603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 12/04/21)

This is the last weekly update I will be publishing for this module, as I plan to submit my work at the start of next week. As all of my teams will be entering these films into festivals, I'm unable to post the final outcomes just yet.

In my spare time, I made a Production Book and wrote my evaluation for this module.

As Stacey was struggling to add the backgrounds to shots, I decided to go back in and composite these myself. First, I fixed shot 3, as there was a moment where part of the desk outline vanishes and reappears. I made sure to keep the line art consistent.

Link to Shot 3 (With Background)

Shot 6 was also composited wrong, as the desk was on the wrong layer and as a result, cut off all of the animation from the shoulders down.

Admittedly, this process was frustrating as from day one, I made it clear which roles I was after, and not one specialised in post-production. So, having to composite these scenes, especially this late in the day, because someone didn't get their job completed in time, is reasonably irritating.

Link to Shot 6 (With Background)

The character interacts with the desk which meant I needed to go in and erase certain areas frame by frame, as the arm and comb were on the same layer and therefore couldn't be separated. I'm not familiar enough with Toon Boom yet, so I needed to find a few tutorials and experiment with trial and error until I found a method that worked.

Link to Shot 10 (With Background)

Shot 10 was completed too however, with an outdated background. So, I added the updated desk and let the team know. Given the time left, I won't alter any more shots for this project as other than project managing, my work here as an animator is done.

There were some issues at the start of the week regarding 'Kingdom of Masks' as the director had added several effects; most of which were too much. I began by requesting to view the updated animatic and then sent some notes over Discord. The main problems I found, were that a lot of the shots were incredibly saturated and/or bright which resulted in a loss of detail, mainly effecting the backgrounds and hand-drawn VFX. The director, and others in the team, agreed so Khoa went back through and removed a lot of these added effects.

On Thursday, we both met up at University so we could talk through the animatic in person, and agree which edits worked and which didn't. After meeting in person, it was easier to tell if we were on the same page or not, as communicating only through text isn't as viable an option as some assume.

Link to Scene 25 (Test)

While at University, I added a background to scene 25 to help ease in/out the impact frames. While this version isn't being used in the final animation, it was still a fun exercise and good practice to see if I could make it work or not.

Living with the director on 'The Last Riders' has meant communication has ran much smoother throughout the course of the film. This week, he finalised the last two scenes and on the Friday, we sat as a household and walked through the scenes shot by shot to make sure everything looked good.

The musician then got in touch, asking for more time to work on the score. While the director is happy to wait, the majority of the team were looking to hand-in early; myself included. 

The internet connection at my house is incredibly unreliable, often cutting out at random, particularly in my room as it's furthest from the router. The lecturers have advised submitting early to avoid any technological issues, as these aren't considered extenuating circumstances, even under the current conditions. So, I was aiming to submit on the Monday; a goal that was both realistic and achievable - until the musician spoke up.

Nevertheless, for my own sanity and peace of mind, I'm planning to submit at the same time anyway for several reasons. One, the director was happy with the original score. Second of all, my Gantt chart marked the 12th as the deadline for the musician. Meaning, if he wasn't going to be finished in time, he should have let me know before now. Thirdly, the lecturers have repeatedly stated that we can continue to work on these films after hand-in for the sake of festivals, so it shouldn't be an issue if the score is outdated. Lastly, while sound is an incredibly important factor to a film, the score shouldn't determine the fate of our animation. Bonus point: as previously mentioned, my internet gives me anxiety.

603 Evaluation

Below is my 750 word evaluation for this module.

Link to 603 Evaluation

603 Production Book

As I had some time to spare before the hand-in, I tried to think what I could do to make the most out of my time. Our statements of intent were required for the submission folder, and upon reading and reflecting on what I wrote at the start of the academic year, I realised I had completed most of my targets but one - making a 'Production Book' (in the style of an 'Art Of' book) to showcase my skills as a producer.

Link to Production Book

It was interesting to see how my practice developed between the different stages of production. I feel the Gantt charts I made for the animation portion are the most refined and professional. 

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 05/04/21)

I needed to reanimate a shot for 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair' as the lecturers weren't happy with my first attempt.

For the first attempt, I followed the animatic extremely closely, but the lecturers felt the movement looked wrong, as they described it as a "dragging" motion. For this attempt, I tried to give the desk more of a role so that the bonnet appeared grounded.

Link to Shot 11 (Outline Only)

I tried to incorporate more follow through in this attempt however it was difficult. I can't even tell if it looks better or not, as the action was difficult to capture and the angle is just awkward. I will let the director choose which shot she prefers.

I think I struggled so much because the action is very mundane and the style is very simplistic. I'm more familiar with complicated shots and my style is much more detailed, so it was difficult to wrap my head around this movement. If I had more time, I would refine this further by making the action more fluid. I think the timing should also be slower however, I'm not the director, and the animatic only allowed for a couple of seconds.

Link to Shot 11 (Character Animation Only)

I tried to get the colouring done this week too so that I don't have any animation tasks to do in the final week building to the deadline. My classmate was struggling with the software so, I decided to add the background myself. Next week if there's time, I will go back over all my scenes and add the backgrounds to each one that haven't been done yet.

I then got back to work on 'Kingdom of Masks' as I needed to colour the final shot. However, I ran into several issues throughout this process, as the software kept crashing every time I tried to add a colour layer under the vector lines. In the end, I messaged the team asking if someone could close the gaps and add the colour layer, as I wasn't getting anywhere with it. My teammates struggled just as much as I did in getting this file to work without their laptop/software crashing.

Eventually, I reverted back to TVPaint as while this process would take much longer, Toon Boom crashed with nearly every command I gave it.

Link to Scene 27 (Character Animation Only)

I've had a few issues throughout the week regarding production, as a few people in each team don't communicate as regularly as others.

Usually when finished with a shot, not only would I alert the group however, I would also send over my progress to the rest of the team for feedback and critiques. Some teammates haven't been sending their work over, and also refuse to say anything when they do complete their shots. This often results in confusion, as there are other members waiting to progress with production and are unaware of the progress until the question is raised in a group chat.

