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    ② Week 2


        
    Bulgari Serpenti Ring         


    Feedback from Mentors (Class 3 )

  1. Lighting & Visuals:
    Use high-quality lighting references (e.g., leaves) that fit the cinematography style.
    Establish a "hero" lighting reference and focus on shading look development for leaves.
    Ensure the background in the final shot has engaging colors and lighting to enhance the layout.
  2. Camera & Composition:
    Make the first shot more dynamic with interesting angles and camera moves.
    Ensure smooth transitions between shots, using natural elements (e.g., rocks) to connect both worlds.
    Consider using dolly equipment to enhance the first shot's visual appeal.
  3. Story & Branding:
    Clarify product presentation to avoid audience confusion.
    Make the logo visually engaging and avoid static, boring visuals.
    The dragon shot is a cool concept but needs clearer storytelling and stronger engagement.




    4. Week 2 Task

    1.  Shot 2 model looking for tree branches & Proportion research of rings and tree branches
    2. Fx test (shot 2 & shot 3)
    3. Previs camera modification (shot 2)
    4. Fx & camera reference 


    1. Tree branch model looking and  Proportion research


    I’ve tried three different branch models so far. I think the first one had the best shape for animation, but I had to skip it because it didn’t have any materials.
    The second model was rejected because both ends were broken, which didn’t look good on screen.
    The shape of the third model works well for the snake-wrapping branch image (like the right-side reference), so I went with this one

    tree branch model 1, source:https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/iron-branch-final-scan-stl-ee80ebafb52645aaa42d4f8a0ec7ddb6
    model 1 in previs version 1 (maya)
    desert tree branch model 2, source: https://www.fab.com/listings/800002c9-c8db-4edd-ab67-86de6414f55f
    model 2 (houdini)
    desert tree branch model3, source: https://www.fab.com/listings/7f61bbfd-3318-4bc6-98a2-105cd4a59835
    model 3 (houdini)
    snake and tree branch, source: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/morelia-viridis-gm915032410-251836695



    Proportion research

    About proportion of tree and ring,  I found some branches to compare sizes, but I forgot to measure their actual dimensions. So, I used the size of the real ring size as a reference for a rough comparison

    Four different sizes of tree branch, hand and ring for comparison
    Four different sizes of tree branch, small szie trunk and ring for comparison
    rough comparison



    2. Fx  Test


    2.1.   Shot 2 ( animation - procedural & manual )

    Since this shot has animation (ring movements), I tried both procedural and manual keyframing methods. Personally, I prefer the procedural approach because it’s more efficient, but the manual keyframing seems to have a better dynamic feel.

    shot2-animation test (manual)
    shot2-animation test (K frame)


    shot2 - animation test (procedural)
    shot2 - procedural animation wip (step 1 - creat a line from the object for path of motion)
    shot2 - procedural animation wip (step 2 - based on the path motion to recreat the normal direction for object moving direction, and then using ptnum and seed to create speed of animation)


    2.2.   Shot 2 ( color change effect 1)

    This is a color-changing effect. When the ring falls onto the branch, the branch changes color along the path of the ring's movement.

    shot2 - color change fx test1
    shot2 - color change fx wip (step 1)
    shot2 -color change fx wip (step2 - using attribute transfer to transform color from the ring to the tree branch, the  using attribute blur to blur the color edge)



    2.3.   Shot 2 ( color/texture change effect 2)


    the goal of the color-changing effect is to transition the tree trunk material from bark to gold, I think we need another effect to help smooth or cover the transition.
    My first idea was bark peeling (since it’s a tree trunk), but this effect overlaps a bit with the disappearing effect in shot 1. Plus, with the ring moving quickly, the bark debris might make the already short shot feel chaotic and distract from the main subject.
    I then tried a snake-skin transformation (to match the snake theme), which looks slightly better than the peeling effect. However, it still needs refinement, or I might need to explore other effects.

    Peeling effect
    shot2 - color/texture change test2 (peeling fx)
    shot2 - color/texture change test2 wip (step1 - using vornoifracture, booleanfracture and converttoline to create the curve of peeling piece)
    shot2 - color/texture change test2 wip (step2 - same way as 2.2color change fx, transform Cd by using attributetransform from the ring animation to the tree branch curves)
    shot2 - color/texture change test2 wip (step3 - using edgefracture and vellum to create the peeling effect), in here, I originally wanted the peeling effect to gradually peel off according to the animation of the ring rolling off, but I don't know which step went wrong and it didn't work.




    Mystique effect

    Tutorial :  h ttps://80.lv/articles/006sdf-setting-up-mystique-transformation-effect-in-houdini/

    shot2 - color/texture change fx test3 (mystique effect)
    shot2 - color/texture change fx wip (step1 - using circle and edit to create the shape of snake scales)
    shot2 - color/texture change fx wip (step2 - set top and bottom points as 1 and 0, and Set Initial_Height to determine whether the height exceeds the threshold. If it does, it will turn red; if not, it will turn black, thereby controlling the growth of the scales, then using copytopoint for attching scales to the tree branch)
    shot2 - color/texture change fx test3 (result of step2)
    shot2 - color/texture change fx wip (step3 - set the progress value and the scaling of the points from the curve, so that only the transformed part is displayed)


    2.4.   Shot 2 (Particle trail)

    shot2 - particle trail fx test
    shot2 - particle trail fx wip (draw a curve, and using pathdeform to bends geometry to follow the shape of a curve, and then is popnet)





    2.5.   Shot 3 (Abstract particle background)

    This is the background pattern test for the last shot

    shot3 - abstract particle test 
    shot3 - abstract particle wip (using my own image to create a abstract particle)
    tutorial source: ww.youtube.com/watch?v=T_nD-jhnQJA by Motion Designer Community





    3. Previs camera modification (shot 2)

    The first version was entirely keyframed in Maya, but it didn’t have materials and lacked consistency with the other shots, so I redid it.
    The second version used procedural animation, but the ring movement looked too mechanical, and the camera moved too quickly. It also didn’t align well with shot 1.
    The third version included the new branch model and added the particle trail from shot 1 to maintain continuity.
    The fourth version, based on team feedback, only kept the particle trail at the beginning.


    shot2 animatic v1 (week1)
    shot2 animatic v2 (week2)
    shot2 animatic v3 (week2）
    shot2 animatic v4 (week2）



    4. Fx & camera reference



    Camera reference

    source: w ww.youtube.com/watch?v=H93Yyq5wAJM by Vanny Maisella Barbie Offical
    source: https://themill.com/the-mill-plus/design/bvlgari-serpenti-infinito/ by The Mill
    source:https://www.behance.net/gallery/202708175/ARCH-V9 by ARCH-V9
    source:https://www.instagram.com/p/CrI8sBIgFb-/ by roofstudionyc
    source: ww.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=S1ud7vtRgbU by cartier



    Fx reference

    source: https:// youtu.be/7jl6QwL8eB4?si=Ge8mDbRa64lvbxYS by David Gao
    source: http://xhslink.com/a/APhrTdzYoy73 by Sparker啪嚓
    source：http://xhslink.com/a/Y8FuL8HWsw73 by 核动力牛马
    source:https://nickmedukha.com/nickmedukha.gumroad.com/l/vnbgg by nickmedukha




    Yilin Zhao / SANM560 / SCAD x Harbor