MMD - HQ x GSNK OP Vid Process Log

I spent more than a whole month working on this bloody MMD so damn right you know I am gonna write a long ass post about it lest I forget how I wasted my month away.

Credits
Motion: あああ
Original Dance: RAB
Models: mori, ageha, 皐月
Accessory: Past@
Stage: 九零
Skydome: のるねり
MME: ドゥドゥ, そぼろ, おたもん, ビームマン, 針金, Elle
Special Thanks to Garmus1 and Trackdancer for all their tutorials

Models
Shoutout to Athen who helped me figure out the password for Suga's model (THANKKK YOUUU). Once the gang is all here I subjected myself to days of torture learning PMD for the first time and trying to edit working models w/o messing up the bones and physics. Ok I only did it for Asahi and Suga but it was enough to kill me. (all because i insisted on using the black jersey version instead of their uniforms.) I messed up A LOT and this is prob the funniest screw-up:

Goodbye Asahi

I'm really dumb so it only occurred to me a while later that i should just delete the extra materials like the arm that would be covered by the jersey anyway. Also his fingers looks like the Terminator cause I misaligned his finger bones; it also took me awhile to figure out why on earth it happened cause i dumb.

LEARN FROM MY DUMB MISTAKES FRIENDS

Suga's model was kinda weird cause whenever i deleted certain extra bones or moved the physics it'll crash on MMD when loaded.

Motion
Basically aaa's motions only works with a particular bone build of mmd models; its motion doesn't really use the normal IKs but more of the individual bones itself. If you used his motions on an unedited model like TDAs, etc, you'll get pretty messed up motions where the model will be floating in mid air and the legs continue to float(see the Asahi pic above). There is a way to add the extra bones via 4 plug-ins in PMX for the motions, you can find instructions in section 2.1.3 of the pdf file included in his motion folder(google translate my BFF). Because these bones were kinda forced out with the plug-ins he described, the result is more often than not still wonky and you have to further adjust it yourself. So uhh yea if you really wanna use this motion be prepared for the massive amount of work you have to do(2700 frames x 5 models GG).
Some parts are still ok but pay really close attention to their feet (one of the bones with the name D) cause it really screws up their legs a lot. Everyone needs fine-tuning you can't run from editing the motion for this son and it's like 40% BREAK-DANCING. If you're stuck you can always refer to the original dance and YT has this really neat function that slows down the vid so referencing is easier. Now I have an even greater respect for people who make motions from scratch wow hats off to you guys.

Hinata's turning hand stand part was probably the worst to adjust. Slow-mo on YT is your best friend!

but yea it cool i learnt the basics of PMD and motion editing this time but the workings of PMX still confuse me to no end. *vague shrugging*


I didn't have the idea of putting in the Karasuno banner until I started on camera motions and was kinda at a loss at where to focus after the ball rolling part. (Mori had a really nice banner in one of her vids, But I couldn't find it anywhere). So yea *insert crash course on 3D modelling in Metasequoria and trying to recreate the banner texture here* and I crapped out a flat piece of banner. If anyone wants the banner in .x or .pmx format just holla ya. You'll most likely need to clean up the sides of the PNG texture cause I was too dead at that time to care any more..... in the end i felt that the banner looked really small cause i pinned it to the back of the stage which was really far back..... but w/e man I tried. I can see myself enjoying 3D modelling actually....... i am truly a masochist

MMEs (Effects)

Before vs After. I love this so much i felt really great.

Firstly I added the different MassLight-s to each component of the stage after subset-extract. Alpha_bend, Self_Overlay, bleachbypass, ExSSAO, ExcellentShadow, AutoLuminous for only the exit signs, Diffusion, Cheaplens... yea... Oh even after adjusting the default light source in MMD, I felt that the "sunlight" strength wasn't strong enough, so i added a PostPointLight and moved it to the top right of the stage. It really helped to brighten the parts that had too harsh a shadow. For the models I used different variants of adultshader (cause the models have different textures), but for clothes I used Greenershader-s. I wanted to use my favorite variant of Greenershader but it turned out really weird in this sunny setting... I also decided not to use AutoLuminous for the eyes cause it'll be too over-the-top for this setting hahaha..

The ones who make magic are the people who created all these effects; i have the easy job of just loading everything. Thank you creators so much ;___;

Because the school gym hall stage is a .pmx file, having the MMD program do the shadows for the models ends up with real shitty opaque light grey shadows on the floor(see trackdancer's post on shadows and model draw order). So I turned them off. I wanted to use the WorkingFloorX but when I actually saw it in use it looks too extreme considering the setting.... Then idk what happened next. I didnt register the Y axis value so it dropped to below the floor the next time I played it, and I turned the shadows in its accessory box on and tadaaaaa I got some decent looking shadows that were in the right direction according to where I put my light source. Even the floor looked shiner and that was awesome. To get the standard floor reflection I just used normal WorkingFloor but with Y value adjusted above the WorkingFloorX. It was a total accidental discovery thank you dumb self my stupid-ness is actually useful for once.  I LOVE THOSE SHADOWS MMMM c'mon i even put it there for the 3rd camera scene

LOOK @ MAH SHADOWSSSSSSS

Well you can only see it for a brief second but I added GodRay too. It's my first time using it so at first I was just puzzled why it wasn't showing up... but yea it is a really great effect to use actually, just that it wasn't obvious in my video cause my light source was off-screen...

Camera
The original didn't have a camera that moves so I did the camera myself this time. It would probably be easier if i didn't load the damn 23872424 effects on everything first that makes the program lag when i play it..... *looks up at sky and whispers "why"*
Man my camera motions were so awkward the first few times i did it, i cry every time i rendered it to AVI to check and GDI it was so bloody awkward..... So i redid it quite a lot of times..... i mean i feel it's still awkward at some parts but i aint no hollywood filmmaker u feel so i'll settle.
If you want the camera the download is here! Do read the ReadMe for rules and elaborations on some parts where you have to adjust the camera yourself.


Thank you for reading my WOT! MMD is a wild ride. Learning stuff is always a wild ride. I'm still not as good as I want to be but I'm content with my progress *thinks of my first jojo mmd and shudders*