Tuesday 26 October 2010

Growing experiment.

Found a great paint growth tutorial. You can cast shadows with it and i think it looks pretty cool. This will be used for the vines; once i have discovered how to grow it along a curve. (its basically what its doing but out of one point :)

Problems encountered.

As an experiment one of our tutors suggested i use the projector in the studio to project onto a model made of basic polygons.
The first thing i done is plotted the position of the projector in world space, and the difference in elevation etc; compared to my model.
This all went well until i projected the object back onto its self. I found that i did not know the exact angle that the 'in situ' projector was set at; and therefore when it projected back it gave a distorted image. Without knowing the projector is true and square i am unable to get a true result.
Also the ratio has to be governed by the projector back through the software right to the camera in Maya.
I am going to put this down to experimental time; and revert to using a smaller projector which i can set up squarely.

The solution to the problem would have been to measure to the centre of the lens and then measure the centre of the projection; making sure that the two centres are at the same  height, this way you could make sure the projected image is true. So for the side of a building a scaffold is going to be needed. This was not time wasted; far from it, it just shows the setting up needed to get the result right. Also when we move onto bigger subjects, these experiments will become invaluable.

Monday 25 October 2010

Some Technical gumph.

Projection Calculator

Found this online; which is good in one respect, but if you have a look it puts us at the very limit of the projectors capabitities.

There may be a way to maximise the space we have by matching the surface area to the aspect, in this case just to turn the projector on its side.
Atm i am just starting to make an absract model to show the way the method works. This is a short vid of a speaker i mapped; i was not too happy with it; but it will get better. (Believe me!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npWv0xRIP_w

Saturday 23 October 2010

Update on the pitch...

As i have not had access to the projector i am wanting to use i have put a back-up plan into action. This will take the form of an installation rather than a  performance; and will be on the side of the building. It will be based on a year in the life of the house. It will make use of the plants already growing on the building; simulating the plants growing and flowering with 'brass' flowers. This will be set to music derived from Cornish Brass Bands; so it looks like the brass flowers are playing the music.
I warmly welcome Oddne onto my team; and as i have worked with him before i know  this is a very positive thing. The next thing i am working at is the 'WOW' shot; hopefully this will spur interest from anyone else who wants to come on the team; and get the project the go ahead.

Friday 15 October 2010

Update on the pitch...

Have been asking peoples opinions on the possibility of involving a live performance along with our animation. The reaction has been good; with the idea put forward of a piece of music derived from the building. On the same account; we can model other bits of the university on a less grand scale for just one off instillations. These will be run as loops; continuously playing.
For the pich i am making a model one tenth the size of Tremough house to give the guests some idea of what we are proposing. This will also give us the chance to play around with the geometry and create some digital effects.
We have also got an old cinema  projector which needs testing in situ; and more exciting than that the use of  a robotic 3d scanner (apparantly it is controlled by a ps2 controller!) this is being borrowed from Cambourne School of Mines.
All in all the reaction from staff and my peers has been really positive; and i would like to take this chance to introduce some Second year students to the project after they replied to an email sent out  by myself. Scott, Brian, George and Insa all have different interests in the  project and i thank them for their interest.
Till next time....

Tuesday 12 October 2010

So got a major pitch coming up...

And on that count i have to get a working example of the work i am intending to produce. After more research and some practical experiments i have found out a few things about projection techniques and its limitations. This includes the ammount of alteration to geometry where the effect is believable; and what kind of surfaces accept the projection best.
I have begun to work on using normal maps as projections. This involves exporting normal maps from image data and having it interpreted in After effects.
I have had some success with a projector borrowed from the Uni; but unfortunatly; i can not show you the results as i am waiting for a camera....long story.
The main idea i have is to map Tremough House.
As you can see the middle bit with the nine windows could be a real possibility. On failing that i may approach the theatre dept and see if i can do anything with the staging crew to tie in with a performance. This is not what i really want to be doing; but it may open up other avenues or possibilities.

What do you want to see and hear more about?