– Visual Effects Showreel –
Aim
My project for semester A is to create a visual effects showreel to an industry standard for employment after this course has ended.
Objectives
To achieve my aim I will use the specifications set by Framestore London via an email they have provided. They are looking for;
– Photo-real quality of work. Nothing Cartoony or Stylised
– Demonstrate the skills required for the department one wishes to work within
– No short film demonstrating VFX skills. Use individual clips
The skills I want to demonstrate within my showreel are – 3D Modelling – 3D Texturing – Matchmove – Projection Mapping While applying primarily for a runner role, these skills will help me progress to a matchmove artist before progressing further within the industry
Strand
I have chosen assessment strand 2 as research is not my main focus compared to the development of my own skills for the industry as well as the final showreel. Audience The Audience for this showreel will be for employers of visual effects companies such as Framestore, The Mill and Double Negative.
Platform All research and development will be shown on a blog. The final product will be a 3/4 clip showreel no longer than 2:30 minutes uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo
Skills
This project will require me to learn industry standard 3D software Maya for modelling, programs such as Autodesk Matchmove or Blender to learn tracking. Projection mapping is completely new to me so will require a lot of research and development to learn. All of this will push my organisation skills to complete this project within the allotted 8 weeks.
Primary Research
Primary research will be through other artist’s showreels available on YouTube and Vimeo. Using a mix of professional and amateur showreels will allow me to set mine to a high level for industry standard.
Other primary research will be the skills I look to develop within my showreel. I will research the skill, test it, create a render of it to evaluate and then improve until I am happy with the final outcome.
I can also use feedback from my peers through the LSFM Digibods Facebook page to help evaluate my work
Secondary Research
Secondary research is limited as the VFX industry is always changing, however, a lot can be learned from books such as “Maya visual effects: the innovator’s guide by Eric Keller” which will give solutions and workaround for creating visual effects within Maya. A potential option to look into when putting everything together. “Compositing visual effects.
Essentials for the aspiring artist by Steve Wright” This book contains guides for generic workflow for tracking, matchmoving and rotoscoping. The book is also not software specific and provides more general tips for each skill.
Sites such as http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/vfx will allow me to research my potential job roles and use the roles for a job role as guidelines for my showreel to show to employers what role I want to work towards.
Through all my research and development I will be using a blog to document my findings and learning on the build-up to the final product. Research will be links to videos and pulled quotes while development will be screenshots, renders and