TNG Visual Effects

 LOS ANGELES     VANCOUVER     LOUISIANA 

  3D SCANNING SERVICES 

 

June 2014 - Vol 4   

  Issue 6   

Are Your VFX Taking a Bite Out of Your Budget?
IN THIS ISSUE:
  • Facial Expressions Using Blend Shapes
  • Mobile Services
  • Cyber Scanning and its Future
OUR 3D SCANNING WORK
 
 

 

 PRODUCT SCANNING

 

 

 Hand Guns

 

 RIDES

Chevelle

 Charger

 
A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER

Nick Tesi Image

Nick Tesi

  

I cannot believe the year is nearly half over. It seems like it just started. However, here we are in June facing the kids getting out of school, family vacations, sun burns, and cocktails at the pool. This is the beginning of summer. We are here to help you start and/or finish your project. Who wants to get sun burned anyway?
 

Ending the 2nd quarter, we are doing more in  all areas to make our presence known, and to service the local markets in entertainment. It is a challenge, but a well worth effort to move forward in our business, and to share the skills and technology we have to offer. 

 

We are always researching new technology and software to keep the quality of our service at the highest level, and to accelerate our pipeline. We do our best to provide a great product to our customers. 

 

We continue our search for partners who are synergistic to our service. Together we can help our customers save more while using better products. Contact us for more information.

TESTIMONIALS

 

    
"Nick and TNG have provided an important service for the Visual Effects team on Sleepy Hollow throughout Season 1. TNG's scanning mobility has proven essential to enable scans to take place on location in North Carolina, to be used later by VFX artists back in California. The quality of the mobile scan models is indistinguishable from the more ideal scanning conditions of in-studio scans. We look forward to future work with Nick and his team."
 

VFX Producer
 
NEWSLETTER LINKS
TNG VISUAL EFFECTS USA AND CANADA

 

American-Canadian Flag - FACE

 

TNG Visual Effects, Los Angeles, and TNG Visual Effects Canada, Inc., is a 3D scanning company in the entertainment industry that specializes in the creation of photo-realistic digital assets. Many characters, vehicles, cars, sets, props, animals, sculptures and other items have been added to our scope of work since inception in 2009. 

 

Our team knows how to work with producers, directors, coordinators, A-list talent and other agencies, making the most of their precious time and ensuring a successful project. TNG's work is always guaranteed. 

 

We are also highly noted for our ability to travel at a moments notice for a project. Exclusive use of highly mobile scanning systems allow for TNG to perform scans in practically any location.
 

TNG Building

 

 

Los Angeles

3424 W Carson St, Ste 210 

Torrance, CA 90503 USA

877-879-2040 Toll Free

  

 

Louisiana
537 Cajundome Blvd, Ste 237 

Lafayette, LA 70506 USA

877-879-2040 Toll Free

 

 

Vancouver
666 Burrard Street, Ste 500 

Vancouver, BC V6C 3P6 Canada 

877-879-2040 Toll Free

  
 
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FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Facial Expressions 

Using Blend Shapes

 

A 3D character can be somewhat boring without facial expressions, however, choosing to animate a model with dynamic expressions will bring a character to life. That is the method we we used on our latest digital masterpiece above. Who doesn't love a vampire pirate?

 

 

Teresa-Head-progression  

Teresa_Expressions_block 

 

When working with blend shapes, you begin with a neutral pose that is then morphed into each expression. The blend shapes themselves need to have the same vertex point order and vertex count as your neutral model to make them work correctly. There are many expressions to take into consideration, in fact, the FACS System has approximately 72 expressions with ones as minute as raising an eyebrow. However, it only takes among 30 to 40 expressions to make a static performance come alive.

 

The many sides of Founder, Nick Tesi.

