Now that all the majority of the scenes were in place and sounds are added through Premiere all we had to do was tweak the animation to make sure it played smoothly and correctly in a cognitive process.
We did have some extra scenes that Dimitar was assigned to animate but unfortunately he ran out of time to render them. Therefore we have no explosion/smoking scene within the video. I really think this would of added another level to the work as we do not have that many action scenes. Next time we would have make sure each team member is on track as well as ourselves.
Overall I think Virtual Environments has been a great module. I have learnt all I set out to learn and more and produced an animation that I am proud of as a group and as an individual. Looking back I would of liked to add more reactor techniques into the work, like fire or smoke, and perhaps some extra characters. Also working in the group became quite challenging at some points because of the lack of input from other team members. But I really felt this time has improved my 3DS Max skill set and I look forward to expanding it in the future.
Monday 10 December 2012
Adding the Car Sweep scene
To introduce the harbour to the animation we decided, when drawing the storybaord, to have a shot of a jeep moving across the harbour with the camera following it. It then will turn upwards and capture a shot of the harbour that the USS Arizona is stationed at.
To do this I imported the finished harbour and a jeep. The first task was to make the wheels of the jeep rotate. I did this by ungrouping the jeep and selecting the wheels. I then could rotate them 180 degrees. Using the curve sheet I could loop the animation so the sheels turned endlessly.
The next stage was to make the jeep move. I could of used a path constraint but instead I used the set key. I found afterwards that it would of been much easier to use the path constraint but never mind!
I then added a camera that I made move at the same pace of the jeep. As the jeep ended its drive across the harbour, I made the camera pan round to have a wide angle shot of the whole environment.
When rendered out I could see that when the jeep turned a corner it was not quite right but by that stage in the animating process I did not have time to re-render.
To do this I imported the finished harbour and a jeep. The first task was to make the wheels of the jeep rotate. I did this by ungrouping the jeep and selecting the wheels. I then could rotate them 180 degrees. Using the curve sheet I could loop the animation so the sheels turned endlessly.
The next stage was to make the jeep move. I could of used a path constraint but instead I used the set key. I found afterwards that it would of been much easier to use the path constraint but never mind!
I then added a camera that I made move at the same pace of the jeep. As the jeep ended its drive across the harbour, I made the camera pan round to have a wide angle shot of the whole environment.
When rendered out I could see that when the jeep turned a corner it was not quite right but by that stage in the animating process I did not have time to re-render.
Saturday 8 December 2012
Skills Learnt
Throughout the Virtual Environment module I have learnt a lot about modelling and animation in 3DS Max. I has given me the chance to broaden my skills and face new challenges.
I have achieved the target of learning how to use the loft tool to create a shape. I did this in the battleship model. It produced a quick, effective shape that would of taken a lot longer to create using other methods. It was very accurate too.
I also wanted to learn how to model using reference planes. I did this when creating the hands for the 3 characters. I helped me make an accurate and realistic model of a hand that I was proud of.
The hand was the greatest challenge for me in this project. It proved to have a more complicated way of animating than I thought, but I managed to learn a new skill of attaching the hand and arms to a biped using the skin modifier. It gave a great effect and I was very relieved when it worked correctly!
I also learnt new skills along the way.
One of them being how to using a link parameter. I managed to make the character pick up an object at a certain point through the animation and move it with him. It was a little difficult to get to grips with at first but once I knew to connect it to the world at the first keyframe I was away.
Another skill I leant was how to create a chrome material. I looks great in renders and reflects the environment within it. I used it on the typewriter mostly but I thought it wa a great technique and I would would it again.
I also learnt how to create a realistic sea. Using the noise map and other tools I was able to produce a sea that was realistic. The only problem was that when rendered it moved way too fast and looked like it was moving through time! I really would of liked to change it to make it look more real but the time frame in which we had did not give me a chance to do so.
The other skill I loved learning was how to use mental ray lighting. It seemed to make the scene so much more realistic. The scene/model I am most proud of is the boat corridor. It uses the daylight system and a mental ray light portal to produce what I think is a very realistic corridor.
Overall I can proudly say I have learnt what I set out to learn and much more. I intend to carry this knowledge into future projects.
I have achieved the target of learning how to use the loft tool to create a shape. I did this in the battleship model. It produced a quick, effective shape that would of taken a lot longer to create using other methods. It was very accurate too.
I also wanted to learn how to model using reference planes. I did this when creating the hands for the 3 characters. I helped me make an accurate and realistic model of a hand that I was proud of.
The hand was the greatest challenge for me in this project. It proved to have a more complicated way of animating than I thought, but I managed to learn a new skill of attaching the hand and arms to a biped using the skin modifier. It gave a great effect and I was very relieved when it worked correctly!
I also learnt new skills along the way.
One of them being how to using a link parameter. I managed to make the character pick up an object at a certain point through the animation and move it with him. It was a little difficult to get to grips with at first but once I knew to connect it to the world at the first keyframe I was away.
Another skill I leant was how to create a chrome material. I looks great in renders and reflects the environment within it. I used it on the typewriter mostly but I thought it wa a great technique and I would would it again.
I also learnt how to create a realistic sea. Using the noise map and other tools I was able to produce a sea that was realistic. The only problem was that when rendered it moved way too fast and looked like it was moving through time! I really would of liked to change it to make it look more real but the time frame in which we had did not give me a chance to do so.
The other skill I loved learning was how to use mental ray lighting. It seemed to make the scene so much more realistic. The scene/model I am most proud of is the boat corridor. It uses the daylight system and a mental ray light portal to produce what I think is a very realistic corridor.
Overall I can proudly say I have learnt what I set out to learn and much more. I intend to carry this knowledge into future projects.
