of Tracking dots and more preparation

In this part of the process, I studied the pattern of each frame's motion tracking point movement to make sure most of them are not outside the paper and are tracking the scene correctly. There are 296 frames in total, out of 296 about 45 frames contained dots that were faulty in which I assessed and fixed. After which I proceeded to watch the scene about 3 times to see if there were any more faults in the tracking.

Repairing faulty tracker points

In this part of the project, it was just a quick and easy issue-solving with the framerate of the scene sequence as I only had to choose the formalize option under the "Motion Tracking" tab and click "Solve motion tracking".

Solve Motion Tracking process

This would be the last time I check the motion tracking points of the scene as I will now proceed to the object creation, addition, and editing of the project.

Final Assessment of tracking points

I will continue the discussion on the next post.

Major Project : Further Research on artists

 In this post I will shortly discussing who are the artists are and what films I watched and were inspired to create my scene from. 

Firstly Alexander Adell, Adell is a vfx artist and film producer/director. His vfx portfolio includes films such as Toy Story 3, Up, Wall-E, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Robots. Currently, he is a producer at Magnesium Film, which he joined 5 years ago. From 2000-2004, he designed 3D surfaces shaders Ice Age, fur for several principal characters in Ice Age 2, and digital sets on the film Robots using proprietary signal processing software and rendering language. He trained Technical Directors on software for creating surfaces for characters and machines. He also developed internal tools for film production including plant distribution tools, procedural texture rigs for background characters, and animal fur design technology. After working on a game for 2 years, he became the Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios. In Pixar, he was responsible for designing 3D surfaces for Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3. While at that, he created a reusable shading network for development of new models. After around four years at Pixar, he moved on to create games, mobile applications, and later on produced and directed a film.

When it comes to Jim Rygiel, he can be considered to be a visual effects supervisor who worked on feature films since 1984. He has worked on The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Godzilla, The Amazing Spiderman, Fast and the Furious, Starship Troopers, Star Trek, The Last of the Mohicans, Batman Returns, and many more. Through lord of the rings, he has earned three consecutive Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects. After University, he went to work on doing commercial work, which he gained nominations for. Then, he supervised projects while at visual effects companies. Later, he formed and head a computer animation department at Boss Film Studios, which created films such as Starship Troopers, Outbreak, Air Force One, The Last Action Hero, and others. After Boss Films, he went on to supervise The Parent Trap, Star Trek, and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy before working on many more films.

Simon Otto is a Swiss film director and animator, best known for his work in the How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy for DreamWorks Animation. After studying art in Zurich, Otto studied animationin Paris in which he received additional animation training through an internship wtih Disney Feature Animation Paris. He was first hired by DreamWorks for The Prince of Egypt in 1997. Then, he spent 21 years as part of the character animation team for DreamWorks. He was known for the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, which he was instrumental for the look of the characters, personalities, and overall style of animation. He designed a number of characters in the film including Toothless and Lightfury, and did storyboarding work on the second and third films. After leaving DreamWorks, he went to work on Love, Death & Robots Season 2 as well as directing an upcoming film called That Christmas. In an interview by Art of VFX, Otto stated that he personally did a lot of design work himself, and worked closely with modelers, riggers, and the surfacing department. He figured out systems for complex dragon rigs, then after achieving the desired look, went to work on their personalities with senior animators.

He stated that his job is to make sure the style, quality, and clarity of the animation was as desired and executed efficiently. As such, he must consult the directors on everything related to the animation. He stated that the team used a lot of proprietary software, except for previz and layout, and that the most demanding shots were ones that requires months of rigging time such as beard simulations and flying shots.

From these three artists and their work on VFX, I learned that every piece of vfx work needs a lot of attention and work, especially collaboration with others Along with that, I had also learned that the route to becoming a successful vfx artist requires me to try new things and be brave enough to create or work with big names.

References :

Alexander Adell (no date) MUBI. Available at: https://mubi.com/cast/alexander-adell

(Accessed: December 3, 2022).

Alexander Adell - producer - magnesium film (no date) LinkedIn. Available at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zanderadell (Accessed: December 3, 2022).

Jim Rygiel (no date) IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0753277/

(Accessed: December 3, 2022).

