My 15 Secrets To Make An Architectural Animation by Juan Gayarre

MY
15 SECRETS
TO MAKE AN
ARCHITECTURAL ANIMATION
by Juan Gayarre
THAT I HAD NEVER TOLD

MY 15 SECRETS TO MAKE AN ARCHITECTURAL ANIMATION
by Juan Gayarre, architect and visualizer store.gayarre.eu
INTRODUCTION
You’ve been making still images for some time and you know what steps you have to take since you start
modeling until you finish the image.
It is possible that you have never faced the realization of an animation or you have done it but with a
certain disorder.
I’m going to explain the 15 steps I’ve been doing for more than 25 years to plan my animation works from
start to finish. Are the following ones:
SECRET 1 | Before turning on the computer ...

SECRET 2 | From imagination to paper
SECRET 3 | Let’s get hands dirty…
SECRET 4 | The first video composition
SECRET 5 | The great forgotten
SECRET 6 | Resolution is not your friend
SECRET 7 | Lights, camera and ... action!
SECRET 8 | We get to the render’s oven
SECRET 9 | Action Brush Strokes
SECRET 10 | Problems are waiting for you
SECRET 11 | The second composition
SECRET 12 | Make the difference
SECRET 13 | VFX
SECRET 14 | We have almost finished: the final composition
SECRET 15 | Yes, we must continue improving
MY 25 CONCLUSIONS
I believe they will serve you to have an orderly and progressive method.
Let’s begin!
SECRET 1 | Before turning on the computer ...
It is normal to feel like running.
However, you have to stay calm.

It is more than advisable to follow an order to follow a method.
With that reason today I begin to tell you the method we have been using in GAYARRE infografia for more than 25
years.
Let us begin!
Listen to the customer at first ... in order to not do it later
There are many types of customers and, consequently, many ways to focus an animation work.
Psychology in dealing with the situation is fundamental. The experience guides me to understand how to treat
each customer in each case.
My starting attitude is to explain to him that the more confidence he has in us,
the more satisfactory the result will be.
For this reason, we must ask the right questions in the precise moment.
For this purpose it is advisable to send them a questionnaire that reflects their needs and expectations.
Let us transmit the aspects of the project that they consider fundamental to show.
There are many technical issues that we will address later

but now I want to focus on the two extreme types of customer.
The “archivizer” client

He does not know or like to delegate. He wants to control everything and, of course, in such a case,
where investment is important, he wants to lead the process.
The perfect customer

It’s the one you should look for and find.
If he knows how to delegate, as he does with other aspects of the project (architects, structuralists, lawyers, ...)
and he has already experienced that the process is a team effort.
He wants to give his opinion at the beginning but let us do our work.
Only an orchestra can do it

All visualization work for complex projects requires a coordinated team for their realization.
Yes, I know, you are going to tell me that you are alone and you are able to carry out visualizations
of very complicated projects.
However, there is a determining factor when launching to make a video: time.

Time management
I’m going to discover all the parts of the process and it is very possible that you will be able to develop each one
of them, but you will have a problem for sure with the deadline. Even if you take out 20 hours a day, you will not be
able to meet a reasonable delivery time for the client if you work alone.
As you know, the visualization process, in a simplified way, is based on the succession of tasks:
modeling, rendering and postproduction.
If you can not overlap in time doing these tasks, you will not be competitive in this type of job.
Teamwork is essential to overlap tasks and shorten delivery times.
You should have a minimum of 3 people.
| end of secret 1 |
SECRET 2 | From imagination to paper
The whole team is eager to start with individual tasks.

