SIGGRAPH Day 1: CGW Presentation

Our first SV presentation was given immediately following the orientation lecture. Computer Graphics World Magazine (CGW) had organised for a panel of animators and industry professionals to outline how they got into the industry, what they had learnt during their time in the industry and how they would improve the transition from student to professional for those of us yet to make that transition.

The panellists included professionals from Teagan Morrison (technical Art Director) from Naughty Dog Studios; Rob Engle (3D FX Supervisor) from Sony Imageworks; Jeff Kember (Technical Director) from Tippett Studios and Ben Grossman (VFX Supervisor) from Pixomondo studios .

The collective resumes and experience in the industry was impressive, but it was their approachable attitude and willingness to share their journeys that made the panel an absolute must for students to attend. Each panellist shared their tips on creating opportunities, networking and breaking into the entertainment visual arts and computer graphics world.

Tips from Teagan: Naughty Dog Studios: 

-When applying for positions, don't let the job descriptions put you off; especially in reference to experience. In his words, throw your hat into the ring, even if you are not what the studio is looking for at that moment at least your work is being viewed.
- Studios also appreciate enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.
- Know the terminology associated with each studio for each section of the pipeline.
- If you are unsuccessful with your application, ring or email the studio for feedback on why you were unsuccessful and how you can improve.

Tips from Jeff: Tippett Studios: 

-Contact industry people for advice and possible mentorship
-Include animation or CGI tests in your showreel, things that you have tried demonstrate perseverance in place of experience.
- If you want to work in a studio SPECIALISE as soon as possible and be sure that your folio or showreel shows this specialisation
-Research employment trends and find out what areas are in high demand and which are oversubscribed
-Showreel should be no more than 2minutes and should include an on screen breakdown plus accompanying breakdown notes.
-In your showreel also include how long it took you to complete something- this shows efficiency
-Knowledge of the pipeline makes you a valuable asset

SIGGRAPH: Day 1

 Today was the first time that we got to meet with other Student Volunteers (SV's), pick up our badges and see the convention centre in downtown LA. In the weeks preceding the conference we had been in email contact with Siggraph SV chair Mikki Rose who provided us with our volunteer schedules. Altogether there were probably close to 200 Sv's once we were all gathered in the lecture hall for orientation and our first SV learning session.

Red Vest and hat: student volunteer uniform 

One of the things that we didn't realize was that Siggraph SV's had organized a series of SV specific panels and presentations that we could attend when not on shift.

The only drawback for many of us was that 30hours of shifts as a volunteer meant that many of the sessions were missed or only part seen, but then again 'thems the breaks.' If I were to have one suggestion for future SV's I would recommend doing shifts during setup, prior to the start of the convention, to allow you time to attend these lectures and I would also recommend scheduling some of presentations outside of shift times so that we could really benefit from the program and ensure they were well attended. As you can see there were some excellent panels and presentations that were relevant for students, I will write about the ones I attended in later blog posts.

Walt Disney Concert Hall: Downtown LA

Epic Pans are Epic

Trying to finish as much as possible before leaving for LA this Thursday. My plan is to outline the backgrounds and then go back into them to complete the render process. This will allow me to sort out the size and camera movements plus the illusion of depth and details before I start to colour. I will be working in photoshop and am determined to keep my layers tidy and organised so that I can adhere to the lessons regarding layout and design that I have been researching.

Here are some of the latest ones from a pan shot. Each background has to be done twice as this will reveal what the community was like in the 20s and 30s and what it is like today.

Ashfield in the past

Ashfield in the present

Both layers together showing the similarities and differences between the two eras

Close Up of shop fronts- Modern Day

Close up of shop fronts- 1920s and 30s era

The final background renders will not have the heavy outline but will instead have a very thin hand drawn, not ruled, outline that will enable recognition of the background details.

Backgrounds Slow and Steady

For the past couple of weeks I have been struggling with motivation, found a little bit more now that I'm back at uni this week. I put my lack of motivation down to isolation; being away from uni and people who push me at uni has slowed me down I think.

However, progress has been made. In addition to working out screen ratios for backgrounds I have started to outline on perspective grids the actual backgrounds for each scene. As I create each outline I have also been separating the layers that will add depth and realism to the finished project. Here are the background outlines done thus far:

Act1 Scene 1

Break down depth analysis of Act1 Scene 1a

Act 1: Scene9 - The last hook is reserved for the hat which will be animated

Act 1: Scene9- Depth Analysis 

Progress

Since I last blogged progress has been slow and I had a week where my interest in the project was waning. But after much soul searching, watching of films and reading of animation literature; the enthusiasm is coming back.

