The LINK to the Animation....
https://vimeo.com/84707519
Link to my next semesters blogs....
Moving image: yeoldmovingimage.blogspot.com
3D Animation: 3danimationdes312.blogspot.com
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Sound effects and putting it all together.
Now heres where project planning comes in, and you realize, ah i wish id thought this far ahead, but its a learning experience none the less, you remember not to do it that way the next time.
Thinking i was smart making all the animation scenes in short scenes instead of long uneditable scenes, i left myself not much room for transitions. of course i went back to flash and made a few extra long start or end frames, giving room for transitions.
I stuck mainly with fade in and out, though transitions arent normally liked in movies above amateur level (otherwise you end up with something similar to scooby doo) the most commonly used transition in practice would probably be dissolve, but fade in and fade out suited this eerie dream like animation, i think it ended up looking the part once it was all put together.
a big problem i came across was the black screen, and timing it that it would only last for the certain blank narration parts, this was tricky due to the fact the software wouldnt allow me to use a blank screen, unless it was a jpeg, and nobody likes added a jpeg to a movie, especially since they arent as easy as youd think to scale down or up in time, the software thinks it knows best and jumps ahead or back a full second or two, which can completely throw off an animation. so timing the blackness was actually one of the most time consuming parts of this editing process.
The little things make the big things work, after all the chilling emotive design of this project doesnt just lay with the words narrated, or how they are narrated or eve just the animation and transitions, to make it come to life, the noises, subtle and obvious ones, all have to be included. this was my first real experience in sound effects, as it had more than background music.
There are countless music editing softwares available, the one is used and also my personal favourite due to its simplicity is garage band. it allows me to add several sound effects, and over lap them (simple yet not all sound editing programes do it) and it allows me to mess about with the noise level, ie i can make things seem further in the distant or quieter, and even fade in or out. this of course was used alot in my 'the book thief' animation, mainly with the screams and sobs.
The first thing included other than the already discussed narration, was the eerie background music, though i had gathered the sound effects and back ups, the music was the last to be chosen but the first to be included.
I ended up using this particular one as the tempo changes but not drastically, it is repetitive and works with my animation. The big seller for me was actually the fact it gave me chills at the start, i had several background music options that worked with the animation, but this one haunted me from the very start, so it was an easy choice.
It took a bit of experimenting and listening to the full animaton more times than im happy with, but eventually i gt the narration and sound effects to work together, nether overbearing, and the narration quiet but not lost, and the eerie music heard but not a focus.
Now this would normally be the height of my music/sound editing process, but this animation requires sound effects to come to life.
I worked from the start to the end, as i already had the sound effects and back ups gathered. Though all the sounds gathered were suitable for the action, they didnt all suit the final project, picking and choosing as i went along, some suited with the narration and background noise, others did not.
The first sound effect heard is the typing, i was adamant that i wanted a type writer/keyboard noise behind the 'small fact' titles, i designed the way the type animated due to this idea, so since i was lacking in a type writer, and any type noises i found on the internet werent suitable (too loud, too fast, too slow) i recorded it myself. This of course is not easy when you live with about ten people and in the middle of a city, background noise/static is always going to happen. Once i silenced almost everything else, my own breathing and small movements were the most difficult to cancel out. Im pretty sure divers dont have to practice holding their breath that long, again and again until the recordings correct.
I did this for all three red titles, typing the actual words out, however they dragged on a bit too much in the end.
The next bi g sound effect heard was meant to be a shine but a shine/gleam/chime didnt suit the animation, it was too high pitched for the solemness.
So in the end i used a woosh noise, when he is disappearing with the standard lifeless blue soul and the light over his shoulder blinds the screen.
Next the cracking noise, i tried so many online options, even resorted to crinkling household items, then it hit me, i was wearing a wrist brace at the time, due to the amount of work over the course of that month id started to injury my wrist, and with the next semester right around the corner i couldnt loose the ability to write draw or animate, so i got a wrist brace, its basically what youd wear if say you sprained your wrist, and if youve ever seen or had one, youd know the crackling noise that is normally a complete nuisance... except in this case, where it was perfect.
The scream i bought from an online sound effects website, for next to nothing, it came with several other screams that i found perfect for this part, but this one sounded best when made to drown out in the distance.
I think it worked well because it is a bit scary and unexpected. catches you off guard. i had plan to use many other sound effects but in the end i took them out as it was too many, every second or so was another sound effect and the actual effect was lost by the end of it all.
One of the most striking moments you see death, is one of the big full person glimpses, and its very bold and lonesome looking as he turns and abandons the screen.
This was such a powerful scene i kept its sound effect. a long swoosh similar to the shining light over the shoulder scene. it emphasise how quick and how gone he is.
hopefully making the viewer feel an emptiness, and abandoned.
One of the hardest sound effects to actually decide on was the distant crying of survivors, it was a disgusted and mournful scene through narration and animation,it was a fine line between too much and not enough.
I was stuck on whether it was an actual mournful cry, a small sob or even a crowd of crys and sobs.
Its one of the sound effects that took so much time and effort yet im just not happy with it in the end, i feel it is missing something im just not seeing/hearing, yet no matter who i asked, i never got any helpful feedback, nobody else seemed to see/hear the problem i had. Its defiantly a scene im not a hundred percent pleased with.
The beaten lungs is the last big sound effect you hear in this animation, it seemed too important to not include. Once all the sound effects had been included i deleted more than half as it was too much. sound effects i deleted were small things like marching of Nazis, heavy breathing every so often, shines, a swoosh of the perpetual survivor, a sound for each of the things described in the second last scene, like the scribble of writing (words) and a girl laugh in the distance (girl) marching (fanatical Germans) an accordion in the distance (accordionist) jewish fist fighter (a punch and a grunt) In the end though they seemed nesscary, there was just too much and lost its effect.
Sounds i wish i had included now that i look back on it all would be especially the waxy yellows and cloud spat blues scene. a gooey noise for the wax, a drip and puffy noise for cloud spat blue, and maybe a smokey noise or crumbling noise for the murky darknesses. One more noise i wasnt happy with and believe another coinciding noise wouldve benefited would have been the beaten lungs noise, though there were alot of noises in that scene i believe a sickly breathing/beating noise for the lungs wouldve been appropriate, however i could never find one that made sense, this is one of the biggest disappointments about this animation, even though nobody else seems to notice.
All in all i think it was a success. i started out to create a short story (lifes ups and downs, based on the oh the places youll go by dr suess) but changed it to making a teaser promo for the book for this project and it turned out alot better than id expected, and the project brought on more challenges and experiences than id expected as well. I can definitely see myself getting more and more enthused by animation and want to continue to get better. so take a wee look at the final project 'The Book Thief' linked in the next post and maybe give me some feedback, all feedback/suggestions/likes/dislikes are welcome, as it will help me become a better animator. Thankyou all for reading this far, and i hope this project/blog has come of some little use to you on your on projects/animation journeys.
Next semester is 3D Animation and Moving Image, so if any of that interests you, follow on reading, the link will also be in the final post.
BYE
Thinking i was smart making all the animation scenes in short scenes instead of long uneditable scenes, i left myself not much room for transitions. of course i went back to flash and made a few extra long start or end frames, giving room for transitions.
I stuck mainly with fade in and out, though transitions arent normally liked in movies above amateur level (otherwise you end up with something similar to scooby doo) the most commonly used transition in practice would probably be dissolve, but fade in and fade out suited this eerie dream like animation, i think it ended up looking the part once it was all put together.
a big problem i came across was the black screen, and timing it that it would only last for the certain blank narration parts, this was tricky due to the fact the software wouldnt allow me to use a blank screen, unless it was a jpeg, and nobody likes added a jpeg to a movie, especially since they arent as easy as youd think to scale down or up in time, the software thinks it knows best and jumps ahead or back a full second or two, which can completely throw off an animation. so timing the blackness was actually one of the most time consuming parts of this editing process.
The little things make the big things work, after all the chilling emotive design of this project doesnt just lay with the words narrated, or how they are narrated or eve just the animation and transitions, to make it come to life, the noises, subtle and obvious ones, all have to be included. this was my first real experience in sound effects, as it had more than background music.
There are countless music editing softwares available, the one is used and also my personal favourite due to its simplicity is garage band. it allows me to add several sound effects, and over lap them (simple yet not all sound editing programes do it) and it allows me to mess about with the noise level, ie i can make things seem further in the distant or quieter, and even fade in or out. this of course was used alot in my 'the book thief' animation, mainly with the screams and sobs.
The first thing included other than the already discussed narration, was the eerie background music, though i had gathered the sound effects and back ups, the music was the last to be chosen but the first to be included.
I ended up using this particular one as the tempo changes but not drastically, it is repetitive and works with my animation. The big seller for me was actually the fact it gave me chills at the start, i had several background music options that worked with the animation, but this one haunted me from the very start, so it was an easy choice.
It took a bit of experimenting and listening to the full animaton more times than im happy with, but eventually i gt the narration and sound effects to work together, nether overbearing, and the narration quiet but not lost, and the eerie music heard but not a focus.
Now this would normally be the height of my music/sound editing process, but this animation requires sound effects to come to life.
I worked from the start to the end, as i already had the sound effects and back ups gathered. Though all the sounds gathered were suitable for the action, they didnt all suit the final project, picking and choosing as i went along, some suited with the narration and background noise, others did not.
The first sound effect heard is the typing, i was adamant that i wanted a type writer/keyboard noise behind the 'small fact' titles, i designed the way the type animated due to this idea, so since i was lacking in a type writer, and any type noises i found on the internet werent suitable (too loud, too fast, too slow) i recorded it myself. This of course is not easy when you live with about ten people and in the middle of a city, background noise/static is always going to happen. Once i silenced almost everything else, my own breathing and small movements were the most difficult to cancel out. Im pretty sure divers dont have to practice holding their breath that long, again and again until the recordings correct.
