Project Evaluation

I thoroughly enjoyed this project/ unit. Not only did we have the chance to work for a client outside Ravensbourne, but I feel that we accomplished a lot. We also learnt a great deal too. I learnt how to use mental ray and become familiar with some of its attributes. It was the first time I had really experimented with the physical sun and sky attribute and particularly lighting in general. I learnt a great deal when it came to creating cameras, altering their attributes such as their aspect ratios and film gate. But most importantly I learnt how to render effectively by familiarising myself with Maya's render attribute system and rendering colour and occlusion passes, which will come in handy for the third year animation course. I am proud of what we managed to produce which was an artistic architectural visualisation of a 3D model of a proposed building.

This project could also provide possible job opportunities for 3D architectural visualisation projects for Husband & Carpenter.

Critical Analysis

Generally, I believe we have achieved what we set out to do from the beginning. I feel we did a good job too. We successfully produced an artistic yet informative architectural visualisation film clip, that was well structured and nicely paced. I also feel that we did achieve the style somewhat that Alex Roman used with his film, "The Third and The Seventh".

Good Points:

I believe that our clip is crisp. There is effective use of lighting. I believe there is a good use of camera work as well as camera angles. The piece general is well structured and there is a sense of a journey/ narrative that is coherent due to effective pacing. The clip is well edited to the rhythm of the music.

Bad Points:

I would say that our clip may be on the short side. It may need more shots to explore a few more angles of the hotel. I think the intensity of the lighting is a bit over the top as the much lighter colours seem to become bleached, washed out and over exposed. These colours appear a brilliant white and differentiating between panel work and windows can be difficult, thus detail is lost. We did try to solve this issue, however there seemed to be no way to alter the intensity attribute of the sun simulation. The only way we could have decreased the level of intensity was by lowering the sun in the sky. However I did not want all my shots to be either during dawn or dusk as the harsh shadows cast would have concealed most of the detail on the 3D model of the hotel.

It may have been worth including some shots of an interior environment of one of the rooms within the hotel, however due to time constraints we simple ran out of time and were unable to undertake extra renders.

As an individual and team member I would say that I was hard working, committed and reliable. I believe my time management skills were good and that I was well organised throughout the project I experimented with new found knowledge regarding maya. I worked hard to produce a finished piece. I believe my strengths were directional abilities as well as camera work and editing.

I would say that our efforts were equal. Alex has always been a good team mate to work with, its not just because he's my brother and therefore its a safe choice in terms of friendship, but also becuase he is hard working, organised and we think on the same lines. In other words we know what we both want in terms of the look and structure of a piece.

Final Architectural Visualisation Clip Shots

The images below show the sequence in which the clip is structured.

Bars & Tone

Countdown Clock and Project Slate
Shot 1
Shot 2
Shot 3
Shot 4

Shot 5
Shot 6
Shot 7
Shot 8
Shot 9
Acknowledgements

My Involvement

For this project I was responsible for mapping out a schedule in order to time manage our project, I was also in charge of directing the whole project. I was also responsible for modeling and placement of the panel work/ cladding on the exterior of the building. I textured most of the exterior of the 3D building/ hotel of woburn house including core and panel tones. I was responsible for creating the and adjusting the lighting. I rendered all the shots and the entire project from colour passes to occlusion passes, due to the fact that my brother's computer was unreliable. He could have re-installed maya, however he was concerned that if he did so changed presets would affect existing .mb files. I was also responsible for editing the final clip using Final Cut.

Editing (Final Cut)

I have begun editing the final broadcast safe clip. I have inserted all the necessary broadcast safe requirements to fulfill the assessment criteria for this particular unit such as the bars and tone and the clock.

I have attempted to edit the visuals to the music track (September Dawn). I have to say that it fits perfectly with the visuals. It is fortunate that the renders fit the rhythm of the track. I want a coherent narrative to inform the viewer of the building and environment, yet also exploring the building by capturing different view points. I have edited the shots so that there is a journey traveling counter clockwise from south to north of the building, exploring all its elements. I have incorporated some low angle still renders so that the viewer can see what the building would look like from roughly the eyes of a passer by. I have focused on slow pacing so that the viewer can absorb the entire environment easily. I did not want rushed shots that were far too quick for the viewer so that the viewer is unable to understand layout, this is a clip purely for architectural reasons after all. I have also payed particular attention to artistic presentation in terms of the shots chosen and the order in which they are presented.

Rendering & Compositing Complete & Broadcast Requirements

All Renders have been completed. I have given them to Alex to composite, which has also been completed. I shall now begin importing these files into Final Cut and editing where necessary.

Ben Keswick informed me of how to create a broadcast safe film. Phil Heron instructed me where to find the bars and tone in Final Cut, which are needed to make a broadcast safe movie. He also gave me a .mov file of a countdown clock which can be used to indicate when the clip will begin. He stated that you must overlay text of the project title, the director/ producer and start and end times of the clip as well as the full duration of the clip.

Unfortunately we were unable to render an interior sequence as there was simply not enough time to render the shots. This was something we wanted to do as a bonus and if there was enough time to spare. Darren Price at Husband & Carpenter Architects clearly stated however that we should focus on an exterior rendered 3D sequence as the building still needs building permission. This clip could serve as a means of showcasing the proposed build.

Copyright Free Music

I have obtained a track which is copyright free, which a friend of mine Semy Ingle from Sixth Form back in Bishop Challoner composed. The track was not made specially for our project, but I had listened to the track and thought that it would go well with the architectural visualisation clip. I asked him for permission to use the track personally and he agreed to the use of his track, as long as we credited him as the track's creator.