ZackRaynor

I decided I should update this really, as I need to catalogue my progress for the 3rd year FMP.

So, yeah, as I said, the previous idea was shot down, as it would have been just a technical show piece which, while it would have been fine, wouldn't have got a lot of marks due to it being lacking story-wise.

My current idea for my FMP (which my teacher has said yes to, so... Whoo!) is something of a mix of Noir, Rashomon, and Star Wars: A Clone Wars:-

Two detectives respond to a report of a theft in a bungalow in the suburbs. They enter and the two posits their theory on the theft, with a simple reveal that the woman (Kathleen) had merely misplaced it.

...So yeah, the two submissions are my WIP for Kathleen and Victor, the woman who reported the Burglary and the Lead Detective on the case.

Well, apparently my initial idea inspired by Jarlaxle and Entreri was shot down, and somewhat brutally so by my 3D tutor. Too much show and not enough plot, which is kinda annoying as I had developed that idea quite a lot. So, back to the drawing board. Unfortunately, this does mean that my intention of making a 3d animation of the duo is going to be put further on the backburner than I had thought, so I won't be able to do it till... well, pretty much till I'm out of uni, which is a shame really, as chances are, I'll probably put it on the side for so long I end up not getting round to doing it, let alone complete it (like the story). Still, I guess it's back to the Whiteboard to brainstorm new ideas. I have a few in mind already, just need to develop those after boiling it down to it's very quintessence.

...and he's all out of Cases.

Those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, needs to go out and get L.A. Noire. Amazing game. Story and Gameplay-wise. There are, well, minor niggles, but when it comes to a free-roaming game, it's to be expected - Theres a certain degree of texture popping present at time (though it's more like UV/Normal Map popping) some weird physics issues at times (cars just seem to randomly be floating as they appear on screen for no discernable reason) and the shadows are a bit funky at times. However the story and the facial expressions are pretty damned impressive, and the characters are engaging. I do have a criticism in the mo-cap used however - It's very disjointed when you see their faces in all their Motion Capture glory, with full squash and stretch of skin and muscle all the way down the neck, then their clothes and hands seem they're always as stiff as a board. In that way it seems like the head's been blue-screened onto the body in a similar way Commander Cody was when he gave Obi-Wan back his lightsaber in Revenge of the Sith. (Go on, take a look. I'll wait.)

Oh, and once you complete the game, stay for after the credits - There's extras a la Iron Man, Thor, Portal etc.

On the Year 3 front - Well, I've not had much time: Seems contradictory when it comes to seeing my review of L.A. Noire, I know, but I have been doing things, I swear XD
Mostly I'm doing Post-Production for a video, which would surely help with my 3rd year film come the time I'm doing Post on it. Being honest, I was actually hoping I would be able to do some 3D while I'm at Pew 36, but apparently, after the last spat of 3d work they were hired for, they've gone off it for the moment. I hear they busy in the near future, so here's to hoping I get more valuable experience.

Signin' Out.

Hey, the like... none of you that'll probably read this. I've recently decided to take up doing this Blog/Journal thing. Mostly due to the fact that in Year 3 Animation we need to chronicle what we're doing for the film. Pre-production for mine is already on the way. Though it's only a single piece, I hope to get round to doing a lot more since I basically have a good 5-6 months before I'm back at year 3. Here's to hoping eh? Unfortunately it may be a while before I'm back on track. Apparently the next 2 weeks are going to be busy busy busy for me as I do additional work experience at Pew 36. Part of it will be also due to L.A. Noire coming out this coming friday as well. (Whoo hoo!)

To those of you who know me... Hello *waves*

To those who don't - I'm Louis Cheung, currently studying BA (Hons) Animation in Southampton Solent University having just finished my second year.

I'm kind of a massive nerd (Read: Pretty much anything Sci-Fi, lots of Video Games of all Genres, Manga, Japan... though I'm not a Japanophile etc)

Anyhow, I better go get some kip. Bye for now.