Markerless mocap: Meekon Channels Samuel L Jackson

Another experiment... syncing to an existing sound track...in this case Samuel L Jackson in a short bit from pulp fiction.

Wayne's Markless Facial Motional Capture Application

Back when I first started there were a number of things I wanted to do that I never got around to (usually as to do them would either have been hideously expensive, was out of my skill range or simply wasn't possible on a small setup).  But now I have both time and space (and on occasion...resources), I thought I'd start doing some of the things I always wanted to do.  Hence my recent invention of a hybrid 3d scanning rig capable of both very high detail and its portable without compromising on quality (oh and its a shit lad faster as well...but thats for another day).  

But you may be asking 'why' if I can (and do) sculpt likenesses like the one of myself in the blog post below, would I want or need a 3d scanning rig. The answer is simple and rather obvious when you think about it.  To create a digital double from scratch it takes time.  Time is money and often clients do not have that time and money for me to spend what to them is an age nailing a perfect likeness.  So at times like that its actually less expensive for them to have a 3d scan done.  But at other times (like for example the Jesse Owens digi double I did for the london olympics opening ceremony last year), scanning is not possible so you sure as hell better have the skills to do it the old fashioned way by hand.

Onto the facial mocap....(which lets face it, is why your probably reading this)

I decided as I was covering the workflow for sculpting and modeling for use in a facial mocap rig, that it'd be fun to do a quick 'advert' for the end user event.   It also gave me a chance to start ironing the bugs out of the app I wrote to do the facial mocap...as 2200 frames has a habit of exposing any unusual bugs lol.  My system is a rather heath robinson affair at the moment,(look it up if you don't know to what I am referring) but works extremely well.  Amazingly so when you bare in mind the programming only took 4 days ...and that was including putting together the rig itself as well.  Once I am 100% happy with the rig and app then I will arrange it into something nicer on the eyes lol.

The rig.... what is in it?

yes that is 3d max, no it is not what I am using for the facial mocap.... I could show you...but I'd have to kill you

While I have no intention of EVER selling my facial mocap app (its for in house use only), I have no quarms about outlining the actual gear I use.

Here's the 'recipe' list

• 2 Kinect's (360 versions...early models work best...no idea why, I havent worked that out yet)
• 1 Sony Nex5N (sometimes swapped with my canon 5D Mk2, although oddly enough the nex gives better results)
• 1 Zoom H4n high fidelity Audio recorder (no point doing any facial mocap if the sound is shit now is there??? Plus I already had it lying around).  This is also an excellent audio to digital interface as well
• My brain
• 1 computer

Now while the example above is uncleaned (apart from the eye blink near the end that needed cleaning)   uses 2 kinects, I have got exactly the same quality with a single one....  but two give more 'options' later in the game.   If you are wondering how I stop the canceling between them that is inherent when you have more than one kinect... thank Microsoft R and D dept and a tiny bit of info hidden away on the net.  All you need is vibrations that on each kinect, it then magically auto syncs to the others. (I'm achieving this by a bit of magic known as an old knackered pair of very loud headphones placed carefully with 'Ace of Spaces' by Motorhead playing ...which works magically best for some reason).

The capture is in real time and while I'm not telling you how it works, it can output to either a blend shapes workflow or to a point cloud to run a Facerobot or similar rig.  It enables me to transfer the animation between rigs in about two clicks (thats to a script paul neale run up for me as a favor).  It can also theoretically be used on any face, human , animal, or 'other' with ease.  S yes you could map your facial movements onto a donkey if you so wished or pretend to be a fucking monkey if thats your bag.

Below you can see the raw mocap data.... there is about 75-90milliseconds delay (perfectly reasonable) only and it does the job.  Again....this is early days and a '4 hours coding' version that if I were a software house wouldn't even count as a bloody alpha version, let alone a beta lol.  But I know that with some refining its perfectly possible to increase motion fidelity about another 70% at least.

The only thing that mildy pisses me off is that as I had a ver tight self imposed deadline on this the model suffered as a result as did the render set up (render time could be no more than 1 min a frame.... so its a bit shit as a result.)

