3D AnimationProduction

Log

For this assignment we had to plan and produce a new 3D motion graphic to promote the college’s upcoming new radio station E6.

20.10.12

Initially we worked in teams researching ideas and coming up with individual concepts. From them we chose a finalized plan which we created a storyboard for us to follow.

After we had come up with our final idea we separated as a team and createdindividual motion graphic using our storyboard as a template and then individually we made creative changes and alterations to make our motion graphic unique.

We quickly created a 3D test to visualize how our motion graphic would turn out, by doing this I decided I would add a whole new introduction to my motion graphic as well as spotting some difficulties I might come across while doing my actual production.

27.10.12

One of the first issues I snagged on was when I was creating the assets for the pacman scene. Initially for the six which would chase the E’s I used the knife tool to slice through the hoop part of it then created several of them with the slice opening at different stages. However as the gap got bigger the shape of the six got more distorted and didn’t fit in the maze

A solution to this was if we were to separate the top part of the 6 on a different layerTo the bottom part we could use the pivot of the object to act as a hinge which would smoothly swing the 6 open and close.

09.11.12

I then continued to create the other assetsIncluding the e’s, the E6 radio logo and theCollege logo. However because of a change I Made to the beginning of my motion graphic,I had to take a different approach to how I Would add these.

For the maze itself I wanted it look as much like a video game as possible going right down to a suitable font. The illustration of the maze on the left is the object I used for the test and the one on the right in one of my finalized objects. The pixel like font on the right was created by downloading a vector file of pixel alphabet in illustrator then importing it into modeller. I also added a neon light like texture to all the layers within the maze object.

13.11.12

To give my Pacman maze a sense of place I Decided I would create a maze to place aroundIt and I gave it decals related to the college likeA picture of the college’s entrance at the front.

However this led to an issue because of the Angle the maze would have to be placed it madeAnimating the six very difficult so instead I decidedTo place the arcade machine at a slant so the mazeWould be flat I could do this because in layout ICould angle the camera so it looked like the arcadeIs on flat terrain.

I took the idea of creating an arcade machine for my maze further by creating a mini arcade which would add a bigger space and add more detail to my motion graphic however doing affected the time I had left for post-production editing of the video sequence.

23.11.12 - 11.12.12

Pony Arcade Machine

Skool Dance Dance Machine

CraneMachine

Stacking Game, Hockey TableAnd Driving Machine

This is the first version of the arcade scene, without any textures added to the walls and Floor. I decided that to save myself the hassle of rotating all the arcade machines at aSlant I would create the fly through of the arcade right up to the point where it zoomsinto the E6 screen then create a transition in post-production that would connect it With the pacman sequence

14.11.12

However I then discovered it was possible to have an AVI play on the other arcade machines Screens by importing like how I had imported all the other images I created for their surfaces.This gave me an even better idea on how I would change from the arcade fly through to the E6 Pacman chase. If I edited the Pacman chase in premiere then exported it as an avi I couldAdd it straight to the arcade machines screen in the flythrough in layout and then this would Give it a real sense of being on the screen, however I had to make sure the camera was at theRight angle and that I had additional lighting on the screen to compensate for the shadowBeing cast by the top of the machine.

In Layout the AVI looked pixelated but once rendered it came out clean.

19.12.12

For the pacman chase sequence a lot of it was produced in post production with on the 6Being animated in layout. The three main other things that I needed to incorporate wasThe high score changing with each thing eaten by the six, the E’s that the six will chaseAnd the last bit of the sequence where the logo will come out.

For the highscore I took render shots of each of the numbers that would be in view during the chase at the correct position then inPhotoshop I cropped the rest of the scene out leaving only the number in the correct place.

The issue was the close upShots where I had to take the render shots in the exact position of the many positions of the camera

I decided that I would animate the e’s in 2D with flash so I had less to manage in layout When animating the 3D six. In Flash I created motion paths for the e’s to follow up to the Bit where the camera closes in on the six which by then the only e left I animated frame by Frame so I could get the precise position. A slight niggle I cam across with this method is while IWas animating the six I didn’t visualize which route the e’s would take and at what position theyWould be eaten therefor during post-production in flash I had noticed I had deviated from myInitial plan and had to improvise subsequently meaning I had to drop one of the e’s and only Have three.

The ending sequence in which the Pacman six transforms into the full E6 radio logo I decided To produce in Adobe After Effects where I would transition the six and the eaten from their final positions into the logo with a white background as I felt this was a lot simpler method then trying to scale it and transform in layout.

20.12.12

A link to the finished Motion Graphic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLfYlrRR0UA

Overall I am quite happy with the finished product although there are someThings I could have changed. I feel I may have spent a little to much time in the Construction of the arcade units and maybe could’ve added a more realistic Textures to them. There is also some inconsistency with the lights as the camera zoomsInto the college arcade machine and that was because I thought a spotlight was neededSo the screen could be seen more clearly and didn’t realise that the rest of the sequence Rendered still had the same light fittings. I am very pleased with the design of the mazeAnd I think it captures the essence of Pacman enough that people will recognize theSimilarities.

Summary