Final Thumbs/Animatic

I have been able to successfully produce four effects shots.  As such the final animatic and storyboards look this this.

Effects test - Lightning

These are tests for the final outcome of the lightning effect for Jeff.  I wanted to play about with different colours but I think the blue still retains something of his being the protagonist in the film

   

The glow helps to define the edges of the lightning and the particle effects just help to give it an exra air of the supernatural!

Enemy Effects test - Particular Smoke

I've been playing with Smoke effects in Trapcode Particular!  Smoke is extremely difficult to get right.  I think the lighting plays a big part in it but it is generally formless so it is hard to pin down to a person or a place!  I attempted using 3DS Max's particle system to generate a cloud of particle 

   

   

Meeting

At my meeting with Lynn today we looked at a couple of edited videos from the footage I have captured over the last few weeks of filming.  We decided to keep it short and succinct, focusing on 4 VFX shots that I can attempt to polish to a high standard.

Other than that there was not much more to discuss.  I need to submit a draft of the dissertation ASAP so that I can still receive feedback before submission.

Akira Kurosawa

Blawg post

Kishōtenketsu

Different way of telling stories

Desert Run

Here is an extension of the desert background replacements.

Using rotoscoping techniques I was able to single out Jeff's character from the scene and blend him almost invisibly.  Seamlessly, rather!  Certainly the quick movement of the scene disguised any potential blemishes that may have occurred,  

Again I was really pleased with this result.  I wish it had been a little longer to push him further into the scene, but rotoscoping is a lengthy process.  It would have been nice to extend this particular technique on to the full final piece, but it was difficult to see where this particular scene could be used consistently.

Background replacements

So I did some cool background replacement images!  I'm really happy with these, I think they are the best thing I've done this year so far.  I cut the characters silhouettes out and merged the grass on the original image.  In order to mix up the second image I created the mountains from the original image.  I am also quite proud of the colour grading where I was able to make the light from both scenes to match the desert lighting.

 

 

Animatic

Thumbnails Revised

This is the idea I would love to attempt.  A sort of take on the chase sequence I have been developing and something to try with VFX.  The scene begins with a future version of myself watching the chase unfold and then at various points he tries to stop the same thing happening again.
I wanted to get the idea of a kind of Groundhog day style infinite loop - with a feeling of hopelessness that what we are potentially witnessing has happened an infite amount of times....