...anyways...

So, for those who are able to, can we plan on using the chat room 6 - 8pm tomorrow, Wednesday July 8th? If anyone is planning on going to sturm let me know and I'll meet you there, elsewise I'll use my laptop.

Otherwise we may as well just stick with blog posts, but we need more activity someplace... (he typed, thinking about how bad he's been at checking)

I hope summer is enjoyable for you all! Hopefully we'll be hearing from one-another soon!

Chat room

I set up a chat room at

http://tinychat.com/3650elecfur

could some of you try it out to see if it looks like something we could use?

Hello!

I'm on vacation in Florida right now visiting my parents. I get back about mid-July or so. I'm going to start working full-time but I would like to work on some things for the project when I get back. Hope everyone is having a good summer!

Meeting Next Week?

Do you guys want to set up a meeting next week sometime? We can either organize on the blog or through email (whatever people are more comfortable with). Email me or post comments, whatever works.

DROPBOX

Hi all, the files are in dropbox, and an email should have been sent to you. Please post if you will be continuing over the summer or not.

- Ruben -

Anyone else in?

I will look into the video conferencing site to see about setting up a meeting to resume work. If you have checked in but not posted, please let us know what you are planning to do so the shots can be assigned. I hope the summer has been relaxing for all.

Bill

The time has come...

Count me in! I will no doubt be busy and preoccupied with jobs and such, but I will make some time to spend on the project.

I hope that everyone got to rest a bit, and that you all are excited to resume work! I will have the files up and available before tomorrow is over, and will post to let you all know.

- Ruben -

Checking In

Well, it's June 15th and I'm still around. I'm not sure how much time I'll have this summer to continue on this (might be a little...might be a lot), but even a snail's pace is better than none at all. My first task will be to re-weight the uv-mapped/smaller Squeak rig so that will be ready for everyone to use. Who else is still in?

Andy Rig Texture

In my stupor from being awake for consecutive days during finals I didn't put the updated texture for Andy on the server. Download these two .jpgs and copy them to the "sourceimages" folder for your Andy rig to render Andy with the Tactigon shirt on:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/eztzt4gdqyu/boySmiley.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/file/nnjlzztxynd/boySmileySpecular.jpg

See you in a few,
-Beau

Looking ahead (Summer Plans)

File Management
Dropbox (software for Windows, Mac)
http://www.getdropbox.com/



June 2nd (After class) - Ruben will get the files (not the animatic though) off of the server, and into Dropbox


June 15 - setup a reminder to look at the blog, because we'll resume planning and proceed work

5/28

YOU CAN POST FILES UP ON HERE/FLICKR FOR FEEDBACK, JUST REMEMBER TO POST

Sc1

  Sh3 - Remember the previous shot was Ben checking the camera, so he should start closer to the camera, maybe with a turn instead of walking

            Starting around frame 15 - with added step it may be about the same frame length

            Hip angle is back a bit

            Watchlacement association of hip with feet

            End with one more step - get to about 

  Sh4 - Consider starting with Ben in Frame at the corner already, not entering in

            Maybe hop up from the side, give more personality

            Hand needs to be adjusted to new control panel height

            Ben doesn't need to completely shut the door

Sc2

  Sh1 - Work the poses with arms (no longer in T form)

            Timing may be a bit quick - pad it with a "beat" or two to give some time to take in the room

            Consider having Ben excited - jogging over to the chair, not calmly walking.

Sc3

  Sh1 - Area of interest is Squeak's section

            Turn the wrists down - hold map down and then bring up

            Trap adjustment 

  Sh3 - 

            Still feels a bit mechanical

            Stationary camera before Squeak leaps onto the tree (around frame 350)

Sc4

  Sh1 - Should be longer - about 4 seconds

  Sc2 - the game animation needs to be about 4 as well (8 seconds total for Sc4 is probably enough)

            We need something for this - doesn't have to be fully animated game

Sc5

  Sh1 - timing looks good

  Sh2 - timing could be longer for the light going on/off

            a bit closer (not as much open space on left and top)

  Sh3 - need to see the plug getting pulled out

            weight/balance seems a bit off - set the left leg farther, right back

            facing the camera

Sc6

  Sh1 - timing looks good

  Sh2 - timing looks good

            Some breakdown work around frame 70 - 90 as Squeak starts to sneak off-screen

  Sh3 - can end without kneeling - replace with another walking step

            swap legs at kneeling, this looks more natural and will open up the pose to the camera 

            head should be tilted back  - makes for stronger silhouette as plugging cable back in

            watch weight/posture as bending down

  Sc4 - Interaction is tricky, but coming along well

            remember that the breakdowns can be more than one part at a time, but spread out

            Ben holds position leaning back for too long like that, add in the extra step here

Sc7

  Sc1 - watch playblast/render rate

            Consideration: Squeak should be getting to the chair later, let Ben hang a bit and struggle - enter Squeak in the last quarter of the shot

            Shot at end - Squeak's tail could be curled out more for stronger silhouette

            End of shot - empty space in the upper left corner isn't great - angle/camera shift could be played with to make a stronger pose

  Sc2 - looking good

  Sc3 - start in the pose he's at midway through - already getting ready to move in

           

Sc8

  Sc1 - watch the shoulder as he grabs around the chair

           Squeak's back should arc out/back towards the chair, and then can curve in as he's being grabbed

           Jump - butt down, springs up onto the desk computer; turn body inwards

FOR THE WEEKEND

Basic Lighting - Yard - Directional (think behind Squeak)

  Yard - add another trap

  **Ruben will have this in the Yard by Saturday morning @ 10am at latest**

Basic Lighting - Room - point/spotlight for inside

BEFORE TUESDAY

Try to get each scene as far as possible; one at a higher level of polish

Render out your scenes before class (*NOT PLAYBLAST RENDER*)

