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# 46 06-01-2010 , 09:43 AM

Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: UK

Posts: 6,287

GioChrono

Im sitting here at work laughing my arse off mate

top job!!

It did indeed bring a tear to the old japs eye!!

Speak soon dude

Jay

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# 47 11-01-2010 , 06:26 AM

Head of 3d Admedia
Join Date: May 2007

Location: nairobi , ken-ya

Posts: 1,340

OMG i watched this movie and all i was looking at was the great cgi i wasnt even really following the story...........amazing work

hey gio long time man what happened to the talos project you kind of left us hanging

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# 48 11-01-2010 , 07:08 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Tunbridge Wells, UK

Posts: 354

I was kinda flitting between my standard movie going head and my CG dude head thinking '**** that expression was well animated' or 'that shot must have been a long render' and 'too much SSS on that ear' and he looks a bit too shiny in that shot' type of thing. Overall I want to see it again perhaps in IMAX if I get the chance.

As for Talos, I am still working it but my commercial projects have had to take priority this past year plus I have been modelling stuff for the main characters and scenes that I wont be posting on the forums until they are featured in the story itself so as not to spoil the final result.

Although I have been working on an iPhone version for the App Store...

Gio

Gio

Creator of The Talos Project

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# 49 12-01-2010 , 01:24 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: May 2004

Location: Bowling Green. Kentucky U.S.A.

Posts: 810

This is entirely off subject. But
I was actually thinking of Having Miss Nova change my login name for me, from LEgendofzombi to G-man or something...then i read you're signature Gio...and.....I cant bear to rid myself of the Legend Moniker ....
Gah i need something more professional then Zombi though...Hell most people think i cant even spell due to the lack of E at the end ..LoL
G-man

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# 50 12-01-2010 , 01:47 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Tunbridge Wells, UK

Posts: 354

Well Legend of Zombi is something of an oxymoron due to legend usually relating to incredible tales that are however grounded in reality and of course Zombies or Zombi which we all know do not exist...except near poundstretchers in the bad end of tonbridge in my beloved Kent, stumbling along dragging their back leg and muttering in their secret gutteral language that only stray squirrels and pigeons will respond to.

Since you don't know what to call yourself then perhaps we should all help to define you...Legend of IdentityCrisis.

But, it's not the user name the makes you who you are, it's the quality of your posts that defines you...

Gio

Gio

Creator of The Talos Project

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# 51 12-01-2010 , 02:07 AM

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Join Date: May 2004

Location: Bowling Green. Kentucky U.S.A.

Posts: 810

Aye, true enough Gio.
The Name is a throwback form my days of Role Playing online, was a character name that started as Lord Zombi, and over time i became ...basically the most well known player, someone one day called me Legend, and i changed my name to LegendOfZombi.

Sadly, Jay has referred to me as a Legend as well, on another site, I wonder if he needs the grey mas between his ears examined LoL...( Sorry mate, had to, i do appreciate the compliment though)

I ...I Like the otherwise non committal sounding ring of Legend Of Identity Crisis, but..I fear that i will once more only get looked over by industry folk looking to hire a lowly noob such as myself.

Side note. Gio, I recently stumbled upon your Talos project linked off Outlaws and was impressed, I as well, woudl like to see some more , once time permits. That being said I'd also like to add, Any friend of My main mate Jay, is a friend of mine, I'd be honored if you'd also call me such user added image

G-man

Follow My Business
On The Web!
Or
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# 52 12-01-2010 , 01:25 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Tunbridge Wells, UK

Posts: 354

Maybe 'Legend of un-paid ovetime and disregard for social life' might go far to help get you hired...

Glad you like Talos, it takes a fair bit of time to get done how I want it. Any fan of Talos is a friend of mine user added image

GiO

Gio

Creator of The Talos Project

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# 53 12-01-2010 , 01:32 PM

Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: UK

Posts: 6,287

Grey Matter....I dont have anything there at let alone that.

...and of course Zombies or Zombi which we all know do not exist...except near poundstretchers in the bad end of tonbridge in my beloved Kent, stumbling along dragging their back leg and muttering in their secret gutteral language that only stray squirrels and pigeons will respond to.

I was among them this weekend, scary it was, a little more off kilter than usual in the snow and ice...scary!!

and any friend of mine is well....a friend of mine LOL

Jay

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# 54 12-01-2010 , 01:44 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2004

Location: Tunbridge Wells, UK

Posts: 354

Tonbridge park presents...retards on ice

Gio

Gio

Creator of The Talos Project

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# 55 12-01-2010 , 02:32 PM

Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: London, UK

Posts: 2,800

hey guys i don't post much these days but having read this thread and seen some of the questions i thought it could be cool for you guys to get a bit of insider info. I was a lead lighter on the show for 13 months.