This week, I've needed to message the members from both 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair' and 'Aviation Aggravation' as these groups were missing the most scenes. Eventually, we tracked the scenes down so post-production can resume as planned.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (05/04)

I'm officially at the stage where I'm waking up in the middle of the night, solely to suffer from a panic attack regarding submission, before going back to sleep. I'm not alone however. Most of my teammates, especially those who have been working incredibly hard, have shared similar stories.

I'm also now worried about my showreel, as there are a few scenes in 'Kingdom of Masks' which the director has tampered with. As a key-framer, it's important I understand timing however, despite following the animatic to a T, a few of my scenes have since been slowed down considerably; scene 25 being the most recent.

I raised my concerns with the director, explaining that the timing readjustment was incredibly noticeable, and any imperfections in the frames that were once viewed in motion are now much more likely to be found due to the speed being reduced by nearly half. 

I also explained how a lecturer had commented on this scene through Instagram, which is the closest thing to feedback we can receive over these three weeks off for Easter, giving me the impression my timing was fine before. So, there was no need to reduce the frame rate by such a noticeable amount. The impact frames have also lost their impact. Hopefully we can resolve this next week.

603 Statement of Intent (For Submission)

I searched through my earlier blog posts and retyped my Statement of Intent in a Word document ready for the hand-in, as it's a requirement for this module. Below is the document I'll be submitting.

Link to 603 Statement of Intent

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 29/03/21)

Despite my new glasses, my eyes are still incredibly sore. Not only are they not helping, but it's also been incredibly hot this week so my headaches are becoming even more frequent. Then there's the added sting that I'm missing out on the nice weather because my workload is so overwhelming.

I decided to focus on my tasks one day at a time as whenever I try to get as much work done as possible, I always find I become incredibly stressed. By taking on less, I feel more reassured in my abilities to get the work done on time, rather than have several tasks pile up, like I did last week.

I started the week with tasks for 'The Last Riders'.

Rhys told me he would be reusing my smoke VFX from scene 26 in other scenes which made me feel a little more confident in myself, as I had to reanimate this aspect several times and I still wasn't convinced I had done a good job. However, if the director is happy enough then so am I!

Link to Scene 8 (Key Frames Only)

As the inbetweener is behind schedule, I added quite a few breakdowns to help with his workload, and eventually just asked to take the whole scene on completely, as I was aware he also had post-production jobs on the go.

Link to Scene 8 (Character Animation Only)

Colouring this scene was simple enough, although the cards were quite difficult again, as their designs are very detailed and I needed to ensure they were consistent throughout.

Link to Scene 27 (Key Frames Only)

Following on from the feedback I received last week, I changed Marow's stance and lost the gun shot, to add more tension to the scene. This was the last scene I had to animate for Rhys' project. As I haven't got access to editing software, and don't know that much about VFX, I can't take on any post roles. So, if we start to fall behind, I may take on some more animation tasks so that I'm not completely worthless.

For now however, I turned my attention to 'Kingdom of Masks' as there is still one scene left to complete. I'm not the biggest fan of inbetweening, and there weren't many key frames to work from, so I began by adding some rough breakdowns to help visualise the scene.

This shot was incredibly difficult, as there were so many different elements to consider. I broke it down into smaller sections to help comprehend the different aspects. For the angel, I needed to consider her hair, her hands, her facial expressions, and the rest of her body. For the explosion, I thought about incorporating secondary action and follow through. Finally, for the demon, I needed to not only animate his wings, however his ascot, his floating eyes, and the rest of his body.

By separating the tasks, I was able to attack this shot more confidently.

Link to Scene 25 (Inbetweens Only)

There was also a flash I needed to consider. Last week, I spoke with the director when colouring the keys only, and we couldn't decide on what colour the flash should be. Khoa did however, want a high contrast so, I decided to animate impact frames instead. Once I was done, I sent it to the team's discord for feedback, as I do all my scenes.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (29/03)

Scene 25 resulted in me falling behind this week, as it took so long to animate. Not only were the elements complicated, and the designs detailed however, as I'm working with bitmap layers, I needed to redraw every frame from scratch in order for the lines not to lose quality, as well as redraw Khoa's key frames, as the file can't be converted from Toon Boom into TVPaint.

I've been rocking an eight-day-long headache and something tells me it isn't going away until after the submission.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 22/03/21)

I felt really demotivated after last week so therefore, decided to bring one of the more interesting scenes from 'The Last Riders' forward. However, the storyboard and animatic weren't corresponding with one another, so I followed the storyboard and roughed out the clip below. Worried that I was going in the wrong direction however, I asked the director for feedback and we discussed some changes that needed to be made.

Link to Scene 27 (Roughs Only - Not Using)

While we won't use this in the final animation, it was still good practice. The director decided to tone the final version down, as he wants the shot to cut to black as the gun is fired. By losing the gore, we should hopefully gain suspense and tension. So from here, I will change the timing and refine the key frames.

Link to Post-Production Gantt Chart (Rhys)

As we are about to enter April, I decided to update the Gantt chart and add the post-production tasks so that the team, and director, could see exactly where we were at as out of all four projects I'm producing this module, 'The Last Riders' has the most left to do.

I then got back to work on 'Kingdom of Masks', starting with the colour for scene 6. Luckily, this process didn't take very long.

Link to Scene 6 (Colour Only)

Next, I had to colour scene 22. While there was a small note from the session last week, I'm not sure it applies anymore, as this clip seems faster than what was shown in the animatic. I coloured the character as best I could however at the start, the colour on his legs isn't refined as the grass was difficult to avoid. So, I've asked the background artist to separate the grass layer, so we can add it later in post.

Link to Scene 22 (Colour Only)

Originally, the final shot was meant to be a still image with some puppetry animation applied however, as the director wasn't happy with the outcome, he decided to animate this shot instead. However, he only drew the key frames as we haven't got much time left. I offered to colour this, this week. I'm not entirely convinced with this shot however, as the rest of the animation is really fluid and refined so if there is time at the end, I nominated myself to tackle this.

