Element X Creative

ELEMENT X CREATIVE

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Due to the fact that the work I've done hasn't been released to the public yet, I can't post about it here. When I get permission to do so, this post will be updated. In the meantime, at least check out Element X's demo reel by clicking the image above!

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I recently did some work for a production house in the Dallas area called Element X Creative. I was trusted with a wide range of tasks including modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, fluid simulations, soft body simulations, animation, and compositing. It was a pleasure to work with such talented people. I got to absorb some incredible information from industry veterans, and get a fresh perspective on things now from some who are somewhat new to the industry (in relation to the aforementioned folks) but still have considerable skills in their respective areas of expertise.

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One of the first things about doing work there that adjusted the way I thought about things was their pipeline. It was developed by some brilliant and dedicated people, and it showed. The efficiency of being able to work on a particular aspect of a project while someone else worked on another, and the way in which it all came together seamlessly was great. What's more is that they were constantly trying to find ways to make it even better, and keep it all well documented so anyone could learn about it and find answers they were seeking.

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Element X uses mainly Softimage XSI. I had never used the software before, so I had to learn quickly. I grew to really love what it was good at, and appreciate on a new level the pros of a node based environment. Once I got the hang of the general way in which ICE worked, I got even better at XSI and was able to do more complicated things like the fluid simulations, and softy body dynamics. Again, there are some really talented people working there, so I was able to seek advice from them, as well as be a monkey on their shoulder every now and then and learn ways they did things. Everyone was always very willing and happy to help me out.

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Along with learning XSI, I got to use an entirely different rendering system (Arnold) than what I was used to (Mental Ray.) It is a very fast renderer, and it was integrated very nicely into XSI by the previously mentioned Element X folks. I hope to use the renderer again, and I'm looking forward to seeing it get even better as it's developed further.

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I also got to play with Nuke and NukeX some more. There was a great guy there (Wes Meyers) who'd learned Nuke very well from some previous projects he'd worked on. I really enjoyed learning cool stuff from him, and seeing the fantastic work he did. He was chiefly responsible for 3d camera tracking and the compositing of different elements in the movies he was working on. I got to work with him on one project that involved some tracking and compositing of some muzzle flashes and gunshot holes, along with some other stuff.

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Speaking of post software, I had a great chance to get even better at After Effects. They had a slew of great plugins for it, and I got to use some of them. I'd heard of the trapcode suite before, but had never applied it. I'd also never used the Mocha 2d tracker, which ended up being very handy for some quick work. I got to do some compositing and post effects with it, and loved it. It's such a powerful tool and I loved having a chance to dig deeper with it.

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My overall experience at Element X Creative was a great one. I learned a ton, and got to apply my skills in a professional environment with a really cool team of people. I look forward to another opportunity to do work with them.

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