A short selection of cinematics I created in the shooter MMO, Defiance.
My contributions:
Overall scene timing,camera animation and effects, selecting character animations from library, placing VO, animating faces using preset poses, polishing FaceFX for lipsync
Reel breakdown, including my responsibilities for each scene:
0:05 - Torc Michael Bay's Headlands (Full scene: vimeo.com/66800569) - I placed weapon meshes on actors, animated tracer fire, and placed explosions and smoke effects.
0:21 - Meet Pete's Mother (Full scene: vimeo.com/66799606) - I added blood and dust effects and placed weapon meshes on actors.
0:43 - Recruiting Torc (Full scene: vimeo.com/66800618) - I animated character faces by keying between preset expressions. I also requested a broken monitor mesh to place in the scene for when Torc throws a wrench in it.
1:02 - Delta Force (Full scene: vimeo.com/66799604) - I placed weapon meshes on actors and animated character faces by keying between expressions
1:15 - Rynn Cooper Iron Demon (Full scene: vimeo.com/72307900) - I animated character faces by keying between preset expressions. I requested custom animations for Rynn and custom props for the scene.
1:43 - Forced Collaboration (Full scene: vimeo.com/66799605) - I animated character faces by keying between preset expressions. I also requested a unique animation for Varus' cough interruption action to better match the voice over.
2:07 - Revenge is Bitter (Full scene: vimeo.com/66800620) - I place weapon meshes on actors and animated character faces by keying between preset expressions, in addition to animating eye and eyelid movement.
2:32 - Nim Fight Intro (Full scene: vimeo.com/66800619) - I place weapon meshes on actors and animated character faces by keying between preset expressions. I also requested a translucent blue mesh for Nim to recreate his "blur" effect, then placed that new actor in the scene several times, staggering the animation to create a time ripple effect.
2:45 - Intro Post Character Create (Full scene: vimeo.com/71045754) - I animated faces and eyes, as well as requesting unique "stumble" animations for the shaking ship. The ship mesh itself was static, and all camera shakes were created by hand, not procedurally. I also controlled the light effects when they flickered and finally went out.
3:05 - Shut Up Varus (Full scene: vimeo.com/72311840) - When I received the script, I had the acting idea for Shondu laid out, and had the opportunity to pass the "poking" idea on to the voice director for the voice actor to deliver. With a few custom animation requests, I had Shondu poke Varus during her rant, which combined with the matching voice direction created a very nice performance.