"No one at the bridge"

Rochester Institute of Technology

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10-2006

"No one at the bridge"

Jeffery J. Lester

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M.F.A. Thesis Project

"No One at the Bridge"

by

Jeffery J. Lester

MF A Imaging Arts / Computer Animation

School of Film and Animation

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York

October 2006

Malcolm G. Spaull

Malcolm Spaull,

Acting Chair

,

MFA coordinator

School of Film and Animation

Thesis Committee Chair

Howard Lester

Howard Lester,

Administrative Chair

School of Film and Animation

Thesis Committee member

Charles Bandla

Charles Bandla,

Adjunct professor

School of Film and Animation

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Jeffery J. Lester

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Table ofContents:

1. Report

i. Introduction pages: 2-3

ii. Conceptand

Story

pages: 4-8

iii. Goals pages: 9-13

iv. Character Design pages: 14-19

v. EnvironmentsandProps pages: 20-23

vi. Animation pages: 24-25

vii.

Editing

and

Compositing

pages: 26-28

viii. SoundandMusic pages: 29-32

ix. The

Screening

pages: 33-36

x. Conclusion pages: 37-39

2. Appendices

i. Original Proposal pages: 40-46

ii. Original

Story

Board pages: 47-56

iii. Color Still Images pages: 57-61

Introduction

Sinceits inception in_2002,"No one attheBridge" has beena_{constantly evolving} idea. Of_{course, this} statementappliestomostadventures such as_{this, however,}Imust

emphasizethatit is rare andunusualfora projectofthis leveltohave runthe amount of

permutationsit hasoverthefour-plusyears ofits making. Sometimes I feel I have

traveled to thedepthsandthenreboundedtohitthestratosphere with allofits

possibilities, and yet atthe sametimeyoufeelyouare _{only scratching}the surfaceof what

thisidea shouldtransmit.

Inover3400 hours of_effort, one single_person,yours_truly,managedtoputforth

thislittle 10-minute animation. Thatisan accurate_number, not an estimate. Stated

another_way, ifyou worked aregularfull-time jobwithno_vacation,thesehours areequal

tol year and4months offulltimework.

Having

dispensedthis _fact,I wishtostress

furtherthat this ideaandtheprojectasa_{whole, has really}run a complete and

long

distancecourse. "Noone atthe Bridge"is

by

no means _{perfect,suffering}theinevitable

twists, turns, and_limitations,a one man showis

likely

toencounter,yetI do feel it hasa

certaindegreeof charmand completeness.

Throughthecourse of4jobchanges, 3 out-of-state_moves, a seriousback_injury,

the_passingof our

family

_pets,2_hurricanes,Ivanand_Isabel,thedeathof_myfather, a

basement _flood,and countless computer upgrades and_debacles,workhaspersistedon

thisproject sinceIstartedthefirsttreatmentand concept sketches.In all

honesty

work hasnever ceased onthisprojectfor anysignificantperiod. Thoughprogress wasnot

optimal

during

_{manyphases, there}was always a consistent pushofsomekind brewing.

Beforeanyone_asks,yesof_{course, the}above mentionedcircumstances and_many

morenot_mentioned, affectedthedirectionand mood oftheproject. Iwouldbe

fooling

myselfif I denied_this,but essentially I feelthat_myeconomic andpsychologicalstatus is

builtrightintothis _thesis,and quite

frankly

Ihope it _shows,atleast I hope itexpresses

somethingtrue.

Begin theBeginning

Inactuality, thereis even aprecursorto the

beginning

ofthisproject. It actually

after months ofwork, Itookahard lookat_things,andfeltthat_myheartwas notinthis project. _{Not onlythat,} but itseemed clear_{to me,} from

having

gained some

industry

knowledge,thatinordertomake somehead waywith ademo_reel,Iwas_goingtoneed

somethingmoreimpressivewith_mythesis. Ialso feltadesiretotacklecertain aspects of

my 3Dskills,which were lacking. I knowa_thingortwoabout _modeling,but Iwantedto challengemyself abitwith character_animation,andstory.The original projectdidnot reallyallowforwhatIwas imagining. Iwasabletoputtogetheranother_committee, and

started workona story.

Having

not even put pen_{to paper,}thereI was, already 6months behindthe eight-all.

Intermsofvisuals,I was a professional model-makerforover 10 years_working intheIndustrialDesign _field,soIwantedto show_my skillsas designerand modeler.

Moreover, Ineededto create_somethingthatwas_complete, bornofa_storywith

characters and nottheother_wayaround. Ialsowantedtocreate anatypical 3D_project, which seemsharderandharderto dothesedays. Itseemsthat"3D geeks"

are_expecting Animaebasedthemes, elves,dwarves, bugs, spaceships andthe like. That'snotto _say

youcan'tdetectsome obvious undertones in thatdirection here and_there,butno

fucking

dwarves!

Sowhatkindofideawouldleadmetowhere Iwantedtogo?Wellthe ideawas inspired

by

a_{thought,specifically}a_fear,thathadcrossed_mymindseveraltimeswhile

Concept and

Story

Seriously,thisconceptwas developed outof_my fearof

heights,

which also expandstoair_travel,and yesofcourse, bridges. More often_{than not,}itseems Ifind

myself_{trapped,mid-span,} on some_ricketybridge incongestedtraffic orbadweather.

Thosethingsvibrate like crazywhenthose truckspass orwhenthewind picks up. I know

forafactthat theBallantyne_bridge, rightonRIT'smain_{thoroughfare,}was deemedout of

specificationforyears before_theystartedtore-buildit. Yeteveryone crossesthese

colossalmonsterswithoutathoughtto its _stability,orwithout respectto thepeoplethat

builtthem.

Immediately

Ibegantoenvisiontheclassicfootage ofthe short-livedTacoma

Narrowsbridge, andthespectaculardestructionthatbaffledtheengineerswhodesigned

it. Theactionis_riveting,andthe intrigueofsuchdestructionseemed_{like something}that

would workinan outlandish 3Danimation.

Ifeltthis fear idea had

potential, andthe

imagery

anddesign

wouldbe easyto conjure_updrama,

suspense,and cool camera angles.

However,it lackeda_character,and as Istressed_before, Ineededtomake a complete_story,so Ishelvedthisidea

untila concept of a character could

evolve,but I really felt I had

something herewiththisbridge concept.

Original story lineswerebasedon a

"dweeb"

character,who wasantagonized

by

abridgeconstruction worker.

Every

day

he would_trytogetacrossthebridgeas fastashe

couldbefore hisfearwouldcause a panic attack.When theconstructionworker

discovered his fear,hewouldtease thedweeband

delay

thecrossing. Thisideawas decent,butthecharacters werenot_verylikable, andthehumorjustdidn'troll. _Still,Ifelt Ishould lookforhumorous_ideas, because Iwanted peopleto like it. Little did I_know, I wouldlaterabandontheemphasis on _humor,because Iamjustnot a

"funny

guy"

possess aflair forcomic timing.

Eventually

thingsgot more_{philosophical,}which is a littlemore true to_{mybeing, why besomething}youare_not,right?

Aftersomediscussionwithcommittee membersI came_upwith a_story about a

lack lusterpizzakid or as we referto _him, "PK."Pizza Kidwas likable andyoucoulddo

a_varietyofthingswithhim. This is_reallywhere the_story startedtodevelop. We

experimented withhimas

being

both a_slacker, and"theultimate"

pizzaman with a

perfect

delivery

record. Thiswas _{something I began}to_{do constantly}withallthe

elements of_{the story,} Itwistedand reversed_everyidea,just_{to experiment,}andthen

decidedonwhichone wouldworkbest: perfect pizza_kid,

lazy

pizza_kid,dilapidated

bridge, strong bridge etc.I felt Icould get amoreunique _{story going if I keptturning}the

elements around. With"PK"aloneImusthavecome_upwithatleastadozenscenarios.