Link to Scene 25 (Colour Only)

As I only have one more scene to animate for Khoa's project now, I can focus primarily on producing from now until the deadline. So, I started by putting a Gantt chart together for post-production.

Link to Post-Production Gantt Chart (Khoa)

Joseph explained that he would have to step down from his post roles due to his workload becoming too overwhelming. So, I messaged around within the group looking for others to pick up these jobs. While Khoa has the bulk of the tasks, I did find a couple other animators within the group who were willing to help out. I also messaged him privately, asking if he was alright with this, and that I would be available daily if he needed any support.

Link to Post-Production Gantt Chart (Alisha)

As Alisha's project is also at the same stage of development, I put together a post-production Gantt chart for 'Aviation Aggravation' as well. Then, I got back to work with more animation on 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair' as I have quite a few shots to colour for this.

First up was shot 3. I was worried about the jitteriness of the hair texture however the director was happy with this, as she felt the movement worked, so I moved onto another shot.

Link to Shot 3 (Colour Only)

Shot 5 was easy enough to colour as I didn't have to add any texture. I did however, have to learn how to change the opacity of certain colours in Toon Boom which was difficult, as I have about two weeks experience in this software so I'm still very new to the commands and tools.

Link to Shot 5 (Colour Only)

Next up was shot 6. Once again, I found this shot easy enough once I had learned how to apply the texture layer. I was also happier with the hair in this shot, as I felt it looked less jerky and more fluid.

Link to Shot 6 (Colour Only)

I'm officially burnt out. We haven't got long left to go but my eyes are strained, my ego is bruised and my emotions are all over the place. I'm not taking it to heart though. A year of lockdowns, the uncertainty surrounding my future (or lack of) and strict, inextensible deadlines can do that to a gal!

Link to Shot 10 (Character Animation Only)

We interrupt this breakdown to show you more work. There was a scene that I needed to recolour, so that the hair was consistent throughout the film, which I found time this week to do.

Link to Post-Production Gantt Chart (Stacey)

Just like before, I also made a post-production Gantt chart for this project as we have nearly finished production completely, ignoring the scene I have to reanimate based on feedback last week. This chart was the easiest chart to put together, as we aren't adding VFX, shading, lighting or colour grading.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (22/03)

Considering all four of my teams are nearing the end of production soon, I emailed a lecturer asking for a seminar on post techniques, particularly colour grading, as I feel this would really benefit the outcomes, and he mentioned leading this lecture a few weeks back, if enough people were interested.

At the end of the week, my glasses finally arrived. I've been suffering from frequent migraines so now I have a new prescription, I'm hoping they will die down somewhat. The stress doesn't help either. Even in the hours I try to relax, I give myself headaches worrying over the submission. For an idea of what it's like in my brain, despite the eleven tasks I completed this week, that one red task in my Gantt chart is causing me to spiral.

In a one to one with a lecturer, I was told that I'm really good at managing others, as I'm thoughtful and understanding when it comes to scheduling the team. However, when it comes to looking after myself, I'm really mean and overly harsh. I was advised to try and take the same attitude towards myself that I do with others.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 15/03/21)

I started this week by working on 'The Last Riders' as I had a couple extra scenes that needed inbetweening and colouring. 

First up was scene 3. As there are a handful of characters in this shot, this task took much longer than anticipated. Alongside that, I don't like inbetweening, and plus the fact I only had the background characters to animate, I was struggling to find the motivation to work on them.

Link to Scene 3 (Background Character Animation Only)

I had a similar experience with the next scene.

Once again, I accidentally typed the hex code into the size bar which meant the software crashed and I needed to start over, which unfortunately wasted time I don't have to spare.

Link to Scene 14 (Background Character Animation Only)

I then moved onto the 'Kingdom of Masks' project.

First up was scene 5. I struggled at first to figure out the software on my own so, I watched some tutorials and asked a couple of my classmates for advice. Alisha was kind enough to talk me through the process so, I took plenty of notes and got on with my scenes.

However, this scene in particular proved frustrating as the previous animators went off model several times throughout. The character's belt, shoe straps and sleeves details were missing so, I found it difficult to colour as I'm used to following the turn-around as closely as possible. I raised this issue with the director, and he will go back and fix it if he has time.

Link to Scene 5 (Colour Only)

Scene 18 was next. I found I picked up colouring in Toon Boom quite quickly. The only issue was that my stylus didn't interact with the options or commands as it should (something I had previously experienced when I attempted to animate in this software) so this meant I had to use my mouse pad a lot which slowed down the rate at which I was able to work.

Link to Scene 18 (Colour Only)

I have a couple more scenes to colour within this project however, they aren't scheduled until next week. So, I moved onto 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair' by starting with an easy scene to colour, as I haven't learned how to add texture yet.

Link to Shot 11 (Colour Only)

I'm still not a fan of this shot as the angle is very simple and the movement, boring. 

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (15/03)

I really struggled this week to keep on track as the shots I worked on for Rhys' project took far longer than anticipated. I also found I'm less motivated working in Leeds than I was at home, so this is an issue I need to resolve quickly.

Some Thoughts About The Weekly!

The weekly also raised several issues. This was my first lesson back in the studio since the first week of December, so it was nice to make an effort and leave the house. I was also eager to see everyone again. However, the presentations were far from smooth sailing.

As I was the only member present in person, and not an icon through a screen, a lot of the feedback felt aimed at me, even for the scenes I hadn't worked on. There were a few positives thrown in, such as one lecturer liking the latest scene I animated in 'The Last Riders', as well as preferring the action in a shot I animated for 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair' however, these were overshadowed by the several complaints regarding other scenes (the majority of which I hadn't even worked on). 

The atmosphere felt very negative, and my teammates became demotivated and irritable rather quickly, as much of the feedback felt nit-picky. As producer, I also felt disappointed in the feedback we received, as each team has been updating the presentation (and I, my blog) every single week, showing the scenes not only throughout every stage of development, however also in and out of the context of the animatic. 

