Today I tested out the mocap system used by my University. It’s a new experience for me compared to mocap work I did at GRIN. At GRIN I supervised actors to do the correct set of motions needed for the game Terminator Salvation. I didn’t need to think about marker occlusions or doing the first pass of solving and cleaning. Now I really have to think about all the possible problems that might happen during a shoot.

The setup process was interesting, getting all the cameras to sync and then later calibrate them so that they all recognized the points in space. After that it was all about acting, trying to capture the soul of my imagined alien. I wouldn’t brag about this being Oscar’s material or anything but it was rewarding to see the stick figure mimicking my every move, even if my foot had a life of its own at some points.

Anyway enjoy this first test.

mocapTest

This is a story that I’ve carried with me since my time as a student and I have longed to make it but always ended up thinking it will be to much of a task for one person. It’s a story about a Alien captive held at a secret research facility, and its only wish is to return home.

It’s a sad tale and that intrigues me because I usually tend to end up doing some sort of comedy in my shortfilms. It will be a challenge to make the audience feel sorry for the alien, to make them hope for his salvation.

The story has been written and is now waiting for the storyboard process begin, so hopefully I will get this project rolling in the coming weeks.

Last week I came across a neat script for Maya that generate buildings, perfect when you want to create background buildings. The script comes with a video tutorial so there is no reason not to try this one. With the script I prevized an idea that have been put on hold because I can’t find the motivation to create all the needed buildings.

The script is called QTown and can be found here

basicCity

Just recently I rediscovered Maya’s own matchmoving capability. Last time I tried it was back in 2001 and its lack of automatic tracking was the reason I left it alone. But what if I had a low enough number of good markers, could it be done in Maya? Yes! I was really surprised to be able to track this clip in less than 10 minutes and with good result.

Anyhow, I imagine that a Kangosaur guarding your keyboard should keep most intruders at bay

angry_kango

New Showreel Online.