This week is the final week of working on our previs: below is the result, and the culmination of the last ten weeks of work.
On reflection, I think there are a lot of things I have learned and a lot of things I would change if I was taking on this assignment again:
- I would use simpler rigs for previs. I definitely think I distracted myself with unnecessary animation and extra difficulty by using the rigs that I use. I was often preoccupied by rig-specific details that would not have been an issue if I had used a simpler rig from the start.
- I would use a video editor and separate scenes from the start. Because I was struggling to visualise how each scene would fit together, I animated everything into one Maya file. Later on, however, when I wanted to change my timings, this had an unbelievably complex knock-on effect that wasted tonnes of time. I really regret this, but this project has taught me what to do in future, which is still an important lesson.
That being said, I still think this previs is usable as a jumping-off point for FMP. I think this storyline could be really engaging with more time and development. I’m aware that this is my first project ever using animated cameras, so I think even though I am not entirely content with the outcome, It was a really valuable project to take on.