With_{these two things going,I really began}work onthis_{bridge idea along}with

severalother characterideas. It's a

frustrating

_process, itseems that_only

by

some weird

chance would_somethingtieallthis stufftogether. That'saboutthe timeIturned to_my

"Dada"

influences."Chance"

is exactlywhatIneeded. Iwas _thinkingof_creatingan

impossiblesituation(quiteliterally).

Many

oftheoriginalDadaartist wouldexperiment

withchancehappenings. Kurt _Schwitters,for_instance,would producehis foundobject

art with whateverhe discovered inthestreetthat

particularday.

Many

Dadaactivistswouldthrow

themselves to theideaof chance.

They

would

create_poetryandliveacts_accordingtowhatever

wordswouldturn_upon scrapsofscrambled

papers. To_them, lifewasjusta seriesof

uncontrolled possibilities. Therewas nologicto

life orthe things_theyhadseen

during

thecarnage ofWWI.

Nothing

else could explain

these_{mind-boggling}atrocities, otherthan the_philosophy thereisnologictosuch

horror,"

therefore thisexistence must allbebasedonrandomchance. Yetsometimes

things dowork out. Stillcoulditallbe chance?

I actually developed PKto thepoint of a3D_model, and atthatstageIwas still

unsure ifthebridge ideawouldfit inwith_him,butIthoughtin lightoftheDada

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philosophy,I'dputtheunrelated elementstogether. Iwas_{really enjoying}theprocess of thischaracterdevelopment_{and, thusfar,} Ihadwrittenseveraltreatmentsabout a_cocky fearlessteenaged

delivery

_guywho makesfoolishdecisionsandfinds himselftrappedon

thebridge.Hewas eitherinarush todeliver_{the pizza,}orhetookan unadvisedshortcut,

which wasthe

hulking

bridge. In some scenarioshe hasone lastchancetomake a

delivery

orhegets

fired,

orhe is _tryingtoretainaperfect

delivery

record. The bridge

comes into_playasthemain obstacle.

These ideaswere

fairly

_permanent,and Icame_upwithabunchof_slightly

differentscenarios._{The storyconcepts, sketches,} and models were_underway, and evena fewrough 3D animatics were

being

produced. Still somethingwas_missing, but Ifeltthe

projectmightgettoo

big

if Iwentfurther. Needless to _say,Ihadtogo theextramiles and ended_up

doing

so.Aboutthree quartersthroughpre-production,I feltthe _storyneeded another_character,the_{story had}good_ideas,but itwas lacking. We decidedthatPK needed abetterreasontomakehis delivery. I experimentedwiththe ideathata_teenager, regardlessofhow lackadaisical he_was, couldstillbemotivated. Perhapsthemotivation couldbea rockhero.

Idevelopeda_storywhereperchance,PKwould end_up

delivering

a pizzatohis idol, andthebridgewould present abarrieronthe_wayto the

delivery

and_eventually

collapse_puttingthe_{character(s) in}greatdanger. Thisidea wasonthehumorous side,but stillhadscenes ofdrama. I developedtherockhero asacrossbetweena_modern-day

rapper,anda70'srockhero. Therocker wouldbealmostlikea_phantom, butstill provide enough interest for PKtomeethim. This idea hadseveral scenarios aswell. Ithadthe longest tenure, andIfeltitwas_prettycloseto completion.

Eventually

therockhero becameknownasMass Volume "MV."His size andhis largerthanlifepresencewarrantedthemoniker. _However,rightbefore riggingand

animationstarted,Isettledon_{the story,} several events inspiredmetochangethe_storyyet again. Itinvolved changingthepersonalities ofthecharacters as well.Ifelt Ineededto takeadvantage oftheunique elements ofthe_storyandtoget morephilosophicalwith

whatIhad. Itwas also

becoming

clearthat therockheroversionwouldrequiremore resources and_modeling toproduce. Thiswas amajorfactor in

deciding

toheadintoa different directionas animationneededtoget_underway,and on_topof_that,Iwas

number of sets_{required,reducingrendering,} and_modelingtimes. Inthe _end,

by

_cutting

down, a stronger_storywas developed.

Therockherowouldtransform intoamysticalguru and_playamuchlargerrole in

thestory.MVneededto_{be something}otherthan"bait."PKwould alsobe _changed,

transformingintonaivebutlikablepizza_{enthusiast, seeking}out ahighercalling.The

bridgewouldbethe_meetingplaceforthecharacters where_underlyingthemesof

crossingto theother side and _{getting away}fromthenormalgrind occur. In

legendary

blues _style,MV_{though wild,}still retainstherole ofa guruinthe traditional

teacher-student story-line. Theevents move slowerandmuch ofthehumorwas_dropped, theguru antagonizesPKtoa_point, and requests thathe deliverpizzatohimonthe_{bridge every}

night. Though hetakes advantageof_PK, heensureshis safetywhenthe_{bridge eventually}

breaks apart. _PK,thoughflusteredwithhisnew _duty, still retainsenough_interest, and complies with hismission of

delivering

pizzastothe guru.Intypical guru_fashion, MV leads PKto a_degree,but ultimatelythe choice is histo_make,theguruwill notmakethe

decision for him. PKmustsummon thecourage tocross overto the"other side."

Thisis

the_storypresented_{in my}thesis.

ThetitleI chose, "Noone attheBridge,"resonates a

feeling

ofisolation.

Someone shouldbeatthe_meetingplace,but inreality,no oneisthereto make contact.

Thetitle _{is actuallystolen,} it is an obscure referencetopartof a_songona

70'

s album

by

rock_{artists,Rush,}"CaressofSteel"_-fitting,right?Ilikethetitlebecause itreflectsthe

ideathatifyou wanttodo something,make a_move,

completethe mission;no oneis _goingtodo it foryou. You

might find

help

hereor_there,but ultimately it isourselves

thatmakethe_decisions,wehave to _{do it pretty}muchon our own. _{Through my}struggletocomplete_{this project,}I

certainly feltthat themepass_{through me,}Iwas _needingto

movethis small mountain_prettymuch on_myown with all

the_{doubts, fears,} andfrustrationsthat_mycharacters experienced.I felt like I have lived

this _storythrough thecourse of_makingthisproject. _Really,no onewas atthe_bridge, and

Ihadtoget across_{it,essentially}on_myown.

*

Pizza Influence

I am surethis conceptwillberepeatedwhenI cover character_design,but I have

heardit said_manytimes _{in animation,}thatyoutendtoanimate yourself. As_humans, we knowwhatwe

know,

sothe first_thingananimator gravitates to is how_theyact andreact

incertain situations. We animate our_persona,andwedrawupon our own experience.

Whattends tobecreatedis auniquevignette ofhoweach artist seehowthings should

transpire. When I lookbackon_{this project,}I canseean amalgamation of_mypast

experiences, comingthroughallthe designsandtheenvironments.

Though "PizzaKid"

is a composite of_{many different}people,it isno coincidence

that_{I easily}acceptedhimas a pizzadeliveryman. Pizzaisa significant part of

"NOAB"

andthisinspiration stemsfromthe townwhereIamfrom. It isnotthe firsttimeIhave fallen backon a pizzarelated_project, it justalwaysseems like afun idea. Aclosefriend

once _{commented, "Jeff,}you are obsessedwith

pizza,"

I laughed becausethereis some

truthto that.Iamnot afraidto admit_it,I am a pizzafanatic. Igrew_{up in}atownwhere over adozen independentpizza shops thriveon a_very small population

(approximately

12,000). The firstand mostfamous_{Pizzeria, Pontillos,}was establishedin 1947 in my home town. Back_then, it's hardto_believe,butmost peopledidnot evenknowwhat pizzawas,unless you were from New York City. Pontillosnowhas several other locations intheWestern NY_area,butfew knowtheoriginalPontillosstartedin Batavia

NewYorkalmost60yearsago.

