Digital Matte Painting - Project 1 & 2 & Final

23/9/2024 - 18/11/2024
Week 1 - Week 9
Ng Jia Ern 0363033
Digital Matte Painting
Project 1: Invisible Set Extension 1 (Pre_Production)
Project 2: Invisible Set Extension
Project 3: Thematic Matte Painting (VFX)

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INSTRUCTION

Project 1

Instructions

You will synthesize the knowledge gained in task 1 to apply in task 2. Students are to demonstrate technical capability to conceptualize and build assets as a prep for invisible set extension over raw footage or recreate it by scratch from concept to finished art work. You will dissect and deconstruct raw footage to understand the nature and concept of the footage environment requirements for extension. 

Project 2

Instructions

You will synthesize the knowledge gained in task 1 and 2 for application in task 3. Students are to demonstrate technical capability to analyse, composite and communicate set extension over raw footage or recreate it by scratch and add motion. You will dissect and deconstruct raw footage to understand the nature and concept of the footage environment requirements for extension. With the understanding gained, you are to synthesize the knowledge to produce believable and compelling footage that syncs naturally as required. You will start with sketching and move on to digitization and then generation using the appropriate software. Upon completion of the set extension you will construct a poster of equivalent to promote your creation. You will conclude by selecting and presenting your creation in the instructed format/s:

Compiled technical doc .pdf (*moodboard, style-guide, sketches, technical processes as posted in their e-portfolio).

Final output to ready for final project. 

Online posts in your E-portfolio as your reflective studies 

Final Project

Instructions

Thematic and realistic. Students will demonstrate technical capability to analyse, composite and communicate set uniqueness by blending 3D geometry and 2D painting to a raw video footage together with special effects. Students need to come up with 3 different location based on the theme and genre selected. Students must also showcase the breakdowns of how this project is undertaken. * Note that your matte should seamlessly blend and showcase a believable set. You are to use Unreal or Unity to make the world build and compose it via After Effects.

 

Submission:

Compiled technical doc .pdf (*moodboard, styleguide, storyboard, technical processes as posted in their e-portfolio)

Final output will include a 15 – 30 sec video (*.mp4, h2.64, 16:9 - 1440 X 1080, 25 fps, ACC, 48kHz, uploaded to youtube channel).

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Project Compilation:

Final:

FEEDBACK

REFLECTION

At first, I was really confused and didn’t know what theme to go with. I rarely watch movies, so when the lecturer asked us to use a movie as a reference, I felt even more lost. I ended up using ChatGPT to generate a few ideas for digital matte painting topics, which helped me narrow down and refine my concept. After that, I looked for composition inspiration on Pinterest and tried to sketch out the scenes I envisioned in my head. Even though I feel like I didn’t do very well, I gave it my best shot. I’ll try harder next time, but for now, it’s time to move on to the next step.

The next step was to paint and photobash. After completing this phase, I felt that the result didn’t look realistic enough and had some perspective issues. So, I decided to abandon this approach and switch to using Unreal Engine to present the final piece. Based on a tutorial link shared by the lecturer, I selected a video I liked and started following along. Here’s the video I chose:

I found the video very helpful, even for someone with zero experience using UE5. It provides clear, step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. Following the tutorial, I set up a base plane, cleared a space to place my pillar and arch models, and adjusted the lighting before rendering. The outcome turned out to be surprisingly good. The lecturer gave positive feedback, and I’m very satisfied with my work.

However, I feel like I could have done better if I had more time. For now, I had to leave it as it is. Some areas for improvement include making the camera movement more immersive, possibly using a first-person perspective. I could also add a flock of birds flying across the sky, make the sky look more stunning, and include subtle details like floating dust particles or tiny sparkling lights drifting in the air to enhance the atmosphere.