My objectives for this unit were to understand and use a Maya – Unreal Engine workflow, and then use these skills to produce a stylised edited sequence.
I feel that I have achieved these objectives, and my technical knowledge of this pipeline is excellent. As I felt there may be, I encountered a few challenges, but solving the challenges lead to me having a greater understanding of how the software works, for example, the suitcase and realising Unreal Engine can’t read animations on Maya’s NURB’s curves.
Having completed an edited sequence having done all the character design, world-building, animation, cameras and editing, filled me with a sense of euphoria, and provides me with great confidence that I could produce these sequences in an industry environment while being able to master a pipeline by simply practising it and using it more often.
My weaknesses were speed, however, I know that speed develops with time, and this entire experience was my first ever experience using Unreal Engine. Developing speed comes from understanding, and had I done the exact same sequence using the same tools now, I could do it in 1/10th of the time.
The actual animating part of the pipeline is something I feel relies on a lot of planning, and something I do feel I need to improve on. I felt trying to carry out a scene with little reference was quite tricky, and I had to ensure the keys in the graph editor were all lined up, or lots of problems would occur. Nevertheless, I know from my industry engagement that pre-vis is all about answering questions, and no one will ever see it, so as long as the animation is indicative, it’s fine. I felt my animations inside my sequence visually expressed what was happening in the scene, and still told a good story without looking super polished and realistic.
Compared to the very beginning of the unit, I feel very technically able to effectively carry over assets from Maya to Unreal, and then use Unreal’s tools to create edited cinematic sequences to visually tell a story. I still am very much aiming for the “shot-creator” or “pre-vis” role in the industry, such as at The Third Floor or DNEG, and I am very pleased with the progress that I made, and that I could effectively carry out the required role.
Overall though, sitting in the director’s chair for this small scale development project was an incredible experience, and I intend to carry over these skills to the FMP and learn and understand more aspects of the pipeline such as virtual camera and potentially using motion capture. I hope to make a much more substantial piece using these same skills, and further establish myself as a shot creator or sequence animator.