Research into proposed techniques

3D Elements

In order to create the 3D snake creature, there are several steps I will have to take.

Matchmoving

After capturing my footage, I will need to use matchmoving software such as syntheyes to create a digital representation of the camera. It is important to make sure the captured footage has enough standout elements to allow a good track.  This will ensure any 3D elements I create will sync with the elements in the shot footage, making the 3D elements realistically appear as if they are in the scene.

Modelling and Texturing

First, I will model the snake to as high a quality as possible, to ensure it looks realistic. I will also have to texture the snake. As the snake will be fairly close to the camera in some points, it is important that I create the textures to a high enough resolution and quality that the illusion is not lost.

Rigging

After the model is complete and the textures have been created, I will need to create a custom rig to allow the snake creature to be animated. This will be done using the CAT system within 3DS Max as it will allow me to create a custom rig to suit the model very easily.

Animation

I will animate the snake creature using the custom rig I create, keyframing each bone to create realistic snake-like animation. It may be useful to create simple 3D representations of some elements such as trees to help convincingly animate sections where the creature will interact with these elements.

Lighting

It will be important that the 3D elements are lit in the same way as the live footage. For this reason I will have to be mindful of the lighting when capturing the footage, and attempt to convincingly recreate this within my 3D scene before rendering. It may also be useful to create simple 3D representations of some objects within the captured footage and set them to receive shadows only, such as trees. This will allow me to render the creature along with the shadows it would cast on the surrounding objects, creating a much more convincing illusion.

Compositing

To ensure the most streamlined integration of the 3D elements, I will render them in passes as image sequences with the alpha channels in place. This will allow me to combine the separate passes within after effects and overlay them onto the captured footage easily. After this, several steps will need to be taken to make the CG elements realistically appear to be in the scene.

Colour Correction

It is very likely that the 3D elements will stand out when placed in the live footage, so colour correction will need to be added to make the colour range of the 3D elements match that of the footage.

Masking

It will be important to mask off any elements of the original footage that the 3D elements would sit behind, in order to ensure the 3D elements appear to be in the scene.