Many

oftheother pizzeriasintownwerestarted

by

pizza

makers,wholearnedthe trade_{working for Pontillos.}

AtonetimewhileI attended alocal community_college,Iworkedat asmall

pizzeriaintown._{I only} substitutedas adeliverymanwhen wehad driversthatwere out,

however,

during

myshorttenureIdidendure allthestereotypicalrigors ofpizza

delivery. A local independent filmmaker capturesthese idiosyncrasies inafilm entitled

Goals

My

listof goalswhenI startedthisproject:

1) Challengemyself with _storyand character animation.

2)

Create a unique_setting and unusual environment.

3)

Showcase_{my modeling} and

lighting

skills forademoreel.

4)

Createathesisprojectthatpushesthebar inour program.

5) Mimic, to theextent of_myresources, an

industry

process forproduction.

6)

Gainnewknowledgeabout allthe aspects of3D animationproductionfor possible_teaching inthefuture.

7) Create aprojectthatwillbeenteredintovarious animationfestivals.

8) Ohyeah, IguessI get_{my degree if I finish}this _thingtoo,right?

Ifeelthatonereason a personmight attend grad schoolis toexpand andtoreach out

intoareas thatarebeyondyour normal profession. Ifeel I havegoodexperienceinthe

realm ofdesignand modeling. As Imentioned, oneof_mygoals was to create a somewhat

lavish showcase ofthose skills. _However,Ihaveneverbeen comfortable with_story

telling, animation, andallthetechnicalaspectsof characterdriven_animation, issuessuch

astherigging,weighting, texturing,andthe entirebipedcharacterdevelopmentprocess.

My

experiences asadesignerand model-makerset_mycomfortleveltoahigh degree

with

"nouns"

butshifted_mycomfortleveltoa_{very low degree}withthe"pro-nouns"and

the"verbs" soto speak.EventhoughIwas not_skilled,or at allknowledgeableabout

characters,Icouldseethebenefitof

being

abletocommunicateideasthrough a_story,

leveraging

the emotions,struggles andtriumphsofvariouscharacters. Itbecameapparent

tomethatthemostsuccessfulprojects Ihadseen at school weretheonesthathada good

balance of alltheaspects of animation. Infact,projectsthatjustcontainedcharacters and

a simple _{story idea}feltmore complete and successful.I struggledwiththese issueswith

myfirsttwo projects,but Ibecame determinedtogetthemixrightwith_mythesisproject.

Ihavebeenabletomigrate_myindustrialdesign skillsto CGIsets, props, and

hadseen audience reactionstoholistic and well-roundedpresentations.Iwanteda

well-balancedproject so Ideclaredthis asagoaltochallenge myself onthis _issue, and move

beyond_mycomfort zones.

Ina strange_waygoal number3 andnumber6 may beat odds with each_other,I

am_tryingto accomplishboth elements. Most

industry

professionalswould adviseyouto

put ademoreel together thatdemonstrates aspecialization of yourbestskill.

They

are not

interestedinan entire short animation_theypreferdemonstrations oftechnicalskillsnot

complete stories. Though Iunderstandthevalue of what studiosneed, our program atthe

SchoolofFilmand_Animation, leans_stronglytowardcompleted worksbasedon

communication, and_storytelling.Though it'sadifferent philosophy it certainlyalsohas

its advantages.Ifyou canbea

"generalist"

it ispossibletogain a good perspective onthe

entire animation_process, andthisis goodifyou wantto teach,which Iam_thinking later

in my lifewouldbe agreatbenefit.

Having

taughtatthe _{secondary levelbefore,} I feela

strongthesisproject would allow meto attain valuableknowledge of allphases ofthe

production.

Ina_way,tryingto accomplishbothgoals createsahuge amount oflaborand alot

ofpressure ononeperson, butasI stated_before,Ifeelthat thestrongestandmost

impressiveworkisacompleteidea,whichcontains awellbalancedmix ofelements,

helping

tocontributeto the_{story itself. Though in}the

industry

it ispreferredthatyou

specializeinacertain areaofthe_field, Ifelt itwas anadvantageformetoattainsome

knowledgeabouttheentire processofanimation. Idoneed to_{demonstrate my modeling}

and

lighting

skills viademoreeland websitebecause I'd liketowork as an

environmental artist at a studio.I alsowanttheoptiontoteacheitherwhile_workingor

full-timelater_{in my}career. NooneattheBridgeneededtobeadiverse and

far-reaching

projectinordertofulfill bothofthesegoals.

ThinkingIndustry

Inregardtogoal number _5,1wantedtoapproachthisproject with an

industry

standard_methodologyandnotatypical"student"approach.

Generally

speaking,

industry

professionalsdonottaketypicalstudent worktoo_seriouslyandis_generallyconsidered

less impressivethansamples of

industry

work. Studentfilmssuffer from qualityissues,

some ofthemare relatedtoresource problems and some are relatedto organizational

same problemswith_portfolios,andthesesameissues flared up when_{reviewing demo}

reels whenI worked asa3D artist.

I wasfortunateto attainworkas anenvironment artist anddigital lighterat a

small Studioin _Rochester, Red EyeStudios. Thestudiowas small,and_theyimplemented

some procedures that_maynot seemlikea

big

dealatfirstglance,but really hada

big

impact onhowthingswere puttogetherwiththe endproduct. The studiowas not

big

enoughto_totally

leap

beyondwhata personcoulddo aloneona single_workstation,but it

was

big

enoughtoneedaproven

industry

processto competeand deliver itsproductfor

thegameindustry. Itwasjustthe exposureI_needed,andIpaidclose attentionto how

thingsweredone.

By

_stickingtothis

industry

proven processI wasableto puttogethera

legitimate system and characterrig,whichI followed stringently. Ihadtofollowthisso

that theresults wouldmeet_myexpectationsforthe demoreel. I wantedto_{feel like my}

thesiswas alegitcredential,andnotjustanother student project.

SomeofthespecifictechniquesIborrowedwerethecharacter LOD (levelof

display)

set_up,andMelscript switchesforcharacter animation. IstressthatI didnot

copythese,because_theyare_proprietary,but I created_myown scripts andsystemsthat

closelymimicsthe

ODD

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procedure. I alsolearneda

fewsimplistic approaches

to_{rigging bipeds} and other

contraptions for

"scene-specific"

animation.

LODbuttons forcharacter resolution

The renderingprocess,atleastontheprojectsIworked_on, still usedtheMaya

defaultrender,whichsome_{say islimited, however,} Ilearnedthatalotcanbe

accomplishedwithit

by

_wayoflayerpasses and compositing.I alsoadoptedthenode

compositingpackage,Digital Fusion. Nodebasedcompositingiswidelyusedinthe

industry

andhastremendousadvantages versestime-line packages,such asAdobe After

thiswas _simplytheorganization ofhowthingswere_produced, andhowone_step flowsto

thenext_stepoftheprocess througha cascade of events. Organization and_stickingtothat

organized plan nomatter_what,is

key

to_makinga_qualityproduction andthis isthe most

valuable_thingIlearned_{from working in both}industries.This isa major

key

to _getting

yourproductiontorise above atypicalstudent work.

