www.markplatten.com

www.markplatten.net
© Mark Platten 2006

	launch pad sequence - 3ds Max - After Effects Environments created in 3ds Max. The sequence consists of a large pair of doors opening on a large, hemispherical environment to admit a flood of light which illuminates and reveals the gloomy interior. A simple zoom up the central ramp follows; intended to convey the impression of the view from the flight deck of the [unseen] vehicle being launched.
	Objects, mattes and backgrounds were rendered separately; compositing was done in AE with added smoke footage and lighting effects.
	In retrospect this scene would have benefited from some exaggerated lens values, and certainly some depth-of-field effects. DoF adds a whole other raft of processing time though, and during original production, the usual deadline constraints were in play: I didn't even bother thinking about ray-tracing for lighting and shadows; relying on shadow-maps instead.
	The final rendered sequence was subsequently treated to create a duplicate with a video monitor effect; online edits deployed simple jump-cuts between the real and the monitor version. This effect was achieved simply in AE. Aurorix's plugin 'VideoLook' was rapidly jettisoned after persistent crashes: I went manual, simply combining generic noise, tinting and interlacing, courtesy of an fx matte of slowly crawling fine horizontal lines. Trying to objectively degrade images - instead of constantly trying to enhance and preserve their realism - made a pleasant change for once...