By anyway.... enjoy and remember I'm covering both digital doubles (lecture number 1 at EUE), that will cover hand sculpting digital doubles and handling crap scan data you will often get handed.  Lecture 2 covers sculpting and modeling for facial motion capture and covers my own workflow to enable you to get a flu set of blend shapes done in about 20-40mins..oh and the facial motion capture setup and some explanation how you can set a similar rig up.

'Me' :::: Digital Double Work in Progress

The Digital Me

Well I'm calling the head part of this done, there are a few things I could change but chances are I will whne I do the rest of the image anyway.   This is the 3rd attempt ata  digital double of myself that I am happy with over the past year.   The first I was way too flattering with myself and by the time I 'fixed' all the things I dont like about myself, I came to the conclusion it was no longer me.  Which is an intersting lesson to us all that it is the inperfections that make us who we are.

The 2nd was using old refernce images (as I was working in dublin at the tikme and didnt have time to take any more) and as a result that version looked ten years younger and a whole shit lot slimmer lol.  So as a result that one went the way of the Dodo as well.

This version is sculpted in mudbox from the old default mesh andf taken to 8.2 million polys.  It uses 4k maps or diffuse, bump and spec (plus a few tweaked variations of these) in a stacked layered vray skin shader inside of 3Ds Max.   Lighting is with full GI and only some very basic colour corection and depth of field added in post in photoshop (seen below in the centre is the render without any post work.)

Only 2 extra passes were renderd out a reflection and a wirecolour pass (usually I've use a multimat material and a gbuffer ID but for some reason it didnt want to work today, so I fell back onto plan B).

Mudbox Sculpting Process

Above I've stuck quick image of the different stages of the sculpt in Mudbox for those intersted. At they moment it doesnt have animatable tlopollogy, although I doubt I'll need it as animating my own head seems a bit redundant and a bit of an ego trip too far lol.

I do have an image in mind for this, and hopefully I will find the time to get that final as well.

I should also take this oppotunity to remind you all that creating digital doubles is the subject of my 1st lecture at the EndUserEvent on the 26th June this year in Utrecht Holland.  You can find more at www.EndUserEvent.com

Me :: Work in Progress

 

Work in progress.... early days

The Big 1 Million and the Bigger 4.9 Million

http://www.youtube.com/user/noggity

I very rarely pimp my youtube channel on my site or blog, in fact apart from the occasional video or time lapse I let people come across it themselves.  But as its my birthday on thursday (23rd May) it sort of hit me as I am at the time of typing only 73 views away from 1 million official views on my youtube channel, its sort of as good an excuse as any.

Now its probably unofficially way more than one million as about a year back I deleted about 300 videos that ironically were the ones with the most views as I thought they were not indicative of the current quality of my work.  And doubly ironically as there are still plenty I detest that are ancient that I never got around to....

So head on over and there is all sorts of sculpting stuff, time lapses the infamous 'Waynecasts' (best viewed with the reminder they are meant with tongue firmly in cheek).

For those of a curious nature theres been 495,000 views also on Vimeo on one account (I'm buggered if I can find the details to my alternate account at the moment....  And from the beginning on that account there has been 4.9 million views since back in March 2008.  on to of this there are bloody videos on all sorts of other places on the net that aren't counted.  So While its not exactly 'Gangnam Style' its not bad for some videos on Mudbox and of me rattling on like a senile old sod.

So I suppose nearly 6 million (that I can check on at the moment) is not bad really.

...and if your wondering I am 42 on thursday which according to douglas adams book 'The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy' is of course the meaning of life. ;)

End User Event Teaser

Digital Double of my Dad

A small teaser for one of my two lectures at the End User Event this year.    The full description can be read here: End User Event .   As a small part of one of my lectures I'll be covering using scan data (which usually I fgind is pretty crap).  Being sick to death of having to clean up dodgy scan data over the years here at my office at Academy FX I have been settings up a unique 3d scanning technique.  There is nothing like it anywhere as its a hybrid system of my own devising.  Click on the image above to see the full res image from one of my test runs.   One thing that makes this system so special is not only does it give good results... its very fast, provides a full map set and its portable.

