Category: project 2

Project Name: Shelter

Group Members: Jiazhuo Tang, Jiaruo Zhang, Yuhan Lin

Animation Link:

Process Video (My PART):

Brief Introduction of the Story:

The story revolves around a boy who is dissatisfied with the high-tech shelter where he lives. He yearns for an idyllic world outside but discovers that the reality outside is far bleaker than he imagined.

Category: 3D Animation

Inspiration: The inspiration for this project stems from the fascination with futuristic worlds depicted in futurism. It often portrays a vision of a technologically advanced society, emphasizing and romanticizing the quality of life under the influence of high technology. However, it tends to overlook the mutual dependence between technology and nature. The conflict between the high-tech lifestyle and people’s spiritual well-being is the central theme that this project aims to express. The concept of “shelter,” whether it pertains to physical or spiritual refuge, explores the harmony between technology and nature.

Summary: During the previous ten weeks, a total of five members were initially involved in planning this project. However, due to time constraints and a lack of project experience, we remained in the initial stages for a long time. Later, after personnel adjustments, only three members continued to work on the project. The reasons for the personnel adjustments included communication difficulties and insufficient efficiency. After careful consideration, we decided to split the team. It is worth mentioning that team friction is common, but it is important to actively communicate with members to identify and resolve issues. If a solution cannot be found, peacefully handling the team split becomes necessary.

I am grateful that the remaining three members put in a great effort to complete the project within the ten-week timeframe. We had to cover a wide range of tasks because initially, the project was designed for five people. Therefore, we all had a substantial workload. Our strategy involved intertwining the completion of tasks at each stage. For example, everyone participated in story discussions, animation reference filming, modeling, texturing, special effects, animation rendering, and more. Our coordination was so efficient that there were very few instances where someone fell behind or was unaware of the current progress or desired improvements. However, time remained the biggest challenge. Despite allocating two weeks for animation, rendering, and editing, it was evident that the project was rushed, and there were many areas where we felt unsatisfied. Nevertheless, we gave it our best effort.

If given another chance, I would still approach it in the same way, allocating time for each team member or each stage of the project. It’s important to allow for errors and provide time to fix and adjust them. We did have some shortcomings, such as frequent file errors during the post-production phase due to software version issues, resulting in the loss of various scene files that needed to be repaired. If there’s one area that needs improvement the most, it would be in the careful transfer and delivery of files, ensuring that all files are adjusted and finalized on a unified computer before distribution and rendering.

I am grateful to instructor Michael for providing us with valuable advice and assistance throughout the project. One thing that left a deep impression on me was his suggestion to shoot reference footage of ourselves for animation. Prior to that, we hadn’t realized the importance of this step and had simply relied on our imagination to create the animation. When we went to the studio for the reference shoot, he was there to guide us on how to portray the relationship between the two characters—whether the robot should act as a parental supervisor, a companion, or an emotionless monitor, and so on. These considerations added depth to the story and performances, and Michael’s advice proved to be invaluable.

I would also like to express my gratitude to George for his help. Based on his suggestions, we made a comprehensive revision of the storyboard, eliminating unnecessary lengthy parts and refining the pacing, as well as addressing details of actions and shot language that could appear in the storyboard. He also provided excellent advice for the ending of the story, proposing an open-ended conclusion that allows different viewers to interpret the animation differently. As a result, we changed the ending from the boy’s sad expression upon seeing the outside world to him looking up and seeing his ideal green planet, flying towards it. Whether the story represents an endless pursuit of a shelter or the boy finding his ideal place is left for the audience to decide and take away from the story.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with this project. Despite its imperfections in the final cut, it was a brief conclusion, and we still have plans to make further improvements in the music aspect during the later stages, striving for the best possible outcome.

My task this week still revolves around animation production. Since we dedicated these two weeks to focusing on animating, we did not have specific group discussions. Instead, we uploaded our progress and received suggestions and feedback from other team members. In my section, I primarily focused on refining the animation details during the struggle between the robot and the main character over the control lever.

