I added the sequence into Nuke to add a dropShadow node onto a green plate, and also added a vignette.
For this project, our task was to create a satisfying animated sequence using Maya’s toolset. Using the MASH editor and keyframed animation, I wanted to create a series of rotating and counter-rotating objects to develop an interesting effect, as well as using a Lattice Deformer to create ‘waves’ as the pendulum ball swings into the outer blocks. As the spheres make contact with the outer blocks, the chosen sphere with ramp up a blue or red glow, which dissipates as the pendulum swings. I also created two helix curve tracks which are followed by two pulsating spheres around the pendulum, using Motion Paths.
I wanted this animation to give a sense of flow and gradual lighting. With the same colour palette as one might find on a roulette table, I chased this aesthetic a little more and decided to create a surrounding of golden bars, with a royal rich green engraved with small patterns. The only major colour shift throughout this animation is the glowing blue sphere on the end of the pendulum. I felt that the counter-rotation of each plate also seemed more dynamic as opposed to all plates rotating in the same direction, perhaps indicating a hidden mechanism driving the machine.
This version is the toned down one, as the experiments using MASH were beginning to create a convoluted scene. Originally, I wanted to create a human mesh out of tiny spheres, which would fall apart and regroup when an object passed through them. The simulation time however was making this unrealistic, and I quickly changed course.