Concept Development for Visual Effects

November 8, 2023 (Class 18)

For today's update, I finished Romeo and Juliet's stage and made a quick edit with all the stages.

I focused mostly on cameras and overall pacing of the video by following the music of each film.

For each Film Strip, at the beginning of each part, I am planning on including pieces of each respective film as an introduction to the environment being presented.

November 6, 2023 (Class 17)

Based on the last class discussion, I decided to go with the creative route and create a pre-production approach to Baz Luhrmann's stages. I will try my best to visualize the mood with lighting within each individual stage.

Thinking of using the following renderers for each stage:

Elvis: Arnold Maya

Moulin Rouge: Redshift Instance Lighting

Romeo and Juliet: Redshift Instance Lighting

As for today's update, I started set-dressing Elvis and Moulin Rouge stages with some basic geometry in Maya.

I still need to begin Romeo and Juliet's stage. I am considering doing the models of this particular stage in Houdini since it is easier to scatter geo.

Elvis:

Reference:

Moulin Rouge:

Reference:

Some assets are from Turbosquid and CG Trader

November 1, 2023 (Class 16)

For today's final pitch I am planning on going with one of two routes: creative or logistics.

I) For my logistics option I was planning a whole detailed presentation of my work as a producer for the studio 1 and 2 project "MyOasis" and "The Cave". It would include detailed schedules, references for all parts of the pipeline, casts, costume design, shot design, and sound.

Start of schedule for My Oasis:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xziNd6iJO9XBJ3JFRJY6AYaq0ephiQkJtrN2sQCMTWU/edit#gid=0

2) For my creative option, inspired by a student film that recreated the Bathrooms of Guillermo del Toro digitally. I want to recreate Baz Luhrmann's stages as an opportunity for lighting and look development.

Possible references:

Elvis (2022)

Moulin Rouge (2001)

Romeo and Juliet (1996)

The Great Gatsby (2013)

October 30, 2023 (Class 15)

Delivery of Pre-Viz music video for MyOasis:

Vimeo Link:

https://vimeo.com/879271342?share=copy

October 25, 2023 (Class 14)

This new version of the animatic animatic includes the new emissive neuron effect along with particles that will connect the live action shots.

For today's update, I did some early testing for emissive neurons by creating a small simple scene in Maya. This scene is where we intend the sand to be. To show that we are inside the protagonist's mind in that particular scene, I created the following texture maps of neurons to mask displacement and emission in the room.

Emission Mask:

Displacement Mask:

I rendered one frame with emission and one without and then animated the effect in nuke using the following script setup:

(The Gizmo used for the animation is P_Matte from Nukepedia.)

From Nuke, I rendered a sequence of 60 frames and duplicated/re-timed them in Premiere Pro to match the beat of our music video.

Here is the result of the early test:

October 23, 2023 (Class 13)

Updated animatic for music video:

From our last animatic we changed the CG concept a little bit. Based on feedback, we decided to create a human out of sand to tell our story in a more cohesive way, attaching the concept within both live action footage and CG footage of our protagonist's mind.

Apart from this, we decided to shoot our footage at SCAD Beach because it provides a better opportunity for lighting than shooting in the Green Screen room. We will have our own portable green screen to shoot the character that disappears.

October 17, 2023 (Class 12)

Temporary animatic for music video:

This is our initial video. We are considering adding shots for the fully CG environments. We think that the pacing is too slow/ current shots are too long.

Temporary visuals for our abstract Music video

Shot List:

Shot1: (Instrumental Intro)

- Titlesequence with 2D clouds

Shot2: (Instrumental Intro)

- Blend of Titlesequence clouds with guitar and then camera zooms into protagonist's eye. (Live

Shot3: (Keep thinking that I'm seeing water. You're playing tricks on me in the sun. See your shadow in the courtyard. Stays until the day is done)

- 2D Eye composite with waves

- Zoom in to the protagonist's mind

Shot4: (The desert don't end, the rain don't fall, and I can't pretend I don't want you all. 'Cause I want you all (you all, you all, you all))

- CG environment of Falling sand and light effects on walls in the shape of Neurons.

Shot5: ( Oh, babe, I really need you (need you). My feelings getting deeper (deeper))

- Live action shot of couple looking at the horizon.

- The protagonist's partner glitches and disappears.

Optional Shot6: (My mind is in a free fall (free fall) but there's nothing I can do when it comes to you)

- Live action shot of couple holding hands

- Protagonist's partner glitches and disappears.

- Protagonist's hand gesture shows a feeling of longing

Shot7: (My oa-, my oa-, my oasis, My oa-, my oa-, my oasis, My oa-, my oa-, my oasis

There's nothing I can do when it comes to you)

- CG integration of abstract oasis floating on beach (Water in Cube)

- Magical sand swirling (or falling) around it like in shot 4.

October 16, 2023 (Class 11)

For my next pitch, I will be working on a group project with Mateo and Phirada. We are planning on doing an abstract music video of Sam Smith's song My Oasis. It will be a combination of our skills by implementing live action footage, fully CG shots and CG integration.

Here is a quick presentation of our thought process and what each of us will be responsible of:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nLCMRkKtEwD4Au0olDaQGP-BzaK7xV4bw_qzXk4t9RY/edit#slide=id.p

October 11, 2023 (Class 10)

Here is my midterm Pre-Viz video for what I am planning will be my Studio1 project for next quarter.

Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/873168344?share=copy

Shared Google Drive Link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12UZhCxx2y9QuSxXS-uUDBNfS1aBJHEnE/view?usp=sharing

Notes to address as I take this project into production later this year:

- Is the pacing good or should it be slower?

