Context of Practice 1 Recap (Week Commencing 18/02/19)

At the beginning of the week, I made some last minute refinements to my Powerpoint slides and then combined them with the other members of the group. On the Thursday, I delivered the presentation with my group and we received feedback on how to improve in the future.

I also continued to paint some pieces in visual journal but if I wish to complete this book I time, I will have to start prioritising this task over my other modules as at the moment, I am not sure I will be able to complete this by the deadline.

Animation 2: Process and Production Recap (Week Commencing 18/02/19)

We started this week off with another Maya induction, where we animated both, a realistic and cartoon-like cannon firing a cannon ball. We needed to consider which principles would be present in both versions.



As well as timing, follow-through and overlapping action, and easing which are all seen in the above animation, for the cartoon version I also had to look into exaggeration and anticipation, using squash and stretch tools.

The application kept crashing throughout this process so rather than exporting a clip, I took a screenshot instead.

We also made a 3D and 2D walk cycle, using the puppets we made last week, and a new software, TV Paint.

Half way through the week, we had our last After Effects induction where we learnt how to make the scene 3D by casting shadows by adding lights to the composition.

I also attended an Aardman talk on Thursday where an animator talked about what life is like once in the industry, and the differences between working for a company and becoming a freelancer.

Over the weekend I took some photographs of myself and a friend acting out several different types of walk cycles to animate next week in place of my 3D walk cycle as I wasn't happy with the stop motion outcome so would rather try another technique such as pixilation.

Study Task 5 - Ways of Thinking

The Planning Process

In groups of three, we were tasked with researching one of the five different ways of thinking. My group, consisting of Demi, Yulia and myself, were assigned 'Brainstorming'. The presentation couldn't run over ten minutes and also had to consist of ten slides, including a title slide and a bibliography.

I began this process by making a group chat and planning the slides before we began researching them so we could assign the slides to each member and then there wouldn't be any overlap.

I then started my research process and began to create the powerpoint. We each approached the task from different angles to make sure we covered more ground. I put the powerpoint together and then had the other members email their slides to me so I could add them to the presentation and reorder them so it flowed better.

Below are the slides I worked on.

I didn't add as much text to this powerpoint compared to my BraveStarr presentation as a note I received was that I had too much information on one slide.

I also changed the font to match and added images so that the presentation looked more whole rather than several slides stuck together.



Link to Powerpoint Presentation

My Script:

*Demi will open the presentation as it will lead into her first slide, followed by Yulia's slide*

Brainstorming expands and challenges your thinking on a topic, however to visualise this and push it even further, people often mind map their thought processes, which is another one of the ways of thinking!
By using this method, the ideas and thoughts become more organised and it's easier to make connections between points as brainstorming is considered more like the first step.
To brainstorm, you let your mind explore multiple possibilities by letting your thoughts go and challenging your creativity.
Then to mind map, you sort through these possibilities and refine certain theories by connecting the dots.
This works best when working in a group as it allows everyone to see where the train of thought is going.

*Another two slides by Yulia and Demi follow this*

As we touched on earlier, some of the most successful methods used while brainstorming in a group are: being able to bounce ideas off of the whole team. Due to the team's varied experience, if one member got stuck, another member may be able to help by offering an idea they hadn't considered.
It also works great as a good team building exercise, and has proven to work better for solving more complex problems than working alone as you can find multiple solutions to any issue raised.
People are also more committed to an idea if they helped develop it.

Studies have proven however that in general, individual brainstorming sessions provide more effective results than group sessions. This may be because people are more likely to expand on their ideas if they don't have to worry about what others think of them.
Because of this, you can challenge your creativity.
It does however lack the wider experience of a group so there may be more dead ends when working alone. So, this method is the most effective when solving simple problems.

*Yulia follows this with one more slide*

Thank you all for listening!

Feedback

The total presentation took between six and seven minutes to deliver. In hindsight, because we finished early, this would have been a good time to ask the class if they had any questions.

We were given feedback after the presentation which included:

• Proof read the powerpoint (there was an issue which has since been fixed, where an image covered some text)
• Treat the powerpoint like an essay - reference within the slides (by adding dates) to show where each quote came from

Study Task 7 - Basic Pitch Bible

For this task, we needed to make a basic pitch bible. I began this process by planning the layout of my presentation, and also sketching a rough idea for my cover art, as I knew I wanted this piece to open my presentation.

Overnight, I outlined and block coloured the characters present in my cover art ready to add to the first slide of my presentation that was due the next morning.

Below is the first draft of my pitch bible, which I will later refine based on the feedback I receive in the lesson.



I wasn't given any notes regarding my pitch bible. I was however, advised to:

• source images from 1920s Coventry to make sure the setting is historically accurate
• make the expressions more exaggerated (stretch eyes and scrunch nose for example)

Link to Basic Pitch Bible

Study Task 6 - Analogue Character Modelling and Realisation

For this task, I printed a 25cm tall version of my turn around art board so I could use it as a reference to create a 3D model.

In the first armature session, I built the skeleton of my puppet by twisting wire in the shape of the character.

In the next session, I began carving sculpting foam to build up the shape of my character, which I then bandaged so that the plasticine had something to stick to.

Before the last session, I returned to metal work and cut my rod down so the character stood on the base and didn't float in the air.

In the final session, I added the plasticine to my armature model. It took several attempts to sculpt the face, and twice I started from scratch, which meant I had to attend an extra session to finish the puppet in time.

I did notice an improvement between my first puppet and last however I am still not happy with the finished outcome. I feel my design is partly to blame as while I were creating my protagonist, I didn't consider how it would translate from a 2D design into a 3D model so if I were to redo this task from the beginning, I would make my original design a little more exaggerated and cartoon-like rather than realistic.

As the images show, it took several attempts at moulding the head before I was somewhat satisfied with the outcome as the longer I worked into the plasticine, the more heated it became which mean it was more difficult to work with as the heat made the material tacky and sticky.

I am however, pleased with the texture of the fur and the detail in the ruffled frill around the skirt.

I think she looks best from her profile so if I have a choice when it comes to animating the walk cycle, I will film it from a side on perspective.

I recorded my walk cycle however was limited by the movement in the dress and the position of the bolt in her back. The movement was also too fast so I slowed her footage down so that it was 8fps and looked a little more realistic.

Link to 24fps Video

Link to 8fps Video

Animation 2: Process and Production Recap (Week Commencing 11/02/19)

Tasks Completed:

On Monday, we had another animating session in Maya in which we focused on the graph editor.

We were also given a series of settings to choose from, and were encouraged to experiment with building one. I chose the western town scenario.

Unfortunately Maya crashed, yet this was the last screenshot I was able to take. I am incredibly happy with what I have learned this lesson and from there, I also had the confidence to restart and finish Study Task 5.

In Tuesday's lesson, I presented my pitch bible to the class, and also made a poster for my cover art.

I then continued to build my puppet in the armature and model making class.

Intentions:

Next week I believe we will start to look into walk cycles. As well as these sessions, I may need to also request a lesson in lip syncing as my animation will also feature this yet I am inexperienced.

Context of Practice 1 Recap (Week Commencing 11/02/19)

This week, I continued painting pieces in my visual journal and also started to refine the powerpoint for the presentation next week.

Study Task 5 - Modelling Skills

In class, we continued to expand our knowledge about Maya. We were tasked with creating a wooden truck using basic shapes and tools we had covered so far, as well as rendering the scene by adding lights and textures.

I didn't feel confident with the outcome I produced in class because I didn't have access to the reference image at the time, nor had I completed adding the wooden texture. So I decided to restart a different day and I am now much happier with the result.

We also had to recreate a simple object on our own so, I decided to make a lava lamp as I have one in my room and I felt this would be difficult to render yet the shape itself is simple enough to work out.

I found some textures online for my lava lamp however, I thought they looked too flat so instead, I invested more time trying to find a higher quality image to map out on my UV net.

Keep On Truckin'

Above is the finished outcome of this task. I feel a lot more confident with breaking an object down into elements and then breaking those elements down into simple shapes. I also don't find Maya as daunting as I first did when I started the inductions and as a result, I am currently planning on using this software to build the sets for my end of year animation.

I feel the wood texture I sourced is accurate to the reference, and the size of certain parts are also pretty accurate.

Do It Yourself

This is the finished outcome for my lava lamp. I decided to use the blue on black liquid as I felt due to the background, this meant the wax looked more three dimensional, and not as flat. I feel however, that the metallic texture I rendered has lost some of it's shininess due to the angle so in the future, I need to work on better lighting my pieces.

Animation 2: Process and Production Recap (Week Commencing 04/02/19)

Tasks Completed:

I had a session in Maya where I began looking into my latest Process and Production study tasks.

I also attended a couple armature model making workshops to build the skeleton of my puppet.

I had another After Effects induction where I made a gif.

I also had my latest Animate CC induction where I looked at animating a short clip from the Dumb Ways to Die video.

As well as this, I had my forth Maya induction where we experimented with animation for the first time.