I did this for all three red titles, typing the actual words out, however they dragged on a bit too much in the end.
The next bi g sound effect heard was meant to be a shine but a shine/gleam/chime didnt suit the animation, it was too high pitched for the solemness.
So in the end i used a woosh noise, when he is disappearing with the standard lifeless blue soul and the light over his shoulder blinds the screen.
Next the cracking noise, i tried so many online options, even resorted to crinkling household items, then it hit me, i was wearing a wrist brace at the time, due to the amount of work over the course of that month id started to injury my wrist, and with the next semester right around the corner i couldnt loose the ability to write draw or animate, so i got a wrist brace, its basically what youd wear if say you sprained your wrist, and if youve ever seen or had one, youd know the crackling noise that is normally a complete nuisance... except in this case, where it was perfect.
The scream i bought from an online sound effects website, for next to nothing, it came with several other screams that i found perfect for this part, but this one sounded best when made to drown out in the distance.
I think it worked well because it is a bit scary and unexpected. catches you off guard. i had plan to use many other sound effects but in the end i took them out as it was too many, every second or so was another sound effect and the actual effect was lost by the end of it all.
One of the most striking moments you see death, is one of the big full person glimpses, and its very bold and lonesome looking as he turns and abandons the screen.
This was such a powerful scene i kept its sound effect. a long swoosh similar to the shining light over the shoulder scene. it emphasise how quick and how gone he is.
hopefully making the viewer feel an emptiness, and abandoned.
One of the hardest sound effects to actually decide on was the distant crying of survivors, it was a disgusted and mournful scene through narration and animation,it was a fine line between too much and not enough.
I was stuck on whether it was an actual mournful cry, a small sob or even a crowd of crys and sobs.
Its one of the sound effects that took so much time and effort yet im just not happy with it in the end, i feel it is missing something im just not seeing/hearing, yet no matter who i asked, i never got any helpful feedback, nobody else seemed to see/hear the problem i had. Its defiantly a scene im not a hundred percent pleased with.
The beaten lungs is the last big sound effect you hear in this animation, it seemed too important to not include. Once all the sound effects had been included i deleted more than half as it was too much. sound effects i deleted were small things like marching of Nazis, heavy breathing every so often, shines, a swoosh of the perpetual survivor, a sound for each of the things described in the second last scene, like the scribble of writing (words) and a girl laugh in the distance (girl) marching (fanatical Germans) an accordion in the distance (accordionist) jewish fist fighter (a punch and a grunt) In the end though they seemed nesscary, there was just too much and lost its effect.
Sounds i wish i had included now that i look back on it all would be especially the waxy yellows and cloud spat blues scene. a gooey noise for the wax, a drip and puffy noise for cloud spat blue, and maybe a smokey noise or crumbling noise for the murky darknesses. One more noise i wasnt happy with and believe another coinciding noise wouldve benefited would have been the beaten lungs noise, though there were alot of noises in that scene i believe a sickly breathing/beating noise for the lungs wouldve been appropriate, however i could never find one that made sense, this is one of the biggest disappointments about this animation, even though nobody else seems to notice.
All in all i think it was a success. i started out to create a short story (lifes ups and downs, based on the oh the places youll go by dr suess) but changed it to making a teaser promo for the book for this project and it turned out alot better than id expected, and the project brought on more challenges and experiences than id expected as well. I can definitely see myself getting more and more enthused by animation and want to continue to get better. so take a wee look at the final project 'The Book Thief' linked in the next post and maybe give me some feedback, all feedback/suggestions/likes/dislikes are welcome, as it will help me become a better animator. Thankyou all for reading this far, and i hope this project/blog has come of some little use to you on your on projects/animation journeys.
Next semester is 3D Animation and Moving Image, so if any of that interests you, follow on reading, the link will also be in the final post.
BYE
Monday, 3 February 2014
Getting Started! The Animation
The planning has been done and dusted, its now time to actually get down to animating!
Im going to use Flash CS6.... mainly because im far more comfortable using flash than after effects, each to their own, but if you are a beginner i suggest you learn after effects or you will find flash too easy and never properly learn to use after effects, which most employers prefer you to use. but for now lets just say each to their own and i hope whatever software you all choose use you build the proper skills for your animation.
Some of you might e wondering why ive back tracked and used an older version of flash this time, the reason for this is I used Flash CC for the previous brief, which most of you know and had serious trouble exporting all my experiments and exercises, so i kept it a better safe than sorry situation.
I created the animation in order, thats how i usually work, however im not unknown to working on scenes in a jumbled order. for this project though, there was no reason not to create the simple scenes in order.
Ive broken this short animation into very short scenes for simplicity.
Im not going to go through every brush stroke and detail. ill leave that to your imaginations, however i do want to go through the scenes and give my thoughts on them, and point out the negatives and positives.
so lets begin.... as theres quite a few.
Scene one. First the colours, then the humans.
Since it was the first scene i went back and re did it more times than any other scene, after all it was the one i seen most often, so i was constantly judging it and finding other ways to create it.
im quite happy with the final version. i used a simple blur tool and motion tweens to create the fuzzy rainbow effect.
Scene two. A small fact, etc
I used the type tool, which didnt export properly, which again turned into a blessing in disguise, using the tpe as a guide, i created my own wonky creepy type, originally white on black, but red suited better.
I tried fading and shaking some of te words as the type got further away but it didnt make as bold an impact as the ransom note version i ended up with in the end.
Scene three. Reaction to the aforementioned fact
The type is all done the same, but what i wanted to talk about in this scene is actually how badly the word fair turned out. i didnt like the blurred out or shaky versions i tried, but then i tried the word fair expanding on its own to make a more lasting statement, but it was too confusing to anyone that viewed it later, so i ended up using an italic type, which others preferred but i think looks silly and not as powerful as the other versions.
Scene four. An introduction
This is the real turning point, slightly uplifting, its where the story seems to be getting somewhere, it brings you in it makes you more curious when in actuality its bringing in a broader picture and about to ramble further and confuse the audience.
This is the first moment you catch a glimpse of death and thats all its meant to be, a moment.
I wanted it faceless, not coming to or from your direction, you want to see the narrator but he moves too fast, yet in a hallow ghostly manner. His golden white hair flowing behind him. thats quite alot of hair and quite alot of frames. it took a few trys before i could get all the frames to have the hair blow at each ghostly step but not get longer or shorter by the end.
Scene five. Soul will be in my arms
This is one of my favourite scenes, as it is chilling, scary, inevitable and dooming HOWEVER its also calm and uplifting. at this point first time audiences thought the narrator was an angel or jesus, close (angel of death) but still wrong.
and the light over the shoulder is similar to the sacred heart of jesus painting.
i was always interesting to see at which point a viewer would realize the narrators identity, some got it almost instantly, others didnt get it until the sith scene.
Scene six. Caked in your own body
This is one of the many blank for dramatic effect scenes, that i found could sometimes linger on too long if you werent interested in the words, so i figured during story boarding that having relatable sound effects or small pieces of animation amoung the blankness would be useful.
out of the entire section of narration i thought caked in your own body was the most haunting and could be a powerful visual.
Scene seven. Sound of the smell of my footsteps
I thought jumping the audience from one extreme emotion to the other would be a very thriller/teaser technique. so from dead, and caked in your own body, i used sound effects and animation to give a wistful feeling. the emotive design in this animation was a major factor. making the audience want more but terrified of the dry humored death, i believe this is one of the scenes that did that perfectly.
Scene eight. What will the sky be saying
This is another powerful scene, due to the contrast in colours, this is the first full screen image so far, it actually makes audiences squint at the brightness and the vastness, exactly the effect i was going for, since most of the promo is in darkness. this way, when the mountainous range and chocolate sky is revealed its a shock to the system, just like it would be in real life.
Scene nine. A small theory
This being a far longer paragraph i thought suited just the title and maybe near the more visual words, some animation. If i had included the type like i had for the last two word scenes, the audience wouldve been severely put off by all the reading, even though the words are being read out, you still follow and read them, turning the audience off the promo.
Scene ten. Waxy yellows
This is one of the visual sentences in the word scenes that i thought had to become animated.
im disappointed i didnt add puffy cloud, splats, waxy squishy noises in the final cut, but that would be my only regret for this scene. that and it goes a bit too fast for the effect i was going for.
Scene eleven. Who would replace me
This is a series of different poses, all with one action, tying boot laces, tugging/fixing cloak, swishing hair and pensive stare, all quick flashes that are long enough to understand but they are mere glimpses, never allowing you to properly see death.
building the curiosity, tension and confusion.
Scene twelve. Te answer, nobody
The climax, the final (very final) answer, from here its obvious who the narrator is, which is both mind blowing and chilling. its now confirmed you are seeing things from deaths point of view.
hopefully i made the voice over sound as depressing and serious, that and the swishy blurred animation, i think i captured the hallow forever wanderer character.
Scene thirteen. I vacation in colours.
slightly uplifting, less chilling but its now understandable, even death can appreciate the little things. making him a slave to humanity. his only love is the colours, which hopefully makes the audience that bit more appreciative emotions wise, and for what they are seeing, it usually brings a person down to earth a little more.
Its also the final, very finalizing shot of him turning away. yes to continue on working forever and ever, always busy, always alone, always sad, i was hoping it would come across bold and brave, but also spark some empathy.
Scene fourteen. The left over humans
This is where the patience gets lost, the explaining is mostly done and death no longer wants to really talk about subjects that annoy and disgust him.
i thought the 'ones i cant stand to look at' was quite a visually rich phrase, and was appropriate for the first last and only haunting glimpse of deaths eyes, staring straight into your human soul and then turning in annoyance
but for the proper effect i think i wouldve needed less colour and more detail in his eyes, as if they were inhuman and pulsing, i didnt capture it the way i wanted, and when he turns, however it exported, it ended up going to slow and loses its quick scary effect..
