Project organisation

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It is vital that projects are organised accordingly based on the show’s specific brief and the workflow adhering to the clients’ requests.

In DNEG, the production tool used to manage artists work and the overview plan of the project from start to finish is SHOTGUN. This is a web-based server that tracks the input and output of each artists assigned on specific shows and tasks.

Estimations of how long tasks take can help production get an overview if the targets are met and maintained on schedule. Usually I get given an approximate amount of bid days as a guideline. These days are not always met and it is necessary to let your lead and production coordinators know in advanced so that the schedule will adapt to these changes. After having done a few tasks over the months I can somewhat get a better gauge of how long these tasks can run.

When working across different departments and moving data to other artists it is necessary to maintain the assets and shots that are being published and delivered to clients. A way of ensuring this is by dispatching a shot or asset onto the file management system and inputting within fields using validation tools required before submitting work and what would indicate the name, type of shot, number of version and a comment that would detail what has been processed during the task.

Tasks set by the production coordinator will be displayed, tracked and managed online through Shotgun, which is a web-based software that handles multiple artist’s shots/tasks in a timeline. Other artists are able to follow through the asset/shot data stream viewed on a Gantt chart schedule format. Artists can actually communicate with each other regarding the shot and asset being passed down. Access through the show assets, shots and tools can be given by updating the artist’s permission who are involved within the production of the show.

Ticketing systems are used to help track and support workflow/artist’s issues that can be solved by the pipeline and ATD team within the company. Usually these errors are prioritised in terms of how critical the problem is. A few examples of ticketed issues are bugs within an existing tool, improvements on a current tool, anything that doesn’t allow the artist to complete the task (e.g. render errors), or any proposals that you’d like to address within the department or across the site.

Version Control

An effective way to track the progress of something being currently developed is by using version control. This not only applies to software packages and scripts but to artists when creating any digital asset being that’s being published in an asset management system (AMS). Saving work incrementally into sensible intervals will the history of the work that has been produced. This is crucial in a creative setting where an artist or a supervisor can look at the development of the asset/shot work. And ensure that the work is heading to the right direction. Shotgun has a version control system built in and is packaged with RV which is the review system in DNEG that allows you to compare different versions of the work.

On the development side of things, version control allows you to look at the history of the tool to help spot or prevent issues within the development. Package management system is used for deploying tools and scripts within the studios, which is always a incremented version of the tool. The version control system for source code relies heavily on managing code using Git, where all changes made on files will be available to review.

Project Experiences

For the first task that I’ve had to work through I was faced with a lot of challenges along the way. I only had a fraction of knowledge from the training that I was given so I really did get to learn on the job. I was very particular at the costume sculpts I did for the character shotsculpt in Men In Black. I looked at lots of reference material on the internet to really get the behaviour to match. However at one point I ended up sculpting each and every frame which did the complete opposite of what I intended. Which I decided to start all over again from and really applying what I had learnt. I had a few mentors that were able to show me different processes and ways of working which were all insightful and valuable. The most valuable were deformers- Delta Mush in particular! Which is a deformer that smoothen out deformations and help maintain the blendshape.

It took a while for me to get my first shot approved which did lower my confidence at some point. But I need to recognise that I am still at the beginning stages of my career and I still have so much to learn and grow from. I got to really push myself out of my comfort zone and approach other artists for help. The team that you are put in are willing to help and share their knowledge to you.

My first task which was given for me to do within 4 days took longer to do but the more that I did the job I gained a little better perspective. I got to practice a lot of shotsculpting during that time that when I got given another shot with 5-6 characters to shotsculpt, I was able to do it in less than a day. Eventually I became more self-aware and more knowledgeable of what I am capable and how I can better manage time which is enlightening to look back to. Asking my lead on what I need to focus on and direct my attention to completing the work on time. It is important to realistically know how long it will take to complete a task and if it does take a little bit longer you’ll need to address it to your lead and production coordinator.

Rigging tasks, at the beginning, felt like a steep learning curve to progress but I was truly lucky to have a mentor that was able to be patient during the training sessions I had. Digi-double body rigs had templates which was a great reference whenever placing joints on the right positions. Over the period of doing digi-double rigs I was set mechanical rig tasks which opened up so much more room for discovery and ways to rig. I was able to also gain tremendous knowledge around the discipline as a result because I was really curious and wanted to learn so much more each time I progressed. A lot of knowledge sharing was very much encouraged from anatomy email threads and show and tell sessions. All of which I’m grateful I get to experience together and be inspired to continue to be part of such phenomenal passionate bunch of Creature TDs.

SHOW WORK