doreens online RVJ

Script Writing for Animation

2007-05-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my rough notes that l took from a talk we had around the time we started this module. It was quite an entertaining talk by a man who wrote for Eastenders and various other programmes. l forgot to write his name down, but at least l got some helpful notes on what he had to say

General Principles

core concept
research and development i.e the imaginary world

Pre production

script design
character development
storyboard
layout
shooting script
performance
direction

Production

sequence development
continuity review

Post Production

sound effects
compositing

Review

critical evaluation

The Creativ Matrix: Philip Parker

style, plot, theme, story, form, genre

He also tallked about the animation matrix, l have a diagram in my note book and l will see if l can get a chance to scan it in.
but here are the core elements having a cyclical form with visualisation at the core. So around that you have core them idea → technique → material and technlogical needs → method/process → core theme idea (and so on). He said that visualisation was the core in animation. Knowing how to show, visualise and tell stories through images.

In relation to my project
core theme idea was the story of a young man who needed to be helped to understand his destiny
tecnique eventually turned out to be line based
materials and technological needs mainly was the computer, the packages being: after effects, final cut pro and logic.
method and process was to script it → storyboard → animatic → revise and do the first three stages again → draw illlustrations → prepare settings animate revise

The Language of Animation

Metamorphosis - the ability to fascilitate the change from one form to another without edit
Condensation - the maximum degree of suggesstion in the minimum of imagery achieved by thinking visually
Anthropomorphism - the imposition of human traits an animals, objects and environments
Fabrication - the physical and material creation of imaginary figures and spaces i.e create my own world
Penetration - the visualisation of unimaginable/pshycholigical/physical/ technical interiors
Symbolic Association - the use of abstracted visual signs and related meaning or connotations

Script Orthodoxy

Show don't tell dialogue should be written when pertinant to the scene
( this was something that really challenged me because of it origingally being a drama and the actors were not trained actors, there was concern about the authenticity of it. Then it had to be reviewed again when it was converted to an animated piece.
characters are important
what is the script about? what is the core concept? what do l want to deal with
three act structure = situation - complication - resolution
setting up more and more problems to be resolved
main plots and sub plots
riffs and rythmns : foreshadowing / repeating motifs/ blocking
teaser to treatment (not too sure what he meant by this)
draft and re draft

Riff Writing (yey)

small narrative incidents
associations - develop a narrative
conceptual transfer
combined concepts

Event Analysis

What happens in the phase images scene under observatio? how might its intrinsic action be described and how does it specifically relate to the methodology of process and visualisation in general
what is the key narrative development in thephase/images/scene.
how does the sequence in question essentially progress? whether abstract/dramatised
each scene must relate to that which has gone before or that follows after
what is the core punctum of the sequence and how does it advance its presence and effect. (Barthes term punctum refers to the key point of the attraction in the image and in this context might be a character who is gay
what does the writer devisor creator want to achieve in the phase/ images / scene.
what is the essential intention underpinning the sequence and for what purpose?what should the implies spectator take from the scenario
how should the audience react
is it about setting up a reaction
never forget the audience and who and why they watch it

Three levels of conflict (character)
inner conflict (jesse has an inner conflict going on. he knows he has to do something but doesn't really want to and is in denial)
personal conflict
Extra personal conflicts

Riff Writing (oooh)
types an stereotypes can be adjusted and modified
identify typical relationships and adjust
do something simple and the narrative will comlicate it
the biggest narrative could be changing the status ie how you think someone should be

Using Moral Dilema

this can sway the actions of a character

Actually l think his name was Barry Purves

animators should try to engage with other art forms i.e movement dance opera music

Art of Metaphor show different perspective

Line Work

2007-05-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

When l decided on the line style for the characters, l had to think of the definition of the characters through the strength og the lines. ln the earlier drawings l had used basic lines, but it was amazing how different strengths of lines, especially the heavier lines as the outline of the character brought them to life.

One of the problems l also faced was that when the quicktimes were viewed on the computer the line work looked very jagged, at one stage l thought l was going to have to rethink the whole style of the characters and revert to the original coloured in idea. l spoke to Darren and he filled me on on th ewhole interlacing process and the way things are rendered. So it was really just a computer thing and it will show fine on a tv screen. For viewing on the computer screen it is just a case of adjusting some of the settings and it views fine.

