Another Ladder

This is another test comp for the Factory scene:

POV of Tyler looking for the exit..

The plan is to get as many of the test comps underway as soon as possible, and capture the feeling for the scene, then to do final renders with some more passes (eg. motion vector). Then the composites should be tweaked and finalised.

As I add more atmosphere to the alleyway shots in order to keep with the feeling of the scene, it is then important to make sure these are as consistent as possible in look. Afterwards, likely requiring dirtying up these CG shots to make them appear as being shot..

Comp-fu:

After getting the bulk of the compositing done, I found that the ladder just didn't stand out enough. This was primarily because of the colour correction washing it out to a blue tone like the rest of the image. In order to fix this I used the depth pass and graded it in order for it to give me a solid white isolation of the ladder. However, the foreground was also white, so I roto'd this area out. Once this re-painting was complete, I used a Keyer node the make the luminance into an alpha and used the Copy (alpha) node to isolate the ladder area of the composite to that point in to re-grade to a redder tone (even with a yellow glare and glow on the highlights - again by using the grade node which is very opaque) and Merge on top again. This brought the ladder to a better colour in the comp, and therefore stand out some more.

Vertigo

Here is a shot clearly inspired by the famous push-pull shot from Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo':

Tyler is nervous and alone, and looks down the ladder of the factory as the only exit. We then see him walking down this ladder into an alleyway...

Long Shot Test #2

Only master beauty, ambient occlusion and basic zDepth passes were rendered for this.

Power of the comp.

Shader Development

I have been working on the textures, shaders (mental ray mia material x presets and values) and the UVs.

Here is a comp test:

The next step, after completion of this, is the lighting and render setup (using passes and layers to aid lighting in the comp to create the best depth and light fog effects) and the final camera positions and animations...

Different lighting idea:

Factory/Station Progress

This is what I had yesterday from this angle:

Here is an update from today:

I have used the same composited photographed elements (slightly rotated to fit better) with the new textures, as well as testing some depth and grading. These shots also have a lens distortion and grain applied from one of the lenses we shot the live action on.

For extra details in this shot (as well as some textures), I have used this reference material:

Taking from this reference material adds extra details to the modelling and makes me question the previous shapes and how the structure in fact works in reality.

For example, the extrusions added make the shape along the top of the wall a metal gurder - which then holds up the wooden rafters, to which the windows and window frames sit.

This was not the case previously. And, for me, I don't want it to be made of cuboids in the general area that it should be to look okay - it's my job to make sure these are real objects. I want the feeling of a place which doesn't exist, but obviously one which may.

I look forward to the tweaks to the environments to be made and the textures blocked out. This will be succeeded by adding extra details into textures and hopefully getting newly modeled elements introduced to create more realism through detail. After the final lighting, rendering and camera angles, I will be at my homely helm of compositing different elements together and tweaking the final outcome for the shots.

Doorway Lighting Test

I have tested some of the lighting for the doorway of the factory. This needs good spill light.

I wasn't sure how I was going to go about this. I am still not totally 100%, however after speaking to Julian Laing it was suggested to use an ambient light in the doorframe and a spotlight shining in. The spotlight didn't work. But, I opted for using the bounce light with a directional light off of a plane (for now.)

Here is how it looks at the moment:

CG-LiveAction Comp Test

I have tested the idea of compositing live action elements into the CG environment.

Here is the sketch:

This example has partially been textured with the wall on the right being composited from a photograph as well as the roughly roto'd circuit box on the far wall.

I think this is the best option if the tracking process goes well. I see the plan of action being exporting the camera from Maya and bringing that into Nuke for the slight pan to work nicely.

Factory/Station Progress

I have added more details to the factory/station interior and played with basic camera setups and the scale.

One of the main additions I wanted to make were thinner details - such as pipes. I have played with the pipes which were there, however wires and circuitry would also add to the large wall areas. Such details were present in the old mills I visited. I will use some photographed elements from the mills by compositing them, but for those which don't work this way, I may discuss with the team in regard to helping modelling them.

Well before

Latest (comp test with fog as suggested at the last peer review)

POV - look to the left

 POV - look to the right

I have now received the textures from Michal Zagorski, so that's the next job whilst tweaking the UVs. I really want to make this look as good as possible in the time I have. I am also toying with the thought of dirtying things up more and adding rubble features using Mudbox or ZBrush, especially if the help is available. But, we will have to see how the texturing goes first, and with the comp it may look fine, but it is definitely a process which will bring more detail and, hopefully, realism. I have scheduled an intense week on this particular process, with miscellaneous jobs intermittently fending for attention. However, this factory interior with the extreme long shot and Tyler's POVs have overriding priority in the project at this moment.

The stage after that is to discuss and develop the lighting to a higher standard. For me,

Factory Preparation

I have received a version of the factory from Lina Ivanova of what she has achieved to model.

Since, I have been tweaking the scene by grouping and renaming within the Outliner for organisation and easier changes; UV mapping; converting everything to polygons; re-routing textures; fixing scaling issues; adding details such as rubble; setting up render settings; tweaking the layout; smoothing objects; setting up image based lighting and more...