Rendering

Select Master Layer - Maya 

Render Settings Window - turn on Mental Ray

    Settings: AVI format; Compression: Cinepack, 100%

      Name.ext (Multiframe)

      By frame: 1  (you can set 2 or higher if you want to run tests, but REMEMBER to return it)

      640 x 480 Size

      Renderable Cameras MUST BE SET TO YOUR SHOT_CAM (or whatever your actual camera name is)

    **down the line, Targa .tga is ideal for single frames, allowing you to clean up single frames if some in a range don't work correctly**

Render Settings - Maya Software

    Quality: Production quality

Window Settings/Prefs  Mayatomr needs to be loaded and autoloaded (put the checkbox in both options)

Mel Wiki

I know this post doesn't really deal with Electric Fur specifically, but while searching to see if maya can load textures from a location from the set project and not a specific location I found a really good Mel wiki site.

http://mayamel.tiddlyspot.com/

Also the Maya links are pretty useful as well.

(And if you are bored check out the non-Maya links as well, some of them are really cool.)

Andy Shelf

Ok, made the shelf for the Andy Rig. I tried to find all the hidden controllers, but I might have missed some. It's on the server in the Andy_Rig folder, called "shelf_Andy_Ref.mel".

5/21

This weekend:

Get playblasts on server BY NOON FRIDAY

      Use the same naming convention all have so they can be replaced easily

Strong blocking - move away from the basic; strong poses where they should be

      Remove your in-betweens after you get the poses and work on animation to get breakdowns

Work on breakdowns farther

Goals for June 2

Through Breakdowns on every shot; one shot per person should be in curves.

Come in Friday if you want more insight

      Bill will be in 

Erica: UV Mapping

      (thinking fennec fox)

Tati: Finish AE with what we have; 

Grant: House window; Tactigon game movie & assets for Beau/Nick

Damon: work on scenes

Nick: add to room props

Beau: Explosion for Sc9; basic indoor lighting; Ben's clothes

(Beau & Ruben - meet Monday for lighting work)

Ruben: finish Camera (mount); make post-explosion yard; neighborhood - try solid plane for sky dome; basic outdoor lighting

Notes from Playblasts

Sc1

  Sh1 

      No motion tracking? On the first sweep, Ben is already in the gate walking

      Revert to the Cam1 to transition to Sh2 - ends with Ben going under the sight of the camera

  Sh2

      Consider Ben grabbing the camera to adjust it down

      If Ben does tap/interact with the cam, the ShotCam should reflect that

  Sh3

      Change in POV transition is perhaps too great  =>180 rule

      Try camera looking more

      Slight dolly in (first 20-30 frames)

      Ben comes in from off-screen

      Transition - end a bit closer to screen right

  Sh4

      Transition - start closer to the window

      Longer interaction with control box

      Camera comes in closer to focus more on the door

Sc2

  Sh1

      Camera should be a bit closer to eye-height

Sc3

    Sh1

      Tree moved closer to house

      Watch out for the line connecting Squeak's nose to the trap to the house

    Sh2

      Move in even closer - this shot is about the map more than Squeak

    Sh3

Sc4

    Sh1

      Camera - great angles with desk, etc

      We don't want the shelf to intersect with Ben's head.

      More engagement with Ben's face - cheat it with him facing the camera a bit more

      Perhaps camera slightly more to the right?

Sc5

  Sh1

      Camera could be moved in, and a little to the left; left edge can be kept where it is

      Transition - rotate more towards the box

  Sh2

      Transition - rotate a bit more towards the box

      Not too much of a butt shot

      More of a crouch - rather than the 90 degree sit; remember he needs leverage to pull the cord out

      Have him crouched at an angle to face the camera

      

Sc6

  Sh1

      Lying on the back to open the window is a bit exaggerated, just a basic lift will suffice

      Transition>

  Sh2

      Transition>  End with Ben rotated to face the box a bit more; Squeak sneaks off to the left

  Sh3

      Head facing the camera when he crouches

      When lifting himself up, have him favor the left arm to grab the top, and the right arm pushing off the side or the ground, so as to not cover the face, and make the silhouette more interesting

  Sc4

      Add in so we can see how it looks

  Sc5

      Transition> Squeak jumps off Ben

  Sc6

      The final arc as Ben falls should be added in to see how it looks - do we want a clean fall, or a skid - leg catching the roof and sliding. 

Sc7

  Sh1

      Parallelism - use the same camera as Sc4Sh1 - it shows Squeak at the comp, and the window for Ben

      Squeak may not start in the chair, but jumps into it later

      Think about Ben rotating as he's hanging, starts the scene

  Sh2

      Camera on the other side of Squeak, and probably closer in - Squeak will get new hi-score in this scene, and we want to see it

  Sh3

      Ben enters through window - he is freaking out a bit, but gets 

Sc8

  Sh1

      Transition> Ben should enter from screen right

      Camera angle a bit more to the left to see towards the window a slight bit more

      Transition> End with Squeak jumping towards the top of shot

  Sh2

      Transition> Squeak will be ending the jump and has to rotate; Ben should be leaning over the chair

      *Redo this scene from scratch so the blocking is blocking, not smooth and awkward

Sc10

      Use the start of the previous, so there isn't the rotation

      Transition to higher position to show all of Squeak

      Switch 1/3 with ben

      Slower pull out initially

SET NOTES

  Yard

      Back Tree - *Has been moved

      Traps have been added to back

      We need the neighborhood

      Post 

  Room

      Shelf near window could be moved more to the right (Sh4Sc1 has it intersecting with Ben's head - we don't want that)

      Dormer window aspect should be reflected in the construction of the room - add in the short extension that leads 

  House

      Needs windows; door on left to open; basic start of hallway (end of Sc1Sh4 will have door open and show a slight bit