In other words, a lot of the changes would have been much easier to fix during the earlier production stages, such as at the key-frame, or inbetweening stage, especially considering that not every person in the team has access to the same software, and some files can't be transferred back without losing quality.

Not only that, but the groups were rearranged so that the weeklies would be more efficient and structured in a bid to make the sessions shorter, so us animators have more time to work on our films. This weekly however, lasted three hours. 

After Sleeping On It!

I noted each scene that needed changing. In 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair', the two shots that needed tweaking were shot 7 and shot 11.

- I explained the issues the lecturers had with shot 7 and asked the inbetweener to retime the action to make the movement more natural and less robotic. Caitlin was able to retime this rather quickly and as the director is happy, we can move on.

- I had originally key framed shot 11 in TVPaint however the following tasks were transferred into Toon Boom. Unfortunately, you can't reverse this process without losing quality so, we have decided to see how the shot looks once the background has been added, to see if this changes anything. If not, I will have to reanimate this scene from scratch however, considering the colouring tasks aren't taking me too long, this hopefully shouldn't be an issue.

The majority of the complaints came from 'Kingdom of Masks'. The scenes that were scrutinised were scene 5, 6, 20 and 21. Scene 22 also had a small suggestion however, was also respected enough to leave alone if we have no time.

- The character needs repositioning in scene 5 as his feet slide back and forth. We are aware of this however due to time, we shall focus on finishing the scenes that are yet to be completed before assigning someone to make amends here.

- In scene 6, the run cycle isn't convincing as there's no bounce. I raised this issue with the director, who has since edited the timing and positioning of the character in this scene. I'm due to colour this shot next week, so Khoa showed his changes to a lecturer. Apparently it could still be improved however, is good enough for now considering the focus within this particular scene is the background and monsters anyway.

- The hair in scene 20 looks too mechanical. So, I have asked the inbetweener to go back and retime the follow through of the hair so it looks more natural. Once again, this will be a task we save for the end of production, as there are still scenes to complete.

- The timing of scene 21 has led to a debate in the past two weeklies. The team believe this moment is one of suspense and tension, as the protagonist realises his role in the story and ultimately rises up to be the hero. Taking inspiration from He-Man, She-Ra and the Legend of Zelda games, we wanted this moment to be weighty and grand. The lecturers disagreed however, and felt this scene should be sped up a lot. We had tested several speeds for this shot, and while we could see our original was too slow, we also felt the lecturer's was too fast, so decided to land on a happy medium. This wasn't good enough apparently.

- Scene 22 has slightly awkward footwork so once I have coloured this shot, I may go back and delete a frame or two to see if this helps any.

In 'The Last Riders', the changes were simpler. The main one being to add a lip sync to Marow, which works as we haven't animated many scenes that feature him talking yet.

The same goes for 'Aviation Aggravation', as they were only upset with one scene, which Alisha soon fixed right after the session.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 08/03/21)

My eyesight is getting worse due to staring at a screen all day, every day. So, at the start of the week I booked myself in for an eye test, before I return to Leeds. I'll be receiving a prescription in two weeks time, which should hopefully help with my headaches.

I then got on with 'The Last Riders' project. This is the only project I have to focus on for a while now, as I have pushed the colouring tasks back.

Link to Scene 17 (Character Animation Only)

This scene was very simple. There are a series of clips all one second long, that play in succession after Isla insults Marow. To save time, we had wrote that we could use stills in this sequence as they wouldn't require any animation. However, as I had time, I animated the other shots and therefore, decided to do the same with this, no matter how subtle.

Link to Scene 5 (Character Animation Only)

This was another scene that due to time, could be replaced with a still. However, I added some animation here too, to add a bit of energy and life to the scene.

At the start of the week, I advised all the directors in the projects I'm managing to put together all the scenes they have so far, as the lecturers seemed to prefer this format during weeklies.

Upon viewing 'The Last Riders' new animatic, there was an awkwardly long pause during one shot so, I brought this to the director's attention, assuming he would trim this down. However, when I saw the following draft, he'd instead added a new scene without consulting me. As producer, I need to be aware of the amount of scenes in the final cut, otherwise nobody would be scheduled to animate on them! 

After discussing it, there were no more worries - this was just a case of miscommunication. He wasn't intending on adding a scene, it was added to signify one of the character's actions in the previous shot. To clear up any confusion, I believe the animatic and storyboard should be updated so that everyone can see the same vision as at the moment, the outcome isn't clear. Rhys said he would amend this.

Link to Scene 26 (Character Animation Only)

I also managed to colour this shot. I'm still not happy with the smoke at all. Hopefully, if we have time before the deadline, a VFX animator could redo this aspect as I'm not happy with it.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (08/03)

As the shots were quite simple this week, I was able to get back on track.

This weekend, I won't be able to work as I will be travelling back to Leeds. 

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 01/03/21)

At the end of last week, Rhys messaged me explaining how he was behind schedule and as a result, he hadn't inbetweened any of the scenes I had sent. I asked which scenes featured the background characters, and he listed 3, 4, and 14. Considering nobody had started on shot 4, I suggested we cut it however upon revisiting the Gantt chart, I realised he wasn't responsible for this shot at all, someone else was, so there was no longer reason to cut it.

I decided to revamp the Gantt chart entirely. I shared the workload between the animators more evenly to account for the scenes that are behind schedule.

Link to Updated Gantt Chart (Rhys)

So now, I'm responsible for inbetweening and colouring the background characters in shots 3 and 14, while Rhys focuses on the main characters. I haven't got time for this.

I started this week by key framing scene 24. This shot was particularly difficult as the action of standing up takes place over such a long time. I needed to really draw out each movement to make it last throughout the shot. 

Link to Scene 24 (Key Frames Only)

It was also difficult as he is wearing a cowboy hat which isn't exactly the easiest item of clothing to draw consistently, due to it's unique shape and tricky angles. With Isla, the character I designed without any outside influences, she isn't wearing a hat at all. This was an intentional decision, as I could see this being an issue in the future.

