Making Movies

n Concept n Storyboarding n Sound n Character Development n Layout and look n Effects n Animation n Lighting

Concept n Pixar’s Lasseter is a genius – “Nothing gets in the way of the story”

Storyboarding n Explicitly define –Scenes –Camera shots –Special effects –Lighting –Scale n Used as guide by animators

Sound n Voice recording of talent completed before animation begins n Animations must match the voice over n A puppeteer once told me that the voice makes or breaks a character

Character Development n 300 Drawings

Character Development n 40 Sculptures

Character Development n Computer Models

Layout and Look n Build scenery n Match colors

Matchmoving n CG camera must exactly match the real camera –Position –Rotation –Focal length –Aperature n Easy when camera is instrumented n Hard to place CG on moving objects on film

Matchmoving

Matchmoving n Square patterns in live action made it easier to track – furniture, wall paper n 2D – 3D conversion in Maya

Water

Particle Sim and Indentation

Tools

Compositing

Compositing n Lighting

Facial Animation

Fur

Cloth

Buttons and Creases

Texture

Companies n Pixar n Disney n Sony Imageworks n Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) n Rhythm and Hues n Pacific Data Images (PDI) n Dreamworks SKG n Tippett Studios n Angel Studios n Blue Sky n Robert Abel and Associates n Giant Studios

Newman! n Subdivision-surfaces n Polygonal hair (head) –Texture mapped on arms n Sculpted clothes n Complex shaders

Devil’s in the Details n Render in color n Convert to NTSC B/W n Add film effects –Jitter –Negative scratches –Hair –Static

Images

Images

Images

Stuart Little n 500 shots with digital character n 6 main challenges –Lip sync –Match-move (CG to live-action) –Fur –Clothes –Animation tools –Rendering, lighting, compositing

Stuart Little n 100+ people worked on CG –32 color/lighting/composite artists –12 technical assistants –30 animators –40 artists –12 R&D

Shooting Film For CG n Actors practice with maquettes n Maquettes replaced with laser dots –lasers on when camera shutter is closed n After each take, three extra shots –chrome ball for environment map for Stuart’s eyes –white and gray balls for lighting info

Match-moving n Film scanned n Camera tracking data retrieved n 3D Equalizer + Alias Maya to prepare (register) the digital camera n Once shot is prepared, 2D images rendered and composited with live action

Making Movies n Production Team n Production Line n Special Effects

Production Team n Directors n Modelers n Lighting n Character Animators n Technical Directors n Render Wranglers n Tools Developers n Shader Writers n Effects Animators n Looks Team n Security Officer n Janitor n Lackey