Toby Meadows

  I’ve been watching a lot of NOVA ScienceNOW on YouTube and got extremely excited by the concept of an elevator to space. It’s an elevator that goes from the earths surface to a geosynchronous space station via a carbon nanotube cable.

For my 3d modelling class I was given the task of making a vehicle for a fictional computer game an I opted to make a space elevator. 

  Modelling

    I converted a box to an editable poly and moved the vertices to create the diagonal support beams. I then added the lattice modifier to create the beams that makeup the main support of the space elevator.

    Next I made the base piece that the solar arrays would be attached to and one of the talks used to transport fluids to the space station.

  This part is the motor block that I ended up reusing a few times in the model.

    Attaching the solar arrays to the base and extending the main girder.All objects that are the same are instances to speed up production time. Editing one edits all other instances.

    This is the final model before texturing.  I used splines to create the support cables for the solar array. the rest of the model is made of fairly simple shapes with slight adjustments being made via the edit poly modifier. I decided to only create uvs for a few key objects and just have a simple material for others.

  Texturing

  For the uvs I tried something I’ve never tried before, using textures from a library as well as photographs and painting in photoshop to build the textures on the uvs. I realised that I didn’t utilise the space in my uvs as well as I could have. But by the time I realised I’d put in too much time and couldn't go back and redo them.

  This is what the final model looks like with the textures. I feel that the details added via the uvs make it seem like a much more complicated model.

Extra Details

  This is the base station that I decided to launch(?) my elevator from. It’s just a box shape with an edit poly modifier. I then made an instance and used the optimise and lattice modifiers to give the beams a more random pattern.

    I created a plane, soft selected the vertices around the edge and added a noise modifier to create mountains around the base.

  Compositing

    I rendered the whole animation out in RPF format so that I could extract depth and camera data once inside after effects.

This is a shot of the cameras inside of after effects.

  Using the lens effect and the depth map taken from the rpf file I could adjust the depth of field much faster than in 3ds max.

  Creating the Still File

For the still file I decided that I wanted to show the space elevator outside of the earths atmosphere. I used Element to create a sphere with some earth textures on it.

I setup a 3d light in after effects and applied Video Copilots optical flares to make the sun.

This is the final comp for the still file. Everything is 3d exept for the space elevator which is just a rendered PNG from 3ds max.

Final Animation

The following is an account of my 3d modelling assignment for my MDU115 class at SAE. We were given a rough storyboard and were tasked with modelling the treasure chest and following a production pipeline through to the final export of the animation.

  In this video Aral Balkan tries various techniques including over simplified analogy and general scaremongering to rile his audience into a frenzy over their internet privacy before peddling them his product. It’s the same techniques used by overpriced mattress makers who offer a free sleep health seminar before pushing their products down their throats.

In all seriousness everything he says is true, there is a huge issue with the future of how our data will be used online. It is easy to say that you don’t have anything to hide but that’s a real slippery slope. It’s impossible to know whether you’ll always have nothing to hide especially when there’s so many variables to the situation.

 It’s hard to know if your views will always align with the current government or accepted social practices. I think it really comes down to common sense and evaluating the risks vs the benefits of using these services.

  In this interview with the founders of google they talk about the future of google, it’s staggering to see the sorts of areas that they have already or are planning to move into. I feel like from watching them speak you can tell that they are just excited about the possibilities of what they could achieve with access to more data. In particular they reference how if they had access to peoples medical records they could use their algorithms to better track and predict peoples health.

It’s easy to be scared by the scope of power in a company like google or facebook but it’s up to us as users to use it sensibly or not use it at all. The funniest thing I’ve ever seen is people complaining about how facebook is stealing our rights while still using facebook everyday.

References

Khosla Ventures,. (2014). Fireside chat with Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin with Vinod Khosla. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdnp_7atZ0M#t=86

Quickmeme,. (2014). Retrieved from http://s.quickmeme.com/img/d3/d3e68cf1e59a3122b075260a010d612adc1dade0904b9bbef42f5cf80eacab8d.jpg

When referring to CGI, shaders are the programs that visualize the geometry. They are algorithms that turn the geometry, lighting settings, visual effects and textures into the image that is seen.

Some examples of shaders are;

 Flat shaders render each face as a block colour based on the angle that the light bounces off the surface.

Gourand produces a smoother result than flat but still features a faceted finish. It also uses less processing power than phong.

Phong Iterpolates the surface texture better than Gourand producing a much smoother looking surface at lower poly counts.

If you’re interested in film visual effects or motion graphics it’s likely that you’ve heard of Andrew Kramer. After teaching himself to use after effects at the age of 16 he went on to create an After Effects tutorial site called Video Copilot. From there he has released several scripts, plugins and asset packs either for free or for a very reasonable price.

Check out his site here 

Andrew Kramers Website has been a huge source of inspiration, techniques and products for a large community of visual effects professionals as well as people completely new to visual effects. With the release of Element 3d he greatly sped up the workflow and simplified the pipeline for integrating real 3d elements directly in after effect.

Here's a great speech he gave about being a digital artist.

The lower cost of technology has had and will continue to have a huge impact on most of the creative industries. it is now within most individuals reach to have a computer powerful enough to handle 3d animation. Even on most peoples phones and tablets there are apps that can do basic 3d modelling.

