NBCUniversal
For years I worked as the overnight 3D artist at ArtWorks, the in-house design and production studio for many of NBCUniversal shows. My main program was the Today Show (other shows where Nightly News, Saturday Night Live and others) where I created 1000's of animations in less than 8 hours by myself that were seen only once. Sometimes, for holidays, special events, etc., I got to work with my co-artists for longer format pieces. When I left NBC, I had with the work show here and an Emmy.
Monday Night Football
This spot was a promotional that played the morning on game day that I made with my coworker, Pete. It doubled as a weather forecast graphic and so the helmets played in a clear night, in rain and in snow, to cover the most basic possibilities. We created it so that every Sunday night I would switch the helmet designs to the teams that were playing. We developed a layered system where, whatever the design and helmet color, they were simple to replace and quick to render and composite. While we split responsibilities, I did the choreography and animation.
For the Today Show.
Made with Maya and comped with After Effects.
Triple Crown
Working for a major news organization, you can't push the design too far for fear of hurting the brand. It was an exciting job when we got the chance to stretch our creativity and this spot, again it's the weather segment, was as artsy as we ever made. I was the lead 3D artist, responsible for rigging and animating the horses and jockeys. Jason, the lead 2D artist, did the amazing paint effects work that really makes this special.
For the Today Show. 2012 BDA bronze award winner.
Made with Maya with vfx and composting in After Effects.
The Today Show Year Ender
The last show of the year is a tour of the years biggest and best events. It's always a big graphics package and the theme this year, 2011, was boxes. I animated two of spots.
Fashion, with Natalie Morales, was the more difficult because it had animated people, objects and lighting. The carpet animation was tricky but I created a rig with combination of bend deformers and blend shapes, that gave me all the control that was needed. Because MotionBuilder was used for the motion capture, the people took less time than the rug.
Food, with Al Roker, was a piece of cake. The vegetables and farfalle were easy to model, the interior of the tomatoes is an image with a bump, as was the oven. My one regret for this piece was the broccoli. I created amazing florets by adding a noise function into the displacement node but it was too much for the computers and had to be disabled.
The package was nominated for an Emmy.
I created all 3D for these spots including camera matching. Color correct and particles by Polly.
Made with Maya and After Effects.
I created all 3D for these spots including camera matching. Color correct and particles by Polly.
Made with Maya and After Effects.
Today Show Holiday Promo
When it wasn't a busy news day we would work on graphics that we knew the show would need in the near future, like Thanksgiving. I began this piece in my spare time and the day a producer came looking for a holiday graphic, was shown this work in progress. She liked it, put in a work order and, as I had a vacation planned, the 3D team finished it.
I came up with the concept, modeling, except the architecture, rigging and animation.
Made with Maya. Composited in After Effects.
Saturday Night Live bug
Tara, the lead SNL artist (who also worked late), stopped by asking if I had anything she could use for a bug animation. She liked the snowman I made for the holiday spot and so I added some sprite particles, a quick 360 and it was done.
30 Rock
I couldn't find a decent model of 30 Rockefeller Plaza to use for the Holiday Promo, so I made one in my free time. Using blueprints and my own research, I created an accurate, to within a couple of feet, model of the plaza and its buildings. Because of its complexity, accuracy and the fact that it could only be worked on during slow news days, this project took months to complete. I didn't model Apollo and the surrounding buildings.
Made with Maya. Rendered in VRay. Music by The Commodores.
Comcast NBC Universal Logo
When Comcast bought NBCUniversal, I figured they would need a new logo, so I created this one. I combined elements from all 3 logos and animated them on.
I figured wrong but I really like the result.
Made with Maya.
The Hosts
I was hoping to have a chance to animate the hosts when something special was needed. I asked William, the designer/animator of the Hoda and Kathie Lee 4th hour graphics, to design them. He did a great job and, while I never had the time to finish all the modeling, face shapes, rigging and cloth simulation for Ann's skirt, I came close.
Made with Maya.
