Continuation

The full Valhalla project will be continued at:
http://mattdryan.com/valhalla/blog.html

Final sequence

After a hellish weekend of experimenting with different export options from Adobe Premiere I have my final sequence. I had serious issues with the version of Premiere as CS4 is very buggy in terms of H.264 compression - having checked back at my recycling bin I find I've exported 27 ".mov" files. I believe it has been worthwhile trawling through blogs to find answers to come out with this final sequence.

Final Specs:
Polys: 52,175
Verts: 27,133
Standard Definition Widescreen, Quicktime, created with the H.264 codec
37.9MB

Physical Rock Tests

I decided that it would be nice to get some shots of IRL rock faces to gauge whether the digital rock map is suitable. This was to determine whether I'd be better off using a texture I've created in Photoshop, or an actual photograph for my shrine/ altar in my final CMP project.

I therefore traveled to Kirtlington quarry (disused), Oxfordshire to take some photographs.

These are a selection of the close-up shots.

The physical rock normal maps.

The virtual rock normal map - shrine/altar.

The virtual rock normal map - floor.

(Both virtual rock maps are half the resolution of those used on the model)

As you can see, the shrine/altar map is quite similar to the physical rock normal maps; however the floor map I thought looks too dissimilar. This is fortunate as my ritual ground will be all one texture - which I have now, through this test, decided is perfectly realistic being a virtual texture.

Samples per Pixel Test

Wanted to find out the difference in using larger or smaller samples per pixel in terms of quality and time. I've also noted for each render how long it would take approximately to render the final sequence - being 600 frames - with these settings. Despite the visual differences not being obvious on the compressed versions here, of the outcomes I have decided to set my sample rate to Min:1, Max:4. Here are the results:

Up to 1/4 Samples per Pixel

0:21 min per frame render time

(approx 3.5 hours total)

1 Samples per Pixel

1:08 min per frame render time

(approx 11.33* hr total)

4 Samples per Pixel

4:09 min per frame render time

(approx 41.5 hours total)

16 Samples per Pixel

16:26 min per frame render time

(approx 164.33* hours total)

64 Samples per Pixel

1:04:12 hr per frame render time

(approx 642 hours total)

Mental Ray/ Scanline & Lighting

Today I've been running tests on the difference between rendering my piece with Mental Ray and Scanline:

• Which lights they are most suited to
• Which effects they are most suited to
• What the render time difference is between them

Here's an example of one I ran:

 

I have decided to go with Mental Ray and work with the Mental Ray settings.

Valhalla Test Render

This is essentially my final piece in terrible quality.
I needed a tester to see whether the soundtrack synced and the footage flowed. I am entirely happy with this sequence and everything bar the quality settings will remain the same.

Scene Still Renders

Here are some test renders of my final piece:

Human Skull Texture Maps

These are the Human Skull Texture Maps (diffuse, specular, normals) I shall be using in my final sequence

Ram's Skull Texture Maps

These are the Goat's Head Texture Maps (normals, diffuse, specular) I shall be using in my final sequence

Goat's Head Texture Maps

These are the Goat's Head Texture Maps (normals, specular, diffuse) I shall be using in my final sequence

Goat's Head Model

Goat's Head Model
Polys: 8,096
Verts: 4,052

Skull Low Poly Renders

Decided that it would be worthwhile rendering the skulls out as they stand (Low-Poly), to compare with the finished models at a later date.


Human Skull
Polys: 1,130
Verts: 567


Ram Skull
Polys: 654
Verts: 654

Concept Sketches

This is a collection of sketches from a scrapbook (with a serious emphasis on "scrap")!
I will use a combination of the item layout of the left-hand altar, the height shape of the top-right altar and the square base of the bottom-right altar. Along with some possible trinkets I may add:

Timeplan

First Semester Workflow (up to handin)
This will probably vary a little depending on difficulties or mistaken timeframe

Concept

Young and naïve western backpackers wander for days deep into the woods of Scandinavia. Entirely unaware that they are in the territory of a cult. They stumble across a ceremony site where cloaked druids practice necromancy, daemon worshipping and sacrificing “lost sheep intruders“. Left entirely disadvantaged due to their lack of knowledge of this strange environment, beings and rituals; to survive they must try to outwit the many shadows in the forest.

The final model will be a section of the ceremonial ground. An altar created from craggy rock, strewn with artifacts in a ritual chamber. The model will hint at the the game and will boast the particular style of it. The movie will act as a piece of 3D Concept art which features no animation, but a high level of detail.