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Houdini Production Studio: Destruction FX
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Houdini Production Studio: Destruction FX

An 8-week course on creating feature-film quality destruction effects for film

Use Houdini and create amazing effects for film

Use Houdini and create amazing effects for film
In this course, students will learn how to evaluate a scene and its structure to develop a smart and efficient workflow. They will learn the different ways to fracture assets, procedurally and art directed, then use those assets in rigid body simulations, working with different methods of activation and scale of effects, from small gravel on the ground to large buildings. We will add some secondary debris, along with some dust and smoke, for a complete, complex, and realistic looking effect. The course covers almost every possible case that is found in production. By the end of the course, the students will have all the knowledge required to destroy any given asset of any type of material, and in any way that can be asked in production. They will also have a solid understanding of workflow, fracturing, art direction, simulation and attention to detail.  
Registration Now Open
Registration Period
Apr 25, 2023 - Jul 17, 2023
Course Start
Jul 13, 2023

Course Format

Standard

Skills Level

Intermediate - Advanced

Duration

8 weeks

Q&A

Once a week

Feedback

Individual recordings

Lecture Type

Pre-recorded
Assignment
Due each week. Expect to spend 10-20 hours per week viewing lecture videos, participating in Q&A's, and working on assignments.
PREREQUISITES
Navigation in Houdini UI, basic SOP manipulation, understanding of core mathematic concepts about vectors. Basic Houdini VEX would be a plus, as well as a working knowledge of Houdini volumes and particles
MATERIALS
Houdini 18.5 or higher (free apprentice version or any other)

The more you know, the better.

Introduction to the course | Theory of destruction and what to look for | Walkthrough of the workflow for destruction shots| Overview of what works for different cases of fracturing
Geometry prep and fracturing | Isolating areas of interest, procedural fracturing and art directed fracturing | Adding Uvs and making sure the output geometry is good  
Understanding the concept of packed objects and manipulating them | Different ways to activate pieces Understanding the parameters involved in simulations to reproduce metal bending and complex systems mixing different material and structures.
In depth work with constraints on vehicle, car and plane crash, metal denting, driven by bullet or by animation.
Multiple shots destructions, from small scale to large, mix of material.
Learn how to make custom forces to drive the simulation in a non-physical way to fake magical behaviors | Destruction of animated characters
Adding secondary elements like gravel, splinters, fine particles, and dust, to complement and dress the main simulation
Lecture and demonstration by Anton Borisov | Lighting the scene | Rendering setup | Comp setup | 2 weeks for final sims and render

Unleashing your creativity

Lead FX Technical Director
LECTURES BY Louis Manjarres
After 4 years in Paris working on commercials and video games in some of the biggest companies in the world like Ubisoft, I moved to the universe of VFX in London, then Vancouver. I worked at Dneg for over 6 years, learning from the best, and working on multiple Marvel films, Disney films, blade runner 2049, Terminator Genesis, Pacific Rim 2, Greyhound, and Godzilla king of monsters. I now lead a team of fx artists at Sony Imageworks and do research and development on the more challenging effects that require a fair bit of expertise in Houdini. My experience as a professional and as a teacher has given me a great understanding of Houdini and how to work simply, fast and efficiently, which I try to pass on to the new generations of artists.

Instructor's Gallery

VFX
VFX
VFX

PRICING SCHEDULE

Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education, these finance options allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.

3x Payments

$249.67

2x Payments

$374.50

Full payment

$749

Summer TERM REGISTRATION Now Open
Apr 25, 2023 - Jul 17, 2023
COURSE BEGINS on Jul 13, 2023
Houdini Production Studio: Destruction FX

What makes this learning experience unique?

PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK

Receive personalized feedback on all assignments from the industry’s top professionals.

LIFETIME ACCESS

Enjoy lifetime access to the spectrum of course content, including lectures, live Q&As, and feedback sessions.

CERTIFICATION

Show off your Certification of Completion when you turn in 80% of course assignments.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING

Learn anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace with flexible, online course scheduling.

Testimonials

Magnificent transformation--strongly recommend Louis and his course to every person who wants to advance their skills.

Vu

[This course] helped demystify and understand the whole system a lot better. Specially with how much control you have with controlling the packed points, and then the constraint systems and how to layer them, specially topics like breaking constraints, it's much more straightforward than I originally thought.

Ricardo

[Louis is] awesome. He really wanted to share all of the tips and good technices to deal with real cases of simulation tasks for production.

Alvaro

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