New Project: Red or Dead

We have been set a new live project for a company called Red or Dead for which we have to create a 30 - 60 seconds piece incorporating the given product under a fairy tale theme. Other universities from up and down the country were chosen to do other products while we were given a bicycle and 'The Enchanted Horse' which is to become 'The Enchanted Bike'. The project must have an element of CG mixed with live action.

This is a team project and as soon as it was announced I notices a lot of people trying to pull a team together on the sly. A few people asked me but I sort of keep an eye who is good and prepared to push themselves and the ones that stick to their comfort zones. For this project is myself, Elliot, Megan, Teddy and Suzanna. I was trying to grab Lydia too but she was snatched up. I am pleased with the team I have as we have a good strong pre and post mix. One of things I was worried about is having a team of post people that cannot get the job done or are not prepared to put in 'sleep-when-your-dead-nose-to-the-grind-stone' work to get it done.

On Monday we had our first brainstorming session and the out some ideas. Yes I do have a mindmap in my sketchbook but I am not uploading it until I know the others ideas to ensure they are not stolen. We are having another meeting on Thursday 1st March at 9am in which we will go over what we are going to show

mood board;
video inspiration; 
target audience; 
pretty mind map; 
narrative/ storyboards; 
production schedules; 
(end meeting with exact requirements/ checklist for all)


This project will work in conjunction with Cinematography to ensure we are able to achieve the look we want. One thing I want to take into consideration is our

I have taken on the role of unofficial Visual Effects Producer I have already made templates for: Entire Production Process, Weekly Production Schedule, Daily Production Schedule, File Naming Conventions, Shot Signoff List; however these are all subject to change as we have yet to finalise an idea. Having them as templates will speed things up. We only really have 12 weeks of which we are halfway through the first one and given that these things always take longer than you expect we need to move fast.

One of several unfinished schedules

brainstorm notes
pitch plan >> assignments
logo issue
production schedule >> production order

Here are some good sites on VFX/ CGI Supervision for the Post Production People:

The Art of CG Supervision:
http://cgsupervisor.blogspot.com/

Rays In Blue: VFX Pipeline Notes (and links to other good pipeline sites):
http://raysinblue.blogspot.com/2010/12/vfx-pipeline-notes.html

Clock & Flame Studio: The Production Pipeline Webinar
http://www.clockandflame.com/downloads.html

Effects Corner: VFX Management
http://effectscorner.blogspot.com/2008/01/vfx-management.html

Effects Corner: Naming Conventions & Workflows
http://effectscorner.blogspot.com/2007/09/naming-conventions-and-workflow.html

I Mondays lecture about Post Production on Red or Dead Georg mentioned using Autodesk Smoke for color correction once the

autodesk smoke >> the mill color correction reels>> matt walsh
file naming conventions
roles

Cinematography

Today we began cinenematography with frankie. I have heRd that Frankie is really good and he has worked with people like Jackie Chan and John Woo.

Today we was talkiing aboir the difderencea between film cameras and digital cameras especially the red one epic and the panivision. He wanted us to know the legnth of film in feet and what that equated to in seconds

Animated Exeter 2012

It was really good and I am pleased I went and ended up catching the train down to exeter on my own.
I arrived a little late to 'The Pitch' event but took lots of notes as I got some very insightful advice from Hit Entertainment, Beakus, Double Negative and Creative England about the UK VFX and Animation industry, applying for jobs, the kind of work they take on, and their processes.

(I paid for some of the events in advance but Susanna had saved me a pass to get knto alm of the events for free ao that was handy so i was able to get a refund for all of them.)

Hellen Brunsdon and Phil had a talk about Producing on Peppa Pig which myself and Lauren, we are both thinking about producing, found very interesting and insightful.

Here is the final ident. I am in two minds about it as it had potential for greatness but considering we (I) pulled it out of my ass in a short amount of time its not too bad. I have learnt so much from working on it and feel a little more confident about the post production side of the 3D CGI pipeline.

The last thing I saw was The Mcleod Brothers. I felt a little bad as I walked into their event late (and with shopping bags full of clothes). In search of redemption I introduced myself to them (also asked about any work on their show 'The Isle of Spagg' too) they really liked seing how we brought their illustrations to life so I think I may have saved myself there.

Animation Production: Character Modelling

Andy wanted quite a lot of changes for the

Post Production: Stereoscopic 3D, Digital Matte Painting & Camera Projection

Last week we started out new modules on the VFX pathway. We began looking at Stereoscopic 3D (thats the one with the glasses). It was just going over the terminology to ensure we are all speaking the same language like not getting 3D Computer Generated Images (3D-CGI) and Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) mixed up. One of things we need to to do is experiment with the concepts George gives us strait away.
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In todays lecture George went over Digital Matte Painting and how they are used in feature films. Some of the work done on the star wars franchise is impressive and its definitely a skill I want to work on. On our course the people that come to mind in this area is Phoebe and Stu who are very good but are either very modest or stupid for thinking that they are not. One of the other things he went over was camera projection of a matte painting which is something I want to try and post to my blog even if its just a crude effor

Painting on glass for Star Wars

Matte Painting Example:

Camera Projection Example:

Its Been A While

Sorry i have not posted this term. Its has been hectic working on multiple projects; Animation Production, Animation Technologies Essay & Presentation, Animated Exerer Ident, Visual Effects Shot, two issues of Flex The Student Newspaper for Falmouth & Exeter Students and plans for an ACS Olympics event in collaboration with the International and sports.