Artefact 4 Planning - Genre with Camera

For my 4th artefact of 5, I plan to use the same scene as in my previous texturing artefact with improvements (lighting, unwrapping, ambient occlusion) to experiment with CAMERA TECHNIQUES. Specifically, I would like to research and test how camera techniques are used within different film genres, therefore creating different moods.

The main techniques I will look at are:

• Camera angles
• Camera shots (long shot, mid shot, close-up, etc.)
• Focus & depth of field
• Overall composition (rule of thirds, etc.)

I could then take this further for my next artefact, including the techniques of camera movement and editing, to further the effect of mood and genre.


The environment I have created so far is aimed to be derelict, old, and dark. Therefore, I think it would be good to try to create the effect of a genre such as thriller, mystery or horror, so have researched techniques used within these styles.

For instance, the main types of camera shot used within the thriller genre are birds eye view shots and extreme close-ups. This also covers camera angles, with the birds eye views being high angled establishing shots, and the close-ups being more of a low-angle shot to add emotion.

Similarly, in the genre of horror, low angled shots and extreme close-ups are often used to add to a tense atmosphere. In addition, a technique also often used is a slanted camera angle, where the camera is tilted in order to create an effect of tension and disorientation.

In both of these styles, another technique strongly used alongside these choices of shots and angles is a shallow depth of field. Particularly effective in close-ups and extreme close-ups, this is where only a small amount of the shot may be in focus, in order to draw the audience's eye to a specific area or subject, or to make a subject's surroundings seem disorientating.

Examples of techniques in use...

Still from thriller film 'se7en'  using close-up and slanted angle

Extreme close-up photograph of meat hooks with shallow DOF

Another example of extreme close-up with shallow DOF

Birds eye view shot from Tarantino's 'Kill Bill vol 2'

Low angled establishing show of environment

Artefact 3 Evaluation & Outcomes

Artefact 3 - 'Worn Out'

The aim of my third artefact was to experiment with texturing techniques in order to give a certain atmosphere and feel to my classroom scene. The atmosphere I had chosen to try to achieve was a derelict, used, uncomfortable atmosphere, to add to what I had achieved in my previous artefact of an eerie mood.

This time, mainly due to time restraints involved with texturing, I decided against producing an outcome early to gather feedback from an online survey, and instead put my time into my texturing and get detailed feedback in my tutorial focus group. Also due to time restraints, I made the decision not to unwrap objects in the scene, but instead used the UVW map modifier to create a similar effect with some of the graffiti and grunge maps in my textures.

In my presentation, the main constructive feedback I got from my tutor and peers, in terms of texturing, was that unwrapping objects could improve the effect of some of the textures, making them seem more realistic and less tiled. Some other general suggestions were to enhance edges with ambient occlusion, experiment with different colours of furniture and light for more contrast, and that camera angles and composition could improve the effect of an uncomfortable atmosphere further.

However, the feedback for this artefact was mainly positive, with many saying that the overall quality of my work had improved vastly since some of my earlier projects and artefacts. I also feel that this is the case, with attention to detail in textures and more thought going into my lighting making the overall outcome much more aesthetically successful.

Due to both feedback during my presentation and responses to my previous survey, I have chosen to focus on camera techniques in artefact four. The main techniques I will initially experiment with will be camera angles, shots, and depth of field. I could then take this further in my final artefact, including camera movement and editing skills to create a final video outcome.

Edited renders:

Textures created in Photoshop (using grunge maps, typography, etc.) :

Castle Modelling - Almost Done!

I have modelled practically all of the main body and detail for my part of the Castle Attack client project now, trying to follow the instructions given by Simon to the best of my ability. It still has a LOT of faces (triangles) to be honest - about 22,000 for my parts alone. I will therefore suggest a total limit for the whole scene to be about 40,000 faces, as the suggestion we were given was 30,000-50,000.

Here are some renders/screenshots of my (almost final) model for this project...

From now on, I will look into the texturing process that we need to follow, and begin to work on this part of the project. Hopefully it won't be as time consuming as it seems! 4 weeks to go!