      Ruben will add camera prop to house

  Roof

      Needs cable

5/19

In between frame adjustment:

http://justinanimator.com/mel-tweenMachine.php

This allows you to adjust the weighting of the 

For Playblasts:

Use the Custom Setting of 640 x 480

Save them in the Animatic folder of the project. "Blocked Scenes"  is the folder, with the appropriate date

**Use the Resolution Gate to be sure what will be rendered

View>Camera Settings>

Setting for should be set to "Fill"

Remember to turn off the Res Gate

Inside Display Options to 1 rather than 1.3

For Thurs

  Make changes

  New playblasts of same size

    >>Hide the layers of controls, etc

Blocking notes/suggestions

Remember to have 3 - 5 main poses only for blocking

Sc1Sh3 - give greater sense of the danger for traps - get near, look at/nearly touch the spikes; refer to images below for walking path, the scene starts and ends with some walking

Sc1Sh4 - 4 main blocking poses (steps, control panel, doorknob, entry)

Sc2Sh1 - 

Sc3Sh1 - cam higher, farther back (don't cut off the fence); make sure to show some sky

Sc3Sh2 - be on other side (180 rule); more over the shoulder/closer to the  

Sc3Sh3 - slight compression in timing can be done; move cam in a bit closer than it is now to start frame nearer, try the dolly follow when Squeak jumps

Sc5Sh1 - separate head from roof when coming up (a little jump?), quick look around before passing control box

Sc6Sh2 - loosen up Squeak's body, so it's less static; give camera more of a diagonal to make the scene more dynamic; Ben will be to the left of the dormer

Sc8Sh1 - at frame 60ish... already at the chair - Ben enraged;  contact by end of scene, start jumping up toward computer at end

Sc8Sh2 - start with the landing/twisting

Sc10Sh1 - Squeak landed on branch, is sprawled, falls from it as it pulls out; start with camera lower; create set of destruction - opening of scene looks normal

Cable should run up and around the dormer (roof shots)

**dolly - move camera; zoom - change the lens**

Character Descriptions for Editing

Ben
Full Name: Benjamin Johnson
Description: Ben is a boy whose game play is interrupted by a power outage.

Physical Description
Age: 13
Hair: brown
Eyes: brown
Distinguishing Features: freckles
Height: 5'2"
Weight: 103 lbs

Motivation
Goal: Ben wants to be the best at Tactigon 2000.
Plan: He plays Tactigon 2000 any chance he gets, including when his parents think he's asleep or doing homework.

Character Background
Family: Ben is the only child of Steve and Rachael Johnson. Steve is an accountant for a large IT company, and is often out of town on business. Rachael works as a part-time librarian, is active in PTA, and volunteers time for after-school programs for elementary kids. Steve and Rachael's busy schedules often leave Ben home alone, which is just fine by Ben.

Education: Ben attends middle school, where he usually receives mediocre grades. He's never failed a class, but usually puts in just enough effort to pass and no more.

Habits/Vices: Avid gamer, collects anything and everything related to Tactigon 2000, obsessed with Tacticon 2000, he has posters, miniatures/action figures, t-shirts, underwear, and even their name-brand cereal.

Personality: Ben has a somewhat reclusive nature in real life. He'll talk to people, but rarely starts the conversations. Ben's real love is Tactigon 2000, which he will discuss avidly with anyone who will listen (or even pretend to listen). Ben is active in several online discussion boards and fan clubs centered around Tactigon 2000.

Likes: Tactigon 2000, video games, Mountain Dew, pizza,

Dislikes: Math (unless it relates to figuring out the best stats for Tactigon 2000), vegetables, cola, pizza with veggies,

Movement Analysis
Energy Level: High, excited, animated, sudden, as long as Tactigon 2000 is involved. Slow and depressed otherwise. Somewhat clumsy.
Emotional Temperament: Excitable, overzealous, and obsessive about Tactigon 2000.
Power Center: Somewhere between his hands and his head.
Body Tension: Tension in shoulders and neck from so much time hunched over computer.
Weight of Character: light and quick
Physical Disability:
Attitude:
Before-> Ben has just come home from school has been playing Tactigon for 4 hours (since he got home from school), and is finally almost to the highest ranking in Tactigon 2000. Ben plans to achieve the highest ranking today.
Current Mood: Ben is unspeakably excited.


********************************

Squeak
Full Name: Squeak
Description: Squeak is a raccoon-like critter who unplugs the power line to Ben's house.

Physical Description
Age: 3
Hair: reddish gray
Eyes: brown
Distinguishing Features: big ears, prominent teeth
Height: 2'6"
Weight: 40 lbs

Motivation
Goal: Squeak wants to play Tactigon 2000.
Plan: Squeak plans to unplug the power to Ben's house, in order to sneak in and play Tactigon 2000.

Character Background
Family: Squeak was born to fairly normal critter parents, whose primary goal was to find food. Squeak's parents were not supportive of his interest in human entertainment, calling them "uninteresting" and "a waste of time". As soon as he was able, Squeak set out to find his own fortune, and eventually arrived in the neighborhood where Ben lives.

Education: Squeak can open a trash-can with a locking lid in under 3 seconds. He's also very dexterous with his paws.

Habits/Vices: Compulsive collector of junk.

Personality: Squeak is a devious little critter, and will go to great lengths to get what he wants. Once set on a plan, Squeak will pursue his goal with single-minded focus. Squeak is also very curious, and is fascinated by tv and video games. Squeak spends much of his time studying humans, and is very knowledgeable about human behavior. He uses this knowledge to manipulate people so he can achieve his current goal.

