davepreciado – Page 2 – Where CG, photography, food, movies, music, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and my personal project short animation are fused into a bouquet of bytes.

Feb 19

by Dave in CG, Work 0 comments tags: animation, maya, mayahikretargeting, mocap, mocaptutorial, motioncapture, motionediting, performancecapture, previsualization, previz, VFX, vfxtutorial, videogameproduction, virtualproduction

New Mocap Tutorial! Maya HIK Retargeting

Hey guys, I’ve been asked over the years how to work with Mocap data in Maya and if I could share some of my workflows. I’ve done the 1st of a few I have in mind to go over some basic workflows starting with Maya’s native HIK system, and how to retarget motion capture data to a custom pre-existing animation rig. I cover basic concepts, what retargeting is fundamentally doing, retargeting from fbx mocap skeleton to custom rig, 1st of 3 methods I use and is a good segway into more complex plugins, briefly cover fbx workflow, and some basic Motion Editing concepts. I hope this helps – enjoy! Maya HIK Retargeting Tutorial #mocap #mocaptutorial #mayahikretargeting #maya #motioncapture #performancecapture #motionediting #animation #vfx #vfxtutorial #videogameproduction #virtualproduction #previz #previsualization

Feb 08

by Dave in CG, Work 0 comments

Alita: Battle Angel – GO SEE THIS!

I worked my butt off for almost an entire year on this film! My colleagues at Weta Digital worked harder and longer than that! Please go see this and support VFX!

Oct 12

by Dave in Work 0 comments tags: animation, Batman, cg, DC, film, JusticeLeague, mocap, MotionEdit, VFX, WonderWoman

Justice League trailer @justiceleaguewb @GalGadot @BenAffleck @PrideofGypsies #Film #VFX #Mocap

I worked on this one for a couple months. Lots and lots of battles! Looks like it will be a fun one 😉 #JusticeLeague #DC #Film #Mocap #MotionEdit #Animation #VFX #CG #3D #Batman #WonderWoman

May 24

by Dave in Work 1 comments tags: animation, CaraDelevigne, film, LucBesson, mocap, MotionEdit, SciFi, Valerian, VFX, WetaDigital

Valerian – Final Trailer!

OK I’m really excited for this one. I got to work on a few fight scenes and animate/motion edit many of the main group of enemy aliens. Luc Besson is really awesome to have as a client. He knows what he wants, shoots what he wants, and lets the artists do what he hired them for. He’s excited everyday and has a unique way of corralling the artists to get what he wants in the end. I hope this does well in the cinema because I’d really love to work on another one of his films – Valerian 2 perhaps 😉 The 5th Element is very special to me. This was the movie where I made up my mind that I wanted to work in visual effects. Seeing futuristic New York for the 1st time blew me away, and I knew I had to be a part of this. So it’s come full circle for me. All that’s left on my vfx bucket list is working on a Star Wars film, and to animate the Hulk 😉 #Valerian #LucBesson #CaraDelevigne #SciFi #VFX #Film #Mocap #Animation #MotionEdit #WetaDigital

May 16

by Dave in Work 0 comments tags: AndySerkis, animation, film, MattReeves, mocap, VFX, WarForThePlanetOfTheApes, WetaDigital, WoodyHarrelson

War for the Planet of the Apes

Final trailer for War of the Planet of the Apes is out! This is the most I’ve ever contributed to a film. I was fortunate to block out several sequences on this film as well as block to final animation in several key shots. Check it out! #WarForThePlanetOfTheApes #AndySerkis #MattReeves #WoodyHarrelson #Mocap #Animation #VFX #Film #WetaDigital

Apr 30

An old interview from my 1st Art School I attended…19 years ago…

Dave Preciado Q&A: “Hobbit” Motion Editor By: Rachel Handel Filed under: Animation & Effects December 16, 2014 Share This: The Art institutes: What work did you do on The Hobbit Films? What are the steps involved? Dave: I worked on the last two Hobbit films – “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (THB2) and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (THB3). “For THB2, I was on the for the entire post duration of the film, roughly 6 months, and the same on THB3. I’ve worked as a motion editor—basically an animator/technical animator who works with performance capture data, using Giant Studio’s motion editing software called Nuance instead of Maya—on both films. On [THB2] I did get to work on stage with the director, Peter Jackson, during the final month of shooting virtual cameras. Motion edit and animation are essentially the same thing when it comes to working with mocap (motion capture) data, so we work most closely with the animation department. Both animation and motion edit fall under the “Motion” department at Weta Digital. As a motion editor, I do a variety of jobs on the film. I clean up motion capture data, solve the performers data onto […]