I also continued to work on my landscape sheets for my protagonist and antagonist, as well as colour my model sheet.

Intentions:

Next week I will begin to work on my pitch bible so I will need to prepare everything I have so far.

Context of Practice 1 Recap (Week Commencing 04/02/19)

I booked a one-to-one session with my tutor to go over my first essay submission and how to improve.

I also continued to research "brainstorming" for my Powerpoint presentation, and began to type up my allocated slides.

I also painted some more pieces in my visual journal and intend to continue to work in this over the next couple of months.

Study Task 4 - Scripting and Storyboarding

Script to Screen and Story Types

I began this task by writing up a character development sheet for my protagonist, Frances Edwards.



I also wrote one for my antagonist, Dorothy Roberts.



My Script:

The scene opens on a cold, dark night on an empty street. Empty apart from one woman, who is nervously awaiting someone. She checks her pocket watch and looks anxiously from left to right, scanning the street for any activity. She then begins to pace up and down the road. She is Dorothy Roberts.

Then, a harsh cut to a warmer environment. The shot zooms out from a grandfather clock which is ticking. With each tick tock, you can hear muffled shouts from another room and blunt thuds, as though someone is being hit.

It then cuts to a woman (Frances) holding a glass of brandy. She is checking the time, and begins to smirk. From the shadows projected onto the wall in the background, we can see two figures. One tied to a chair and another interrogating them. As the camera zooms in on the woman, the last shot we can make out of the shadows is a gun being drawn. Then with a loud bang, the room flashes white and then fades in on another scene.

As the woman approaches the room, we hear off screen:

"What do you want me to do with him, boss?

(brief pause) "I want you to-"

Frances is interrupted by a sputtering sound. Cut to the body on the floor. He is coughing up blood.

"-kill him for starters." (said in a sarcastic, slightly irritated tone)

She then coldly looks the body up and down, swiftly pulls out a gun and shoots him.

"I can't abide a snitch."

The animation then cuts back to the police officer awaiting the informant that we know will never arrive, as the credits flash over this shot.


Storyboarding

I began the storyboarding process by sketching my rough ideas onto post-it notes which I stuck on my wall so I could easily compare shots and angles to make sure they were varied and had purpose.

From these rough sketches, I began to digitally translate them by scanning the images into Photoshop and then adding detail and shading where needed. I could also add my directions at this stage.

The first sheet depicts the opening shot in which my antagonist is anxiously awaiting her informant, whom the audience will realise later, is never going to arrive.

I tried to make the last shot in this sheet balanced, by using Dorothy and the rule of thirds to divide the shot up.

I also wanted to mirror scenes (such as the comparison of the pocket watch and the grandfather clock and once more, used the rule of thirds in the last shot with Frances, the table, the painting and the clock.

I could also use these sheets to work out timings. The start is roughly twelve seconds long. The middle is ten seconds, the ending is twelve seconds, and the credits are about six seconds however, four seconds of the opening scene will be rolling the title of the animation.

I tried to make these sheets as informative as possible so that I know exactly what I had in mind when I begin to animate them.

Link to: Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3, Sheet 4.

Study Task 3 - Character Design and Development

I have decided to focus my story around the crime genre. My main inspiration is the television series Peaky Blinders, however I will also be studying other sources such as L.A. Noire and Legend.

While I am a fan of this genre, I can't help but notice the lack of female protagonists within it. When thinking of great leads in crime films and shows, names such as Don Vito Corleone, Thomas Shelby and Walter White come to mind. However, when I asked myself the same question yet limited my answers to women only, I couldn't think of any on the spot.

So, knowing I wanted to feature a female protagonist and antagonist, I began researching famous female criminals over the past century. Women such as Kate 'Ma' Barker and Moll Cutpurse were the main influences for my leading lady.

Once I had a basic idea in mind, I put together a mood board researching women's fashion from the 1920s. I noticed the dresses were loose fitting and boxy, and the women were often rather slim with short hair which was considered progressive at the time, as the "tomboy" look contributed to the popularity of rising feminism. I also researched female police officers from the time to see what their attire consisted of.

I began this project by sketching up and refining my t-pose turn around for my protagonist.

I felt the box dress made the character lose her form, so I was advised to try and get this shape back.

I was also advised to change her stance as I was told it's "uncomfortable to stand with your legs together" so I parted the legs slightly however I do not agree with this comment as she is a woman from the 1920s, who is poised and collected, so therefore I feel this positioning better suits her character. In the '20s, women were expected to stand and sit with their legs together (they weren't even allowed to ride a horse unless they were side saddled!) so while I will explore more dynamic poses in my model sheet, I feel the turn-around serves it's purpose here.

