Final Review - 16/12/2011

The final rendered animation is very different from what I imagined it would look like when I was designing it in the storyboard. For example, I would have liked it to have more foliage growing in the scene when the colour hits them like bushes and grass, however time restrictions prevented me from trying to complete this and the computers I was using did not allow the use of plugins on3Ds max which played a big part in creating the realistic looking foliage. Also, I have added new things into the scene which I didn’t plan to such the hills which come out of the ground and the skybox in the background. I added these in later because I felt that the scene was too empty when I was creating it and these objects helped fill out the blank areas and add some more detail into the scene.

I think that it is suitable to be shown on E4 since it does not contain any gore or offensive content  in the animation and it is also not too long as it is 20 seconds long. I also think that the colours suit the theme of E4 and the animation doesn’t contain any copyrighted material such as well-known songs or models. My animation uses many different techniques to make the animating easier, for example I have used a path and dummy to move the meteor across the sky since it is quicker to animate a complicated flight path and it can be easily edited later on. Plus, I have used the morph modifier to animate the branches coming out of the tree; I have done this since it is quicker and provides an easier way of animating complicated looking branches, especially if the parts of the branches spread out in different directions.

To manage my time I had created a schedule to keep me up to date on what work should have been completed for when and help me spread work out effectively. I also updated my blog with what I was going to do next. I also described what I had done that day and how I had done it so that if people wanted to create what I have created they have a brief tutorial there. Finally, on my blog I posted pictures of my animation at different stages so that I could see how fast and far I was progressing in my project.

Review - 16/12/2011

Today I created a skybox by finding an image of the sky on the internet that could be used as a texture on 3Ds max without it looking like it was repeating. I then create a sphere that was bigger than the scene and then used a shell modifier to hollow out the middle. Finally, I used the material editor to apply the texture to the inside of the sphere and then changed the tiling so that the clouds had a realistic size.

For the rendering I clicked rendering then render set up and then turned on active time segment. Then i went to render output and clicked  files and saved the movie file as a .AVI file becuase it is the most common type of file they had avalible.

Targets - 16/12/2011

Today i am going to create a skybox for my scene and edit it so that the colour light does not affect it. I will also render out the final video of the animation and then finish off any unfinshed work so that it can be handed in on time.

Review - 09/12/2011

Today i finished reducing the amount of polygons on the buildings by selecting the spare polygons and deleting them. Then to fill the hole I used the cap holes modifier. After that I started on the E4 logo by saving a picture of the logo to my desktop and then uploading it to 3Ds Max and applying it to a box shape. Then, I used splines to trace around the logo and then converted it to edit poly and extruded it. I then apply the texture to the new shape and used UVW Map to fit it correctly over the shape.

Day Targets - 09/12/2011

Today I am going to finish reducing the amount of polygons on the buildings to improve the performance and then complete the animation by making the E4 logos grow onto the trees. If i am finished before the end of the day iw ill update my folder and complete unfinished work.

Review - 02/12/2011

I have made the windows appear on the buildings and made the building gain more detail when the colour hits them. I have done this by extracting the polygons on the cube (where I wanted the window) by 0.01 and then moved the polygons back inside the building, I then dragged the keyframe from the start of the animation and moved it to where I wanted this animation to begin.

After that I move on to creating the trees. I did this by creating the trunk of the tree and then extracting out of it to make the branches. Then to make the branches grow out the tree I used the morpher modifier and made a copy of the tree and put all the vertices of the branches together on the copy. Then, with auto key on, I choose the copy using the modifier and increased the amount of morphing on the object.

Day Targets - 02/12/2011

Today I shall complete the windows in the buildings by animating them do they appear when the colour hits them. I will also make detail appear when the colour hits them by adding spires and ledges. Also, I will create the trees and animate them so that the trunk grows out the ground (using melt) and the branches grow out the trunk (using morph).