Thebar

While attendingthis _institution,Ihave hadthe _opportunityto see_manygraduates

screentheirprojects. Overthe course oftime as_technologychanges andtheprogram

matures, thequalityof whatisproducedtends to go_up as well.Afellowgrad student from myclass single

handedly

produced an_{outstandingwork,}and setthe barsoto speak.

Ihave watchedhis film several_times, andI feltthatinordertogetexposure and make

headway

in thejob_market, thatthis wasthelevelof performancethathadtobeachieved. Itooknote of_{this success,}Ifelt"NOAB"

wouldhaveto_{be every bit}as _good,thatdoes not mean a

"copy"

of whatwas_done,butan animationthatwouldrankhigh amongthe

various projects producedhereatRIT. What 'saFestival?

As Ihavementioned severaltimes inthis paper, Icome fromabackgroundthatis

quitedifferentfrom filmmaking.Whenyou getintonew_territory suchas_this,there are

manyareasthatare

"alien"

to me,totallynewterritory. Oneoftheseareasis_promotion,

sendingtofestivals,

honestly

upto this point,I neverfelt I had anything worthyof

sendingto

festivals,

and_{certainly in my}previous career,this "festival

phase"

just simply

doesnot exist. Thisissue isrelatedto_settingthe"bar"inaway. I don'tseethepointin

screeninglessthan_worthymaterial. _{If my}name ison_it, thenit had better be an

animationthatwill

help

promote _somethingpositive.

Certainly

thisis alsorelatedto_my

points about quality.

My

"naive"planistofollowthesubmissions of_{my colleagues,}who

have already submittedtofestivalsandhave experienceinthesematters.Itpaystohave

good graduate_friends, aplusfor diversity. I hopetogain_{entry into Ottawa filmfest,} and

thelocal High Falls _fest, andthemuch-toutedSouth

by

_Southwest,where we have hadan

RITgradwin an awardforanimation._Using anInternet

festival-tracking

site,Iwill

Character Design

The characterdevelopment certainlyfollowsthesaga ofthe_story changes.As I

changed_{the story,} overa

long

periodof_time,the characters changed withit. _However,

thephysicalcharacteristicsofbothcharacters were

fairly

_solid,

having

attributesthat

workedwell with allthe_{changing story ideas. The first}characterdesign beganwiththe

ideaof_creating a

"geek-like"

caricature of a personwithabridgephobia. Thoughthis

ideawas_{quickly scrapped, the} ideaof a_{skinny framed}maincharacter managedto

survive _{every iteration. I}must emphasizethatno _{story really}cameto fruitionwithoutthe

inventionofthemain _character, Pizza_Kid, and

finally

thecompletionofthat_story

coincided withthe finalizationofMass_Volume,the antagonist. I really hadno clearidea

ofwhat was

happening

untilPKwas more developed.

PizzaKid's firstrenditionwas

thatofa_wilyteenagerwithlittle

common sense upstairs. Hisphysical

attributes were_verystylizedandlanky.

The designwasmeantto

bring

outthe

physical actions of_{crashing,collapsing,}

and_air-drummingthatfollowed his

obsession with rock music. His mental

status wasexplained viaconstant_music,

thetypical teenage plug-in_mentality

tookover everywherehetraveled.

Enthralledwiththe music, PKwould_pay

little attentionto hiscircumstance orhis

surroundings. Hemadefoolish_decisions,

caredlittleabouthiswork

responsibilities, and was obsessed with

hisrock_idol, MassVolume, whoatthe

timewas afamousmusic legend. PK'sstylized and_verythinphysical_make-upworked

movement,andslapstickhumor. Littlechangedwith thisdesign ideauntil months down

the road, whenI realizedI neededmoredepth from_{the antagonist,}Mass Volume.

Again, it is impossibletoseparatethe characterdesign fromthe_storychanges, so

I haveto reiteratethe decisions forthechanges.Oneofthemost significantmodifications

happenedas a resultofMass _Volume, "MV."

Mass Volume didnoteven exist

during

the

first_{story ideas. I}was_{persuaded, to}stick with a one-character_{story due}to _{my lack}of

experience with characteranimation. Whenit becameclearthatthingswere not

flowing

well with_{the story,}Iintroducedtherockheroidea. Hewasaphantomandmadefew

appearances,he was seen_{very little. Again I}think thiswasbecause I was afraid ofthe

workitwouldtake foratwo-characteranimation.

Finally

I gavein and realizedIneeded

therockhero to_playabiggerrole forthe _storyto work.Massvolume _eventuallyturned

intoan eccentric_guru,but still retainedhis hero_qualities,and one ofthe_{story ideas from}

hisrockherostatus stuckwiththefinalversion. Ihadplanned a scene fora_montage,and

inthefinalversionhe conveys some adviceto theprotagonistthroughaRAP song.

FromaphysicalstandpointIwantedMass Volumetobethe exact opposite of

Pizza Kid. Iused70'srock artist"Meatloaf '

asaguideforthe typeof characterIwanted.

Ifigured sincetheantagonist_{usually bringssomething "180} degrees"to the_table,why

not makehisphysical_make-upthe oppositeto

help

_conveythose ideas. This hadan

unexpected effectthatforcedmetochangethe style of_PK, thoughstill_{retaining his}

skinnyteenagefeatures. In a_waythiswas anunforeseen error on_mypart,but I feel it

worked out wellintheend.I used areal person astheguide forthe

body

andfacewith

MV, Iusedorthographic_photos,andthecaricaturedhis featuresabit.

My

realmodelhad

agreatpersonality, andIfelt hisphysical stature showedrightthrough. Iwas_very

pleased withtheresults. _However, Igotto a point withbothcharacters whereIcompared

themsidetoside andnoticeda greatdifference in design style. Since PKwasstarted asa

cartoonon paperandMVwasmodeledafter a real personthen_{caricatured, the}styles divergedtoomuch.Itseemedlike_theybelonged intwo differentanimations.

Imade onelast designchangeto_{Pizza Kid very late in development. This}

occurred not_onlyas a result ofthestyledifference _error,butalso as aresultofthe

changingstory. PKmaturedintoamore rational_thinkingteenager thanhisoutofcontrol

predecessor. PKstill retained some characteristics ofthe

bungling

_{personality he}

orinthiscase aguru.Withthisdecision set_firm,Idecideto changehisphysical_make-up

tomatch more_closelythestyle ofMass Volume. Thiswas _actuallya minor_change, but it

added alotmore sophisticationtohis

presence soto speak.Massvolume

transformedintoa mystical_guru, but I

kept his "bad-ass"

attitude asheresides

behindsunglasses and a_crazyoutfit. His

rock starego shows_{up in} specific shots,

butmuchlikethechangeto_PK,he has

moredepthandadeeperpurposethan

originally intended.

Rigging

My

characterrigs and setups

would notimpressanimation_jocks, and

their_simplicitywas intentional. Icannot

stress enough abouthowmuch of a

learning

experiencethecharacter

animationwas_goingto be forme,so I

wantedtouseasimpleset_upthatIcouldunderstandfrom souptonuts. ForatimeIwas

temptedtouse"Final Rig,"but I felt Iwould notbe

learning

theintricate detailsof

rigging if I decidedtouse 3r

partyrigs. I reallywantedtounderstandtheconnections

andidiosyncrasies of charactersetups. Eachcharacterhas asimpledualskeleton arm set

uptoswitchbackandforth from IKto_{FK using}parentedjoints. The legsarestraitIK

setups with amanualtoeroll control.ThespineusessplineIKwithclustersgroupedto

spline vertexes.Thoughthisis a common_method,Iregret_usingthis technique and would

optfor individual bonecontrolif I didthisagain. Spline IK deformedthe_geometrywell

forexaggerated_moves,butstretchedto theextremewhen_tryingto createsubtle

movements.Iam not afraidto admitthat thelimits ofthe_{rig (or}rather_{my knowledge}of

what you candowitha

rig)

affectedtheactionincertainshots,butoverallitwasnottoo

badof acompromise.