Rendering

2007-05-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

The problem l have been finding with the rendedring process is not only that it can take forever, but when you want to
do a quick render at a lower resolution you can't always see the flaws in what you have done. l have decided to use the flare again and so they will be like lamps outside Athaleahs door. l think it does the job quite nicely, if time allows l will try the flames. l have just rendered the passage and l found that the left recess was sticking out. l couldn't pick it up as l had temporarily rendered it out at a lower resolution, anyway l think l have fixed it. l shall render and continue to cut out my stainglass windows. lt is difficult to have lots of movies showing how the scene has progressed due to rendering time, especially when you start to add effects. l tried to render the passage as mp4 and l might as well have rendered it in its full capacity, so stopped it.

uh oooooh

2007-05-28T01:32:00.000-07:00

l really really want to do this flame thing. l have a flame with its alpha channel, but it looks as though l can only use it in After Effects 7, it looks really good too. l went online and found one by Creative Cow and l need cc or ff filters, and l don't have them. l am really thinking of using the particle system that l have but its not going to have an authentic movement to it. So l think l am going try something else. its a shame, the burner holders keep asking me where his flames are.

l think l have phantom keyframes, things move where there are no keyframes.? l am not sure about the adjust handles for adjusting the motion of the keyframes. lts quite a job trying to smooth out the camera action with those little circley nobs, on one side they cangive yoou a curve but then on the other side its like a clif.

Lens Flare

2007-05-26T01:08:00.000-07:00

l am workin on a lens flare, l have put it into the scene where Jesse is at the canal. l have tried it with the different lens settings 50 - 300 mm zoom. with this setting it meant that l had to keep the flare brightness low as it was possible to see the fading light being chopped off at the edge of its boundary. Maybe to overcome this l could go into its settings and just make it bigger. l also tried it at 35mm prime this was ok but l felt that both of them looked too much like a lens flare, which would or could imply that the light is reflecting off something whereas l just want it to be something supernatural. l think l have been able to achieve this by using the 105mm prime setting. l also centralised the beam in order to eliminate the flare qualitites. So it looks more like a bright light almost resembling a fire fly.....a big firefly. But on reexamining the screen shots l think l like the 35mm prime one as the little glow around it adds to it.

l wanted to get more of a three demensional property to it so it could fly around Jesse, for this l think l would need a transparent background to put the flare on. When l put it on a moveie it looked great but the movie didn't, l am happy with the way it is now but l will check with Annette to see if it is something to do with my settings why the quality of the movie looks bad.

35 mm prime

50 - 300mm zoom

105mm prime

l am going to leave this for now and have a go at smoothing out my camera movements, adding torches to the outside of Athaleahs door and sorting out the door movements.

Naaaa! l just went to save my work and l think l am going to stick with 105mm prime. l think it looks alright:-)

Today

2007-05-24T11:45:00.001-07:00

Today Errol came in and worked on the music, l have decided that on top of the effects that will be going on in the passage it would be great to add a little bit of music. He has added a bit of ambient noise to it too. This will merge into when Jesse speaks to Athaleah. Hopefully this will add a little tension to what is going on. l am now working on Jesses eyes for the first scene. The fact that l have altered them in the other scene means for consistancy sake it has to be altered.

Errol feels that when Jesse goes from the present into his trance l somehow need to make it clear that this has happened. This was quite good coming from someone who would be a potential viewer. An external and objective voice.

Intermission

Just got back from the book launch, got some good footage and drank a glass of champagne. I spoke to Tony Remi, a face l could not miss as l saw it intensely for a while whilst working on the cover of Konigs book that was launched today. Tony is Annie Lennox's Guitarist, really nice warm and humble person, he signed my book for me too. Hopefully l will be able to get some good footage from what was taken to put on my site when l eventually get it online. Its great to do a piece of work and then see it launched out into the public eye, with such a good response. lt wasn't the design l really wanted him to use, as famous as Remi is, but its Konigs book so l have to honour his choice. Tony, if you read this blogg, l think you should ditch the girl and rejoin the fold. My no. is. I'm just messing around :-). Donavon was there too (my cousin) he is on a break from touring with Take That, got footage of him too. Basil Gabbidon signed my book too, founder and member of the great band Steel Pulse. Wooo! Fred Baker who is in the book and who was also Konigs lecturer at the conservatoire played a few songs and also g=signed my book. Konig said this is history due to the nature of the book. Thats why l am putting this in my blogg. Sorry guys, thats if you read this;-)