Scene fifteen. Punctured hearts and beaten lungs
defenseless, powerless and mourning, the abandoned humans who have just lost their loved ones, in deaths eyes they are scum, killing each other, killing themselves, sick humans who are slow dying from birth, always deteriorating and making his job harder and harder.
like the soul, i didnt want it too there and obvious, it was a representation of all humanity, no gender or race. just a hunched over sad outline, dying with a sickly heart and set of lungs.
the lungs and heart didnt turn out the way i had intended, they werent as vile looking, an most of the detail got lost between exporting and uploading.so im definitely not happy with this final version of this scene.
however any time i tried to focus more on the detail, the movements got lost, ,and visa versa. so it was the best of a bad lot in the end. i may return to this and fix it to a standard im happy with.
Scene sixteen. Perpetual survivor
once all horrible humans have been seen in the previous scene, represented by that one mourning figure. death finishes up, by explaining this story int about that vile topic, but instead a tougher breed of survivor, something he has a happier view on, a bolder view.
i ended up making the book thief slightly more grown up than id intended but it shouldnt matter as she ranges in ages in the book. i didnt like how similar to the 'the left over humans' scene, it exported wrong and shes too slow. if i was to go back id make her run off to the side faster, maybe animate the hair. it looks so 2 and lifeless now that i look back on it.
i thought after so much darkness this happy climatic 'to be continued' like ending needed a bright figure in the end to follow. so she was like a wistful white spirit. cant be caught, not even by death.
Scene eighteen. A small story really
This is the come down, its a little less happy, more serious, but intriguing. like a bed time story. i dont like how blatantly obvious the transitions are in the end, but i do thin i choose appropriately for introducing the characters as they are listed by death, ie a girl, and accordionist etc.
i thought it simple, to the point and bold considering its about to leave on a cliffhanger, it is meant to be a teaser after all.
my biggest complaint about this is actually how un noticeable the natzi army turned out to be, perhaps if i had added marching noises to it in the end, i wouldve made the pale red army stand out more.
but i think it nicely set the scene for anarchy. and an unusual story you kind of have to be curious about. after all, what has a girl, world war two, an accordionist and books got in common, i believe it leaves the audience at least wondering and curious by the end, and definitely up for reading the book or watching the upcoming movie.
Scene nineteen. The book thief.
now the scene has been set and curiosity in the audience ignited, its time to fade out on a last quick animation, no lingering or itll seem dragged on. and i didnt want the long teasers ending to be unusually abrupt.
sticking with the perpetual survivor colour (the book thief) lowing white, i had a feminine hand reach across screen, hesitate (showing theres more to the story) before snatching the book.
I was very happy how the final book thief symbol turned out, it isnt an easy sketchy title to copy, and make stand out. i was pleased how well it turned out, the title was definitely worth the time in my opinion.
Thats that, time for touch ups and put it all together. once you get to this point of any animation you think, ah im near done.... depending on how much post production you have to do, you may be no where near done. you might be done animation, bu what about effects, and putting it together and sounds, and all that.
it can be quite time consuming and misleading.
Im going to use Flash CS6.... mainly because im far more comfortable using flash than after effects, each to their own, but if you are a beginner i suggest you learn after effects or you will find flash too easy and never properly learn to use after effects, which most employers prefer you to use. but for now lets just say each to their own and i hope whatever software you all choose use you build the proper skills for your animation.
Some of you might e wondering why ive back tracked and used an older version of flash this time, the reason for this is I used Flash CC for the previous brief, which most of you know and had serious trouble exporting all my experiments and exercises, so i kept it a better safe than sorry situation.
I created the animation in order, thats how i usually work, however im not unknown to working on scenes in a jumbled order. for this project though, there was no reason not to create the simple scenes in order.
Ive broken this short animation into very short scenes for simplicity.
Im not going to go through every brush stroke and detail. ill leave that to your imaginations, however i do want to go through the scenes and give my thoughts on them, and point out the negatives and positives.
so lets begin.... as theres quite a few.
Scene one. First the colours, then the humans.
Since it was the first scene i went back and re did it more times than any other scene, after all it was the one i seen most often, so i was constantly judging it and finding other ways to create it.
im quite happy with the final version. i used a simple blur tool and motion tweens to create the fuzzy rainbow effect.
Scene two. A small fact, etc
I used the type tool, which didnt export properly, which again turned into a blessing in disguise, using the tpe as a guide, i created my own wonky creepy type, originally white on black, but red suited better.
I tried fading and shaking some of te words as the type got further away but it didnt make as bold an impact as the ransom note version i ended up with in the end.
Scene three. Reaction to the aforementioned fact
The type is all done the same, but what i wanted to talk about in this scene is actually how badly the word fair turned out. i didnt like the blurred out or shaky versions i tried, but then i tried the word fair expanding on its own to make a more lasting statement, but it was too confusing to anyone that viewed it later, so i ended up using an italic type, which others preferred but i think looks silly and not as powerful as the other versions.
Scene four. An introduction
This is the real turning point, slightly uplifting, its where the story seems to be getting somewhere, it brings you in it makes you more curious when in actuality its bringing in a broader picture and about to ramble further and confuse the audience.
This is the first moment you catch a glimpse of death and thats all its meant to be, a moment.
I wanted it faceless, not coming to or from your direction, you want to see the narrator but he moves too fast, yet in a hallow ghostly manner. His golden white hair flowing behind him. thats quite alot of hair and quite alot of frames. it took a few trys before i could get all the frames to have the hair blow at each ghostly step but not get longer or shorter by the end.
Scene five. Soul will be in my arms
This is one of my favourite scenes, as it is chilling, scary, inevitable and dooming HOWEVER its also calm and uplifting. at this point first time audiences thought the narrator was an angel or jesus, close (angel of death) but still wrong.
and the light over the shoulder is similar to the sacred heart of jesus painting.
i was always interesting to see at which point a viewer would realize the narrators identity, some got it almost instantly, others didnt get it until the sith scene.
Scene six. Caked in your own body
This is one of the many blank for dramatic effect scenes, that i found could sometimes linger on too long if you werent interested in the words, so i figured during story boarding that having relatable sound effects or small pieces of animation amoung the blankness would be useful.
out of the entire section of narration i thought caked in your own body was the most haunting and could be a powerful visual.
Scene seven. Sound of the smell of my footsteps
I thought jumping the audience from one extreme emotion to the other would be a very thriller/teaser technique. so from dead, and caked in your own body, i used sound effects and animation to give a wistful feeling. the emotive design in this animation was a major factor. making the audience want more but terrified of the dry humored death, i believe this is one of the scenes that did that perfectly.
Scene eight. What will the sky be saying
This is another powerful scene, due to the contrast in colours, this is the first full screen image so far, it actually makes audiences squint at the brightness and the vastness, exactly the effect i was going for, since most of the promo is in darkness. this way, when the mountainous range and chocolate sky is revealed its a shock to the system, just like it would be in real life.
Scene nine. A small theory
This being a far longer paragraph i thought suited just the title and maybe near the more visual words, some animation. If i had included the type like i had for the last two word scenes, the audience wouldve been severely put off by all the reading, even though the words are being read out, you still follow and read them, turning the audience off the promo.
Scene ten. Waxy yellows
This is one of the visual sentences in the word scenes that i thought had to become animated.
im disappointed i didnt add puffy cloud, splats, waxy squishy noises in the final cut, but that would be my only regret for this scene. that and it goes a bit too fast for the effect i was going for.
Scene eleven. Who would replace me
This is a series of different poses, all with one action, tying boot laces, tugging/fixing cloak, swishing hair and pensive stare, all quick flashes that are long enough to understand but they are mere glimpses, never allowing you to properly see death.
building the curiosity, tension and confusion.
Scene twelve. Te answer, nobody
The climax, the final (very final) answer, from here its obvious who the narrator is, which is both mind blowing and chilling. its now confirmed you are seeing things from deaths point of view.
hopefully i made the voice over sound as depressing and serious, that and the swishy blurred animation, i think i captured the hallow forever wanderer character.
Scene thirteen. I vacation in colours.
slightly uplifting, less chilling but its now understandable, even death can appreciate the little things. making him a slave to humanity. his only love is the colours, which hopefully makes the audience that bit more appreciative emotions wise, and for what they are seeing, it usually brings a person down to earth a little more.
Its also the final, very finalizing shot of him turning away. yes to continue on working forever and ever, always busy, always alone, always sad, i was hoping it would come across bold and brave, but also spark some empathy.
Scene fourteen. The left over humans
This is where the patience gets lost, the explaining is mostly done and death no longer wants to really talk about subjects that annoy and disgust him.
i thought the 'ones i cant stand to look at' was quite a visually rich phrase, and was appropriate for the first last and only haunting glimpse of deaths eyes, staring straight into your human soul and then turning in annoyance
but for the proper effect i think i wouldve needed less colour and more detail in his eyes, as if they were inhuman and pulsing, i didnt capture it the way i wanted, and when he turns, however it exported, it ended up going to slow and loses its quick scary effect..
Scene fifteen. Punctured hearts and beaten lungs
defenseless, powerless and mourning, the abandoned humans who have just lost their loved ones, in deaths eyes they are scum, killing each other, killing themselves, sick humans who are slow dying from birth, always deteriorating and making his job harder and harder.
like the soul, i didnt want it too there and obvious, it was a representation of all humanity, no gender or race. just a hunched over sad outline, dying with a sickly heart and set of lungs.
the lungs and heart didnt turn out the way i had intended, they werent as vile looking, an most of the detail got lost between exporting and uploading.so im definitely not happy with this final version of this scene.
however any time i tried to focus more on the detail, the movements got lost, ,and visa versa. so it was the best of a bad lot in the end. i may return to this and fix it to a standard im happy with.