However, there is a previous essential step: the storyboard.
It is needed the guide for the development of the work. It is useful for two reasons:
Good for our relationship with the customer

The process with the client, as we have already mentioned, begins with the collection of expectations and
technical information.
Not only with words, supported by drawn cartoons or with photographic references,
we will show you the “skeleton” of the video.
It will serve to convey the trust you need. To show you that we have understood what you wanted. He will feel
understood and the relationship will be fluid.
Talk to him as often as necessary but also explain that the agreed final SB is a point of no return.
That is a commitment on both sides to keep moving forward.
Both of you will feel calmer to move forward without fear of the changes later on.
Good for the job manager

We have already achieved the commitment of the client.
Now, the SB, will be our guide, the guide for the whole team.
As we have already decided WHAT, WHEN and HOW are we going to show the project,
we have the script to make decisions in each of the tasks.
The modeler can now be started. You can begin to model the spaces to be displayed.
The renderer, with just a few simple first models facilitated by the modeler in a few days,
can begin to do camera tests, lights and texturing.
The direct consequence would be an increase of time in the accomplishment of a work that, could end up in the
trash since finally, the cameras did not arrive to visualize that part of the project.
So, do not hesitate: SB ALWAYS AT THE BEGINNING.
| end of secret 2 |
SECRET 3 | Let’s get hands dirty…
The modeling work is independent of the “artistic” development of the video.

You already know what it is when you have had to make a stil image in other projects.
Be intelligent
There is no point in further modeling.
Therefore, after the definition of the SB, it is necessary to maintain a very comprehensive meeting of the whole
team. In it, after understanding how the cameras and their movements will be, we will come to agree which parts
of the project are to be modeled and which are not.
From that moment, the modeler can start working.

Its immediate horizon will be to provide the renderer with some unfinished models and with little detail of each of
the spaces to be visualized.
Unfortunately, error retouching is not so easy

Here lies one of the most important differences between the modeling required for the realization of a still ima-
ge and an animation. When the final work is a still image, we always have the wildcard of Photoshop.
Even it is very complicated and disastrous the error made by the modeler, it can almost always be fixed. In fact, we
even come to the conclusion that it takes longer to change the model and “re-render” than to retouch the post
production failure. In animation this is not feasible.
As you know, the animation is the succession of 25 frames every second. When you make your first animation,
you will see that there are invisible errors in a fixed image that they are not in an animation.
There will be a stage in the process in which the work of the modeler is finished and the other two team members
still have tasks to perform. But, until then, it must be available to them, as we have said, to progressively model in
more detail the scenes and solve the problems that appear.
| end of secret 3 |
SECRET 4 | The first video composition

Although now I will tell you everything that has to develop by the renderman, I can say to you in advance that the
first thing of everything is to facilitate to the post producer the beginning of its work.
For this, with the first simple models of the modeler, the first thing to do is to plan each and every one of the
cameras. After that, without any lights or textures, he has to perform the animation on wireframe.
In this way, even after changing details, the post producer will be able to perform its first task: the pre-composition
of the complete animation.
Again : storyboard is everyone’s guide

For this, in the SB, it will have been determined the movement of the camera and the duration of the same.
With these sequences in wireframe, the post producer will make a first composition. It will serve to confirm
that what is imagined in the SB works properly. Likewise, you can perform transitions, titles and start thinking about
the soundtrack.
Everything is modifiable in this stage. We will be able to corroborate that the rhythm is correct and we will
establish the previous corrections opportune in terms of durations and points of view.
TIP: It is very interesting that the file names of the different sequences are kept from beginning to end of produc-
tion. In this way, as we get the final sequences, we will only have to replace the wireframes and the composition will
remain intact.
Like the SB, this first composition, makes us control the process and the result from the beginning.
Assuring the final composition by skipping this step is risky and avoids last minute surprises.
| end of secret 4 |
SECRET 5 | The great forgotten

Music, in an audiovisual, is a fundamental part of production.
We can do a wonderful animation both artistically and technically but, as long as we do not use the perfect music,
failure is assured.
What music should I choose?

As with most production decisions, we should not think of our musical tastes or even our customers’ tastes.
We must think about the end customer. In what music will cause a greater seduction in their subconscious.
You may ask yourself, is music so important and should I think that much about this decision? My answer is very
clear: yes.
“The best music is the one that helps sell before and better”
How do I find the music?