Music

2007-05-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

The studio is booked and Errol is coming in to uni to do the sound track for it. l am really looking forward to it. l learnt a lot of what l know of Logic from working in the studio with him. He plays bass and guitar, we have known and woked with each other on quite a few projects. Now we mainly focus on our church worship team. He has not long called me asking about the equipment that is in the studio. He is bringing in his controller keyboard and his laptop, which he works from. We are meeting at 10am by tesco and then we will drive over to uni, l hope we get most of it finished by 2pm as l have to go and film Konigs book launch which starts at 4pm.

l have edited the footage l showed Andy on Monday so Errol will have something to work off. l am going ahead with dropping the chess board scene and for times sake l am going to use the footage of the passage that rendered really dark. l added brightness and contrast in Final Cut so Errol can see it but it kinda looks interesting. lt seems to have a negative quality to it.

Group Meeting - Early Stages

2007-05-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

Guiseppa, Maria, Vanisha, Richard and myself all met up in 201 and discussed what we were going to do. We all had an allocated amount of time in which we could discuss our projects. This was after my first tutorial with Andy where l showed him the rushes taken at the canal in Winson Green.

Maria was thinking of reworking her previous piece of work

Richard had started working on his project and so was set and clear on what he was doing

Vanisha was throwing out ideas she had for her seven deadly sins idea

Guissepa brought in her animatic to show us. She is putting imagery to a voice over by Vincent Price

l brought my animatic and showed it. l was really grateful for this meeting because it enabled me to thrash out my concerns about my project at that stage. Andy had asked me to do a lot of tests, and although l could see what he was saying, l wasn't too sure l could do everything in time. Martin working on his project, Pam being 62 and Rene being at juniour school. Was not going to work. So l felt that l would have more control over the project if l animated it. When l discussed this with the guys they agreed and said l should animate especially as they liked my storyboard and the way they had been illustrated. So that helped me to make my decision. Thanks guys!

Tutorials - Analysis and Feedback

2007-05-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Below you will find some points brought up in the tutorials. During and after each tutorial l always make notes as l find that if l don't l will go away and forget most of what has been said. Still, l noticed that some of the pointers in my notes l had not carried out, so it was good for me to go back and type these notes up. l meant to do this ages ago but never got around to it.

first tutorial

2007-05-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Showed Andy the rushes from my first film shoot.
l plan to use the boiler room downstairs for Athaleahs room
l plan to make an animated door in Maya. l have done a few tests on Maya. The plan was to build the wall in Maya and the superimpose it onto a wall that is created in maya
The crowd scene wil be filmed in the green screen room to be superimposed on an animated background
the colouring for Athaleah needs to be warm
Could try filming me in the green studio
look at continuity, setting up my shots, depth of field, could try using a reflector when shooting outside,
need to relook at the shot of Martin passing the camera. lt looks like he is coming from a different side of the camera to what is implied in the previous shot.

second tutorial

2007-05-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Scene 1

Andy felt that l should try using real glasses to keep it in with the other photorealistic elements
Martins head is down too long - could try an intermediate shot and a blur
Work on the timing of the glass animation

Scene 2

Work on Jesses entrance at the canal, maybe use a blur or the predator effect
l am still unsure how to make the entrance for Jesse - Andy suggested looking at some surreal stuff

Scene 3

Based on the positioning of the camera, l might need to add a floor to the canal wall
Need to add depth of field to the back wall. (Actually it is a good thing that l am typing this up now because l forgot about this) It is needed. Could do this by adjusting the apperture
The yellow glow used as a transition from the passage to Athaleahs pad is not working at all. l need to look at the lense flare filter

Scene 4

Add depth of field to show distance between Jesse and the stainglass window (another one l forgot to look into, tut tut tut)
Need to adjust the angle of Jesse and Athaleah to show that they are different shots. Originally l had just adjusted the position of the trees in the background but Andy felt that this was not enough. l agree
Could try to have them both in the same
The part where Jesse days 'dreams' l could have his head up then down and then up again
Could make him blink
lower opacity slightly
Look into the line thickness of the characters including angry man. The angry man could blink and his eyebrows could move