I suppose I should mention that an animation freindly retopped model pops out the other end as well as the maps sets etc:)

This is a tiny part os what I will be covering at the end user event on digital doubles, with more on my unique facial mocap system (and how anyone can set up a very similar one...minus the 'secret' stuff of mine of course) and how to achive a likeness when having to sculpt a digital double by hand.

Now if I could just get my bloody website for Academy FX up and behaving itself I'd be far happier. (I did say I'd get more done once in the office... tip of the iceberg ;) )

Work in Progress

Work In Progress

Something I'm on noodling with at the moment.  Its a work in progress and as such unfinished..... I have pixelated out the hands as they aren't touched yet and if I dont you just know some bugger will say 'those hands look wrong' lol.  So best way is to pixelate them out ;)   Its unposed at the moment...and yes done in Mudbox and 3d max.

Videos

Sorry for sound quality on this video.... no idea why it crapped out.

Mudbox 45min warm up sculpt

Here's a couple of videos, the bottom one is my warm up from a couple of mornings ago, and the second is my warm down.   I thought for a change I would do my warm down in zbrush ...just for shits and giggles. 

Facial mocap and doodles

Another facial mocap test... eyes not part of tracking as working on code to do handle them better.


And a couple of doodles , the first as something more intersting for some facial mocap tests...the other a 30 min warm down doodle.

to make mocap a bit more intersting for me

warm down doodle...

Academy FX is Open for Business

'The'oh shit I dont have a logo', logo design done at 4am. So chances are in time this will change.

Monday 22nd April,(tomorrow at the time of writing) is the day I open Academy FX for business. The 1st week will of course be spent trying to get things such as machines, fittings and infrastructure up and running... (well ..I say a week, its actually 3 days tops as I have work in from wednesday).  Then it is all systems go....(ish) . There will probably be no proper website at the www.AcademyFX.com domain until the more important things are done. (There is no point having an awesome website but no chairs to sit on or desk to work at.) 

The reason I am opening Academy FX is that I got a little sick of trying to cram the 'career' side of my art into 3 or 4 hours a night. The idea of dedicated premises with plenty of space and no interruptions make this a very good idea. Also my name can be like a lead weight at times (in both good and bad ways), so this to a certain degree gives a fresh start. Although I would also be a number one mug if I did not capitalise on it as well. It gives me a permanent base of operations, even for times when I am working away as I recently did at Screen Scene in Dublin working as 3D Supervisor on the film Last Days On Mars.

One thing I am proud of, is that unlike many other businesses these days I didn't use a 'Kickstarter' campaign to fund it. I personally think it's a little cheeky to ask the same people to fund setting up your business that your going to later ask for more money to buy things or services from you. I know many disagree, but that's the way I have always seen it. This also means I have complete control and no one can come a knocking at a later date expecting a handout due to funding a Kickstarter campaign lol.

Academy FX will be based in a rather fitting location, it will be the art wing of a now closed old school I went to 24 years ago. (I also had more hell there than anywhere else... so there's more than a small degree of karma here coming and kicking the people who said I would never amount to anything in the guts I freely admit.) It's the place that I 1st learned to draw using perspective & proportions, paint in watercolours (badly) and the very 1st place I ever tried my hand at traditional sculpting (a bust of Julius Caesar just in case you're wondering..it was never finished), and 3 mins slow walk from my current home.

The school has been closed many years now..so when the opportunity came up, how could I say no? It was almost like it was written in the stars or something. Although I don't believe in such things, the omens seem good, even more so as my main work room (and my desk) will be exactly where I used to sit in my art classes aged 13 over 24 years ago. Which I find more than a tad ironic.

 Although I have always worked long hours as a freelancer, that also includes working from home, often with both kids running around so that isnt what I would call 'optimised' work time. So many things I haven't had time to do from a work perspective, I now will and resources to do it.

