Week 15 - Production Meeting Minutes

Agenda

Preparation for animatic, and fixing Character Rigs.

Discussion

1. Shotgun Updates

• Looking through Production Bible requirements. 
• Animatic- Went through each and every shot as a group, all members were present. Shots were updated on shotgun, new assets were added 
• Shotgun versions and animatic and schedules have been updated.
• Group Organisation Chart/ WBS in progress
• Budget and Production Metrics excel sheet
• Classifying the shots according to their complexity, planning 

2. Props/Env/Characters progress

• Wacom pen and tablet completed 
• Brush prop has been rigged 
• Avatar body mesh has been retopologised, currently working on face and hair.
• Lee's face rigging currently in progress, mesh is confirmed.

2. Goal: Start the new animatic soon

• Cubicle layouts have been confirmed for animatic 
• Begin texturing and lighting the environments.

4. Pending tasks : New props and the rigging of old props.

• The glove and lasso need to be rigged and ready for use by the character.
• Character sculpt for Lee, rig to be fixed.
• Rigging Avatar, continue working on hair and face mesh 
• Setting up cameras in 3d environment (Layout for animatic)
• Blocking for the clock on Lee's desk
• Virtual world interior needs to be completed.
• New Avatar mesh needs to repaint weights for rigging 

2. Eye rigging in progress

• We are still have difficulties in finding a suitable method to rig the main character the AVATAR, which will need to be done urgently.
• We have problems with the eye rig of the block as we tried using a texture, but failed to make it work. Alternate method we are trying is animating the UVs instead.
• Currently consulting Ryan's Feedback and help for rigging Avatar's eyes

Remarks

Environments for 3EM have been completed this week, we should keep on track and start on the animatic soon with all assets fixed and ready.

Week 14 - Production Meeting Minutes

Agenda

Post-viva analysis and preparation for animatic.

Discussion

1. Post-Viva Feedback

• Avatar body mesh needs to be improved, currently the topology is very messy and strange. Will have to retopologize the mesh.
• Animation tests - we need to continue working on the Avatar's rigging in order for it to deform properly. Feet, knees, shoulders and elbows have problems related to rigging as well, with joints placed in the wrong places.
• Animatic feedback - Live action animatic is edited well, but 2D animatic still feels necessary to the supervisors as they feel it will be too difficult to go straight to a 3D animatic. Also, concerns that the Live action animatic differs too greatly in terms of the location and scale to the 2D animatic.
• 2D animatic's red colours look too much like blood again - will need to be changed into multicolours or just become a black ink splotch.
• However we will go ahead with producing the animatic in full 3D - we feel it will take less time and effort to create proper characters rigs and environments than mixing 3D and 2D together as our 2D abilities are limited.
• Environment feedback - Virtual world interior is fine but still needs more details to fully give the environment a sense of human scale. More human-scaled props are needed.
• Office cubicle environment - raised some concerns about the Lee character not fitting in to the environment, as the environment looks highly realistic in comparison to the character. 

2. Goal: Start the new animatic by this week, Saturday.

• Create rigged, movable and animate-able characters to be used in the 3D animatic.
• Begin texturing and lighting the environments.

4. Pending tasks : New props and the rigging of old props.

• We realised that we needed a new prop, which is the tablet pen that Lee picks up to use in the first few shots of the film.
• The brush, glove, and lasso need to be rigged and ready for use by the character.

4. Eye rigging in progress

• Managed to get a basic, solid eye to be rigged for a cartoonish character.
• The eye is a flat plane and is very basic, which is enough for out ArtBlock character's eyes to express themselves.
• However we still have difficulties in finding a suitable method to rig the main character the AVATAR, which will need to be done urgently.
• Consult Ryan earliest by tomorrow about rigging the eye in a proper manner.

Remarks

Environments for 3EM need to be urgently completed this week, might be difficult to complete what we need for the animatic in time.

Week 13 - Production Meeting Minutes

Agenda

Review of progress for next week's Viva.

Discussion

1. Pending tasks to be completed

• ARTBLOCK to be Animated.
• AVATAR has to be Rigged, then Animated.
  (Topology to be fixed after Viva)
• LEE need to be re-topologized,
  incorrect edge loops were used during initial sculpt for animation,
  setting back progress to week 14.
• Rigging still needed for all of the props, will aim to have animated props done by following Viva.
• Environment progress for Office - Touched up on textures.
  Fixed UVs
  Will still need high-detail modelling to complete.
• Environment progress for Virtual Arena - still needs base mesh detailing to give a sense of scale.

2. Tasks that have been completed for Viva so far

• ARTBLOCK's Final Mesh is completed,
  Will have to paint weights before Animation.
• LEE's Base mesh is complete for Show,
  (further mesh retopo needed)

Remarks

PED Asg for Bervyn due this week

Facial Rig only can be done by week 14, not yet learned from 3CR

Week 12 - Production Meeting Minutes

Agenda

Review of progress for next week's Viva.

Discussion

1. Pending tasks to be completed

• Art block redesign and rigging - misscommunication between the artist and rigger on the number of hands, delayed the final rigging by 2 days.
• Draft meshes to be completed by Friday (8 July)
• AVATAR and LEE need to be re-topologized, incorrect edge loops were used during initial sculpt for animation, setting back progress by a week.
• Character meshes were also messily made up of multiple layers instead of one uniform, clean mesh that was able to be animated.
• Environment progress for Office - base blocking for props are done, UVs have been unwrapped so far and basic textures have been applied, before final Viva will need some touch-ups in the textures. Will still need high-detail modelling to complete.
• Environment progress for Virtual Arena - Interior and Ext basic blocking done, still needs to unwrap UVs and complete the rest of the remaining props - Lamps, Floating Circuits, Lights, Canvases, Entrance. Will probably take another week for modelling.

2. Tasks that have been completed for Viva so far

• Slides for upcoming Viva done by Bervyn, basic template has been in place for the presentation.
• Visual reel was cut down for 3 mins to 1 min, Live action animatic, and schedule are in place for Viva presentation.
• Art Block's Final mesh and design has been completed, still needs a little more rigging for animation.
• Glove, Brush and Lasso props have been modelled and rendered for presentation. Rigging still needed for all of the props, will aim to have animated props done by following Viva.

4. Goal :  to start the animation tests and updated animatic by this week.

• Walk cycle of AVATAR, headphones animation for LEE, and Punching animation for ARTBLOCK to be completed by the end of this week.

4. Goal :  3D animatic instead of 2D animatic

• Complete new 3D animatic using assets that we assume are avaliable after upcoming Viva
• Aim to 3D animatic by the 14th week
• Possibly use facial rigs or simple paintovers

Remarks

PED Asg for Bervyn due this week

Facial Rig only can be done by week 14, not yet learned from 3CR

Week 9 - Production Meeting (Break)

Tasks Accomplished

Completed Inspiration reel

Shot list completed
Finalised Script for Animatic

Live animatic 60% done (Spent 6 hours)

Real Lee Sculpt (Body and Head)

Avatar Lee Base 1st Draft completed

To-do

- Edits of Live Animatic 60%

- Complete Sculpt of Characters

- Live action animatic (All members)

Complete last 40% of shots

Storyboard revisions with new character and new environment designs

- Characters Design (Zhi Fang)

Artblock final design, with modified jaws and arms

Modeling to be taken by Bervyn

- Environment Design final drawings (Xin JIe)