With time and, depending on the size of the production, with more or less money.
In the films, the BSO is tailor-made, both the background music and the main themes.
We have always preferred to look for existing compositions rather than hiring a composer. If you want to explore
this possibility because you have some friend who is dedicated to it, you do not need to be John Williams.
The usual way

The most habitual resource is to look for compositions already made and to use them in our production, what is
the opposite of how it is done in the films.
As I told you at the beginning, “musical casting” takes time.

Although you are sometimes tempted to decide because you are tired of looking, do not faint, keep searching until
you find what you are looking for.
Meanwhile, put on the helmets and, with the wireframe pre-composition on the screen, start checking if audio
and picture get along.
Do not make this mistake

In some countries more than in others, one has the perception that music is free.
Be very clear: music is not free.
Music is the result of a process where before there was nothing and a composer,
with his effort and wisdom creates music.
| end of secret 5 |
SECRET 6 | Resolution is not your friend
You already know what it costs for your computer to calculate an image of a complex scene
with millions of polygons at a certain resolution.
But what number of frames and resolution do I need to calculate to make an animation?
How many images will I have to calculate?

As you know, the magic of cinema is based on the reproduction of 25 frames per second.
There are other formats depending on the country that oscillate between 25 and 30 frames per second.
If we assume that, on average, video architecture visualizations last between 2 and 4 minutes, we will consider for
our calculations a duration of 3 minutes.
This is the first calculation you must do:
3 minutes = 180 seconds

180 x 25fr / sec = 4500 frames
But, at what resolution?

You already know the importance of resolution when calculating a still image derived from the need to be printed.
The question that we must ask the client is on which platform he will want to show our work.
HD
If the media is your web page, the HD format (1280X720 px) is more than enough. The decision is limited by the
player. That is, even if it is a presentation with a large screen, this format will meet expectations.
FULL HD
Nowadays, early 2017, the standard resolution format is this: FULL HD (1920x1080).
If we perform the previous multiplication:
1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels, that is, 2.25 times the HD format.
FULL 4K
Unfortunately for our interests, the trend does not reduce the quality of the image,
rather the other way, increase it more and more.
It has been long time since the televisions are able to show this format (4096x2160) in the market. Let’s recalculate
the operation:
4096x2160 = 8,847,360 pixels
That is, the same resolution we need to print a paper image in DIN A3 format.
Buffff ... yes, that’s right, it’s too much.
So ask yourself this question, if on your computer (which for sure is not a bad one)
you need 6 hours to calculate a complicated scene, ...
How much time will I need to calculate one minute of full 4K animation?
25 x 60 x 6 = 9600 hours = 375 days = 1 year
It is no time to get depressed. But yes, we must be aware of our limitations before committing ourselves to our
client.
The conclusion is obvious: to do animation we need and we will need more and more computing capacity.
That forces us to invest money in machines and ram or to contract the services of calculation in the cloud.
Compression codec
My recommendation is that you use the Apple ProRes compression codec.
I think it’s the perfect balance between image quality and file size.
It is the one we use both for the delivery of the final work and for the entire production process.
| end of secret 6 |
SECRET 7 | Lights, camera and ... action!

Setting the scenes
It is another of the big differences with the work of visualization of still images.
You must get rid of the head that, once modeled the scene, you will put the lights, you will move the camera and
you will have to wait. No, it is not what happens.
Well, this is essentially but what happens is that if you want your animation to go beyond an obsolete walktrough,
you should think about the preparation of multiple scenes and multiple cameras.
The result of your work depends on these numbers; I do not say that the more scenes, more cameras and more
lights the video will be better. There are many examples of work in which, with very low numbers the result is won-
derful.
Try to get all the juice you can to the visualization of the project.
The mother scenario and its children

Each person has their own method and you must find yours.
IWe will explain to you the method that we usually use and that always adapts to the needs of each project.
We usually distinguish between the outer space and the interior of the project.
We develop both spaces to a certain degree.

