Office Hours: ambient occlusion

Here are some images showing the power of Ambient Occlusion in Blender 3D.
In case you don't know, Ambient Occlusion is a global illumination feature that simulates realistic lighting in the 3D scene.
The top image shows the Ambient Occlusion settings used when rendering the attached stills. Click on it to view it full screen size.
the middel and bottom images show renders with and without Ambient Occlusion (AO). Both images were lit exactly the same with a single shadow-casting light but as you can see they look vastly different due to the effectiveness of the AO. Of course using AO results in much longer rendering times but it is well worth the extra effort and time.

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Office Hours: street scene models

Two new images from Office Hours which show some of the smaller buildings to be used in the street layout from the film. These buildings are have more of the gritty/run-down kind of look that we're after. The previous buildings didn't have much character but these have a more lived-in look.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

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Office Hours: smaller buildings

Work in progress image from Office Hours of some buildings. Until now the attention was on designing and modelling big office building locations but they wouldn't look "big" unless there were small builings located around them. The only way to create a realistic type street scene is by looking up lots of reference images. We don't want all the buildings to look too similar but we also don't want them too have radically different designs either.
By the way, those weird looking drainpipes in the picture are being replaced with some proper looking ones!

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DVD/CD burning software

What is it with burning software? I don't know how many times a DVD burn has failed or been unable to "write short lead out". It is so annoying!
I used to burn DVD video files with Magix. Trouble was it kept failing even when the program was reinstalled a few times.
Then I started to use Cyberlink DVD which worked alright for a bit (even though the DVD designs layouts were basic) until it too started acting up.
Well now I only use Ulead DVD Workshop for burning video DVD's and (so far) it hasn't let me down yet. And it's fast!
Now, burning a data CD/DVD used never be an issue. I was using Nero for that and it was pretty reliable. I'd put the occasional bad burn down to a faulty disk. But again recently Nero has been causing problems - bad file writes and sometimes even causing the computer to crash.
So the solution: a freeware program called Final Burner. It is only about 2mb in size, has a funtional layout and most importantly is very reliable. Here is the what the makers say

FinalBurner is a freeware alternative to expensive CD and DVD burners.
Its users will benefit from the opportunity to create data, audio,
and video disks and burn them onto any type of media, such as CD R/RW,
DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD DL. No tedious or confusing configuration needed.
You just select a few main settings and start burning. FinalBurner's
artificial intelligence will find the perfect recording balance.

Final Burner can rip from CD's, burn DVD video and data CD/DVD just like it's expensive commercial rivals. The protected soft website offer other programs and some of them are commercial or "pro" editions with extra features but do yourself a favour and just go for the freeware versions. (Note: Final Burner Free is for personnal use only).

Download Final Burner here.

OFFICE HOURS: office location pics

Some very "moody" lighting going on in these pictures, I think you'll agree. Or maybe just "very dark"!
Top image is a wide shot of the office location interior. The middle image shows a noticeboard (if you squint a lot you might be able to make out that the notes pinned to the board are actual pages from the office hours script). And what about the bottom image. Well, it's a machine thingy.
Keep vsiting the site for more pictures and stuff.

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SCI-FI film in the works

Yes just like the heading says, we have been doing the groundwork for a science-fiction fantasy film - all of this on top of the continuing work on OFFICE HOURS.

The Sci-Fi pic is in a very early pre-production stage but we can confirm that it will be a live action short film with extensive C.G.I visual FX.

The film is set in the not too distant future and will feature a post apocalyptic world and fantastic machines. All vehicles, buildings and locations will be computer generated while the actors and certain props will be real.

We've been doing some greenscreen composite tests and so far we've been impressed with the results. Dwarfed Films have dabbled in merging C.G.I and live action before but we've never considered doing a project of this scale until recently. Also we've never made a science fiction action film before despite threatening to make one for years!
So when does it happen? Well we're still busy with Office Hours but, as I've mentioned, pre-production testing has already began on the film. There's a lot of work to do yet!

Ok, all this might sound very vague at the moment but trust us when we say that this is gonna be something really special.
So stay tuned to the site for more info on this and our other films.

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OFFICE HOURS: graveyard exterior location update

Some updated images from the graveyad location.
First two images show the graveyard on an overcast day and night-time. The lighting is temporary and needs lots of tweaking and adjustments. The same goes for the textures which are not quite right yet.
The bottom image shows the 3D layout of the scene with sky dome.
More to come!

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OFFICE HOURS: exterior location test

Test render fo exterior graveyard location from 3D animated film OFFICE HOURS. Gravestones in images are currently just basic cube shapes used as layout for proper modelled headstones. The grass is made up of about 30,000 particle strands.
More images to follow.

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OFFICE HOURS: streetcar model

Some images of the streetcar model from Office Hours. Top image is a rough render while the bottom image shows the model's polygon count.