Additionally, after completing the animations, we adjusted the rendering parameters uniformly. We then packaged the files and used the render farm provided by the UAL system to render the animations. I must say this was a somewhat challenging process. Firstly, rendering took a considerable amount of time, and secondly, there were instances where some textures were lost when uploading to the render farm. To address this, we resolved the issue by reassigning the texture paths in the file path editor, which largely solved the problem.

In addition to rendering, each team member was responsible for rendering their own animation sections. After completion, we combined the segments and handed them over to me for sound editing, background music, opening and closing credits, and other post-production tasks. I accomplished this part using Adobe After Effects. I must admit that this phase was quite time-sensitive, as I had only one day to complete this work. As a result, there were areas that I couldn’t modify due to time constraints, and the final outcome had some aspects that I wasn’t entirely satisfied with. However, overall, completing this project within the given time frame is something worth celebrating.

Individual Progress: The next two weeks are dedicated to animation production. Based on the tasks assigned last week, the three members of our group will independently work on their respective sections divided according to the storyboard. We opted for this approach because our time is limited, and working separately will help us accelerate progress and complete the project within the deadline.

I am responsible for the middle section of the storyboard, where the boy enters the spaceship and engages in a series of arguments with the robot while the spaceship travels into outer space. We are all using Maya for animation production and utilizing the Camera Sequencer feature to edit each shot. With Camera Sequencer, we input the appropriate frame numbers and assign specific camera identifiers, allowing us to easily preview the different shots arranged together.

During the animation production, we consider factors such as timing, how specific actions are presented in front of the camera, and attention to details like fingertips and blinking, which make the characters more lively. Additionally, I experimented with some creative techniques, such as modifying the color parameters of the model materials to achieve certain effects. For example, I changed the robot’s color from blue to red when it gets angry, and I adjusted the transparency and brightness to simulate the control panel’s activation. I also added a simple scaling animation, resulting in a satisfactory sequence depicting the control panel’s startup. I am quite pleased with this part.

Group Progress: (Lin and Jiaruo) The remaining two members are working independently on their assigned sections, but since there is no visual documentation provided here, I won’t present them one by one. Some common topics we discuss include maintaining consistent lighting brightness and color across shots, ensuring smooth transitions between shots, and addressing any stiffness in character movements. If needed, we can improve the smoothness of character movements through techniques like moving holds and paying attention to small details in the characters’ body language.

Next Steps: We have one more week to make revisions and render the final animations based on our initial animation production.

Individual Progress:

Firstly, I made some modifications to parts of the storyboard, making it clearer for us to understand the desired effects for each shot when shooting reference videos. Additionally, we divided the storyboard into three parts, assigning different shots to each of us for the key animation phase.

Next, the team members spent a day shooting live-action storyboards in the studio. We plan to use these reference materials for character animation, camera setup, and compositing in the animation. Jiaruo will play the robot, Lin will portray the male protagonist, and I will be in charge of filming and integrating the video clips. Since I am familiar with each shot in the storyboard as I created it, after consulting with Michael, we agreed that this division of roles is reasonable. The filming process went smoothly, and we spent half a day shooting. I then completed the editing in After Effects.

Furthermore, my third task was to integrate all the scenes together to ensure that the scene resources assigned to each team member are clear and consistent.

Progress of Team Members:

Lin: Lin worked on adding details to the spaceship model this week. She created a control panel, and after researching references, we decided on a circular button in the center as the main firing mechanism. When pressed, the electronic screen emits a glowing effect.

Jiaruo: Jiaruo will continue working on character weighting this week.

Next Division of Tasks: We divided the storyboard into three parts:

• Red section for Linsey
• Green section for Jiaruo
• Blue section for Tang

We will each work on animating our respective assigned shots. The estimated time for completing the animations is 2 weeks, with an additional week allocated for rendering and animation editing.

Integration:

• On Sunday, May 28th, we will organize the documentation.
• Our animation is scheduled to be completed in 2 weeks, leaving us with 18 days until June 14th. We plan to allocate 4 days for rendering and compositing, with Jiaruo and Tang handling the rendering, and Linsey in charge of sound effects. After completing our individual animations, we will transfer them to the school’s computers for compositing. Our plan is to finish rendering by the 12th.