Frei, V. (2014) How to train your dragon: Simon Otto, The Art of VFX. Available at:

https://www.artofvfx.com/dragons-simon-otto-responsable-animation-des-personnages-

dreamworks/ (Accessed: December 3, 2022).

Simon Otto (no date) IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2259362/

(Accessed: December 3, 2022).

Software testing : Blender

 In this post I will shortly explain my experience with Blender when I first studied it before my major project creation.

Firstly, I botted up the 3D animation software, it is also to be noted that there was no initial tutorial upon the start-up of the program as opposed to Adobe After Effects when you first boot it up. Immediately I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tools and options that Blender had presented. I then went to the modeling tab of the animation software.

Blender Start-up

Here in the Modeling tab, I toyed with the transform tool alongside the cursor tool to deform the cube from the start-up of blender. I learned that the Green line presented the X-axis of the model, the Red line represents the Y-axis and lastly the Blue line represents the Z-axis. The circle on the picture was the cursor/point selected and all I had to do to deform the cube was pull using the transform tool.

Modeling Tab of Blender

After toying within the Modeling tab, I proceeded to the sculpting tab in which I could detail the starting cube even further via the different tools presented on the left-hand side. It presented tools such as flattening any surface from the 3D object alongside creating creases within the object.

Sculpting Tab of Blender

Lastly I went to the animation tab of the software in order to check out if I am able to render the object I have created into a scene or create my own scene within the software without any external text. Though difficult to understand for a beginner, it can be very informative since it presents many factors one may need to consider when animating as opposed to Adobe After Effects.

Animation tab of Blender

Overall, Blender is better when it comes to 3D animations, rendering and editing as opposed to the features Adobe After Effects may provide since After Effects focuses more on 2D effects and supporting visual effects (e.g lightning strikes and tornadoes). Though it may be difficult to use at the start, it is very worth learning alongside the different varieties of VFX software out there.

Software Testing : Yumpu

In this post I will briefly tell my opinion on why I did not utilize Yumpu.

Simply put, Yumpu was not fitting to present what my major project was going to provide and require from a software. That fact alongside the fact that there are heavier and better software out there to help present my content makes it very unreliable in my eyes. However, it may be useful in presenting progress, Milanote content (shown below), project compilations (Pictures only), and some information if it requires visual aid. 

To test out Yumpu, however, I had to register my account then had to use the free version since I cannot utilize the "pay for extra options" option. Here I can create a project title, description, its language, its category and its tags. It then can present the information/pictures in either a slide or in different animations. 

Yumpu with Milanote - Alan Mark

My last evaluation of Yumpu is that it is a very useful piece of software for certain fields of work. Yumpu when it comes to VFX work, however, is not the best software one may use since there are better and more reliable tools out there that are better in helping present your work as a VFX artist.

Blog Buddy comments: 2

 Here in this post, I will be presenting 5 more comments that I have made on the posts of my Blog Buddy Mo on his website titled "WRITING PARAPHERNALIA".

Website Creation : About Page

Website Creation : Home Page

Welcome to Writing Paraphernalia

Creating a Logo

S.M.A.R.T Objectives

Website Creation : Critical Evaluation

 In this post I will be discussing and critically evaluating my website.

Planning

When it first came to the planning for my website, I had to find the most aesthetically-pleasing template to get it started off. 

Here I chose the "Videographer" template since it closely resembled the works of both the websites of Vincent Frei and Allan Mckay (The two VFX artists I had researched their website about). I then chose my name to be the main title of my website since it should be about me and presenting myself to the public (Since it showcases my skills and myself as a whole). Lastly, I decided to focus on making a very simple and easily digested website so any audience may approach it without any difficulty. I added a simple "tagline" for my website title since I want to describe what I do as a whole, I added a Text box with the Lulo Clean font and 12px for font size and added Visual effects as a "tagline". This "tagline" immediately tells the audience what is to come out of the website below.

Research

When it came to researching about the inspiration for my website, I focused on selecting artists that had their website within the simple spectrum of aesthetic. Allan Mckay's website caught my eye at first since it presents most of his works with ease and with no hassle access, alongside the fact that it focuses on the colors : Black and Orange that makes it feel formal and simple. 