Review 25/11/2011

Today I animated the meteor to crash into the ground on my scene. It was difficult to make the meteor move along a path at a certain speed and the way that I wanted, so instead I placed a straight line leading to the ground and attached the meteor to it using a path constraint. Then, I copied the meteor and then made the original one turn transparent when it hits the ground and the copied one appears. I also made a crater appear when the meteor lands. Finally, I finished making the windows appear when the colour hits them. For next session I plan to complete animating the windows of the buildings and then move on to creating the tree and making it grow out of the ground using morph.

Day Targets - 25/11/2011

Today I am going to complete the bulk of my animation by finishing off the metoer falling by making it rotate in midair while its falling and making a crater appear when the meteor hits the ground. I am then going to make the building gain more detail when the purple colour hits them.

Review - 11/11/2011

Today I completed the basic cityscape and floor so that it would be ready for modelling. I also added a target light and animated it so that a purple circle of colour grows and covers the scene. I found this the easiest way of recreating what I had planned to do since the light and be modified quickly and easily. I finished modelling the meteor and put it on a path using a dummy and spline. I think that using a path would be easier than animating it manually because the movement involved is simple and it will be easier to move around the scene if needed.

Day Targets - 11/11/2011

Today i am going to start the 3D Enviroment project and create most of the modelling so that it is ready for animating. By the end of today I should have a completed basic cityscape with a fully modelled meteor, floor and tree.

Proposal

I have been asked to create an animation that is 10 seconds long and can be used for one of the advertisements for E4 on television. The animation has to be 10 seconds long, the file has to be 20 MB big and must feature the E4 logo at the end, clearly visible and in the middle of the screen. In addition only one entry can be uploaded to the website per person. Also, the logo’s colours (purple) would be preferred for the main colour scheme of the animation. Finally, the finished file must be either a wmv, mov, mpg, 3gp, mp4 or mpeg file. To address this brief the animation will start with a blank looking landscape with barely any colour in it. Then the camera changes to show a purple meteor falling and then crashing into the grey ground where a purple circle of colour starts to expand. As the purple reaches objects it makes them grow into more detailed, visually appealing objects and give them more colour and shine. Some of these objects might include a building rising up out of the ground and plants and hills growing and becoming bigger. On the final section of the animation, a tree will grow from the ground and from its branches an E4 logo will slowly grow and drop onto the ground in the middle of the screen.

This will help me demonstrate my skills in the use of combing modifiers and animation together and also the use of Bombs and reflectors for when the meteor hits the ground. I can also demonstrate my use of particle systems when creating smoke that will trail from the meteor. In addition to this I can demonstrate my skill in the use of bones to create realistic and easy to move branches for the trees. I could possibly show my skill in animating lights by increasing the radius and changing the colour of the light to bring colour to the world.

I have been heavily influenced by the prince of Persia game released on PS3 as it shows an area being ‘healed’ and objects growing out of the ground and gaining more colour and beauty. I have also been inspired by the video game ‘De Blob’ where you have to bring colour to the world and make it less dull and miserable. My animation is aimed mainly at teenagers, since a lot of shows that are on E4 are very popular with teenagers such as Rude Tube and Misfits. I feel I have addressed this audience since I have added explosions and a lot of things are moving on the screen at one time, so I’m not wasting any time. I have considered the ethical issues concerning my animation since, at first, I was going to use a bomb instead of a meteor, but that may be offensive to some people (families who have lost friends to bombs). I am also not going to use any copyrighted materials such as logo’s or other models that I have not created myself and as it says on the website I am not allowed to use any commercial music in my work. However, pre-made music is given on the website that I can use. In addition, I am not going to add any blood or horrific images in case there are younger people watching. I am going to monitor my progress by adding blog posts that explain what I have achieved each day and provide images on the work completed.

The main targets of my work, and ones that will let me know if my project is a success, are to provide a working 10 second long animation that is up to professional standards and can be used on daytime television legally and effectively.