Scene sixteen. Perpetual survivor
once all horrible humans have been seen in the previous scene, represented by that one mourning figure. death finishes up, by explaining this story int about that vile topic, but instead a tougher breed of survivor, something he has a happier view on, a bolder view.
i ended up making the book thief slightly more grown up than id intended but it shouldnt matter as she ranges in ages in the book. i didnt like how similar to the 'the left over humans' scene, it exported wrong and shes too slow. if i was to go back id make her run off to the side faster, maybe animate the hair. it looks so 2 and lifeless now that i look back on it.
i thought after so much darkness this happy climatic 'to be continued' like ending needed a bright figure in the end to follow. so she was like a wistful white spirit. cant be caught, not even by death.
Scene eighteen. A small story really
This is the come down, its a little less happy, more serious, but intriguing. like a bed time story. i dont like how blatantly obvious the transitions are in the end, but i do thin i choose appropriately for introducing the characters as they are listed by death, ie a girl, and accordionist etc.
i thought it simple, to the point and bold considering its about to leave on a cliffhanger, it is meant to be a teaser after all.
my biggest complaint about this is actually how un noticeable the natzi army turned out to be, perhaps if i had added marching noises to it in the end, i wouldve made the pale red army stand out more.
but i think it nicely set the scene for anarchy. and an unusual story you kind of have to be curious about. after all, what has a girl, world war two, an accordionist and books got in common, i believe it leaves the audience at least wondering and curious by the end, and definitely up for reading the book or watching the upcoming movie.
Scene nineteen. The book thief.
now the scene has been set and curiosity in the audience ignited, its time to fade out on a last quick animation, no lingering or itll seem dragged on. and i didnt want the long teasers ending to be unusually abrupt.
sticking with the perpetual survivor colour (the book thief) lowing white, i had a feminine hand reach across screen, hesitate (showing theres more to the story) before snatching the book.
I was very happy how the final book thief symbol turned out, it isnt an easy sketchy title to copy, and make stand out. i was pleased how well it turned out, the title was definitely worth the time in my opinion.
Thats that, time for touch ups and put it all together. once you get to this point of any animation you think, ah im near done.... depending on how much post production you have to do, you may be no where near done. you might be done animation, bu what about effects, and putting it together and sounds, and all that.
it can be quite time consuming and misleading.
The Animatic
Due to this being a narration based animation, i decided an animatic would be helpful, mainly for timing purposes, but also to see if everything seemed in the right order, maybe certain scenes required more or less. this was my last chance at fixing anything before i started animating, after all time management is a big element in animation, or any project for that matter. So i couldnt afford to waste time starting an animation only to realize theres a problem and everything need redone.
Ive included a link below, but keep in mind this was for timing, not animating, so its mainly stills and motion tweens.
Im glad i did the animatic first, it gave me a better idea how long the animation would be in the end and allowed me to see i needed a better transition for the colours-humans scene.
I also noticed that the writing was too even, people type fast and slow, depending on the word and such.
https://vimeo.com/85758861
The sound didnt upload properly, so this wont be of much use to you all, however it will give you a general idea of how my planning process works.
Ive included a link below, but keep in mind this was for timing, not animating, so its mainly stills and motion tweens.
Im glad i did the animatic first, it gave me a better idea how long the animation would be in the end and allowed me to see i needed a better transition for the colours-humans scene.
I also noticed that the writing was too even, people type fast and slow, depending on the word and such.
https://vimeo.com/85758861
The sound didnt upload properly, so this wont be of much use to you all, however it will give you a general idea of how my planning process works.
Recording the narration!
Well thats the script sorted, even the storyboard. before i can actually animate anything i wanted the recording done to make sure it suited.
Now this was fun....apart from the whole looking like a crazy person reciting the same three strange pages again and again, more specifically reciting each line a dozen times a piece.
it was definitely interesting.
I had intended on recording a male voice all along, but due to a few unreliable volunteers, i ended up doing it myself.
At least when i did it myself i could control the tempo and redo it as many times as i wanted without apologizing to someone voice acting for me. However i hate the sound of my own voice, and it definitely doesnt suit the final animation, however for future projects i think it would be useful to record a draft version ie my voice over, for timing purposes etc, and to give the voice actor a better idea of what they should do.
I found it incredibly useful for the animatic but not the final animation.
When recording myself i tried recording a full version.
i tried recording line my line.
breath by breath.
scene by scene.
i then had to rerecord everything due to format problems, however this set back turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the different recording equipment i used got rid of a static background i couldnt shake.
Though the final version isnt perfect, its far better than earlier drafts, so i could definitely see an improvement from start to finish.
There are a few lines i just couldnt get right, but i think thats down to the fact my voice wasnt suitable, its female and not snarky enough. my least favorite recorded line was the 'where are my manners' part, it doesnt seem to sound right, but i recorded it every which way i could, it was down to unsuitability rather than not capturing the right tone.
Now this was fun....apart from the whole looking like a crazy person reciting the same three strange pages again and again, more specifically reciting each line a dozen times a piece.
it was definitely interesting.
I had intended on recording a male voice all along, but due to a few unreliable volunteers, i ended up doing it myself.
At least when i did it myself i could control the tempo and redo it as many times as i wanted without apologizing to someone voice acting for me. However i hate the sound of my own voice, and it definitely doesnt suit the final animation, however for future projects i think it would be useful to record a draft version ie my voice over, for timing purposes etc, and to give the voice actor a better idea of what they should do.
I found it incredibly useful for the animatic but not the final animation.
When recording myself i tried recording a full version.
i tried recording line my line.
breath by breath.
scene by scene.
i then had to rerecord everything due to format problems, however this set back turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the different recording equipment i used got rid of a static background i couldnt shake.
Though the final version isnt perfect, its far better than earlier drafts, so i could definitely see an improvement from start to finish.
There are a few lines i just couldnt get right, but i think thats down to the fact my voice wasnt suitable, its female and not snarky enough. my least favorite recorded line was the 'where are my manners' part, it doesnt seem to sound right, but i recorded it every which way i could, it was down to unsuitability rather than not capturing the right tone.
Starting the script and storyboards
I started the storyboards about a dozen times, the angles and view changed so much, it seems silly to make you all read it ALL, so ive only included one of the drafts and the final.
As you can see im very messy when it comes to work i think nobody will ever have to look at, but i think thats the same as writers as well, as long as i understand it is what matters. unless of course someone actually has to read it, then id need to fix a few lines and be a bit tidier with my hand writing.
But of course you cant storyboard until you are a hundred percent sure of what your story is.
This means scripting!
So i decided in the end to just go for the full three pages so the story maes sense, besides its a teaser promo, no fan wants half a page. they want more.
Below you can see the original pages, but by this stage id flipped throgh this book, especially those three pages so much the book was threatening to fall apart, so copied it out and numbered the lines, this came in handy when it came time for referencing the storyboards to the script so anyone could follow along.
Very little changed between this final story board and the final animation short. I didnt put extreme detail into the storyboards as i re did them so many times. i put detail in certain aspects that i wanted to remember, otherwise it was all basics shapes and scribbles, this was for planning purposes, not presentation.
As you can see im very messy when it comes to work i think nobody will ever have to look at, but i think thats the same as writers as well, as long as i understand it is what matters. unless of course someone actually has to read it, then id need to fix a few lines and be a bit tidier with my hand writing.
But of course you cant storyboard until you are a hundred percent sure of what your story is.
This means scripting!
So i decided in the end to just go for the full three pages so the story maes sense, besides its a teaser promo, no fan wants half a page. they want more.
Below you can see the original pages, but by this stage id flipped throgh this book, especially those three pages so much the book was threatening to fall apart, so copied it out and numbered the lines, this came in handy when it came time for referencing the storyboards to the script so anyone could follow along.
My referencing script.... to anyone going to do any story boarding with narration, i highly recommend having a copy of the narration like this and numbered, it makes things so much handier, and when it comes time for presentation or feedback, its easy enough to follow.
One of the draft storyboards, this is one of the last
The slightly tidier final storyboard.
Things i feel need included in a storyboard for me to follow, is a storyboard number.... to make sure nothing gets jumbled, i did this through page numbers.
extra room for notes.
sounds or sound effects that would come up in this shot.
if its a narration, a numbered referencing system, like ive done eg the second board on page one has lines 7-9.
any particular transitions, in and out
a word, line or small paragraph describing whats actually happening in the board.
This stuff for me personally are must haves when storyboarding, it makes life so much easier when explaining my work to others and regardless of how long ago i created the storyboard ill remember whats happening and of course it makes animating the storyboard easier, even in post production.
Very little changed between this final story board and the final animation short. I didnt put extreme detail into the storyboards as i re did them so many times. i put detail in certain aspects that i wanted to remember, otherwise it was all basics shapes and scribbles, this was for planning purposes, not presentation.
little bits of my research
With research into mysterious characters and current death adaptions, ive noticed, the face is one of the biggest aspects normally because there isnt one, or its n half/dim light.
Ive noticed in many movies and photographs, they use lighting to emphasis how mysterious a character is, and i dont just mean it all has to be dark, sometimes its too bright to see.
I wanted to portray my version of death, in a mysterious, warm but ominous way.
At this point im finalizing the narration, my biggest problem is deciding weather to narrate the entire prologue or just bits and pieces. if i dont read it all it wont make sense, and its so beautifully written, itd be a pity to not include it all, however its long, and most of it doesnt require anything on screen, infact some parts, especially haunting parts, will require nothing on screen for dramatic purposes. This i will discuss with peers, but i dont think ill be a hundred percent happy with either option.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Introducing DEATH
I know it seems quite sinister that my main character is death, however i want it eerie not sinister, and the book has its ups and downs, and the characters will more than likely make you have some feels, however it is a relatively light hearted book and death is a fairly decent caring character.
I want the characters longing, lonely tortured soul to be portrayed through his gentle appearance, but i dont want a full on character, i want him faceless, an unknown deity.
loving but still stand offish and barely there. I think ill make him somewhat see though, as if hes there but hes not, i want him very otherworldly.
