Day 17 -- 29/6/2011 Wednesday

Based on last Wednesday and today's schedule, it seems like there will be a weekly Houdini topic discussion with Jeff Wagner on every Wednesday. Like before, I couldn't disclose much, even so, I kind of don't really understand what they were discussing until it comes to constraining and little into Rigid Body Dynamics (RBD). Shattering pattern in RBD can be change using other geometry object as a mold to cast on. For example, normal shelf-tool shattering will have this voronoi pattern, otherwise, organic circle-like cracks but you can add a grid to change its crack pattern to grid-like squares.

About 11am, the session ended. Back to continue refining my previs. While on that, I realized that the previs was in non-commercial version. Thinking should I continue, I carried on for awhile. However, I saw that other shots of previs had already been rendered out in commercial version (without water-mark) I stopped what I'm doing now and went back to the previous save file, which was still in commercial and worked from there. I probably copy and paste nodes from a non-commercial version and did not notice that. Since I am doing from the previous version, I decided to redo part of my previs. I applied the knowledge from the "Torus to Statue of Liberty" into the new shot 4 for previs.

I was stuck at one point where I wanted the transfering sequence at a certain frame. I tried a "if" statement but to no avail. I consulted Ziggy on how to solve the problem. Not only solving solving the expression, he explained to me the breakdown of the expression. Also, there are another way of doing without the use of expression. Time shift node of $F-(frame number define by user). I know about the time shift node but slipped off my mind.

After solving that, I proceeded on but encounter another issue, camera movement/angle. I struggled and stuck for quite some time at this point, wasting time trying to find a good way of doing.

We went back early as there will be a lesson conducted at 6:30pm. They got to prepare for that and we don't want to interrupt.


Fun

I picked up a new skill today, SKATING!!! It was fun and dangerous at the same time. We went to Ralph's to get some groceries before heading home.