We must optimize each camera with as few polygons as possible.
Our strategy must always think of the calculation process to minimize both machine and ram requirements.
When we talk about different scenarios we do not have to think only about the 3d model,
we must also distinguish them depending on the lighting conditions we want for that scene.
The light
Likewise, if we make the analogy with the needed work to make a still image we find the supplement of effort that
supposes to realize an animation.
This process requires time with successive tests and checks.
Keep this in mind when planning your production time.
You are the artistic director and you decide how the different scenarios are illuminated.
Always think in terms of the balance between quality and time of completion.
It is not only the calculation time, it also counts with the preparation and checking time.
| end of secret 7 |
SECRET 8 | We get to the render’s oven

Approximate time calculation
Yes, doing animation requires a lot of calculation time.
Buffff ... yes, that’s right, it’s too much.
It is no time to get depressed. But yes, we must be aware of our limitations before committing ourselves to our
client.
Currently, the usual thing, depending on the customer and the final product, is that your animations must have HD
resolution (1280x720) or, at best, full HD (1920x1080).
The calculation of the times is simple:
Minutes / frame x number of frames = calculation time.
I recommend that you shouldn’t be optimistic about this operation.
In our experience, with a small render farm consisting of high range and well-loaded ram computers,
every scene that is between 20 and 30 minutes of calculation per frame, falls within a reasonable result.
Alternatives to the calculation

Throughout these years we have always asked the same question:
Is it worth having my own render farm?
Theoretically, the answer is no.
My recommendation is a hybrid:
3 powerful nodes in your studio and count it in the cloud for projects that require a lot of power.
| end of secret 8 |
SECRET 9 | Action Brush Strokes
Animated elements and their consequences
For the profane, the concept of animation encompasses everything.
Thus, it is understood that it gives the same an animation of Pixar that an architectural visualization.
You already know that it is not the same.
The architectural animation is based on the representation of spaces where, in principle,

animated objects do not appear.
In the case of architectural visualization, the protagonist is the scene.

In both cases, it is necessary to prepare the lights and the camera movements but all the animation work
of characters in our case and fortunately for us, disappears.
We can make a great visualization without animating any object of the scene.
But there is no reason to give it up.
Animating certain objects can give a plus to the production that marks the differences with a boring and standard
result.
There are many and I will talk about them in another post.
However, in this case, the limitations are only two:
Your imagination and technical limitations.
People
What could be the extras in a traditional film.
The most common used program to generate crowds of people walking, running,
talking is ANIMA of AXYZRENDER.
Cars
In fact, it is an inanimate object if we do not consider the wheels.

We will have to calculate, according to the traffic rules, the speeds to which they must move in our scene.
Trees
One of the most expensive elements to incorporate into your scene, especially if we talk about quality trees with
millions of polygons and moving. The preparation process can be very long and the calculation too.
For that reason,

you can find alternatives more related to the post production work like the TREES that you will find in our STORE.
| end of secret 9 |
SECRET 10 | Problems are waiting for you
If problems arise in a still image, imagine those that can arise in an animation.
For this reason, it is very important that in the project calendar there is a time’s slot to solve them.
The patches
If you are lucky, the error can be “patched”, that is, you do not need to recalculate the whole of each frame.
Whenever possible you should choose this possibility to save calculation time in correcting the error.
Illumination of the scenes

