Week 1 – Brief – DMP

What was covered in the lecture:
Matte Painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location.

Things to bear in mind while creating DMPs:
– Distance grows bluer, and lighter.
– Haze colour tends to be blueish.
– Rule of third and composition
– Focal point / Draw the eye
– Perspective
– Colour fall off
– Saturation fall off

While presenting:
– Try to use correct terminology

The Workshop Activity:
1. Skyfall – Matte Painting –Create a highland scene in the style of Skyfall


2.Blade Runner – Matte Painting – Create a futuristic urban scene

3. Lion King – Matte Painting – Savannah landscape

The Weekly Activity:
Final DMP Image:


Breakdown:

Images Used:

Feedback I have received after presenting the work:
1. Screen left should be less saturated and a bit lighter
2. Add clouds on top of the mountains so they will feel higher
3. Screen left mountain feels quite transparent

2nd Brief – Frankenstein Halloween

3 Week group Project – Submission 28th October
Create an establishing shot for the Frankenstein movie by Guillermo del Toro

Team Members: Shay and Weronika

The Idea:

Presentation + Brief: pptx Link











Our Current Progress On The Project – 14/10/2025
Shay
Completed:
– Finished the previs for the environment
– Completed the entire environment layout and created / imported props needed
– Completed texturing the entire environment
– Finalized the camera movement

Next Steps:
– Incorporate the Houdini lightning hitting Frankenstein
– Create smoke effect
– Render the Scene (Maya + Houdini)
– Complete compositing for the scene

Weronika
Completed:
– Finished the blockout for the Frankenstein model
– Completed modeling the Frankenstein face and bandaged body
– UV unwrapped the Frankenstein model
– Imported the model into Substance Painter, projected the high-poly details onto the low-poly version
– Created basic rig for it in Maya

Next Steps:
– Texture the Frankenstein model
– Create the bed prop for the Frankenstein scene
– Model additional props (e.g., body parts and related items)

Our Current Progress On The Project – 21/10/2025
Shay
Completed:
– Incorporate the Houdini lightning hitting Frankenstein
– Export from Houdini to Maya
– Render the Scene (Maya) – In process
Next Steps:
– Complete compositing for the scene

Weronika
Completed:
– Texture the Frankenstein model
– Place him on the bed

Camera Movement:

Frankenstein Final Scene:

3rd Brief – Alice in Wonderland

3 Week group Project – Submission 25th of November
Team Members: Weronika, Romar, Jesse and Shay
The Idea:

Our Current Progress On The Project – 04/11/2025

PPTX
Presentation – PDF

Shay
Completed:
– Shooting
– 3D Tracking in Syntheyes
– Create a Layout in Syntheyes

Next Steps:
– Render an undistorted plate + UD settings for nuke
– Export the scene from Syntheyes

– Set a Maya Project:
Import the camera movement (+ settings) and undistorted plate
Create a Layout of the scene
Light the scene
Fix the render settings

– Creating Nuke script layout
– Combine all the elements
– Render out the scene
– Complete compositing for the scene

Romar:
Completed:
– Modelling elements in Maya – may revisit if new ideas/improvements come up

Next Steps:
– Start placing the objects within the scene
– UV unwrapping
– Texturing
– Prepare the scene to be combined with other elements

Weronika:
Completed:
– Base frog model
– Retopology – WIP

Next Steps:
– Finish retopology
– UV unwrapping
– Back to ZBrush – polish the base low poly “tech model” for Jesse to animate
– Sculpt detail passes (scales with alphas)
– Bake high to low in Substance Painter (project details)
– Texture – create different texture sets/variants

Jesse:
Completed:
– Frog movement research
– Rigging –  initial test rig built (will expand).
– Used parent constraints, pole vectors, and set key attributes.
– Set Driven Keys for hand animations

Next Steps:
– Painting weights
– Rig improvements – add more mobility/controllers
– Facial setup – blend shapes for expressions
– Animating (blocking + polish. not started properly yet)

Our Current Progress On The Project – 11/11/2025

Shay
Completed:
– Render an undistorted plate + UD settings for nuke
– Export the scene from Syntheyes
– Set a Maya Project:
Import the camera movement (+ settings) and undistorted plate
Create a Layout of the scene



Next Steps:
– Light the scene
– Fix the render settings
– Creating Nuke script layout – WIP
– Combine all the elements
– Render out the scene
– Complete compositing for the scene

Comp Reference:

Romar:
Completed:
– Start placing the objects within the scene
– UV unwrapping

Next Steps:
– Texturing – WIP
– Final element placement
– Prepare the scene to be combined with other elements

Weronika:
Completed:
– Changed up the previous topology of the feet to a better one
– Finalised the retopology
– Unwrapped UV’s and made them symmetrical to make texturing easier, using udimss
– Started sculpting in main wrinkles/big skin details and polishing the overall shape

Next Steps:
– Finalise the overall shape so that it’s more anatomically accurate
– Sculpt in the skin details (fine wrinkles scales with alphas)
– Texture/Lookdev

Jesse:
Completed:
– Eye socket rig
– Mouth rig
– Re-did the waist down rig
– Advanced improvements to the rig (for scale purposes)
– Modelled a throne – WIP

Next Steps:
– Painting weights
– Rig improvements – add more mobility/controllers
– Facial setup – blend shapes for expressions
– Animating (blocking + polish. not started properly yet)

Our Current Progress On The Project – 18/11/2025
We have rendered the first shot on the scene. I started to work on the compositing. Here’s what we have presented to Josh:

The main goal I wanted to achieve is while working on this shot was to understand better and use Deep compositing in the scene.
I wasn’t sure how to make the fog colour’s affected from the mushroom glow and the particles effect. Also, the particles needed more adjustments.

Alice in Wonderland Final Scene:

Script:

Full Breakdown:

Notes from Josh 25/11/25:
– Particles – exaggerate small particles at the back and big particles at the front
– Particles – Maybe move them slightly slower by adjusting the turbulence and the gravity
– Edge correction tip
The position pass comes in unpremulted, so when we unpremultiply at the beginning it’s being multiplied twice and therefore theres and edge issue when using the aPMatte to select a certain area.

Therefore, when using this node, to avoid edge issues we need to read in an unpremultiplied info (original EXR).

Adding Motion Blur:

3rd Brief – Christmas Advert

4 Week group Project – Submission 16th of December
Session 1: (Week 9) Tuesday 25th Nov – Launch Brief
Session 2: (Week 10) Tuesday 2nd Dec – Client feedback dailies – Angus/James
Session 3: (Week 11) Tuesday 8th Dec – Final Feedback and dailies. – Josh
Session 4: (Week 12)  Tuesday 16th Dec – Submission : 2pm, Friday 8th December – Josh

Team Members: Weronika, Hugo and Shay
The Ideas:

Presentation Link
Shooting at Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath
Using Canon 250D and a tripod

Tracking + 3D Layout:
Using Syntheyes and Maya


Presentation

Rigging:

Animation:

What we have so far (ITS NOT THE FINAL VERSION):

Final Outcome after Josh’s Feedback:

Depth Pass + Deep EXR render:

Script:

Breakdown:

 

Creative Brief – Flame Man:
Steps:
A- Animate a Flame Man in Maya
B- Create 4 different fire simulation in Houdini
C- Comp everything in Nuke
Reference:

Animation:

Simulation:

Final Result:

Live Brief Module Outcome:
Below, there are 5 projects (different videos) I worked on during the module: DMP, the Frankenstein brief, the Alice in Wonderland brief, the Christmas Ad brief, and a creative brief.