ClassInfo

ANI 479 3D Compositing

Jason Hopkins

Fall 2015-2016
Class number: 16783
Section number: 701
Th 5:45PM - 9:00PM
CDM 00722 Loop Campus

Summary

DC 379/479:
3D Compositing

I. Instructor

Jason Hopkins
Phone: (312) 961-7551
E-mail: jhopki@artic.edu

II. Course Description and Expectations

This course is designed to prepare digital artists to merge 3D CGI with live-action, 2.5D, and/or 2D content primarily using Maya, Photoshop, and After Effects. We will draw upon a canon of films to observe successful techniques that can be applied in our own work in order to develop sensitivity for the artistry of this process that has begun to dominate mainstream cinema. Our goal will to be achieve integrated interaction between disparate worlds.
Students will be evaluated on their creativity and diligence in applying the course materials to produce demo reel-worthy clips. Our goals are to go beyond simply achieving technical proficiency, as we will also focus on learning principles of good digital filmmaking in preparation for both artistic and commercial endeavors.

III. Course Materials

I strongly recommend that you purchase an external hard drive. Although we will be viewing most of your work from the d2l.depaul.edu course portal, students are responsible for having their work and files available for viewing in class during weekly class critiques. Note: hardware problems are no excuse for late or missing work. Make backup copies and save your work on media besides the school?s hard drives! Consider using Dropbox or some form of cloud storage as files on flash drives can become corrupted.

IV. Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. I value student participation. Certain activities will require your presence in groups. Three absences will result in a loss of credit for the course. Students arriving more than 15 minutes late to any class will be considered tardy. Four tardies are equivalent to one absence.

V. Assignments

1. Technical Exercises
Each week, students will be expected to demonstrate that they understand the techniques discussed the previous week?s class. How you do this is up to you. You can design a very short and specific piece that focuses on demonstrating technique. Or, you can showcase snippets of a larger project in progress that incorporates the technique. Be creative! All pieces should closely adhere to the principles of good compositing that we discuss in class, as well as display the assigned technique.

Please have your work rendered and submitted online before class begins in .mov or .mp4 format with H.264 compression at 720 x 480 (files larger will be difficult to watch on d2l). I accept late work up until the last week of classes (and resubmissions until you get the grade you want) but you will miss out on the benefits of class critique. It will then be your responsibility to show me that work individually.

We will simultaneously be creating or appropriating footage and 3d assets weekly for the final project.

2. Final Project
The final project for this class must demonstrate an understanding of the concepts discussed in the course. The guidelines are extremely flexible: you should show that you understand the techniques and software discussed, that you can incorporate principles of good filmmaking, and that you have the creativity and dedication to produce a sophisticated piece. You will have ample class time both to work on the project itself, as well as to use me and your fellow students as resources. You needn?t produce a ?catalog? of every single concept we discussed in class. I am most concerned that you produce a thought-provoking and personal piece, one that you can really be proud of as an artist. The final result should be a piece that you would be proud to show at a film festival or on a demo reel!

We will view and critique the final projects during Final Exam Week (TBA). Total hard points: 20 pts

1) Drop off your rendered 720 x 480 .mov or .mp4 (H.264 compressed) in the final project submission box on d2l.depaul.edu before critique begins. I do not accept late final projects and you will not pass the course if you fail to meet this deadline. Better to show unfinished work than nothing at all. (1 pt)
2) It must be at least ~30 s in duration (no cutting corners with lengthy credits). Maybe consider planning for 5 narratively composed shots. Concept is always paramount (5 pts):
a) who is your character?
b) what interrupts the routine?
c) how does the character meet the challenge?
d) set up an expectation
e) up turn it
3) It must have sound. Perhaps dialog or sound effects (diegetic/non). Avoid the top 40s music video format. Royalty free please. (1 pt)
4) Does the piece successfully bring together two or more unrelated media (one of them being 3D CGI)?
(5 pts)
5) Is there interaction between these disparate worlds? (5 pts)
6) Does it possess cinematic appeal and demonstrate technical proficiency? (3 pts)

VI. Class Schedule and Assignments

Week 1:
? Syllabus and Intro
? Discussion of Compositing?history, types, the industry today, interaction
? Begin preparing 3d assets?modeling tips and tricks: devil?s in the details?differentiation between large and small forms. Donkey Barrel test?make a sphere and cylinder using quads, crease tool. Don?t model? Check out Turbosquid.com
Technique Assignment: After Effects compositing basics with the still image. Rubric 5 point breakdown:
1) color correction?levels 1 pt
2) shadows?1pt
3) reflections?1 pt,
4) noise/grain, blur 1 pt
5) is the composited object the hero? General believability? 1 pt

Week 2:
? Look over still image composite assignments
? Compositing elements through movement--2D match moving, stabilization, perspective corner pin
? Footage appropriate for 2d tracking: x, y camera tracking, look for chroma and luma contrast and rectilinear forms
? Look over acquired 3d assets
? 3d materials for compositing?get to know the hypershade: Fresnel, bump, simulated subsurface scatter
Technique Assignment: Acquire or shoot some footage. Composite an object or two into that footage. Rubric 5 point breakdown:
1) stabilize shaky ?hand-cam? footage 1 pt
2) use basic transformation or perspective corner pin tracking (avoiding pixel slip) 1 pt
3) utilize all appropriate techniques covered in class 1?color correction, etc. 3pts

