Cinematic Reel : 2011

I took the time this last week to put together a reel of my work on Mass Effect 2, done between late 2008 and early 2010. Look below for a full shot breakdown, and, because you’re gonna ask, the music is Invaders Must Die by The Prodigy.

Shot Breakdown

Below is a breakdown of what I was responsible for in each scene. The terms used are as follows:

Previz

Initial planning stage before going to mocap, involving rough keyframe animation to test layout of the scene, loose camerawork and editing. The previz is then exported and playable in the game to test the flow, and be used as reference for the mocap shoot.

Mocap

Once mocap is received, laying it down and re-editing the timing and cinematography to match, including an initial pass on facial. Often a lot of artistic changes are made at this stage so this forms the bulk of the work.

Polish

The final stage where the VO, facial and all the details such as fingers and contact points are finalised.

TimeScene NamePrevizMocapPolish
00:01Arrival Tower YesYes
00:08N7 GethYesYesYes
00:16Arrival Mall YesYes
00:18Jack FlingYesYesYes
00:25Legion Reveal YesYes
00:28Legion Board YesYes
00:32Arrival Mall YesYes
00:36Thane RomanceYesYesYes
00:39Arrival Mall YesYes
00:41Miranda Pre-Romance YesYes
00:46Reaper Arrival YesYes
00:49Legion Board YesYes
00:56Legion Reveal YesYes
01:00Samara Reveal Yes 
01:03Garrus Reveal Yes 
01:06Ending Arrival Yes 
01:10Legion Reveal YesYes
01:14Ship Transfer 1YesYesYes
01:17Samara Reveal Yes 
01:20Ship Transfer 2YesYesYes
01:23N7 RuinsYesYesYes
01:30Miranda Pre-Romance YesYes
01:37Samara Reveal Yes 
01:41Hub Depart YesYes
01:44Garrus Reveal YesYes
01:51Thane RomanceYesYesYes
02:00Legion ActivationYesYesYes
02:10Jack RomanceYesYesYes