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Heh, this deserves a proper post besides that really rushed recap that came before. Here’s my team’s winning entry from 48 Hour Film Project 2009. We got the awards for Best Editing and Best Use of Line of Dialogue. More than anything, being on time this year was awesome. My first 48HFP experience is still pretty fresh in my mind, and this one definitely did not disappoint. The video is the director’s cut, not the one we submitted.

Mockumentary was the genre that our producer/editor/zombie fan pulled out of the hat at the kickoff event. Our required character  was either Andy or Amy Yeo, a journalist. Scissors were the requisite prop, and “Is it supposed to look like that?” the line of dialogue we needed to fit in somewhere. Armed with those three things we were off to HQ. Well, I got there a bit later in the night. When I walked into our fortified attic space for the weekend, there was already a webcam conference going on with the Perth Unit. Script was settled the first night, shooting proceeded smoothly throughout the next day.

Being a mockumentary the effects were in more of a supporting role, unlike last year’s which needed to set the mood and context for the film. Till around Saturday night I was anticipating doing a more involved VFX shot with the CG scissors composited into the footage from Perth. I think the editorial decision to have the actual impact of the scissors happen off camera, with animation to illustrate exactly what happened alongside the Scissor Expert’s scholarly commentary led to a more emotional reveal. Given that the time taken for footage to be compressed,uploaded from Perth, then downloaded here, we probably wouldn’t have been able to afford that extra scene anyways.

The scissors were modeled and textured from photos of the actual prop in Perth as soon as possible. I relied on the use of free 3d models for the more generic stuff like the human scissor holder and the rib cage within. The time saved was spent on trying out different shaders for the see thru CSI type look for the Scissor Expert footage, the motion graphics of the ever growing battle between the two bands and sleeping (quite a difference from my last two crazy film making weekends).

I had a lot of fun as I thought I would, and it was great working with everyone again. I’ll be working on some other stuff for Xiphos Films & Team Seja this week, then it’s off to a new adventure!

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Funny hair test from Underdweller that never gets old.  This is what happens when you play with cloth simulations at 3 in the morning. I’m currently doing backups of important stuff, making space for new projects. It’s fun to look back on old work, much more exciting things are ahead though.

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More animation practice with Gary Wee’s OnionBoi rig .. Will be trying out a run cycle next, followed by lots of running around and into things.

Chinese New Year’s upon us.. shall find time amongst all the visiting and gorgeous food to get at least some work done.. Let’s see..

1. Tweak the head model
2. Run cycle animation
3. Finish up with the Mini
4. Do some anatomy studies
5. Hit the Greek sculpture exhibition at the museum on Sunday for a few hours
6. Throw out some of the junk lying around.

Yeap, seems doable..

Amazingly I find myself posting something here mid week.. either things are looking up, or I’m slacking off from work… nah, just kidding.

Moving on to simple character animation with this Onion Boy rig by Gary Wee.

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After reading this post from Sabudesign.com I realised in the past I was also guilty of the same mistake of rushing through the key poses and trying so hard to fix the motion after the blocking stage.. which is really defeating the purpose of having a blocking stage. So this time, I spent much more time with just stepped keyframes and making the action read well from just the key poses. The tweaking process after that was a lot less hellish than it normally was.

There are still some timing issues between the end of the jump and its final pose.. but onward to the next animation I say! Need a lot more practice if I’m gonna get good, this is the first of many!

Oh, and here’s a sneak peak of my Mini Cooper, sans unwrapping, textures, and an assortment of details.. You can play the “Spot-The-Parts-Jerome-Hasn’t-Modeled-Yet” game if you want.

Heh, it’s been awhile. I’ve had a really awesome Christmas break.. sorely needed after the first 3 intensive months of school.

Besides the usual festivities, I played through Crysis (Normal mode, I’m no hardcore gamer) and the graphics really are amazing, definitely worth your while if your pc can support it. Immersive environments and cool nano suit powers make you a one man army. The game felt kinda short to me tho, and ended kind of abruptly but it most definately leaves it open for Crysis 2 to emerge in a few years (and force everyone who wants to play it to get a new computer).

Anyway, now I’ve been going through the software foundations. Animation, Modeling and Matte Painting are the main ones so far. Still soldiering on with the drawing, tho I must admit the 7 or so days I didn’t draw during the Christmas and New Year break really put a dent in my skills.. but that’s what more practice is for! Which brings me back to the work I need to finish…

Will be updating more regularly from now on, mostly to track my progress .. cause if I’m not updating that probably means I’m slacking off.. So I’ll leave you with my first 3d animation exercise. Keyframed animation in 3dsmax with lots of mucking around with the curve editor. Yeah, more bouncing balls. Deal with it. =P

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