Production Pipeline + Reflection

Above is our group's production pipeline. Firstly I acted as the main character in the story. Afterwards I trimmed the raw video footage and arranged them in a flowing sequence - which was then passed on to my other groupmates so they can start on their work. The second part I played in producing the video was drawing and animating the virus used in attacking the main character. I used Maya 2012 and put all I was thought in IN3D to good use.

Screenshots of the virus drawing are in the previous blog post.

I also added in the background music and the sound effects in the video. Also,  I did the end scrolling credits, both using iMovie. Therefore in the production pipeline, I think my roles are those in the downstream part although I also had roles in the beginning like acting and trimming the raw footages.

Above is the video after the raw footages were trimmed and before the effects were added.

And our final video after the editing has been done.

Reflections

After 5 weeks of the 3D Production Foundation module, I definitely have learnt many things with regards to the production of a video and how computer generated imagery is being added into it. Not much, but the important gist of the whole thing I feel. After the video was completed it also gave me a little more confidence because now I know how to create a video, what are the steps that are needed to be taken, how things are being done and the whole process of it. Honestly I don't think the video can win the competition or even make it for the consolation prize but I think we have done a quite a good job given our short completion dateline.

Virus Drawing

Lion Exercise

Above are screenshots from the lion-zombie-human run exercise using Matchmover. After this first exercise, I have a much better idea of what matchmoving is and how it works. Seems like it's quite an interesting module to cover this term.

7 Rules of Matchmove (Week 1)

Matchmoving is a cinematic digital technique that allows the insertion of computer graphics and animation into a live-action video with correct position, scale, orientation and motion relative to the photographed objects in the shot.

It works by tracking the movement of the camera and the contrasting colours in it, that includes corners and distinct spots.

The seven rules of matchmoving are as follows:

1. There has to be something to track

2. Tracking things have to be done at different depths - perspective will become clearer

3. Have to get helper frames - take at least 10 different pictures from different angles

4. A little bit of foreground makes a better matchmove

5. Cannot track anything that moves

6. Cannot have too much foreground - markers will be lost if there's too much

7. Have to get a scale reference - measure distance between two points that is going to be tracked