During the view conference talk, @halhickel referenced how original Star Wars camera moves had ships and backgrounds that did not necessarily use the same camera move .. going to start a small #VFXarchaeology thread on how those ideas worked and were applied.
Probably one of the best examples I’ve ever seen explaining how to build a Star Wars camera move.
#VFXarchaeology
vimeo.com/122058147
#VFXarchaeology
vimeo.com/122058147
P1 - The camera and spacecraft moves on the Star Wars DVD menus taught us good lessons on executing classic Star Wars moves in 3D
vimeo.com/12102324
vimeo.com/12102324
P2- our first animation passes always had issues making the camera properly follow the ship - often employing multiple look at points in the animation script, and multiple tweaks. As the deadlines loomed we had to improve throughout ...
P3- what worked for us in the long run was to animate our spaceships to a static camera, so it would look the way we wanted it to in-frame. Turns, rolls, everything.
The Motion paths looked goofy.
The Motion paths looked goofy.
P4- ... but those were not the final animation. The cameras necessary for the DVD menu to work had to hit exact points. We animated those cameras separately, and parenthood the animation curve of the spacecraft to that camera ...
P5- ... Once the animation curves of the XWing, or Thai fighters were attached to the camera, they moved through the lighting in the environment and cast the proper shadows. If you looked at the entire scene in 3-D...
P6- ... the ships still did not move 100% correctly. They didn’t have to. Once the animation curves of the XWing, or TIEfighters were attached to the camera, they moved through the lighting in the environment and cast the proper shadows. ...
P7- .. the spacecraft animation looked correct to the camera, and had he compositions had a very purposeful Star Wars feel to them, wow still hitting their marks.