INSERT THE DIGITAL RENDER AND FINAL SKETCH
Blurring his hair and cloak the way i did in the digital render was a major leap in character development, it just added to my half coloured idea. Im very pleased with the final outcome, however at some point or another im sure i will present death in bits and pieces but i dont ever want a full view of him, to the extent the mystery is gone.
I want to keep them guessing in this teaser.
The Book Thief
The book i previously discussed in initial ideas is titled the book thief, and is written by Markus Zusak.
IT IS 1939. NAZI GERMANY. THE COUNTRY IS HOLDING ITS BREATH. DEATH HAS NEVER BEEN BUSIER, AND WILL BECOME BUSIER STILL.
Liesel Meminger and her brother are being taken be their mother to live with a foster family outside Munich. Liesel's father was taken away on the breath of a single, unfamiliar word - Kommunist - and Liesel sees the fear of a similar fate in her mother's eyes. On the journey, Death visits the young boy, and notices Liesel. It will be the first of many nearer encounters. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is "The Gravedigger's Handbook", left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.
So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.
"The Book Thief" is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-wining author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
Liesel Meminger and her brother are being taken be their mother to live with a foster family outside Munich. Liesel's father was taken away on the breath of a single, unfamiliar word - Kommunist - and Liesel sees the fear of a similar fate in her mother's eyes. On the journey, Death visits the young boy, and notices Liesel. It will be the first of many nearer encounters. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is "The Gravedigger's Handbook", left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.
So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.
"The Book Thief" is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-wining author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
So the book thief in short is about an unusual perspective of world war two, infact, two unusual perspectives. Deaths (the narrator) and a little german girl.
I dont know about you but ive never read a german childs perspective of ww2, and yes at times the book makes you want to reach in and yell at them that no! you are following the wrong person, but it shows how the germans lived in fear also, and nobody was safe.
I loved how it was narrated by death (perhaps seen as a childish book, but itll make a grown man cry by the end, i guarantee it) so in the teaser trailer i wanted to show it was death, but lead up to that fact, have some confusion, within the first three pages you know death is the narrator as he introduces himself and the story and out of the whole book, i want to animate just those pages. forget the rest, thats what the movie and book is for, they can tell the story, as far as i know a teaser tailr is just suppose to get the buzz going and make you want to read/watch it.
Im a big reader, mainly down to the fact i read relatively fast and get through an average book in a day, but also because i have quite a vivid imagination, especially when books come into play. So i think this project idea is perfect for me.
When i read i get so lost, i suppose my eyes must see the words but my mind sees a whole different world.
So i dont think story boarding the words would be difficult, researching and using movie techniques that let some of the story away but not all will be tricky, i dont want to give away the story and i want to have some mystery about the narrator, so the way i present the story will be crucial.
As seen below in snippets from my sketchbook (ignore how messy i am when i know nobody but me will have to understand the drawings/writing) I brainstormed ideas, what phrases i want to emphasis, just how much should be in it, and initial sketches of Death.... should i actually show death ? i think it suits the narration to show a tortured soul/death, but should it be a controversial or original death? or a very stereotypical death ? i think i created a suitable mix of both.
Using my own drawing style, i created a shinigami looking grim reaper, im hoping it looks obviously like death and the confusion over the narrator is sorted in this short animation, otherwise the viewers will be even more confused than the cryptic words.
Brief one .... initial ideas.
I kid you not, this brief is so open to interpretation, its titled 'you're on your own'
So there are four options, and i wont get into the gritty details of the whole thing and tell you i chose the option to write our own brief and do whatever we wanted.
So quick brainstorm, i wont spend too much time annoying you all about the dozen or so ideas that i was sure i wanted to do, instead ill discuss the idea i was going with for the first few weeks, yes i changed it, shame on me.
So the basic idea actually came from my favourite childrens story, 'oh the places you will go' by Dr.Suess.
Theres been many unofficial adaptions of this story and songs. Its an inspirational tale, usually given as a graduation gift, but honestly i belief it should be given when one is actually embarking on an adventure rather than finishing one.
I have linked my favorite adapations below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQRWeZy-S8Q
This is simply a narration of the book and the actual book. Giving you an idea where everyone else is going in thier adaptions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_2muj6fxpc
A student animation, using the original illustrations and the bone tool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahv_1IS7SiE
The biggest inspiration, it is a commision based project for burning man. using original music from an amazing composer, the link is in the description. now the song was one of the biggest deciding factors in choosing this project.
The basic idea was to narrate oh the places you will go, similar to the link above, alongside the oh the places you will go music i will time a short animation of lifes ups and downs.
I brainstormed lifes ups and downs and developed a few ideas to show them.
In the end i decided on making an animation spanning over a lifetime, maybe three generations, following one character from infancy through childhood, teen, young adult, adult, aged adult and elder years.
I brainstormed scenes that would suit the song and combine as much of lifes ups and downs as possible into the given length of the song.
As you can see through the character design i didnt want to stick exactly to the Dr Suess illustration but i kept the seuss aspects, ie, floppy hat and slightly pointed nose, and in all generations redish ears and nose tip, a style i am not used to, so i have to be careful in portraying this design.
Once i had the character design done for my main character i decided he needed a partner, a best friend or something to that affect. i developed the scenes further and got he idea of a friend turned wife that would be featured in all the ages.
Infancy- exploring the big new world and coming across the next door neighbor
childhood- playing games with neighbor etc
teen-heartbreak and peer pressure revolving around the neighbor girl mainly
young adult- gets the girl, marries
adult- has children
elder adult-still married
elder-walks along in sunset lit park with wife and grandchildren.
The age stages wont focus on the girl, but she will be a reoccurring character in each triumph and trial, like winning a race, heartbreak, graduation, loss of job, raising children, etc.
Each age stage had pros and cons, and developed into one mans story of the places he'll go.
I gave my main character a recognizable blue, and the girl a red ribbon, in different positions depending on age appropriateness.
**further work
As you can see from the work above i had finished the design development, and was in the middle of both digital renders and storyboarding when i changed my mind.
The change was down to several deciding factors combined, The Dr.Suess idea only i seemed to interest me, and sure hats the point in creating something if its not to interest or entertain anyone. Another was the fact it would have in the end been near seven minutes long, a challenge yes, one i was happily taking since i was enthusiastic about the project however due to alot of lost time due to an illness in the family. I was runing out of time, and whilst still working on this idea and the storyboarding. I came across a trailer for the movie adaption of a book i read and loved quite a while ago.
This encouraged me to go and find the book, and when i did, i realized the first chapter or even first page and a half intro would be an amazing teaser trailer, giving nothing away but bringing the audience in. Ive seen it done many times, especially on a movie that hasnt been filmed or finished yet. getting the buzz about the movie started early. And that when i got the idea to animate a teaser promo for the book. After initial brainstorming i was sure i wanted to change my idea, although sightly late into the project, it was still doable.
Brief one, Vimeo link
Below is my animation reel .... my first, so dont laugh too hard. it saved me uploading a dozen different 4 second videos, i preferred them all in the one horrible video to save everyones time and effort.
So enjoy! .... and pleas ignore the fact most of them uploaded all pixalated and my narrations on the Animatics. All feedback welcomed, just try keep in mind im stil learning.
See you all in Brief Two !
http://vimeo.com/80864159?utm_source=email&utm_medium=clip-transcode_complete-finished-20120100&utm_campaign=7701&email_id=Y2xpcF90cmFuc2NvZGVkfDk2ZGI0NGVjMDBkNTY0ZmI4NmFmOGNjMGMxMmI3YzAzMzk4fDIwNjk3MTA4fDEzODYwNDY5MTV8NzcwMQ%3D%3D
So enjoy! .... and pleas ignore the fact most of them uploaded all pixalated and my narrations on the Animatics. All feedback welcomed, just try keep in mind im stil learning.
See you all in Brief Two !
http://vimeo.com/80864159?utm_source=email&utm_medium=clip-transcode_complete-finished-20120100&utm_campaign=7701&email_id=Y2xpcF90cmFuc2NvZGVkfDk2ZGI0NGVjMDBkNTY0ZmI4NmFmOGNjMGMxMmI3YzAzMzk4fDIwNjk3MTA4fDEzODYwNDY5MTV8NzcwMQ%3D%3D
EX.8 The Walk Cycle
Yes, we are nearing the end of brief one, you can tell, thanks to the big task of the walk cycle, note its not an animation book/class/tutorial if it doesnt have a walk cycle in there somewhere, even if just teaching you about keyframes and inbetweens.
And at this point you are all probably thinking, she must be the vainest person on the planet, after all this is not the first nor the second but the third time that ive based an animation exercise on myself this semester alone.
Vain or not, Im quiet proud that ive made all three very different style, yet based on the one person.
This one i actually based of Finn from adventure time, i used him as a walk cycle reference. and the head i designed after taking inspiration from a dr.suess movie that was on at the time.
Hopefully keeps my drawing style diverse as i have a bad habit of sticking to my usual drawing style, none of which has been shown in this brief at all.
The walk cycle is approx 9 frames (i also have the memory of an old man) after many failed attempts at the walk cycle, i walked from one end of the room to the other documenting movements, thats how the very bouncy movement came about.
Once i was finally happy with the walk cycle, and as its the last exercise i decided it was time for a proper paralax movement, after all, everyone has been shouting about it in every class, i figured time to at least try.
and remember that old blur tool i discussed way back at the timing exercise ? well that came in handy like i imagined, the paralax movement looked very static and boring until i added hints of blur of different ranges to each moving background layer, making the distance more obvious, i think it really suited this particular project.
So .... where to now? Brief two off we go, and hopefully ill have enough skills built in this Brief to carry over to the next one and actually create something interesting! wish me luck folks.