- Should I extend the rainbow caustic effect throughout the whole cave or just the entrance of it like in the video?

- Consider working with Sound Department.

- Recruit actors.

October 9, 2023 (Class 9)

For today's update, I was able to setup the cameras and do some minor Metahuman animation. I still want to fix the lighting to then start rendering. The final thing I want to add to my edit is a subtle rainbow effect based on my animatic and a stylized filter to my pre-viz video.

Here are some screen captures of the framing per shot:

Shot1

Shot2/3

Shot4

Shot5

Shot6

October 4, 2023 (Class 8)

Started set dressing and roughly establishing camera angles within my environment.

Framing of Shot1

Framing of Shot4

Framing of Shot 6

Need to work further on cameras/metahuman /animation and improve lighting inside the cave.

October 2, 2023 (Class 7)

For today's update, I made an Animatic with two different versions of music. One is more dramatic, the other is more ethereal. Ethereal:

Music Credit: Copy Right Free

Dramatic

Music Credit:

Mary Goes to Jesus · Ron Allen · Chris Bleth · John Debney · Nick Ingman & his Orchestra · Ahmed El-Eshmer · Shankar and Gingger · Shannon Kingsbury · Aaron Martin · Tanya Tsarouska · Nick Ingman · Mel Gibson · The Transylvania State Philharmonic Choir · London Voices · Pedro Eustache

The Passion Of The Christ - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

℗ 2004 Sony Music Entertainment Released on: 2003-12-08

Lyricist: Lisbeth Scott Chorus

Master: Terry Edwards Violin, Vocal: Shankar and Gingger For this pitch, I am leaning more with the dramatic one. However, for my studio project I am considering collaborating with SCAD's Sound Department. Pre Viz Assets:

MetaHumans:

Protagonist/Soul:

Welcoming Spirit:

Environment/cave:

Materials for Stylized Pre-Viz:

September 27, 2023 (Class 6)

Storyboards for my second Pitch. I have two possible endings leaning more towards the second option shown in the storyboard.

September 25, 2023 (Class 5)

After going through a long process of minor stop-motion animation and doing simple Photoshop comps, I was able to finish Project 1 for my Concept Class.

I really enjoyed creating this project.

Idea for Pitch2:

For my second project, I want to portray my spirituality and faith in a visual way. My idea consists of having a woman crawling out of a dark cave when seeing the light after so long. The audience may think it is an ordinary cave but the destiny reveals that she is transitioning from the Purgatory into Heaven. With this project I want to portray the struggle humanity goes through when trying to reach the ultimate goal of finding Heaven.

I am considering making this my Studio 1 project for next quarter and push forward my skills by implementing virtual production with a UE5 environment and traditional compositing with Nuke. Mood Board:

September 20, 2023 (Class 4)

For today's update, I replaced some of the initial shots from the animatic with stop motion animation and some digital collages.

Here are two of the few quick composites I will be making throughout the short film.

Here is the video edit with some of the shots updated.

For the final delivery I still need to shoot some remaining stop motion and do the minor comp in other shots. In addition to this, I need to edit the text so it harmonizes with the edit.

September 18, 2023 (Class 3)

I blocked the scene in storyboards and created an animatic based on the narrative of the poem.

Storyboards:

For the animatic, I decided to base the pacing on the music instead of the voice over of the poem.

Music credits:

Composer: Michael Giacchino Arrangement © PianoMavs (2016)

Original Music © The Walt Disney Company (2009)

September 13, 2023 (Class 2)

Redefine my idea:

For Pitch one I am planning on making a short animatic using pictures similar to a stop motion approach.

The idea will consist of Marcel The Shell waking up and losing his smile. He goes on a quest around the world in his paper plane to find it. However, there is no success in finding it no matter where he goes. After his frustrating trip, he realizes that he never lost his smile, he was just looking for it in the wrong place. His smile was always present within him and his home. Opening the family album full of wonderful past memories made him remember to smile again.

Poem to be included in narrative:

My story will tackle the social themes of grief and the battle with depression.

September 11, 2023 (Class 1)

My Something Interesting:

My favorite quote from Marcel is “Guess why I smile a lot? Cause it’s worth it”. The first time I heard this quote in the film Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, I immediately clicked with it. Like Marcel, I feel that every day is worth smiling particularly in all those moments when we don’t feel like it, a smile helps improve our mood.

I bought my A24 Marcel the Shell Collectible after laughing and crying while watching the most recent film of this fictional character. In different ways I empathized and related to this little shell. Like him, sometimes I feel small in a huge confusing world. However, I always want to explore it and wander around just like Marcel with his white/orange shoes. His googly eye is a small window that allows me to see the little shell’s soul in the film, which is full of wisdom that all of us can learn from.

Apart from the shell, in this picture there is a drawing of a house that came with the collectible. I see it as the home he grew up in. Comparing this drawing to the home I grew up in, it was easy, certain and safe throughout my childhood. However, as I grow, I realize that home is more valuable and I wish to extend it beyond the roots of my life. Inside the little white box, seen in the picture, there is an empty space where I can add small objects to complement or add to Marcel’s home. Comparing the box to my life, I get the chance to build my home beyond my roots little by little, changing it, improving it, because it is an extension of me. At the moment it is empty, with only Marcel to fill it up, just like my story, home for me is the essence of me: my family. However as I grow and establish my home beyond where I started, I am slowly filling those holes with meaningful things or experiences. A process that can be hard yet beautiful because I am discovering myself, my home. I hope to smile in this process, because even if growth can be painful and uncomfortable sometimes, Marcel said it is worth it and I believe him.