The factory from a test extreme long shot. Many tweaks have been made.

Myself and Michal Zagorski have also been out photographing the Old Mills in Dundee for textures and source images to composite into the scene. This should add much more realism to the environment.

The issues so far with the environment, I feel. are there is are the scale isn't real enough, things aren't deteriorated enough, there needs to be more little details and things such as weeds composited. The texturing and lighting stages may take a bit of time, but I have experience and this shot is my focus from now.

Vertigo-esque shot of ladders

For the lighting, I have used a HDRI sourced from the internet with similar colours and time of day of which we shot the other shots and live action on green screen in. And I have added some spotlights in upon this.

A Smart IBL: http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/archive.html

I have other options as well

For this type of shot I take a lot of inspiration from the visual effects industry, creating some very ultra-real work. For example, the work on The Great Gatsby (2013):

The Great Gatsby (2013)

So, if I take inspiration from this, I can use the modelling and the live action I have, and then texture, light and composite this in an interesting way and I can make something hopefully very beautiful.

So, it is my job to use the final stages of this development to make this look as real and interesting as possible. Lina has done a good job with the modelling, and now it is a foundation for me to really build on.

Much more on this soon...

'Conjure' Colour Correction Test

In order for it to appear as though the factory interior in this dreamworld connects to the alleyway exterior (unexpectedly) I have made a start to test altering the colour correction to aid this transition.

I also believe that the fog needs to be synchronised to aid this transition, as well as perfecting this colour correction.

Factory/Station Comp Tests

After yesterday's very basic start, I am beginning to get a lot more satisfied with some of the proposed effects.

Here is a test of the composite so far:

Focus #1

Focus #2

Lighting: I have opted to do the beams of light solely in Nuke. Here you can make more interesting shapes with roto'. I have added extra spotlights - so I have three, one for the door, one for the light cast at the back, and one for  the foreground over the car. The direction fill light faces the way of the camera. An ambient light is used for the diffuse layer for creating a simple pass at the moment.

Composite: I have applied the same idea of light outside with a light wrap spilling onto the inside. I might go for a sunset feeling with this later. As I mentioned I have created beams of light using roto'. I have used a light layer and ambient occlusion layer and then down-played the diffuse so the ugly textures aren't as visible - and this adds to the misty effect. I have created mist in the background and played with zDepth. I have also applied an 18mm lens distortion from the alleyway scene. I have composited smoke into here - in the foreground, from the pipes and roto'd around the car and the tunnel area to place it in space.

Here are some breakdowns to demonstrate this:

This is the node tree:

I can visibly see things improving and can feel the progress here. I still looks like concept art and not quite realistic enough yet. The big aim is obviously for it, once developed some more, to work as a moving image (even if very slight). The shot will have a simple shake when meant to be still as well as a version which very slightly dollies in. All while smoke glides from pipes and beams twinkle with dust in a state of slow motion.

I will work with my cinematographers to get this scene to become seamless with the rest of the shots in the film.

Progress On Beginning of VFX Shots

They are very basic, and done in only a few hours, but they are underway.

 I painted out one of the lights and some advertisements. I roto'd the extractor fan and added it into another location on another wall for more sources of smoke. Added smoke from these two fans, and some general patches of smoke and atmosphere.

This is the beginnings of the final shot, just toying with a few ideas.

Generally, I want more atmosphere (without detracting from the good detail which is there) and for the composite to be more accurate and realistic. This is what I will spend a lot of my time over the coming months working on.

I have tested some spotlights with light fog in Lina's scene here, and done a few rotoPaints for some extra light fog. This is messy by all means, however it's a little test. There are clear issues with the lighting, and even the syncing up of the environment in regard to where light is coming from. I need a front-facing light from the door (it wouldn't just go at an angle like this) and some different ones coming from the ceiling windows and cracks. I think that the beams and light-fog should be kept to particular areas, for example, where there is a large gap in the ceiling where the main light source should come from. The light from the door needs work and the fill light from the front. Upon that, then there is a colossal amount of lighting and compositing improvements or additions to be made. This is also an unfinished model with basic textures. It currently, to my eyes, looks like a computer game - which is not a nice look. So, a few months still to go!

It's also encouraging that after some experience using Nuke, I am getting a lot handier at it.

Beginnings of alleyway shot.

The Two Main VFX Shots Underway

So, Lina is getting further on with the CG environment for me having a look at and me and the filming crew shoot the character later this week, while the shoot for the alleyway is complete.

Here are a couple of stills before things start to shape up:

References For CG Factory/Station Interior

Lina is working on modelling this. I have updated with this before. I hope to get a working version to do tests with in the coming weeks. 

In the story, Tyler opens a living room door to this large station. It serves as a daunting visual displaying the multiple routes that he can choose to go...

Factory Interior | Progress

Lina's progress with the factory interior. Really chuffed with the detail appearing, especially the wee car. That was unexpected.

This will hopefully be at a level to do a Nuke compositing test by the end of the semester...