Close to the finish

As of this moment I have reached 2622 words of my research paper. I'm hoping to hit my 3000 target by weeks end. Also I recently discovered a new book entitled BBC VFX the history of the BBC visual effects department. This has given me a lot more idea of how miniatures are used in tv and films

Big Update

It has been 4 months since my last post. In all this time i have completed my prezi document which can be accessed here:

Now I am getting to the midway point of my research document. My word count is currently on 1905 out of 3500. I am hoping to hit my target of 3000 in the next 2 weeks.

I have also begun work on my final project using the research I have gathered so far. When I have more of a clear idea of whats going on in a few days i will post a new update

Reference Gathering and research document draft

Since my final blog post I have been trying to gather as much reference material from the Leeds Met Library and also the Internet and my own personal library.

My work already has several references for the work on the Railway and Steam Trains. Now i am trying to find as much reference on compositing techinques and lighting.

Today is also the day I have started making a draft of my research document. My main aims for both
my research and my final project are to:

1: Improve my Compositing skills

2: Make use of Minatures within my work
(this will allow me to understand more classic
techniques used in film and television)

3: Allow me to understand the use of lighitng and better implement
it within my work

Back to the Search Engine

Today I am back at the Search Engine facility at the National Railway Museum in York. While most of my research has been on my 3D Computer Technologies modual for the V2 Green Arrow I decided to come here to find out more about other locomotives and the infamous "Beeching Axe"

To start off I have done some more photography of the "Green Arrow" for my 3D work. These new photos will allow me to do the detail work I need for my Model. These are a few of the photos i have taken:

While researching the locomotive I realised that I dont have enough material on the Railway in general. So now I will be looking through any Journals, Books and Original Material (e.g. Microfilms, Eyewitness Accounts) to build up a detailed history of the British Railway.

My research today should take me a long way to finishing my Prezi. I am hoping to have the Railway Research finished by the 15th then my remaining Compositing and Lighting research on the 17th. The Railway subjects i will be studying are listed as follows:

LNER A4 Pacific Locomotives
LNER A3 Locomotives
Rocket
Tank Engines
Walschaerts Gear
Doctor Richard Beeching

Once the Railway research is complete then I can finish off Lighting and Compositing Research, these are the subjects i have to finish researching:

CGI Lighting
HDRi
Panoramics
Colour Grading
Chroma Keying
2D and 3D Particle Systems
Radiosity

I am hoping that this will be my last research trip to York but I will probably have to return for my final project later in March/April time.

Will be updating this blog next week

Photographic and Experimental Research

Since the last post I have been researching the topic of Steam Trains. To start off I researched into the kinds of locomotives there are and what they were all used for. Steam Locomotives have been in use from the 19th centuary onwards. The initial steam engines were used for other mechanical purpouses like powering factories, machinary, etc. Until 1829 when Robert Stephenson & Co created the first prototype steam locomotive for transport, Rocket.

The first locomotives tended to be not very efficient and very coal hungry, they were also no bigger than a modern day car until later developments allowed for the first Tank Engines to be built.

Also I have been researching into High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) for use with 3D Models.HDRi itself is a mixture of photos shot at different exposures which make the image lighter or dark depending on the Shutter Speed. When each exposure is combined together as one image this creates a HDR image which has a much broader contrast and lightness compared to standard photos. This method can be used with 3D models if they need placing into an actual set. Using a Light Probe (Gazing Ball) like the one below:

The image can be converted and used in a 3D package to simulate the same lighting conditions and also for reflections. Here is a model sphere fitted with reflections and using HDRi to mimic the lighting conditions of the Background:











New post will be on here soon

Project Idea and interlinking Moduals

Before I started this project I had been thinking about what I would do for my final project most of the summer. Most of my ideas were all based round the same basic goal, improve my compositing skills. But then I thought in all time i have done any compositing work i have worked with video footage and 3d elements. In all the times i have done compositing i have never used Minatures or Minature Sets within any of my work before. Minatures have been in use for films for over 100 years and considering some of the biggest and most succsesful films in history have made use of Miniatures at some point in their production.

Another thing that has drawn my attention is my love for Steam Trains and the Railway in general. While thinking about my final project for the last 3 months i was told that my home town of Otley had a railway line running thorugh it and some of the line still exists. Since discovering this i decided to incorporate the railway into my research and my final project.

So for my research practice so far I have been using Prezi to come up with a Venn Diagram and looking through what subjects i need to research. The 3 main subjects that want to research for this modual are:

1: Compositing

2: Miniature Sets

3: Steam Trains

For now i'll be researching each of these subjects and working more on my prezi