The first scene, foundational for conveying emotional expression, underwent key adjustments. We finalized details on depicting memories, linking them with photos, and transitioning into Margaret’s appearance. After testing showed that the large cavern screen can lead viewers to miss elements in different areas, visual guidance also became a focus. For instance, if Margaret appears behind Oliver while viewers are focused on him and the memory screen, they may miss her entrance. This highlighted the importance of guiding viewers’ attention to critical areas.
On Wednesday morning, we returned to the mocap studio to check for any gaps and asked the dancers to record additional moves. After testing these in the scene, we found that some movements needed more exaggeration to match our animation style. We requested added rotations and jumps for the connecting worlds and other key points. Although we kept the core dance routine the same, we recorded additional actions like “running across the space” and “rowing” to give the characters more room to move within the animation.
In terms of environment, we made final adjustments to the kitchen layout, particularly the positioning of focal items like the photo frame, radio, and toaster, as they play key roles in storytelling. We then applied materials and color, using a shader with a special texture as a master material to enhance the scene’s texture. This week, we also focused on lighting. However, we encountered challenges: as mentioned in previous updates, achieving the wormhole effect required exporting the room as a single mesh from Maya to Unreal Engine. While partitioning allows for different materials, we cannot light the room from the outside, even with transparent material for glass.
After multiple rounds of modifications in Maya, we concluded that we were dedicating too much time to the kitchen for just a few seconds of transition. The scene and lighting are 80% complete. For now, we’re using “fake” lighting from area lights within the room and plan to refine the lighting based on character positions once they’re added. We’ll consider trying natural window lighting if time permits in the final two weeks.