 

Check out these two clips of facial motion capture in action:

 

Facial Motion Capture - video 1

 

Facial Motion Capture - video 2

 

When starting down the road of expressions, make sure to figure out as much information as possible as to what your needs are and what the cost will be. Normally, cost is calculated per second as there are 24 to 30 frames per second. Typically a clip can run anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes, so you can see how the price can get away from you quickly. This is not a service to be taken lightly.

 

Make sure you have a guarantee that the final performance will meet your expectations. It will be well worth the cost and effort for your Digital Double to perform realistically, delivering a lively message.

 

MOBILE SCANNING

Mobile Services

 

Creating digital doubles of talent, props, vehicles, and buildings is becoming more prominent in film and television along with video game trailers and cinematics. It is vital for a company to provide a mobile service that is flexible to those involved in projects in the entertainment business. Due to their schedules being moving targets, they have come to rely on such benefits.

 

 


As a mobile company ourselves, here are some tips on how to provide this service, and how to best travel with your equipment.
  1. Only stay on the set as long as you're needed. If possible, arrive and depart on the same day, or within one or two days, to save on cost. Try to travel with your equipment in the cabin so that it does not get lost in transit or in the airport.    
  2. Make sure to have back-up equipment. You never know what could go wrong while you are on site, so if it is possible, carry along back-ups for each piece of equipment. Overnight shipping might work, but if you have the talent right in front of you and they are leaving that evening, it may not be an option.  
  3. A mobile service needs to be reliable and produce a quality product. A decent delivery schedule is also a must. Get references if you are using someone or a company for the first time. Saving money is important, but not at the expense of losing a great shot or model.

Full 3D Image

 

CYBER SCANNING

Cyber Scanning and its Future

 

You may have heard of the terms cyber scanning and 3d scanning or the term lidar scanning. Cyber scanning and 3d scanning refer to the scanning of people and small to medium sized props. Lidar scanning refers to large area scanning or vehicle and building scans plus landscapes and sets. There are also technologies that allow for CG pipelines to be condensed, which speeds up production time and saves capital, solving budget issues.

 

 

CG elements are very useful and flexible to work with. When you are shooting a scene on location, afterwards during post production, characters, materials and objects can be added to the scene. If you were to 3D scan the entirety of an environment using lidar scanning, opposed to modeling CG elements, you would be able to add precise detail, as lidar scanning captures exact measurements. For example, if you were to click on two points in the scan data, you would know the actual distance from one wall to the next, or from the ground to the ceiling, or one object's distance in relation to another object. This makes for a more believable effect, and allows you to destroy an environment in any way you want. 
Utilizing a lidar scanned environment will also allow an entire scene to be acted out on a green screen, minimizing travel time for the talent. 

   Faro - Vegas

 

This technology is also used in film. By having the characters cyber scanned, they can be used for a video game version of the film using the same exact characters in the same exact environment.

 

Nina with Crossbow  

A film can be an immense experience. To take things a step further, imagine being a character
in a film, opposed to watching the story unfold statically and safely in an armchair. Imagine having a free-roam 3D camera at your disposal as the viewer. As a scene plays out, you would be observing each moment from multiple angles as if you were really there. What if you could appear as an avatar in the film and could have this experience with friends online. The non-human actors could be programmed with 
AI to react differently depending on your dialogue and actions, making movies transform from one you've seen 100 times and can quote every line, to a dynamic experience that is free-flowing and rapidly changing before your eyes. 
 
The meld between forms of media all taking advantage of the latest technology will create a seamless model to be used in film, television, commercials, episodics, or even game cinematics. Soon the same characters will be performing in over-the-web multi media or social media. The list goes on as digital assets with photo real characteristics find their way into our experience more and more every day.
 

  
THANK YOU
We at TNG Visual Effects are continually looking for better ways to serve the entertainment industry by providing an excellent experience for our clients. Thank you for taking the time to review our newsletter. If you have any questions, or would like to consider TNG Visual Effects in your next bid, please contact us.

 

 

Nick Tesi
Founder & President