Researching Water Ripples and Glowing particles

I'm still tweaking and changing my trailer script but one moment in my original script shows the characters entering into the Void.  I wanted to create a water ripple effect for this moment.  It's always helpful to look at how our people approach these things because you want to be efficient about what you are creating. 

Personally I was looking for a particle dynamics version because I was looking at adding a glow effect across the surface as it ripples.  There might be other solutions for this, but I haven't found them yet.

These Tutorials use nCloth or Nurbs surfaces.  







Autodesk Help explains how to use a Wave Deformer which is another nurbs surfaces option.

Another option is to look at real flow, although I feel this would be an overkill solution when simpler methods are available.  It would however give me both a particle system and water ripples. 

Alternatively Maya has a couple of particle options- basic and nParticles.  I've used them here and there over the last couple of years but haven't really played around with them.  

This tutorial could possibly be combined with the nCloth water ripple since they both use  nCloths.  Might be worth a try to see what happens if particles are emitted from a water ripple, although they might just go crazy. 



Glowing particles are so pretty :)  You either add glow in Maya or in post-production.  There are tutorials out there on how to do this in Aftereffects.  Nuke also has particle dynamics but I've never used them.

I'm going to focus on finalizing my script before I get too stuck into playing with effects but I do like to have a nice collection of information handy for once I get to that point.  Or to play with when i need a breather from writing, but still need to do something constructive.

Feature Film Trailers

One of the things that has constantly been difficult for me with this project is figuring out what to put into a trailer which will show the idea of the main story and also tease at the events occurring in the real world without revealing too much.

So I decided to look at trailers for films that I feel have some similarities with my project.  It's interesting to see how they approached cutting a trailer and what worked.

Scheduling our Shoots

Last week we all met up to discuss our filming schedule for our project and how we would fit everyone in.

Since some people work or have cast or crew who can only do certain days we needed to be diplomatic about where we could fit people in.

I had considered trying to get my project filmed early to give myself more time in post production.  However, I expect that due to their ages cast would only be available weekends because of school.  Since we have a couple of people who need to film in early September due to cast availability and internships who also need weekends to film we decided to schedule them in first.

Currently my intended shoot dates are 28th September till 1st October. This is during the school holidays so will hopefully give me some flexibility with cast and will also give me a few weeks on post production.  However this is all weekdays so it might end up causing another set of problems with the older cast members.  

In the meantime leading up to the shoot I need to make sure that I have my assets ready to go.  This means I will be modelling, rigging and texturing over the next few weeks.

I created a document which contains all of our initial scheduling as well as who was intended to crew on each film.  This gives a good idea of where everyone is at, and allows crew to double check their availability against intended shooting dates.

Schedule Screen grab

I have my own version of this which shows just the films I am working on for my own planning purposes.

So far I've penciled in a booking for the Greenscreen Studio during my shooting dates, but i still have a lot of planning to do.

 
       

Modelling Architectural Destruction

I don't have long before my Digital Tutors Account expires so I've been trying to work through any tutorials which look like they might be useful for my current project.  I want to get as much valuable information as I can, so I haven't bothered to complete the tutorial from the other day yet.

I like to have this information handy to look back on later so as I complete tutorials I'll be noting down useful tips and techniques here on my blog.

This tutorial takes you through the process of breaking down an existing model, which is provided.  It runs for 1hr55 across 12 lessons, but actually takes significantly longer to complete as there is a lot of 'Here's how you do one- you need 12 of these'.  I've got wire frame turned on in my screen grabs so you can easily see the changes in resolution (number of polygons).

The Original Model

The techniques used are again actually pretty simple, but there are definitely areas where I would have taken the long way without thinking of the simpler alternatives that this tutorial uses in places.

Isolate Select is something I had been wishing for in Maya but didn't even know it really did exist.  As the name suggests this allows you to hide all the unselected geometry in a scene and just work on one piece at a time.  Usually I've gone through and manually hidden each piece, which takes a long time, or just dealt with cluttered scenes.

It's found in the show menu (which I've hardly used before).

I can't believe I didn't know about this!

The majority of the tutorial is about isolating areas of the building, extracting them from the main geometry, and filling in the holes caused by this.  The mesh tools Fill Hole and Bridge are used in the tutorial, which are time savers if the initial model is good.

To add roughness to the destruction the model needs extra resolution, which can be added with the insert edge loop tool.

