Main idea

My theme is how the imagination conjured while reading books becomes reality. Nowadays, with the times changing, more and more people are reluctant to read books, preferring instead to scroll through their phones. Yet reading is actually a method that can stimulate one’s imagination.

Pre-production

This project was produced using live-action filming techniques, so I selected several locations conducive to relaxed reading as my shooting settings. These included parks, lakesides, and apartment lounge areas.

Model

Regarding assets, I utilised two pre-bound models sourced online. I then built upon these to create the animations required for my project.

VFX

In each shot, I rendered the imaginings that occur when people read books through visual effects imagery.

For the first imagined shot, I created an effect of magical plant growth. The primary approach to its creation: I first used SOP to define the vine’s morphology and employed curves to establish its movement trajectory. Subsequently, noise was added to the vine to enhance its detail. The vine was then volumetrised and assigned a plant material. Finally, based on the vine’s motion, I created ground fractures, scattered debris, and the dust clouds generated by the shattering.

The second imagined shot involved creating an effect where a robot surfaces and crashes into the water. The primary approach was as follows: I first animated the robot in Maya, then imported it into Houdini to generate the water effects based on the animation. I created a FLIP Tank, added a Static Object for the robot, and enabled Volume Collision. Crucially, I ensured the collision object’s scale and substep settings were appropriate, otherwise the water would have penetrated. When the robot struck the surface, I generated a large number of FLIP particles at the point of impact to simulate splashing. Furthermore, the instant the arm entered the water, it would disturb the surrounding liquid, creating ripples.

The third imagined shot involved creating the effect of a meteor shower descending upon a city. The primary approach was as follows: I first crafted several meteorites of varying sizes and shapes using spheres. These were initially positioned high in the sky, with gravity applied. Different initial velocities were assigned to each meteorite to simulate multi-directional descent. Finally, particles were emitted from the meteors’ tails, driving the Pyro Solver to generate flames and smoke.

Final work

Reflection

In this personal project, I failed to manage the overall length of the narrative effectively and underestimated the workload, resulting in the initially conceived story set in the laundry room not being completed within the limited timeframe. To meet the deadline, I had to create a new, shorter story. While this ensured completion, it fell significantly short of the original concept in terms of narrative depth and impact, lacking sufficient tension and emotional resonance. Additionally, the special effects were not sufficiently refined, resulting in several shortcomings in the final visuals.

This project highlighted that the importance of preliminary planning in animation production far exceeded my expectations. A reasonable story length and accurate workload estimation directly impact subsequent production schedules and quality.

For future similar projects, I must prioritise improvements in the following areas: Time Management and Project Planning: Establish storyboards, production workflows, and workload assessments early on, incorporating buffer time to avoid reactive modifications later. Narrative Cohesion: Even under time constraints, ensure the story possesses a clear beginning, development, and conclusion to enhance the animation’s appeal and expressiveness. Technical and Detail Refinement: Strengthen practice in special effects and post-production to elevate the overall visual quality and polish of the work.

Label Storm

In this project, I was primarily responsible for creating the storyboards and handling some of the visual effects for the shots.

Firstly, regarding the storyboard, I begin by breaking the entire narrative down into individual shots, then proceed to draw the storyboard based on these shots.

Then there are the special effects concerning the shots.

I am primarily responsible for creating the special effects for five shots.

The first shot depicts sticky notes falling from the sky.

Production Approach: I approached this with the concept of creating a rainfall effect. A Grid was employed as the particle emission source, with particle trajectories subsequently controlled. A V-OPS node was then used to apply noise to the polygon faces, simulating the sensation of paper fluttering in the wind. Random noise was applied to each individual face, ensuring each one appeared distinct. Finally, each polygon face was duplicated onto the particles.

The second shot depicts the falling sticky notes forming a wall of paper.

Production approach: I first constructed a wall and scattered dots across it, then duplicated sticky notes onto each dot, randomising the size of each note. Subsequently, I employed a pop effect to simulate the notes being blown apart and converging. By reversing the animation and utilising the id attribute, I controlled the notes to converge from left to right.

The third involves forming a spherical storm from the drifting sticky notes, enveloping the protagonist within it.

Production approach: I began by extracting a horizontal line from a sphere and irregularising it to form the initial storm’s trajectory. Particles were then set to follow this path, with sticky notes replicated onto each particle to ultimately create a spiralling storm of notes.

The fourth shot depicts the storm’s distortion and destruction as the protagonist is pulled out of the paper storm, alongside the shattering and subsequent reformation of the sticky notes into petals. This shot incorporates two special effects.

Production approach: I first rendered the sticky note as shattering and then dissipating, before having the petals gradually form from particles. The core concept here was to transition the sticky note from a tangible object to an intangible one, whilst the petals evolved from intangible to tangible. This achieved the effect of the sticky note shattering to form petals.

The fifth shot shows petals drifting down from the sky.

Production approach: This shot’s creation mirrors that of the first, primarily involving modifications to the particle drift trajectories to better simulate the sensation of petals falling.

Reflection

During this team project, I acquired considerable expertise in practical filming techniques. As my prior studies and production experience had primarily focused on CG, my knowledge of live-action production was relatively limited, making this experience a novel challenge and valuable learning opportunity for me. Within the project, I was primarily responsible for storyboard illustration and special effects shot processing, which significantly enhanced my command of cinematographic language and my ability to integrate special effects with live-action footage.

Through practical application, I recognised that visual effects extend beyond isolated post-production work; they demand seamless integration with live-action footage. For instance, when crafting effects, I had to consider multiple factors: whether live-action scenes required adjustments to accommodate the effects, whether lighting and environments harmonised, and whether the visual style aligned with the overall aesthetic requirements. This process reinforced my understanding that the final visual outcome necessitates effective collaboration between pre-production and post-production.

Naturally, shortcomings emerged throughout the process. Some visual effects shots lacked sufficient refinement, leaving room for improvement in their final presentation.

Moving forward on similar projects, I shall prioritise more thorough pre-production planning, ensuring storyboards and visual effects proposals align seamlessly with the live-action team. Concurrently, I must deepen my understanding of live-action fundamentals—such as lighting control, camera movement, and scene coordination—to foster more comprehensive consideration during visual effects design. Furthermore, I aim to continuously enhance my technical proficiency in VFX production and explore new tools and methodologies. This will enable a more natural and convincing integration between visual effects and live-action footage.

Personal breakdown

Final work

Group breakdown

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