I know Weta uses/used Maya for at least some of their work. It would be interesting to know what the rest of the pipeline looks like.

Originally Posted by

if you give me some more specifics of what you are interested I will fill you in. I would say it's 95% Maya work. Houdini is used sometimes I believe, but rarely.

I still think it looks a lot like a video game. I also still don't understand why it was all done in 3d. It seems to me that they could have done the main characters (the blue guys) with prosthetics.

Originally Posted by

prosthetics suck. user added image

the Navi are 10 feet tall and on a crazy jungle planet. By doing it all CG it's a lot easier to integrate and do exactly what the director wants. Also with prosthetics once you buy off on it you're stuck with it. Changes are possible with CG even up to the last few weeks of the production. (actually just saw that Jay pretty much said exactly this a bit further down). I always cringe when I see prosthetics in a movie. As far as I am concerned they always look bad, especially when they start moving. A 6 foot tall man doesn't run in the same way a 10 foot tall man does. if you stick a 6 foot tall man inside a 10 foot tall prosthetic it will look silly. for an example see Doom the movie. Watch the Baron as he runs, the feet flop about.... enough said. user added image

Weta most times only hires from within new zeland, they do hire outside if your really really good.

Originally Posted by

Not strictly true user added image

WETA like any country by law has to hire Kiwi workers if they have the skill sets for the job. However being a small country there is a skills shortage for this kind of work so they have an easy time hiring folks from other countries. The only requirement (apart from talent) is at least 3 years industry experience.

Alan

Technical Director - Framestore

Currently working on: Your Highness

IMDB

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# 56 12-01-2010 , 03:21 PM

Lead Modeler - Framestore
Join Date: Feb 2003

Location: UK

Posts: 6,287

Alan

Good to see you back.

Ive been reading Cinefex mag as its probably one of the more reliable sources for a movie. I was interested in the light setup. From what I gather from reading, Weta used a single light setup with the spherical, hemispherical type setup.

Is this right as it sounds very much like that of a G.I setup (weta version) with an added edge/rim light to give it more contrast and fill.

cheers

Jay

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# 57 12-01-2010 , 04:14 PM

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Join Date: May 2004

Location: Bowling Green. Kentucky U.S.A.

Posts: 810

...as far as lighting goes, i was actually curious as to how they achieved the believable luminance of all the flora in the movie...as well as the fauna that were ...actually bio luminescent.

also, the lighting they did where the flora lit under the characters feet as they stepped on it.. was that something similar to the mel script I've seen on creative crash that does the same?.. Lights a base mesh up on contact with another mesh....

Gio:
I'll actually be getting paid soon.. but the problem is...i'm not going to be getting my dream amount of 14.7 mil $ a day!!!:headbang:
You hit disregard for social life spot on though mate! i'm trying to balance, a full time day job, part time Maya and a family which is inclusive of a 5 year old.....Takes talent and an ungodly lack of sleep.
Not to mention the current struggles of releasing gravel form my kidneys...yay.

Jay:
You obviously have more between the ears the i have lately!....you're the one who's been catching my screw-ups and .....presumably been getting annoyed by the lot of them, since most of them have been during conversations with you..LoL!..

G-man

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# 58 12-01-2010 , 04:20 PM

Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: London, UK

Posts: 2,800

Hey Jay

Each team had their own way of lighting. nothing was set in stone. What we used on my team was:

1 IBL cut into two:
1 piece sky & one piece for the ground. This let us make fnie adjustment to the amount of sky contribution versus ground. These IBLs may or may not contain a sun, sometimes it was painted out and the spec contribution added back in through other lights

1 Spotlight acting as a sun giving hard shadowing. Gobos were used extensively in the outdoor and jungle environments. It's a subtle thing, especially on the outdoor shots but high level clouds moving through the sceen and blocking the sun etc really adds to the shots. It's most effective in the scenes where he gets his banshee i think. We also tended to backlight our shots to give the best asethetic effect. Any direct sunlight into the face was much harder to light and make look good. The jungles had the most gobo work to help get the dense feeling from the shafts of light etc.

we had a series of IBLs that we used as rims and fills. They were essentially one light shot in a studio and were different sizes of light. So you could use them for various things from eye kicks through to broad fills. Very useful.

very specific light sources like fires and missile trails were generally simple point lights or spotlights with simple animation / colour variations.

SSS and Indirect lighting were also used extensively.

Alan

Technical Director - Framestore

Currently working on: Your Highness

IMDB

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