  With ease of access to the technology and ease of access to the training to use them we will continue to see more and more self taught professionals in the industry. A potential downside to this is similar to what was seen when the price of quality digital cameras became cheap, freelancers undercharging for their services. In photography this was seen as damaging to the whole industry, as clients begin to expect lower prices.

  References

Autodesk Building Solutions,. (2014). Introducing Autodesk FormIt. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-4MH64pnWw

Kramer, A. (2014). VIDEO COPILOT | After Effects Tutorials, Plug-ins and Stock Footage for Post Production Professionals. Videocopilot.net. Retrieved 24 October 2014, from http://www.videocopilot.net

Traditionally, 3d modelling has been achieved using Polygon Modelling. In Polygon Modelling the polygons of the model are manipulated in order to create the desired object. The image below demonstrates how polygon modelling is used to model a car bonnet.

  http://www.onnovanbraam.com/modules/tutorials/images/polygon_modeling_7_car_body/mod-car-body-007.gif

  In recent years a new technique for modelling in 3d has arisen called Digital Sculpting. This process begins with a primitive model and using simulated sculpting tools such as push/pull, smooth and knife the model is virtually sculpted like clay. This opens up a huge range of artistic options and brings a more artistic approach to 3d modelling.

  While a lot of top 3d modelling programs are implementing sculpture tools, the standalone sculpting programs such as Mudbox and ZBrush are at the forefront of digital sculpting.

  These programs also allow the use of digital input devices like the Wacom tablet and take advantage of the pressure sensitivity.

  There are a few companies that are taking this to the next level with Haptic input devices that provide force feedback.

  Digital sculpting has allowed the world of 3d modelling to become a more artistic and less technical process. Of course it is still a case of the right tool for the job and while sculpting is a great process for some things the presicion of poly modelling is still an important technique.

References

LiveScienceVideos,. (2014). Haptic Technology Lets You 'Touch' Virtual Objects | Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB0TGrpSc4o

I have a friend whose girlfriend works as a writer for a local music publication. She was listening to a band she had to write a review about, it was terrible. My friend asked her what she was going to write about it and she replied that she was going to have to write a glowing review otherwise she would stop getting work. This seems to be a common problem, the line between professional critique and promotion becomes blurred and it gets hard to tell if you are hearing the writers carefully considered opinion or the opinion that will allow them to keep getting work.

This topic is a common thread in the three videos we watched in CIU111 this week. Three separate videos with professionals from three different industries. In the first video with Alex Lifschitz, a AAA title game producer. He, quite passionately addresses a room full of games critics at Critical Proximity. He encourages the critics to speak their mind for the sake of the whole industry.

David Hagerty is the General Manager of CADRE Design, an online training company that provides training services to the financial, mining and education industries. 

In this interview he discusses the procedure for working with government. He describes a pretty rigid structure in which all your resources must be Justified, you must be willing to accept working with long pay cycles and if your work doesn't match their requirements or their requirements change, you could be left without pay.

In this video Austin Wintory is talking about what he believes is required to make a career from a creative pursuit. He explains that the while the actual craft of what you do is important, it is only a small part of it. He lists understanding the technology in your field as well the business and legal side of your industry, being able to develop your personality to enjoy taking the necessary risks and also to be able to put yourself out there and work with others.

A typical pipeline for the production of CGI can be broken down into the following 11 steps. Depending on the size of the production there can be many people working on a single task or a single person working across multiples. For my MDU115.2 assessment I will be following this pipeline and creating a short animation based on a brief and a storyboard. Here is an image that shows how these steps flow into each other.

  http://www.upcomingvfxmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/3d_production_timelines.jpeg

1. Pre-production - The initial planning stage where the required final images are defined.

2. Modelling - The 3d models are created based on the sketches, concept art and storyboards created during pre-production.

3. UV Mapping - This stage prepares the model for texturing by defining how 2d textures will be placed on the 3d model.

4. Texturing - Placing textures onto the model to give the model it's final look.

5. Rigging - Here the model is prepared for animation by building a hierarchy of all it's parts or introducing a control mechanism such as a bone or skeleton system.

6. Animation - The model is brought to life by either frame by frame, keyframe or mocap animation.

7. Scene Assembly - The camera movements and setup of the stage is completed.

8. Lighting - Lights are placed in the scene

9. Rendering - Each frame is calculated and exported by the rendering engine. At this stage often separate passes will be exported resulting in a collection of frames like the ones shown below.

  http://www.cgsource.net/render-passes--compositing.html

  10.Compositing - These separate frames are blended together to create a final image like in this example.

http://www.cgsource.net/render-passes--compositing.html

11.Editing - Once all the shots have been rendered and composited they are edited together in much the same way traditional film would be.

References

(2014). Retrieved 14 October 2014, from http://www.cgsource.net/render-passes—compositing.html

 Please, M. (2011). Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/41756240

This is a work from Mikey Please and is part of what has inspired me to continue studying animation. His work is mainly in short films and music videos and is the direction I'm wanting to take.

While I am excited to explore stop motion as a medium, I don't necessarily want to completely go down that path. Mikey please is just a great example of someone chasing their passion and carving out a nice career while doing it.