The next scene I had to animate was also quite long. But I finally get to animate my girl!

Link to Scene 26 (Isla Animation Only)

I enjoyed animating this aspect of this scene, as while I doubt this counts as a lip sync, I still had audio to animate to, and I'm really happy with how her gasp turned out.

Link to Scene 26 (Marow Animation Only)

This aspect I was less happy with, as it required me to animate a green mist/smoke; something I've never animated before, as I'm not a VFX animator. This was my fifth attempt at animating smoke, and I'm still not happy with it. Due to the composition however, I'm hoping Isla covers most of this.

Link to Scene 26 (Character Animation Only)

Then, I moved onto the 'Kingdom Of Masks' project, as I will colour this at a later date.

Link to Updated Gantt Chart (Khoa)

I also updated Khoa's Gantt chart, to see where everyone was at, as a scene or two needed redoing/revising. In general, everyone was either on track or ahead of schedule; there were just a couple scenes that needed refining.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (01/03)

At the start of the week, the musician for 'Kingdom of Masks' sent us his first draft and it sounds fantastic! The whole team is happy with the direction of the soundtrack. Khoa also updated the character turn-around, as there was inconsistencies throughout the project however, I have already finished key framing all my shots for this project, and I followed the previous model as accurately as I could. That goes for the Mask Maker and the Monster.

TVPaint doesn't have the option to export a video as an .mp4. I can either export it as a sequence, or another media file. However, when I've gone to upload my progress onto Instagram or LinkedIn, it appears they don't support that file type. I also can't download the videos to my phone so, I've updated my personal Gantt chart with an extra column, which requires I also convert the image sequence to an .mp4 as while this will take up quite a bit of time, I want to keep my followers and connections updated with my WIP.

At the minute, I'm still in Nuneaton. I have a lot of colouring tasks lined up at the start of March, which I have pushed back, as these require that I work in a new software I'm not experienced in. So, by pushing these back to a date when I've moved back to Leeds, I will be able to find help easier.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 22/02/21)

Unresolved Issues from Last Week:

At the start of the week, the monster shot was animated fully. I was going to suggest to the director that we just reuse this scene twice, as there were quite a few inconsistencies between mine and Alisha's shot, and the other. It appeared that before I had a chance, the director came to this conclusion naturally on his own however, this was just miscommunication. So, I needed to bring it up anyway. 

The Solution:

I explained that the two shots were too inconsistent, not only in design however the walk cycle itself, as my version has the monster on it's hands, whilst the other has it walking on it's knuckles. The director was conflicted, as he didn't want to remove a scene that the team had worked so hard on. It was only when more animators spoke up, including the two responsible for the other shot, that the director decided to axe it and go with mine and Alisha's.

This Week:

At the start of the week, I worked on 'The Care I Give My Hair'.

I had similar issues on this shot with that of a previous shot, as the character turn-around was only designed with her first hairstyle in mind. While I could search for reference images, or try to use the sketchy designs from the animatic, I didn't feel confident at all attempting to animate this shot.

Fortunately, my other teammate had already started on another shot where this hairstyle was featured. So, using their drawing alongside the storyboard art, I had a better idea of what the linework should look like.

Link to Shot 10 (Key Frames Only)

I wasn't originally down to key frame this shot however, due to the team all working in different software, and the capabilities of each software, I needed to rearrange a couple of the final scenes. I still had the same amount of work to do however this way, we didn't need to convert the file back and forth.

Link to Shot 10 (Character Animation Only)

So, seeing as I was down to both inbetween, and colour this shot at a later date, I decided to get this scene over and done with at once, as colouring in TVPaint doesn't take very long at all. The reason her hair is green is because the director wanted the hair to be textured, so this layer will act as a green screen and the texture will be applied in post.

I then moved onto 'The Last Riders' project.

I was down to animate a scene that was incredibly similar to one Rhys had already animated which resulted in a conflict of interest. As while I consciously make an effort to stay on model as accurately as possible, it was obvious my character reference sheet and Rhys' shot had inconsistencies. So I had to make a decision: do I stay on model and sacrifice the consistency of the final animation or, do I purposefully go off model to match Rhys' interpretation of the design.

Link to Scene 19 (Key Frames Only)

Once again, this was another scene that I was down to also inbetween and colour so, I decided to put these jobs together.

I'm slightly worried about the line thickness as while I followed the character reference sheet, I have a feeling the shots that have been animated so far have thinner linework. This is an issue that has arisen due to two factors. Firstly, I'm working on three projects simultaneously and each have very different art styles. Secondly, it's been about a month since I've animated a scene for Rhys' project as the other projects have taken precedence, meaning the line width had escaped my mind.

Link to Scene 19 (Character Animation Only)

Now the colour has been added, I feel the difference in weight of the line is obvious. However, due to time restraints, I won't make any adjustments now. If the director hasn't got any issues then I can continue as planned, and so far he hasn't said anything.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (22/02)

At the end of the week, I was given a commission. So, I began to plan some ideas for what I could do and how I could approach it, given how busy my schedule already is. 

I also tried to catch up on some of the visiting professionals lectures I had missed, including: Bianca Ansems, Matthew Cooper and Maryam Mohajer. 

I no longer have any scenes to key frame for both the 'Kingdom of Masks', or 'The Care I Give My Hair' which means I can focus solely on 'The Last Riders' for a while. However, I do need to learn a new software in order to colour on these projects so this may slow my practice down. I will also be travelling back to Leeds at the beginning of March so, I can imagine my mental health will naturally decline, as it usually does, so this may also be an issue in regards to my workflow.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 15/02/21)

I was nervous about this week as I had a couple of shots to key frame for Khoa's project and I had found that these shots were usually the most difficult.

Link to Scene 9 (Key Frames Only)

At the start of the week, Khoa made an announcement that scenes no longer needed to be animated on 1s or 2s, but 3s, so rather than key framing as I usually do (often on 4s), I tried to key frame so that the inbetweener could animate with ease. He also shared a scene that he had key framed which had squash and stretch on the mask, so I felt I could also be more expressive and emotive when animating the mask.

