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1: Human Heart Animation (March 2011)
Software:Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop, Headus UVLayout, After Effects
Overview: A 3D visualization of a beating human heart that was modeled, textured and animated in five days. In order to achieve realistic deformations of the heart, I studied several different videos of the human heart beating. Along with studying healthy heartbeats, I also looked at abnormal heartbeats and hearts with various health problems to see what the extremes were and make sure the various movements didn't go overboard.
Responsibilities: All aspects. In order to achieve realistic looking textures, I took photos of raw steak, as this was the closest I could get to the types of surfaces found in the human body. The texturing in this project presented the opportunity to apply Mental Ray's sub-surface scattering and ambient occlusion capabilities to the model, to achieve a more layered and believable look and utilize the lighting in a realistic manner. For the animation, a series of blendshapes were created in Maya to provide an organic look and an efficient workflow. Created in five days.
2: Hell and Back (Fall 2010)
Software:Maya, Houdini, Renderman (for Maya), Headus UVLayout, Photoshop, Nuke, After Effects
Overview: A demon wakes up to find himself in a place he didn't expect. The piece was produced over a ten week period for the "Advanced Animation" class at Drexel University. The animation was an exercise in animation and storytelling through character development.
Responsibilities: On "Hell and Back" I was the lead animator, and was also responsible for modeling and rigging the demon character. I also contributed to the compositing portion of the project. The project presented an opportunity to develop biped animation techniques, as well as quadruped animation techniques with the cat character. The demon was rigged in Maya using a combination of weight-painting, IK/FK switches, set-driven keys, and dynamic driven hair curves. The dynamic curves were applied to the tail and ears of the demon to provide an organic look and to contribute to an efficient workflow when animating. In addition to the curves, I created a switch that enabled the animator to keyframe animate the various joints in the ears and tail if a particular situation presented itself.
Additional Team Credits: Nicole DiGiambattista (Texturing, explosion FX, 2D animations), Joe Zeoli (Environment modeling, texturing, lighting), Dan Breslin (Environment modeling, texturing lighting), John Benge (Cat modeling/rigging/fur, animation).
3: Sports Car Model (March, 2011)
Software:Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop, Headus UVLayout, After Effects
Overview: A car modeled after the Zagato sports car. This piece was an exploration of hard-surface modeling techniques for realistic visualization of inanimate objects. It was produced in one week.
Responsibilities: All aspects. This was a polygonal model created in Maya. All textures, with the exception of the tire-treads, were created procedurally with Mental Ray. Ambient Occlusion was applied to achieve a more realistic lighting effect.
4: Skeleton (August 2010)
Software:Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop, After Effects
Overview: A project originally produced during my internship at Burst Online.
Responsibilities: All aspects. The character was developed, from 2D concept art from a fellow Burst employee, as an exercise in contributing to the pipeline for an online video game. In addition to the model, I created a rig and several animations (as seen here) for it that were to be used in-game. Since then, it has been rendered in more detail in Mental Ray.
5: Phour Aces Commercial (February 2011)
Software:Maya, Mental Ray, Photoshop, After Effects
Overview: A fan piece produced out of excitement for the 2011 Phillies pitching staff. This fake-commercial was an exploration of various film techniques that go into creating successful and exciting commercials. I wanted to create four different scenes for each of the four pitchers on the team. Each scene was lit dramatically, and as the piece went on, intended give off the feeling of anticipation.
Responsibilities: All aspects. In order to achieve this desired effect, I lit the scenes using a variety of lights that gave off soft depth map shadows. Two of the scenes use Maya's fur capabilities to create the grass in the piece. In addition to the visuals, audio cuts of each pitcher were used to enhance to dramatic effect.
Note: Music by ES Posthumus. All content related to the Philadelphia Phillies is used for non-commercial, educational purposes.
6: Visualize the Past (Fall-Spring 2011)
Software:Maya, 3DS Max, Layar, Photoshop, Dreamweaver After Effects
Overview: A group project over a seven month period as a Drexel University Senior Thesis. Visualize the Past is an interactive, mobile experience aimed to help people visualize historical sites that no longer exist. For the purpose of demonstration, the Jayne Building will be the focus of the project, which stood at 3rd and Chestnut Street and is considered by some to be the first skyscraper in Philadelphia. Using a mobile device equipped for augmented reality (iPhone 3GS and higher, Android), users will be able to see a three-dimensional model of the Jayne Building projected in the spot where it once stood. In addition, a mobile website will provide photographs, videos and other media to help tell the history of the building.
Responsibilities: I was responsible for the building models for this project. The building was created using images and drawings from the Historical American Building Survey (HABS) archives and the National Parks Service building in Philadelphia. In creating content aimed for consumption on mobile devices, the poly-count immediately becomes an issue. Since the goal is always to create the highest quality work, I helped to develop a pipeline that takes lighting, shadows, and textures from a high-resolution model of the Jayne Building and maps them onto a low-resolution version of that building. This way, all the detail generated from the high-res mesh was captured on the low-res mesh that is actually generated on the mobile device. One of my main tasks during the project was to optimize both versions of the building for efficiency in the workflow and for the real-time rendering involved once the content is generated on the mobile device. Note: This project is still a work in progress and is expected to be complete by May 16th, 2011, upon which time an individual page will be dedicated to it.
Additional Team Credits: Christine Adams (Team Leader, Optimization, Textures, lighting, web-design layout) Mike Dixon (Back-end code development), Mark Petrovich (Web design, historical background), Joe Zeoli (Back end code development).
7: CBS Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular 2011 (June 2011)
Software:After Effects, Photoshop
Overview: A VFX project that was incorporated with CBS' 2011 Fourth of July special with the Boston Pops. Additional Credits Jeff Baxter and David Van Allen (Project Supervisors)
Responsibilities: I was charged with compositing fireworks footage behind separate footage of various monuments around Boston. Tasks included rotoscoping, color correction and tracking the footage.
