"This is Not a Train" 360 Film Experience

1. Noel Nuñez Gabriel Torres Lukas Rodriguez CIM 658 ce n'est pas un train A 360 Film Experience
2. Narrative This experimental art piece places the viewer into the mind of an individual faced with a repetitive existence. Here, the viewer bares witness to an abstract experience of harnessing the power of mental imagery to cope with an uncomfortable reality. Take a journey to escape the mundane.
3. Goals & Objectives At the outset of designing our film we knew that we wanted to achieve the following: • Experiment with mixed screen sizes ◦ Incorporating “flatties” into a 360 environment • Intentionally manipulate the viewer’s point of attention • To make something visually stimulating and exciting • Learn about and incorporate technology into the production pipeline to create 360 degree abstract designs and experiences ◦ Maya ▪ Computer animation ◦ Blender ▪ Virtual environment design ◦ Adobe Premiere ▪ Still Images ▪ Nested Videos ◦ Let’s try something new!
4. Audience & User Experience Our goal with the audience is to • give them the freedom to explore the scenery, • to keep them engaged with the visuals, • and to accurately direct their attention to the correct point of interest. Art should have an emotional component, so if we can make the audience feel a sense of serenity, wonder and hope, then we would have done our job well. Have Fun, Don’t Think We Are Crazy
5. Challenges In an effort to learn how to incorporate animation, motion graphics and traditional film into the project we hit a few bumps on the journey. Technology | Communication | Virtual Collaboration • Unfamiliar with the technology ◦ Blender and Maya ▪ Rendering in 360 ▪ Render Times and Quality ▪ Running out of memory storage • Editing in 360 ◦ Making sure objects appear on screen correctly ◦ Masking unwanted elements in 360 ◦ Rendering out the final file • Quality of film stitching ◦ Live action footage was unwatchable • Editing from different locations ◦ Working remotely and sharing files, staying organized
6. Overcoming Obstacles We spent a lot of time collaborating with each other and discussing methods of accomplishing shots and creating contingency plans in case something did not work • Research by way of watching tutorials and learning techniques • Frequent meetings to make sure we were on the same page • Elbow grease, getting it done! Research and Communication
7. Personal Reflections Creating an immersive experience that is coherent, interesting and meaningful was a bigger challenge than originally anticipated, but we learned a lot about collaboration, technique. Planning is important, and so is communicating and being able to make adjustments around challenges. We learned a lot and put our best effort
8. Experiments Learning by trying Planning with storyboards
9. Experiments Learning by trying Discarded Footage: Animation and Live Action
10. Experiments Learning by trying Using simple shapes to create interesting patterns
11. Experiments Learning by trying Creating the first Nebula
12. Experiments Learning by trying = Creating a special camera rig in Blender
13. Experiments Learning by trying Re-do Renders, Low Quality
14. Thank you Enjoy the show!