• 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). If you must use third-party or proprietary tools, be sure to delete history afterwards so that the file can be opened on a machine without the plugin.

• Always use Maya ASCII when saving from Maya. Use tif or psd for textures, and make sure all textures and other external references are located within the same Maya project directory (see below).
  
  

Steps to the Layout Stage

• Layout as we are defining it is the set dressing or environmental layout stage. There will be a project directory named after your shot in the folder hierarchy. Create an empty Maya file ther named shot_dept_user_version.ma, for example:
  01_layt_evanhorn_v01.ma
  

• Use Maya's Reference Editor to bring in all of the elements required for your shot.
  

• Create a new Perspective camera named CAM1. This will be your render camera. Animate it, and then lock its transforms so animators won't move it while navigating the scene file. Set the camera's resolution gate to the project's aspect ratio (1k film).

• Use proxy geometry for any elements not ready yet. See Reference Editor documentation for how to set this up.

• Create lights and organize them into groups in the Outliner. This is a rough lighting pass, so only create enough lights to approximate the general lighting situation. Try not to use more than 6 lights for the entire scene, and turn off all shadows and other light effects. More will be added later during the lighting phase. We are using Maya's native renderer, so make sure all your lights are maya lights.

• Set the timeline to proper scene length (check the xsheet) at 24 fps.

• Set up render globals to shoot a series of images to the default project directory. This Maya file will be the basis of the 3D animatic that will begin to replace storyboard shots in the work reel.

Check-In Checklist

When you are ready to check-in a file, email Erik VanHorn 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.

• Rough lighting rig in place to animate by.

• Camera CAM1 animated and locked down.

• Render globals set up to produce a 4-digit padded tif sequence of the scene's naming convention.

• Moving objects blocked out.

• 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).

• Delete any junk nodes like temporary lights, etc.

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

revised 3/24/2006