USAA Event Viz

Brief_ Pre Production

Iron out the details here so you can reduce the amount of changes and suprises down the line. (they are sure to arise)  The more information gathered the better, also known as requirements gathering, its important to nail down things like, how often they like to be communicated with,final output, due dates etc… After nailing down the scope, with the client it is important to know what will be included in the final render. it is important to keep in mind that even if you are dealing with an individual there can be many stakeholders, so it is really important to identify them and how they affect your project. Ex( though you might be working directly with the art director they might have to run everything by the CEO who might have a different vision or requirements for the project.). identifying your stakeholders can save you a lot of rework down the line.

 

CAD File

After cleanup in your program of choice, its time to import and start building. i make sure to only leave structures from the CAD file that i will be using for the final renders. This will ensure the best render times and maximize on my pcs capabilities.

Blocking  Modeled in 3ds Max

Most of the pieces were built from scratch to the specifications of the CAD file. Foliage is created using 3ds maxs native found in the AEC Extended panel. The flags were purchased online as well as the piano. The truss systems were modeled due to the specs of the show and production company. I generally model most of my pieces because i love doing it, but in large scale projects like these with short deadlines, it is important to save time when and where you can. This is usually known as lag and lead times.Lead is an acceleration of the successor activity and can be used only on finish-to-start activity relationships.Lag is a delay in the successor activity and can be found on all activity relationship types.

Camera and angle selection

Camera angles are important because it lets you know where the priority to texture is. It is always important to texture to camera. In which i mean the most important information gets your attention first. i use vray physical cameras with the white balance set to neutral and the for from 35-45mm. I also decrease the .iso from the default 100 to 10 in order to allow much more light to be taken in by the camera.

Texture start

Textures, Shaders, and Lighting

I have a personal library of material that i have amassed from all the different projects i have worked on personally. my shader tree is not so complex, i mix traditional pattern theory and modern shader concepts to get my desired result.  I imagine other people have much more in-depth tutorials on shader theory so i will post links to my faves. Great for all around cg education Neil Blevins  Great for mastering vray render engine Grant Warwick.

Lighting is usually a vray light that i turn into a fully spherical dome. I add an hdr to the dome for realistic reflections. I render the dome without the background so i can composite it in post production. This is generally not the work flow, but in order to save time it was a decision that was made early on in the process.

Final Outdoor renders from the balcony

Final Outdoor renders from the stage

Renders vs Actual Event

 

Conclusion

No project is complete without post production. I use Photoshop for still images and after effects for animated pieces. Post can make the difference between 3 hours rendering and 10 minutes composting. i am not saying everything should automatically be taken to post, but, it is useful in situations where time is in short supply, and quality is a requirement.Post production can help with background replacement, color correct, and sometimes relighting.