LicasArts Demo Tips

TracNav(TracNav/TOC_CC_Tut)?

• Animation - show weight, balance, timing. Basic motions like lifting, sawing, pulling, pushing, and interacting with scene elements as opposed to simply running, jumping, or walking.
• Modeling - reality is the key here. If it is a human it should look like a human. Show a sense of proportion and detail unless you’re going for a stylized cartoon look.
• Lighting - should create a mood or atmosphere. Don’t have over-lit scenes just to show off your models.
• Camera - have an effective transition without leaving the viewer in a state of vertigo. Have a nice flow between shots to help the viewer understand what is going on.
• Show your best work only. Show your best work first. Demo reels should not be longer than 5 minutes.
• Show each work once. No need to repeat the same piece.
• Use good judgment on music or audio that accompanies the work. Didn’t someone say, ‘The audience is listening?’
• Spend the time to do at least one thing really, really well. Everyone has a walk cycle - how do you make your reel stand out? Model an object with high precision and high quality texture maps.
• Work on lighting. This seems to be the most overlooked thing on a demo. Show how lighting adds mood or excitement to a scene or how it can be used to increase efficiency by reducing the number of elements that need to be built in a scene.
• Use good textures. Are your textures appropriate for the model, or are they just the ones that come with the software? Show that you can create your own textures and have good judgment on how to use them. Do they add detail that otherwise would have to have been modeled?
• Show wire frames of models. Wire frames show whether you hacked the model together or built true shapes and forms. They also show how efficient you are as a modeler.
• Show low-poly work if you want to get into games. Hi-res work is glamorous, but most games are low, low poly work.
• Have high quality (dye-sub) prints made of your work. Low res ntsc video won’t do justice to your environments.
• Fix any technical problems. Don’t have any dropped frames or animation spikes in your work.