Academy FX its best thought of it as sort of a multi headed Hydra. Or to put it another way.... the way my brain works. It will act not only as a studio producing 3D concepts and assets (both digital and traditional), but also allow me to teach people one site in a proper working environment that I have control of. This was a working comprehensive school for many years so it is indeed (and probably rather uniquely in this field) a proper learning environment as well. It also gives me time to develop existing code / software of mine and push boundaries in that area to provide services not provided elsewhere at the same speed as well. It will not be a company releasing DVD's etc for sale because I already have existing agreements for that, plus that side of things takes a lot of man hours for less financial reward than is prudent for the time spent.

 The plan is to bring people on board as needed and use the network of people I have after many years in this industry. What you won't see is it on every site and forum on the internet constantly. (Although you may see a new series of free videos and a few DVD's etc to give me an excuse to test equipment and setup. Of course that also helps to raise its profile, that I freely admit.) 

There will also be some services and things I do there that are not things you usually see me doing or maybe even know about. It basically allows me to go pedal to the metal at my speed and work in the way I know works best. So think of it as extended freelance in an office, but with more resources, a chroma rig, area for Marquette development, tool creation and a few other things...and corridors, lots of corridors.

Messing around.....

Untextured raw model frame

I mess around with all sorts of shit that never ever sees the light of day for various reasons, sometimes I dont have time to finish  them, sometimes I get bored and move onto something else, sometimes work crops up and mess around time goes bye-byes.   So all sorts of model and coding  / 3d tech that I mess to fill some time in never gets seen.

But as a digital sculptor at heart, I always love to see my shit moving and animated, however there has always been el problemo... I suck at animating.   So as I had a spare night , while waiting for my kids to go to sleep next door to my work room (until they do nothing 'serious' can be done anyway) I thought I'd mess around with something I mothballed ages back due to lack of time.

So here's some very early dick arounds with something I've had in the pipe for ages that does markerless facial mocap.  However as its for 'me' I needed certain requirements that arent available off the shelf (or without costing the earth..I find its easier to write my own stuff than buy shit alot of times).  My main requirements is that the data integrity must be flawless (I have a bit thing about data integrity!) , must be able to be used on multiple meshes  with different topology and vastly different shapes.  It must get me at least 'ball park' before I do a shed load of blend shape tweaking (there are none on this at the moment).

But most of all and the biggest problem is that it must work while I am wearing glasses (no I cant wear contact lenses...very long and borring reason why).  So thats what I personally needed it to do.... this is just an early mess around so dont get too excited.... chances are it'll never see the light of day anyway like a lot of my stuff doesnt.

Now for the technical stuff for those who asked.... 

It was knocked together using the OpenNI SDK, a modded Kinect and plugged my nex 5's output in as extra data so  could pull more from the rgb than you can get with a kinect.  Then both the mesh thats generated and used as control for the main mesh and the resulting keyframes were ran through some code from ReDucto (remember the experiemental denoise function???)  At the moment I need to come up with a new way to handle the eyes as on this the eyes arent tracked as they crap out a little (not a tremendous ammount, but enough to be annoying).

One idea is a sort of subtractive function between the modded kinect data and the nex 5 output data...but nothng set in stone.  Also at some point I'm going to set things up for 'proper' multi camera mocap using syntheyes to generate the point cloud needed as it'll give far better results.  But like many things, that goes on the back burner for a while.

Warming back up

No idea where this one poppe dout of from my brain, no my usual style...or subject matter.......consider it a dick around and nothing more.

Lecturing at End User Event 2013

End User Event 2013

Last Days on Mars IMDB link

Its just been announced that I will be lecturing at this years End User Event in Utrecht, Holland on the 27th & 28th June.   I'm not going to say just yet what I will be covering, but I can tell you what I wont / can't.   As th film I was 3d supervisor on, 'Last Days on Mars' is not out yet I cannot cover or show anything from that (I rather like my genitalia intact thankyou very much, which they would not be if I showed anything early lol).  

