Spent the morning in a Spider-man 3 panel. They discussed the Sand Man effects, and how they rendered millions of grands of sands. Once again, we learned all about cheating to compensate for render time and costs. Yay shortcuts! Whenever there was a close-up shot of the grains, those were all modeled individually. As the camera pulled away, they developed a code that would change these models into 2-D circles. They look like this...
At first, they modeled a simple diamond in 3-D space, but the render time was so outrageous, they had to change the shape, and thus settled on these four flat circles. The rotation of each could be animated, so that depending on the light source, the highlight would be appropriate. Lastly, once the sand grain moved further back in camera space, the shape changed once again to just once circle, colored to match the surrounding lighting. Another script was written to execute that code as well. So even though it took a while to render, Sony Imageworks was able to do it in the time demanded. Always remember to cheat, cheat, cheat! And here is a link to CG Society's Spider-man 3 coverage. It explains everything above more in depth with pretty pictures and video. Spider-Man 3 CGSociety
Afterwards, we hit up the floor for a bit, and were introduced to the Pixar guys from the party. They were awesome, and I really hope we can get someone to be a guest speaker from Pixar at UCF!
Next up was a Tech Talk with Vancouver Film School, which even though it acted as a super self-promotion opportunity, they did have cool stuff to show. For anyone who doesn't know who they are, VFS is one of the top animation schools in the world. Everyone who graduates from there gets a job in the industry- most get their top choice! The professors even joke that studio recruiters can be found at their graduations running after their students. Anyway, the director of their program explained what it takes to get a career in animation and the training required. They emphasized the importance of a strong art background and understanding the fundamentals of animation. Practice, practice, practice! And don't get caught up learning where the buttons are in Maya, Cinema 4D, or any other program. Understand what the tools are for, how to use them, and the concepts behind them. Each studio has their own attachments to these programs, so it is more important to understand the functions behind the buttons then to know where the buttons are. Also, talk to as many industry people as possible- this business is all about networking and getting your foot in the door. And, especially be approachable and nice- you never know who could be sitting next to you!
The rest of the day was spent on the floor and in the Job Fair. Nickelodeon Studios is looking for interns. All that's needed to apply is your resume and cover letter. The more specific you are about what you want, the better. Here's their website: www.mtvncareers.com
Also, here's the Disney Animation internship website: www.disneyanimation.com
Big News! We heard a rumor that Disney Animation is opening their studio in Orlando again! Apparently, John Lasseter toured the old animation studio at MGM in January. When we hear more, we will let everyone know.
Nightly event included a reception outside by the water. Walked about a zillion blocks in a huge circle to get there as there was some massive server crash at the Softimage party where we were originally invited to go. But the reception was nice, gave us time to relax, and kick back before going to bed at a semi-decent hour! Until tomorrow...
- Alexis
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