Artefact 3 Plan - "Worn Out"

For my third artefact I will be focusing mainly of the technique of TEXTURING. My primary aim is to produce an atmosphere for my environment to make it feel worn and derelict. Although I have found that lighting can add mood to the room quite effectively, I have also discovered that other techniques, such as more detailed textures, can give much more feeling to a CG environment for the audience.

Keywords for this artefact:

• Worn
• Used
• Derelict
• Abandoned
• Vandalised
• Old

These have given me the following initial visual research for this artefact...

Texture Examples

Photographer - Jeff Wall

Examples of Graffiti/Vandalism in Interiors

Examples of CG Environments with Derelict Feeling

As well as looking at the textures used in these examples I have found, it is also worth noting the positioning of objects to add to the effect, such as hardly any furniture in place, and things not looking as tidy as they would in a newer, in-use environment.

Castle Stuff..

Despite not receiving any feedback on modelling techniques and polygons/triangles yet, I have now modelled most of the detail on the main east front wall of the castle building, using the technique I think most appropriate. It does use A LOT of faces in terms of counting "triangles" (maybe like 12000 total for the wall) with the Polygon Counter tool, so I am hoping we should be counting polygons instead now as it would be half this amount! Haha. :)

Anyhoo, here are some screenshots and renders of the wall so far and of a quick merge with the previous file...

Artefact 2 Evaluation

Final Outcomes:

Main outcome: Green tint with moderate saturation levels

Extra outcome: 'Film Noir' style with no colour and high contrast

The main aim of this second artefact was to explore lighting and colour-correction techniques in order to create an eerie, uncomfortable atmosphere for my classroom environment at night. From my research, I decided to experiment with both colour and the genre of ‘Film Noir’. Once again, I decided to use a combination of an online survey (using other students on my course) and my focus group to gain feedback on my experiments.

The feedback I received from the initial survey was quite widespread in terms of people’s opinions on the colours and effects; therefore finding one method to use for my outcome was quite tricky. For instance, only one or two more people preferred my experiments with lower saturation levels, and only a few more seemed to prefer my green tinted imagery to the blue. However, from observing the results to the best of my ability and using some personal views, I decided on a compromise between the high and low saturation levels of the green version, due to a small margin preferring this colour.

In my focus group, however, both my tutor and one or two students suggested that the blue could be more effective if I improved other areas, such as light quality, shadows, and camera angles. It was also noted in this feedback that extra lighting, such as upward lighting, could be considered if I wanted to create a more eerie effect, which is a technique used in many films to create this mood, such as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride.

Once again, I have realised that people can have very differing opinions on colours in association with mood, but also that colour isn’t always needed to add mood to an environment, as showed by the ‘Film Noir’ style of film. Also, as an additional question on my survey, I asked which techniques would enhance the mood more, and the most popular answers were texturing and camera angles, therefore these will be the techniques I explore in more detail next, starting with texturing.

'Castle Attack' progress - merging files etc.

Last week we decided to merge all of our models so far of the basic shell of the castle in 3ds max, to see if everything is working as planned and fitting together nicely. :) It worked pretty well actually, so we decided to e-mail Simon as he had requested us to in our first week or two of modelling to keep an eye on what we are doing. I still haven't had a reply, but am waiting on it!

Here are some screenshots I got of mine and Amanda's models merged together in one Max file:

I have also just experimented with importing this geometry into the 'Unity' game engine software - to be honest I really don't understand this software, all I can do in it is literally import and view the models. I did it with both an FBX file and OBJ file, which both seemed to work okay, although the FBX file contained materials, but seemed to be very laggy in the viewport.

FBX file imported into Unity

OBJ file imported into Unity

At the weekend, I also had a go at modelling the rather detailed window frames from the East Front wall, discovering that it is very hard to produce the whole object in low poly! For instance, my first attempt was the example below, which only just has less than 1000 faces when counting triangles with the polygon counter (I think this is the tool we need?).

First attempt - too many polys?!

I have now had a second crack at it, editing my previous version, removing edges and vertices along the way, and have now managed a lower poly version amounting at 660 faces using the came method of counting. This is still a lot for 1 window frame, but I guess that they aren't all quite this detailed.