3D Follow The Bouncing Ball
Process
A Maya 3D animation
Although simple and short, it utilized some very interesting techniques.
All of the stage props, the stool and microphone stand, were modeled and textured by hand.
The curtains were designed using soft body dynamics and an embedded particle system. An invisible rigid body sits in center stage and the soft body curtains are programmed to collide with the rigid body to give the illusion of weighted fabric hitting each other. The ball uses an expression to calculate the stretch and bounce based on the z axis of the stage, thus making the animation quick and independent of keyframes.
Rendering
The overall look uses very expensive rendering options set to full 1080 HD with Raytraced shadows and reflections and glossy materials to give the animation a photorealistic look.
The brevity of the piece is a result of the rendering options. It took a month to render. Well, maybe not a month but it sure seemed that way.