Earlier, Imade referencetoalocalstudiothathadtheirown set_{up forcharacters,}

Ctwftslt Object

work-flowona massive scale.

Industry

influenceandapproachwas

key

in motivatingme

tochange character set-ups to thismethod.I wrote some smallMEL scripts and menu

controlsthatworked muchlikethemethods_{theyused, specifically LOD} control and

Charactercontrol.

Maya hastools thatallow youto controlLOD (levelof

detail)

either_using

polygon_proxymethod subdivision_surfaces,orthe_verypopular connect poly-shape_plug

in. _However,theyarelimitedto _onlytwolevelsof_LOD, andtheLOD iscontrolled

by

individual

body

part orahidden layeror

display

technique. Thesework_fine,but

workflowis _greatlyimprovedifyouspendthetime_{up front}to_{hook up}yourLOD

throughmenu commands andorhot keys. LODS canbeaccessedwith one strokeandfor

each individualcharacterinsteadofacrosstheboard display. Forexample,if Iturnoff

show Subdivisions on_mydisplay, allSubdivisions arehidden intheentirescene. If Iuse

layercontrolsIcannotset otherpartsto a specificlayerandIhave to_{disrupt my flow}to

click and findthelayer. This is solved_{using MEL} script.

IdecidedtouseMaya'sinherent

subdivisions asthe_geometryofchoiceforthe

characters.Idecidedto gothisroutebecause

the formulaseemedtoyieldbetterresults in

terms offormversesconnect_polyshape, no

noticeabledifferences in renderingtimes

were observed(older Maya Subdivisions

wouldrender muchslowerthanConnect

Poly

Shape). Withthisdefaultchoicean additional

LODwas created

by

_copyingthebase

geometryand_usingpoly-reduce andmanual

deletionof edges to createan evenlower

_j !

resolution_geometryset. Thiswas againin

accordanceoftheRed Eyework-flow. Allroughanimation and animaticswouldbe

timedoutand play-blastedwiththe_verylowLOD set. _{The low-resolution geometry}

allows forfaster play

blasting

astheseparts are_simplyparentedto thebone system. Fast

rough animationiskeyedandthisrough animation cannowberefinedforthefinal

animationonthesamecharacter, so alltheworkthatis

being

doneat_anystage willbe PKJraroMode Pelvis Head Eyes ftijjhtAnn left Arm RightHand Left Hand Ri^Elbow LeAEbew Right Fort LeftFcot RightKnee LeftKnee

MelCharacter Controls

te*_M*ttcM lew 0 H<gh 0 Hftsd.Tuen0 Head_F*Bk 0 6te54_SWe 0 Stessjenofi 0 H**L* 0 BrmRK 0 SnmRY 0 BiimFLX 0 BRimFt.Y 0 Siimfl_Z 0 HaSFI 0

Hat_TILX 0

usedforfinalanimation. This LOD set,whichis the_base,operatesthesame _wayasthe

default Mayasetup._However, each

body

part associated withthehigh-resolution

geometry has haditsvisibilitynode connectedtoaMEL command aswell forthehighest

resolution set.

Thethreeresolutions cannowbeaccessed via shelficonorMEL hot key. This

allowsyoutocreate separate commands foreachcharacter. Youwillnot_{be shutting}off

all ofthespecific_geometrytypesaswithashow

display

_method,nor will youneedto

browsethroughlayers. Thiscanbe doneonthe

fly

and even can beanimatedifneedbe

toaccommodate camera positionstomaximize rendertimes.Youcancreate as _many

individualcharacters as needed and controltheirresolutionsindividually. Youneedto

spendthe time to _{hook up}each

body

_part,butonce it's doneyoucan controlthe

geometryofeach _character,and ifyou_prefer,you can

hookup

justspecific partsto the

characterLOD. Ifyouleave this_{setup "as}is"with_{subdivisions,}youhavetoclick on

each

body

part and switchfromstandard modeto polygon mode.This wouldjust be

impractical. Thismethod worked excellent andIrecommend_anyriggerto_trythis. The

speed advantage_maynotbeapparentinthe

beginning

but itwill make senseonceyou

startanimating. One_thingImight_forego,isthe 1stLOD set,it maynotbeneeded with

the

increasing

speedofreal-timeplayback onadvancedworkstationsorif 3D animatics

arenot partoftheequation.

Muchlikethemethod aboveeachcharacter controlisaccessed

by

aMEL

commandafterthecontrolshavebeenaddedto alocatornode. The MELselect command

is on abutton inacharactercontrol menu. It'sa simple menuthat_{is vertically}stacked.

This increasesworkflowsothatyoudonothaveto"fish"_{through nodes,}eitherinthe

view-portorthroughanoutliner orhyper-graph. Each character andtheVWcarhas a

simple selectionmenuthatcanbeactivated eitherwitha shelficonorhot key.

Textures

Each character'stextures were createdfromphotos and

heavily

modifiedin

Photoshop. Eachchannel suchasdiffuseand specular were createdbasedonthe same

textures.

Nothing

specialhere,justa straightforwardBlinwith each channel connected

toatexture.The UV mappingwas started

by

_makinga_copyofthe_geometryand_using

poly-averagetounfoldtheundercuts. The UVcoordinates werethencopiedto thereal

* " * KMHMM

anotherlayer. There isno needto explainhow

tedious thisprocess is ifyouhavedonethis before.

Tedious,

ohIguessthatmeans I should mentionthe

character_weightingprocess.

Sticking

with whatI

learnedatRed-_Eye, Idecidetousesoft_bind,which

involves_paintingweights. Soft_bind,thoughlonger

in set_up,worksbetter forthetypeofanimation and

the typeof

deforming

thatwas_goingto takeplacein

my film. On my firsttry, thisprocess_{took weeks,}

but using commontechniquessuch as_weighting all

jointsto a valueofzero and_progressingoutward

incrementally

and_using "mirror"on symmetrical

areas_{really helped. This}wasallnew_territoryfor

me,_thankfullyI wasunder

heavy

guidance fromco

W

m

Environments and Props

The environments and props_playa_{very important}rolein "Noone atthe Bridge."

Iwantedthe environmentto

help

_{tell the story,} sincemost of_myskill relates_{to this area,}

Ineededto use allthe elementsto

help

communicatethings abouttheworldthe two

characterslive in. Atthe same_time, Ihadtobeonguardthatthese thingsdidnotbecome

overlyintrusive. Attimes this _mayoccur,but Ifeelthe

density

waskeptincheck andit

stillkept_workingtoprovide thatshowcasefor my demoreel.

The designswere_meticulouslyplanned afterthe treatmentphase, and some

designswere made aftertheanimatic stage. I neededto _{know exactly}what each element

was _goingtodo in each_{scene,particularly}the_bridge,which was _goingtoneedspecific

rigging, itwas _goingtohave tolook dramatic forthe camera. Size was a_struggle, as

resourceslimitedwhatcouldbe done withsuch alargemodel.In _{the end,}compromises

were_made,but Iwas ableto get allthedramaand actionthatwas needed.

