Conclusion

At the end of our task looking back, we are happy with the position in which we have ended up. The animation looks well modelled with adequate information and visual stimulus as well as not overloading the viewer with too much information.

In the beginning I didn't know if our group word be successful, having never worked together before on such a large project over such a short period of time. But once we got together and brought our combined expertise each separate programmes paired with our own outtakes and expectations on the module, I am pleased with the final position in which we ended up and with the work we have to show for it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this module and felt that working in teams of people you're not familiar with can be extremely successful aslong as everyone gets involved and ideas are shared and listened to without prdudice but with a sense of learning.

I look forward to working in groups again and will hopefully get to work such a cooperative group of people as I was fortunate to be placed with this time.

Completed Final Render

The final render we all decided, had all the components we had hoped to have in the first few meetings which were;

> A well scaled model of the 2 stroke engine to give visual stimulus to our intentions
> A clear animation of the inner workings of a 2 stroke engine, with section clear to the viewer
> A relevant and visually pleasing environment for the engine to be placed
> A completed video which shows the viewer everything we would have hoped to see at the museum ourselves.

(video upload unavailable. Video Name: Completed Animation)

Second Final Render

The second attempt of the render was more successful, some voice was taken our but the animation itself was still a little jumpy in places. There were a few issues with the last section (showing the lawnmower in the environment) in the factors such as the size of the lawnmower and the duration it should appear in motion and static. After talking it through we decided on the final outcomes we wanted for the video. Mike went away and edited the render to create the final animation.

(video upload unavailable. Video name: FinalTest2)

First Render with Voice over

The next stage of the project was to compile our combined work into a mock up of the end vided. It was Rob's responsibility to create the aniamtion and Mike's to create the voice over. The problem we had with this was that the voice over could not really be created until the animation had been rendered. Due to the time constraints this was a hard task.

The first attempt at the video was not so successful due to this fact. This draft had rushed narration which although was informative, was alot for the viewer to process in the short period of time. This draft can be seen below.

(problems with video upload. Video name: FinalTest1)

Environment - Garden Scene

Following the creation of the shed, I also modelled garden fence panels and poles along with the addition of pre-made trees found as models in 3DS Max, and bushes surrounding the shed found as a free model online. The end result looked as follows.



The first image shows the general shapes of the shed and fencing where as the next two show the added bitmap of grass to the previously green plane shown in the first. This was done for authenticity of the grass as it was decided to keep the render time down, hair and fur modifier would not be used.

Environment - Shed Creation

The focal point of the environment was decided to be a shed which would house a lawnmower for the animation. It was my task to create the environment to be used. At first I was a little hesitant due to my limited knowledge of 3DS Max, but whe I broke the objects down into simple shapes, the construction was easier. Heres a few stills of the shed I created.




Once the shed was modelled, I decided to group the door sections and move the pivot point for easier manipulation of the door during the animation. To better show the shed I knocked together a quick render of the shed from different angles, shown below.

(problems with upload but video available. Video name: ShedRender1)

Second Delegation

Once the engine was complete, we decided on what was needed to create a respectable video in which to display the process of the engine working. This work was then divided up once more for greater group interaction and quicker creation time. The jobs were as follows

Mike - Animation textures, spark plug and voice over for presentation

Elaine - Lawnmower modelling for final animation

Rob - Animation, light and camera work fro final render in 3DS Max

Me - Environment for final animation to take place in

For my section of the work we agreed it would look good for a lawnmower housing our engine to roll out of a shed situated in a garden. This was the reason I decided to create the garden scene which is to follow.