— Digital Landscape Representation

[Intermediate] Assignment 05: Animation

LAR 5304G Digital Landscape Representation II: Static, Dynamic
Assignment 05: Animation

Description
Building on the narrative outlined in your storyboard (Assignment 03), use the native animation and atmospheric simulation capacities of 3ds Max to represent motion through space and/or the passage of time within the study landscape.

Workflow
+
Set up a path constraint for your camera in 3ds Max. (See tutorial 9.1 in Cantrell and Yates.)
+ Make additional modifications to the movement of the camera as desired.
+
Adjust the length of time for your animation to 900 frames.
+ Output the animation as a .avi file using the Render menus. (This will take the computer a while.) See also tutorials 26.3 and 26.4 in Cantrell and Yates.

Deliverables
+ One short animation with a clearly-considered narrative intent.
+ format: .avi animation file, 30 seconds/900 frames @ 480×270 pixels
+ Consider in particular:

+ The relationship between camera and target
+ Zoom and focus
+ The different kinds of camera movements outlined in Cantrell and Yates Ch. 9
+ The speed with which the camera moves, whether consistent or variable
+ Camera height
+ What is included and what is excluded from the viewframe
+ Whether you will use a single tracking shot that lasts 30 seconds or splice together several shorter shots from various positions
+ Whether atmospheric effects such as the settings of the daylight system or fog remain consistent or are variable across the animation