Extra Credit: Lighting a Scene in Maya

Unlit

1 Point

2 Point

3 Point

Opting Out of Third Term Paper

My first two term paper scores were 90 and 90; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline of the Third Term Paper

Introduction

1. Explosions are a staple of films and video games; more so in the action genre.

2. The explosions in more dated examples, Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and Star Fox(1996), show a big difference in how live-action film and animation go about in reproducing them.

Body

1. Star Fox.

    - The explosions in this video game are represented mostly as uniformly sized dome shaped, fire shockwaves.

    - They are semi-opaque and are reminiscent of mushroom clouds without the stalk.

    - This being an early 3D game, it is understandable why the fiery explosions are so simplified and not quite believable.

2. Star Wars: A New Hope.

    - The explosions of the X-wing fighters in the film are reproduced with the use of simple deflagration explosions.

    - Many of the explosions were filmed in a way that would minimize the plumes of smoke that would result from the explosion.

    - However, some of these filmed explosions show a very noticeable amount of smoke dragging behind and rising afterwards. This makes the explosions in space feel very inconsistent.

Conclusion

1. With more advanced techniques and a broader knowledge of how an explosion works being implemented more and more in contemporary media, VFX artists can begin to move away from more stylized and inconsistent effects and achieve more authentic results.