Depending on your storyboard, the project video will display different spaces. It may be the circumstance that,
these spaces are illuminated in different ways.
Interior lights require a lot of preparation time. In addition, they usually mean a very important increase in the
calculation time.
The alpha channel
In order to have freedom of action in postproduction, I recommend that you always calculate your animation
sequences with alpha channel. This will allow you to add funds into the post-production process.
Maybe at the time of the render you had an idea, but as the project progressed, maybe that sky is not what you
need anymore. If you have the alpha channel, you can do as many tests as you want without being destructive
with your rendering job.
The two enemies that are waiting for you: flickering and noise
There may be partial errors that only affect a portion of the image. However, there are others that can affect the
whole. They are the derivatives of the rendering process, of the settings used.
These problems are not present in the calculation of a still image since there is no need to visualize several
consecutive frames and therefore the differences of result between one and the previous do not become evident.
Both problems have a solution, what happens is that it is very costly in terms of calculation time.
| end of secret 10 |
SECRET 11 | The second composition
The project is advancing on its different facets and it is time to check the progress.
Once we get to this point the person in charge of the final composition has to perform 4 tasks:
Building the composition

Insertion of music
Titles
Adjustments between picture and sound
Building the composition

If we have been ordered (it is highly recommended), we should have foreseen that the files of the sequences with
the final renders, have EXACTLY the same name as the ones we used at the beginning and place them in the
same location.
If we follow this criterion when naming the files,

we will always have the project updated and we will be more effective.
Music
We are working on the creation of an audiovisual piece, audio-visual.
It is too frequent, especially at the beginning, that people do not give importance to this fundamental
part of production.
Always, I repeat, ALWAYS, we have to think about the final receiver of production.
Not even in our direct client. We must think about our client’s client and it little matters how much we love it.
In this second composition, it will be time to search and test.

To do this, we will search on the internet,
we will download the test versions and incorporate them into our composition.
Titles
In any case, we must have previously asked our client to provide us with the most basic data:
• Name of the promotion

• Name of the promoter
• Name of the architects
• Location
• Marketing message
• Our Firm
If we did not do in the first composition it is now when we should insert the titles.
This insertion must take into account several aspects related to style and brand.
Unless they are famous architects, it is not usual to incorporate this data in the video.
But of course, if they are and add value to the project, the developer will be happy to presume. In certain cases,
it may become a determining factor for the sale.
In the end it will be our signature.

There will be clients who will insist that you withdraw it. You should struggle so that does not happen.
It is your creation and you have the right to have your name appear.
Adjustments between picture and sound

When you did the storyboard, you already determined the duration of each of the cameras.
We are very accustomed to seeing it both in the cinema and in advertising:
Changes in the picture match changes in the music.
We like these coincidences. It is the feeling that everything is in place, in order. You have to look for them and, I
assure you, you will find them.
SECRET 12 | Make the difference that will lift you to another level
For years, the post production of an image or an animation was understood as something pejorative.
The same thing happened when he said:”Of course, it’s retouched in Photoshop.”
No doubt there were comments from people outside this industry.
Giving up post production is giving up the possibility of improving our rendering work
and that would be unforgivable.
All the nuances of the image or animation can not be achieved with the render just finished. We must work them
later on. In addition, there are jobs that do NOT have to be done in the render, that have to be incorporated to
the production later. I’ll tell you about all of them now.
Color correction
The current digital processes, allow this modification AFTER the image has been taken and, in addition, being a
non-destructive process.This is an advantage that opens up a multitude of possibilities.
The author has absolute freedom to retouch because the final result, although depending on the original, occurs
AFTER and not BEFORE as in analog photography.
Once this possibility of work is understood,

the only limit is our imagination and the visual intention that we have.
We are human: patch assembly
As I said before, things do not always go well at first. We could forget to incorporate an element to the scene or
simply an object was not well textured and we did not realize until the scene was fully calculated.
It is usual for the dead line to get on us.
We do not have time to repeat the scene with the error fixed and we will have to resort to calculate only
the affected part. We will have to mount that patch in the affected sequence and get the result fixed.
You are not bad or clumsy.
Simply, you are human and, calmly,
it is a task that happens in all studies either you are GAYARRE infografia or PIXAR.
SECRET 13 | VFX | + quality with - effort = professional efficiency
We would be idiots if we did not take advantage of the possibilities of post production.
The philosophy of work has to follow two criteria: effectiveness and quality.
Regardless of the big decisions answering this question, related to the modeling or not of an environment,
we should also ask the same question for what I call “action brushstrokes”.
Those details that make the result something special.

