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BEHIND THE SCENES (BTS) is a new and exciting DVD series developed to showcase the creation of a game cinematic sequence. The series follows a team of artists as they demonstrate their production techniques from concept phase to final rendered animation. This chapter in the series focuses on the creation of the character Geo, a seasoned veteran of numerous infiltration missions. Cajun Hylton takes the viewer step-by-step through the 3D modeling process, from simple proxy to final model using Maya and ZBrush. The viewer also gets to go behind the scenes and witness actual production meetings that discuss the design and creation of the character.

In this DVD Michael Pavlovich starts off by taking up where the first DVD left off and covers the new features in ZBrush 3.5 R3. After the new features are covered he takes everything that you have learned up to this point and puts it into practice by creating an entire highres character right inside Zbrush. Many techniques are used during this character creation process that would benefit almost anyone.

In this DVD, Laurent reveals his process for creating a high resolution creature, designed by Carlos Huante, for the video-game cinematic production pipeline. The pipeline presents many challenges such as working with short deadlines, achieving a clean topology and being able to interpret a 3/4 view concept into a complex and detailed 3D model. This DVD will cover the creature modeling from low-poly modeling to high-poly detailing using 3ds Max and ZBrush. Topics include Max's basic polygon tools, creating the base volumes and proportions, cleaning up topology, reshaping in ZBrush, and lighting and rendering a sample still with Brazil for presentation to clients and supervisors..

In this DVD, Tim Dobbert takes you through the more advanced aspects of matchmoving and camera tracking. He discusses how to use survey data to force a camera solution to fit a pre-built environment and how to use camera tracking for paint work. He also covers blending, enhancing and extending matchmoved cameras. Tim shows you how to prepare for a live-action shoot and how to get the right information once you're on-set. There's also a section on advanced object tracking that shows how to use an object's motion to create a camera move. And finally, he covers the tricky problem of lens distortion and how it affects the visual effects workflow. Tim uses a variety of software packages for this lecture including Maya, Boujou, MatchMover, SynthEyes and After Effects

In this DVD, Laurent reveals his techniques for creating the textures and shaders for the final stage of the creature modeling and texturing pipeline. Laurent shows how to create texture maps from scratch using a small library of different concrete and plaster textures. Using BodyPaint, he takes the cavity map from ZBrush and uses it as a guide to create the other maps for the creature. Laurent demonstrates how he experiments with one area of the body and then brings it to a near final stage before duplicating the maps and shaders for the rest of the creature using Photoshop and Max. He then shows how to use BodyPaint to paint over the seams and finalize the textures. Finally, Laurent renders out separate passes and composites them together in Digital Fusion, discussing how this process allows better control of the final image and enables him to test the shaders for scene assembly and lighting.

BEHIND THE SCENES (BTS) is a new and exciting DVD series developed to showcase the creation of a game cinematic sequence. The series follows a team of artists as they demonstrate their production techniques from concept phase to final rendered animation. In this chapter of the BTS series Ben Neall explores the many aspects of texture creation for the main character Geo. Some of these aspects include techniques such as UVing, Projecting, Texture Painting using 2D and 3D softwares, as well as overviews of shader and render setup. Ben also shows techniques to help the artist in the visual development stage, using compositing software to make real-time decisions. The viewer will also see actual production meetings in which the design and creation of the textures are discussed.

Brandon Young presents his production FX workflow by reconstructing a shot from the Dragon Age: Origins cinematic created at Blur Studio. He goes over the shot breakdown, the goals of the shot and how to achieve them quickly. Brandon shows how to use Particle Flow, FumeFX and stock elements to make the effects shine. He then delves into rendering and compositing the effects elements into the actual production shot.

Considering making the switch from your current video editing software to Adobe Premiere Pro? Sit down with Rich Harrington, an expert in motion graphics, and learn everything you need to know to start a seamless migration to your new video editing platform so you can hit the ground running.