Last week I looked at screen ratio sizes and worked on developing a base layer size for the background underlay. The overlay has not yet been sized given that I think that it will be a fluid part of the background development that will emerge once the underlay has been locked. Given that I am now looking to make this a  background only project that displays the backgrounds in context and then also in isolation for analysis I've decided that I will work in widescreen format as I think that this will best suit the sweeping pans and detail I want to include; especially in the external shots.

Methodology, I'm old fashioned, so I walked my way through the animatic and worked out the size of background safe areas for each shot.

In addition to working out background sizes and screen ratio, I've also been continuing to research to add more depth to the exegesis. Found a great book about layout by Fraser Maclean 'Setting the Scene: The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout.' Rare to find a book about layout and it worked well in terms of my study into the storytelling properties of backgrounds. Worth a look- some fantastic background and layout art as well. 

Recently had a birthday and got The Art of Brave book which has some fantastic concept art, colour scripts and storyboards. But for me the inclusion of on sight/ location referencing and the importance of the weather and texture in backgrounds as a means of adding meaning to narrative. I love it when my research requires me to analyse the 'Art of' books- so inspiring. 

Home Truths

Having spent the past few weeks working on the animation and the animatic side of my Honours film, I am beginning to see that I may have to modify my project to ensure completion. I've spoken to past Honours graduates and they have spoken about the fact that a completed project is more important than a half finished one and that makes perfect sense. I don't want to compromise on the quality of my project and in a sense undo all the progress I have made on the theoretical side of my study for the sake of over extending myself to create something that is incomplete or substandard. 


Another lonely thought rolling around my head is that perhaps the creation of an individual film on top of a full year of Honours standard study and research was perhaps a little too ambitious. I have a couple of options, I can continue the project in a modified format and graduate at the end of this year, or I can study part time and finish the following year on my film, or I could take a leave of absence and then come back to study. But to be honest, I really want to finish Honours this year. I don't have the luxury of being 18 or 21, if I'm going to make any sort of inroads into this new career then I have to start sooner rather than later. 




 Another thing that I have realised after 6 months of Honours study, and perhaps this may change once I am more experienced or after some time in the industry; but at the moment I don't want to be an independent film maker, I don't want to have to do all aspects of the film making- from storyboarding to animatics to character animation to backgrounds. I'm happy to do all of those things, just not all on the one project, I want a chance to be a part of a studio production line. I think my decision is based largely on the fact that my study is concerned with a single aspect of film making, layout/background and that it is only now that I am getting the chance to really get into the process of designing and rendering backgrounds. I've also been thinking that the creation of an entire film with the inclusion of incidental characters also detracts from the main thrust of my study which is the creation of backgrounds as a narrative device. 

Backgrounds are important :)

Phew, after all of that, here's what I'm thinking as a modified project. To compliment my research and study into layout and background development that acts as a narrative device I will create the backgrounds only for the short film. This will give the backgrounds an opportunity to be the primary focus of the film and will also allow me to continue production of the film after I have completed Honours, whether that be as a part of further study or independently. The background deliverables would be presented in context (as part of a film complete with camera movement and possible sound effects and music) and in isolation with identification of multi plane layers and use of background/layout techniques and devices. I think putting more of my focus into the backgrounds and 'forcing' the viewer to only consider the background, will further challenge me to move away from character directed narrative and instead use objects of significance and the environment to tell a story. Who knows, this may change again? But as one former Honours student said to me, 'it's better to think about modification now at this stage rather than a couple of weeks before it's due.' I agree. 

Animatic: A Work in Progress

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I have continued to work on my holiday schedule to complete as much as possible.

Not sure if I'm Sleepy or the ass pulling the cart >.>

After the animation tests I have spent time revising the animatic and further reducing the role of the character in the film. This process started by printing out the storyboards and putting them on a massive pin board, a real one not a virtual one lol- old school. Once they were all in order I went through them and looked for double up or unnecessary shots. I then let it sit for a day or two before going through the same editing process with a fellow artist. I ended up knocking out at least a third of the boards I had already drawn; I suppose animators with more experience wouldn't make that mistake, but I think the film flows better without the extra content. 




Once I had the basic storyboards I worked in ToonBoom Animate Pro to create an animatic that would allow me to see the position of backgrounds in relation to potential camera movement and character positioning. The animatic is block animation and the transitions in the backgrounds have only been indicated by crude instant wipes- these are not indicative of the final piece. I included a scratch sound test as well, choosing a few key sounds that are an idea of what I want to include in the final.


Here's the animatic as it stands at the moment: