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08 Codex outsource

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Kiryha edited this page Jul 27, 2016 · 58 revisions

Outsourcing general notes

Any data of each project physically exists on studio network drive.
Each member of the studio team works with this drive only, no project data could be stored locally.
To outsource any part of work we create FTP server with project copy on it with the same folder structure.
Outsource company should replicate studio folder structure on their own network drive exactly and copy all necessary data from FTP to a corresponding location.
DO NOT CHANGE THE NAME of any file your work with, the only part you can vary is version!
Software also should be matched to studio software list exactly.

Data exchange general notes

Each department produce some data which need to be translated to other departments.
In studio data transfer between departments occurs automatically with Animation DNA tools.
If for any reason outsource company do not integrated into studio pipeline it should output data manually according to a strict rules, which basically covers location and names of files for different data types. See details in "Data exchange" section for each department in Projects specifications part.

Data exchange workflow

General workflow for Maya files exchange:

  • Primary studio creates Maya file with necessary data <prefix_name_version.mb>
  • Primary studio upload file on FTP
  • Outsource studio download file to a corresponding location
  • Outsource studio save file with a new version <prefix_name_version + 1.mb>
  • Outsource studio complete a task and save as many new versions as it need
  • Outsource studio upload approved version on FTP <prefix_name_version + n.mb>
  • Primary studio download file, save it as next version <prefix_name_version + n + 1.mb> and export necessary data from it Primary studio creates

Integration to studio pipeline

It is recommended for outsource studios to integrate to Animation DNA pipeline more in depth, than just replicate folder structure. It can dramatically speed up production and simplify problem solving.

The minimum requirements for pipeline integration are:

  • Access to FTrack database of the project for outsource studio
  • Using DNA.rar to create project folder with required data

Prepare data for outsource

Animation phase

See how to create animation scene

FX phase

See how to create FX scene

Projects specifications

In this section located information specific for particular projects.

The dragon spell

Folder structure

Create network drive P and locate TANNER folder there so <rootProject> = P:/TANNER/
Set Maya project to <root3D> = P:/TANNER/PROD/3D/

Integration to studio pipeline

Blank folder structure: P:\TANNER\PREP\MANAGE\TOOLS\FOLDERS_BLANK\TANNER.rar
Extract archive content (TANNER folder) to drive P:/

Wrapper for Maya: P:\TANNER\PREP\MANAGE\TOOLS\WRAPPER\wrapperMaya.rar
Extract archive content to P:\TANNER\PROD\3D\scripts and run runMaya.bat

Required software and plugins

3D branch:

  • Maya 2015 Extension 1 Service Pack 5

Animation phase:

  • Animation Manager script
    Script location P:\TANNER\PREP\MANAGE\TOOLS\ANM\animManagerOut.py
  • Studio library plugin for Maya
    Script location P:\TANNER\PREP\MANAGE\TOOLS\ANM\Picker_2015_64\
  • Picker
    Script location P:\TANNER\PREP\MANAGE\TOOLS\ANM\studiolibrary\

Data exchange for FX branch

In addition to main Maya FX scene for each FX in each shot there could be more data types to transfer (open VDB and alembic caches, renders etc). You can find instructions for each data type in Common FX workflow section.

The full list of FX in "The Dragon spell" project: P:\TANNER\PREP\MANAGE\LISTS\ListVFX.xls

Breaf with artwork for each FX located in FX task of corresponding shot in FTrack

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