Applying The Volumes in Maya
Yanni, one of our FX artists found a way to import Mitch's Houdini Volumes into Maya and render. It can also be customized by using the ramps of the temperature and density, much like that in Houdini. More information about how she did it can be found on Yanni's Blog Post "SDGM Progress (7) Houdini Volume to Maya Arnold" (http://yannifong.com/blog). Here is what the Hypershade for that shader looks like...
I imported the file with the aivolumes shader that Yanni set up into the Shot 2 scene and here is a test render.
I was pleased to find out that the volumes cast shadows and has emission so that when the final portal and final animation come together, I can incorporate the lighting of the portal and reflections of it in the theater. Here's test renders of what the first pass looks like so far.
Final Thoughts
I'm really excited to see how the updated portal will look in the scene. Mitch is currently rendering out an updated portal sequence for this shot and eventually I will get to incorporate it into this scene and light it. I will have an update on the lighting development on this scene soon.