Motion Vector | Motion Blur

I have utilised mental ray's pass mv2DToxik to create a motion blur in the shots.

The motion is mostly through camera movement.

The other option for this was to use After Effects CC Force Motion Blur effect as demonstrated by my classmate. However, I want to keep this all within Nuke, so it was important to get the pass to work.

The vector frame

It is a 32-bit (float) vector sequence which you use in Nuke to determine how much the image should blur in each frame by using the colours it provides. Shuffling out the image and setting it to 'forward' and then copying this into the comp in order to provide for the vectorBlur node allows this to work. In this node I set the method to 'forward' to sync this up and the shuffled UV channels to 'motion'.

The vector blur applied

Long Shot Test #2

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

Power of the comp.

Seemless Texture Development

I have been working on the edges and corners of the environment. After speaking to supervisor Dr Jin Zhi, due to the fact that the edges are far away from the camera, one can opt for dealing with the jarring edges through simply texturing. I was going to be doing this synchronising anyway, but it really does work. No need for compositing elements and tracking it anymore!

Here is the latest:

Direct your eyes toward the righthand side of the frame where the edge of the platform meets the wall.

More on this elsewhere, and then I am wanting to perfect the light fog and feeling through lighting and render passes. I think it needs some spotlights, then I'll deal with depth and compositing a 'thick' feeling of fog/atmosphere.

Also, in the alleyway scenes, it was suggested to make some of the fog thicker. Jin says this should keep with the original concept and feeling of the piece where atmosphere and mystery is key. So, going to revitalise this soon. And, make sure these two scene sync up nicely...

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.

Curved Edges

In the environment I was given, the edges of the room are very hard-edged and in perfect right-angles. In reality, this is obviously very rare, only ever really seen in maths textbooks.

In my previous projects, this was one problem I hope to move on from.

I have thus far thought up three options of how to go about this:

• Merging objects and adding geometry to curve the edges of the room. However, this in theory would then create a perfect curve. Also unrealistic.

• So, the next option would be to use Mudbox to create rubble, bumps and imperfections. This would either entail sculpting and exporting a displacement map (and dealing with that in Maya), or re-importing the object with high subdivision levels - brave on the processing front.

• The third, and most convincing, option is to use photographs from the environment to inform the camera angles and composite the edges of the room into the render. This of course is up for testing to see if it can be roto'd and sync'd into the environment. But, I believe at this stage it will consist of making sure the textures and the compositing edge elements are similar and therefore easier to composite together. This of course fits much better into my Programme of Study which is based around high-end compositing.

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,