Link to Article about how Women were Expected to Stand and Sit

I roughly sketched some creases in the dress that I felt would cling to her body in red, and also made the lines I wanted to capture bolder so I could refine her to look more willowy.

I then posted my first draft to estudio for the rest of the class to see, and also left some comments of my own on others' work so that I could practice my analytical skills and also learn from what other's made of my design.

Some of the feedback I received for my own design included a comment on the "Nice consistency in proportion between angles and overall simple and readable design." They also commented on the style, "Feels very 1920's." which is exactly the period I was aiming for. To improve, they suggested I "may want to consider simplifying some of the more complex shapes, such as the frill around the waist and the necklace" as when it comes to animating this character, these elements may prove challenging.

I then began looking into colour. I tested out four different colour palettes by blocking in the tones on my front facing model and then sent the sheets to my peers to rank the colours used.

My first variation was a dress that consisted of pink/brown shades.

My second featured more teal/grey tones.

My third (and personally least favourite out of the four) was made up of purple/black shades.

Finally, my forth design used more of a navy/grey colour palette.

I decided to work with the first design as this one appealed to me the most, and after conducting a survey this was also the general consensus. The brown/pink shades I felt emulate the dated aesthetic look of the 1920s.

Also while this character's actions would traditionally make them the antagonist, I want her to be a character you root for despite the illegal acts and dangerous activities she conducts, so I think the warmer tones make her more approachable and intriguing to the audience, as opposed to an obvious "villain" colour palette (harsh tones and dark shades for example).

I continued to post my progress on estudio and also left another four comments on other people's work.

I was advised to fix the 3/4 pose's perspective as the arms didn't suit the position. I was also told "the clothing design is very elegant and sophisticated" which is fortunate as this is the kind of character I am trying to portray. I was also advised to be careful with the floral pattern as this may be difficult to animate, but my current idea doesn't require too much movement of the torso so at the moment, I feel I should be able to keep this pattern in. I do however have two designs saved (one with and one without the design) so I can decide when I begin to animate if this will be too difficult.

In my final sheet I changed the shape of the arm in the 3/4 view like I was advised to, and added shading. Some comments I received were that the design "gives the obvious vibe for when this character is supposed to be set in" and if I have time, I should maybe change the angle of her head in the 3/4 pose. Once more, I continued to comment on other people's work.

Link to Protagonist Turn Around

I then sketched, tidied up, and coloured some poses on my character's dynamic pose sheet. I also included a silhouette as well as some facial expressions. I tried to keep some of the poses "in character" but also included some others that were more dynamic as my character is more poised than loud.

If I had more time, I would have outlined and coloured the chairs she is sitting in for two of my poses as at the moment, she is floating in mid-air so this isn't realistic and also doesn't ground her. Unfortunately, I needed to focus my efforts on my landscape sheets as because my protagonist and antagonist do not interact in my current script, I felt I needed to produce two landscape sheets instead of just one so this was more work.

My character's name is Frances Edwards. The title of my short film is "The Snitch" and her catch-line is "I can't abide a snitch".

Link to Model Sheet

Alongside my protagonist turn around sheet, I also began sketching the t-pose models of my antagonist.

Similarly to my first sheet, I tested some variations of her uniform however this time, I tested her next to my main character as I felt while the palette needed to work for her alone, it also needed to contrast against my protagonist.

I felt these blue tones were too bright in comparison.

I felt the brown tones made her look as though she was in the army rather than on the police force.

I tested some muted grey shades which I felt matched my protagonist's muted tones however lacked colour.

So in the end, after I had also conducted another survey, I decided to mix the grey and the blue designs by meeting in the middle and creating a muted blue colour palette with gold details.

I did this based on the feedback I received as the most popular colours were tied between the blue and the grey designs.

I then shaded this sheet and submitted it to estudio for feedback. A comment I received was that "she feels quite intimidating" which was the tone I was aiming for with this character. I made the shading quite dark as she will be outside, and I want the streetlamp tones to be yellow which I feel will compliment the blue really nicely. If I have time, I will work on keeping the height of my character consistent.

Link to Antagonist Turn Around

Finally, I began my landscape boards. The animation I am planning at the moment will take place in two contrasting settings: the warm, cosy, indoor setting and the cold, harsh, outside setting. So, I sketched, coloured, and added details to my inside scene first.

Link to Protagonist Landscape Board

Then, I did the same with my outdoor setting, in which I placed my antagonist. My animation will both start and end outside, and I will also flash my credits over this landscape.

Link to Antagonist Landscape Board