These exercises help to sharpen your eyes by doing critique of existing special effects.
You will be given video clips of special effects to analyze and critique. These are individual exercises.

Compare and contrast these 2 VFX clips, done by previous students, that show the cloning effect: red.mp4 and slippers.mp4

You should study both clips with a critical eye for detail, and say what is good and what is bad about each clip, and how they are similar or different from each other. In particular, pay attention to these details:

(a) Quality of the compositing: where compositing is done well, and where the flaws are.
(b) Usage of camera shot/angle: is there a good use of camera shot/angle to make the VFX easier or harder to achieve?
(c) Video quality: is the resolution, color contrast, etc. reasonable, or are these used to conceal mistakes?
(d) Any other flaws or issues

To be more precise, use the time index to indicate where in the video clip you are referring to; e.g. at time=1:03, the masking around the actor's head is tight and very well done.

Submit your critique in a report of not more than 5 pages (pages beyond the first 5 will be ignored). Conclude your report with a table that summarizes your comparisons, showing where one clip is better or worse than the other. Then give an overall ranking for both videos, i.e. which, in your opinion, is the better VFX clip overall.

Submit your report as a PDF file (not MS Word, nor other formats), and name it after your name (this is an individual exercise). Upload it to the appropriate IVLE Workbin, by the deadline stated above.

Note: It will be helpful to watch the video frame-by-frame. Use any suitable tool, such as the VLC player, which is available for both MacOS and Windows. While watching your video in VLC, select "View" --> "Advanced Controls" to reveal additional buttons. Then click on the button as shown in the figure below to forward a single frame. Note that there is no "backward single frame" in VLC; you simply have to move the time slider back to the desired location.

Study this VFX Magic video. Your tasks are the following:

>> Explain how this VFX could be produced.
>> Analyze what kind of techniques (CG or otherwise) are involved in producing this VFX.
>> As proof of your explanation, re-create a similar VFX of a backpack attacking your hand to eat paper.

Notes:
>> You don't need to describe the method that was originally used to produce the effect.
     Instead, you should present your ideas on how the effect could be produced, i.e. how you would do it.

>> In your VFX re-creation, the actor may be you or your teammate. That is, each group may share the same actor, but each person must produce his/her own VFX re-creation. This is an individual assignment.

>> Instead of a backpack, you may use a plastic container or pillow. The "attacker' should be an inanimate object.

>> In your re-creation, there is no need to duplicate the camera move. The camera may be static throughout the shot.

Grading Criteria:
>> How well you explain the creation of the VFX.
>> How well you re-create a similar VFX.
>> How well you noticed flaws (if any) in the original Magic Video.

Presentation Schedule:
>> You will meet the instructor individually to present your critique. Prepare a few slides to explain the VFX, and show your re-creation, to support your explanation. Also point out any flaws in the original Magic Video.

>> Please book your time slot here.  Swap among yourselves if you can't make it, but keep the instructor informed.  Venue: A/Prof. Sim's office: AS6 #05-13.

>> After the presentation, please upload your slides and videos to the appropriate IVLE Workbin folder.

Comments:
>> In the past, some students were not clear about the requirements of the critique and the evaluation criteria.
     As a result, their critique presentations didn't meet the evaluation criteria well.

>> Some students had difficulty explaining the details of their proposed methods clearly. Just saying "use CG animation" or "use miniatures" is not enough. You need to concretely explain how the methods work, with supporting evidence.

>> Other students tried to explain every command/control/button they used in Maya to create the effect. This is not appropriate either, since it just becomes a Maya tutorial. Instead, explain your method with sufficient detail, but without resorting to Maya commands/buttons.

>> Some students did not present examples to demonstrate or support their ideas.  In fact, if the students had tried their hands at the examples, they would have understood the details of how their proposed methods may or may not work.

>> Please study the past critique below for examples of good/bad work.

Past critiques: effect clip.
Good examples: 2D-1, 2D-2, 3D-1, 3D-2, 3D-3

Bad examples: mistake1, mistake2, mistake3, mistake4