I really struggled with this shot as I didn't know how to capture a simple action over a long time. I couldn't film any reference footage without the movements coming off as slow or awkward.

Link to Scene 8 (Key Frames Only)

I really struggled with this shot as it was the first time I animated the monster. However, once I was in the flow of things, I found I ended up liking the shot. Unfortunately, there is another shot in this animation that is incredibly similar however, due to different animators working on it, not only are the walk cycles different but the character design itself has inconsistencies. This point was raised with the director however due to time, he isn't focused on resolving this issue just yet. We have instead decided to wait until the next weekly. I believe it may be worth using this scene for both shots, by just scaling the monster down and colouring it differently, as the actions are the same.

I then moved onto Stacey's project.

Link to Shot 11 (Key Frames Only)

By this stage in the week I was completely exhausted. I feel as though shot 11 looks rushed as a result however, I need to take a proper break this weekend as my eyes are constantly sore and I'm having frequent headaches from staring at my laptop screen all day every day. I've felt really challenged recently with keeping up with the workload and also managing my mental health, as anxiety and stress are always factors I'm having to manage.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (15/02)

Last week, it was suggested that as producer, I should also plan time for RnR. At the weekend, I hosted a quiz for my classmates, which everyone seemed to enjoy, and every Friday night a group of us have been playing video games to help wind down.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 08/02/21)

At the beginning of the week, I focused on the one colouring task I had. I noticed some problems with the character design and line art which I brought up with Rhys, and then asked him to fix at the end of the module if he has time as it's slightly off model.

The main issue I had on this task was that about halfway through, I accidentally typed the hex code into the pen size box which caused the software to crash resulting in me having to start over from scratch.

Link to Scene 9 (Colour Only)

I then moved onto the Kingdom of Masks project. This week, I had to key frame scene 22. I really struggled with the placement of his footwork as he approaches the camera over the hill, so I followed Khoa's roughs as a guide and filmed a reference of my brother to help.

Link to Scene 22 (Key Frames Only)

Over the second half of the week, I got on with Stacey's project, currently titled 'The Care I Give My Hair'. Last week I struggled with the shots I had on this project, so I was slightly apprehensive to start these shots however once I got on with it, I found I had no trouble key framing shot 6.

Link to Shot 6 (Key Frames Only)

I'm happy with the secondary action of her curl.

Link to Shot 8 (Key Frames Only)

I found this shot trickier as I only had the turn-around of her with her hair down to work from, which meant I relied on the animatic more than the reference sheet. Usually, I follow the turn-around as closely as possible to make sure the character is consistent, so the lack of this resource made me feel less confident.

During the weekly, it was suggested that as producer, I should organise some RnR sessions alongside the production timetables to make sure the team has regular downtime. My youth club have been doing monthly quizzes so, I messaged the leader asking if I could use one for my teammates. She sent me one, which I trialled on some friends from home. Hopefully, I can set something up over the next few weeks!

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (08/02)

This week, I got the colour task out of the way, then sunk my teeth into the harder tasks. In the future however, I may do the more difficult tasks first.

A few of us in class also played Among Us together, and have decided to make an effort to schedule these games sessions regularly so that we can keep in contact with one another and make sure we're taking regular breaks.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 01/02/21)

At the start of the week, the musician emailed back and showed a real interest in working on Khoa's project. So, I sent him an invite to join the Discord and he messaged back, saying he had spoken to the directors and a first draft should be completed in two weeks time.

Link to Scene 2 (Key Frames Only)

I began this week by key-framing scene 2 for the Kingdom of Masks project. I'm really happy with how I animated the fabric, as there is a looseness and weight to it which looks natural. If I compare the movement of this cape to a cape I animated last year, there has been an improvement.

Link to Shot 3 (Key Frames Only)

I then moved onto Stacey's project for the remainder of the week. After the lecture on Wednesday, I began key-framing shot 3. I struggled with this at first, as I felt the timing was off and the angle was a little strange. However, after starting from scratch and filming some reference footage to guide me, I felt I could get on with the task and it turned out okay.

Link to Shot 5 (Key Frames Only)

After the weekly session, I started on shot 5. I really struggle to animate objects as I feel as though I can't add any life to them. It looks really flat and boring. In the future, I might add some squash and stretch to try and bring the item to life a little however, as this is a hair tutorial, I felt that wouldn't fit the style.

On top of that, I've always animated characters with five digits so, I struggled drawing the hand with one less finger. All in all, I'm not very happy with this shot. Hopefully the inbetweens can save it, as I don't have time to start again.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (01/02)

I found this week rather stressful, as I found it was taking roughly two days for me to key frame one shot for a project. This week I had three shots to animate and as I didn't want to work over the weekend, I had to work really hard to get the shots done by the end of Friday. Next week however, I have four scenes to animate, and the pressure doesn't ease off from pretty much now until the deadline. So the question is: can I maintain this rate alongside my other module and not break? Stay tuned!

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 25/01/21)

At the start of the week, I coloured shot 18 for Rhys' project. I'm happy with the follow through of the hair/feathers. I also feel I captured the expression well.

Link to Scene 18

Last week, as I felt I had time to spare, I offered to put together a Gantt chart for a friend of mine who was struggling to manage his time. Despite daily communication, he failed to share the storyboard with me so that task has now bled into this week. He eventually sent me the storyboard so, I put together a timetable for him.

Link to Production Gantt Chart (Harry)

As he is the only person working on this project, I facetimed him while putting this chart together to discuss how long he felt he needed for each shot. As there are so many scenes, and he's on his tod, unless he finds someone to help colour, there will be no time for this aspect. I've also explained that as I'm already producing four other projects, I'm not going to get on his case or worry if he falls behind the schedule, as this is his responsibly.

Link to Scene 3 (Key Frames Only)

I then got on with some more animation. I started by key-framing scene 3 for Rhys' project. I believe the timing is accurate, and I feel as though I was able to capture the atmosphere of a busy saloon.