Likes: cheese, shiny objects, sugar, human-watching

Dislikes: rat poison, people who leave their trash-cans inside, lawn mowers, corn on the cob

Movement Analysis
Energy Level: high, like a coffee-drinking squirrel
Emotional Temperament: wired, quick, short-viewed, but obsessive and focused on a goal
Power Center: creature of the heart
Body Tension: nervous wreak
Weight of Character: small and quick
Physical Disability:
Attitude:
Before-> Squeak has been planning and trying to get in to play Tactigon 2000 for quite some time. Today, he's finally ready to make his move.watching Ben play Tactigon 2000 for 4 hours. He is fascinated by the moving characters, and the boys apparent ability to control them.
Current Mood: Obsessive, interested, goal driven.

***********************

Tactigon 2000

Tactigon 2000 is a science fiction fighting game where player can battle opponents with a variety of weapons, armor, and special moves. Before each match, the player selects the armor, weapons, and special moves based on the options currently available to them and who their opponent is. Some gear/moves are available to any character, and others are restricted to specific characters or are unique to one character. Each battle results in ranking points, which can be spent to purchase new/better armor, weapons, and special moves. The game features many types of weapons and armor styles, including: guns, swords (of various plausibility), thrown weapons, bows/crossbows, sticks, and various others.

5/14

Use Insert Key or hold down 'D' to move pivots

Squeak Rig Overview (Thanks Erica)

Click on the + controls to switch between FK/IK

In the attributes: 10 all IK, 0 is FK

Don't be afraid to select multiple parts of the back to rotate at the same time, it will be smoother.

Remember, we're going for how it will look from the shot, not a perfect physical replica.

Forearm grasping: use IK, and then pull vector for elbows

**Remember there are multiple ways to accomplish things

PC: 

DocumentsAndSettings\name\MyDocuments\maya\2009\prefs\shelves

Mac:

user/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/200x/prefs/shelves

Decisions/Tasks

To Do

Damon: work with UV mapping

Beau: work on mapping for Ben & Squeak

Grant: House - door, hallway, control box;

Ruben: Yard - lighting; back yard tree; Camera

Erica: look into Rig tweaks; texturing - room/house; learn particle system in maya (Beau has tutorials)

Nick: work on Room - materials

Tati: look into the particle systems for the explosion

Looking ahead

Materials - simple - lambert & blinn; remember to name them

Lighting - 

2 main lighting rigs: 1 for yard/outdoors; 1 for room/indoors

Tactigon: Grant is working on the images - send to Tati

Map: Beau will build the prop

perhaps use photo of our projected map to map the map (oh yes, that's worded correctly)

For Tuesday

Blocking: Complete

New playblasts

Break-downs: As much as possible

visuals; pass on to Tati

Planning Reference

Squeak Pics

Some quick screenshots from my blocking with Squeak.

Sitting position, note the stifles (knees...kinda) are turned out, the hocks are turned in, and the feet are splayed a bit.


Sitting from the side


Leaping


Standing

Rig Concerns

Hey all,

This post is mostly pertaining to rigging issues.  I don't know how much y'all have played with Squeak yet, so please comment if you have anything it add, or if you have some workarounds for any of the problems I had.

First of all, great job on the Squeak rig so far, Erica.  I know this is a work in progress, so I'd just like to share a few issues I ran into when messing around a bit.  My main concerns were with the shoulders and the haunches.

When in a slightly crouched position his shoulders appear to be too low, positioned almost on the belly.  I realize this is where the leg geometry actually meets the torso on the mesh that Beau and I provided, and it is probably difficult to work with. We were trying to give Squeaks chest some volume to make up for the lack of dynamic fur.

I think the problem is that there is an extra bone.  I believe the circled joint above should be removed and combined into one bone perhaps, or maybe aligned like the twisting bones in the forearm.

Notice that in this position the shoulders seem appropriate, when the two bones I mention above are nearly straight.  If they were combined they would look more or less like this no matter the orientation (minus the weight map adjustment).

My other concern is similar, but with the pelvis.  When close to his neutral position, the hind legs look great and move realistically.  However, approaching the sitting position some problems arise.  It seems like the hip joint needs to be raised a bit, positioned more closely to what would be the anatomical hip joint (roughly where the move manipulator arrows are sitting above).

The problem is that it is impossible to get is butt any closer to the ground without the ankles or knees going crazy.  I know this is an extreme position compared to Squeak's neutral stance, but I think it might be necessary for many of his poses and actions in the film.

Here's a more illustrative shot of what i'm talking about.  The knees tend to buckle in and the bottoms of the feet are pretty stubborn about staying flat.

Anyways, I don't want to seem like I don't appreciate the rig, just wanted to point out a few bugs.  I'm sure I have a lot to learn about character modelling.  Everything else is moving great.  I especially love the ears and cheeks!

For Next Time

Everyone:

BY THURSDAY

*block the scenes (3 - 5 poses); work on camera settings

*playblast rendering of the blocking so we can put together an animatic to get an idea of what's going on

THIS WEEKEND

*Texturing/Materials

=Make lambert materials initially

=Consider what needs maps

*Lighting

Grant: add RPG to house; add control box

Ruben: finish Sc1Sh1 so it can transition to Sh2; add camera; finish back yard tree

Tactigon Screen

THURSDAY

*Assemble the animatic; assess the state of things

*Squeak overview

*Make decisions for the work ahead

5/12

Eyes and Faces

Eyebrow, Eye, and Mouth determines about 90% of what's going on with the face

Eye Direction

use of eye target - think about what looks right from the camera, rather than the literal, virtual physicality (setting the eye target on a table when the character is looking at the table)

Floating Iris - leaving white space isn't as significant as having the eye all the way to the side; having the iris "floating" lacks the sense of stability

Moving target farther out can make the target look wall-eyed, whereas too close gives the cross-eyed look

Don't go too exaggerated, as it will look like a caricature of a ___ person, rather than a ___ person

Blinks

Suggestion for default blink:

Fr 1 & 6 - 0% shut; Fr2 - 20%Shut; Fr3 & 4 - 100% shut; Fr 5 - 80% shut

There are many forms of blinks, differing in duration, the amount of eyebrow/cheek motion involved, etc.

