syed kazmi animation

Demoreel '10

2010-09-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

Go to new website for updates and reel breakdowns!

Link for new website <- click here

Compositing reel breakdown

2010-09-29T02:22:00.000-07:00

Futurescape

The City was modeled in Maya and textured

Odd TV
After capturing the footage on a

Canon 7d, I took it into Boujou. I then imported the tracking
data into Softimage as a .xsi file. This is where I did the
modelling, texturing, animation and lighting.
Everything was then composited in After Effects.

Dream

This project was modelled, textured and lit in Softimage XSI.
It was then rendered out in passes which were then assembled

in After Effects.

Borchardt C-93

2010-09-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

Modeled in Softimage and Maya.

Modeling reel breakdown

2010-08-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Futurescape

The City was modeled in Maya and textured

and animated in Softimage XSI.Some of the layered fog was created
using Volumic Lights. The city was rendered in several passes
which were then brought into After Effects as 3D layers, where
some more fog and fractal noise was added.

Spaceship

I modeled and textured the spaceship in Softimage XSI. The design
is based on the concept art of Daniel Simon.

The Imposter

This is a sci-fi themed short film

which I recently completed. The modeling, texturing, animation and
lighting for this project were done in Softimage XSI and Maya, with
some post production in After Effects.

Dream

This project was modelled, textured and lit in Softimage XSI.
It was then rendered out in passes which were then assembled

in After Effects.

Borchardt C-93

Modeled and animated in Softimage XSI.

Tenth of Muharram

2010-07-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

Scenes on the outskirts of the city of Lucknow (India). It's the tenth day of Muharram, which some mark by blood letting and self flagellation.

Click to enlarge.

Photography (Film research)

2010-07-29T03:31:00.001-07:00

I took these photos to interpret the look and mood of my friend's film
"Belly of the Beast". Though in the end we decided to go with
a slight sepia tone.

City of Gold

2010-07-29T01:32:00.000-07:00

15 sec. exposure.

20 sec.

20 sec

15 sec

I fell in love with the Vectorial Elevation light installation during the Winter Games.
Due to the lack of pollution in Vancouver it was hard to capture the light beams on camera. So I experimented with long exposures starting from 5 seconds. But I got the best results at 15 and 20 seconds. The side effect of these long exposures was that Vancouver just lit up like the Emerald city.

Click to enlarge.

Compositing breakdown

2010-07-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Reel breakdown <- Click here

I was also the After Effects compositor on a short film 'Ava'.
I will be adding some of the scenes I worked on to my reel soon.
Till then here are some stills and a teaser trailer.

Ava teaser

Modeling Reel

2010-05-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Everything on this reel was conceptualized, modeled, animated, textured and lit by me.
Reel Breakdown <- click here

Lightscapes (Image based lighting)

2010-03-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

A lighting test for a proposed short film. The background mountain is an hdr image.
Diffuse, specular, reflection and shadow passes were rendered out from Softimage
and put together in After Effects.

More works to be uploaded soon...

Fx and Simulations

2010-02-23T10:52:00.001-08:00

(Above) A short excerpt from my next experimental film 'Photons'.
(Below) Some of the experiments with the particle system in Softimage.

Cloth sims coming soon...

Lightscapes (Gallery space)

2010-02-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

Lightscapes (Architectural Lighting)

2010-01-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

This work is part of a larger project where I analyze lighting in various
architectural spaces. The room was modeled, textured and lit in Softimage XSI.
I used Final Gathering and Global Illumination for lighting this space.

Vancouver time lapse

2010-01-06T01:28:00.000-08:00

The view from the window in front of my work desk. Whenever I'm short of inspiration
or just trying to slog through a project, this beautiful view of Vancouver never fails to
lift my spirits. So the day before I was leaving my apartment. I put my camera on the window sill and captured this over a period of 4 hours. One photo every 5 secs.

Lightscapes (Futurescape)

2009-12-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

The City was modelled, textured and animated in Softimage XSI.Some of the layered fog was created using Volumic Lights. The city was rendered in several passes which were then brought into After Effects as 3D layers, where some more fog and fractal noise was added.

Reel Breakdown

2009-12-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Futurescape

The City was modeled, textured

This work is part of a larger project

where I analyze lighting in various architectural spaces. The room was
modeled, textured and lit in Softimage XSI. I used Final Gathering and
Global Illumination for lighting this space.

Dream

This project was modelled, textured and lit in Softimage XSI.
It was then rendered out in passes which were then assembled

in After Effects.

The Imposter

This is a sci-fi themed short film

which I recently completed. The modeling, texturing, animation and
lighting for this project were done in Softimage XSI and Maya, with
some post production in After Effects.

Odd TV
After capturing the footage on a

The Gallery

Modeled in Softimage XSI, the scene was lit

using Final Gathering and Global Illumination. The spheres were animated
using Rigid body simulation. The scene was rendered out in several passes
which included ambient Occlusion and Matte. All the passes and layers were
then assembled in After Effects for the final result.
The painting was also modeled, textured and animated in XSI.
The black spheres are actually particles and the floor is a grid mesh with
multiple wave modifiers.

Camera Tracking

2009-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

More coming soon...

The Imposter

2009-07-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

After a moon base falls off the grid, a team of 3 astronauts is sent to investigate the situation. The team’s objectives are to rescue any survivors and find a person named Peter Shoulak. But things don’t go according to plan as the team finds no sign of the station crew and the lone survivor is a damaged android.

The Imposter is styled as a future noir and is inspired by the works of science fiction author Philip K. Dick.

Resume'

2009-07-14T17:46:00.001-07:00

The Imposter - making of

2009-07-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

Some shots from the film edited with their corresponding wireframe versions.

Lighting plays a key role in creating atmosphere for the film. Given the time constraints and the limited computing power at my disposal I rarely applied Global Illumination or Final Gathering. Instead a basic Three Point Lighting setup was used. Infinite lights (or Sky Light in 3ds Max) were also employed to replicate some of the GI effects.

Further time saving methods involved using RenderMap in Xsi to bake some of the Illumination and Ambient Occlusion information in the texture maps (see Captain texture map below). Levels adjustment, in After Effects, was the only post production technique employed in this film. The shots were finally assembled in Premiere.

Captain texture map

Leica reel

Sketches

Syed Kazmi

2009-07-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

About me

I was born in Lucknow, India and came to Vancouver as an international student in 2005. There I graduated from the Emily Carr university in 2009. During my time at the university I studied photography, film and animation which culminated in my graduation film, The Imposter.

I have always treated movies as an art form, with Kubrick, Tarkovsky and Wong Kar-Wai as my idols. In my early teens I started experimenting with animation and decided to become an animator. Stop motion and computer animation are my primary preferences. Being a huge fan of film noir I love to design and light cg environments according to those sensibilities. I'm deeply into classic science fiction and most of my work revolves around that subject matter.

Contact
faizankazmi18@gmail.com
778.829.8224

(Sketch by Lisa Wilson)

Old Stuff

2009-07-12T02:08:00.000-07:00

One of my earliest experiments with animation. This short was an homage to Marv Newland and his film "Bambi meets Godzilla".

Another early experiment.

More to come....

The Imposter trailer

2009-07-07T11:26:00.000-07:00