Andy feels that the chess board colours should be changed to black and white (uhhhhm, not too sure about that. l have seen coloured chess boards. l am trying to get a woodeny effect) The scene as it stands looks as though the animations are taking place on a kitchen floor, this l agree with. Andy wasn't too sure about the chess board scene. l suppose it is the connotations and denotations that have to taken into account when using particular elements. The use of the model Gissele for instance, there are many other implications that come into play. Who she dates? What her belief system is? Her nationality? etc. The way she blurred across the chess board again was not executed exactly as l would like it to be- needs more work. The money, is the same wad and are dollars, is that a problem? is my market limited to the UK and therefore needs to have the Queens head on it? The house is suppose to represent wealth, l agree that it possibly looks like a house in Handsworth that has been converted into flats, but then l also feel again that this is subjective. One mans rubbish is another mans riches. Same goes for the car. The inclusion of the supers - the use of symbolism. The whole point of the Lion, bear, dragon and eagle being in the scene is that they apocolyptically represent the main powers that will be at the forefront of things in the end time according to the bible. l have put a link to a site called the book of revelation. l am going to have to go back and do some more tests on it.

Surrealism again could be incorporated -Dahli, Hitchcock, Andy mentioned the lawn mower man, Bas Lermain??(think l need to look this one up) Shakespeare. Could have things flying through the air.

Scene 5

Need to cut back on the zooms
try cutting to a close up

today

2007-05-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, l went into uni to show Andy my work. l had done a rough edit of it for him to get an idea of what the final thing might look like. Some observations were:

the transition from Athaleah and the stainglass window and the chess board was not working

Abigail looked a bit ghostly in the corner, so l have to look at why that is, a she is supposed to just be in the background out of focus

Jesse is walking too slow as he walks past the stain glass window

When Abigail runs to Athaleah, she moves off a bit too quick. l understand what he is saying, but l think it is more to do with me not executing the actions effectively. l definately want the slow action at the end but the bit before needs work. Maybe l can run some tests on that section.

Today l had a close look at what l had shown Andy cause to be honest, yesterday when l eventually got home l watched a movie and slept. So, l took into account what Andy said and made a few more of my own observations:

When Jesse is in front of the stain glass window, two of his positions have a different line thickness

Maria made a comment on his eyes looking a bit funny, l realised that l had not put the reflection in like l had with the others

so today l have been working on fixing those today, however since coming home l have noticed that Jesse and the stainglass window have become one. lt is the weirdest thing l have experienced since using AE. He is not even in the leading of the window, just in the panels. HOW FREAKY IS THAT?!!! l might have to shut AE down and reopen or l will have to do that section again. Thankfully it is not and intricate scene. OK, crisis over.....l have found Jesse. Don't feel like dealing with this scene now to be honest, so l will continue blogging.

l showed my project to Maria and told her how l liked the way Athaleah moves out of the scene saying 'Once upon a time'. l am toying with the idea of her saying that then maybe the next line but letting it fade out. So you know that she is filling Jesse in on what had happened before. l suppose l am falling back on the power that phrase has generated over centuries of use. Then maybe l could go straight to Abigail in her bedroom somehow showing that whilst Athaleah is telling Jesse this story Abigail has awoken and is in her bedroom, this will mean losing the chess board scene which l do like now. l did plan to get some slime going on the rusty wall backgorund and unparent the images from the chess board and get them flying off in different directions, but l think this is a good decision. Maria agreed. Taa chick!

l did a voiceover for Chris' project - it was fun. l thought of Galadriel in LOTR and read :-)

Scampie Maps

2007-05-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

This was one of the sites l looked at when l was thinking about space and the setting up of rooms, more so the passage. l wanted to get that gamey feel and atmosphere. There is a link to this site under influential artists.

A Little Art History :-)

2007-05-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Fantasy art has historical roots in religion, mythology, and folklore from all over the world. It seems to be a universal language of images about the mystery of life and forces unseen. Fantasy art evolved from Greek mythology, African magic, Chinese folklore, and other sacred traditions, with our museums full of ancient fantasy art depicting angels, gods, dragons, spirits, and demons. Fantasy art comes from the imagination as much or more than from direct observation of the real world.

George Crie

2007-05-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

The images are by the artist George Grie. l really like his work, it is surrealism real; somehow acceptable to me. As though l could really walk into rooms or scenes the scenes he has created and it be fine. Maybe it is because compared to Dali his work is a lot more defined visually but not too defined. l have put a link to a site that contains his work. In it you will find a link that gives a brief rundown of the artists career in graphics and fine art and the under artists biography

2007-05-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

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Why Surrealism

2007-05-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

l started to look at surrealism in art because of the way they tend to have a dreamlike quality to them. Some have identifiable elements which in many instances have been distorted or taking out of context.