Blinking occurs: when changing focus (far to near, etc); head turning (blink occurs about 1/3 of the way through

Eye brow shapes

Mouth shape can have a great influence

 

Genuine expression comes through more in the eyes, but that doesn't mean the rest isn't important.

Think about Polar Express - the eye/eye direction/forehead doesn't seem to get much successful attention

Speaking

Work on jaws first - think Muppets

Sites

http://www.blifaloo.com/info/lies_eyes.php

http://panvilla.com/expressions.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles

Scene Modifications/Notes

Scene Modifications/Notes

Sh1Sc1

Use Shot_Cam () (from bottom left)

Show Gate opening on the first sweep.  Take first steps at the end of the scene, walking off camera.

Animate through the end so we are cutting on the action

ShSc1 & ShSc2 will be sharing the same file.

Sc1Sh3

Stand up at end and start walking

Sc1Sh4

Start from behind the camera.

Sc2S1

Room

Sc3

Erica: Attempt to make Squeak jump over traps

Ruben: Duplicate the bottom left tree in yard to allow Squeak access 

Sc5

Squeak Rig

(Whether in FK or IK mode, currently both controls will display )

In FK mode: use + controls

In IK mode: use the circular IK controls

Progress

How's everyone doing with the blocking?

Grant, how is the house? Do you have a newer, scaled one we can utilize? Please name items and use layers to keep the house in if possible.

Improved Squeak Rig

Improved Squeak rig on the server, now with twist joints in the front legs (to allow for better rotation of the hands). Also, I made a shelf for Squeak, and put this on the server in the Squeak folder as well. The Squeak2 shelf is probably the one you want to use, as this one works with the way we've referenced Squeak into the scenes.

Scaling Sets

Looks like the yard has been scaled (and the room I think, tho it's not in any of my current shots), but not the house. When is the house going to be scaled properly and updated on the server? I think I can do blocking on some of my shots without the properly scaled house, but not the one that requires the roof.

Squeak Rig

Ok, updated Squeak rig is on the server. It should be pretty good, but might need some tweaking depending on how crazy you get with it. Let me know if anything doesn't work right...and take a screenshot or save off the maya file so I can see it. No guarantees I can fix it, but I'm still interested in seeing what happens.

Edit: The tail, spine, and eyebrows all have the ability to switch between FK and IK/splines. They default to FK, so if you want to change to splines: click on the blue "+" near what you want to change to IK (I tried to place these intelligently), change the attribute FKIKBlend to "10", and then the control attributes for FK to off (or 0) and the IK control attribute to on (or 1).

5/7

Looking ahead:

1. Scale everything (Done in class)

2. Finalize models/rigs (over the weekend - post to blog if you make updates; try to have new files in Friday by 3:00 on the server for everyone to pull up)

3. Blocking (over the weekend)

4. Materials and Mapping

5. Cameras and First round of lighting

6. Schedule and task reassignment

Scenes to Take

I would like to do at least one shot in scene 6, preferably want shot 4-8 in scene 6. Any other shots ill do can be random.

What we've got so far for Animation Assignment desires

Sc1 Sh1 - Ruben
Sc1 Sh2 - Beau

Sc1 Sh3 - Tati

Sc1 Sh4 - Ruben

Sc2 Sh1 - Nick

Sc3 Sh1 - Erica

Sc3 Sh2 - Beau

Sc3 Sh3 - Erica

Sc4 Sh1 - Nick

Sc4 Sh2 - Ruben & Tati

Sc5 Sh1 - Erica

Sc5 Sh2 - Nick

Sc6 Sh1 - Nick

Sc6 Sh2 - Tati

Sc6 Sh3 - Grant

Sc6 Sh4 - Grant

Sc6 Sh5 - Grant

Sc6 Sh6 - Beau

Sc7 Sh1 - Damon

Sc7 Sh2 - Nick

Sc7 Sh3 - Damon

Sc8 Sh1 - Tati

Sc8 Sh2 - Ruben

Sc8 Sh3 - Damon

Sc9 Sh1 - Beau & Tati

Sh10 Sh1 - Ruben

Set Names

The names of files in the "Sets/scenes" folder were a little odd. So, I've created "Room.mb", "Yard.mb" and "House.mb" (if it wasn't named this already I just copied and renamed). Please use these when creating references in your scenes, and replace these with files of the same name when you update the models.

Project Divisions

1 Scenes; 26 Shots

Sc1 (4 Sh)

{Cam persp} Overview of yard setting ->Ruben

Enter Ben-waves at camera -> Beau

Check Traps -> Tati, Ruben

Control Pad -> Grant

Sc2 (1 Sh)

{In Room} Empty; Ben Enters ->Nick

Sc3 (3 Sh)

Squeak on Fence -> Erica

Look at map -> Beau

Jump down -> Erica, Ruben

Sc4 (2 Sh)

{OTS from monitor}Show Ben playing, with glow from screen -> Tati, Nick

{Crop screen} Show the game; and hi-score -> Grant, Ruben

Sc5 (2 Sh)

{Close up} Squeak sneaks across roof -> Erica, Ruben

Squeak gets to power box; plug and unplug -> Nick, Beau

Sc6 (6 Sh)

Ben comes out onto roof -> Grant, Nick

Squeak hides -> Tati, Ruben

Plugs power cable back in -> Grant

Squeak jumps down; Squeak jumps on head -> Erica

Squeak attacks and jumps off; Squeak bounding away -> Grant, Erica

Squeak jumps in cords; Ben gets over to cords and stomps -> Beau

Sc7 (3 Sh)

Ben hanging by cable -> Tati

Squeak playing game; new high score ->Nick, Erica

Ben enters through the window -> Beau, Ruben

Sc8 (3 Sh)

