This is an uncompleted test of facial animation done for a TV pitch.

The modeling, rigging, and animation was all done by hand and from scratch.

An early pass and a later revision are presented here, side by side for comparison.

NOVA: KILLER SUBS IN PEARL HARBOR

INTRO

Pearl Harbor Bombing scene for Nova's show about Japanese midget subs. Click here to watch the show!

The models of the ships are the only pre-existing elements. Everything else was made from scratch.

Explosions and smoke passes are created with Afterburn.

NOVA: KILLER SUBS IN PEARL HARBOR

CAPSIZING OF THE OKLAHOMA

NOVA: KILLER SUBS IN PEARL HARBOR

SUB'S SCUTTLING CHARGE

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE:

NOTHWEST PASSAGE

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE:

NOTHWEST PASSAGE

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE:

VOLCANOES

Creation of underwater harbor. Animation of underwater steam vents and water effects. Creation of Minoan ships.

Steam effects created with simple procedural cloud images on camera-facing particles.

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE:

WHIRLPOOLS

Creation of under and above-water whirlpool. Animation of pre-existing lobster boat.

The ocean foam is a collection of satellite photos of hurricanes and clouds that have been distorted and animated via After Effects.

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE:

WHIRLPOOLS

Animation of whirlpool and boat as seen from underwater. Whirlpool foam created by inversing the cloud map used in the video above.

Bubble effects created with procedural maps on camera-facing particles.

UNDERWATER UNIVERSE

WATCH HD

FUTURE EARTH: JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD

FLOODED MANHATTAN

Creation of simple building geometry and virtual camera to match original photo.

Creation of realistic water material, including foam and current maps ("animated" by hand -see the next caption).

Mapped with the original photo, the geometry is reflected in on the water plane, creating realistic reflections.

FUTURE EARTH: JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD

FLOODED SHANGHAI

Same as flooded Manhattan, only with a photo of shanghai.

Water current maps were "animated" by hand: an image of clouds moves linearly across the high-poly water plane from left to right. The UV coordinates are then pushed and pulled near various buildings, distorting them from their original position. The cloud map is distorted by the UVs as it moves, giving the impression of ebbs and currents as the city floods.

FUTURE EARTH: JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD

FLOODED SHANGHAI

FUTURE EARTH: JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD

GULF OF MEXICO EVAPORATION (EXPLAINER)

Objective: evaporate the Gulf of Mexico and transport its water to Greenland to graphically illustrate the amount of ice Greenland contains.

Creation of water to cloud effects using Afterburn, with a Phong shader for highlights.

Blending of before and after textures for the Gulf of Mexico and Greenland.

FUTURE EARTH: JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE WORLD

ICE AGE GLACIER ADVANCE

Time-lapse view of Ice Age glaciers advancing then retreating, bulldozing the land and forming Long Island and Cape Cod as the terminal moraine.

Creation of flowing glacier (procedural displacement on an insanely subdivided plane).

Creation of rock and earth flowing effects using Afterburn.

Test of Ocean material and boat wake material used for Megaengineering's Floating City.

Creation of realistic ocean material with specular and bump maps that worked up close and from great distances.

Creation of realistic procedural wake: a distorted plane is linked to the boat's animation. Procedural maps travel backwards to counteract the forward motion of the boat, keeping their position stationary.

MEGAENGINEERING: FLOATING CITY

FLYTHROUGH

Creation of commercial, residential, and French NewOrleans style buildings. (trolleys, boats, humans, and signs are from 3d model libraries and coworkers)

Organization of the layout of the Floating City (a team effort at edgeworx).

Lighting and environmental effects.

MEGAENGINEERING: FLOATING CITY

DAY-IN-THE-LIFE

Creation of detailed building facade and wrought iron

Keying and compositing of greenscreen elements (people)

MEGAENGINEERING: SUBTERRANEAN CITY

OPENING: ELEVATOR JOURNEY

Creation of 4 unique, detailed levels of futuristic, underground city.

Creation of ground level elevator station and parking garages.

Lighting, texturing, compositing of greenscreen elements (people, woman in foreground).

MEGAENGINEERING: SUBTERRANEAN CITY

CONSTRUCTION, FLOOD DISASTER

Creation of construction environment. (Trucks from 3d model library)

Lighting, texturing, compositing of greenscreen elements.

Creation of workable material for Realflow water simulation (the work of Russell Boebert).

MEGAENGINEERING: HOUSTON DOME

OPENING: DOME REVEAL

Creation of low poly, high poly dome framework, foreground buildings, environment (extruded from aerial photos).

Creation of apartment interior (extruded from original footage, the dissolve between the two is still visible)

Hand keying of performer from background, compositing of cloud, lightning effects.

MEGAENGINEERING: HOUSTON DOME

CONSTRUCTION

Creation of Dirigible, environment, and dome framework (scaffolding by Joseph Jacir)

Compositing of greenscreen elements and animation with 3d scene.

Physics simulation for beams falling onto nets.

Creation of a mosaic collage of 70 ACLU video clips

The photorealistic texturing of a (purchased) CG model of the Statue of Liberty

Lighting and atmospheric effects and camera move.

Creation of photorealistic flying birds

Animation of realistic flocks/flying patterns (3ds Max 9 crowd dynamic simulation)

Compositing to raw tree footage.

NOVA: JUDGEMENT DAY

INTELLIGENT DESIGN ON TRIAL

Creation of eukaryotic cell field, Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies

Animation of Butterflies and Chromosome graphics

Animation of (preexisting) DNA flythrough and mutation effects.

Creation of high-altitude ocean with dynamic impact from (preexisting) comet:

Animation of waves, fireball effects, and debris trails

Creation of churning cloud effects and rotating emergence of hurricane (Afterburn particle effects)

Creation of Ice Age North America, from ground level and from space

Animation of comet detonation, with fire and debris effects

Animation of forest fires from ground level and from space.

Creation of 3d composited Manhattan

Animation of rising water with splashes and surf.

Composited animation over satellite photo of New York.

Creation of CG floodwater-

Animation of splashes, spray and foam effects.

Texturing and lighting (Neolithic Villiage by Joshua Jordan)

Creation of CG Tsunami

Animation of splashes and spray (Afterburn particle effects)

Creation of detailed flower and grass field

Animation of (preexisting) bumblebee

Animation of life-like human movements to a still morph of a girl "aging."

4 relatives of different ages were morphed sequentially. The morph animation was then mapped to a 3d bust that morphed in tandem with the texture. The model could then be rigged and animated with subtle eye, muscle, and head movements.