While I was at Falmouth university, I was given so many amazing opportunities. I was exposed to people within the animation and VFX industry including nick park, peter lord, Tim Allen and so many more.
I studied animation and VFX and this wasn’t just animation, we learnt live action techniques such as learning about cameras, filming, green screen and lighting etc… my curriculum consisted of making multiple short films, this meant that we needed to come up with a narrative, story bord it, design it and make it from start to finish as small teams of around 5. This was an amazing experience as it allowed such a small team to have multiple roles each and although this is not how the industry works it allowed me to learn a lot about how the pipeline worked. Because of this knowledge I am able to completely understand time frames and what would need to be done for me to do my work. For example in order to model a character the character design needs to be completed and approved, this then needs to be made into a turnaround and this turn around needs to be approved, once this is done the character model can be produced. As well as creating our own films, as 3D students, we had to work as freelancers for other projects either on the 2D or stop motion side of the course. I therefore decided to utilize my background in fine art and became a background artist completing stylized drawings for 2D animated short films. As well as this I created 3D models that were used as props for the films, these are modelled so the animators can see the prop from different angles and it makes it easier for them to work out perspective. The way that the course I chose was structured meant that I was able to try multiple different job roles and really be taught in depth. This allowed me an opportunity to try all elements of the 3D pipeline and really find out what I loved doing and what I wanted to do! As we were taught this way from the very beginning, being given masterclasses in all forms of cinema and techniques I was given all the information and software to find what I loved.
During my 2nd year, I was given the opportunity to work on a film directed by john Stevenson. This film was middle watch. John Stevenson is the director of kung fu panda and was a storyboard artist for one of my favorite films ‘Shrek 2’. I was extremely nervous to apply to work on this film, but I applied for the job of 3D modeler and was able to get the role! It was such an honor being able to work on a film directed by john Stevenson because it was such a professional environment and I was such a fan of his films. I had to sign none disclosure agreements and have meeting about the work we were going to be doing and how this cannot be spoken of, this was extremely different to anything I had worked on in the past. When I applied for this job I had only been studying 3D modelling for a year and I still didn’t know a lot, I hadn’t even ever UV unwrapped anything… so this project was a real learning experience for me! But it was so amazing!
My job for this film was to create props, this film is a 2D animated short film with 3D environments, so all the background props were modelled and added to a scene, and these were drawn over or rendered with the style in mind. I didn’t do any of the background or animation work I created some models that populated the environment. When a prop was required, I was given pictures of what they wanted. Due to the fact that this film was a period film that was set during the war all of the props needed to be timeline appropriate. This meant that we had a lot of old photos that I needed to work from or gain information. When I started working on this film the first few models I was asked to produce were very simple, such as Figures 1 and 2 below. This is a model of a map. As you can imagine it is simple to model a map it is just a piece of paper, the model needed to be very low poly and needed to have folds and texture in the shape of the paper. Figure 1 is the map I created but I added a simple texture on top (this is not how it was textured in the film I added this texture to highlight the way that the folds allow the map to look used). As you can see this is an extremely simple model but this was still really good to work on, as I mentioned previously I hadn’t UV unwrapped anything before so because I started out modelling a rectangle with a simple poly structure this enabled me to learn how the UV toolset worked and figure out what I was doing in order to model the assets. This was a really good starting point for me and allowed me to work on more complex models in the future.
Figure 1
Figure 2
The style of middle watch is very angular and sharp, this meant that none of the models had curves but instead had angles for example a cylindrical object wouldn’t be circular it would be hexagonal to have several sides to build the shape. The amount of sides depended on how important the element within the asset was. For example a bot or screw had minimal sides for example 5 or 6 but an element such as the barrel of a gun might have 12+ sides. This allows all of the models to stay low poly and stick to the style of the film but also ensures that the asset looks how it is supposed to and is recognizable as its real world counterpart. I love adapting my modelling style to films and learning the tips and tricks to give it the sense of the film and look like it is a perfect part of the film. if the background asset doesn’t stick out and fits seamlessly into the world then I know I have done my job perfectly and I am so happy when it looks like a piece within the film. I love adapting my modelling to a specific style as it gives me a unique challenge as well as allowing me to do something I love and explore it in a different way.