Ben sneaking up -> Grant, Erica, Tati

"Target Acquired" (upside down), showing struggle in room -> Erica, Grant

{Behind Ben and Squeak, looking at window} RPG ominously in window, malfunctioning -> Beau, Erica, Ruben

Sc9 (1 Sh)

Vaporization/Explosion -> Beau

Sc10 (1 Sh)

Aftermath -> Ruben

Modeling Notes

*Remember to name the elements

**Remember to go to {Edit->Delete by Type->History } to clean up the models.  Do this only when done with them.

***Keep layers up to date

House - Grant

>>Needs to be scaled up to fit in with yard  (reference with yard)

>>Add the window details; step(s) for porch; control box

>>RPG should be larger than power source

>>Play with the scale of roof elements a bit more to reduce slope

Room - Nick

>>Spread things about the room

>>Consider the camera placement and what we see

>>Add extra geometry to make edges of door straight

Yard - Ruben

>>More expansive

>>More details to trees & traps

>>Sharper traps, maybe smaller 

5/5

TO DO:

1.) Finished story reel to z drive.  Finish up rigs and models.

2.) Divide up shots and scenes to add settings, cameras, characters, props

Whatever scene you do, write down what is still needed.

3.) Decide who will set up which shot(s):

Reference in the scenes and characters necessary.

Set up a separate camera: "Shot_Cam"

Place characters roughly where they are in storyreel

DO THIS IN STURM COMP LAB TO ACCESS THE Z DRIVE

Nick - Sc 8 & Sc 10

Erica - Sc3 & Sc4

Tati - Sc1 & Sc2

Beau - Sc6 & S

Grant - Sc6 Sh 4-8

Ruben - Sc5 & first 3 of Sc6

==================    ^   By Thursday    ^    ==================

 ================= ================= =================

4.) Material and texture gathering (over the weekend)

5.) Camera fine tune and lights

6.) Set up AE project for final

7.) Sound

8.) Additional things to consider:

We will be blocking this weekend

Hey Grant!

For scene 6 I got the first 5 shots for the storyboard but I just need shots 6&7 to complete it. If you could post the shot 6&7 drawings on Flickr sometime soon that would be great. Thanks!

You just need to draw these shots.

Shot 6 >> Between the leg shot - Ben menacing

Chase

Shot 7

Setup of chord trap

> loop, or pull taut

Books

Reference Sources:

Scott McCloud

"Making Comics," "Reinventing Comics," "Understanding Comics"

4/30

References

Setup default project:  File>Project>New

(Make sure that the source folder is for the appropriate folder)

File>Create Reference

***Be sure to have the entire fileset copied over from yours to the server, and vice versa

XSheet

Speech

Don't over-do the phoneme poses, and don't move too fast.

Don't match completely, nearly all of the time we get partway there

Emotion affects the shape and exaggeration of the mouth

Start by looking at how much the mouth opens/closes (put hand under chin and notice how much things get moved, and timing); the spacing and timing of the opening are crucial, the smaller parts of pursing/etc are the next step, and the teeth/tongue/bottom lip are the more final details.

Muppets are great for viewing references, as far as the open/close and timing

Andy Rig

Don't mess with the gray values

Face Sliders & On Face --> set to 1 and turn on

AutoStretch should probably be off initially.

Stretch can be used if we need a little stretching

For Feet, the Parent setting:

andy_world will keep the feet planted to ground

andy_root will focus on keeping the body together.

FOR NEXT CLASS

Find a photo and frame the Andy face to try and get the image's emotion (DO NOT USE ILLUSTRATIONS)

Art Direction

The model style that I have in mind is essentially detailed (be it exaggerated) geometry with simple textures. By making the geometry much more detailed than the textures we can get more of a realistic feel from a cartoon-like environment. If any of you have played Team Fortress 2, they accomplish this quite well:

Note that, for the most part, textures are solid colors; but in certain areas (the guy on the left's socks, the 'propane tank') the textures are more detailed. By only adding realistic detail where it is absolutely necessary we can get a realistic but cartoon-like feel.

This feel was also done very well in Burning Safari. The character textures consisted of a lot of solid colors put together just right. Even the geometry for the primate was pretty simple:

Note the simple blocky canyon walls as well (again, pretty much one color, and really good lighting):

Accenting a sold color texture with some dirt on a corner or some wear on a flat surface will go a long ways with this style. I posted all of these pictures and a few others on Flickr so please check them out and get a feel for what I am trying to portray.

Squeak Model Progress

I know it looks scary without a head, but I thought I'd throw up what Damon and I have done so far. The head is actually almost done, it just needs to be attached to the geometry of the body. Texture is not final.

Squeak Final Concept

Hey gang, 

While brainstorming this past weekend, Beau had the great idea of adapting the great dane model to make Squak's body, while adding our own modelled from scratch.  Here is the "final"sketch we have been working from for the modelling:

You can see the original great dane model behind the sketch.  The body is nearly done, however the head is still in progress.  I just thought you guys might like to see our process.  

redo storyboards

Hi everyone. If sometime soon you could redraw the storyboard sketches that need to be fixed that would be great because then I could edit the storyreel more. I know everyone is busy with their other tasks. Thanks!

Tasks

Storyboard work

Sketches need to be done today, and submitted on Friday so that we can 

Tactigon

Elements of the 8-bit game - determine what collectibles will be needed.

