Next Gen 27/01/16 VFX Shots Evaluation

The VFX shots we are using took were all done in the same location at the college. We originally used me as the person in the shot to have an idea of how far the camera should be and how high it should be of the ground to fully capture the shot. Afterwards we let Jacob take my spot in the shot. Before each shot was done however, we measured  the distance away from the scene that the camera was at as well as the angle that the camera was at from the standard 90' degree angle of the camera tripod. We also took two of each shot, first to test the second to solidify the shot. We also put down markers at each point we took the shots.

During the shots (or known as rushes) however there were multiple issues (probably because this was the first proper VFX shots we did). The main issue that could summarize all problems was that the team was not fully organised for the task. This was a snowball effect for the rest of the shots:
Firstly, the environment we were using was not ideal because there were multiple other people in the room besides us so the room was never quiet and that also means we had a few people interfere with what we were doing.
Secondly, no one was completely assigned the task of keeping the data sheets for each shot up to date. That means that the measurements for each shot were not recorded (but were then assigned after the shots based on the teams knowledge) and we were not to sure of the extra information on each data sheet.
Thirdly, for the whole process of the shots we were down a teammate, granted we did all of the work with one person down, however once he returns we will have to catch him up on all other work we did.
Finally, the last problem was that we did not have a idea of what shots we wanted to do in what way. While we did have a storyboard on what events would occur at the beginning, middle and ending of the shots, we did have to improvise in a few shots (for example we thought that we could not just have the blocks fall from the air into frame (we originally thought to have a tracking shot from the screen to above the screen to view the screen and back again, however that would not look good because of the camera and of the inexperience with filming) so I had the idea to back out from the shot and view the full scene to give some form of an explanation for the blocks falling down from the air).
The main good points however were that: all shots were done at a fast pace, markers for all of the camera positions, everyone was doing something during the shots and we had a storyboard for all of the camera shots.
We captured exactly what we thought we would capture and with the extra wide angle shots we figured how to get more from what shots we used.
As for our teamwork we all did our parts for the shots, we also did it well since the shots were done within 20 mins from the start of the finished preparation.

As well as working out all of the problems listed above, the main points I would do to improve the shots would be to: get more noticeable placement markers so that no one picks them back up, have everyone have designated job without trading them so no job gets finished and writing down all of the un-necessary information of the camera and scene on the data sheets before the shooting begins.

Overall, the shots we captured were what we wanted; it will be a good basis to infuse into Maya. The only thing that I wished was in the shots, 

Next Gen 20/01/16 VFX

VFX

After a team meeting of telling the team what to do, we hit a wall. Since the only things to do is to render the models in Maya and to make the models in 3ds max of the blocks, there was not a lot of work to do; especially since some models (such as the desk and monitor) have been done before in previous tasks. Most of my time was spent toying around in Maya to get a go feel for the controls and button short keys; making a basic scene with a few out of place. The scene was made with a quick version of the seven different blocks in the Tetris game.
Some of the blocks have been finished in 3ds max, however the main question know is what order the blocks are going to fall and what the particle effect will be. Some other ideas have been put forward to build on the basic idea, however the team has not  made a final decision.

Next Gen 20/01/16 Coding

Asteroids

The basic asteroids game has finally been finished (assets from kenney/nl). All bugs have been sorted out and the hit detection works fine. I even got the particle effects of the engines to work well. Although the spawning from the game always ends up on the right side of the screen for some reason (it has nothing to do with the coding scripts, I checked). The only other main coding project that I am currently attempting is a basic number generator that will help me develop my coding skills. However every time I have attempted to create the scripting for the task, Unity always rejects the script for some unknown reason.

Next Gen 20/01/16 Gaming and VFX Industry

Virtual Reality 

Recently more news has arrived on the VR projects from some of the major companies. The ones this time are Microsoft's Holo-Lens and Nintendo supporting VR.
Firstly Nintendo; as most know their new console the NX was made to be a replacement for the lowest selling console of the 8th generation of consoles, the WIIU. However all of the other major companies support the new virtual reality craze while Nintendo does not, and since that nintendo is having a rough go at gaming lately it might be worth for them to invest. Since we all know that vr headsets are going to be ridiculously expensive and games for them at first will most likely be simple games to show the technologies abilities. Since Nintendo does have a tendency to reach more markets than their competitors (Sony in Europe in Asia and Microsoft in America and Australia) if they have a better deal for virtual reality it will be incredibly successful because it is very trendy right now. If they wait it could be a missed opportunity.
Next Microsoft's Holo-Lens might have been crippled at release because of its low battery life, at around 5 hours. Since it has also been announced that they have no intention of releasing a wired version people can use for a full day session.

