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.
Time | Scene Name | Previz | Mocap | Polish |
---|---|---|---|---|
00:01 | Arrival Tower | Yes | Yes | |
00:08 | N7 Geth | Yes | Yes | Yes |
00:16 | Arrival Mall | Yes | Yes | |
00:18 | Jack Fling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
00:25 | Legion Reveal | Yes | Yes | |
00:28 | Legion Board | Yes | Yes | |
00:32 | Arrival Mall | Yes | Yes | |
00:36 | Thane Romance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
00:39 | Arrival Mall | Yes | Yes | |
00:41 | Miranda Pre-Romance | Yes | Yes | |
00:46 | Reaper Arrival | Yes | Yes | |
00:49 | Legion Board | Yes | Yes | |
00:56 | Legion Reveal | Yes | Yes | |
01:00 | Samara Reveal | Yes | ||
01:03 | Garrus Reveal | Yes | ||
01:06 | Ending Arrival | Yes | ||
01:10 | Legion Reveal | Yes | Yes | |
01:14 | Ship Transfer 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
01:17 | Samara Reveal | Yes | ||
01:20 | Ship Transfer 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
01:23 | N7 Ruins | Yes | Yes | Yes |
01:30 | Miranda Pre-Romance | Yes | Yes | |
01:37 | Samara Reveal | Yes | ||
01:41 | Hub Depart | Yes | Yes | |
01:44 | Garrus Reveal | Yes | Yes | |
01:51 | Thane Romance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
02:00 | Legion Activation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
02:10 | Jack Romance | Yes | Yes | Yes |