Modeling Scale: 1 unit = 1 meter

Characters

Ben - done

Squeak - Damon, Beau & Erica

Outside

House - Grant

  Yard [trees/bushes; fence; cameras; traps] - Ruben

Room

Nick & Tati (decide amongst yourselves what you would like)

Roof

RPG

Control Panel

Scale (work in meters)

Work in Meters: Preferences (box in bottom right) -> settings -> Working Units: Linear: meter

Display -> Grid Options -> Length & Width: 10 units; Grid Lines every: 1 unit; Subdivisions: (up to you - 5 or 10 is probably good)

4/23

Storyreel

2:15 - 3240 frames

(Sec [frame])

Sc1

3 sec [-] - Camera sweep -> about right

1 sec [193-311] - Ben walks by;  -> 2.5 sec should be good

4 sec [312-437] - checking on the trap -> maybe short

4 sec [438-524] - come from right; checks box, enters house  (frame in to give better view) -> longer, 7 sec to also account for door

Sc2

10-11 sec [525-771] - Empty room, then Ben enters, sits at desk, wakes up comp, starts game -> about right

Sc3

[772-] - Squeak gets on fence 

[] - Cut intermediate shot

[-1220] - OTS shot to show map

[] - jump from the fence -> select only one of the optional shots (the one that shows more of the yard)

Sc4

[1471-1559] - need to see and start caring about Ben - side view, or even angled side so you see more of Ben, and the glow from screen, but not screen -> OTS of monitor 

5 sec [1560-1682] - -> both shots of Sc4 should be about as long as this shot, maybe both longer even

Sc5

8 sec [1683-1873] - maybe move to close-up  -> seems about right to sneakily progress on the roof

5 Sec [1874-1996] - beware of 180 rule (camera seems to have flipped sides, unless he is running back); move camera focus up a bit higher ->could use some more time: around 10 sec

Sc6

8 sec [1997 - 2210] -> probably will take around 20 sec

Sc7

5 sec [2211-2343] - Ben hanging, seen from window, -> redraw: see the face of Ben, we will see the shock in his face, and squirming, as Squeak gets into the room (off-camera)

[2244-] - Squeak playing game ->closer view of Squeak and monitor

[]Swap the scenes here, so that we see the score change, and then the cable snap[]

[Cable snap scene] - Ben swings about, there's a crash as Ben breaks through the window - shows Ben climbing through window.  We see the RPG hanging down

Sc8

Struggle in room, RPG bends and moves, "Target Acquired"

Sc9

Overhead shot - big jump for the audience (we've pulled them in, and as another conflict has started, so we need 

Sc10

Aftermath

For Thursday

For tomorrow (4/23) - to be done before the start of class

Post any ideas/preferences you have as to the layout of the room/lawn, etc. If you make sketches, please post them to Flickr as well.

Read Nick's post below with material listing and think about anything we may need to add; the comment area is probably a good place for that, rather than a new post.

Grant, please transfer the Scene 6 sketches/info to the server/Flickr so Tati will be able to access them. Email her so she knows where you stand.

The iTeamwork, as well as a lower post here, has further information regarding tasks we should be working towards, which means planning so that we have ideas to discuss and refine so that we can come to a decision.

Materials List

Here is what I see as the essential objects we need for each scene, comment anything I missed or that you want to see added

Scene 1

Ben (Andy rig)

House

Security camera

Fortified fence

RPG

Control panel

Front door

Scattered traps

Trees/bushes in background

Scene 2

Ben (Andy rig)

Room(window and door)

Desk

Desk chair

Computer( monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, ect)

Bed

Collectibles(posters, games, swords, whatever seems to fit with Tactigon)

Other boy’s room stuff(clothing dresser)

Scene 3

Squeak rig

Squeak map

house

Fortified fence

Scattered traps

RPG

Scene 4

Tactigon game in action

Ben (Andy rig)

Ben's room

Scene 5

Power box

power cables

Squeak rig

house

Scene 6

Power box

Power cables

RPG cord

Ben (Andy rig)

Squeak rig

Scene 7

Ben (Andy rig)

RPG cord

Squeak rig

Ben's room

Scene 8

Ben (Andy rig)

Squeak rig

Ben's room

Scene 8.5

RPG

Ben (Andy rig)

Squeak rig

Ben's room(desk,computer knocked over)

Scene 9

everything from a overhead view

house

Fortified fence

Scattered traps

RPG

Trees/bushes

Scene 10

Ben (Andy rig)

Squeak rig

Burned down house

Particle effects(smoke,fire)

Trees/bushes in background

Storyboard stuff

Just wondering but how long do you think this animation will be? 1 min 30 sec or about 2 min?

Also just a reminder for Grant but when you get the chance could you please post the scene 6 images on Flickr after you've scanned them? Thanks!

Storyboards for Sc7 - Sc8

Storyboards for Sc7 - Sc8. The quality isn't the best because I wasn't able to scan them, but they'll be up as scans soon.

4/21

Look on the iTeamwork site for more information and updates

1.) Story reel - Tati

2.) Materials List - Nick

      From simplest to most complex

      (may include Squeak rig)

3.) Art Direction - Beau

      Color Pallet

      Lighting

      Look/Feel

      Complexity

4.) Schedule/Producer - Ruben

5.) Modeling - Erica

6.) Layout - Grant

Bill: bring in "Acting for Animators"  summary (Ed Hook)

Possible Squeak Rig

Perhaps we can use this Tonga Fox rig for Squeak.

http://www.11secondclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=19747

I think using this pre-made rig can save us a lot of time modeling and rigging and give us more time for animating. In general I like the rig after looking at it and I think that it fits that cartoon like style for the critter we want. We can shift his facial expressions a bit more and make him more menacing looking. We could also probably modify some things on our own to make him more like the evil Squeak we want.