I'm actually in a position where I now have enough stuff I could theoretically lecture about to cover the whole event by myself if need be.  So as I've spent a lot of the last 12 months 'off grid' it means I now have a lot of cool stuff I can cover and show.  So I have plenty of cool things to choose from.... I'll cover more specifics nearer the time.

Now on a more personal note this years EUE is rather a special one for me as it was there 2 yers ago that i had my stroke, I had last year off as I was still recooperating and to be honest I didn't want people to see me until I was back to what passes for normal.   So as EUE has always been a sort of mini Holiday for me to catch up with a lot of 3D mates, this one is a little special for those reasons.

EUE is an amazing event if you havent been there before, it is also a very important networking event for many of us aside from the lectures, drinking and stuff.   Its like a mini siggraph in a pub with the best mates you have never met.  I'm hoping for the usual great weather and over the moon that for one year its not on my sons birthday lol.   So get your backside there on the 27th & 28th of June and I can gaurentee you will have an excellent time and be sure to have a few pints of Hoegaarden.

Fingers crossed a few members of my screen scene 3d crew will be visiting as well.... if so this will mean at least 3 Bulgarians in one place (including screen scene alma mater Hristo)... so your liver may need preparation should this occur lol.

Wayne's 15 step guide to working in Post Production

As I'm flying home in a  couple of days after my stint of over half a year working as 3D Supervisor on the film Last days On Mars, I thought it may be useful to  post my guide for those new to working in post production. Or indeed those hoping to break into the field here are a few of my guidelines that hopefully contain some sound advice.  Although mainly aimed at 3D artists, its safe to say most of it is easily applicable to anyone.

1 - The truth will set you free!

We're all taught by our parents that lying is bad, however as we grow up we realize that 'white lies' can be useful to either stop peoples feelings getting hurt or to get us out of a tight spot and buy a bit of time.  In post production lies can be costly, even something as simply as telling a sup or production assistant that an asset or shot will be ready to hand over to comp 'tomorrow at 3pm'.  (When knowing there is more chance of little elves arriving and finishing the shot for you than it actually getting finished on time!)  It may get them off your back for a day or so and maybe even give you more time to try and get your shot or asset closer to finished, but its false economy.  No one person in post production is an island, its a team effort and if a match mover is late handing over, then as a result 3d will be late getting it and as a result of that comp will be late getting it…  thats all man hours (and 'woman hours' as lets not be sexist lol) that are being paid for.  If one person is sitting waiting on an asset before they can start that is costing money, if everyone is waiting on an asset then its a massive pile of money that you may as well set fire to.  So although the truth can be painful, its often less painful than everyone losing their job.  It also means production can then schedule around it so no one is waiting on one person who is late.

2 - Flag problems early

The people working in production live for scheduling stuff…seriously I've came to conclusion that they love that shit! If you see a potential problem that may occur, flag it as early as you can through the proper channels.  If that problem does indeed occur and no one has listened then they may well be more inclined to take your view seriously next time.  Try to be as detailed as you can without decending into a load go jargon as people in production may not know what the heck you are b;athering on about,  So when your going on about 'flipped normals' or 'topology issues', they just her "blah blah,…problem…blah blah… deadline no worky!" and are less inclined to take it seriously.

3 - Don't be a Dick

This is rather an obvious one, although it still amazes me how many times Ive seen it occur.  As I've mentioned above, post production is not a one man band.  No matter how crucial you think you are to the show and how much you believe you are a special little snowflake to be nurtured and cared for… attitude is everything.  Everyone wants to work with a person that is easy to get along with, not overbearing, doesn't scream at people lower in the food chain than them and treats everyone with respect.  No one however wants to work with a complete dick that makes everyone want to either jump out of a window, or preferably throw them out of a bloody window just to avoid being in the same dept as them.  Talent does not give you the right to behave like everyone else is shit on your shoe.  Everyone deserves respect…. yes even supervisors :)

4 - Leave your ego at the door

we all have an ego of some description.. its part of human nature.  The trick is to leave it at the door when you go to work.  I'm not talking about pride in your work or speaking out if you feel something is incorrect or a bad idea.  I'm on about behaving as if nothing would be possible without you, that you talent makes others look like insignificant specks or that next to you da vinci was a 2 bit hack.  I've seen all those ego problems and worse.  Post production is not a youtube comments section, so if you are unable to leave your ego or bad attitude behind and realize that no matter how high profile or well received a show is that you have worked on , that it wasn't just down to you.  Other people did rather a lot as we'll that you may not even realize.

