MTV Ident

Here's an MTV Ident me and Ross made as part of our work related project.
The animation took around about 6 hours in total to complete. We wanted to go for something that looked great but was still fairly simple to create so that we could manage our time better.

The first stage was finding a good background to work with, and Ross came across this great image which has a lot of perspective and depth, making it easier to composite 3D objects within the scene.

Next we set up the lighting and ran some basic compositing tests using a cube as a reference. 

We came up with the idea of having the MTV logo come in from over the top of the buildings as it gives quite a dramatic impact and introduction to the logo. However we also wanted the sky to move across slowly, so that the still image looked more alive. This meant we had to remove the sky in Photoshop, and replace it with a green screen for further editing in After Effects. Once the main animation was completed which was done through using Nitro 4D's plugin Thrausi: http://nitro4d.com/blog/donationware/thrausi/, we then thought it would look cool if there were parts lying on the floor such as rubble and bricks that floated off the ground as the MTV logo came in, which gave it quite a supernatural feel. This was a struggle to achieve because we had to figure out an easy way of lifting each object off the floor without doing it manually. The best way to do this was through using dynamics, and to give it more intensity, we used the "Vibrate" tag in order to add a slight vibration to each of the objects as they lift up. 

The next stage was all done in After Effects. We started off by keying out the green screen, and placing the sky in behind the logo's pieces. Next we did some basic colour correction through altering the curves attributes on an adjustment layer, and adding a vignette to give a little more depth to the scene. We played around with the hue on the sky so that it matched the rest of the scene, and then added some simple camera shakes. Finally we imported the rendered animation into Final Cut for adding the sound track (Hybrid Minds - Summer Rain), and syncing it with the logo's movements. 

I personally had already attempted an MTV Ident previous to this using similar techniques so I had an idea of how I thought it could look, and the direction we could take it in, as well as knowing our limits for what we should and shouldn't do. Ross was on the same wave length as I, so working along side him was very easy for both of us. 

3 Little Pigs

After experimenting quite a bit with different styles of work in Cinema 4D through my main short animation, I decided to make a slightly abstract wallpaper of a hill scene. I find a very nice way of lighting a scene is through using luminance textures only have an object light to create shadows. It gives quite a nice primitive, yet high quality 3D look. 

SWOT Analysis

List of skills:

Software:

Cinema 4D -
I feel that I am very comfortable using Cinema 4D. I have a lot of knowledge in regards to modeling, animating, compositing, rendering, texturing, lighting and general usage of Cinema 4D's tools. I also have some experience with using Xpresso.

Real Flow -
I would class myself as a novice user of Real Flow. I know how to create various forms of liquid through watching online tutorials, however I'm still stuck on a basic set of tools, and haven't yet explored other techniques and methods.

Photoshop -
I'd say that my skill level with Photoshop would be near a professional standard. I've been using it for around 7 years now, so I'm very comfortable with all of their tools, and can create lots of various types of work such as logos, icons, buttons, website templates, vectors, posters, advertisements, digital paintings, and also use Photoshop for still image colour correction, vectoring, typography, and general photo editing.

After Effects -
I'm fairly confident with the interface of After Effects, as it's quite similar to other Adobe software products, however there's still a lot I need to learn. I can do basic editing and overlay effects.

PFTrack -
PFTrack is a fairly straight forward program to use once you know how. I feel that I can easily track any given footage providing that the quality is HD, and export it into any needed software.

Final Cut Pro -
I've only been using Final Cut for a couple of years now, however I picked it up quite quickly and would say my skill levels are adept. I can do basic video editing techniques, as well as being able to use various overlay and transition effects.

Adobe Illustrator -
As I'm very familiar with Photoshops pen tool, Illustrator was quite easy to get used to for me. Some of the controls and tools are used a bit differently, however they're pretty basic, and vectoring is very easy for me. I'd say that I'm moderate with Illustrator.

Z-Brush -
I haven't been using Z Brush all that long, but it's quite an easy tool to use for me because of my knowledge with Cinema 4D. There's still a lot for me to learn within this program, however I do have the basics nailed down and would class my self as a moderate user.

List of traits:
A few traits I've picked up include being confident with various bits of software, being flexible with techniques (not shying away from tasks that may seem too difficult at first), being realistic in regards to time management, prioritising the order of work development.

SMART Targets

Week 1:

Continue developing character environments, (apartment, school, hospital, rooftop, etc..).
Hopefully 80% of environments should be finished by the end of this week.
Also complete texturing of scenes and start thinking about how the character will interact with each of them.

Computer Desk Scene

Here's a preview of the computer desk scene that I've been working on. I tried to keep to using primitive shapes as much as possible. Keeping it as basic and as low poly as possible will allow for quicker animating and rendering. I also took the still into Photoshop for some colour correction tests.

Artificial Paradise, Inc

Great animation that I found on www.designyourway.net

Model & Rig Progress

Started working on my character in C4D, and I've now rigged it. All that needs doing is a lot of weight painting and then it'll be ready to go. I'll probably also add another waist controller so that it looks a little smoother. Still can't decide whether he should be high poly or low poly though.