#finalprojectplanning

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 12 - Dissemination

As I have mentioned, I will be continually blogging throughout the entirety of this project, this will allow me to keep a public record of my progress, creative decisions, etc. As well as serve as a form of Dissemination, as I will share this blog with any potential employers, as well as on my portfolio. On top of this, I intend to Live-stream my work on the streaming platform Twitch.tv, this is for a variety of reasons, including:

Recordings of the work process – can be processed into time-lapse videos, useful for promotion

Live Dissemination – Industry professionals can join at any point, ask questions, and provide feedback!

A sense of motivation – Sometimes It is difficult to remain focused 100% of the time, streaming will create a sense of ‘accountability’ as the recordings will show whether or not I continued working.

I will not broadcast any sensitive data or anything that has been provided by the University of Hertfordshire. Only common software (Blender, Substance, PS, Unreal Engine, etc.)

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 11 - Time-management & Organisation

Keeping well organised and on-task is always a struggle, It is difficult to accurately estimate exactly how long particular parts of the process will take. With this in mind, I am using a variety of organisation techniques to keep on track including:

• Trello – To keep track of assets progress and assets remaining • Gantt Chart – To plan as accurately as possible time allocation for each part of the process • File structure – Ensuring a simple and uniform naming convention is used to keep all files organised and easy to sort • Blog – Posting regularly to track progress

Below you can see my Gantt chart as it currently stands:

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 10 - Music & Sound

A variety of sounds will be used in this cinematic, including but not limited to: • Tank engines • Tank tracks on dirt • Ambient sounds (nature, wind, etc.) • Ambient fire sounds from burning wreckage • Flak and Aeroplane sounds • Any other ambient sounds deemed necessary

On top of this, I intend to use a voice-over for the cinematic, a voice actor reading several diary entries from one of the tank crew, as well as the use of subtle music to invoke a cinematic feel. Whilst sound triggers can be added inside Unreal Engine, it is more likely that most if not all of the sounds will be added in post-production.

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 8 - Animation

There will be a few different animations required in order to make this cinematic realistic. Firstly, the tank tracks and suspension will need to move and form over any terrain it passes over. This is a tricky challenge, there are a few ways this could be achieved. Through simulation, using either an existing plugin or creating my own, that calculates how to move the suspension over the terrain.

Or the second option, albeit much simpler, animate each bit of suspension visible to the camera individually. This method would only work for this desired purpose, but may save a huge amount of time, as trying to implement physics to the suspension may be difficult.

Other animations may include:

Any loose parts on the tank moving as the tank moves over terrain (open hatches, bags, etc.)

Ambient character movement, so they aren’t static objects

Aeroplane movement at P.O.I No. 3

Bow gun (likely to move as bow gunner would be holding it)

Hatches and crew, closing toward the end of the scene

Possibly Turret, although unlikely, as they kept them straight whilst driving out of combat It’s hard to tell exactly what animation will be needed, they should, however, be fairly easy to implement, as nothing too complicated is happening.

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 7 - Other Assets

There are obviously a few other assets that will be required for this scene, mainly foliage and terrain assets, all of which will be sourced from the Quixel Megascan library.

P.O.I. No.3 is heavily inspired by a scene in the movie Fury, it depicts a large sortie of American bombers visible through a cloud clearing. I loved the dramatic effect created by this and wanted to try to recreate this within my scene. This will require the use of two more assets, the American B17 Bomber, and P51 Fighter. Although these assets will be very far away from the camera, so will not require a huge amount of detail, just the basic silhouette and colours. Other assets to fill out the scene, such as wooden fences, signposts, etc. It Will be either sourced or created along the way, all credit will be given and a clear indication as to what is my own work will be presented.

The final pictures from Bovington are of the Panzerkampfwagen III/IV. A German medium tank used throughout the war, I have a personal fondness for this tank, as I love the shape of the design, with its harsh edges and welded on appearance. This is an optional asset and will highly depend on how accurate my time management is, with everything, it is tricky to accurately estimate precisely how long everything will take to get done, if there is any extra time during the asset creation process, this is an asset I would like to include

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 6 - Assets - German Vehicles

The second Point of Interest includes the passing of a destroyed German Halftrack Vehicle.

The Sd.Kfz. 251 was a commonly used German vehicle, this particular one photographed was an ambulance variant, captured in North Africa, although the German army continued the use of these vehicles right up until the fall of Berlin in 1945. Its hollow and simple interior design offers a great opportunity to create a destroyed vehicle, as very little extra work has to be done to create these damages.

Furthermore, the Pak 43 8,8cm cannon was a vehicle towed, stationary Anti-Tank gun, commonly towed by the 251 half-tracks. I thought it would make a good addition to the scene. Although the aiming equipment is extremely complicated and may be difficult to model accurately, without spending a large amount of time on it

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 5 - Assets - M4 Sherman

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Bovington Tank Museum and capture a wide variety of reference images for all of the vehicles that will be created in the scene.