From what l understand of it is that the work intends to depict images in a way thoughts occur without the restraints of reason. Without being restricted by what society think looks right. A part of me wishes that l had looked at it a little earlier and approached the whole project from that perspective. Not too sure whether it would work, there is no harm intrying. l quite like the idea of hanging some floppy clocks on the lean tree outside of Athaleahs room, that is from Jesses shots. When l saw this picture again it reminded me of the lean tree outside Jesses shot.

Hidden meanings. ln the piece The persistance of memory the one with the melting clocks, l like the idea that it is not the hands on the clock that identify time passing by but it is the melting of the watches that takes on that role. In Jesses shot there is a lean tree, but in Athaleahs shot there is a very lush tree. From my perspective this metaphorically symbolises the difference between the two of them.

"it is not me who is the clown, but this monstrously cynical and so unconciously naive society, which plays the game of seriousness in order better to hide its madness"

Salvador Dali

"soft clocks are nothing other than paranoid-critical, tender, extravagant camembert abandoned by time itself"

Salvador Dali

2007-05-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

SPARTAAAA!

This is my first attempt at the passage, 'l tink is a bit too dark.' Needs floors and ceillings. When l think of this scene l am thinking Green Mile with the big chunky black guy who has to die for no reason. The long walk to death. For Jesse its a long walk to a meeting that will change his life too. A death, but one that is not so drastic. lt would be great having elements of his own personal fears and demons that he has to face, maybe voices. Horrible chunky spiders climbing up the wall. Slime creaping down the walls.

l love the green particles things that go on when he is helping the people. Would like to get some of that going into the project, but l am not too sure at this stage that l can justify it being in there.

Jesses Pad

2007-05-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at Jesses scene, l wasn't too sure about it. But it seems to be getting positive feedback so l might leave it and just add a floor to it. l did it like this because l wanted to play homage to te old Casablanca style movies where you have a a strange character in a dark smokey room where you barely saw the surroundings. l suppose this was the auteur commanding the focus of the audience.

l have also been considering adding elements to it like things floating by, but l am not too sure how to do it convincingly. This scene and the scene that follows (The Bridge) where he is transported supernaturally to the bridge and even the scene where Jesse first meets Athaleah who tells Jesse about people being used liked pawns in a game of chess all caould lend themselves quite well to a surreal kinda vibe. Which is why l am trying to look into surrealism.

l noticed Martin was growing a little goaty so l will add it to his character . lts cute and kinda adds to his features.

Original Line Drawings

2007-05-19T02:39:00.000-07:00

Below are some of the original line drawings l did. l thought they would work as they were as straight pencil drawings, but when l did the scene it didn't quite work as l thought it would. l do like the idea of it being an illustrated object as it reinforces Athaleah and Jesses conversation where they discuss his unquenchable thirst. To put a real glass in would validate its effectiveness, whereas l think the illustrated glass renders it ineffective. So what l went on to do is use the same method of lines the main characters have been illustrated in.

2007-05-19T02:10:00.001-07:00

Broken Saints

2007-05-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

This is a really great digital comic book that touches on the spiritual aspect of life, something l find very interesting. l have not seen the whole movie, but l have looked at a few scenes to get the gist of how it is put together, in relation to the timing and pacing of it all. lt is intereatingly put together with the voices of actors as well as sound effects and music often incorpporating some eerie vocals. The first time l saw it was when David brought it into the the lecture at the beginning of the year. The colouring of it etc. and for me the content of the story really gripped me. l really like stories that have some kind of spiritual supernatural basis.

The way the characters are animated are a little similar to the Ronin altough the tone of the Ronin tends to be quite calmer compared to Broken Saints which throughout seems to have a tension that something is about to happen. Whether or not it is like that through the whole of the film is another matter, but from what l have seen that is the image l get.

shadows rise

2007-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Oran grasps at the last shreds of his sanity as ghouls from the past rise to claim him

shot lengths are aprrox. 7, 7, 7, 3, 7, 3, 2, 1, 7, 6 seconds

2007-05-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

weep

2007-05-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Searching for clues within the companies mainframe, Rami unsheathes the claws within the code.

Length of some of the shots 7, 3, 3, 4, 7 seconds
This scen has the sound of a power surge there are electric noises a guitar sound 4/4 and there is type.