These brushstrokes that differentiate the vulgar by the affection with which they are made.
I’ll give you some examples.
Hunt birds flying

You may want to incorporate flying birds into your scene.
You have two ways to get it.
The first is to model the birds in 3D to later prepare the rigging of their movement and flight. It can take you days.
But, what if I tell you that you have a faster alternative and more realistic results?
Yes, it exists. It is none other than to film them and place them in my scene.
You will be saying that this process also takes a lot of work, they are also many hours and the results, moreover,
are uncertain. I do not know if I’ll find the birds I need.
Forgive me now to advertise my STORE, but it is that it comes to me immediately.
Make a calculation and tell me how much money you would value doing for yourself.
Now visit our STORE and tell me if it’s worth it.
I will be happy to buy birds or any of our resources but the reason to take as an example is that, for yourself, you
find that there are many times when it is much more profitable to buy a resource than to do it for yourself.
As I said at the beginning, the search for efficiency and quality is what should govern your decisions.
Time and money are the factors that affect your effectiveness. Think about it.
The whisper of the trees

In the case of the birds, I have told you about the cost of modeling and preparing rigging.
The truth is, the cost of rendering is ridiculous. It is not a determining factor.
However, in the case of trees it is dramatically.
This is another good example to look for a solution outside the 3d world.
And yes, Bingo! You will also find resources of moving trees in my STORE. You will save a lot of time and you will
get optimum results as you will find footage of REAL trees in motion.
I invite you to discover how to implement these films within your work following this guide.
Gone with the wind

Nature is amazing. His observation allows us to discover wonderful things every day to little observers that we are.
One of the elements that always appears in our scenarios is the sky.
It does not matter if it is a situation with clouds, without them, at sunset or raining.
It’s the background canvas that maintains a direct relationship with the lighting of your scene.
It is variable throughout the day and never repeated from day to day. Do not you think it’s wonderful? It’s magic.
In our hands will be, use those skies in motion as we are interested, taking advantage of the alpha channel of
our scene. It is simply to show the passage of time in an accelerated way or the simple delight that is to enjoy this
phenomenon visually. Again, non-destructive post production will allow us to do tests until we find the effect
we are looking for. Yes, you will also find all kinds of skies in our STORE ;)
People go from one side to the other

Wow the people!
It is one of the most complicated struggles in postproduction.

If we have not decided to use software type ANIMA we have 3 options:
1. Do not put people on the move.

2. Using library sources
3. Record ex profeso
Sometimes a combination of different solutions may be used.
From my point of view, it is more dignified not to put people in motion than to place them and not fit.
In this case, the work is surrounded by a certain halo of “mystery”. It seems that we have seen a space when there
is nobody else there, just us and our camera.
This can be a defensible solution when we make the film of a home but, it is difficult to maintain if what we visualize
is a soccer stadium.
Normally, depending on the degree of ambition of each project and its corresponding budget, we will take
the most appropriate option.
Things sound
Go to the street, stand and listen.
Normally, we do not fall into the account of the sounds that surround us. Let’s think about our things and do not
look.
When we talk about post production, you will not only think about image.
You will think about how to squeeze this choice of sounds beyond the background music you have chosen.
Do not abuse these resources.
In fact, the best effects, whether visual or sound, are what you do not see, those that are not appreciated. If it is so
and nothing stands out is that we will have done our job well. But, yes, it also uses these “sonorous brushstrokes”.
SECRET 14 | We have almost finished: the final composition
There are few days, even hours for the deadline to come inexorably.
Usually you are exhausted.
You have to finish the job and finish it the best you know and you can.
Your robot works
You have already automated the reception of content, thus you have the structure so that each individual file,
as part of a whole, fit into the general puzzle.
It’s time to re-enter your editing program and make the latest adjustments.
As you have been ordered (each project you do will be more) it seems that everything fits and works in “autopilot”
mode. It is not by chance.
At this point, you have seen the video hundreds of times. Without realizing you will be fed up and begin to see
more defects than virtues.
The time has come: the work is done.