Jaggered cuts are made using the split polygon tool, however this tool has been removed from Maya 2015 so I've been using the Multicut tool for the same effect.  The thing to watch out for here is ngons (Polygons with more than 4 sides).

These can become a problem when texturing, especially if the geometry is being taken into another software such as Mudbox for texturing or sculpting.    

Destruction

In lesson 5 the tutor uses curves and surfaces to create pipes and wires.  I've used curves before for this but have always extruded polygons along them rather than surfaces.  I really don't know anything about surface modelling so I'm not sure how this works out in other stages of the pipeline.

Lesson 8 shows how to break apart the bricks, once again using the split polygon tool.  After a piece is extracted it needs volume added to it so that it is not just a shell.

It's important that if the brick is to fit back together after being cut up that the edges of the extracted pieces aren't moved.  To prevent the vertices from being moved the bridge tool is used, rather than merge vertices which pulls two vertices to the average point between them.

Tutorial Screenshot: Check out that old interface!

I didn't want to spend too much time breaking apart a brick I wouldn't use so here's a screen shot of a completed one from the tutorial.

Broken Brick

For low-res splintered wood things start out in the same way: adding more resolution using edge loops.  Vertices are then pushed around to make the edges jagged, and different faces are extruded out.

Splintered wood

Dynamics are used to assist with the placement of the rubble.  The rubble is selected and turned into a Active Rigid Body.  This means that they can be affected by various forces in the scene and can react against other objects.  The objects that the Active Rigids will interact with need to be turned into Passive Rigid Bodies.

FYI:
Active rigid bodies: move around and react with forces (in this case gravity has been added to the scene)
Passive Rigid Bodies: do not move or react to the forces but will collide with Active Rigid Bodies.   

This is definitely a shortcut compared with manually placing each individual piece of rubble.  
One the rubble is placed the rubble can be selected and the rigid body removed to stop the simulation.

Destruction!

Finally the tutorial talks about adding extra detail to the model.  This is important for areas where the camera will be getting closer to the model.  They use Zbrush for this but I use Mudbox for sculpting and the same techniques can be applied there.  I didn't bother actually completing this part of the tutorial myself but watched the lessons to see how it was approached. 

• They start off by increasing the resolution of the model so it can be sculpted.  The edges are sharpened using a basic brush.  
• 'Alphas' are used to add texture to the model.  These seem similar to the 'Stamps' in Mudbox.  A noise brush is also used.
• More variation to the shape is created by sculpting with a normal brush. 

Tutorial Screen Grab

For the wood a very basic low-res model is used, and subdivisions are added slowly with sculpting happening between each step up.

This tutorial has been useful, but is more about creating destruction for how something would look after the event than during it.  If I wanted to add dynamics and simulate the destruction as it happens I could apply some of these techniques, but I would need to put more thought into how the destruction pieces fit together to create the undamaged building.  This was touched upon in lesson 8- which broke apart the brick.

Architectual Modelling in Maya: Part 1

Leading up to my project I will be needing to create a number of 3D environments.  I haven't done a lot of architectural modelling so for my Personal Development this time I decided to follow an Interiors Modelling course in Digital Tutors.

There are 35 'lessons' in the course which run for 4h 26.  Obviously following along takes significantly longer,  I spent 3 hours today doing the first 9 lessons.

This has been really good for picking up little techniques and shortcuts. Some of these are basic but actually really useful, such as unchecking double sided from the polygons attributes and reversing normals to be able to see inside the object from any angle.

This is a 6 sided Cube!!

Another tool option I wish I had known about a couple of years ago is that you can insert Multiple Edge Loops with one click.  This also spaces the loops perfectly along the face.  This is such a time saver.

Multiple Edge Loops

Of course at this point in the tutorial Maya decided to crash, and I hadn't saved my work so had to start again. Another important lesson.   

Progress from lessons 1-9

I'll probably continue looking at these lessons as they have been a really good refresher as well as teaching me a few new things.

Developing the AV Script

Over the last few weeks I've been developing my script and charactersand now I am working on my AV script.

I started off by trying to jump straight into the AV script from my synopsis.  Turns out that writing just what is seen and heard in a single shot is kinda hard, especially without the full scipt having been written.

It probably doesn't help that AV script isn't standard practice for trailers as these would often be edited together after the fact, but I can see the benefit for managing the filming of things like B-roll footage.    

Developing an AV Script

Anyway, so, instead I decided on a few scenes and wrote them in screenplay format.  Then I chose moments out of these to put into the trailer.