I updated Khoa's Gantt chart, as we learned a lot through our practice animations. For instance, Alisha and I both clean-up as we key and inbetween, whilst Khoa and Amy preferred to keep the lines rough and then clean-up at a later stage. So, I shortened the amount of time per task and added this stage to a few shots. I also gave one person the responsibility of the memory sequence, as I felt this would be the best way to keep this aspect consistent.

Link to Khoa Production Gantt Chart (Updated)

A couple of months ago, I attended a networking event for animation students and music students, to discuss potential collaborations. At the meeting, I pitched the four projects I was working on at the time and two of which found composers. A musician called Ben is working on Alisha's project (and the three of us had a meeting at the start of the week to discuss our progress) and a musician called Isaac is working on Rhys' (with Josh working on the Foley sounds).

Nobody contacted me in regards to Stacey or Khoa's projects. For Stacey's, I wasn't worried, as the focus should be on the narration, with visuals to aid. However, we certainly need one for Khoa's project. I did email someone enquiring if they were interested however, I never heard back. So, I've since messaged someone through Discord, asking if they knew anyone who was interested. They gave me another student's email so hopefully, they will be willing to work on this project. I've asked around for other musician's emails just in case, and have really tried to find someone for the job however, it's incredibly difficult when nobody is willing to communicate.

Link to Scene 14 (Key Frames Only)

At the end of the week, I key-framed scene 14. This had a similar layout however, at this stage in the story, the atmosphere is less bubbly and more tense. I tried to capture that in the background character's body language.

Link to Personal Gantt Chart (25/01)

I'm currently on schedule. If anything, I'm ahead, as I was able to move some jobs forward. I only did that however, as I'm terrified of February. I've got no idea how that's going to go, so let's see if I can keep on track then!

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 18/01/21)

On Sunday night, I finished the Gantt chart for Alisha's project. I believe this is the most organised timetable yet, as there are absolutely no overlapping tasks.

Link to Production Gantt Chart (Alisha)

At the very start of the week, I key-framed a scene for Khoa's project. If I, and the rest of the team, continue to work at this rate, we shall remain on schedule. I did, however, have some serious issues to resolve during the completion of this task. 

The team had access to Toon Boom Harmony, so we all agreed to work in this software. However, when it came to actually starting, I really struggled to get it working. Certain commands and tools weren't working when I selected them, and my stylus wasn't registering half of the time.

I was already stressed with the concept of learning a new programme that I was completely inexperienced in, let alone with all these additional problems. After spending half the day trying to get it to work and failing, I requested permission from the director to work in TVPaint.

Khoa was pleased with this first scene, as he wasn't expecting it to be so clean this early into production. I explained I prefer to line as I go. However, I do tend to find myself accidentally inbetweening as I key-frame, which is something I need to work on for future shots.

Link to Scene 1 (Key Frames Only)

After raising my concerns last week over the very likely incompletion of Stacey's animation, Grace, the storyboard artist and Stacey arranged a meeting in which they discussed cutting down the script in order for us animators to have a better chance at meeting the deadline.

This meant I needed to put together another Gantt chart, which I was pleased about, as I feel as though the last one was very cluttered. Now I have less scenes to worry about, I can work on making it look more professional and organised.

Link to Production Gantt Chart (Stacey - Refined)

I also raised my concerns over voice acting to Rhys, so he began looking online for other actresses, and found one on Fiver.

At the end of the week, I made a personal Gantt chart to make sure I don't bite off more than I can chew (I already have, but at least this chart will help me visualise my tasks better).

Link to Personal Gantt Chart

I then got started on a scene for Rhys' animation.

Link to Scene 18 (Outline Only)

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 11/01/21)

At the end of last week, I scheduled a meeting with Stacey and the team to get a sense of where we were at. Below are the notes I took.

Link to Stacey's Project Meeting Notes (08/01)

I also made a new Gantt chart for Khoa's project. I tried to keep it as organised as possible. However, due to the amount of members in the team, verses the amount of scenes and the time we have left, there are some jobs that overlap. I did however, express to the team that if anyone becomes overwhelmed with the amount of roles they have been given, or alternatively, would prefer more tasks, to keep me informed and I can adjust accordingly. 

Link to Production Gantt Chart (Khoa)

For Khoa's project, as it is incredibly ambitious, I decided to block out the tasks in week long sections, to ensure each member of the team could keep on track. However, considering the amount of time we have left, I can't afford to do this with every project.

I spent this week redesigning a lot of the characters for Rhys' western animation. Rhys said in his original pitch that shows such as Castlevania and Attack on Titan were his main art inspiration, and what we as artists should be aiming for. So, while designing my characters, I kept the line art thin and the proportions realistic. In our third weekly session however, the lectures commented on the noticeable differences in style between character designers. They said it was obvious that different artists were responsible for different designs, and that we were nowhere near ready for production. So, I volunteered to design the remaining characters and redesign those that already exist.

I started with Marow, the protagonist, who was originally designed by Rhys. I tried to make his outfit more authentic and his proportions more realistic. I also gave him gloves to try and simplify his hands, as individual bones may be difficult to animate. There were a couple inconsistencies, such as I didn't understand why in the original design, he had hair, yet only cracks in his skull alluding to a moustache. So, I made my version bald and incorporated the features such as his hair through his human/past life design.

Next, I moved onto the bear and eagle designs, originally designed by Jason. Considering this is a western set in purgatory, I was a bit confused as to how a panda would exist in this setting, and raised this concern to Rhys. As much as I like the design, I believed a grizzly bear would better suit the setting, at least where the western imagery is concerned. So once more, I tried to keep the proportions somewhat realistic and the colours fitting to the environment.

Rhys also asked me to design Tarant, who he was originally intending on designing. He asked me to give him six arms, which strayed from my original vision of two arms and two legs, so I was worried he would be too top-heavy. As a result, I played around a little with his weight and physics.