And at this point you are all probably thinking, she must be the vainest person on the planet, after all this is not the first nor the second but the third time that ive based an animation exercise on myself this semester alone.
Vain or not, Im quiet proud that ive made all three very different style, yet based on the one person.
This one i actually based of Finn from adventure time, i used him as a walk cycle reference. and the head i designed after taking inspiration from a dr.suess movie that was on at the time.
Hopefully keeps my drawing style diverse as i have a bad habit of sticking to my usual drawing style, none of which has been shown in this brief at all.
The walk cycle is approx 9 frames (i also have the memory of an old man) after many failed attempts at the walk cycle, i walked from one end of the room to the other documenting movements, thats how the very bouncy movement came about.
Once i was finally happy with the walk cycle, and as its the last exercise i decided it was time for a proper paralax movement, after all, everyone has been shouting about it in every class, i figured time to at least try.
and remember that old blur tool i discussed way back at the timing exercise ? well that came in handy like i imagined, the paralax movement looked very static and boring until i added hints of blur of different ranges to each moving background layer, making the distance more obvious, i think it really suited this particular project.
So .... where to now? Brief two off we go, and hopefully ill have enough skills built in this Brief to carry over to the next one and actually create something interesting! wish me luck folks.
EX.7 Lipsyncing
Ok now this i was actually excited about, im now getting really into this animation class, especially after the lipsyncing tutorials. Not just because i have never and could never successfully lipsync, but because the tutors unique style of drawing is really funny when animated and lipsynced.... yes i am that easily amused, and interested in projects for the silliest reasons.
So unlike rotoscoping i had a million and two ideas for this project. The one i choose in the end might not have been the best but its without a doubt my favourite project out of this entire brief.
My favourite ideas were as follows...
P.Sherman, 42 Wallybeeway Sydney: Finding Nemo -Dory/Ellen Degeneres
but it was too short, and too fast.it wouldnt show off the lipsyncing properly, it would just be over i a flash off movements and done.... so unfortunately that wasnt possible.
basically any line by samuel l jackson in pulp fiction, this shoed perfect volume ranges and emotions HOWEVER .... i couldnt find one without some form of swearing in it. and ets face it im not the most ploite person about as it is, i dont think the examiners want to hear all... that. So that was also out of the question.
The you cant handle the truth scene from a few good men. yes im very well aware i havent given the most feminine ideas so far, but theyre boring.
The scene had a range of volumes, emotions, speeds, it was perfect, except i was very quickly running out of time for this task, and after discussing it with too many people it was decided lipsyncing a full scene and three characters probably isnt the smartest move on such a time frame.... quick note, no matter how awesome you think an idea will be, be realistic, your client or employeer wont care how amazing the idea is, theyll want thier moneys worth out of you by the deadline, not ideas. sad truth, but truth none the less.
Then after trolling through my memory for big movie speeches with emotions, volumes etc i thought of a few but i also thought of the one i actually went with.
Tommy Lee Jones' speech in the Fugitive..... and when i told others about this idea, i officially felt like an old man in a 22 year olds head.... The fugitive is a movie about a doctor played by indiana jones... ehem i mean, hans solo.... i mean Harrason Ford, whos wrongly accused of his wifes murder, in a series of events (wont spoil the movie) breaks out of custody and goes on the run, Tommy lee Jones is the sheriff in charge of capturing him. The scene and speech i based my lipsync to is where Tommy Lee Jones is informing all the reporters and other law enforcement officers who and what they are hunting, ie Harrason Ford.
Its loud and its a bit long, but its a powerful scene and i hope i designed the character as strong powerful and sarcastic. The camera men i rotoscoped off an internet image and added a few reporter objects.
The lipsyncing did take its time and im glad i choose a scene i wasnt going to get sick off easily because believe me, listen to something a million times during a lipsync and youll get tired of anything. my flatmates can testify to it..... if they didnt know the speech before this, they do now.
The background i will admit was unnecessary and im annoyed how long it took me to do, but i think it built up the short to a new level, and im happy with the final result. just to be vain and show off my efforts (after all most of its cut out in the final short) below is a jpeg of the annoyingly detailed woodland area.
**INSERT JPEG.USB RETURN
Yes maybe you were expecting something more, but my god that took me forever, i clearly take my sweet time making digital renders. but i think it was worth it.
Below are just a few class exercises, to give you a little idea how i made the final lipsync....
So unlike rotoscoping i had a million and two ideas for this project. The one i choose in the end might not have been the best but its without a doubt my favourite project out of this entire brief.
My favourite ideas were as follows...
P.Sherman, 42 Wallybeeway Sydney: Finding Nemo -Dory/Ellen Degeneres
but it was too short, and too fast.it wouldnt show off the lipsyncing properly, it would just be over i a flash off movements and done.... so unfortunately that wasnt possible.
basically any line by samuel l jackson in pulp fiction, this shoed perfect volume ranges and emotions HOWEVER .... i couldnt find one without some form of swearing in it. and ets face it im not the most ploite person about as it is, i dont think the examiners want to hear all... that. So that was also out of the question.
The you cant handle the truth scene from a few good men. yes im very well aware i havent given the most feminine ideas so far, but theyre boring.
The scene had a range of volumes, emotions, speeds, it was perfect, except i was very quickly running out of time for this task, and after discussing it with too many people it was decided lipsyncing a full scene and three characters probably isnt the smartest move on such a time frame.... quick note, no matter how awesome you think an idea will be, be realistic, your client or employeer wont care how amazing the idea is, theyll want thier moneys worth out of you by the deadline, not ideas. sad truth, but truth none the less.
Then after trolling through my memory for big movie speeches with emotions, volumes etc i thought of a few but i also thought of the one i actually went with.
Tommy Lee Jones' speech in the Fugitive..... and when i told others about this idea, i officially felt like an old man in a 22 year olds head.... The fugitive is a movie about a doctor played by indiana jones... ehem i mean, hans solo.... i mean Harrason Ford, whos wrongly accused of his wifes murder, in a series of events (wont spoil the movie) breaks out of custody and goes on the run, Tommy lee Jones is the sheriff in charge of capturing him. The scene and speech i based my lipsync to is where Tommy Lee Jones is informing all the reporters and other law enforcement officers who and what they are hunting, ie Harrason Ford.
Its loud and its a bit long, but its a powerful scene and i hope i designed the character as strong powerful and sarcastic. The camera men i rotoscoped off an internet image and added a few reporter objects.
The lipsyncing did take its time and im glad i choose a scene i wasnt going to get sick off easily because believe me, listen to something a million times during a lipsync and youll get tired of anything. my flatmates can testify to it..... if they didnt know the speech before this, they do now.
The background i will admit was unnecessary and im annoyed how long it took me to do, but i think it built up the short to a new level, and im happy with the final result. just to be vain and show off my efforts (after all most of its cut out in the final short) below is a jpeg of the annoyingly detailed woodland area.
**INSERT JPEG.USB RETURN
Yes maybe you were expecting something more, but my god that took me forever, i clearly take my sweet time making digital renders. but i think it was worth it.
Below are just a few class exercises, to give you a little idea how i made the final lipsync....
EX.6 Rotoscoping
IF YOU THOUGH ANIMATING WAS TIMECONSUMING, TRY ROTOSCOPING.... ok now i have that out of my system, ehem..... rotoscoping, a lovely technique, absolutely brilliant if its useful and suitable for whatever you are working on, i rotoscoped images for a final year animation in foundation, but that was rotoscoping one image then animating it myself from there.... ive never had the .... pleasure of rotoscoping film.... and hopefully i never will again.
I think everyones allowed preferences to how they work. i dont like designers who aren't generalists, i mean every project will need a specialist but come on, you need to know how to work more than one programme to make a living these days, and im pretty sure the same software day after day would get old.
Now i hope to be a generalist, i doubt id ever consider myself a specialist in anything, not even a job title never mind software HOWEVER .... if and where possible thre is the option in a rotoscoping job and a different one, im pretty sure ill choose the other one.
So one of my biggest problems with rotoscoping was, i had no ideas. and i mean ZERO ideas. Truth be told i started the next excersise and part of the one after that before i actually got an idea for rotoscoping.
I know sometimes you get a lack of ideas, ut zero ideas? when does that ever happen, its definitely a first for me. and it didnt help just about everyone had an idea straight off, and they were seriously interesting ideas at that.
So how did i get the idea? well.... not to sound like the crazy cat lady i think im turning into this semester, i was home, wrecking my brain, not a decent thought could i muster, until the cat came in (seriously if i pass this class, i think the cat needs thanked)
The cat sauntered in, decided i shouldnt be doing uni work in its presence again and wanted attention, and attention it got, after all i was in one of those 'i will do anything as long as its not work related' moods.
So i played with the cat, ended up mimicking its every movement, and yeah..... that ended up being my genius idea.
rotoscope me and the cat.... i developed the idea where it wasnt just me or th cat, one half was the cat and the other me.
So the cat got dragged back for more attention, which it was not pleased at, thus why the rotoscope is rather dull. I recorded the cat blinking, looking about and then turning its head to the side, then recorded me doing the same, unfortunately it wasnt perfectly timed in the end, but considering it was this or a rotoscope of nothing, im happy i finally rotoscoped something, tell you what i was more happy about though, to be FINISHED rotoscoping something.
If i thought animating was time consuming i clearly never worked on a proper rotoscope animation before. Its not only that its shaky and time consuming, i feel its only suitable for certain animations, i mean, rotoscoping someone just walking across the screen isnt really animating, its just copying, its boring. if it was to crate something interesting then rotoscope is useful, otherwise, i find it a long way about cheating.
Like ive done previously, to give a little interest to the animation, and to differentiate the characters, i gave me and the cat two different colours, and then thought making the eyes have even more colour would make the movements more obvious. I must say, very pleased that its not a blank screen, and to all you that think rotoscoping is an amazing technique ad you love it, thats fine, you can have it. i whole heartedly insist.