I found myself questioning whether some scenes should have a place in the trailer or not, especially ones containing backstory.  However I felt in the end that if I wasn't to show any of this in the trailer then the general idea for the project wouldn't come across as easily.   

I think if I were writing the full story that there are definitely areas I would want to develop differently in a future edit.  I would probably alter the how and why backstory and allow it to be gradually pieced together through Alex's memories.  As it is though I'm not sure that these are developed enough in my own head to work into the story.

Besides, since time is short, VFX is intensive and these scenes would never make it into the trailer (too spoiler filled) I will put that aside as potential development for this as a future project.       

Virtual Reality: Character Concepts

Some character concepts I have been working on for Don's film Virtual Reality which I am Art Directing.   

Destruction Tutorials

Some Tutorials to check out later:





http://www.digitaltutors.com/tutorial/2104-Simulating-a-Disintegration-Effect-in-Maya

VFX in Castle of Glass

I just happened to be listening to music on a Youtube Playlist while doing some writing and this song came on.  When I clicked my browser to see what song it was I was just in time to see the house destruction (1:07 in the above video) which was similar to what I want to achieve in one of the scenes in my trailer.  What are the chances.

So here's a snazzy VFX breakdown.  Of course all that tracking of camera movements and that massive greenscreen studio are a bit beyond my means.   

Making Monsters: Silhouettes

Just working on some ideas for the 'nightmares' for my project.  Just basic silhouettes still. 

The Inbetween: Developing a World

The Inbetween is set inside a network of minds, the world and its contents plucked from the minds of its inhabitants.  What exists in this world are things that are grounded in reality but warped in the same way that dreams or nightmares are.  The nature of this world creates a large diversity across different areas.  

Carrying on from this point the designs of this world need to be grounded in reality, but slightly confused.  Because the majority of the film plays out inside a giant mind network this gives me a lot of freedom in my designs but also presents the problem of how to keep different areas of the world connected.

For the main centre or hub of the world I’ve been looking at interesting old architecture, such as subway tunnels, train stations and churches. Busy, twisted, enclosed.  It should have a rich but broken look.  The area will have a warm colour palette and lighting but without being vibrant.  This is the area where people gather, where they feel safest, and the tone will reflect this.

Unfortunately this is difficult location-wise so will require a greenscreen shoot or compromise should a near suitable location be found. 

Here's a collection of images which give an idea of what I'm thinking for this area:

An important point in the concept is the idea that the majority of the film takes place in the minds of the characters.  What physically exists in this world is directly related what knowledge each character has.  An area I intend to use in the trailer is the treehouse.  It is a space within the world that reflects one of the characters, and their way of thinking.  It is more fantastical and warm than the other areas. Think greens, yellows and sunlight.  Currently this is only a minor area so I might considered looking for an actual location to film in, perhaps even a park or playground alternatively.

Last, but certainly not least I have the Void, an emptiness surrounding the maze-like Inbetween.  The Void will be shot completely on greenscreen.  It is cool, cold and dark with glimpses of bright coloured light.  The Void ripples like water.

 

Developing a Story: Initial Concept

What following is the initial concept with I am working on developing further.  The story takes place in The Inbetween and follows a small group of the inhabitants. 

Synopsis:

The Inbetween.  The inhabitants aren’t sure what this place actually is, or how they got there.   Each faction holds a different opinion.  Perhaps they are really dead, or dreaming.  Or perhaps the conspiracy theorists are right and they are subjects of a psychological experiment.  

 

Opinions remain divided.  But, they do know that this world isn’t real.  Not in the sense that the physical world is.  This world is shaped by the inhabitants’ thoughts and memories.  For some it is like a prison, for others a paradise.  But The Inbetween is also haunted by nightmares and the terrifying creatures known as Reapers.  

When a young woman wakes up in The Inbetween with no memories of her former life it isn’t long before she encounters the inhabitants of The Inbetween and tries to piece together both her own fragmented memories and the secrets of this strange world.

However, when her new friend is taken by a Reaper she decides to join in the ill-advised rescue mission which will see the group venturing into the void where travellers either disappear for good or find themselves drawn back to where they started.    

The Inbetween is a fantasy, drama, action film with a primary target audience of 15-25 year olds.   

The film will contain a combination of Visual Effects (VFX) and live action and utilise the Greenscreen where necessary. 

For this project a 2 minute trailer will be created to showcase the feature film concept.