Jan 09

by Dave in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 0 comments tags: 18-35, Bellator, BJJ, black belt, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, demographics, education, fans, fight, fighters, martial arts, Meryl Streep, mma, pop culture, technique, UFC

Mixed Martial Arts – it’s not the fighter, it’s the fans

Last week I had a conversation with my coach about the Rousey vs Nunes fight. He was very honest in his response and said he doesn’t really like to follow the sport of MMA, so he didn’t watch the fight. I respect that, coming from a 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt. I knew he had a meaningful reason as to why he felt this way, so I had to ask what was it? *side note* Ironically, earlier that day I had commented on an article going around on Facebook as to “3 Reasons BJJ still isn’t mainstream in the US” My response was: It’s hard. It takes time. There are no shortcuts or cheats to get good at it. It requires critical thinking and and a lot of time to acquire a deeper understanding. Most people don’t have the tenacity or patience for it. Most people are uncomfortable with their personal space being invaded. Many people don’t like the idea of other people’s sweat on them either. Plus it’s still associated with the “Just Bleed” UFC guy, so many people think we’re lunatics. There’s a variety of reasons but it’s still growing. It takes 100 years for a sport to […]

Dec 06

by Dave in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 0 comments tags: BJJ, black belt, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, dogma, jiu jitsu, mma, practice, purple belt, technique, Training, UFC

Why do YOU train?

I train because Jiu Jitsu is part of my life. I train because Jiu Jitsu is more than Jiu Jitsu. I train because of the comradery Jiu Jitsu provides. I train because it helps me relax. I train because I’m forced to be present. I train because I’ve learned humility through Jiu Jitsu. I train because it isn’t easy. I train because the complexity of Jiu Jitsu is so vast I will never get bored. I train because Jiu Jitsu is my catharsis for a rough day. I train Jiu Jitsu because I’ve learned to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. I train because the confidence and calmness I learn on the mats, I take with me into everyday life. I train because Jiu Jitsu is free of dogma. I’ll stop at dogma-free for now. Next May 2017 will mark my 10 year anniversary in training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Prior to that, I dabbled very briefly in Kickboxing but I would have never considered myself a martial artist. Up until May 2007. What attracted me to Jiu Jitsu was it’s complexity, it’s grace, the control, the dynamic, the amount of technique, and it’s fun! But what the Gentle Art is also […]

Jul 13

by Dave in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 0 comments tags: BJJ, BlackLivesMatter, BrazilianJiuJitsu, JiuJitsu, Police, ProperTraining, Training

BJJ saves lives

Given the current social events in America (and the world), I feel our small Jiu Jitsu community has a responsibility to help make a difference under the guidance of our respected coaches. I know it may be perceived as a “band-aid” to an open, scathing, much deeper societal wound, but hear me out: All law enforcement should be REQUIRED to train Jiu Jitsu minimum 3 days a week. Why BJJ? Jujutsu (/dʒuːˈdʒuːtsuː/ joo-joot-soo; Japanese: 柔術, jūjutsu listen) is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon or only a short weapon. “…for defeating an ARMED and ARMORED opponent…” meaning THEY have a sword(s)/armor and you don’t. Think about that for a minute. A furious, trained soldier is coming for you armed with a Samurai sword with the intention of cutting you in half…and you MUST fight him. What do you do? If this were today and you were a cop, your heart rate would sky rocket, you’d panic, you’d pull out your gun and shoot this lunatic with no hesitation. Rightfully so. But if you DIDN’T have a weapon – gun, sword, bat, mace, taser, bad breath – you’d have […]

Jul 06

by Dave in CG, Film Maker 0 comments tags: 3d, animation, BFG, cg, Disney, film, mocap, motion capture, Motion Edit, Steven Spielberg, technical animation, TheBFG, VFX, Weta Digital

The BFG

It’s been a while since my last post due to an immense amount of work that has fallen into my lap these past few months, including an epic battle between me and the dark corners of the internet. After finishing up the the Gallipoli project for Peter Jackson, ANZ, and the New Zealand Government (http://www.wellingtonnz.com/discover/things-to-do/events/the-great-war-exhibition/) I went back to work for Weta Digital on Steven Spielberg’s feature film: The Big Friendly Giant (The BFG by Roald Dahl). I’ve worked on many great projects in my career, but The BFG was the absolute most fun film I’ve ever done. I had a lot of artistic freedom on this show, and much of my work on body animation was left untouched and sent straight to Final Motion. You’ll find much of my work were close ups on BFG’s hands – a fully animated shot of BFG placing labels inside a chest – animated, not simmed – by me 😉 and perhaps a tight shot of BFG closing/locking a dream in a jar. Hands are tough, but seemed to be my speciality on this show. There are few films the come along every generation that define a persons childhood – I think The BFG […]