Link to Production Gantt Chart (Stacey)

At the end of the week, I made a Gantt chart for Stacey's project. At the start of this week, there were only a couple animators on this project. Considering the amount of scenes I was animating for Khoa's project already, I began to worry about whether I could continue to work on this project. So, I messaged the animation group chat and discord asking for extra help. This wasn't the first time I had asked the class, so I wasn't hopeful. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Link to Production Gantt Chart (Rhys)

I had also started to make a Gantt chart for Rhys' project however, I also ran into a few problems here concerning the amount of shots in the storyboard. I ended up facetiming him to try and resolve these issues as we don't have nearly enough time to complete this project, which meant a lot of the scenes needed cutting. Most of the projects I'm working on have about twenty scenes each, while Rhys' had over forty. I was quite harsh and in the end, we managed to cut down the number of scenes to twenty-eight.

I'm producing four different animations, and the main problem I'm currently facing is that every time I've asked the class for extra teammates on particular projects that were understaffed, I've either heard no response, or the same people would always volunteer. Of course I'm happy with any and all help I can get however, as the members of each team are all the same people, trying to juggle four Gantt charts, when their roles are already overlapping in one animation, let alone all four, is extremely frustrating, as I know how stressed I'm feeling about it, so I don't want to overwhelm my classmates.

If there were only a handful of final films within this module, that were green-lit and chosen right at the start, then I'm confident the outcomes would be far more developed and resolved than the films we will probably end up with, as the teams would most likely have been bigger. It's concerning that whenever I've asked for help, it's always the same few people offering. I'm not sure what projects the rest of my class are working on, but they must be pretty ambitious.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 04/01/21)

I added colour to my turn-around however, due to the time restraints and shortage of team members, Rhys and I discussed maybe reducing the amount of details (such as shading and highlights) to make the challenge of animating this project a little easier. If I have any time left before production starts, or we feel as though we could also tackle adding shadows and highlights, I will return to this piece and refine it further.

I animated a line test to make sure the character is easy enough to animate quickly, as we are limited for animators. I've ran into no problems so far, and as Rhys is happy with the test, we may be able to reuse this asset in production. The background is very underdeveloped and the angles are most likely wrong however, I'm only a character animator on this project so, I'm not going to spend too much time on this aspect. It was only to get a sense of the space around her.

I'm itching to get started on production as I'm very nervous about the amount of time we have left and the amount of members in the team.

In our online sessions, I raised my concerns over the lack of support from University, and whether we would be receiving a deadline extension. University, however, is now apparently open to those unable to work from home. So, hopefully, those members of my team who were unable to get work done from home, can now use the facilities. This is assuming they are able to travel to Leeds, as we are currently in lockdown.

It was confirmed there would be no extension, as modifications were made to the course before we came back. For instance, in this module, previous students were expected to enter four competitions, while we were only asked to enter at least one (more was encouraged). As someone who entered four competitions anyway, I personally would have preferred the two week extension.

I planned a meeting with Alisha and the rest of the team to discuss where we are currently at, and what steps need taking next. 

Link to Aviation Aggravation Meeting Notes (07/01)

I also scheduled a meeting with Khoa, Amy and the rest of that team to discuss the same questions, and also make preparations for production.

Link to Khoa's Project Meeting Notes (07/01)

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 28/12/20)

This week, I added colour to the Pandora designs and sent them to the team. I am very happy with the first two however, I feel the third looks a little under developed! I'm currently on schedule within this project, and once we're halfway into January, I will make a Gantt chart for production!

Khoa, the director, was pleased with all of the designs, so I started to adapt them into his style, based on his protagonist turn-around. Using the first concept, I tested out a few different colour palettes and made sure to replicate his style to the best of my ability. He was also happy with these. 

Later on in the week, I added colour, shading, and highlights to the bounty hunter design. I'm very pleased with how this character came out, and so is Rhys, the director on this project. As I had his seal of approval, I began to illustrate the turn-around sheet.

I was originally intending on returning to University in a fortnight. However, my town was placed in Tier 4 so I'm no longer able to travel. Not only that, however, we received an email this week stating that the University would remain closed until the very end of January. So, I most likely won't be travelling back to Leeds until about then. At this point in time, there has been no mention of any extensions so, as producer, I'm feeling a little apprehensive, as some members of my teams have stressed that they're unable to work from home.

The fact this module relies heavily on teamwork is also an issue, as it's more difficult to communicate with one another when we're not seeing each other daily. As a lack of communication could be detrimental to the outcome of work, I'm making more of an effort to message my teammates as regularly as possible, to ensure everyone is on target. I've also been facetiming Rhys weekly.

It was my birthday at the weekend, so I took these days off.

603 Weekly Update (Week Commencing: 21/12/20)

Alisha asked me to make some changes to the Gantt chart, so I spent the beginning of this week extending the amount of time for pre-production, so that everyone has longer to complete their tasks, especially over the week of Christmas. I also changed the deadlines for the background artists, as their jobs should spread over production too. Alongside that, I made a shared folder on Drive so that everyone could easily access each others' work.

Link to Updated Gantt Chart (Alisha)

I got to work designing Pandora, the antagonist, for Khoa's project. I tried to make the character look beautiful and angelic to demonstrate their power, whilst also making them appear approachable as the protagonist is unaware of their true intentions at the start.

I also continued working on Rhys' project. There are three characters who will be speaking in this animation, two of which will be designed by Rhys, and the third is a bounty hunter who I've offered to design, and provide the voice for. I've never done voice acting before, however it's always something I've wanted to try. While designing the character, I tried to illustrate someone who I felt comfortable voicing. Subtleties such as the fangs and lizard's tongue I've included as I have a slight lisp, so I felt this would be fitting. I also made the character androgynous, as I feel my voice is quite deep for a girl.

I had another call with Rhys this week where we discussed the script. He shared what he had so far, and the two of us worked together to complete the story. We bounced ideas and lines off of one another, as well as suggesting different camera angles and techniques for each scene, so we could really visualise the animation. I also finished the background character designs, as Rhys wants the Saloon to be very busy, so we need plenty of characters for that.