Below you can see a collection of images highlighting key parts of the tank, for reference later on. These images include parts from a variety of different M4 Shermans, including:

M4A4

M4A3E8

M4A1

M4A3E2

I will be ensuring to stick close to references when modelling and sculpting, this way I can achieve a more realistic result. I intend to create at least two of these variants, to break up the uniformity of the tank column in the cinematic. This was also common at the time, as Tank units were often scrounged together with whatever they had available, rather than a specific type

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 3 - Belgium

Battle of the Bulge.

My first idea for the location stems from the Battle of the Bulge, in December of 1944 US troops liberated most of Belgium and took control of a key port known as the port of Antwerp. Hitler decided to try to unleash a devastating counter-attack to reclaim the port and cripple the Allies progress.

Most of this German counter-attack took place in the Ardenne Woods, a large rural area in Belgium. This is where my idea for this location came from. Creating a dense forest using Quixel's Megascanned trees, and various roads for the tanks to drive along. Many US tanks were sent to the Ardenne in response to the counter-attack, often with distinguishable traits such as "first to Bastogne" painted on the side. An interesting factor for this location was the time of year in which this attack took place. In the height of winter, much of the area would be covered in ice and snow, an interesting challenge as I have never tackled different weather on my assets before.

This location would offer a variety of challenges and opportunities, both with learning Unreal Engine and creating a variety of unique assets.

I have attached a variety of real historical photos, for context of the location:

References.

Photographer unknown, Available from: www.history.com [Accessed 29 April 2022].

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 2 - Basic Concept

Nanite, Lumen, and Cinematics.

I have long had an avid interest in the history of World War 2, especially the vehicles and weaponry of the time. I wanted my project to be focused around a WW2 era scene, although I have not decided on the location yet.

My basic plan is to create a short 30-60 second cinematic within Unreal Engine 5, making use of the new Nanite and Lumen features, along with the many other capabilities of UE5. Focused around the American M4 Sherman tank, this cinematic would show off the scenery which would largely be created from Quixel Megascans assets and ground materials. As well as various close-up shots of the tank driving, passing a variety of other key assets along the way.

Meta-Humans will be used to fill out the seats of the tank, although realistically only their head and shoulder would be visible. The cinematic would follow the story of one of the crew, and a set of diary entries would be voiced-over, describing the horrors of what the crew has had to face along the way.

This cinematic would essentially be designed to show off the assets, the power of UE5, etc. Instead of simply creating static vehicles and props for my portfolio, I feel that this would be a better way to display them. Not only showing their appearance but their functionality within a game engine as well.

This concept would give me the opportunity to create a few different vehicle props, static props, and of course, get to grips with Unreal Engine 5.

This project has heavily been inspired by the 2014 film 'Fury', and lots of inspiration and references will be taken from it.

In the next few blog posts, I will go over the possible set locations for the cinematic, as well as a more detailed look at the props and vehicles I would need to create.

References.

Fury, 2014. Film. Directed by David Ayer. USA: Columbia Pictures.

[jamesdyecg]

Practice 2: Final Project Planning - 1 - Project Outcomes

Two Birds, One Stone.

I have finally reached that stage in my MA degree, the time in which I can spend 12 weeks producing one final project!

I have spent most of the year toiling over what I would like to create for my FMP (Final Major Project), whether that be an environment, assets, a short game, etc.

There have been loads of great influences over the last few months, all of which have driven my passion for the project I am going to complete. Before finalizing my concept, however, I thought it'd be best to define the outcomes of this project first, this in turn can help me to perfect my concept.

Technical and Creative Improvement.

This project will give me the opportunity to spend many hours experimenting and perfecting my techniques in a huge variety of software, including:

Blender.

I'll have the chance to continue practicing and improving my modelling, retopo, and unwrapping skills, continually on the lookout for new addons, workflows, and other ways I can optimize and improve my workflow.

Zbrush.

I have just begun to unlock the possibilities of this amazing piece of software, during the project I'll have the chance to continue exploring all the different tools available. Become more familiar with common workflows, and try out new features.

Substance Suite.

Texturing has been a part of my skillset requiring improvement for a while now, this project will allow me to spend lots of time exploring new techniques, perfecting my workflow, and creating some outstanding texturing work!

Unreal Engine.

This is probably the biggest opportunity for this project. I have less experience than I would like in Unreal, I'll now have the chance to explore all the different features available in the release of Unreal Engine 5, including:

Nanite

Lumen

Volumetric Atmosphere System

Quxiel Megascans

Cinematic Tools

MetaHumans

Much, much more.

I'm sure there will be many other areas in which I can improve as well, these are just some that come to mind.

Portfolio Improvements.

Whilst I have been continually learning a whole variety of useful technical, creative, and fundamental parts of my field whilst studying for this MA degree, my portfolio has seen the blunt end of that, with only one new asset since the completion of my BA last year. This project will give me the chance to create a huge number of portfolio-ready assets, significantly boosting my creative presence, and employability.

I look forward to seeing what I am able to create!