5 - Don't get defensive, be open to criticism

This is often the hardest part of working in post for people new to it.  3d and 2d artists are particularly prone to it.  maybe as we learn to always put our soul into our work and do the very best we can.  If you invest too much of 'yourself' into a shot, asset or anything and someone comes along and says 'make it not suck as much', it can be hard to take.  Yes always put as much effort into doing the very best job you can on something even if its a subject or shot for something you detest (your a professional dammit..no one said it would be all star wars,orcs and blowing shit up…. )  So give as much attention to detail to the hair for a cheap 'my little pony' animation as you would on gollum's nasal hair for a hero shot.  but also learn that it is disposable.  You have to be able to let an idea or shot go and be outside of your control.  We are all creative people and as a result all have a different idea of what 'we would do'.  But bottom line is we 99.99% of the time do not have that call to make or that say.  That lies with others and it is their vision you are helping to make a reality..not yours.

6 - This isn't your own personal demo reel!

Do what you are required to for the shot or asset as requested and if possible exceed expectations.  Do not do it only a certain way or use a certain bit of software as 'it'll look good on my reel'.  Funnily enough a show isn't about you and your next job.  If you have to cheat to get a shot out…. cheat with the best, (post is full of cheats that have to occur to get a shot out in time to hit the big screen…  we do some epic cheats every day at work.) Anyone who later complains to you that 'but that was cheating' has obviously not worked in post on a tight deadline.  If you know a way to make a shot easier to get out, flag it and let your sup make that call, (there could be good reasons outside your pay grade why it can't be, or yet again you could save a weeks work and be a hero for a day at work.) Use whatever the best software or method is to get the shot out on time and with the best results.

7 - Personal Backup's

I'm a big believer in not just relying on the usual backup procedures in place for the servers to keep a safe copy of my assets I'm working on.  I also maintain a local backup on a external drive as back ups may only be done every 2 days , or every night and thats still a lot of work you can lose.  Now I should also point out that my use of such a drive is cleared by production as I am usually working on hideously large files, there is an element of trust on that before you may be allowed to do that… or even not at all in some companies.  I should also point out that keeping all your files soully locally is also a very bad idea…. Its like putting your genitals in the hands of a man with chainsaw…usually a very bad idea that will end up in blood being spilled.

8 - Its called "non disclosure" for a bloody reason!

an N.D.A or non disclosure agreement is a standard in post the world over.  There are many different types from the standard 'don't say a thing until we tell you to' to ones that may contain lifetime restrictions on ever mentioning the project, what you've done on it or sometimes even who it was for.  It probably goes without saying that you should not blab all over twitter, Facebook or in your local pub what you're working on.  But ya know what? I'm going to say it anyway as it can never be hammered in too much.  Like us you may unwind on a friday night in a pub to sort of empty your head of all the post stuff before the weekend.  We have a pub we go to, have some crazy names for stuff and never discuss anything that we wouldn't be afraid to do in front of a newspaper reporter (who would think we were a bunch of lunatics going on about stuff that sounds nonsensical anyway).  Often people default to a sort of 'internal shorthand' for things anyway. But bottom line…don't blab.

