Scene setting - using 'cheat' film set techniques in Maya - for Elena Lam's project Ragnarok

I've been creating the lighting and scene set up for Elena Lam and her project 'Ragnarok'...

I used the same technique as I used in a working film studio, when creating a desert scene (images below). For the desert scene I hand painted a Cyclorama (scenic backdrop) of a sky, then used scenic flats laid on their sides, with sculpted polystyrene 'dunes' applied to the top edge...positioned strategically away from the camera these dunes the illusion of depth. We used a fan heater under the camera to create heat waves!

I applied the same principle to Elena's Ragnarok Maya scene (excluding the heater!)
The mountains are 2D png files created by Elena and I applied them in the Hypershade to image planes - and then rotated into position accordingly...
I've used a selection of point, ambient, direction and spot lights and have linked the character lights in the relationship editor...
Highlights top left and then sunlight spilling onto the character....and a few accent lights on the foreground...

Final image of Elena's Ragnarok - frame 399
This animation sequence has a static camera; so the scenery is dressed to shot. The model space clearly shows how bizzare this looks when not viewed through the camera...

Camera view

Perspective view

Full size set for desert - Camera view- 'Shaman' National Film and Television School 1993

 Perspective (gantry!) view

Light 'Linking' and 'parenting' in Maya

More fun today creating the lighting for shots_00 and 08!

For the opening scene (shot_00) we see a pile of toys.

I cheated the direction light outside the windows and brought it closer and and lowered it down to create the sunlight on the wall. For the sunlight spilling across the floor I used a golden coloured point light and spot lights to create  colour pools of 'bounce' light.

The bounce light is so much fun to create...I selected an orange spotlight to create the 'bounce' from the orange wooden disc close to He-Man's arm, and a blue spotlight to create a blue highlight near the robot's ear, and some cool blue 'daylight' to wash across the rabbit at the top of the cardboard box...

Creating these pools of light has brought back some great childhood memories. I used to help my Gran make jelly. The glass bowl we used caught the sunlight that spilled through the window, and I was fascinated by the 'glass' looking jelly cubes, as they changed shape and dissolved into the steaming water, turning it bright orange....

Maya Interface for shot_08, showing a small 'tear off' copy panel of the camera view, plus another panel showing the rendered image.

Rendered frames of shot_08. One of the starting frame and another at the end. The robot moves across the screen in this shot, and I wanted to make sure that the accent lights that hit the robot's head and shoulders, didn't spill out onto the set.

I achieved this by 'light linking' and 'parenting'.

The light linking option is found in the Relationship Editor, under 'Light Linking'. Chosing the light-centric option I can then select the light on the left hand panel, and the object in the adjacent right panel and highlight them.

I recall lighting cameramen on set, using 'flags' (black fabric rectangles clamped to lighting stands) to block light from spilling everywhere.

I used the 'parenting' option on the Robot to make sure that the lights that hit his shoulders move with him, so that he doesn't suddenly go into shadow as he moves across the shot.

Maya Lighting, Ambient Occlusion and Depth Passes

More fun creating lighting for Shot_07.

I have tried to replicate the window frame shadow, which is cast on the wall, across He-Man's shield.

I love how the light and shadows pick out the detail of the geometry on the shield.

Ambient Occlusion Render Pass (AO)

Depth Pass (Mental Ray)...with a pregnant looking He-Man haha