2007-05-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

kakimura's truth

2007-05-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Meditating on the loss of his temple, Kakimura uncovers the truth waiting in the flames

with all the shots they last approximately 4, 7, 13, 4, 12, 7, 3, 9 seconds, then there is a flash of light and then to the noise.

2007-05-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

What Dreams May Come

2007-05-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful film by Vincent Ward that has a cast including Robin William, Cuba Gooding Jnr and Annabella Sciorra. lt is about the topic of the after life and where we go. In this film they deal with the ability to transcend the barrier of life and death through the powerful and deep love they have for each other. Robin world in death is condtructed of paint, primarily because that was a part of their strong bond and subsequentially the medium through which he connects with her. Which in a way is a little similar to how Jesse, when he is at his home, is transported to Athaleah supernaturally. Although in this instance they can see each other and both of them are alive.

You get the sense that you are living in a painting, as a child l used to always wonder why the world wasn't a cartoon. For me it does that. l suppose it is a bit like Peter Jackson fulfilling the frustration of Tolkien, who was dissapointed that the trees didn't get up and move in Macbeth.

Again in watching this film l was able to see the timing of the shots. lts really amazing to see how they are quite quick and the use of zooming is not really used. Panning, if anything, with interesting angles was the thing. The longest shots were about 50 seconds, but it was clear to see that they were warranted. lt was when Robin Williams finds his wife in hell and is trying to get her into heaven. They were sat quite close to each other and the dialogue was very sensitive, quick snappy shots would not have been appropriate. On the whole most of the shots were 1, 2, 4 or 7 seconds, with the odd 15 second or micro second. The contrast of the palette was again evident, we see the difference between how heaven and hell are depicted.

2007-05-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

First Drawing of Athaleahs Home

2007-05-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

Watching The Lord of The Rings extras shows in detail how much preparation they put into it, one of the things they did not cut back on was the amount of drawings they did in order to give them ideas of how they imagined things would look based on the reading of the book. Whilst doing my storyboard l found it to be quite helpful to have a picture of the floor plan. lt helped in the positioning of the characters and the positioning of the cameras as well as giving an idea and feel of the room, which originally had a very dark look and feel to it. When you see the finished idea of the room you will see that it no longer looks anything like it.

2007-05-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

Today

2007-05-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Didn't get much done today apart from trying to work on my personal ident.

Picked up some bits for set.

l am seriously thinking about doing more with the naration of Athaleah in the "Not so long ago bit...." l need to finish the scene as it is then l will be able to see, because l have deviated a lot from the origainal storyboard. Which l think has worked quite well. l just pray that this will work too. But time is a major factor now.

Tomorrow

2007-05-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

The plan is to cut out the stain glass windows

Finish Athaleahs room

Get prints of the trees done

Book the studio for Friday (got a feeling it is booked)

Need to work on Abigails scene

The Palette

2007-05-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

l decided that l was going to go for a very dull and oppresive feel to the place where Jesses lives. This is a person who is tormented and almost feels that he has the world on his shoulders. To have bright colors would be detract from the mood l want to create. Although l am not filming it, l had been lookin into Shake as that was the package l wanted to use to composite it. l wanted to use this not just because l think it is an interesting package, but also because l like what it can do. l know AE is a great compostiting package, but whilst looking through the extras on Lord of The Rings l saw how they had used a tool that highlighted a characters eyes because of the fact that there were two people in the shot and the one that was speaking was furthest from the camers. So when he spoke they highlighted his eyes subtly drawing more attention to him. Anyway, yeh. Athaleahs pad on the other hand is going to be a bright airy and peaceful place. When story boarding l had originally given her place a really dark feel to it, l suppose that was the influence of Broken Saints. l will try to upload my observations of that tomorrow. Anyway, it has that kinda look and l thought it would be great to give Athaleah a mystical feel to her like... oooooh, but then l thought, why? So l thought about the oracle in Matrix, she is a very wise and clever woman/programme without the oooooh. Hence she is in casual clothes and normal. Abigail is somewhere in the middle.

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper.......

2007-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

When l started to think about doing the film, one of the things l really wanted to look at was the colour palette. The film version of Peter Pan is really great, lt has a sense of surrealism and fun incorporated into it. The rich colours really gove it a painted feel. l think when conveying different scenes, moods, messages, atmospheres can be greatly helped by the colours that are used. When l looked at the extras that came with the Nightmare before christmas, it was interresting to hear again how they talked about the palette. The art director mentioned a time when Tim Burton came to him stated that for a particular scene they to use three colours as the palette. Also in Corpse Bride, there is a difference between the world of the dead and the world of the living. It is quite interesting how they use more of lively coloured palette for the underworld and a very dead and dull looking palette for the world above the ground. To hear this and then see the result was interesting too.

