Vfx Movie Showreel Breakdown (Week_01)
Avengers: Endgame
It is a highly science fiction movie, which contains a lot of robotic and futuristic elements, which means that it is heavily dependant on the Computer Graphics.
The Breakdown uses a lot of different techniques, to show its complicated texture (changing between the green screen and already made result backgrounds, dropping in assets, separating the details in objects).
The Mise-en-scene in the breakdown is showing the different lightning, colour range, mood and decor of the different scenes.
Summary of 'Looking through the glass: Philosophical Toys and Digital Visual Effects'
The article speaks about the bond between the science and art, which was a 'birth' to the movies and digital imaging.It thoroughly explains about Perceptual Realism. This terms is used to talk about anything that is real to be recreated in a digital environment. From the object information, their size or texture to a behaviour of physical light or even dynamic systems.The article also talks about an eye being an 'Optical Instrument', which basically means that the eye has so many defects, but it is highly compromised by its good qualities and is a powerful tool.
Manovich, L. (2012) What is Digital Cinema? (Week_02)
In the essay author talks about the evolution of 'ancient cinema and connects it to a 'digital cinema' nowadays. He explains, how 'loops' created a circular movement in cinema and animation and was highly used in computer programming as well 'It is relevant to recall that the loop gave birth not only to cinema but also to computer programming'. The Author also explains how modern digital technologies have the ability to manipulate every single frame and pixel.
Depth-Scanning
Depth Scanning - is a way to capture reality (3D objects) and scan them into the digital world. It captures real sizes or distances, essentially a human-size perception.
For Depth Scanning, we used Occipital software and the iPad.
When scanning:
1. Usable without iPad, but would not get coloured scans. (white only)
2. Uses iPads Camera to catch the colours and textures.
3. Uses Wifi.
4. Room capture can be done, but the resolution will be very low, due to the size of the room. (great to get exact dimensions)
5. Places bounding box onto the object, that will be scannes.
6. Biggers sp-ace or object - resolution will get low.
Small objects - might not be scanned at all.
7.If a wall is a one colour, it would need some tracking marks on it for more information.
8. Sometimes light might help to get better results.
Depth Scanning is a really great way to scan the object and import them into a 3~D editible programs. When scanning, it is important to avoid small or shiny, transparent objects, because the scanner will not recognize them and will not catch any information on it. Also it is important, to always look at the bounding box and make sure that it is mostly coloured in a green colour. It takes around 3-5 minutes to capture the object. Walking around and very slowly scanning it.
Photogammetry (Week_04)
Photogammetry - is a way to catch an object and import it into a a 3D digital world, using photographs of reality.
It can be done with modern phones and all it takes just to capture around 50 pictures of an object (make sure it is not moving, not shiny, transparent or small (thin)) from different angles and import it into the designed software
and export it to any 3D editing software.
It can be used to easily create complicated terrain bits, for texturing or other details. It might be even possible to capture a human figure, to clean it up, rig it and use that for animating,.
Retopology of 3D Scans (Week_05)
When importing 3D scans into the digital editing software (for ex. MAYA), vertexes and faces are always incdredibly dense and not normally usable.
To change that, we need to RETOPOLOGISE them. It means, that we need to change to paint or create a new topology, that would be more understandable to us and make it easier for the software use.
Essay Proposal
Why the Fractal Patterns are the basis of creating believable models in Digital World?
Many visual effect artists, it does not matter if they are beginner or expert, struggle in visualizing believable, ‘realistic’ models. They start creating basic, rough shapes and when it comes to a finer detail, it gets confusing of how to approach realistic imitation? In this essay I will be talking about one of the most important techniques that helps us to achieve a better and more believable for the eye model, which is a Fractal Pattern.
Fractal Patterns can seem extremely complex, but they can be incredibly simple and basic, often such a ‘complex illusion’ is being used to trick the mind or to give extra effects for the eyes. But first, what is a Fractural Pattern? Probably, it is easier to ask what a pattern is and how it is fractural. Well, the Pattern is a series of sequence that repeats, and a fraction is an essentially never-ending pattern. Fractals can be extremely self-complex and repeat in different scales in an ongoing loop. If you draw a triangle, and another on top, just upside down, taking the inner shapes and duplicating the same pattern 12 times, you will get an infinitive snowflake. That means, that without expanding the usable area, the snowflake will have infinitive pattern on it (look at the Figure Nr1).
Fractal behavior is highly mathematical, it works as an explanation behind the fractal work, but where exactly can we find fractal structures? Well, they are everywhere around us, from the river networks, to galaxy structures, from tree branching, to blood vessel systems. Essentially, nature – is a founder and creator of fractal world.
What does the fractal formula have to do with a 3D modelling in Digital World?
It all started back, when Lauren Carpenter, a computer graphics researcher and developer, also co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios added the idea from the book, which was written by B. Mandelbrot ‘Fractals: Form, Chance and Dimensions’ (1977) to his own mountain model and the results were astonishing. From a very simple triangular shapes, which looked very simple and basic, he went to an extremely complex shapes, just by multiplying more and more triangles to the model. By doing that, he created a very high polygon complex model, which had an extremely simple formula. This step forward, helped him to get closer in creating a believably ‘realistic’ mountains.
At the end, in my essay, I will look deeper into the fractal work, how can that change the ‘quality’ of the product in digital world, where can we find it and why it is extremely important to know, while working with 3D modelling. I will also do my own experiment, where I will create my own fractal pattern and use it to create a detailed model.
Figure nr.1
Video supporting essay
This video was created to support my essay.
In this video I am showing, how by using Maya tree generator (simply adding some python coding) is creating any type of trees.
Generator is using simple method - fractals and is growing and dividing the tree. Creating complicated branching. With this generator, it is very easy to create tree leaves, add texture and manage objects roughness.