I think everyones allowed preferences to how they work. i dont like designers who aren't generalists, i mean every project will need a specialist but come on, you need to know how to work more than one programme to make a living these days, and im pretty sure the same software day after day would get old.
Now i hope to be a generalist, i doubt id ever consider myself a specialist in anything, not even a job title never mind software HOWEVER .... if and where possible thre is the option in a rotoscoping job and a different one, im pretty sure ill choose the other one.
So one of my biggest problems with rotoscoping was, i had no ideas. and i mean ZERO ideas. Truth be told i started the next excersise and part of the one after that before i actually got an idea for rotoscoping.
I know sometimes you get a lack of ideas, ut zero ideas? when does that ever happen, its definitely a first for me. and it didnt help just about everyone had an idea straight off, and they were seriously interesting ideas at that.
So how did i get the idea? well.... not to sound like the crazy cat lady i think im turning into this semester, i was home, wrecking my brain, not a decent thought could i muster, until the cat came in (seriously if i pass this class, i think the cat needs thanked)
The cat sauntered in, decided i shouldnt be doing uni work in its presence again and wanted attention, and attention it got, after all i was in one of those 'i will do anything as long as its not work related' moods.
So i played with the cat, ended up mimicking its every movement, and yeah..... that ended up being my genius idea.
rotoscope me and the cat.... i developed the idea where it wasnt just me or th cat, one half was the cat and the other me.
So the cat got dragged back for more attention, which it was not pleased at, thus why the rotoscope is rather dull. I recorded the cat blinking, looking about and then turning its head to the side, then recorded me doing the same, unfortunately it wasnt perfectly timed in the end, but considering it was this or a rotoscope of nothing, im happy i finally rotoscoped something, tell you what i was more happy about though, to be FINISHED rotoscoping something.
If i thought animating was time consuming i clearly never worked on a proper rotoscope animation before. Its not only that its shaky and time consuming, i feel its only suitable for certain animations, i mean, rotoscoping someone just walking across the screen isnt really animating, its just copying, its boring. if it was to crate something interesting then rotoscope is useful, otherwise, i find it a long way about cheating.
Like ive done previously, to give a little interest to the animation, and to differentiate the characters, i gave me and the cat two different colours, and then thought making the eyes have even more colour would make the movements more obvious. I must say, very pleased that its not a blank screen, and to all you that think rotoscoping is an amazing technique ad you love it, thats fine, you can have it. i whole heartedly insist.
EX.5 Animatic.
An animatic, is something im surprised ive never heard of before, turns out i have seen them before in behind the scenes of most animations however, i always just considered them a storyboard.
Well an animatic is a storyboard, a timed, kind of moving storyboard.
It helps determine not only if things will flow, or would need any changes before production actually starts on the animation, its a bit late 6 scenes in and realizing scenes 4 and 5 dont look right transitioning together. It allows anyone working on the project to see if theres anything more or less needed, and if anything should be moved about. this was yes a storyboarding exercise, but a very useful one.
So we had a choice of three, I was tired of the cowboy trailer, (backwards engineering) and figured it had been done too many times, i wanted something new and different. So option three seemed best, but most others were doing it, so i figured i would see what the third option was, and it interested me more, after all it was good practice for something i will need to do for placement reels anyway.
The chosen option was create an advertisement on yourself, like to employers, or peers, to tell them quickly a little about yourself, where youve been and where you intend to go and how.
It sounds a little vain but i was looking at it as practice for something ill have to do soon enough anyway.
So i got to the old drawing board. and decided if i was to narrate it i should have a little narrator character, loosely based on myself. so i designed a few, asked a few peers for feedback and it was decided a cute little chibi me was both appropriate and light hearted.
When storyboarding, the angle, the shot, the transitions, and the basic movement of what will be happening on screen isnt the only obvious part of a storyboard, theres a million other things to include, even if just in short hand writing below.
Things like sounds, effects and anything else someone would need to know if they were to make the animation without speaking to you, and only having the storyboard to go by.
Our lecturer actually had an interesting idea that he thought would be horrible for us. But a few of us in the class have decided it would be good craic sometime to create a storyboard, put it in a bundle and someone else at random is to animate it, and see if they will do it the same way we would, or how they would read it or make it differently.
I suppose if your grade rested upon someone elses storyboard or animation it would be worrisome, but for fun exercise it isnt a half bad idea.
Once the wee character was decided on (chibi me in my most comfortable shorts boots and a simple tee....i clearly didnt give much thought to what th chibi should be wearing) i created the storyboard, cut and added different scenes, i then recorded my narration unfortunately (which i hope you cant hear too much in the final reel) and got back to the timing (told you i'd use it in every excersise after the timing one) Once i had the animatic done i thought, i still have two days until the next class.... i could make this a proper digital animatic ! im not going to say exactly how long it took me but lets just say it wasnt done by the next class.... or the one after that.
im very happy with the final result, ya know, if i hadnt been dosed with the cold and had to listen to my own croaky voice repeatedly for this exercise. It was a brilliant exercise for any self advertisements id need to create i future for gaining placement/work/commissions
Well an animatic is a storyboard, a timed, kind of moving storyboard.
It helps determine not only if things will flow, or would need any changes before production actually starts on the animation, its a bit late 6 scenes in and realizing scenes 4 and 5 dont look right transitioning together. It allows anyone working on the project to see if theres anything more or less needed, and if anything should be moved about. this was yes a storyboarding exercise, but a very useful one.
So we had a choice of three, I was tired of the cowboy trailer, (backwards engineering) and figured it had been done too many times, i wanted something new and different. So option three seemed best, but most others were doing it, so i figured i would see what the third option was, and it interested me more, after all it was good practice for something i will need to do for placement reels anyway.
The chosen option was create an advertisement on yourself, like to employers, or peers, to tell them quickly a little about yourself, where youve been and where you intend to go and how.
It sounds a little vain but i was looking at it as practice for something ill have to do soon enough anyway.
So i got to the old drawing board. and decided if i was to narrate it i should have a little narrator character, loosely based on myself. so i designed a few, asked a few peers for feedback and it was decided a cute little chibi me was both appropriate and light hearted.
When storyboarding, the angle, the shot, the transitions, and the basic movement of what will be happening on screen isnt the only obvious part of a storyboard, theres a million other things to include, even if just in short hand writing below.
Things like sounds, effects and anything else someone would need to know if they were to make the animation without speaking to you, and only having the storyboard to go by.
Our lecturer actually had an interesting idea that he thought would be horrible for us. But a few of us in the class have decided it would be good craic sometime to create a storyboard, put it in a bundle and someone else at random is to animate it, and see if they will do it the same way we would, or how they would read it or make it differently.
I suppose if your grade rested upon someone elses storyboard or animation it would be worrisome, but for fun exercise it isnt a half bad idea.
Once the wee character was decided on (chibi me in my most comfortable shorts boots and a simple tee....i clearly didnt give much thought to what th chibi should be wearing) i created the storyboard, cut and added different scenes, i then recorded my narration unfortunately (which i hope you cant hear too much in the final reel) and got back to the timing (told you i'd use it in every excersise after the timing one) Once i had the animatic done i thought, i still have two days until the next class.... i could make this a proper digital animatic ! im not going to say exactly how long it took me but lets just say it wasnt done by the next class.... or the one after that.
im very happy with the final result, ya know, if i hadnt been dosed with the cold and had to listen to my own croaky voice repeatedly for this exercise. It was a brilliant exercise for any self advertisements id need to create i future for gaining placement/work/commissions
EX.4 Sack O'Spuds
This exercises i have to admit i thought it was the silliest thing id ever heard.... i mean, animate a sack of flour/spuds ? seriously? thatll be so boring.
Then i did a little research and realized, this is without a doubt the stepping stone in all animation classes.
Disney teachers were the first to do this exercise, after all most of their animations had living inanimate objects, giving them full on personalities, Alladins carpet would be a good example. Think of how much emotion and facial ranges that carpet had, without a face ! now thats skill. So what have we learned here? follow the teachers blindly and itll make sense in the end.
So animating a sack of spuds, think of the possibilities, size, shape, actions, other objects/clothing, characteristics, age.
After alot of brainstorming and planning i decided i didnt want to create the usual sack walk, after all everyone does the sack walk, and any time attempted it (which was many failed attempts) they all looked so boring. In the end i was reading an animators book, on animals, i took a couple of horrible shakey images (shown below) to give you all an insight to what kind of book im talking about.
The second was planned as a run, but thats just a sped up walk with a slight bounce to the step, so i decided i wanted it to be more animalistic. when an animal runs, it doesnt think its in a nike advert, it doesnt prance along as if its near an ocean, it leaps, covering as much ground as possible, running too or from something. Keeping the animalistic instinct in the sacks characteristics. Im proud of the final result, however i preferred the leap when it only had green shading and no full colour.
The third i had the idea of a jump, or fetch, based on a dog, but i didnt really know how dogs moved, and when i did a bit more research i noticed dogs ar quite messy when they jump, very carefree, which would be interesting to animate, however it wouldnt suit this character, and thats whats important here. so instead i went back to my original inspiration, the cat, who at this point seemed to be as good a reference as any book or website. i dangled a bit of strong for long enough to get the basic keyframes on how i could get teh sack to jump like my cat, before the cat decided it was sick of helping and left me to develop the idea further on my own.
So we were required to do three exercises, most did a walk run and jump..... i did, something similar, only in animal form. a sauntering walk, a leap and a half heated jump.
But i felt there was something missing. and then i got yet another idea for this exercise out of the book shown above. I got the idea from a section on two characters interacting with each other, almost like the two balls bouncing around the cannon ball exercise previously, i figured this could be a challenge, making two sack of spuds move in the one short.
