TeamWork




Initially i was working as part of a group of 4 people on a film which would utilise everybody's uniques talents. I was predominantly modeling, but would be involved in other areas such as compositing as well.  However, due to the other team members dropping out the course, i had to take on the responsibility of getting the film finished. At this time i was up to date with the work that needed doing. However i had to pretty much start from scratch, all i was able to salvage was the character model/rig and some other props i had made along with a couple of textures. I was not given any of the work that the other modeler had done, so it meant i had to  redo all of those models too. Fortunately i still had the presentation that we gave just before Christmas, this included all the original concept work. such as the set layout, props and character designs. From this i was able to then model everything, and still keep the original style of the film in tact. All be it now in a slightly more 3d focused way. 


Initially there was a specific style that we were going to make the film around. But due to the circumstances, i had to adapt the film based around the resources i have available. The most important change has been the transition from using 2D painted background to now having to build a 3D environment. This meant more texturing and lighting was needed. I did not feel i had the skill to be able to do the background matte paintings. However i was confident i could make a 3d environment that would work for the film. Looking at the outcome, i would say that i did the right thing in terms of getting the film finished however, i would have definitely preferred to have the painted backgrounds in order to get the best look. 


To make sure the film would actually get finished, i had to first find the relevant help, as there was no way i would be able to do everything on my own. It was mainly the animation which i felt i would need the most help. This is because i don't possess the necessary skills to get the film to look the way i would want. I also needed a rig for my dog as i had never made anything like that before. after looking into it i decided it would be best to get someone else to do it if i wanted the best results. To get the help i had to get in contact with a number of people from the animation courses to find suitable people. After finding several animators, i once more had a team. 


I went from having just me, to having 


5 animators , 1 Rigger and someone to help with the lights.



However i was still left to do be in charge and make sure everything else was done and there was now very little time left. I had just over 7 weeks with a team in order to get the film finished.

The plus side to me now taking charge of the film, is that i was able to do things my way. There were times in the production process of the film that the group would disagree on certain aspects. More help with general running of the pipeline would have been better though. I am proud of myself for getting the film finished, however it is no where near the quality that i would have hoped. But i did the best i could with the situation i was left in. So to actually get the film finished i must have done something right, in terms of team work. It really was a team effort in the last 6 weeks with the majority of the team all doing what was asked and on time. I feel like i was helpful to them as a leader, Using a facebook group i was in contact with everyone at every step of the way and always there to answer questions or look over work when needed.

The communication between us really helped get everything done. Regular meetings with most members of the group was also very beneficial. In the first team i was a part of, although we would meet regularly it was never very easy to get anywhere, due to the other members being distracted all the time. This is ultimately what drove them to leave the course. This time around however it was very easy to get on with work and get people moving in the right direction. Most of the team were motivated to get the film done as much as i was. If i had the choice now to start over, i would definitely not chose to work with people just because i was friends with them. I found it to be a much more professional and enjoyable experience to work with people that actually want to do the work rather than people who just feel like they have to.