VR + AR

I was tasked with creating and testing stereoscopic VR videos for the Video Services department at SIEA to be used on the upcoming PSVR peripheral. We received very general specs for the yet unreleased HW and PS4 VR player. A couple of artists and I created the 3D content in C4D, using a special plugin we were able to export an equirectangular renders. We then imported that into an AE project, where we comped all the elements together and added finishing touches using the Mettle Skybox plugin. After this I performed 100s of render tests. I tried different layouts; side by side, over/under, etc. Various resolutions and aspect ratios, different compressions algorithms and software to find the best output. Our goal was to have flawless playback and performance while retaining the highest image quality possible. This was a bit of a challenge as each test had to be performed in a special locked room, supervised by managers, to test on the unreleased VR HW.

This was a fun and unique project that had a very quick turn around to finish before the Pixel 4 launch. The challenging parts of creating these unique AR Easter Eggs was creating six different videos for each SKU. Three colors in two sizes, all with different BGs and animations but also all sharing similar assets and branding that needed constant tweaking and updating to be matched across all 6 projects. These videos literally needed to be pixel perfect to line up with the very specific box art. In addition, one artist did the 3D P4 in one program, with specific render outputs. While another artist did the 4 XL at a later date with a different 3D program, with equally different renders outputs. The AE projects between the P4 and 4 XL needed to be built entirely differently, as I did not have the same passes or same amount of passes for each model. But in the end, they all had to match, and feel as one cohesive family of animations.

For Valentines Day 2020, the social team at JMS asked us to brainstorm ideas for Instagram filters. Out of 12 or so ideas we narrowed it down to 3. I ended up developing my idea of a dozen roses. We all had to learn Spark in a couple days. Luckily it is a pretty straight forward and easy enough app to learn. I took a Rose bush from the C4D content library, stripped it down to a single rose, and made it into a bouquet. Had to solve some normals and textures issues and model some additional parts in C4D. Otherwise pretty fun and simple project.