The Pizza Villaenvironmentsetsthe tone

fortheanimation. Its styleis somewhatinfluenced

by

Doctor Suesand conveysanideaof what might

happen physically inthisworld. _However, itstill

has adecentshade of realismmuchlikeaPixar

design. The characters fitrightinwiththe inverted

angles and machine-likefixtures. A Pizzascanner

andlaserguided map-quest _display,incorporates

"convenient"

technologywhichis reallyright

aroundthecornerin our ownworld, butthemajor

shapes and figuresseemtosend us backtoa retro

feeling.Iwentrightfromnapkin sketches to

modelingwithall of_{the environments,} sinceIhad

a goodideaaboutthe story, I_{knew exactly}whatI wantedtodowithbackgroundsand

props. I logged hundredsofhours inthis_phase, andI didnot_{really lean}to a particular

methodor_geometrytype.

Everything

isa combination of_NURBS, polygonsand

subdivisionssurfaces. AtsomepointI grouped and namedimportant components and .Li'; 7s *) /'(?/,

made surethescale of allthe objects werein linewith each otherandthecharacters.

Certain locatorcontrolswere placed atthe _topoftheoutliner so as toavoid

digging

when

animating.Ifyou_payclose attentionyouwill noticeItriedtoavoid static _{sets, choosing}

toanimatefeatures likethe awnings

flapping,

andbridge cables_{swaying in} thewind. I

didnot wantto_{build everything}andhave itactlike a

"statue."

Thevehicle was an

interesting

model, itpops _out, and although_many

carloverswouldwant youtodomore

with _it, Ihadtobecareful notto letitget

inthe _wayofthe story. Althoughthe

VWisanextravagant_model,it merely

remainsthe vehiclethePizzakiduses. I

knowthe"man-gene"was hardto

keep

VWCar Concept Sketch

incheck_here, butwhatI found

fascinating

wasthedesignoftheVWcaritself. I had

performedtests withalattice inordertodeform ittoa more cartoon-like design.

However,most people agreed_theythoughtitworkedbetter inoriginalformat. Themodel

is veryclose _{geometrically}toareal _VW,

having

workedoff of_blueprints,butthecarhas

such aniconic andcolorful presence inand ofitsownright, that therewas noneedto

stylizeit any further. It amazinglyfitsrightinto_{the sets,} and_{is easy}to acceptinthe

worldIcreatedevenin itsoriginal form.

Themodelsports its

owncontrols and menusystem

viathesame method asthe

charactermenus.Another

techniqueI learnedthrough

Red Eye Studios wasthevector

control. Thiswasriggedwitha

followpath_setupwhere a

locatorparentedtoa car_group

movedthe modelthroughthe

scene onaNURBScurve. The

curvecouldbechangedto_anyroad-shape

by

_manipulatinga series ofbonesparentedto Root Joint_Trans

J

Cat Controls ₁ Steer Set j

this"drive" curve. Thespeed atwhichthecarmoves is merelycontrolled

by keying

the

"U"

percentageinthedrivecurve channel. _{The steering}canbecontrolledthrough either

a manuallookconstrained_locator, oranotherlocatorwhichtrail behindthemove-car

locatoronthesamedrivecurve. Othercontrols are simple rotations and movesconnected

to the carlocatorwithalltheanimation attributes assembled. Somesquash and stretch

controls were made possiblethroughbones andthebendmodifiers.

The_{bridge actually}tooksometime

to design. I hadseveralideas and maybe

too_{many influences,}but I

finally

decided

to go with asuspensionbridge design. I

felt in

keeping

withthedramaandthe

inspirationthatasuspensionbridgewould

create

"suspense."

Ithoughtofthe ideaof

it

flexing

and swinging. This forcedme to

take on moreworkanditwould

likely

raiseaudience_{expectations,}but Ipressed onwith

this idea.

Having

relativesin San_Francisco, Ivisitedthe

bay

area quite_often, andI

thought, howcouldyou notincorporatethemysterious

fog

thatsurroundsthe iconic

bridgewiththisproject.The colors and

imagery

seemsofamiliartoaudiences I felt it

was a mustforthebridgeenvironment. Idroppedtheideaof_creatingacanyon or_gorge,

in favorofdense and_{misty fog. Other}inspirationsto thedesignwerethe"new"and

"old"

Grace Memorial Bridges in Charleston_SC, and all ofthe"old-school"bridges that

crosstheriversin Pittsburgh.

Thebridgewasmodeledtoa

fairly

complete status andthenleft

un-texturedthroughpre-production.

Itwas left incomplete atthis stageon

purpose.This maynotseemlike a

very importantissue,buttherewas a

storysegmentthatneededtobe

timedoutinthe animaticto seehow

long,

andin_{this case,}how

big

the bridgespan

would needtobe.

Timing

outtheshots woulddeterminethe lengthofthe span. Ineeded

haddrivenout onthebridgequite adistance. A featurewas modeledintothebridge to

allow forexpansion. Eachspan was modular and couldbe duplicatedto lengthenor

deletedto shortenthebridge _length,

leaving

_onlythe _cables,whichwere onNURBS

curvestobere-fitted.

Actually

thefinalversionofthe bridgewas neverfinisheduntil

aftertheanimatic was complete.

Texturing

was nevercompleteuntiljust beforethe

lighting

stage.

Otherissuesthatneededtobe worked outwastheplanneddestruction _scene,and

itssize interms of_rendering andhandling. Againtheanimatic was

key

to

figuring

out

bothoftheseproblems. Whenthe cameraswere _set,it becameclearthat thesymmetrical

portion ofthebridgecould_{be massively}reducedin detail as comparedtotheentrance

area. Soa duplicatewas trimmeddownto

help

speed_upworkflow andrendering. Layer

controland organization were alsohelpful in workingwiththis gigantic setonce you

knewwhat was inor out oftheframe.

Having

settheaction_usingthe_animatic,

key

sequenceswere usedto determine

what _exactlywouldbreakapart onthe_bridge, and what controls would achieve this. The

solutionwasto_copyan entireportion ofthebridgeand_{rig it for}animation. Locator

controls werecreated and movedto the_top ofthechainfor easyaccess. Spline IKand

bendmodifierstookcare ofthecable _action,while shatterand simplelocationcontrols

tookcare ofthepavementbreakup.Latticedeformersand_{group stacking}wereusedto

rotateand_swaythe_collapsingsections. Somepartswerejust animatedad-lib,butthe

overall effectworkedefficiently.

Considering

the_modestyof_{myworkstation,}thebridgeenvironment was_truly

one of_mymostcomplex modelsIhave everhadtowork_with,but visually Ithink the

results were satisfying.Iwould warnothers nottobesoelaborate with environments

Animation

My

goalforanimation was muchlike mygoal withthe_rigging,

keep

itsimple,as

thiswas new_territoryforme. I hada_prettygoodideaofwhattype of motion wouldbe

neededtopullthis_thingoff.I reallytooka_veryconservative_approach,butwith

guidancefrom_mycoworkers,who were professional _animators,I receiveda crashcourse

in animation, and wasabletoimprove_myskillsinthisarea fortheproject. One_thingthat

helpedout_tremendouslywas the_waythesceneswere setup.

By

chancethe first few

sceneswerebasic interms of animationandgot_{progressively}more complex.I started

theanimation_{chronologically,}sothe moreI learnedonthebasic stuff,my confidence

grew whenIhadtoanimatethemore advanced shots.

Again Ihavetoemphasizethe importanceof organization andthe_efficiencyof

thecharacter rigs. In 3D animation,the_relationshipof goodanimationisso_closelytied

totheperformance ofthe_rig,thatI cannot emphasizethis enough. The moretimeyou

spendherethebetter. Iam

happy

with whatI_devised,butastimewent onIcould see

areasthatcoulduseimprovement. Still awell-oiled_rigwill allow youtoattackthings

you'd_normallygive_up on or skip.The

rig

is

key

_{especially for}afirst-timerlikemyself.

Ifyouhavea set_upthatistedious,you'll_naturallyspendlesstimeonthemotionthatis

being

created, whereasifyour_{rig is easyto manipulate,} youwillbe inclinedto stickwith

theshot anddoabetter job.