9 - Its ok to hate your boss / sup/ director / art director

Its sort of a tradition to occasionally feel like throwing someone above you out of a damn window for what you feel maybe a stupid decision.  Its human nature and helps keep you sane working in post.  The director whose project I'm currently working on knows there have been 4 times I could have happily thrown him out of the 4th story window…. but also he knows that its not malicious or meant with any intent.  Its simply a way to let off steam.  So its healthy to feel like homicide from time to time…but yet again maybe thats just me….. its not just me right???….right??? :-)

10 - Leave your problems at the door

I have a rule in my dept.  if anyone has a problem or a major falling out with someone at work, they should be able to leave it at the door and still buy them a drink on a friday after work.  Don't hold a grudge and don't let it fester.  Post can be a hot house and when you get a lot of 'artistic' people together there is always going to be the occasional blow out or conflict of personalties over something.  The trick is to keep in mind that its only a job and not the end of the world.  Post production is part of your life…not your entire life.

11 - Its nothing personal

Never take it personally if you have to be let go for the good of a project or because someone above you thinks your work is not up to par or in s style that suits the project.  Yes you may have a good reason, your dog may have died, your wife kidnapped by aliens….but non of that matters.  They have the good of the show to think of.  By extension if you have to make that call on someone, don't beat yourself up about it.  Again… you are being paid to do a job not to win a popularity contest.  I never believe in snap decisions or calls personally and will always give someone enough chances before the time comes where they are history.

12 - Time is Relative

There has never been a shot ever in history where you can say "Woah! I have way too much time here to get this done, how can I possible need that long?"  Time will always been short, deadlines hard to impossible without breaking the laws of physics and you will never have enough time to do something to the standard you personally want to most times.   Post production is like a race run by a man with a watch that seemingly only runs backwards, deadlines are always too short.  After a while you get used to the insane deadlines and simply cope and end up doing things in a time that on paper simply isn't possible.   This is where the team as a whole pulls together…or pulls itself apart.  A good team will help each other, a bad one will tear apart under the slightest strain.

13 - 'Fix it in comp' is not an option!

ok if your a 3d guy this ones just for you and a personal bugbear of mine.  Do not think that everything can be fixed in comp.  Do not expect to give them a shot that is lit badly or rendered with missing passes and expect them to make it look amazing, like you they must have the tools to do their job and that means giving them what is needed.  They are compositors …not magicians!  I also advise 3d guys to get to know the compositors well as those guys and guy-esses can make something good look amazing or something ropey look acceptable.  So next time you moan about how your work was only on screen for 1/2 second remember that their art is a hidden one that the man in the street never realizes is there.  As such its probably a good idea to be nice to them… they can make you look real bad, real fast if they chose to.

14 -  Dont let your personal life intrude

This is a hard one for some people, We all like to blow off steam from time to time and let our hair down.  Maybe you like to go out and get hammered on a friday night or take enough drugs to make Keith Richards have an overdose, thats your business, not mine, I personally couldn't care less what you do to relax, thats your bag.  However.... do not let it affect your work.  Yes from time to time the occasional hangover or being a little late is acceptable, but not turning up till 4pm and having a raging hangover every day is not.

So keep an eye on your partying, and dont let it become a millstone around your career.  Remember your being paid to do your job to the best of your ability within the given constraints of the project, not to go out and as a result be unable to work properly on a monday.   But yes we all need some down time and to be able to let our hair down.  Its important, especially so when your working on  long project as it also helps keep a team glued together when its raining shots upon your head and the only way to do them is to invent a time machine.

15 - Remember to Enjoy it!

The chances are you do this because you are good at it and find it more fun than working in a factory.  So when shit is stressing you out and you feel like throwing in the towel, remember why you do this and overall remember to have fun while doing it.  Let work be part of your life, not all of your life.

So there you go, my 15 step guide to surviving post production.  Feel free to disagree as I'm not the all seeing eye and I'm not infallible.  but I'd like to think that the above makes a lot of sense and helps avoid some of the common pitfalls.

My Views on the Recent VFX Protest

I'm not going to add a lot else to this as most is covered in the video (besides which I have just gotten into work and need to get down to actual paid stuff lol).  What I will say is that I stand by every single word in this video.

Also I'll be finishing the current project here at Screen Scene Dublin around the end of march.... after a short rest it'll be back to finding the next gig.  (Although I have no doubt I will be back in dublin at some point).