While working on this film I was given small things like the map, a cup and a pencil, wile modelling these felt like background things that would be seen or used or play any kind of part within the film. but I was so pleased to find out that the mechanical pencil I created had a close up shot with the main character interacting and using it! I know this is a small thing but the fact that my pencil is used in such a close up manor is such an honour! These is seen in figures 3 and 4, as you can see it is an angular shape – in accordance to the style. When I was modelling this asset, it was really fun to try and creature the pencil shape with the more angular style, with feedback the model changed slightly from my first hand in but I am really pleased with how it turned out. It was really amazing seeing something I’ve made be so visible within the film and although it was ‘just a pencil’ it is so amazing seeing your work in a film and seeing it help the narrative.
Figure 3
Figure 4
A lot of the other assets I created are not very visible within the film but they are placed on the exterior of the ships/submarines such as my model of the. An example of this is the Oerlikon cannon (Figures 5, 6 and 7) this is a more complex model with multiple elements such as shield, bolts, wires etc… this was a lot different to the other models I had created for middle watch, but I really enjoyed the challenge. When I was asked to create this model I was given lots of photographs, all slightly different for example one had a bag on the back and another didn’t, one had more bolts than the other etc… I was therefore asked to model based on these images and add as much detail as possible – as well as making sure it was still low poly, or as low poly as possible. As you can see this is a complex model but it is clearly stylized, there are no smooth lines and all of the small details have a clear angular nature to them. You can see this clearly in figure 5 in the highlighted area, there is a cut out element within the design of this but I didn’t complete this so that it was smooth and perfect, it was modelled with clear angular shapes that work in the film but they are very sharp and unrealistic. I am extremely pleased with how this model turned out! Especially since the models I was creating before this point (baring in mind this is the first term of 2nd year) were very simple and I didn’t have a lot of knowledge and understanding on maya. This asset was a joy to create and I learnt so much about maya and about modelling, and du to the fact I UV unwrapped this as well I learnt so much! For example if you are creating a bolt or screw that you intend to duplicate UV UNWRAP IT FIRST! Because you’ll end up sending 3 hours individually unwrapping each carefully placed screw/bolt and that’s just a waste of time when it can be some once before…
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
The final thing I would like to share that I worked on for middle watch is the modelling of the barracuda, this was done based on a turnaround designed by one of the other middle watch team members. My model is seen in Figure 8 below, As you can see this once again is a very simple angular model. In the film all the creatures such as the fish, were modeled then drawn over and rendered to make them fit within the story completely, they were also animated in 3D (but I didn’t work on the animation for this). I am really honored that they asked me to model this creature as this is the first creature I was asked to model, I followed the turnaround and learnt a lot when doing this. Figure 9 shows a screenshot where the barracuda is seen in the film.
Figure 8
Figure 9
When working on this film I was also taught how to create a rig, we had masterclasses once a week in the evenings with the lead rigger and I learn how to create a rig for a creature or character from scratch. This is something that I found really interesting and although it was redone for the film I created rigs for the barracuda I modelled, it was amazing to be able to rig and model the character as it allowed me to understand the mesh and how the creature needed to move and therefore how the mesh needed to act. With all of the information I learnt working with George I was able to rig other creatures of rother projects and apply my knowledge to multiple different animals such as birds.
I feel so privileged to have worked on a film such as this one, I learnt so much about maya and about how a proper industry environment works. Middle watch was nominated for a BAFTA and although we didn’t win the fact that I was able to work on a film that was shortlisted for the 2023 BAFTAs is a real honour and a dream come true. This film has allowed so many of my dreams to become a reality and I truly believe that this is only the beginning and I will be able to be a part of so many other projects and work my way into the film and TV industry.