Behind the Scenes

Catcall

Take a look at what it really takes to make a scene come to life!

To get this on my demo reel for the Disney Lighting Trainee application, an aggressive deadline of November 9 (giving me only 23 working days to get the scene done) was imposed. Challenge accepted.

Did I mention I THRIVE on deadlines?

v16_r02_f67 No comp work included.

The image shown above is the result as of the deadline. I completed the composition, look dev, and lighting in Maya though the compositing and rendering of the entire animation is still in progress. (Since rendering will be done on my home computer, this part may take some time.)

Note: This scene has been delayed longer than usual due to an accident and a stint in the hospital (a 30-foot free fall from the mast of a boat!). Even in pain, I did what I could to move the scene forward - yes, I am that dedicated.

Reference

Composition of scene reference:

Night lighting reference:

Setting the scene

before

after

reference

By utilizing Sarah Tarr's Harlem Streets set and Zootopia as a guide, I created not only better leading lines, but further interest and depth making the scene feel less 'crowded.'

Every Step I Take, Every Move I Make

Iterations

It is all about telling the right story and using light to guide the eye and enhance the sequence.

In an animated scene, in order to create a lighting rig that will work for most of the sequence, one must look at the key shots of the scene.

v20_r04 Key shots. No comp work included.

Adding movement to the background, like a moving car, brings the environment to life.

v25_r01 Image sequence in 10s. Added moving car animation. No comp work included.

Textures and UVs

v17_r05 Swimming textures.

Challenge: No UVs were made for character's pants nor the purse.
Solution: Make UVs for both, create textures in Substance Painter.
Result: Since UVs made after animation, the UVs move with the animation while the texture is static causing 'swimming' patterns.

Hmm, how can I work around the UV problem quickly and efficiently (since creating UVs for animation is not a simple task)?

By looking at the UV editor and noticing the changing patterns in each frame of the animation, I wondered if using a tiled texture may solve the issue. By using a tiled texture, even as the animation moves the texture is somewhat consistent and would therefore not look as if the pattern is 'swimming.'

Seems to work!

It is these little moments of triumph that give me a little thrill and reminds me of how much I have learned from even a couple months ago. This only comes with knowing more about how things work overall - seeing the bigger picture and being able to connect the 'dots' in order to find alternative solutions.

A little screeching detail...

Originally, the catcallers ran away on foot after Sarah's crazy wig-out moment.

To add a bit more mood to the shot, I decided to make the catcallers in an offscreen car that would shine their headlights on Sarah's performance then screech away in fright!