afterworld it *dont* sucks

My name is Duane Loose...and I am the Sr. Art Director/Production Designer for the series afterworld. It's great to read your posts. You're passion and knowledge shows through!! Great comments all the way round.

As of this writing our team is working on the final 10 episodes: 121 through 130. We're scheduled to finish next Wednesday - the day before our Thanksgiving Day in the USA. And I for one will be giving thanks that we're done...believe me. The project has been challenging for many different reasons...some of the factors have been quite unexpected. The speed and pace of production for example. Our saying is that a day in 'afterworld' production is like a week or 2 on any other production we've worked on. We literally move at a speed and pace I've never experienced anywhere before. it's fun, exhilarating and very challenging. We've worked very hard to bring this show to life - and much of that time we've been inventing the process and creating the pipeline at the same time. I call it -running the race while I'm tying my shoes. You might think that as professionals we would have had it all figured out before we started. Nope. Plus it's not like anything any of us have done before. Similar - but deceptively difficult and very easy to underestimate how challenging it is to tell a story visually with 4 poses, a 2 1/2 D parallax BG and some moving mist and skies. Hah! Easy. Nope. Fun and challenging? Yes!

Our rule of thumb is to keep each episode to 10-14 shots with 5 to 7 backgrounds. We found this to be a produce-able number- allowing us to currently pump out 10 episodes in 10 days or less. We have achieved an episode a day for the past 20 episodes...but we don't recommend it. Many things break at that pace - usually the artists. It may sound like an excuse but there is quite a difference between a single one-off render and the number of elements that go into a full episode. When you look at the actual time it takes in each phase - the math is never simple addition or subtraction - always multiplication and division. As in sometime orders of magnitude greater when render a 20 second shot with 4 characters - each one with 4 poses. That's 16 poses at 4 to 8 K - 30 minutes a pop and 8 CPU hours later you have your renders. Multiply that number by 12 for the average number of shots times 5 for the number of concurrent episodes being worked on and you...well you get the picture. We are happily busy and that includes running a 10 am to 8 pm and a 2pm to 12 am double shift.

We use a very basic production design process - beginning with a solid produce-able script, a beat outline, storyboards and animatics - then into background creation, character posing and rendering, shot compositing and editing. We usually iterate twice at each production step to make sure that what we make in the next step is well informed and correct.

Our team is composed of a great mix of mostly senior artists with a combined credit list and years of experience that are pretty amazing in their variety and quality. I've enjoyed this experience perhaps more than any in my career. I hope you don't mind me putting in my thoughts on your thread - I think I can shed a little light on some of the comments.

As I read your comments I found all of them to be more or less accurate in their intent and I would probably make the same assumptions if I hadn't been on the inside of the production experiencing the production pipeline first hand. So, here's some data.

Poser: By the time we are finished with afterworld we will have created over 80 characters for the show. Most of those have been created in the past 4 months. Poser is perhaps the best procedural tool for quick character creation ever created. It's enabled us to create the cast for each chunk of episodes - usually in a matter of days, a week at most for each. We have a very close relationship with the Poser folks. They've given us some fantastic support including fixes and tools for some of our needs. We use the latest version - poser 7. Poser lacks a network rendering capability - so we've written some custom scripts and utilities to allow us to batch render. While this is not ideal- it works. We will absolutely continue to work with Poser for character creation - but will probably use another package for animation and rendering in the next season. We've investigated some promising tech that would allow us to bring Poser assets into Lightwave for example.

One factor that we deal with every day is render times. We typically have multiple characters in a given scene- sometimes we have many characters. To keep the heartbeat cadence of the style we change poses approximately every 3 to 5 seconds. We also render our images very large - a minimum of 2K and usually 6 or 8K resolution. This gives us maximum flexibility when we composite - starting tight and close and pulling out wide for example in the same shot. So we work hard to set up the lighting and geo elements to get the best quality we can at that size while optimizing render times. We use a lot of image based lighting - -which speeds things up dramatically.

Another factor in our look is that we are not trying to be a movie or animated TV show. Because of the speed of production we chosen not to execute cloth or hair simulation - yes it would be beautiful but ultimately those things don't help or hinder the story telling and always slow us down on the render side. We have artists that are experts in those areas but that's not an element we chose to focus on. In the end we chose to lean hard into color, atmosphere and animated atmospherics with good looking characters exhibiting good specularity and solid expressive acting.

In addtion to Poser we use Lightwave, After Effects, Final Cut. Maya, Premiere, Particle Illusion and several other support tools. On the database side we use a library version-ing software called perforce and a render manager for our 20 proc renderfarm - Qube. We also use Vue D'esprit 6 infinite for many of our BG plates and matte paintings. We use 2 sets of Sapphire plugins for after effects - those are awesome. We purchase models from Turbosquid, DAZ and Content Paradise as well as using free models wherever we can scavenge them. As you can see- Poser is integral but ultimately very small part of our pipeline- albeit the single greatest factor effecting our production speed as it concerns rendering.