Sony Censoring "Let's Play's"

As of January 2016, Sony has attempted to get the term "Lets Play" under their name. Just like when Nintendo tried to censor their content online by their community; the internet has been daring Sony to make this happen. They have been declined the first time but they can still appeal for the legal qualification. It is like;y that wanted this because of the massive increase of popularity with their company after the PlayStation 4 was released and trying to censor Microsoft and Nintendo from this Internet form. If Sony got the right to the term, they could legally sue any person who made a video with the term Let's Play; with no legal battle. This can turn out horribly for gamers and ruin Sony's brand for a while.

VFX Rally to Fix the Industry

On 13th January 2016, over 400 people attended a VFX meeting in Regent Hall, Oxford Street. Once again this is a testimate to the efforts that the VFX community will go to, too change the filming industry. This is a reflection of the rally that occurred 3 years ago for the same reason. After the massive outcry from the Rhythm and Hues from the theatrical release of "Life of PI" many in VFX work went out in protest and it has never been the same since. This is another trend that will endure until the industry does something about it.

Next Gen 14/01/16

VFX

After we all got split into new groups. We were then given a new task to make a basic shot with a camera, and animate the shot with what we want to have in it. The groups idea was to have someone playing a game of Tetris but the blocks falling end up on the table and after making a line it will shatter and explode.  We also wanted the blocks to appear translucent with a glass like texture however we have had a look at multiple different versions of Tetris and decided on a certain model however  since this is just a first attempt at animation  it will be in a basic style at first. The blocks will be make in 3ds max first and then imported over to Maya 2015 to be animated.


Industry

We have also moved on from games industry into the VFX industry. So far we have looked at a few visual studios such as Method Studios (which was the one I researched), Jellyfish, Blue Sky, Flip-board, Frame-store, Blue Bolt, Base Black, WETA and LOLA VFX. These studios are either some of the major ones or they are know for making films. Others such as Glassworks are mostly known for advertisements.

Coding

The 2D asteroids game that the group has been working on has been progressing somewhat well (even though there was that time when the severs were down so no work could be done for about 4 hours) most of the coding for the ship has been completed. So it can move well, it can shot the lasers (although a bit buggy) and off screen reappearance however the asteroids spawning got out of control and crashed the game in a matter of seconds. Other than that Unity occasionally bugging out on me for some reason, the project is about 60% completed.

Next Gen 06/01/16

Coding
Today begins the running up to exam season (for us it is about 1 1/2 months away or closer). Since we are using Unity again the main thing in coding was to make a basic rotation against a certain center point. Since we were in pairs it was not as hard to complete. However some of the coding was very annoying to do.

Update* The exam was pushed back because of the lecturers getting to set the time. It will now be set in April.

Sketch

Sketching
For a while the group has stopped 3d modeling and went ahead with drawing for a few weeks. The task we have been assigned is to create a image (as complex or as basic as we like) to show a colour scheme between the ones mentioned in the colour theory post. The one I decided to go with was Analogous. The colours I went with were different shades of red, orange and yellow. I decided to draw a park during winter because it is a neat way to tie the colours together into the same setting. The image was first drawn on sketch paper to have an idea of what the image should be. Afterwards it was scanned and put into Photoshop. Where it was then edited to be complete. After the edits had been made we then had to add a layer underneath to colour it in grey before the colour began. However I did not make it to that point yet.

Colour Theory

Colour Theory
 Colour Theory is basically the different colours that the normal human eye can see in the light spectrum mixed together to appeal to the normal eye.

The original primary colours are RED,YELLOW and BLUE. However know it is changed to RED,GREEN and BLUE. The reason behind this is that these are the basic colours that the human eye combs see the visible light spectrum. When all three comb colours a-line together they produce white. With these three colours you can make any known colour.

There are also versions of colours being used together for certain colour schemes.
Monochromatic: constant shades of the same colour
Analogous: colours that are close to one another on a colour wheel
Triadic: All colours used are equally separated on a colour wheel
Complementary: When the colours used are opposite on a colour wheel.

Next Gen 16/12/15

Modeling

The models of the: vending machine, tree, hedge and chest have all been fully modeled and textured however some of the textures on the vending machine and chest had a green outline. It turns out you need to cover both the polygon and the outline of the image itself. It will clash with the rest of the texture. Other than that the rest of the texturing went fairly well. I made both a cartoon style and realistic style of both the tree and the hedge, however after a few talks the group went with the cartoon style. Good thing too because some of the texturing on the top of the tree was stretched because of the view of the polygon.

Unity 3d Game Review and commitment

For the Unity 3d game 'Lost Dog Simulator' I designed (as well as the tree) most of the extra foliage in the level such as the flowers, grass and the billboard. However for the flower and billboard when I exported them to unreal engine to be used the team said to use no textures; this made them faster to produce.

After the finished demo was given the main criticism that was given was that the demo was relativity empty (more interactivity should have been). The personal gripes I have with the demo was that: there was no music in the demo, not much textures and no more than one enemy to face. Since the game demo was relatively rushed because of the planed demo being deleted.