In what format do I save the final movie?

As I told you, I recommend doing it in Apple ProRes.
There are many formats and will depend mainly on where it is to be visualized.
Therefore, the two most common options are to host the video on Youtube or Vimeo and, obtaining the link, insert
it on your client’s website.
In these links you will find the recommendations of each platform to upload your work to them.
Vimeo settings
YouTube settings
You have to be your own cleaning service

The work of these weeks, even months, has been overwhelming.
Yes, you had everything very organized but sometimes the urgent thing wins the important thing
and that has consequences.
During the development of the work, in the rush, you have not dared to do cleaning due to the fear of losing a
fundamental file and now you are surrounded by a certain chaos.
My recommendation is that you do not touch anything, absolutely anything, until they have passed, at least two
weeks since you delivered the work and your client gave you feedback that everything was fine.
After those two weeks, the customer is less likely to want something from you.
Surely it will be you who wants something from him: to pay you.
You have already rested. Your body has slowed down and it’s time to start ordering your chaos.
There is no hurry. Do it calmly and in case of doubt never delete.
It’s time to move the entire project to an external hard drive or, better, to a cloud storage system.
The set of files linked to the realization of a project of animation of three minutes of duration can occupy
between 80Gb and 100Gb.
My recommendation is that you keep this information for two years and then you will have the final files
erasing the intermediates.
SECRET 15 | Yes, we must continue improving
You’ve already delivered the work and, physically, your defenses are low.
You’re exhausted because you’ve given everything.
A moment has arrived, in which you are not even happy with the result.
Give yourself a margin. Perception of work will be more objective as time passes.
The first viewer of your work is ...

... your family.
It does not matter if it is your partner or your children or both at the same time.
I love hearing their honest and direct opinion.
They are very valuable opinions. In my case, my wife, is the female point of view.
Imagine the transposition to a couple who wants to buy a flat. It is one of the most important opinions.
Children are the hardest. They have no piety. They focus more on technical considerations. In my case they
were born less than 20 years ago and their language and understanding is fundamentally visual.
Basically, even if they are devastating, I know that if I pass their filter, the video is very well technically speaking.
But of course, we need to know the opinion of the one who pays
It is very likely that, once you have done your work fairly well, the customer’s first response is very positive.
It is true that an excess of anxiety on your part or very high expectations, provoke a reaction of rejection.
Do not be afraid of it. He hired you knowing your trajectory.
My recommendation is that once you have passed that initial phase of receiving the job,
send him a satisfaction survey.
Think of a short questionnaire (no more than 5 questions) but attack your area of pain. It will serve you. It is not a
process to receive the customer’s applause.
Be clear and honest by saying that you do not mind being tough in your answers.
The more it is, the more it will help you.
To finish just the most important opinion is missing: yours

My first recommendation is that you shouldn’t be tough with yourself.
Let the video rest. You’ve been watching it continuously for weeks. At the moment you are not objective.
You think so, but ypu are not. You do not value achievements and you minimize them.
Just the opposite you do with the shortcomings.
Wait at least 2 or 3 weeks and, in the meantime, do not see any project material again. One Saturday at home,
after having slept well, put it on your living room TV and watch it alone. Make the effort to try to see it as if it were
the first time. Obviously you will not get it but you will see it with different eyes. Look at it once.
It is time to draw conclusions.

Write them down on paper and compare them with those received by your family and the client.
When you are going to start a new project, review the test you did on your last 3 productions and make a list of
the 5 things you do not want to happen again and the 5 things you want to happen for the first time.
Work > analysis > reflection > improvement

MY 25 CONCLUSIONS
We have used these steps for more than 25 years and every day we are looking for new improvements.
As summary, I have created this list with my conclusions from the process.
I would love to meet yours.
1. Making an animation is very different from making an image.

