So the first question you're probably asking when you see this post is...What's an NFT? Wikipedia does a much better job of explaining than I ever could: NFTs Explained
I've decided to dip my toes into this binary world with my "Genesis" piece called DROP which you can find exclusively on the Foundation platform: https://foundation.app/beMOTION_dESIGN/drop-10675
This started out last year as an experiment. I wanted to take one of my Daz3D characters into Mixamo to rig and animate. You can see the final result of that experiment here.
I thought it might be kind of fun, to re-texture and re-edit this animation for the #CryptoArt world, and while I was at it, since I didn't own the music that I used for the original experiment, I decided to write a completely original piece of music specifically for this "remake," and that got me really excited!
I opened up the #Cinema4D project files and quickly re-textured the handful of shots that make up the final piece, and set those up to render using the #OctaneRender engine. The scene is pretty simple...I'm using a seamless environment from The Pixellab's Octane Lighting Essentials and GSG's Area Light Maps on my Octane lights via their HDRI Link.
Next, since the pacing of the edit and all other effects would be informed by the new music, I jumped on that next as the 3D shots rendered out.
I wanted to keep some of the same musical characteristics of the previous track, but a little more energy...a slight bit of mystery...and definitely more EDM! This is what I ended up with:
I decided to compose this in #AbletonLive. I had some sample packs that I got a while ago that provided the foundation for what I wanted to achieve. Ableton is very good in the creation of EDM music and handling audio loops and sample packs.
I'll be making a video soon where I go into a little more detail in breaking down the creation of this track, so sign up for the newsletter and stay tuned for that: Newsletter
Some of of the virtual instruments I used in this piece are iZotope's BreakTweaker, reFX's Nexus and Tone2's new VST synth Warlock. This is the first piece I've written using Warlock, and LOVE IT!
One thing to note that likely no one will be able to tell...that's my voice saying the word "Drop" in the track.
Once the music and renders were done, it was time to cut it all together. I wanted this to have a "digital" feel to it, so it was time to glitch it up! I created a version of these renders where I used the Octane cryptomattes to isolate the character from the background so I could apply Sapphire's S_PixelSort and S_DigitalDamage from Boris FX. I laid the glitched versions of the renders on top of clean versions, and then just cut them in when I felt it was appropriate.
In certain instances, I added some additional S_DigitalDamage and S_Shake and also used Mister Horse's Animation Composer for some of the transitional elements.
Finally, I added some additional sound design with some glitch sound effects that I pulled from Mt. MoGraph's Boombox and Soundly which are my 2 favorite sound design tools.