• Our shot pipeline is:
  layt > anim > light > rend
  where layt is the set-dressing phase, with all elements referenced into the scene via the Reference Editor, rough lighting is completed, moving objects are blacked out and camera is animated; anim is the scene fully animated; light is the scene fully lit with fur and paint effects turned on; and rend is the render-ready latest iteration with all the presets in Render Globals set. Dynamic simulations can be run in either the anim or light phases, as the situation requires.

• We are NOT tech-supported by any production at Disney, so we are not using any proprietary Maya extensions. Try to use "clean" Maya (no plugins loaded except those that ship with Maya).

• Always use Maya ASCII when saving from Maya.

• Take the latest and greatest layout file for the assigned shot and fully animate the characters and props. When you are done, save it with the correct naming convention. Example:

  
  01_anim_evanhorn_v01.ma
  See the naming conventions page.

• You can hide, but do not delete anything. Remember, this is a linear pipeline, unlike the reconstituted pipeline for Feature production. Make new layers if you need to help manage this, but remember to un-hide anything you previously hid before check-in.

• Remember, the rig is referenced. If you need to make changes to the rig, notify the production manager and make those changes in the source file (for example, to fix bugs). Otherwise, you can add additional controls (clusters, lattices, etc.) to the instance of the rig in the file and leave the original untouched.

• You may re-animate the camera but make sure you make a note of it. Don't change the number of frames on the timeline unless you run it by editorial (Van Horn) first.

• The animation is Silly Symphonies / Looney Tunes squash-and-stretch. If your rigs can't squetch the way you want them to, send them to a rigger or add additional deformers (the "squash" nonlinear deformer in Maya is particularly useful for this). If you are new to this aesthetic, check out Make Mine Music or any golden age Warner Bros short. The ARL is a good place to start.

Check-In Checklist

When you are ready to check-in a file, email Erik Van Horn who will tech-approve it.

You should prepare your scene by doing the following:

• All elements present and accounted for in their low-res state, referenced to source element files via the reference editor.

• Camera CAM1 animated and locked down.

• Render globals set up to produce a 4-digit padded tif sequence using the shot's name as the base name of the sequence.

• Animation finessed with no pops or discontinuities - remember, there are no Character Finalers to clean up your mess.

• Shoot a test render (tiff) to the images folder (should default to this folder in the save image dialog if your current project is set).

To make a comment or suggestion, click here to email Erik VanHorn.

revised 3/24/2006