Harry Has a Hat

…A blue one, nonetheless. (Click to enlarge). I also played with the eyes some.

Also, here is a wireframe image.

Harry!

New character coming along… (Click to enlarge).

Huck Finn Trailer

Well, I’m back… and in a little over a week, in fact. (Ooooh, new record. ). Anyway, as promised, here is the final trailer for Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

Editing/Sound Effects: Caleb Diaddigo
Music: Joshua Diaddigo
Motion Graphics: Caleb Diaddigo
3D Animation: Joshua Diaddigo
Compositing: Caleb Diaddigo
Cinematography: Joshua Diaddigo

Sorry, WordPress does not allow Vimeo embedding. So here’s the link!

Huckleberry Finn Trailer

-Caleb

Hidden Sin…

I tend to do this a lot. Make 2-3 posts all within ten minutes then wait a few weeks, or months, or… years before posting again. So, simply put, in order to keep tradition, I am posting yet another. This was an extra-credit paper for literature, while reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. If you are familiar with the book, good. If not, you should get a life. But anyhow, here it goes…

Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin burned deep within. It scourged his every thought. It brought him to a place where all walk at some point in life. Yet through this pain emerged a beautiful image: A living confession of God’s grace. Dimmesdale was a pastor, a well-known and well-achieved one for that matter. Many thought of him as holy, others simply as a notable man. However people viewed him, it was not the slightest bit close to the man who was in his heart. For he had committed a dreadful sin, one that he would bear for many years, almost to the moment of death. He kept this sin secret, however, putting on the great, holy pastor he was on the outside, but inside, the sin scarred him, tearing him apart piece by piece.

Seven years passed since the moment of the sin. Through these years, not one man came to suspect even the slightest intention of such a sin, except for one. Roger Chillingworth, the doctor of the minister, knew that something was out of place. The doctor had moved in with Arthur in order to better-treat him with medicine, for the paster was growing very ill. During his stay with the pastor, he came to suspect that not all he saw on the outside was entirely accurate. He eventually learned the truth and began scheming a plan that would not only end the minister’s life, but also secure a spot for him in Hell.

The time came when the minister was to preach a masterpiece sermon upon the electing of a new governor of the city. The sermon was a marvelous piece of work, many of the listeners were greatly moved by its content, which was mainly about the effects of hidden sin on a man’s heart. As the sermon reached its conclusion, a change came from within the pastor. He was affected by his own teaching. On that day he came clean with the Lord and the assembly. He repented his sin to his Father in Heaven, asking for forgiveness. The forgiveness was granted by God’s mercy, and on that day Arthur Dimmesdale went to be with the Lord minutes before the veil of death closed over his heart.

What relevance does this amazing story have to us? The core of it can reach our hearts in the deepest of ways, for we all have sin. It is our inherent nature; none are without it. Only one man in the history of the earth has overcome sin by living a perfect life. His name is Jesus, the Son of God, sent to die and raise from the dead as a full payment for our sins. In Him we are a new being, clothed in the righteousness of God. Because of Him, we may have a personal relationship with the Heavenly Father. In our hideous, sinful state, we cannot look upon the God of the Universe, for there is an infinite gap between us and Him; one that we cannot bridge ourselves. No matter how hard we try and no matter what power we may think that we have, there is no way to cross it with our own ability. But, by God’s mercy and grace, He built a bridge over the gaping pit so that we may be one with Him, whole again, cleansed in His holiness and eligible to spend eternity with the the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Maker of all, worshiping His name and celebrating His great victory over sin and death.

Huck Finn Shot Breakdown

Long time, no post. Let me rephrase that: Very long time, no post. But, I do have some stuff to show you (for those of you who actually read this). Illumination is in the process of making a new short film/trailer. It will hopefully be completed by the end of this week. The trailer will be based on Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. One of my favorite shots completed so far is a view of Pap’s cabin through the trees in a thunderstorm. Check out the breakdown.

I found these base images at ImageAfter.com…

I then brought all of them into After Effects to do some compositing. (Color-correction, my friend… is my favorite).

After the general scene was setup and all of the various layers in 3D space, it was time to do some refining and detailing.

To start- Rain.

Then I added some water droplets on the camera lens to give it a more dramatic and “wet” look. I also played with some blur effects to give the impression that whoever was handling the camera was trying to focus on the scene, yet the droplets kept getting in the way. (You may notice the drops here, but it is more noticeable when in action).

Finally, after a few hours I got into the camera movement. I linked the camera to a 3D null object in order to manage it more easily, then brought it up from behind the bushes. Also, I always like to finish all of my shots with a quick Adjustment Layer with a simple Curves effect on it to spruce it up some.

And, the completed shot. (Sorry, no audio yet. I’ll add it later when I get around to editing the trailer). Enjoy!

Sorry about the wait. Life has gotten in the way. Anyway, maybe I shall post again soon. Maybe. We’ll see.

-Caleb

After Effects Effect (Try to say that 5 times fast…)

A new effect I did in After Effects.

Attila the Hun – VFX Breakdown

This is probably one of my all-time favorite VFX breakdowns. All of the VFX shots were done with Photoshop and After Effects (and 3ds Max, I believe) over the course of 4 months. Very impressive.

www.fxguide.com/article463.html

Explode Test

A composite I did in After Effects with some images from imageafter.com.

Spin

Wow, sorry for the long delay. I’ve got a few things to show you though, so get prepared for a few more to come soon.

This is a short film that I found rather interesting. Very nicely done and good concept…

“Five Things” Series Banner

Series banner for my dad’s next series at UNC.