30 Second project by Robert Burchett

At first, I was not sure what to do for my 30 second project, so I e-mailed various companies for their advice. Having received some feedback as to what they would be looking for in a show reel, I decided to showcase a number of skills which they suggested are important entry level requirements for the VFX job market. Therefore rather than a narrative (as is shown in my group project) I have produced a compilation of test pieces to showcase my various skills.

Minecraft green screen test

This piece is not going to be in my show reel but I am pleased with the results as a test piece.  One of my ideas was to capture computer game footage and apply effects to it. In Minecraft I built a green screen set and lit it. Some footage of a character walking around on the green screen was then captured. After this, the footage was imported into Aftereffects, then using the colour keying tool, the green was removed. Therefore I had created a little Minecraft character that I could drop into different environments as and when required.

Minecraft green screen test

This did not make it into my show reel but it works as a green screen test. Green screening is an area that I need to improve upon.

Inserting a Minecraft-type object into Halo test 

Firstly I recorded some footage from the game Halo 3 and used Boujou tracking software to track the shot. This is the first time I have used specialist tracking software. It worked well and now all I need is more practice with this type of software. I also wished to incorporate a 3D element into this footage, so using 3DS Max, I built a small minecraft style building. It was straightforward to build as Minecraft uses simple blocks and is relatively easy to texture with texture from Minecraft.

Minecraft-type object into Halo test

I was pleased with this shot and it went more smoothly than I expected. However, there were some issues and the track is not 100 % perfect. Another area of improvement is the need to increase my lighting skills in 3DS Max, because without good lighting, the effects do not look right and they do not composite into scenes especially well. 

Rotoscoping myself

In an e-mail I received from one company, they mentioned the use of the Silhouette FX programme for Rotoscoping. I practiced using it and I liked the software. It is less ‘clunky’ than Aftereffects as it allows you to move and manipulate the mask more easily. I completed a few tests to gain experience with the software and also used some tutorials to help with the interface.  I decided to ‘roto’ myself walking past the camera. It took a while to do this, but my skills improved with practice, so I became more confident, proficient and quicker with this task. The mask is made in sections and with practice you soon establish which pieces to mask together. The thinking behind it reminded me of animating in Toon Boom.

Looking back at this piece of work, I see the edges are quite harsh, and it could do with better feathering and motion blur. I am happy with the actual mask, so because of this and the skills developed, I have decided to put it into my show reel. If this work was repeated I would be more careful not to have the hoody draw-cords showing as they were a time consuming nightmare to roto out.

Rotoscoping myself

Roto painting - football removal

I thought it would be amusing to remove a football from a game. However, it took a while to find a suitable piece of footage, but this was eventually achieved. Firstly, I used Silhouette FX and placed a mask over the ball. I tried using the scratch filter but this did not work (as elements were taken from both left and right, so pieces of the player’s legs would appear if they got too near to the ball).

I then tried using the paint node in Silhouette, but this proved a laborious task painting out the ball in every single frame. I continued doing this this for a number of seconds of footage but after reviewing it, you could still see where the ball was as the paint did not match very well (a green patch could still be seen moving about the pitch which looked most odd!). I soon stopped using Silhouette and thought about other software that could be used more effectively.

I therefore decided to import my image sequence into Photoshop. Using the same type of method with the clone and patch tools I again painted out the ball in every single frame. This was far more successful as the patch blended into the background far more evenly.

I have included this into my show reel as I was especially pleased with the effect. However, in the future I would like to try using Silhouette for this type of work, as I do not think Photoshop is a proper video editing programme.

Roto painting - football removal

Minecraft – ‘hole in wall’ 

From my previous test of tracking and importing a 3D object into Halo, I tried to improve upon the idea. I was inspired by one of the effects that Corridor Digital has used, and I wanted to see if I could recreate it.  Firstly I filmed some footage of a wall, and then used Boujou to track the scene. In this shot I decided on a free camera track rather than a nodal track as the camera is not just panning, but moving freely.  I have learnt more about Boujou, how the tracking operates and how to get rid of tracking points that did not work. One important point I learnt is that it is good to have tracking points at different depths. Taking a piece of footage near the wall does not work well as there is little depth of field, so the computer is unable to determine where the points are, relative to the 3D space.

Minecraft-like objects are in block-form so they are quick to produce and texture. This is useful and effective for tests of this type. I modelled the ‘hole in the wall’ using 3DS Max, imported the tracking data into the scene, lined up the wall and scaled it correctly. Some blocks had to be made to block out the sides that were not to be seen in the rendering exclusion map. The scene was lit using a daylight system, but I am still not happy with the results. It is an area where I need to further develop my skills. The final scene was then rendered out and put into Aftereffects.

I am now happy with the result, so have included this scene in my show reel. However there are some areas I should have considered before I started. The finished result would have looked better if a stone wall had been used as it would have blended more easily, although this was not my original intention. In hindsight I believe I could have filmed the footage better and included a scene with a greater depth of field to help improve the tracking. However, having gained from the experience this is the approach I shall adopt next time.

Minecraft –‘hole in wall’

Tracking Point removal from the group project

I have included this piece of track point removal from the group project as I believe it was particularly effective.  I used Silhouette FX and with the tracking node, tracked the tracking points, and then applied masks to the tracking markers. The track position data was applied to the masks so that all tracking points had masks over them. The scratch filter was then applied to the masks and the settings were manipulated to enable a more even blending effect. It was an excellent and simple effect and I was pleased with the results.

 Tracking Point removal

Masking from group project

For this shot I applied a simple mask around the tree to enable the troll to appear to move behind the tree. This was achieved by creating a matte in Photoshop. I drew around the tree branches, making sure the edges were not too sharp, thus feathering around them. I thought this was an effective shot of the troll in the snow and a good way to conclude my show reel. 

 Masking

Completed Show Reel

I believe that I have created and included a range of effects in my 30 second show reel. Unsurprisingly, I am not completely happy with all the parts of it, and I constantly see where improvements could be made. Given the time, I would have liked to include matte painting. However, the show reel is not a static piece of work, but one that is constantly evolving and improving, so more can be added in the future. I am already planning the next pieces that I wish to include. This year I have been challenged to try new software and techniques for the production of my 30 second project and also with the group project.  Some areas have worked well and they have been surprisingly effective, while others have been less successful. I will need to concentrate on improving my skills in the less successful areas.