The Workflow

Workflow is a technical term that refers to the sequence of steps required to complete a project, particularly in the field of computing.

A production of this kind usually requires a full animation studio with several teams of qualified people, each responsible for a stage of the project: writing, 3D modeling, texturing, rendering, sound recording, editing, and programming.

Unfortunately, in this case, I was alone on the project. The only advantage of this is having perfect control and a clear idea of what I wanted; I could therefore work in the way that pleased me. The major drawback is that it takes an enormous amount of time.

For all the videos, the workflow was therefore linear; one step after another. Each step consists of further sub-steps, and so on.

The procedure depended on the video in question. For anatomy animations, it generally started in the 3D software, as described earlier. For a video like the one on nerve impulses, it was mostly two-dimensional, so the bulk of the work was done in After Effects.

For any professional production, establishing the proper workflow is an absolute necessity. Organization is paramount in this type of project if you don't want to get lost in the mass of image sequences produced. A simple example is the cerebellum video: it only lasts 3 minutes, yet it was created from 28,000 CGI images!

Workflow does not only apply to the project as a whole. Indeed, each application requires a specific organization of data and a specific sequence of maneuvers to get the most out of it.