Topic 2Topic 2

Digital Production Digital Production Process - part 1 Process - part 1

Contents

• Production Strategies.

• Hardware, Software & Human Resource Requirements.

• Study the production types, technical complexity and basic resources (budget, timetabling, human resources, computer system).

• Production trend always changes based on time and place.

Planning a computer animation project

• Different goals/ aims– an experimental animation, visual effects shot for a live

action film, commercial production, an animation for television, real-time platform game and feature film production all have very different purposes and project dynamics.

– Experimental computer animation• Explore techniques, topics, or treatments that are not commonly used in mainstream productions.

• Relax production schedule and creative freedom.

Production Types

Production Types

Computer Animation for a feature film• Develop to be crowd pleasers.• Tight schedule, big production team.• No standard length of time.• Usually, anything over 30 minutes is considered

long.• Average length of a feature film is 90 minutes.

• Short (< 1 mins : computer animation) – test segment, student project, TV commercial, TV channel session, opening of program and film title introduction.

• Medium (1 – 30 mins: computer animation) – serial episode, collection of special effect for film, private or government project.

• Long (>30 – 90 mins : computer animation) – commercial animation film.

Production Types

• From the simple to the very complex category of production.

• Needs more consideration.• Commercial Film– more complex, needs more

attention of planning.• Simple Category– quite simple, not very complex in

terms of planning, budget and resources.

Technical Complexity

• Breaking down a shot or a digital production–Creative issues–Technical issues–Logistical issues

Planning the Shots & Production Flow

• Type of project?• Clear creative direction?• Direction likely to change throughout production?• Context of shot? What happens before and after?• Length in seconds or minutes?• Have to match look of live action? Visual effect or

stylized animation?

Creative issues

Technical issues

• Is client likely to understand technical issues?• Nature of action? Type of motion?• Complexity or geometry? • Number of primary and secondary characters?

Major and minor elements?• Type of lens and lighting sources?• Characteristics of final output medium and

process?

Logistical issues

• Budget amount?• When is the delivery deadline?• When are the preliminary review deadlines?

Likely to change?• Size and type of team?• What computer animation tools and computing

power?• Other materials required before project can

start or finish? Likely that those will be on time?

• Breaking down a visual effects shot or an animation sequence is one of the most important moments.

• Starts by considering the main creative goals, as well as major variables that might impact production.

• The goal: to end up with specific production tactics that will accomplish the best result within limitations.

• Creative goals of 3D computer animation is best done by individual / small group who have a common artistic vision.

Planning the Shots & Production Flow

• Budget allocated to the project is adequate (a director of visual effects / supervisor of computer animation).

• Production schedule (producer / director) – realistic deadlines.

• Personnel (hired) and the amount & power of the computer resources that can be used.

• Amount of time (to complete a computer animation) – depends of type of production and its technical complexity.

• Simple commercial computer animation : 1 – 2 months.

Budget, Schedule & Resources

• TV commercial : 2 – 3 months.• Feature film : > 1 years.

–Dozens of shots –Interaction: live action, special effects and

composition–Involve production staff 100 individuals, dozens

of computers (rendering).

Budget, Schedule & Resources

Components of a Computer animation Studio

•Creative personnel

•Production personnel

•Technical personnel

•Administrative and sales personnel

•Turnkey application software

•Proprietary software

•Processing power

•Peripheral storage

•Computer network and communications

•Input and output equipment

•Business plan and funds

•Clients•Space

• Includes creative, technical, production, and administrative position

• Studio size- small (5), medium (20), large (100).

• Large studio include creative, technical personnel (traditional character animation, live action film, optical compositing, sculpture, model making).

Personnel

Sample Creative Team (TV Commercial)•Creative Director •Art Director •Copywriter •Producer•Account Executive •Animation Director

Sample Production Team (TV Commercial)•Animation Supervisor•Senior Animator •Junior Animators Producer•Production Manager•Technical Assistant

• Also called off-the-shelf software.• Price range : under $1000 - > $100,000.

– Depends on capabilities, sophistication, speed.• When selecting the software, do consider:

– upgrade policies – upward and downward compatibility

• Upward compatibility exists when files created with previous version of the software are compatible with new software upgrades

• Downward compatibility exists when files created with a new software upgrade are compatible with earlier versions of the software.

Turnkey software – application software

• Developed in-house to provide tools and techniques that are not available in commercial turnkey systems

–Quite costly–Can be used to pre-process motion-capture

data before it is send to the turnkey animation module.

–Requires a team of specialized and dedicated programmers to develop, maintain and upgrade the software.

Proprietary software

• 2D / 3D scanning

• 2D / 3D animation• 2D / 3D paint and retouching • Ink and paint• Flipbook player• Rotoscoping• Matting

Commonly used software in computer animation

• Surface modelling• Motion capture /

clean-up• Shading and

rendering• Compositing• Compression• Video editing

• Determined by the power, speed and number of computers.

• Depends on : budget, type of tasks assigned to that machine.

• For example : modelling, rendering, compositing.

Processing power

Peripheral Storage

• Based on : volume, quality and complexity of the work done.

• Frames are stored in digital form until recorded on video / film.

• Size of a single frame of high quality – 4 to 50 megabytes.

• Depends on : spatial, temporal, chromatic resolution.

Take note…

1 bit = either 0 or 1

1 byte (B) = 8 bits (e.g 1010 1100)

1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes

1 Megabyte (MB) = 1024 Kilobytes

1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1024 Megabytes

1 Terabyte (TB) = 1024 Gigabytes

More on storage…

Data communication1 kilobit = 1000 bits

32 bits of color per frame 800 x 600 resolution= 800 x 600 x 32= 15,360,000 bits= 1,920,000 bytes= 1875 KB= 1.831 MB per frame

24 fps= 1.831 * 24= 43.944 MB

10s animation= 439.44 MB (no compression)

• Bring information to the processors from storage and peripheral devices (vice versa).

• Networks servers (more than one).• Internets : connect computers in locations across the

globe.• Intranets : connect computers that belong to a single

company / located in the same building.• Popular network bandwidth :

T-1 or DS-1 at 1.544 Mbs, Xerox’s Ethernets at 10 Mbs, FDDI at 100 Mbs, ATM at 154 Mbs.

• Share files and to keep as many computers on the network.

networks

• Input capabilities for variety of purposes which include 2D / 3D information.

• Flatbed scanners / digitizing cameras – used for scanning images (texture maps / backgrounds).

• Film digitizers – digitizing entire live action sequences that are composed digitally with the computer animation.

• 3D scanner – used for digitizing the shape (model, environment, action human actors) as motion templates for an animation.

Input & Output Equipment

• Output capabilities – to record motion tests and the finished animation.

• High resolution electronic and laser film recorders to output computer animation onto film.

• Digital disk recorders to output animation onto a variety of video format also a popular form of peripheral storage (can

record video in digital format and play back computer animation at standard video rates on output devices)

Input & Output Equipment

• Variety skills & talents.• Simple project – single team handle creative and production

responsibilities.• Creative team :

– represented by the design studio, communications company or advertising agency (develop the concept and the visual treatment).

– Responsibilities : creating a script / screenplay and storyboard.

• Production team : – execute the ideas provided by the creative team and

deliver a finished animation.

Creative & Production Teams