Field trip photos (part I)

I've been busy on studio time lately.  

It is, simultaneously,

the best and worst thing 

I could ever ask for, 

but I wont go into that.

Here's a couple pictures I took while on a field trip at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Bradbury:

 

 

I've been shooting on a 35mm f/2 prime lens a lot lately.  It turns out to be a pretty natural field of view on my t2i.

Master lighting

Master lighting is the first step in a broader approach to lighting a short. My thinking here is:

• Master lighting (this demo) -  Lighting the whole scene.
• Focus on intensity, contrast and color. 
• You might refine slightly according to your establishing shot, but not too specific.
• If you can't use something for a majority of your sequence, don't do it here. (ie. light linking)
• Key lighting - Lighting unique and iconic shots.
• Focus on shaping and pushing your lighting.
• Bring in your master lighting and refine it.
• Throw away unnecessary lights
• Get more specific.  Add lights where necessary.
• Work out technical issues here (shadow res, sampling, GI settings, artifacts, etc)
• Be mindful of continuity among other keys in the sequence
• The aforementioned establishing shot, used in master lighting, would be treated as a key.
• Shot lighting - Lighting derivatives (same-as, close ups and one-off shots)
• Focus on consistency and technical issues.
• Should be minimal need to adjust lights beyond technical needs (shadow res, framing, etc)

If you're expecting anything extravagant in this demo, you will probably be very disappointed.  I am simply blocking in the master lighting, talking about what I'm doing and why.  Make sure you've watched my preview two videos on lighting, "Thoughts on lighting," and "How I use reference."  They are instrumental to my thought process in this one.

• Master lighting (1 hour)

The compression hurts the saturation and contrast, unfortunately, but it should still work to illustrate what I'm talking about.  As usual, feel free to ask any questions.

I hope these are useful.  I might do a few more of these.  I was thinking one for key lighting, another for tips and tricks, and a lastly, one focused on compositing.  I'll skip "shot lighting" because it's technical and case-by-case so it wouldn't be much use.  Good luck!

How I use reference

Part two in my demo.

I think reference is so important to the learning process that I recorded it's own part just to discuss it.  Perhaps it's obvious information to some, yet I'm frequently surprised how often people try to invent their lighting from nothing; often hurting the quality and believability of their lighting.

For a more thorough understanding, be sure to watch my "Thoughts on lighting" video before this one:

• How I use reference

Thoughts on lighting

This is the first part of a lecture/demo on lighting.

I'm simply talking about basic things to consider in this one.  I have part two and part three, a talk about reference and an actual demo in maya, already recorded.  I still need to convert and upload them, which I will try to do this evening.

On that note, this was a rushed recording and conversion.  If the audio is not clear or understandable, please let me know and I will see what I can do.  I think you can even comment on the video - feel free to ask questions or get clarification on anything.  I hope it helps.

• Thoughts on lighting
• "Good Lighting" powerpoint

Gimp

I toyed around with Gimp at work today (not to mention digital painting).

Here's a few tests I made in the process. 

Both done with a mouse - in case you were wondering why they looked crappy - though in reality, I couldn't do much better with a cintiq... yet.

Winter Break

I've started drawing a bit more lately.
Particularly caricature and working on simplification; Trying different approaches and mediums, some sketchier, some more finished.  I'm trying to get faster and more confident with my sketches.

Here's a few I did while doing some serious R&R back in Michigan:

I've also started scripting again - but there's not much to show in that regard.
The plan, however, is that those scripts will be conducive for me to start on personal projects.
We'll see.

Till next time.

Joy Ride

I decided to take my motorcycle out to the roads and highways that go through the outer edge of the Angeles National Forest.  There's lots of scenic stops along the way.  I thought I might share a couple quick snapshots.  Nothing serious; I've got no intention of entering the California mountain photography genre.

It's the roads themselves that are really cool.  

There's some beautiful scenery and racing around it really reminds you how big the world is. 

It could be nerve-wrecking at times .  I've become fairly comfortable on my bike now.  Heights, however, still freak me out.  It seems like a pretty rational fear when some of these curvy roads are on the edge of a gigantic drop.  You want to admire the view, but there's the immediate danger of taking a turn wrong on a constantly twisting road.  That said, I'm sure it's a great ride to be a passenger for, if you trust the driver.

It took roughly 30-45 minutes to get loop through the mountains.  In that time there were some cars in the opposite side of the road but never behind or in front of me.  I had it all to myself to go as fast or as slow as I wanted.

This is turning into a photo blog but it's not my intention.  I do have some other stuff in the works, but more on that another time.