Week 3:
? Look over 2d tracking assignments and 3d materials
? After Effects: 2.5D compositing, ray traced 3d, beveled text, shadow catchers, lights and shadows
? Footage appropriate for 3d camera tracking: dollying in z-depth (not zooming?parallax is necessary), rotation
Technique Assignment: Shoot or acquire some footage appropriate for 3d tracking in AE. Composite some beveled text into it. Make it kinetic if your comfortable with animation principles. Rubric 5 point breakdown:
1) Successfully match move the text into the footage avoiding pixel slip ( 1 pt)
2) Bevel the text--make an aesthetically appropriate font decision (1 pt)
3) Create a spot light matching the general direction in the footage, use a point light as a fill (1 pt)
4) Cast the text?s shadows on the footage using a shadow catcher, make sure your ray-trace quality is high enough to avoid ?spottiness.?
5) Utilize all appropriate past techniques to fully integrate the two elements (1 pt)
*6) Extra Credit?consider animating your text: check out the plethora of presets!
Week 4:
? Review composited 3d text matchmove
? After Effects: 3DExport script for use in maya
? Matchmover?3 button process
? Maya?render out an image sequence of your 3d showcasing rough materials (no lights or shadows required yet)
Technique Assignment: Using Matchmover or AE, composite your 3D assets into some footage. 5 pts
1) Good matchmove (little pixel slip) 1 pt
2) 3d assets demonstrating good modeling principles 1 pt
3) Materials demonstrate bump, Fresnel, other convincing properties 3 pts

Week 5:
? Review composited 3d matchmove
? Maya--Lighting for compositing?5 point set up: lumigons, area lights, negative lights, final gather
Technique Assignment: Implement the 5 point light rig. Customize it to your footage featuring appropriate lights and shadows. 5 pts
1) Past skills properly demonstrated (no pixel slip, good materials, color correction, etc) 1 pt
2) 3d assets well lit with notable key (matching the direction in the footage), fill, and rim 2 pts
3) Shadow cast matching footage (using background shader) using spotlight, final gather 2 pts

Week 6: MIDTERM CHECKPOINT
? Review composited 3d matchmove with light rig
? Showcase any late work/resubmissions
? Maya--Introduction to render layers: beauty, ambient occlusion, diffuse, specular, wireframe, shadow pass
Technique Assignment: Show a Pass Build 5 pts
1) Using your matchmoved 3d asset on footage, starting with the empty plate, show a wireframe build progressing to (1 pt)
2) Diffuse (color pass) 1 pt
3) Specular 1 pt
4) Ambient Occlusion 1 pt
5) Shadow pass 1 pt
*build order for this exercise is important?build to advance complexity and believability, give the viewer sufficient time with the masks to recognize the development


Week7:
? Show Pass Builds
? Maya and After Effects: More on render layers: depth and atmosphere passes, other compositing tricks
? Basic rigging for animation?animate on bones if time is short, simple IKs

Technique Assignment: Rough animatic toward final project (try to have the basic shots blocked out) 10 pts
1) Rendered 720 x 480 .mov or .mp4 (H.264 compressed) uploaded to d2l.depaul.edu before critique begins. (1 pt)
2) ~30 s in duration. Try to answer these questions loosely (5 pts):
a) who is your character?
b) what interrupts the routine?
c) how does the character meet the challenge?
d) set up an expectation
e) up turn it
3) Rough out sound (diegetic/non) consider using sounddogs.com or the library on the 9th floor. (1 pt)
4) How can you plan to bring together two or more unrelated media (one of them being 3D CGI)?
(1 pts)
5) Where will the interaction between these disparate worlds occur? (1 pts)
6) Is it clear, varied shots (CU, XLS, etc.)? (1 pts)



Week 8:
? Review animatics
? Brief notes on animation, trouble-shooting and individual assistance
? Technique Assignment: Work toward final projects. ?Soft? points will be awarded for shots in progress showcased?up to 5 pts per shot depending on level of completion

Week 9: PRE-FINAL REVIEW!
? There will not be a formal critique but your attendance is mandatory! Bring all assets to class for my individual review. Soft points will be allotted for shot progress presented.
Technique Assignment: Keep working toward your final.

Week 10: FINAL PROJECT CRITIQUE?ATTENDANCE MANDATORY! Total hard points: 20 pts
To obtain full credit, demonstrate:

1) Drop off your rendered 720 x 480 .mov or .mp4 (H.264 compressed) in the final project submission box on d2l.depaul.edu before critique begins. I do not accept late final projects and you will not pass the course if you fail to meet this deadline. Better to show unfinished work than nothing at all. (1 pt)
2) It must be at least ~30 s in duration (no cutting corners with lengthy credits). Maybe consider planning for 5 narratively composed shots. Concept is always paramount (5 pts):
a) who is your character?
b) what interrupts the routine?
c) how does the character meet the challenge?
d) set up an expectation
e) up turn it
3) It must have sound. Perhaps dialog or sound effects (diegetic/non). Avoid the top 40s music video format. Royalty free please. (1 pt)
4) Does the piece successfully bring together two or more unrelated media (one of them being 3D CGI)?
(5 pts)
5) Is there interaction between these disparate worlds? (5 pts)
6) Does it possess cinematic appeal and demonstrate technical proficiency? (3 pts)



School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296