Animation Camera Parameters:

• Set the camera size to 1920×1080.
• Use a focal length of 35.

Individual Progress:

1. Outdoor Scene 1 (Fantasy World):
   1. Added displacement maps: To achieve a more realistic effect, I applied displacement maps to the tree leaves and trunks, creating a textured surface. The following image shows the nodes used for displacement maps.
   2. Added cloud particle effects: Using the fluid particles in Maya’s FX menu, I selected the cloud effect and adjusted parameters such as density, resolution, and color. The cloud particles have built-in animation, which is advantageous for our scene as we don’t need to create additional animation specifically for the clouds. Adding this effect was intended to create a dreamy and ethereal atmosphere, aligning with our vision for the scene.
   3. Added flower and grass models: Using brush strokes in Maya’s asset library, I painted flowers and grass and converted them into polygons using the Paint Effects to Polygon conversion. I also adjusted the roughness and reflectance in the material settings. The 2D concept depicted some flowers and grass in the enchanted world, so I added these elements to enhance the scene’s authenticity.
   4. Obtained the A-image: I made some simple camera parameter adjustments. First, I enabled the display of object information to determine the camera’s position relative to the objects. Then, I set the focal length and range of focus in the Arnold settings. This allowed me to blur certain objects, such as leaves, to maintain overall visual harmony.
   5. Added flower cluster decorations: Similar to the leaves, the flower clusters were created using planes. I obtained a stylized flower cluster material in Photoshop, consisting of a colored image and a black-and-white image. The colored image served as the base color for the planes, while the black-and-white image acted as an opacity mask, hiding the white parts of the colored image. The black-and-white mask was applied to the geometry’s opacity channel, resulting in the desired effect. We consider this a new technique for representing 3D scenes, inspired by the effect of hairpieces, and applied it to create stacked foliage.
   6. Added lighting effects: Various lighting effects were added. Firstly, for the water reflections, Jiaruo created water effects, but encountered a problem where the water did not have an independent color after adding the base color. Therefore, we created a separate blue light for the water. Secondly, we added side lighting near the trees and atmospheric lighting for the entire scene. Lastly, to achieve the dream-like effect, we planned to add glowing orbs around the trees. However, we need to consider the impact on rendering speed, so we will only add the necessary lights from a resource-saving perspective.
   7. Overall, we are satisfied with the results as they align with our expectations based on the 2D concept and create a dreamy atmosphere.

1. Outdoor Scene 2 (Real World):
   1. Added planet texture, lighting effects, and star models: In the story’s conclusion, the protagonist chases after a green planet. To capture the mystery and longing associated with the distant planet, I added a green planet texture and applied mesh light effects. Additionally, I incorporated star models into the scene.
   2. Camera focus adjustment: Similar to the previous scene, I adjusted the camera’s focal length to achieve the desired visual effect.
   3. Rendered three images: I rendered three images, one with stars in the sky, one without stars, and different textures for the moon. After discussing with the team, we leaned towards the night sky without stars and a moon texture that exudes a hazy atmosphere.

Progress of Other Team Members:

Yuhan Lin: This week, Lin completed the integration and import of scene resources in Maya. They added self-illumination and lighting, and the overall presentation looks nices.

Jiaruo Zhang: Jiaruo worked on character weighting this week, which will take about two to three weeks to complete.

Next Steps:

1. Finalize the Storyboard:
   • Team members will act out character animations for the storyboard, including determining camera angles, character movements, expressions, and dialogue or action language.
   • Consider the relationship between the two characters in the animation: supervisor and supervised, friendly brothers, strict parental figure, etc.
   • Through discussions with Michael, we realized that the storyboard lacks some specific details for further exploration, making it difficult to proceed to the animation stage. To achieve better consensus within the team, we have decided to act out the animation ourselves to clarify how the animation should be.

1. Integrate Scene Resources:
   • Organize scene resources, categorizing them into two scenes and character files.
   • Set up lighting within the scenes.