As i developed this idea further i decided i wanted it to be a baby sack, but then i couldnt decide on just one of the designed actions, so i decided well.... the sack is an animal, animals tend to have litters. so i chose to have not one or two sacks interacting in the one short, but three, two babies and the original mammy like sack. Some doing more than others.
I was so pleased with this time consuming little extra, that i brought it into photoshop and flash (after effects and myself had an irreconcilable dispute) Bringing the short to a better less shaky standard, and like the cannon ball, the mammy disappeared for half of the handrawn version. so this allowed me to keep her there the whole time and snore on loop.
Like the bouncy ball at the start i thought the babies could do with a little colour, and gave them each a unique little colour. The hardest part about animating the baby sacks was actually their constantly moving tails.
This short i may be proud of but i have a clear idea that i dont want to work animating animals anytime soon.
Then i did a little research and realized, this is without a doubt the stepping stone in all animation classes.
Disney teachers were the first to do this exercise, after all most of their animations had living inanimate objects, giving them full on personalities, Alladins carpet would be a good example. Think of how much emotion and facial ranges that carpet had, without a face ! now thats skill. So what have we learned here? follow the teachers blindly and itll make sense in the end.
So animating a sack of spuds, think of the possibilities, size, shape, actions, other objects/clothing, characteristics, age.
After alot of brainstorming and planning i decided i didnt want to create the usual sack walk, after all everyone does the sack walk, and any time attempted it (which was many failed attempts) they all looked so boring. In the end i was reading an animators book, on animals, i took a couple of horrible shakey images (shown below) to give you all an insight to what kind of book im talking about.
Thinking i was just looking at the basics of a walk i didnt realize i was going to come across an animal walk, giving me the idea of an animal sack of flour. Its something i havent seen, and figured could be interesting.
So after torturing my cat by following it about all evening to see exactly how it walked, i started planing how my sack of flour would walk.
Im extremely happy with the final results.
I created several sack of flour shorts, the first being the basic walk, experimenting with it later in adobe photoshop and after effects (which i have decided hates me) Giving it a bit more colour, showing the shadows of his fat wobbling as he walks, shifting weight from one side to the other.
Its based on a fat cat to be honest, but quite a few have said it resembles more of a fat polar bear or floppy seal .... good to know.
In this first short alone i not only dabbled further in 2D traditional animating, but i also scanned the work into photoshop, cleaned it up digitally and added some colour, which was harder than i had anticipated, then since we were beginning to learn about paralax movements, i tried my hand at that. with only two layers moving at different times around the sack, but its a start.The second was planned as a run, but thats just a sped up walk with a slight bounce to the step, so i decided i wanted it to be more animalistic. when an animal runs, it doesnt think its in a nike advert, it doesnt prance along as if its near an ocean, it leaps, covering as much ground as possible, running too or from something. Keeping the animalistic instinct in the sacks characteristics. Im proud of the final result, however i preferred the leap when it only had green shading and no full colour.
The third i had the idea of a jump, or fetch, based on a dog, but i didnt really know how dogs moved, and when i did a bit more research i noticed dogs ar quite messy when they jump, very carefree, which would be interesting to animate, however it wouldnt suit this character, and thats whats important here. so instead i went back to my original inspiration, the cat, who at this point seemed to be as good a reference as any book or website. i dangled a bit of strong for long enough to get the basic keyframes on how i could get teh sack to jump like my cat, before the cat decided it was sick of helping and left me to develop the idea further on my own.
So we were required to do three exercises, most did a walk run and jump..... i did, something similar, only in animal form. a sauntering walk, a leap and a half heated jump.
But i felt there was something missing. and then i got yet another idea for this exercise out of the book shown above. I got the idea from a section on two characters interacting with each other, almost like the two balls bouncing around the cannon ball exercise previously, i figured this could be a challenge, making two sack of spuds move in the one short.
As i developed this idea further i decided i wanted it to be a baby sack, but then i couldnt decide on just one of the designed actions, so i decided well.... the sack is an animal, animals tend to have litters. so i chose to have not one or two sacks interacting in the one short, but three, two babies and the original mammy like sack. Some doing more than others.
I was so pleased with this time consuming little extra, that i brought it into photoshop and flash (after effects and myself had an irreconcilable dispute) Bringing the short to a better less shaky standard, and like the cannon ball, the mammy disappeared for half of the handrawn version. so this allowed me to keep her there the whole time and snore on loop.
Like the bouncy ball at the start i thought the babies could do with a little colour, and gave them each a unique little colour. The hardest part about animating the baby sacks was actually their constantly moving tails.
This short i may be proud of but i have a clear idea that i dont want to work animating animals anytime soon.
EX.3 The Bouncing Balls
It sounds silly, but lets face it, its where everyone starts, its where all the good books start, its where every tutorial intro started, this is the first proper step to becoming an animator, what kinda of animator you will be is up to you, however to become a good animator i would imagine you will revisit this exercise many times to perfect your skills.
So as discussed briefly an animator brings an image to life. Keep in mind im working on 2D in this module, 3D is a whole different ball game.
Animators make a simple image come to life, through many inbetweens and keyframes they make it realistic, and how do they make it realistic? well they test it out, and take all elements into account, including the objects materials, characteristics and the environment.
I planned this particular exercise to show my understanding of all these factors and more, its time to wise up with the work, so far i havent really been putting knowledge into practice.
To show different materials i will create two exercises, one showing a rubber bouncy ball and the other a dropped cannon ball.
The bouncy ball i tried a few times and i was unhappy with all of them, they looked so dull, after all everyone does the bouncy ball for animation practice.
Below is how most show a bouncy ball, bouncing along loosing momentum, and slowly stopping, by stretching the ball in some inbetweens you can see how the ball has certain characteristics due to its material.
So as discussed briefly an animator brings an image to life. Keep in mind im working on 2D in this module, 3D is a whole different ball game.
Animators make a simple image come to life, through many inbetweens and keyframes they make it realistic, and how do they make it realistic? well they test it out, and take all elements into account, including the objects materials, characteristics and the environment.
I planned this particular exercise to show my understanding of all these factors and more, its time to wise up with the work, so far i havent really been putting knowledge into practice.
To show different materials i will create two exercises, one showing a rubber bouncy ball and the other a dropped cannon ball.
The bouncy ball i tried a few times and i was unhappy with all of them, they looked so dull, after all everyone does the bouncy ball for animation practice.
Below is how most show a bouncy ball, bouncing along loosing momentum, and slowly stopping, by stretching the ball in some inbetweens you can see how the ball has certain characteristics due to its material.
Planning a path wayfor the ball and speed would be a major part of this exercise. During the planning process i decided to make the path way a bit different i would include other objects and obstructions, in the end i went along with a simple diving board. The balls speed and characteristics were actually determined through testing, i played about with a rubber ball on the edge of the desk for about an hour before i actually understood how i wanted this ball to be portrayed in the exercise.
The ball starts off in a simple roll and then like a living thing rolls back and begins to bounce, it bounces three times, higher each time, stretched and squishing more on each landing, gathering momentum for the big hurtle off the diving board, shooting down to the ground and bouncing straight up and flattening itself off the corner of the page which i considered a restraining wall. and then from there it bounces across the page slowly loosing its momentum and rolls to a stop.
I was hoping it would be a little insight to animating a simple object and giving it life, even a little personalty.
This was my first time ever animating in traditional style. So it took me a while to understand what i was doing, thus the extensive planning.
Above are just a few images i hope will give you all a better understanding on what all is required for traditional animating. The essentials are PAPER lots and lots of paper.
You will be surprised how much paper you are about to use, pencils, of your choice, me and conrad (pictured above, my equally confused classmate posing with all our animation stuff out) decided to be really fancy and use blue animators pencils, but i didnt find much use for them, i found lightly sketching and then drawing over them in a dark pencil suited this particular project. You will need to fashion some sort of animation work area, ive seen some very interesting ones from the rest of the class, talk about make shift. but me and conrad being partners in crime in this case, decided what i was missing he had and visa versa. so i supplied a light box and he supplied the pegs, and the uni thankfully had paper punchers for the pegs.
To be honest i found you could look at a million animators desks and realize they dont work for you, building your own and finding what you are most comfortable working in is best.
In the research of this project i found theres actually quiet a big debate which is better flipping or rolling the pages, and in that whole topic no matter the pros and cons its as bad as the top or bottom pegs debate.... each to their own, whatever works for you go with it, ignore everyone else that can work with bottom pegs, if you work better with top pegs, go with the top pegs.
So at this point you should have your table sorted, supplies at hand (paper/pencils and even more paper)
I had one sheet always at the bottom, ie. the diving board, it not only gave me the perspective on where the ball was and at what point, it also gave me a template, where to position the page, and before you all start thinking 'how hard could that be' when you are on page 102 of 403 you tend to forget which peg you had pt the previous twenty pages on. especially when to get the best frame by frame glow from the lightbox, i couldnt really go over 5-6 pages.
I am quite proud of this piece since its my first traditional 2d short, as basic as it is, i wouldnt change a thing, except maybe go over the ball in a black and red felt tip marker. make it stand out when its finally scanned in and put on the movie making software.
The Cannon ball im equally proud off. Now most did the common, cannon ball fall, slight bouncy maybe a wobble side to side gaining its weight position. but thats it.... it literally couldnt be more than 2 seconds if you tried, otherwise it wouldnt fall fast enough to show its weight. So i went a wee step further and threw in a small hard golf ball and another rubber ball, showing the differences in speed, weight and flexibility, i did this by using the cannon itself as an object of obstruction.
And this is where i made mistake number one.... well, big mistake number one at least, I figured i only needed the cannon ball as a background image like the diving board, but not when there was other balls in the same image, so i didnt think ahead enough to realize that come time to put it all together i couldnt include the cannon ball on a different layer like the diving board without the golf or rubber ball doubling in the image.
So children attempt not to make that fun mistake, otherwise youll be redoing dozens of pages, again.