Jiawei's Blog

In the last week, my main work was to synthesize and render sequences, followed by editing. Due to time constraints, we couldn’t produce and render some shots in time, so I used montage editing techniques to sequence these shots. This not only enhanced the diversity of the visuals but also made the overall transitions smoother.

After completing this part, all that was left for the whole film was color grading and sound effects. Looking back at the entire project, we faced many challenges. The first was asset creation; with numerous scenes and characters, this part was time-consuming. Another challenge was the transformation scenes and character animations, which were the most difficult aspects of the film. Due to our limited experience, we couldn’t achieve perfection in character animation.

Below is the final display of the FMP animation:

In the final week, week fifteen, I continued working on the camera animations for the intense battle scenes between the mecha and the monster. As these scenes were action-packed, the focus was on emphasizing the characters’ expressiveness. I used wide-angle shots to highlight their massive size and the scale of the battle.

Additionally, this week involved a lot of outputting files. Since we needed to light and render in Unreal Engine (UE), I had to export the skeletal animations into UE for animation matching. This task, while not overly complex, was time-consuming and marked a significant step in bringing our project together for the final render.

Week fourteen, the penultimate week before our project submission, was incredibly busy. Our unfamiliarity with Unreal Engine caused some delays in our production process. Initially, we focused on creating 360-degree character animations without considering how they would look through the camera lens. With just two weeks left and our animations not yet integrated into the scenes and cameras, our team was understandably anxious.

After watching numerous tutorials, I found a more streamlined workflow. Since our scenes were mostly set up, my main responsibility this week was to compile all the character animations made by our team members, including my own. Based on this, I worked on creating camera animations and the transitions between different actions. This task was more challenging than I expected, requiring a flawless blend of storytelling, character dynamics, and camera language.

Creating camera animations took longer than anticipated, with each shot’s keyframes being character-centric. Moreover, many of the animations still had flaws, so I had to tweak the character animations provided by my teammates while working on the camera movements. During this period, I also created an animation for the end of the monster’s transformation.

This week was undoubtedly hectic for me. Below are some showcases of my animation and camera animations.

Monster Animation:

Cameras Animation:

In the thirteenth week, I started working on the back transformation animation for the Doctor’s character. Compared to the previous transformation animations, this one was relatively simpler, thanks to the experience I had gained from earlier work. Before creating the blendshape transformations, I first animated a motion where the Doctor stretches out intensely, emphasizing the sense of pain and madness.

In addition to creating the back transformation animation, I also took the opportunity during this week to complete some additional animation work. These tasks were done in the intervals of working on the back transformation, allowing me to efficiently use the time and make significant progress on other necessary animations for our project.

Below are some parts of my production process and the final results of this back transformation animation.

In week twelve, my task was still focused on rigging, as another key character in our project, the mecha model, was ready for this stage. My main job was to rig the mecha to prepare it for animation. A significant challenge I faced with this mecha was its high polygon count – about one million faces, which caused Maya to lag, especially during constraints and other operations.

Despite this issue, the rest of the process went relatively smoothly. I added several driven keyframes to the mecha rig, which would make it easier and faster for animators to create animations. Below are the rigging tests I conducted for the mecha model.

In week eleven, one of the most important characters in our animation short, the monster, was finally ready for rigging. My task was to give this monster a complete rig, including facial features and some special effects. I set up numerous controllers for the monster’s hands since they are incredibly long, almost as tall as the monster itself, and needed to convey a sense of power.

Initially, I had plans to add a muscle system to the monster for added realism, but due to time constraints, I had to let go of this idea. Below are some tests of the rigging I completed for the monster.

In week ten, I continued to focus on animations for the Soldier and the final stages of the Doctor’s transformation. The foot transformation was particularly complex, requiring more changes than the hands. There were several layers to this transformation.

First, there were irregular bumps appearing on the foot. I had to carefully control the timing of these bumps to make sure they didn’t all appear at once, which wouldn’t look good on screen. Then, there were the changes in the five toes, each needing its own transformation sequence. Also, I had to consider the foot’s veins and the animation of the foot wriggling.

Moreover, for the leg transformation, I created a special rigging setup with more controllers and variations. This approach provided greater flexibility and control over how the leg moves and transforms, allowing for more detailed and dynamic animations.

In addition to working on the transformation animations during week ten, I also dedicated some time to adding necessary animations for both the Doctor and the Soldier as required for our project. This involved creating specific movements and sequences that would fit into the overall storyline and enhance the visual impact of our animation.

All these details were crucial and required careful consideration in the animation process. Below are some parts of my production process and the final outcome of the animations.

In the ninth week, I started working on the Doctor’s physical transformation. The key changes were his hands growing larger and his feet twisting irregularly. To animate these transformations, I mainly used blendshapes for keyframing, along with several different models provided by our modeler to produce the dynamic changes.

A critical part of this task was controlling the pace of the transformation, like deciding which part of the arm changes first. For instance, the arm’s veins became prominent first, followed by the irregular swelling of various muscles like the biceps and triceps. This part of the process was very time-consuming, but the final effect turned out to be quite satisfying.

Below are some showcases of the production process and the outcome playblast.

This week, I kept working on the Soldier’s action animations. But a major part of my focus was on filming and creating animations for the Doctor’s transformation into a monster. In the story, the Doctor decides to transform after seeing his pet monster killed by a mecha monster, losing his hope in life. He then injects himself with a bio-serum to start the transformation.

This scene is crucial in our animation. I believe the Doctor is fearful and frantic before transforming, which drives him to make such a desperate decision.

Below are the reference footage I shot and the animation work I completed this week.

In week seven, my main task continued to be creating character animations and testing some transformation and morphing animations. Animation is a challenging aspect of our project because producing high-quality animations relies heavily on the animator’s patience and experience. Below are some of the results from this week’s work. Some animations were created using motion capture, while others were crafted using traditional keyframe animation techniques.