Just signed on to do the VFX for an indie horror/comedy film called Hold the Fort. While I may help with other effects later, in the next few weeks I’m focusing solely on the death scene for one of the main monsters, who explodes in a poof of dust! It’s a quick 4-5 frame effect,Continue reading “Stick-Man Death VFX – 01 – R&D”
Author Archives: isaacgaz
Kevork Project 02 – Reflection on Grandma Interview and Game Changing Book
So much has happened since the last post one month ago. Let’s do a quick summary: Updates Since Last Blog On July 16th I watched Al Nakba: The Palestinian Catastrophe 1948, which was admittedly biased towards my sensibilities. It outlined some of the key moments well and has good visual reference. I finished reading ArmeniansContinue reading “Kevork Project 02 – Reflection on Grandma Interview and Game Changing Book”
Terminus Production Journal #1
Quick Summary: Terminus is a wonderful monster sci fi short film, which I am creating the 3D credits for. It’s my first gig and larger project in Houdini, which is both exciting and terrifying. I’ve already spent the past 5 months working on and off of this project, but in the next month I’m goingContinue reading “Terminus Production Journal #1”
The Drop Production BTS
Lighting and Look Tests: Rough Layout Final Layout
Thesis Project Overview
In my short animated film Remembrance, I attempt to capture the feeling of Alzheimer’s through the power of 3D animation and the assistance of emerging AI image generation. The piece wrestles with the confusion, grief, and loss of identity that comes with the disease. At the same time, the film centers around the emotional journeyContinue reading “Thesis Project Overview”
How to make dynamic point clouds in Unreal Engine | The Production Process of the Gardens of Kowloon
Production Overview This project was a lot of firsts for me–first VR, first Houdini to Unreal pipeline, and first Niagara simulation. It was also the largest photogrammetry scan I ever attempted (over 5000 photos!). I made a ton of mistakes, learned a lot, and hope to share some of that with anyone interested. For aContinue reading “How to make dynamic point clouds in Unreal Engine | The Production Process of the Gardens of Kowloon”
AI Learning Blog #1 – WarpFusion
I’m trying to set a more regular habit to learn and stay up to date with AI, in particular AI imaging. I’ve spent the past 9 months using Deforum to make a short film. And now want to dive into ControlNet, WarpFusion, and other tools. This isn’t meant for anyone else but purely for myselfContinue reading “AI Learning Blog #1 – WarpFusion”
Thesis Journal – an overview of the first 6 months of story work (that was completely rewritten in the end)
Oh wow how does one sum up so much time and work. The project hasn’t even started production yet it feels like an eternity. I’ve gone through 7 completely different ideas, 2 storyboarded films, 16 scripts, countless visual tests, and not enough mediation sessions. Alas, here we are, on what I believe (and hope) toContinue reading “Thesis Journal – an overview of the first 6 months of story work (that was completely rewritten in the end)”
Maya 13 – quad draw
Modeled a more final version of the wing today. Got very acquainted with the quad draw tool… I learned: One must already be selecting an object to “draw on” for the quad draw tool to work. Click to make vertices. Press shift to make the quad. I learned the importance of the center pivot pointContinue reading “Maya 13 – quad draw”
Maya 12 – let’s get back into this
Alrighty I’m prepping for doing an honors thesis short film in Maya and want to take some time to get more aquatinted with the software. So we’re back to blogging woo woo! Today I started a tutorial on modeling a steampunk firefly. I learned: Put reference images in ‘source images’ folder so it will automaticallyContinue reading “Maya 12 – let’s get back into this”