To set up an Xbox 360 you will need an electrical outlet, a TV or computer monitor and the cables the Xbox 360 provides. An Xbox package usually comes with the Xbox itself, an AV and HDMI cable, a power supply, a power cord, a wireless controller, two AA batteries and a headset with microphone. This setup will only be able to connect the console to the Television, to connect to a computer monitor you will need a VGA AV cable which is a special adapter created for a monitor.
Step 1:
Plug the Power supply and cord into both the console and electrical outlet. This will provide the console with the necessary power to function.
Step 2:
Plug the AV/HDMI or VGA cable into the TV or monitor then into the back of the console. The three Jack ports (Red, Yellow and White) operate both Audio and Video on the monitor. The Video jack is operated by the Yellow jack and the Audio is operated by the two remaining jacks.
Step 3:
Once both steps have been completed, the console is ready to be used. To turn the console on, make sure the power supply is switched on and the press the console's green "on" button as shown below:
Step 4:
To switch on the controller, press and hold the "X" button located in the middle of the controller.
Sometimes you will need to connect your controller via an infra-red connection. There is a small button near the on button that will connect the controller to the console. You are now ready to use the console.
What could I do better next time?
If I were to re-do this project I would have changed a number of things within my environment. I would first spend longer on the skydome texture as it is patchy in some places and unrealistic. The environment on a whole is a little too dark as well so I would have made up a few more light sources (E.G Lamps or fallen torches) The ambiance is a little questionable too, this is Roberts Park, not a tropic paradise, meaning the crickets are a little out of place but not so much so that it detracts from the intended theme.
What could I improve upon?
My main thing is lighting and ambiance. Video editing is another thing as I can only manage very simple transitions and effects. If I had more time and access to better software then I could have possibly produced a higher standard of work. Something I do want to improve on specifically is Unwrapping and Texture art. The textures I managed to produce were at a satisfactory standard but I would like to improve upon them and make them a lot more stylized. My original plan was to have a comic book feel to the environment but that quickly changed as I started producing textures.
What Went Well?
Generally, most of the modeling went better than expected. I've gained confidence over my 2 years at Shipley College and I've managed to produce a convincing environment from scratch. The Showcase was also a big success bringing in several interested potential students and even some old ones as well. Team Cyberchondriacs generally received positive feedback from students and the general public alike.
What didn't go well?
If I were to nit-pick then the lighting left something to be desired and also some of the texturing gave the same effect. Also some of the preliminary research didn't get done to an adequate standard and had to be re-done half way through production. Concepts were also something to note, the bandstand being simply a bandstand there wasn't much I could do in the ways of concept art. Granted I could have spent more time on concepting the environment as a whole but time was an issue and I had to start modeling as soon as possible.
Time Management
Looking back on the project thus far, I would say I've managed my time better than I have throughout the 2 year course. Modeling was handled with efficiency, granted the lighting was a little rushed and ambiance was a last minute thought but sound production was handled with minimal problems and the showcase went through without a hitch. Aside from a few production issues such as crashing renders and limited editing capabilities, the project went smoothly albeit a little patchy towards the end.
What have I learned?
I have learned, over the course of the project, how to effectively unwrap a 3D model and texture it convincingly. I have also learnt the use of ambient fog maps to create atmospheric and believable mist pooling around the bandstand. I have also learned how to use ambient lights in a believable way through the use of target spotlights and omni-lights.
What am I confident with?
Over the course of the two years at Shipley College I have gained a lot of confidence in my 3D modeling ability and also my digital art. When I first came to Shipley I had no idea what 3D Studio Max was and now I can use it effectively and create convincing models and even convincing textures. Although I struggled at first I gently grew my confidence until I was able to use the software without much outside help.
Did I get the desired outcome?
To put it simply, no. I originally intended my environment to uphold a comic book style with the textures and modeling but as development went on it took on the traits of photorealism instead. The final outcome produced a somewhat realistic feel but was not the intended style. It didn't really matter as I was trying to create a creepy ambiance for the scene and I still managed to do that with added music, sound effects, lighting and mist.
Professional Comparison
Professional!
Personal!