Scene 5, shots 1&2

Scene 5, shots 1&2
Originally uploaded by Tati_mg

Scene 5
Shot 1 >> Long shot (roof)
Squeak scurries along the roof
to get to the power box
Power box is at end of the house
(warning labels on side), opposite
end of the dormer

Shot 2 >> Slightly raised, angle
Down length of roof; box in foreground;
Bens dormer in background
Squeak at box, unplugging power
House lights go out
Squeak plays with the power cable

Scene 4, shots 1&2

Scene 4, shots 1&2
Originally uploaded by Tati_mg

Scene 4
Shot 1 >> Over the shoulder
See the screen, the game,
and the high score

Shot 2 >> Frame-in-frame -
edge of screen is at edge of frame
for context; Ben's POV
Zoom into the game
Tactigon is showcased

Storyboards, Sc2 and Sc3

Here's my current batch of storyboards. I also put these on Flikr. A couple shots have some different sketches, so comment if you like one better than the other. Also let me know if you like/don't like something. I think I'm going to attempt Ludum Dare this weekend, so don't expect any miracles from me on Saturday or Sunday.


Scene 2, Shot 1:
Ben's room, empty at the moment. I realized after I drew these that the dormer-style window would look different from the inside, so I'll probably redo these. But, something like this.


Scene 2, Shot 1:
Ben enters from the rightish, and sits at desk.

Scene 3, Shot 1 and Shot 2:
upper left: shot 1, Squeak on fence with map
middle: shot 2, version 1: Squeak looking at map
lower left: shot 2, version 2: Squeak looking at map, showing more map and less Squeak

Scene 3, Shot 3:
upper left: version 1, Squeak jumping off fence, dotted line shows path around house
lower right: version 2, camera is higher so we're looking down more, again the dotted line shows path around house.

Project Management

In thinking about the project, I looked into some project management resources, and this one seems decent, insofar as it is online, won't require downloading and installation, it's free, and relatively simple to use, it lets us assign tasks to members so we know duties, and keeps deadlines, with email reminders and notifications, and the option to put in the percentage of completion for tasks.  For this weekend we may as well try it, and if it seems sufficient we may keep with it.

If anyone has any other suggestions, please post them, we can definitely explore other avenues, I just wanted something to start with.

Go to the link and register: http://www.iteamwork.com/cgi-bin/cgii/tw.enter

The task I've set up is titled "DMST3650 Advanced Animation" and my nickname is just "Ruben"

Please post your nickname and email in the comments here so I can add you to the group.

Tasks

BY SATURDAY 4/16

Finish up the posts for our refined storyboard ideas

(post up as comments and I will add it into the main post)

Next week we will be:

Scanning updated Storyboards

Putting into movie for timing

Starting on modeling

Think about models:

Squeak

Features: sly, not as cutesy, narrow face

House

Rocket Launcher

Fence

Computer

Toys

Also (Thanks Erica)
Is there anything you guys are really interesting or really not interested in modeling? (This includes you Damon.) We can always hope that it'll work out were everyone wants to do something different.

Storyboard Refining

Sc1 - Ruben

Sc2 & Sc3 - Erica

Sc4 & Sc5 - Tati

Sc6

Sc7

Sc8

Sc9

Sc10

Storyboard

[Naming convention: Sc = scene, Sh = shot]

Setting info

Time: Dusk

RPG on roof - on a track

Scene 1

Shot 1  >>Taken from the security camera perspective

--Wide shot - Crane shot

Looking down

Fortified Fence, visible traps

Ben winding through yard to check on traps

 

Shot 2

--Long/Medium shot.

Ben looks up at the security camera.

Security Cam - on corner of house.

Shot 3

Ben checks clamp trap on ground

RPG is visible in the background, not particularly highlighted

Shot 4

Ben checks control panel by door, and enters the house

Scene 2

Shot 1 >> Shot from back

--Long shot/Wider angle

Sits down at the computer

We see wall with collection

Boots up computer

Scene 3

Shot 1 >> level with Squeak

--Wide shot (less than Sc1Sh1)

Squeak and house context; map in hand (reading, not carrying)

Shot 2 >> OTS - over the shoulder

Map lifts into view; house & yard in background

Shot 3 >> backs up even more

Squeak jumps off fence

Lose sight of Squeak briefly, then he is seen briefly as he gets deeper into the yard, following the path on his map

Scene 4

Shot 1 >> Over the shoulder

See the screen, the game, and the high score

Shot 2 >> Frame-in-frame - edge of screen is at edge of frame for context; Ben's POV

Zoom into the game

Tactigon is showcased

Scene 5

Shot 1 >> Long shot (roof)

Squeak scurries along the roof to get to the power box

Power box is at end of the house (warning labels on side), opposite end of the dormer

Shot 2 >> Slightly raised, angle

Down length of roof; box in foreground; Bens dormer in background

Squeak at box, unplugging power

House lights go out

Squeak plays with the power cable

Scene 6

Shot 1 >> From front of the house

--Crane/slightly above level of window

Ben comes out of the window and onto the roof

Squeak isn't in this shot

Shot 2 >> Same/similar camera as Sc5Sh2; reverse shot

Squeak hiding behind power box

Ben spots the plug

Shot 3

Reverse to Ben plugging in

Shot 4

Squeak jumps out - menace

Pounce on head; scratch; bite

Shot 5

Ben backpedals

Squeak runs around and behind

Shot 6 >> Between the leg shot - Ben menacing

Chase

Shot 7

Setup of chord trap

> loop, or pull taut

Scene 7

Scene 8

Scene 9

Scene 10

Scene Breakdown

Scene 1
Checking around the house

Scene 2
Sitting down in desk

Scene 3
Squeak with map in front of house

Scene 4
Playing Tactigon (in room)

Scene 5
Squeak on roof
unplugs power


(Optinal Scene 5b)
**
in room
shows ben getting angry enough, looks out window sees rodent, starts to climb out
starts to climb out window
**

Scene 6
Outside view
Ben stepping out of his window and onto the roof
Still on roof until falls

Scene 7
Ben falling into the ground

Scene 8
Squeak in Ben’s room
Ben coming into the room

Scene 9
Overhead and flash of light

Scene 10
On the lawn