Creating face controllers to drive blend shapes!

Great lesson today creating face controllers, in the perspective model space, using Nurbs Curves (rectangles, circles and text) to control each facial expression or lip sync phoneme shape...

The controllers  then act as 'drivers' to the 'driven' blend shapes.

This gives two advantages.

One: The controllers are clearly visible in the viewport and are a simple representation of the blend shape command interface.

Two: The controllers are clearly visible in the graph editor, and that, in turn, the animation of the blend shapes is far easier to amend in the graph editor; as each one can be selected individually in the graph and editing accordingly.

I am finding rigging to be very logical, and enjoyable in equal measure to animating!!

Above:

Nurbs Curves used to create the 'rectangular' controller box and 'circle' controller. The circle was then limited in it's translation Y axis, which meant that it's position would extend either above or below the box, plus it's values were restricted and locked. '0' being the lowest position and '1' being it's top most position.

The pink circled areas indicated the controller, corresponding blend shape values, and the 'Set Driven Key' option box.

Above:

Constraining and parenting the controller to the head joint (highlighted in green)

Above:
Tear off copy of camera viewport, shown on the right. This was not a 'standard' camera view. We created a 'facial camera' and then constrained the camera (in the perspective viewport) to the controller, meaning that when the head was rotated, that the camera view of the head appeared to remain static and in line with the head....only the body appeared to move. This would be utilised if creating an animated scene and a close up of the face was desired simultaneously...

In Her Shoes - critical review

So movie number 2 on a Trans-Atlantic flight...

'In Her Shoes'...

I think these two images, from a colour script point of view, sum up the emotional journey that the two sisters go on. Darkness and separation, to light and connection.

There's some great moments of personal and sibling frustration throughout, and I particularly like the straightforward yet slightly cynical nature of the grandmother, played by Shirley Maclaine.

I found this film to be hopeful and to carry some depth and weight, when dealing with a storyline of personal growth...

It's visually very pleasing too...particularly the alfresco informal wedding scene at the end!

Royal Scottish National Orchestra - Prokofiev critical review

Critical Review...

Last night we had the treat of seeing and hearing the Royal Scottish National Orchestra play at the Perth Concert halls...

The movements played were:

                Rachmaninov: Caprice bohémienProkofiev: Piano Concerto No.4 (for the Left Hand) Prokofiev: Suite from ‘Cinderella

Surprisingly, given  that there was a deliberate absence of set design, I found the entire evening very interesting from a visual perspective!

The blonde wood of the concert hall was bright and warm against the gloss black of the evening dresses, coats and tails and grand piano's.

The finishes of the instruments, wood, chrome plate, brass were stunning and the whole look and feel of the room was completely classic and timeless....

The music quality was breathtaking....and not a microphone in sight....

Even the cacophonous screaming tension of the violins, as the 'clock' (tubular bell and percussion) struck Cinderella's midnight, was spectacular to listen to....

I was also struck by how much an orchestra is a team. It reminded me of how we are currently working on our Going Live animation...and that each of us has taken an element of lip sync or animation and it's all coming together as a complete piece...

I like the image of the empty concert hall. The orchestra and the audience came together for a moment in time last night and created something that could only be captured exactly that way once.

And then we all disappeared.....

Magic.

Rendering and toy set up for the establishing shot - Going Live

Now this was fun!!

I finished off the lip sync and secondary animations for shots 24, 26 and 27a today, and then began to assemble and place the 3D model toys, in Maya, to create a heap of toys for our establishing shot. We realised that we can create a sharp opening shot, which combines both the first and second shots in our 'storyboard' sketches, currently on the PreVis.

It was fun to create He-Man, in an ungainly position, unceromiously dumped onto a wooden hoop toy post! A real contrast to when he is marching about being a big know it all....

Great to see the intial renders, showing natural daylight in the sitting room. A fellow student, Stathis, has been looking at tutorials and working with Sang at the University, and the output renders are great to see. Very realistic!

Maya interface, showing a locked off camera shot.

Rendered view, including lighting. More positioning to be completed tomorrow, but a good indicator of the final feel of the toys as a group.

Progressed animated PreVis and lip sync - Going Live

Here's how our Jeremy Kyle show animation is coming along...
great to begin to see the pace of the edit and how the shot sequence is shaping up...  
Primary and secondary animation is about 80% completed and we are now in the rendering process....

                      

The Imitation Game - Critical Review

So this past week was a blast in the USA...a reunion of friends. Apart from noticing that Oregon looks very much like a 1:25 scale version of a 1:50 scale Scotland the weather was similar too...

One of the advantages of flying, apart from seeing the Northern Lights from the plane, was time to watch a handful of movies...

First up over Greenland, was 'The Imitation Game'.

I think the movie poster says it all. I really like that the lead character is shown facing away from the audience, fully absorbed in his obsession.

Moments of this film, which is a true story about the genius Alan Turing, who cracked the Enigma code during WWII, were reminiscent of 'A Beautiful Mind'. The lead was not implied as being insane, but certainly gifted in an extraordinary way.  The acting was very convincing and the art direction was invisible. Always, a good sign that the design is well thought out. The sets and locations were pretty subdued both in terms of lighting and colour, and this really added to the authenticity....

 

The real Alan Turing

Critical review - The Transport Museum in Glasgow, Zaha Hadid and the Tall Ship

I spent the weekend in Glasgow and visited the Transport Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid.....and the Tall Ship 'Glenlee' which is situated directly outside the entrance of the museum.

The two attractions, look at first sight, as if they have nothing in common....but having found the concept top shot (as below) I can see how the Transport Museum looks to be an interpretation of waves, water and refracted light, leading to the shore where the boat is moored.

 I didn't get that impression whilst inside the building, but the concept, now having seen the exterior top view, makes more sense.

First we had a look around the Tall Ship, which is moored directly adjacent to the entrance of the museum. It reminded me of the contrast of the Royal Yacht in Leith, being situated directly alongside the Debenhams department store!

I was taken aback once we had gone below deck, as the space was enormous, and the curvature of the hull was extensive. The interior was so huge compared to the size of the deck that I wasn't entirely convinced that we were still inside the actual boat. Dr Who's Tardis came to mind.

The smell of varnish was wonderful, and I loved the contrast of one minute being surrounded by waxed timber, wooden beams, sugar sacks and jute, to the next minute being surrounded by molded ceiling panels, glass and steel.

The interior of the Transport Museum has been treated in a very specific pale green. All moldings, handrails, vents, air conditioning panels, conduit, ceiling panels, no matter what the finish, are all coated in the exact same colour.....pale Hospital Green. The colour reminded me of the 1920's and 1930's and sanitoriums and war museums. Interested to note that this colour, whilst definitely making a statement, didn't detract from the displays. The atmosphere it created only added to the 'historical' context of the transport showcased inside - and made the exterior completely contrast to the interior.

I particularly love this shot, where the Tall Ship is reflected in the glass, and the 'waves' (almost like sound waves, or heartbeat waves) crash over the top....