Taking into consideration the fact that the Walking Dead was modeled by a full team of extremely talented 3D artists and my own product was only created by me, a novice, I'd say I did pretty well. That said there are a lot of things I dislike about my product. Lighting, as I have spoken about before, is not to a satisfactory standard and some of the textures could use a little improvement such as the skydome and the bandstand itself. On the positive side, the modeling is believable and you can tell what the object is unlike when I first started at Shipley College. It will be a long time before I will be at the Walking Dead's level of modeling but I do believe I can get there with a lot of hard effort and practice.
This render will be used as the base for the animation. The crickets set a good deserted atmosphere and gives the feel of night time which is perfect for what I need. I will add some wind in the background to give a more realistic sense to the environment.
With the wind added I can now start to think about BGM (Back Ground Music) I would like to use creepy music to give a more horror feel. I can achieve this via taking sound files from games and attempt use them as a basis. Unfortunately I have not been able to uphold my original thought of using Walking Dead as a style inspiration.
With music now added along with some heavy breathing towards the end, all I need to create now is the general sound effects such as footsteps and thudding, maybe owl's cooing and even some evil laughter to frighten the character. This animation is going well but is not without it's troubles. Although I have not yet finished, the music seems out of place and somewhat confusing. I may need to restart and add SFX first then move onto BGM
I have reworked most of the effects, added some more and pretty much improved the animation as a whole. The music used is pulled from the game "Amnesia: The Dark Decent" but most of the sound was recorded by me personally such as the breathing and footsteps. The crickets heard in the background are free source material downloaded via the internet. This time around the music and effects work well with each other. The music does not seem out of place because it is not played over the sound effects. If I was to pick something out it is the unpolished footsteps effect, they are a little plain and are reused, in other words I only recorded four steps, if I were given a little more time I would have been able to record a convincing falling sound without having to reuse the footsteps as a substitute. All things considered, this piece is coming along quite nicely. All that is left is the intro and the credits which will pose no problems at all.
This rendered video will not be the final animation but contains the animations that will be used. The rendering of these animations can be done in different ways, it can be rendered straight out as an .avi file but this is very risky and the quality is somewhat flawed, that's because .avi files will go on to be compressed twice therefore lowering quality. A way around this is to render each frame as a single .bmp or .jpeg. this will take up more space but makes it possible to resume rendering from any frame if the computer crashes. For example; there is 1200 frames in a single animation and it crashes at frame 967 and it has taken 5 hours to get to that point.You can then start a new render at frame 968 without loosing any footage. I have made the mistake of rendering each section of animation out as a .avi so the quality is not what it should be in this video.
For the ambiance in my environment I could use heavy breathing and footsteps. Birds and other creatures can also be used. I would want the music used to be creepy and unnatural but only for my personal animation. The team animation could include acoustic guitar and maybe a simple drum beat.
The link above includes some sounds and noises I would like to take inspiration from; heavy breathing, narration, footsteps ect. The music also builds up as the trailer progresses to give the sense of a frantic struggle but this isn't the sort of thing I'm wanting to go for. Suspense is everything to a creepy atmosphere!
The link above is more suited to what I need, it contains creepy music and sound effects throughout giving it a spooky and creepy atmosphere. When a battle is started the music changes as well but soon reverts back to the original atmospheric music.
Equipment I plan to use:
I would like to record some Foley effects for breathing and footsteps using microphones. The software I want to use is Cubase and the Keyboard plugin, the music shall be Ocarina of Time inspired or even remixed versions of music from the game. Ambiance sounds can usually be achieved through recording wind and general sounds outside but it would be easier to download open source effects from certain websites and use some of them for ambiance sounds.
Some of these don't really fit but I can still use them as inspiration to create my own original piece of music. I just need to learn Cubase a bit better and then it shouldn't be that hard to create a small piece.
This is a quick storyboard I've drawn up drafting out the events in my animation of my environment. Film grain will be continuous except for the opening pan shot and the ending shattering screen.
The completed digital concept sketch for Roberts Park Bandstand. Front and Top elevations
Uncompleted Digital Sketch
One point perspective of my planned environment. The statue will probably be destroyed in my environment.
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