My

intentionfortheoveralllookwastocreate

flowing

motion, andto focuson

themainaction ofeach movement.

My

_advisors, Grant_Chang,andJoshuaGramse,

keyedmeintothemethodology.

Previously

Ihadnoideaabouttheworkflow.Ifoundout

through theirwisdomthat3D animationis _{actually very}similarto3Dmodeling.You

cannot goright inafterthedetailed finalresult, animationis

"built"

fromasomewhat

primitive_base,just likeyou'dcreate abasicforminamodelbefore addingthe

intermediateandthen final details. The base Iusedfor myaction was _actuallythe_timing

sequencesfromtheanimatic._Yes, thatishow basicwe aretalking,thisis the_starting

pointfor 3Danimation.

Timing is importantbecause inorderforthemotiontolookcorrect, itcannotbe

"perfect"

grabsthepizzaboxand smellsthe aroma, he flipsopenthe lid in a_{very fast}and swift

motion,thenhe pauses and_{slowly breathes in}the smell,then_{he quickly}runs outofthe

frame. _Fast, slow,thenfastagain. Thesetimingscomefromthe animatic and arerefined

inthe roughanimation _stage, orwhatI callthe"robot" animationstage._{Before any}

refinementtakesplacethese timingsare adjusted andreviewedfor_natural, orinthiscase

"cartoon"

action. The graph editoristhe

key

_{here in adjusting}therough animationto the

bestpossibletiming.

Thenext_stepwhen yourtimings are settledisto staggerthekeys forthe

body

motions. Imustaddthatthese steps move_relativelyquickasthe _rigmenuallowsyouto

selectthe

body

parts andtheirchannelswith ease.Each

body

partisstaggereda certain

amounttoitsrelatedpartinthechain.

Depending

ontheshot,you mighthavethe

shoulder move_slightly ahead orbehindtheaction ofthe arms,oryou_maywantthe torso

to leadthewaistor_{legs. Again using}thegraph_editor,youare ableto setthesekeysto

theintervalyou needquite easily.

Finallythehardstuffbegins inthe_{last step} or steps. Ifeel it's hardtodetermine

whenandwhereyoushould stop. At_{this point,}it becomesa_verysubjectivedecision.

Essentially,

by

usingthe same_{staggeringtechnique,} eachindividual

body

partis

staggered.For_example, theshoulderkeys aresetbehindthe elbow, the wristisset ahead

oftheelbow andthehand issetlast. Sothemotion flowsevenfurther. Hours arespent at

this stage,butwhatis

happening

isa

long

chain of_verysubtle motion. Thismakesthe

body

always appeartobeinmotionwith one part always

initiating

thechainof eventsto

thenextandsoon. _{This staggering}techniqueishow Icreatedthemotion forthe

characters,Itriedtofocus onthemainoverall _{action, then}wentbacktoanimate the

secondary features.

Though my animationskillsatthis stage arenot advanced enoughtocreate

specificstylesof_animation, I feelwiththe_editing choicesI_made,thattheanimation I

was able_{to produce,}meetsthe_qualityoftherestofthisproduction.Thisstageof

production_certainlytookmethe_{longest, however,}I feltpreparedforthis _realityasI

knewthiswas _goingtobe atrialand errorphase. Iwas _certainlynot_tryingto sellmyself

as an_animator,but Ineededalevel of_qualitythatwould create interestand movethe

Editing

and

Compositing

Letmebegin

by

_statingthat_{editing is} not a "link"

inthe chainfortheproduction

of _{animation, editing is actually}thechainitselfandalltheothersteps containedwithin

arethelinks. Thestepswithinthechain of_editingwere_onlymeantto serve_{the edit,}

which was_reallythe_{evolving story itself. So every}time Iwouldcomplete a_task, itwas

alltobetterservetheedit. Thiswas sobecausewe startedto

develop

the _storythrough

thecourse oftheanimatic. The _animatic, asifI havenotstressedthisenough_already,

was

key

toproduction ofthisprojectinall areas.The editing essentially beganwiththe

making oftheanimatic as should most productions ofthis type.

The animaticwas started as a3D animatic or story-board as suggested

by

a

committee member.I feltthiswas a goodidea because itallowedyouto get abetter feel

of shot_{set-up using}themodelsthatwere_underwayatthetime. The 3Danimaticwould

giveabetteroverallideaofhowto tell the _storywiththe3D media. Camerascouldbe

saved, andthiswould allowforafasterscene_set-up onthereal shots.We couldexpedite

certain elements ofthesceneswhen actualanimations started. _{This step is howthey}

naturallyprocessthingsformost3Danimation. Whenthe models were_{set-up in}these

primitive _{scenes, thetiming}of eachshotwas workedout andthecamera was_{saved, this}

became thefirstversion ofthepre-productionedit.

Thefirst edit_merely

evolved fromthispoint,it's

importanttonotethatI

really didnothavea_story

orknowifthe _storywas

goingtowork until after

this step. Thesesceneswere

comprisedof_{still-frames,}

screen capturedfrom Maya

files,

thenspaced out_usinga nonlineareditor,After Effects.

During

this process,I hadseveral other eyes_watchingthe_editingprocess. We could

determinewhatcamerasworked orifcertain cuts didnot make sense.Wealso

determinedthelengthofeach_shot, andintheend we were ableto geta goodideaofhow

muchanimation wouldbeproduced. This core piece_reallywasthestory. We set-up a

final edithousedtheactual renderedframeswith effectsandfades. Thiswasthe "frame

of ahouse"and several versions were saved over andover

including

thefirst sound

experiments. Theedit always remained_steadfast, and withthe completion ofcertain

phases, for instancetheanimation ofthefirst_{sequence, the}footage wasreplaced over the

still

frames,

then theplay-blastswere replacedwiththerendered footage.

After Effects seemedtowork wellfortheoverall _{editingprocess,} howevera

differentpackage was usedfor_editingtheactual pieces of

footage,

a nodebasedprogram

calledDigital Fusion. Much closertoan

industry

_tool, Digital Fusionallowedfor faster

and muchmore robust_editingof alltheframes in"NOAB."

Every

frameyouseeinthis

productionwas composited and_{layered using Digital Fusion. Infact,}I _{dare say}thatthe

overalllookofthefilmwould nothave beenpossiblewithoutDigital Fusion.

Early

inproductionitwasdeterminedthatrenderpasses wouldbeneededto

createfinalized frames. Thiswas due inpartbecauseofthelimits ofthe workstation

available andtheneedto

keep

therender processsimple. Afurtherobstaclethatbecame

apparentwastheneedforcertaineffects, such astheever-present_fog,andlaser flashes.

3D particles were_simplynot an option_{considering my}resource _limits,so Ineededa2D

solution,Digital Fusionperformed

flawlessly

with speed and_{efficiency in}

thisregard.

Manyshotshadtobe brokenup,

especiallytheshotswiththebridge and

characters present. IusedFusionto

compositethese elementstogetherfrom

separaterenders.

Usually

each element

ran anadditional shadow pass.The

shadowpasswas usedto_unifyshots and

to

help

bounce_lighting; itsortof gives

aninexpensiveglobalillumination look.

Otherprocess nodesincludedalighttrim

node, color-correction,and contrast

adjustments. Occasionally,layerswere screened or multiplied on_topofeach otherto

different_connection,agreattime _{saving feature}when youare_tryingto tweakfinal

results.