Another factor in the pressure of production is actually related to afterworlds release in Australia. When Sony told of us of their plans we barely had a few dozen episodes 'in the can' and a similar situation on the scripts - (did I mention that the final scripts were finished a few weeks ago?) Sony, of course, asked for a commitment from us to meet the rollout plans for SciFi AU. we looke at the schedule. After our nervous laughter subsided and we all had a stiff drink or two - we hitched up our britches and went to work . That was July. Since that time a team of 15 artists and 1 to 4 writers have written and produced 100 episodes to the quality you see in all it's glory before you. Are they perfect? No. Do some of them suck? Yes. And the vast majority of the episodes continue to be a fascinating convergence of graphic novel, anime art with a great story that we all, well most of us anyway, find engaging, relevant and worthy of our devotion...not only as an audience...but worthy of our time as artists and creators as well.

That's a lot of information. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. You can reach me at duane.loose@gmail.com.

cheers

D_

as posted on the AU forum pages

Episode 74: Prey

Liam runs away and Russ must locate him before the jaguars do

courage is not a lack of fear, it's taking action in spite of your fear, Russ knew it would complicate matters bringing Liam along, but it never crossed his mind that Liam would be scared to leave with Gwen and him, Russ finds the note, you saw how he handled those Jaguars, maybe he has adapted to his environment, maybe he is comfortable here, frankly he is better to survive in this jungle than we are but Russ felt that Liam was no longer equipped to handle situation, Russ asked Liam about the Jaguars, he said they were his friends, he saw everything that survived The Fall, as his friends, animal and people, because we all lived, but by the grace of Liam ... you mean he thinks he controls everything, with his mind Russ concern was that he had taken that control away, when he told him he did not cause The Fall, you do remember we are out of bullets and flares ... they head off into the jungle, it seemed to Russ that Liam's belief, his power gave him a complete lack of fear, something the animals could sense, but Russ know worried how he would fare in the wild now with out that power, without that belief, that he was the master of his universe, I now you feel responsible Russel but it will be impossible to find him now without a trail pratically speaking Gwen was right, but Liam had shown him, nothing was impossible anymore, we see Liam with his light saber, again, this connection between them, it seemed like it had to be a two way street, I saw him, Liam he is in trouble it was becoming clear to Russ that this connection between Liam and him, was evolving, their fates becoming intertwined, go away, leave Russ could feel Liam's heart rate, as his lungs constricted, the fear finaly set in, and in that moment he was nothing more than a scared little boy, Russ knew he could not magically restore Liam's belief, which meant their only hope was to banish their own fears and find some new courage within

Episode 73: Burden of Guilt

Russ learns what happened to Feral Boy the night of The Fall

the weight of the world is too much for any man to bear, let alone a nine year old boy, but Liam was not like any other boy, he believed he had brought on The Fall, to punish his parents, Gwen was dubious, but given the boys obvious psychic powers, it was a claim that Russ felt he had to hear out ... Liam said it all started at a baseball game, something he had already tried to show Russ once in a dream, every game Daddy said he would come and see me play, something always came up, last game of the season he made him swear he would come, Daddy where are you, he was always busy with his phone calls, and his laptop, and Mummy was always on her stupid treadmill watching TV - I wish you would all just go away when he woke up the next morning, Liam got his wish, Daddy, Mummy his parents were gone along with all the technology that he felt kept them away from him, where is everybody, he said he did not mean to get rid of everybody, but he just wanted to teach his parents a lesson ... Russ told Liam that he understood how he felt, Kizzy had accused him of the same crime, several times, and his parents, no doubt were guilty as charged, but Russ assured Liam that he did not cause The Fall, it took Russ a while to lay out what he thought had actually happened, he asked a lot of questions, Russ did not think that he fully understood, but eventually he went to sleep ... Gwen wasn't so easy to appease, she did not have the connection that Russ had to Liam, so all the drawings did not make sense to her, not like they did to Russ, Russ told Gwen that there was no rational explanation, you had to look at the world thru Liam's eyes to understand, his need for forgiveness was so strong, he somehow reached out thru his dreams, searching for someone, anyone, who could set the record straight, and tell him the truth about The Fall ... the only thing that makes any sence at all, is that you were the one that came to help him Russ appreciated the compliment, but Russ knew that easing Liam's guilt wasn't enough, surviving alone had obviously taken a terrible toll on the boy, we have to take him with us Gwen Russ was trying to shift the burden, from Liam's shoulders to his, but as it turned out Liam wasn't quite ready to let go of his guilt

Afterworld - by a Fan?

Over the weekend it occurred to me that if this writer's strike in Hollywood drags on to long we'll all be reduced to having conversations with real people instead of yelling at tv screens. The horror!

So, until the strike ends, I'm going to offer up every Monday my favorite webisode shows. First off is Afterworld.
Sure it's flawed in its apocalyptic imperative thinking, and the main character has all of his priorities set in a world that no longer exists, but I enjoy picking out all of the mistakes and pondering what I would do if I were in his shoes. The animation, if you can call it that, is clunky and about as innovative as a flip book doodled in detention. Also, the writing is inconsistent to its own mythology and often contradicts itself within even a three minute webisode.

