"Tabula Rasa" Film

This sci-fi mystery involves a woman awakening in a strange environment and chasing a stranger to discover a disturbing truth. Modeling and animation were completed in Maya. Texturing was done in Substance Painter before I discovered the beauty of procedural shading in Blender. Rendering was also done in Blender. Other work such as creating the mitosis video screen, assembling the film, and making credits was done in After Effects. Music by Eryk White. Rig by Ramon Arango.

Making another film in a pandemic was a challenge, but I used the experience of my previous film to adapt and adjust my workflow. Without having a partner, I became extremely thoughtful and organized (utilizing Trello and Sprint Planning really helped me stay on schedule and visualize what work remained). Another huge task was created flowing lava walls that looked realistic and wouldn't take too long to render. It was also challenging working entirely from my apartment. I missed the powerful lab computers, but more importantly I missed the social interactions of seeing friends and peers. Overall, it was a very fulfilling experience to create the film from scratch (concept design, storyboarding, modeling, animating, lighting, rendering, shading/texturing).

The biggest takeaway from this film is the importance of time management. To avoid crunch time, I learned that sticking to my production schedule or adjusting it to fit my workflow is crucial. I also learned the pros and cons of real-time rendering, most notably the improved times in exchange for less detailed renders. For more details on the steps of my film, visit https://siobhanmgannon.wixsite.com/tabula-rasa.