Month: October 2021

Based on my previous idea of an office area, for my updated version I tried to think about unusual office accessories which one can find around such a place. Storming for ideas, I compiled a moodboard focusing around various simulations I could accomplish.

The final result was based around 4 different points of simulation: an hourglass and the sand grains, a glass case with burning fire inside of it, a shape that has attached (or magnetized) particles to its surface which circle around it in various paths, and swirls, and finally a backflow incense burner. Once I had a clearer goal in mind, I made a storyboard, from which an animatic was created.

As my story started to form a definite shape, and it was decided which models were to be used as a reference for modeling, I started to model those in Maya before they could be exported into Houdini. Given the previous goal of creating previs, I also searched for free or provided for students assets of other required things like desk, laptop, books, and a chair.

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The fire case was inspired by work I did in Term 2 for the collaborative project. At the time I placed inside a pre-modeled big display case burning fire, as part of abstract and unusual museum pieces one can find in an Art Hall. Looking back at it, now that I’ve spent more time understanding and learning Houdini, I wanted to perfect the original work and bring more realness and quality to it. As an extra bit I thought of making, was a crystal (similar to the one from the picture above) and have the fire burning on top of it, with small licks spreading across the surface.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/CGgCLfNJw1M/ – Swirling particles original idea

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Now that I had my rough scene set up, I started placing the lighting and figuring out what camera movements I could use and apply. For better visualization, renders of a few frames were made.

Finally, I made my first previs version of movement around the scene and exploration of all the various accessories on the table.

Following up on past progress, I started modelling the cup that I would be using in my shots from the real-life version of it. Other than focusing on the actual FX simulations themselves, I really wanted to push myself further in understanding how to integrate the 3D cup and simulations with the original lighting, surroundings and environment. With that in mind, I started researching and reviewing the previous lectures we had, in order to figure out what would be the correct way to shoot the footage, and how to obtain the lighting information, as that is the key for most accurate physical integration. After all, it’s typically the lighting that gives away CGI to the audience, without them even knowing what is looking so different and unusual.

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Although the plan to start liquid simulations was for later, I nonetheless decided to give it a try and attempted following one of the tutorials that I found on the Gnomon website (Introduction to FLIP fluids in Houdini). It was a good decision as I learned that it was impossible for me to use the liquid idea, as the technical aspects of my computer weren’t good enough to be able to process it. Coming across this newly-founded problem, it was critical that I would re-assess my idea and come up with something different whilst I had the time, which would suit my computer processing abilities.

Towards the final term, I have decided that I wanted to focus on FX simulations and hence I started working on ideas of which type of simulations exactly I wanted to try. From my long-time idea about interaction with all 4 elements to focusing on a specific type of element, I landed on wanting to experiment with liquid simulations. Working around some kind of storyline, I wanted to have two main plot ideas of relaxation and then shock, in a contrast to each other. Within each emotion, the FX simulation would have been the key element.

Setting the mood of an office environment, my story was based around a worker who decided to take a break and make themselves a much-deserved cup of coffee. The process of preparing ingredients and combining them all together would have been the moment of relaxation: with a culmination when they added milk, thus having a shot seeing how the milk would fall into the darker liquid of coffee and mix together. That would be the first main moment of liquid simulation, specifically a combination of two and conveying precisely how the liquids would interact with each other. Followed by a visual supportive action of the worker getting a few seconds of happiness and relief, their next step would be going back to their space and sitting down in the chair. As they would have sat down, the hand with the coffee would start placing the cup on the table but miss out the edge of it by a few centimeters, thus misplacing the cup, The following few shots would have been a slowed-down version of the cup falling and its content spilling all out, maybe taking a shape of something mid-air. Finally, the cup would fall and break, speeding up in time and ending the story. The last actions would be simulated as well, both the unusual shots of the falling cup with moving liquid and its crash.

After creating the storyboard, I made animatics and filmed the first version of test shots, to see the flow of the story, how it would develop, and if it would show correct emphasis on my VFX work. The peer-review helped me to understand that I had too many shots prior to the first fluid interaction shot and that I would need to refine the story. It was also pointed out to give more thoughts to what kind of shape I wanted the fluid to take, maybe it would be something personal to the worker, a state of their troubled mind or worries.

Having received the feedback, I now knew what my next steps would be and which parts of the story and background I need to give more consideration to.