The Machine And I (WIP CGI short)

[thecolclough]

hi all
i've just started work on a new CGI short film called The Machine And I - it's going to be a bit more arty and metaphorical, and maybe more soul-baring, than any of my previous Anim8or output, and i'm expecting it to take at least a year to produce.  i plan to do at least 90% of the modelling and animation in anim8or, but i might end up using a different modelling program for the small bits of organic stuff which will appear towards the end of the film, and i might end up picking a different program to render the scenes.  i'll see how things go before finalising any non-anim8or software choices.

anyway, it begins with a sequence called 'The Factory', where we see the final stages of construction and activation of the utilitarian vehicles, one of which is the focus of the movie.  unlike some previous projects, i've decided to start at the beginning on this one, and so far, i've nearly finished modelling and animating the first two shots, except for the vehicles themselves, which are still represented by simple green stand-ins in the attached renders.

the second still took about 16 minutes to render with scanline, using a single local light casting non-soft raytraced shadows, so i'm not sure if i'll be able to get away with using shadows, as the movie should be several minutes long, and the shadows would just make the render times an absolute killer.  if anybody knows a good rendering program which can handle animations from anim8or (not just stills), and is significantly faster than the anim8or scanline renderer, then i'd love to hear about it!

well, that's all for now, i think.  i'll be posting more WIP renders on this thread, maybe also wireframes, and perhaps the odd question, as the project progresses.

also hoping to release my previous CGI short on youtube sometime later this week.

- colclough

[Tanzim]

Detailed and looks awesome!
Though those cart things could do with some detail.

Good luck though.

[spicy]

Sounds ace and good luck, love the modelling!

[almost cool]

lovely,cant wait!

[3D Joe Wiltshire]

Those scenes look very professional.

[thecolclough]

thanks for the comments, guys

tanzim - the 'cart things' are just placeholders, and will eventually be replaced with much more detailed vehicle models.  the weird greeny colour is to make them stand out, so it's obvious when i look at the scene what's placeholder and what's final.

anyways, an update!  i've started work on the third shot.  the modelling and animation for it are nowhere near done, but i made this test render anyway, and i thought it looked quite atmospheric, so i decided to share it with y'all, even though the finished version will probably look a lot different.

- colclough

[ENSONIQ5]

This is really excellent work colclough.  I love the industrial feel, and the "accuracy" of the fabrication, as well as the apparent sensitivity to mechanical principles.  The dark moody lighting works particularly well, as do the dramatic camera angles which show off the receding geometric perspective and transport the viewer directly into the scene.  I don't have any crits yet, just a gentle warning that these sort of complex models can reach a very high poly count, and if rendering with shadows and anti-aliasing the render time can get astoundingly long.

I love the fact that you are willing to take on a project that you know will take at least a year, and from your previous efforts I have no doubt that you will stick at it.  My only disappointment is that I will have to wait that long to see the finished piece!

[onespirit5777]

Render one with shadows just to see how it looks - For us I mean. I bet it will take a long time with all that detail.

That is some really good work and I can't wait to see the finished work.

Using a local light gives it a mysterious look and keeps your attention.

[thecolclough]

ensoniq - thank you for your kind words.  very encouraging.  i have experimented with shadow renders, and the frames are taking about 15 minutes each, with a single light casting hard raytrace shadows.  i did try, once or twice, to render with volume shadows, and it only took about 42 seconds to render one of the same frames that took 15 minutes with raytrace shadows... but it had that all-too-familiar old glitch, with the render looking like somebody had scraped a handful of nails across it, so i can't use it.  i have to say, if i could pick just one thing which i would most want to see in the next anim8or update, i'd say "fix the volume shadows!!" without a moment's hesitation.  *hint hint, if you're reading this, Steve...*

onespirit - i've done a still render with soft shadows, mainly because you asked nicely   it took 77 minutes, so there's no way i'll be using soft shadows in the actual film!  it'd take a few years to do the rendering

anyway, latest news: as you can see from the attached render, i've been making some more progress with that title shot.  there's still quite a bit more to go, however.  i need to build the bits of machinery which will perform the final touches in the vehicle's construction process, and of course build the vehicle itself, before i can say this shot is done.

in case anybody's wondering: the chicken wire panels are each a single quad poly, with the same bitmap (made in Paint) used as both Bump and Trans maps.  I can post it on the forum for free download if anyone wants it

- colclough

[Tanzim]

Steve released 0.97c today so that line problem might go away, you might want to try it.

Anyways, OMG, that is awesome, one of the best, if not the best works I have seen done with Anim8or!
How long did this take you to make?

Edit: remembered the heroes project by pscheunemann.

[headwax]

Professional work as always thecolclough


You really make the best of this wonderful programe.

[falloffalot]

Out of curiosity what size did you start modeling at?
I started "get tanked" comp on AnimAnon apart from my laptop going bang I made the model so big it wouldn't scale down without my computer crashing.
Looks great BTW

[thecolclough]

once again, thanks for the positive feedback, guys

Steve released 0.97c today so that line problem might go away, you might want to try it.

i did try it, but it looks like steve's disabled volumetric shadows altogether in 0.97c...

Out of curiosity what size did you start modeling at?

the first thing i made was the green boxes, which were the same size as i planned to make the vehicles, 100 Anim8or Units long front-to-back, 50 AU wide, and 30 high.  i wanted to make the tunnels and cages first, but i needed a reference object the same size as the vehicles, so i could build the cages and things to fit around it; that's why i've got the green blocks.  if you look at the second render on the original post, you can see that the girder tunnel is in sections, each of those is 300 AU.  so far, i haven't had any issues with Z-far limits, although that might start happening when i build stuff for the later scenes in the film...

anyway, i've developed the three scenes quite a bit more now, although they're all still incomplete.  i've attached an unlit (figure mode, perspective view) render of the developing vehicle model.  i'll probably post some updated versions of the scene-mode stills later on.

- colclough

[thecolclough]

wow, that was an epic thread bump!  i rediscovered this at the bottom of page 11...  anyway, i have a good reason for bumping, so please don't bite my head off

and the reason is... i've been making progress!  albeit very slowly.  i'm going to revise my completion time estimate from 'a year' to 'a few years', but on the bright side, the project is still alive.  i've nearly finished all the sets and props modelling for the opening scene (just one more bit of equipment and a section of roadway and wall left to go), i've pretty much finished animating the first 3 shots, and the vehicle now looks a lot more respectable.

the attached still is the latest render of the main title shot (i temporarily hid the title text to show off the modelling better), and if you compare it to the previous posts, you can see a major advance in the set modelling and in the state of the vehicle.  i basically just need to get the aforementioned bit of equipment modelled, and then this shot will be complete, and i can move on to the fourth!  woohoo!

anyways, there you go.

maybe we should have one of those signs up, like the ones that say "warning: slow-moving traffic", except in this case it should say "warning: slow-moving colclough"!   

- c

[3D Joe Wiltshire]

Waow! That makes a great render on it's own!
How did you get that sign to look lit up like that?
Loving the progress so far, and masterpieces do take a lot of time to produce, can't wait to see the end product, but i'm gonna have to.