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OFFICE HOURS: another character

"Not another 3D character from that film Office Hours", I hear you say?
Well this one is slightly different. Why?, you ask. Well it's because this character will only be seen from the back or with his face obscured. (That explains why he has no eyeballs or eyebrows!)
Seeing as he won't be seen properly in the finished film we thought he should have his moment of glory here. The images are open GL shaded screen grabs from the modelling process. Enjoy!

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TO SHOOT A RURF: blog update

The TO SHOOT A RURF website has been updated with some all new images.

Office Hours has been taking up most of our time lately and we haven't had a chance to do much with the site until now.

Well what are you waiting for? Get over there now!

TO SHOOT A RURF blog

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THE DARKSIDE: on Directors Notes website

On our internet travels we came across a piece on "The Darkside" on the Directors Notes website.
The piece originally appeared in Showreel Magazine (issue 6 - Winter, 2004) and was written by Marvin Belle who now runs the Directors Notes independent filmmaking site.

"The Darkside", directed by Shane Sheils and co-produced along with Paula Sheils, was a very 'interesting' film to make: robbery, homelessness, bizarre accidents, murder (well, ok, maybe not murder!) all needed to be dealt with during and after shooting. We're very proud of "The Darkside" - particularily the visuals and audio. In fact the film features some of our most subtle visual FX work: all scenes featuring grafitti during the film are totally CGI.

The film is pretty much summed up with these choice words from Marvin Belle:

"Marrying his dislike of the corporate office job to an Invasion of the Body Snatchers theme, The Darkside is a classic tale of a free spirit hunted down by a steadily growing body of mindless, conformist drones."

You can view the Directors Notes feature here

You can also check out "The Darkside" on IMDB (internet Movie Database) here

As always you can get in touch with Dwarfed Films here

To Shoot A Rurf: Directors Notes podcast & film screening

To Shoot A Rurf is now available to watch on Directors Notes, the independent filmmaking website. You can also listen to an interview with co-director Shane Sheils discussing the making of the film with Marvin Belle.
Here's a brief synopsis to give you a flavour for the film:

“To Shoot a Rurf” is a surreal 3D computer animated short produced by Dwarfed Films. This atmospheric dark-comedy tells the tale of a drunken man’s attempts to sober up after bingeing on mind-altering drink ‘rurf’. To achieve this he must literally go inside his own head and seek the source of his headaches! The film is written and directed by Shane Sheils and Paula Sheils.

Watch To Shoot A Rurf at the Directors Notes website now!
Click here to listen to the interview, view production stills, early animation tests and lots more!

Contact Dwarfed Films here

OfficeHours: female walk animation tests

Here is a video grab made using Cam Studio ( a free open source video grabbing program) of the beginning stages of animating a female walk cycle in Blender 3D. Whoah, that was a mouthful!
Cam Studio has been added to the Essential Freeware list.

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Office Hours: city location

Heres a low angle view of the deserted city street from the film Office Hours.
Obviously it's a work in progress undergoing constant revisions and improvements.

We've also started working on the music and in particular composing the theme music for the movie. Having the music in mind at this early stage helps with the animation/modelling/rigging processes as we can focus on creating a consistent mood throughout the film rather than waiting until the editing stage to piece everything together. Of course lots of the musical ideas will not make it into the final film but will certainly contribute to the final score.

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Best movies about filmmaking?

One of the best ways to get inspiration and also motivation is by watching a movie set around the production of a movie.
There are quite a few good ones such as "Day for Night" by Francois Truffaut and "Living in Oblivion" but by far the best and most accurate depiction of the filmmaking process (in our opinion) is "Dangerous Game" by Abel Ferrara. If you haven't seen it you should certainly check it out as it gives the most honest and true vision of the making a live action film.

Are there any films out there relating to the making of a 3D animated film?

Office Hours: custom bone facial rig

A small GIF animation of custom bone facial rig setup in Blender 3D for the film OFFICE HOURS.

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Fixed email link

The email links to DWARFED FILMS have been fixed!
This problem affected around half a dozen previous posts. We hadn't noticed this error until today when it was quickly rectified.

So you can contact DWARFED FILMS here

Office Hours: textures

Here are some textures to be used on signs in the 3D film Office Hours.
These signs are old, dirty and worn and each is composed from approximately 8 separate layers.
Almost all of the textures in Office Hours are created using the The Gimp

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Essential Free Software: has been updated

The heading says it all. The Essential Free Software list (posted a few days ago on the site) has been updated with direct web links to make it even easier for you to get your hands on some of the best filmmaking software out there!

Here are some useful sites to find free software:
www.sourceforge.net

www.majorgeeks.com

Each lists an extensive range of products. Source Forge has lots, but the site isn't the easiest to navigate as it has so may programs in development as well as completed.
Major Geeks is best place to start for beginners and those in a rush! Its listing is pretty much clean of spyware/adware compared to some other sites.

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Office Hours: exterior locations

Here are more images from Office Hours showing location design. They show a deserted city street and an animated gif showing the location as a 3D wire frame.

Contact DWARFED FILMS here