2. Listen to the customer at the beginning ... but only at the beginning
3. A client who does not know how to delegate will get a worse video
4. Animation is only possible in team
5. Without storyboard there will be no order or success
6. After the SB, it is essential to mark the calendar
7. More than ever, you have to model the essentials
8. You can no longer rely on Photoshop to fix it
9. Do not wait till the end to make the first pre-composition
10. Be very organized with the name of the files, you will appreciate it.
11. Spend a lot of time choosing music very well.
12. Make all the decisions thinking about the end customer
13. Music is not free
14. For 1 minute of animation you will need to calculate 1,500 images
15. Get ready to invest in hardware or cloud services
16. You have to prepare multiple cameras and different lightings
17. Calculate and recalculate times to calculate
18. Your animation has nothing to do with Pixar’s
19. You will have many more problems than making an image
20. The second pre-composition will be almost automatic
21. Post-production will help you improve and fix bugs
22. It is more effective to use video resources than to find 3D solutions
23. The sounds will help you to give the last brushstrokes
24. The goal is improve: ask and take note when you finish the video
25. To draw conclusions, let 3 weeks pass.
I hope that at least it has helped you to have an overview of our process and help you to create your own.
Juan Gayarre

My 15 Secrets To Make An Architectural Animation by Juan Gayarre

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My 15 Secrets To Make An Architectural Animation by Juan Gayarre

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MY

THAT I HAD NEVER TOLD

SECRET 1 | Before turning on the computer ...

SECRET 1 | Before turning on the computer ...

It is normal to feel like running.

However, you have to stay calm.

Listen to the customer at first ... in order to not do it later

There are many technical issues that we will address later

The “archivizer” client

The perfect customer

Only an orchestra can do it

However, there is a determining factor when launching to make a video: time.

Teamwork is essential to overlap tasks and shorten delivery times.

You should have a minimum of 3 people.

SECRET 2 | From imagination to paper

The whole team is eager to start with individual tasks.

Good for our relationship with the customer

Good for the job manager

So, do not hesitate: SB ALWAYS AT THE BEGINNING.

SECRET 3 | Let’s get hands dirty…

The modeling work is independent of the “artistic” development of the video.

From that moment, the modeler can start working.

Unfortunately, error retouching is not so easy

SECRET 4 | The first video composition

Again : storyboard is everyone’s guide

SECRET 5 | The great forgotten

What music should I choose?

How do I find the music?

The usual way

As I told you at the beginning, “musical casting” takes time.

Do not make this mistake

SECRET 6 | Resolution is not your friend

How many images will I have to calculate?

This is the first calculation you must do:

3 minutes = 180 seconds

But, at what resolution?

1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels, that is, 2.25 times the HD format.

4096x2160 = 8,847,360 pixels

SECRET 7 | Lights, camera and ... action!

The mother scenario and its children

We develop both spaces to a certain degree.

This process requires time with successive tests and checks.

Keep this in mind when planning your production time.

SECRET 8 | We get to the render’s oven

Buffff ... yes, that’s right, it’s too much.

The calculation of the times is simple:

Minutes / frame x number of frames = calculation time.

I recommend that you shouldn’t be optimistic about this operation.

Alternatives to the calculation

Is it worth having my own render farm?

Theoretically, the answer is no.

SECRET 9 | Action Brush Strokes

Animated elements and their consequences

For the profane, the concept of animation encompasses everything.

The architectural animation is based on the representation of spaces where, in principle,

In the case of architectural visualization, the protagonist is the scene.

In fact, it is an inanimate object if we do not consider the wheels.

For that reason,

SECRET 10 | Problems are waiting for you

Illumination of the scenes

SECRET 11 | The second composition

Building the composition