Thursday 6 December 2012
Adding sound
Sound is what will make the animation complete.
As a team we decided what background soundtrack we wanted to play along with the animation. We all really liked Hans Zimmer's 'Time'. It is a musical piece with no lyrics so it doesn't need to coincide with the date of the animation necessarily.
As well as this we wanted some sound effects to match some of the scenes.
We added:
Takeoff sounds for the Japanese takeoff
Sonar and klaxon sound at the control room
Heartbeat at the running corridor
Eva got these sounds from the web.
I really think they make the animation come alive and makes it even more emotive.
Placing the sounds in Premiere was very easy. We could accurately place them at the right moment, eg the klaxon at the point where the captain looks around in panic.
As a team we decided what background soundtrack we wanted to play along with the animation. We all really liked Hans Zimmer's 'Time'. It is a musical piece with no lyrics so it doesn't need to coincide with the date of the animation necessarily.
As well as this we wanted some sound effects to match some of the scenes.
We added:
Takeoff sounds for the Japanese takeoff
Sonar and klaxon sound at the control room
Heartbeat at the running corridor
Eva got these sounds from the web.
I really think they make the animation come alive and makes it even more emotive.
Placing the sounds in Premiere was very easy. We could accurately place them at the right moment, eg the klaxon at the point where the captain looks around in panic.
Putting the files into Premiere Pro
Once the majority of the scenes were rendered we tried to start to collect them into one file. The premiere file had to be the correct ratio 720p 30 fps.
We then were able to import the rendered targa images as numbered stills. Premiere automatically made them into a video. From then we arranged them into the correct positions with reference to the storyboard. The storyboard was key for us as it made the editing much easier.
The make the animation flow easier we added a crossfade transition effect with linked the scenes well. We used other effects such as dip to white or black to emphasise the work.
The FDR scenes needed to be in black and white to show its separation from the rest of the work. We used the colour effect and also the noise effect. This produced grain on the video to make it look aged. I really like the effect and I think it actually improved the images as the noise effect blurs the image slightly making it less easy to notice any mistakes. (Not that we have any!)
We then were able to import the rendered targa images as numbered stills. Premiere automatically made them into a video. From then we arranged them into the correct positions with reference to the storyboard. The storyboard was key for us as it made the editing much easier.
The make the animation flow easier we added a crossfade transition effect with linked the scenes well. We used other effects such as dip to white or black to emphasise the work.
The FDR scenes needed to be in black and white to show its separation from the rest of the work. We used the colour effect and also the noise effect. This produced grain on the video to make it look aged. I really like the effect and I think it actually improved the images as the noise effect blurs the image slightly making it less easy to notice any mistakes. (Not that we have any!)
Wednesday 5 December 2012
Creating the bomb detach scene
To connect the running scene with the arms falling bomb scene I needed to animate the bomb detaching from the Japanese plane. This would make the animation flow better as make it more realistic.
To do this I merged the environment with the wave of planes from the arms/bomb shot. I ungrouped the Bomber planes bomb from itself so It was a stand alone object. Now I could add motion to it to fall.
To make it fall I used the set key to accurately map it's position in the x, y and z axis. At each keyframe I could change the rotational position and the relative position to the environment. Over 200 frames I moved the bomb from underneath the plane to facing downwards towards the harbour. On the way down I added some rotation to make the bomb appear ad if it was spinning.
I added a camera to the scene to follow the bomb. I could of used a target camera but it would of spun with the bomb which I did not want. Therefore I used a free camera and the set key to position.
I made the camera so it positioned itself just behind the bomb so it showed a sort of third person perspective.
I really like the finished shot, it flows well and links the shots either side if it smoothly.
To do this I merged the environment with the wave of planes from the arms/bomb shot. I ungrouped the Bomber planes bomb from itself so It was a stand alone object. Now I could add motion to it to fall.
To make it fall I used the set key to accurately map it's position in the x, y and z axis. At each keyframe I could change the rotational position and the relative position to the environment. Over 200 frames I moved the bomb from underneath the plane to facing downwards towards the harbour. On the way down I added some rotation to make the bomb appear ad if it was spinning.
I added a camera to the scene to follow the bomb. I could of used a target camera but it would of spun with the bomb which I did not want. Therefore I used a free camera and the set key to position.
I made the camera so it positioned itself just behind the bomb so it showed a sort of third person perspective.
I really like the finished shot, it flows well and links the shots either side if it smoothly.
Creating the bomb falling and arms
The climax of the captains run ends as he looks up and sees the Japanese bomb falling towards the USS Arizona.
To animate all I had to do was use the set key to move the bomb towards the camera. This way I had more control on how fast the bomb appears to fall.
Once I had it at the right speed I could animate the arms. Once again using the ALT X freeze method I could make the arms move into the cameras view. I made sure the hands and fingers moved slightly to make it seem more realistic otherwise the arms would just slide up very robotically.
I had a little trouble animating the hands as I tried to rotate them and they went through the sleeves. It was hard to see due to the opaque view using ALT X. This means I had to move the hands into a better position on each keyframe they went through.
I rendered using mental ray and it looks just how I needed it to.
To animate all I had to do was use the set key to move the bomb towards the camera. This way I had more control on how fast the bomb appears to fall.
Once I had it at the right speed I could animate the arms. Once again using the ALT X freeze method I could make the arms move into the cameras view. I made sure the hands and fingers moved slightly to make it seem more realistic otherwise the arms would just slide up very robotically.
I had a little trouble animating the hands as I tried to rotate them and they went through the sleeves. It was hard to see due to the opaque view using ALT X. This means I had to move the hands into a better position on each keyframe they went through.
I rendered using mental ray and it looks just how I needed it to.
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