 

AllanMckay

The next artist I would review for reference in creating my website was Vincent Frei since his website was deeper within the simple aesthetic spectrum because said website focused more on presenting information rather than filling up most of the white space that was on the website.  It presents a lot of information without straining the eyes of the viewer, making it easy to choose which article hooks them in easily. 

TheArtofVFX

After researching both of them, I chose to make 5 pages for my website to start it off. each page was named respectively : Home, About, Gallery, Project 0.1, and Contact. As of current times, it has stay the same and will do until another project comes up.

Content

My website will be all about Visual Effects, its capabilities and me and my works, its purpose is to peak interest in people about Me and visual Effects as well through film editing, modeling and most of the processes on the VFX pipeline. And since I am focusing more on VFX, my website might interest those who are studying VFX at the moment, alongside people who are interested in Films and Modeling. The content of my website and itself is important since it can help me make a name for myself, help me advertise for the future like an investment and have a place where I am able to share my works to the world.

Design

 Firstly I used the template provided by Wix which was "videographer" that was the closest to what I envisioned my website's theme to be.

Videographer

Then I went on to add textboxes containing content about the page that it was located in, my own video, changed the color of each strip to my own preference, added my name as the title alongside a "tagline", my own images, a fixed header and footer, a home button being the title button of the website and different photos of myself. 

I also changed the navigation menu to fit the aesthetic of my website, however, I also wanted to avoided too much simplicity as it might look way too informal. I lastly added a registration form down below for my website alongside a simple view counter just to give the website accountability in the future.

In total, I had 5 pages for my website that presents their contents very well.

Navigation

The navigation on my website was very well made in my opinion, since it presents a short description about the page alongside a photo to present its theme, right beside the form to contact and message me about the website. 

I have also added 4 social media links containing my temporary Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot and Instagram. All my pages are interlinked since the tab bar on top gives the viewer easy access to all pages of my website and the logo being both a home button and a return to top button gives the viewer ease when wanting to view another page. Overall, when the navigation of my website is in question it can be said that it is very accessible and provides no hassle at all.

Major project : Sequence planning

In this post I will be discussing the planning of sequence for my major project.

Below is a photo of my drawing of what my sequencing will be for the scene of my major project.

 

The scene will start off with a desk that has a paper with grid-lines on top of it, specifically on the middle area of the table. I will be editing in the object on top of the grid-lined paper then focus on motion tracking it for the next scenes. The next part of the scene will be the camera position moving from left to right, looking at the object from a different viewpoint. Lastly, the scene will end on the right side-face of the object, desk and grid-line paper.

For reference, A is the object to be edited into the scene aforementioned; B will be the grid-line paper that will be used to help guide the motion tracking and object placement and C will be the desk and background as the setting of the scene.

Software Testing : Flipsnack

This post will be discussing my software testing of Flipsnack. This is research for my major project and website creation if Flipsnack is a software I will be utilizing.

Firstly, I went to the website link and signed in using my university email. I then had to fill in my name in the form presented below alongside the option to choose what my role in life is currently, I selected student and there were no more layers to fill in after that.

Next, I had to choose the format in which my Flipsnack project will be in. I chose the A4 portrait format since its what most people who create similar objects consider the general format. I did not tweak any of the size features that the website presented (e.g Width and Height).

I took some non-copyright photos from Unsplash and arranged them to represent what I wanted to convey to my viewers. Flipsnack had very easy access tools from my experience in order for me to create a test project that tells me what the software may offer, such as the countless templates and built-in stock image gallery it has.

To finish my project in Flipsnack off, I published it and it has appeared on my dashboard as published as well. Here you can view my test project as a whole.

Here below is my Flipsnack project finalized.

After using it and studying Flipsnack as a whole, I can consider it a very beginner user-friendly software, very-accessible since all tools are labelled and easy to eye on. Not a lot of knowledge when it comes to editing is required during your time using the website, though there are some features I would like to use but cannot since you were required to pay in order to use them. Though a small bit similar to the functions that Canva may provide, Flipsnack in my opinion has more to offer when it comes to gallery presentation of pictures and other texts.

Blog Buddy Comments

This post will be showcasing 5 comments that I have made on the posts of my Blog Buddy Mo on his website.