I shot a simple 6 second clip of the my cat (Mowgli) who managed to sit still for about 5 seconds before running out of shot. The video file of this shot was MVI_0215.mov. I copied this to my portable drive. I then started the long process of creating a short animation with this clip.
Task 1 - Cut Out the Cat
It is recommended that when camera matching you have to remove any moving objects. I imported "MVI_0215.mov" and using After Effects CS4 masked out the cat any created a Targa Image Seqence "215-Master_nocat_00274.tga"
Task 2 - Track the Environment
I used MatchMover 2011 to track the image sequence and generate the required point data for 3D Studio Max
This is when I first noticed that I had shot @ 50 fps I had twice the number of files to track. 304 in total.
When importing into 3D Studio Max you have to make sure your Z-axis is point the correct way and also the Y and X axis. It took a few attempted to get the axis in the correct direction. I was pleased with the results after I had finished this stage.
Task 3 - Composite Tests
I started off by experimenting with simple 3D shapes in my new 3D enviroment and placing them all over the paved area of my scene. I founded that I got best results when I aligned my 3D assett to a cluster of points on my scene as individual points seemed not to have a stable track.
I was not happy with putting to many objects in my scene and non-organic shapes seemed to make the CG elements less believable. I decided to not put any objects in the path of the cat as it would make the scene harder to mask out.
Task 4 - 3D Scan of Face
After a few experiments I got my friend Jim to take 26 pics of around my face with me sat against a wall. It as amazing how hard it its to sit still.
I took the mesh into Zbrush and using the smooth tool mainly, tidied up the mesh to get rid of any lumps and bumps.
Task 5 - 3D Scan of Statue
Statue 1 = Original Scan
Statue 2 = Smoothed Object after ZBrush
Statue 3/4 = Experiments with 3D Studio Max and cutting into the original mesh
Task 6 - 3D Studio Max
I took my head scan and statue scan and placed them in my environment. I applied a stone texture to the statue and a chrome/metallic finish to the heads. I followed the youtube video "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCbrrlIZSe0&feature=related" to create realistic shadows. I used the original movie as a reflection to add realism.
Task 7 - After Effects
I composited the scene together
backgound = original footage
layer 1 = CG elements
layer 2 = copy of original footage and just a mask of the cat to solve the problem when the cat walks infront of layer1
I then created a master file 215-Master.mov (6 secs) 50fps
Task 8 - Premiere
I cut the 6 sec clip into 2 sections A = 4 sec B = 2 secs
I then repeated and reverse part A of the clip so it looked like the camera was panning back and forth. The final clip went Reverse A 100% speed,A 100% speed,Reverse A 80% speed,A 80% speed,Reverse A 100% speed,A 100% speed,B
Task 9 - After Effects 2
I took the last "Reverse A 100% speed,A 100% speed," 18:34 secs to 34:13 secs and apply a scale and position chnages to give the effect that the camera was zooming in on the head.
Finish
I added the sound track "On Wings of Song - Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" as I am getting married soon and it is one of the pieces that is getting played at the wedding.
Final Version = http://www.vimeo.com/22522115
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