model on a table?

[Chad Warner]

I'm trying to undertake the whole "model on a table" approach for an animation, but I'm having scale problems.....I want to start out with the model, zoom into the street level, and then fade to the "photo-real" looking animation. What I can't figure out is should I keep the "model" at full scale and make the surrounding room much larger to accomodate it so that the "model" and the "photo real" match up, or scale the "model" down to the size that it represents in the room?

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

-Chad

[AJLynn]

The first one. That's how I do it anyway.

[jsf]

Chad,

 

Create a new 3ds file that has the room and the table in it the way you want it.

Make the scale of this model 1:1. This model will have the lights and camera for your exterior animation.

 

Into this model use "Xref Scene" feature and bring in your big building/house. Create a dummy object that fits around your building. Bind the building to the dummy in the Xref Scene dialog box.

 

Binding the building to the dummy will allow you to move and scale your building so that you can place it on the tabletop. (and the dummy won't render)

 

You can animate the tabletop zoom scene separately from the close-up shots. Use the full scale building model for your photo real stuff.

 

Using the scene xref feature will allow you to work from one building model to maintain consistency.

 

The transition of the animation from outside to inside the building can be done with video editing.

[Chad Warner]

Chad,

 

Create a new 3ds file that has the room and the table in it the way you want it.

Make the scale of this model 1:1. This model will have the lights and camera for your exterior animation.

 

Into this model use "Xref Scene" feature and bring in your big building/house. Create a dummy object that fits around your building. Bind the building to the dummy in the Xref Scene dialog box.

 

Binding the building to the dummy will allow you to move and scale your building so that you can place it on the tabletop. (and the dummy won't render)

 

OK, so I did it the exact opposite of this...I kept the building at 1:1 and xrefed the room and table and scaled them up, I figured that way there'd be no issues between the "model" and the rendered animation.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

I agree with scaling the room and not the building. The building is a design you are representing Scaling it down just creates the potential of something not coming out right. The room is probably generic, or at least not part of the design you are representing. If you scale it up, and something goes wrong, it will not be as big an issue as it would be if there was a problem with the building.

 

....unless your room is actually one of the conference room that exist inside of the building you are placing on the table.

[jsf]

Either way will work.

 

Scaling the building to fit on the table means your lighting for the office setting will be accurate and you can take advantage of DOF, if desired.

 

Glad you found your own way to a solution.

[RobNJ73]

....unless your room is actually one of the conference room that exist inside of the building you are placing on the table.

 

Now this makes for an interesting visual... inside the building is a conference room, inside the conference room is a table with a model of a building on it, inside the model is a conference room, inside that conference room is a table with a model on it, inside that model is a conference room...

 

and so on...

Edited July 17, 2008 by RobNJ73
the thought made me dizzy

[Chad Warner]

Either way will work.

 

Scaling the building to fit on the table means your lighting for the office setting will be accurate and you can take advantage of DOF, if desired.

 

Glad you found your own way to a solution.

 

That's actually my main problem. I'm trying to do a DOF pass with after effects, and the scene file is so large that after effects' focal plane won't go thick enough in parts, so the area of focus is a little wacky.

 

CHG- Actually, the conference room is a model of our own conference room (of course we rendered it before it was built:)) So the model was already done and set up.

[Ray]

Since you want to transition from model to full render, I would scale the room up in size. If you were just doing a model on a table, I would scale the building down to fit inside the room.

[AJLynn]

Now this makes for an interesting visual... inside the building is a conference room, inside the conference room is a table with a model of a building on it, inside the model is a conference room, inside that conference room is a table with a model on it, inside that model is a conference room...

 

and so on...

 

I know I've seen that before

 

For the transition, why just do a fade? Make the model model-scale and put it in a full-scale room of the building it's in and have the camera truck away from the door, out of the building and up until you see it in the same view you first saw the model in.

[Chad Warner]

I was planning on doing more than just a fade, I just didn't want that transition to be part of the discussion. I can't do the model in a room of the building that the model sits in because we're not contracted to do interiors of the building. It's going to be more about the model in it's surrounding context.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

That's actually my main problem. I'm trying to do a DOF pass with after effects, and the scene file is so large that after effects' focal plane won't go thick enough in parts, so the area of focus is a little wacky.

 

Maybe set the models up in the same scene so that things are seamless, but the render the room our in one pass, and the table and model out in a second pass. This way you can control the room depth of field independently of the model depth of field. Or maybe the room depth of field is just faked by applying a blur to it.