Thanks, Nathan.

I was generally thinking along the lines of what you outlined when you mentioned locked off cameras.  We would shoot without tracking or dolly or camera moves like tilts or pans. (could probably pull off a slight zoom). As you mentioned, we would get a small "collection" of varying angles of the 3D environments.  Whether I could pull this off myself (crash course in Maya?), or just maybe hire a 3D artist to perform this function for us, I don't know.  We're fairly versed in AE when it comes to adding "fake" shadows, using AE's lights, could even add a Show Logo on a wall with some tracking/match perspective, etc.  I don't know that we would have to see the floor or a head to toe shot of the talent.  Hiring a 3D artist might be the way to go so that we could slightly customize the 3D environment if we wanted.

Steve's Newtek idea is also worth a follow-up.  Closest dealer is in Minneapolis, looks like.  

Thanks!

Rod W.

On Wed, Jan 22, 2014 at 2:28 PM, Nathan Shipley <nshipley@gmail.com> wrote:

Also - note that the specific look of the virtual set as shown in whatever thumbnails the client has found would come from lights, textures, and render settings/passes created in Maya or Max -- that could be difficult/impossible to translate through to After Effects.

You could find a 3D artist who could render passes from matched/tracked cameras that you would then bring into After Effects to add reflections/shadows of the talent into the set you render from 3D.  I wouldn't expect to just pick up Maya or a 3D package quickly if you haven't used one before, though, so budget for a 3D artist.

Perhaps you shoot with locked off cameras and create a preset collection of stills of the environment to composite the talent into?  The 3D artist just creates some preset views and you don't shoot any moving cameras that would need to be tracked.  Plan it out, know that you have various set different angles you can shoot from, and try not to show contact with the floor, which makes it trickier.

Steve's Tricaster idea sounds solid, though, if the quality is up to par with what they're looking for.  (Haven't used one before myself.)  Especially for a series of multiple videos.  Then you see just what you're going to get on-set, make adjustments as needed on the fly, client approves then and there, and you don't get into endless hours of post time tracking cameras, long 3D renders, and comping green screen shots.

Just some general thoughts!

 - Nathan

On Wed, Jan 22, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Steve Oakley <steveo@practicali.com> wrote:

I think its completely the wrong approach. get a Tricaster that does a live virtual set, or rent as needed. as a starting point http://www.newtek.com/vse

doing this all live will be vastly simpler / faster / easier / better.... and saner !

S

On Jan 22, 2014, at 1:47 PM, Rod Wellman <felistmail@cableone.net> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> A prospect is interested in creating a web video series.  It's basically a talk show where 2 or 3 people will be discussing various products.
>
> They want to use a 3D virtual set as the background. We would shoot them against our green screen in our studio and composite them into this 3D environment probably using AE.
>
> The 3D environment he's interested in is available for Maya (.ma, .mb), 3ds Max (.max), Autodesk FBX (.fbx) and as .obj .
>
> It looks like there is a version of Maya that we could "rent".  We don't own, and I don't have experience with any of these programs.
>
> Maybe it's possible to bring the .obj file into AE via Element 3D?
>
> Can anyone point me in the right direction for how to achieve this, or at least help me ask the right questions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rod W.
>

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