Enjoy!

as posted on U-Holler

Episode 72: Something in the Air

Surrounded by predators, Russ & Gwen fight for their lives

Russ had been hunted by horsemen and mercenaries for ideological reasons, but he had never been hunted for food ... and in that moment he was sure glad that Gwen had a gun, brilliant, no rounds left, the sudden possibility of being eaten alive, seemed to trigger the unexpected defense mechanism, he could feel his whole body going numb, like it was preparing for the pain, Russ was not one to pray, but he was not above right then, the Feral boy appears, with a light sabre!!! ... who ever heard his prayers, definitely had a sense of humor ... with Gwen now equally intrigued, they followed the boy a little further, into what used to be an up scale neighborhood, Sedona, is the home to several ancient vortexes, and their was something in the air at that house, Gwen was unsettled by it, but Russ found himself, drawn in, like a moth to a flame, lured by by the promise of something, the crude portraits were clearly the work of a child, but their were details that almost implied something divine, it was like that room was some kind of window to the rest of the world ... Russel you need to see this, there was some connection between Russ and the boy, and it was not just in his dreams, he had seen Russ's waking life to, and from the look of the portraits, he was not the only one that he was spying on, it was all pretty unsettling ... from some photos it was clear that the boy had lived here before The Fall, what do you want, why did you bring us here an only child, of parents that dont seem to have survived, I've been waiting for you, I've cleaned my room, everyday and I'm really sorry, sorry for what, I made them disappear, my parents, and everyone, but I want them back/span>

Recap of Season 1 & 2 ... with Season 3 sneak previews

Recap of Season 1 & 2? posted on MySpace with preview of Season 3!!

Here is a video re-cap of episodes Seasons 1 and 2 including a special sneak preview of things to come in Season 3, which begins with Episode 61.

AFTERWORLD (www.myspace.com/after worldtv) is a Sci-Fi series rolling out daily (Mon. – Fri. 7PM EST/4PM PST) on MySpaceTV. Follow the harrowing journey of Russell Shoemaker, as he seeks to discover the truth behind “The Fall” which rendered more than 99.9% of the population missing and all technology dead.

as posted on Afterworld MySpace Video page

... well excuse my confusion but we are already getting Season 3 down under, I was under the impression that we were still in Season 1, so I can assume that Season 2 started with episode 31, well we are blessed down here, no break and the roll out continues ... : ) ... actually it is about time that we (AU) got a bit of a break, we always seem to get the back end of roll out deals ... so good stuff Sony, and the Afterworld crew, keep those episodes coming

Episode 71: Welcome to the Jungle

Russ has a real-life encounter with the Feral Boy

almost a year into the trip, and camping out was almost second nature for Russ, but what lurked inside the Arizona jungle was totally unknown, having someone like Gwen to watch your back, Russ was sleeping like a rock ... did you order room service Russel, you can see him, please don't run away, I just want to talk to you, we're going after him, you can't be serious ... in the week they had been traveling together, Russ had told Gwen about everything that he had seen, since leaving New Your, but he had not told her about the Feral Boy, who claimed he caused The Fall, no wait we won't hurt you ... how do you explain to a rationally minded person, about a boy that has actually been in your dreams, for months, Russ knew how crazy it sounded but, he tried to explain, the boy had led him to some fascinating revelation, Russ had watched enough Discovery Channel to know a Jaguar when he saw one, he also knew they were not indigenous to the area, they did not hunt in packs, so whatever caused the change in them did not really matter, mutated or not they looked awfully hungry, a killing floor, my God they herded us, ... Russ was hoping this was just another Feral Boy dream, that he was still asleep in the furniture store, but those Jaguars were as real as a heart attack

Afterworld on SciFi ... this weeks schedule

November 12
7:30pm Episode 1071
10:30pm Episode 1071
November 13
8:00am Episode 1071
3:30pm Episode 1071
5:30pm Episode 1071
7:30pm Episode 1072
10:30pm Episode 1072
November 14
8:00am Episode 1072
3:30pm Episode 1072
5:30pm Episode 1072
7:30pm Episode 1073
10:30pm Episode 1073
November 15
8:00am Episode 1073
3:30pm Episode 1073
5:30pm Episode 1073
7:30pm Episode 1074
10:30pm Episode 1074
November 16
8:00am Episode 1074
3:30pm Episode 1074
5:30pm Episode 1074
7:30pm Episode 1075
10:30pm Episode 1075
November 17
8:00am Episode 1075
3:30pm Episode 1075
5:30pm Episode 1075

SciFi Competition ...

SCI FI was giving you the chance to WIN 1 of 5 PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems and 1 of 10 PlayStation®Portable entertainment systems.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the 5 major winners who won 1 of 5 PLAYSTATION®3 : Ignat Vinko, Matthew Whyte, Tracey Carpenter , David Verhagen, Tina Khoury. Congratulations also to the 10 runner ups who won 1 of 10 PlayStation®Portable: Kym Charles, Chris Williams, Jake Lintorn-Terry, Irma Crews, Tim Taylor, Esther Doel Henshall, Jason Loh, Dorji Lau, Jason Phillips, Rob Eke.