Looking at DOG and pushing for completion this fall, at least having most of the rigorous roto wrapped by end of August mid September. Ben’s going back to Western September 2. What can we accomplish together in the 3 weeks remaining? Here’s the hot to do list.
Place all current roto from Ben and Trace and identify any areas to redo. Is moving inactive masks off screen the only way?
Weld jump cuts generated in re-performances, prove that it’s viable.
Review progress to date and reassess the scene priority
Project a current plan and completion date based on this summer’s activity
Contract new roto team 12-22
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Assembling current roto results
For each of the 4 reference movies, create an assembly comp that contains the reference movie and comps for each specific shot. These assembly comps will serve as both a progress meter, method of organizing the current results and an indicator of what each VFX shot requires.
Why I don’t have a assembly for the Trace results? I know I checked them but did I toss those files? They are not part of the consolidation file. Hmm.
When Christina’s hair crosses into the red hallway and/or bulletin board, mask off (roto) only the cross over, then key.
Here’s a rough of the red hallway /dead birds with notes from Ben and I.
Red / dead is comprised of two major VFX changes, the red lit hallway with face shimmer and the dead birds poster for continuity. There are only two more shots left to roto in this sequence. This is the last proof before polish. Tasks remaining are 1) mask edge on the door edge that shows white, 2) Christina’s key, 3) speed and distance of the shimmer should be toned down so that it feels like a light artifact and not an effect, 4) move the illumination from orange and to red, 5) give the overhead light a bit of fuzz and perhaps shimmer, 5) do zdepth (depth of field) for the hallway, so that poster focus is gradual, 6) decide if a multiply overlay provides an efficacious contrast between joe’s face and the shimmer, 7) be sure focus is consistent through hall, reflection off poster glass matches poster.
8-20-12
Christina needs red highlights on her hall side outlines. This calls for more roto on the planes of her face angled toward the hall, some of which occur inside her head silhouette – cheeks, neck and ears. Stray hair will also catch red light and need to be masked or keyed from the door frame.
As the door opens, it catches some of the reflection from hallway too.
8-21-12
A test with all the above including light halos to match Joe’s shimmer. I want to suggest that Joe’s shimmer is an artifact of the lighting, and Ben and I are both feel this is working. Notice also the tinting on Christina’s arm, face and cheek.
Checking out the roto for the bath lab.
In general, remember that if a feature becomes obscured by shadow or low contrast between foreground and background, decide first if it’s changing shape – mouth movement, cloth shifting, muscles. If it’s not, then try to set keyframes when the feature is visible. Preview with a solid color background more often to check for consistency of feature shape over time.
Look for intermittent holes within the silhouette when finishing.
Do we need more precise hair halos for Gerry? Maybe so.
141 flashing hands, some internal holes, mask intersections problematic.
143 instability in upper lip, lower lip, nose tip.
146 hair halo is needed near lip, hair suddenly appears in door frame. Chin is lost just before she sits, mouth and nose are drifting too.
149 scarf and hood are moving too algorithmically, lips and face disappear, hair mask may not be all that useful.
151 shapes look consistent except there are huge holes.
154 cheek, chin and lips are chattering slighty.
156 pretty strong, but there’s neck missing! The teeth are missing from the very start of the shot.
158 crazy erratic on upper lip, holes.
160 looks good
162 mouth chatter at start, lower lip chatter and erratic (no roto) as he turns away. Need more of his forehead in all profiles. Need a mask just as the door is closing.