Depth_fog,"perlin"noise,and various color gain attributes were addedtoeach

frameto

help

createthe environmentthatwas neededforthe "mystery."DFhandled

these aspects_well, it also contained3Dparticles which were used on occasionto create

smoke_trails,muchfasterthan_{rendering in Maya. Raw}renders _{actually look}quite

hideous out of_Maya,butwithsome_tweaking,Iwas ableto get good resultswith lotsof

depthand volume. Experimentswererunbeforethisprocess_usingachannel

lighting

method.Eachlightwouldberenderedout_separately andscreenedtogether. Thoughthe

resultswere_{verypositive,} timeconstraints pushed me tojust stickwith2 general

layer-passes. If Ihadtime torenderlights separately Iwouldhavetaken_{this avenue,}as the

Sound andMusic

It's_strange, butthe sound workfor No oneatthe_{Bridge actually}beganwith the

purchase ofa_{recording device. A}numberofyears ago afellow_grad, Jeff_Spoonhower,

used a mini CDrecordertorecord sounds forhis film. Itreturned excellentresults, andI

madeamental noteofthis. When I was_readytobegin_collectingsounds Ipicked_up one

of_{these units,}whichare much smallerand more versatilethanaDATrecorder, and

muchless expensive. The recording qualityseemstobeon par with_{any digital device}

and you can pickthem_upinexpensively.

Unlike my othertwoprojects Ididnotworkonthesoundprocess

during

the

makingoftherough cut._{I actually}waited until anadvanced cutwasproducedbefore I

started_workingon sound.Withtheexceptionofthe musicand_{the singing,}most ofthe

sound was producedinthelaterstages of production. Idecidedtogothisroutebecause

thevisuals were so complexthatI wantedto seethe scenesbefore Imadethe sound. I felt

likethecomplex stages _{already underway}weretoomuch formetohandlewithout

having

toaddsoundtothe mix. So Iwantedto waituntilthings sloweddown before

intensesoundworkcouldbe done.

One_thing thatI _{had decided early}onwasthatsoundswere_goingto_{be mostly}

customand recordedfromraw actual _sounds, verses_searching througha sounddatabase.

Iwantedtoavoid_this,because I felt like

being

"active"

andexperimental. Itseemslike

toomuchtime iswasted_searchingthroughcatalogs andCD's. Thenyou wind_up

modifyingthem anyhow,itseems likethe timeyouspend

finding

theright sound you

couldhavemade a_tripsomewhere andrecordedit. _Sounds,either ontheinternetor on

catalog CD's allhavevarious_{recording levels} and_{quality issues,} soI figured if I

recordedmostofthemajor_sound, itwouldallhaveacertainlevelofpredictability.

Mostofthesound wasrecordedat various locationsinwestern_NY,thenmodified

and edited_using

Sony

Sound Forge. Iapproachedthistask chronologically, again_using

theedit

(formerly

_{the animatic),} and

listing

what soundswereneededforeachscene.

Then_takingmylist,Iset outto_locations, orifneedberightin frontofthe_PC, and

recordedtheraw sound_usingtheminidiskrecorderwithdual stereo microphones.

Using

Sound Forge Ipluggedintheminidiskto the soundcardand recorded.Onceonthe

computerI spentaseries ofsessions_workingwiththesoundinthe _editingprogram,and

The generalambience sounds wererecorded at severallocal_restaurants,and

throughout my house. The VWsound was _actuallya_recording of_{my Porsche912,} which

hasasimilar_soundingair-cooledflat 4. This soundis almost

infamous,

soIhadtohave

thereal_{thing,nothing} elsewouldhaveseemed convincing. Thebridge destructionand creakingwas producedfrom old_{squeaking chairs,cupboards,} and old metal scrapsfrom mygarage.

Itwas quite a physical exercise. Iranoutofbreath_smashingthingsaround and

doing

takes. Ifeltthemost successful adventures were _clankingthe teethofan oldtwo

person tree _saw,

hitting

therungs of a_latter, and_shakingan old garagedoor. Several

takes of_{clankingmetal,} and collisions were recorded mixed and modified.

Many

differentvelocities weretriedwithdifferentmetal_scraps, andirontoolsinordertogetas

manyvariations of metal sounds as possible. Onetake includes_emptying garbagecansin

adumpster. Imustaddthat thiswas_verycathartic at certain points.Various odd-ball sounds were _simple,justmein frontofthemicrophone_{just experimenting}with_myvoice

intheoffice. Old boxes and_every

day

_objects,

hitting

materials such as_{wood, glass,}and fabricwerelayered into themix aswell. Thoughit'snot_exact,yourimaginationcan fill

intherest

during

the_editing stage.

Music, ontheother_hand,is abitofdifferentstory. Musicwas_goingtobean integralpart ofthemontage _{scene,probably}themostimportantsceneinthefilm. I knew Iwas _goingto need a_song, andthatseveral shots wouldhavetobeanimatedto the_song

afteritwas produced._{This song}wouldalsopass some

key

_dialog,andmore orless

foreshadowtheconflict. Sothiswas a_{tall order,}and it hadtobeworked on

during

the

animation process and not afterward.

Wethoughta_songmightbeabletobeproducedsolo,butagainIwas sotied

down,thatIfelt a volunteer wouldbebetter. Another issue involvedthevoice ofthe

character.Guru Mass Volumewouldneedtohavea_matchingvoicetogowithhis

hefty

characteristics. Sothiswas_gettingmore complex

by

_{the get-go,}butthe_songwouldadd anotherdimensionto theproject so we stuckitout.

My

firstimpressionwasthat the_song

neededtobeablues song.

My

_{reasoning forthis was,}because ofthe_imagery, andthe

similarto bluesmenlike BB

king

and

Muddy

Waters. I hadwritten several lyrics forthe

song, butnoattemptto recordthemwasmade. Atone pointthe _songchanged a littleas

the_storyfocusedmore on the_relationshipofPKandthe_Guru,but its basic foundations

were still there.

Afterseveralfailedattempts

by

myself and other_volunteers, aprofessional

composercame on _aboard, and volunteeredhis efforts.I cannotdescribewhatabreak

this was,but meeting DonCleary, an experiencedprofessor of_music,

living

in Augusta

Georgia,actuallygave ahuge boostto theprojectboth

logistically

and emotionally. Don

not_{only brought}to the tablehisyears of_experience,butalso could_tapintotheresources

ofhis school,which provedtobeanotherhighlightoftheproject. Donrepresentsthe

onlyother personwho_actually

"produced"

forthe project,allthe otherworkwas_entirely

mine. Hebecame interestedintheprojectwhenhetried to get a contractfor producinga

scoreforan animationin_LA,however, was lookedoverdueto lackofcreditinthat

specific area.

"NOAB"

providedjustthecredithewas

looking

forandI was_honored,

and_{very fortunate}tohave himonboard.

Inadditiontothesong, Donusedtheplay-blast roughtocomposethe entire score

forall six scenes (IntrothePizza_Villa, Atthe _Bridge,Meetthe _Guru,No One atthe

Bridge-RAP,BackatthePizza_Villa, andFinale). Thiswas _actuallyproduced first,and

was completed overthecourseofamonth. We didallthiswork via_e-mail,andhave

never metfaceto _face,but

key

e-mails andphone calls_quicklygotthings clicking. Don

hammered out a score whichhe describesasbeyond anything he hascomposedbefore.

Very

surreal, moody, "techy",underscored withR& B_rhythms, he describes his

approachto thisproject as

letting

it saywhatitwants_to,

letting

itfeelthe _{way he}was

giventhe transmission. Donwas_{inspirational,} andhe felttheanimation hadgood_merit,

feeling

inspired

by

whathesawhimself. Needless_{to say,working}withDonwas one of

themore enjoyablefacets oftheproject.

The songwasalittlemore_difficult,anditsufferedthroughsomemajorchanges.

One