2007-05-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

First Rafter Test in After Effects

2007-05-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

This was the first test l did in After Effects. One of the problems with it was the fact that it lacked variation and almost looked robotic due to the uniformed look it had because l just used the same beam over and over again. For this l used a picture of some metal and edited it in Photoshop. After this l decided to go back and get the pictures of the beams. The picture below that is from the second time l went down to the location, which was before l did the little test above it.

2007-05-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

Rafters

2007-05-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the original pencil drawings l made of the rafters, but l changed my mind and decided to try using existing beams from the location, l felt that the drawn elements would look a bit too flat. Although l had the film footage and pictures l had taken, l had to go back to get close ups of them. This was a little bit tricky and a little dangerous as l had to take segments of the beams which was right by a canal. Because l could not get the beams that were over the water l had to edit some of the beams l could get to in photoshop to give them an individual look.

2007-05-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Barn Door Test

2007-05-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Below is one of the few tests l did for the door that leads to the room in abigails dream where Jesse finds the jug and two glasses. lnititally l was going to go for an all inllustrated look, but then l thought it would be interesting to combine illustration and photgraphic elements

2007-05-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

Character Development

2007-05-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Below you can see some of the early drawings l did foe the characters. The eatra characters were going to be part of the good and the bad army. Athaleah, Jesse and Abigail were drawn before l got the actor together.

l will put all of the drawing as a slideshow on the dvd as there are quite a few

Character Development - Extra Characters

2007-05-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Character Development - Jesse

2007-05-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

2007-05-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

2007-05-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

2007-05-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Character Development - Athaleah

2007-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

Character Development - Abigail

2007-05-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

2007-05-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

2007-05-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today

2007-05-10T16:03:00.001-07:00

Today, today, today. Today did not go as planned. So l came home and checked over the nearly finished scenes l rendered out. l worked on that for a while, after watching the third part of the matrix trilogy. lts funny...since l have been analysing films and checking how long shots last etc. l find at some stage throughout a movie l am looking out for those things.

Errol called and said he can't make it tomorrow, so we have arranged for next week Thursday to go over any musical ideas he has put down

Tomorrow

2007-05-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

First l have to take back my new head phones again, as the right can is not working.

l plan to adjust the rest of my scenes and add the audio in Sound track.

Cut out the windows for the minature

load more onto rvj

Today

2007-05-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

last week l met up with Kelvin and arranged for him to help me produce a mini version of Athaleahs room. l have already done a scene in there with Jesse and Athaleah, maybe it will help with the positioning of Athaleah Jesse and Abigail for the final scene. l told him that l wanted it to look as it does in the scene, but that l wanted the scene to be able to sivel around.

Today l purchased an A1 5mm sheet of foam board, black card and some coloured acetate. l thought at one stage l would have to change the scene because l could not find any acetate, but l eventually found it in a little humble shop on the outskirts of the city centre. l showed Kelvin the scene and he got an existing circle made out of mdf and cut two more sqares for me. He then screwed them in place in such a way that it swivels, l am quite chuffed with that. So Kelvin did all the dangerous stuff, although l was quite willing to do that. But it was wise not to, as l have nearly lost fingers with scalpel blades :-) Whilst he did that l got on with scoring widths of the foam board in such a way that it was able to form a curve onto which l will put a backing sheet and/or the tree background. When the base is swivelled it will reveal a different part of the background scenery. l would also like to put some mini trees in and maybe some other elements model builders use. Tonight after l have finished blogging l will attempt to make my stain glass windows out of the card and the acetate.

One of the sounds didn't bounce out properly from logic so l had to go back into the studio and do it again. l did not have the time to test it but God willing it will be ok.

Had to rearrange for Errol to come in on Friday to work on the music becasuse the studio is booked out, l sent him a rough of a few of the scenes last week.

Tomorrow

2007-05-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

l have not got around to doing the stained glass windows so l will do those in the morning.

l will also get the printout of the trees from Toni as he did not have the ink and the right paper today.

l will buy the trees and the flooring and bring in some pva glue to do the ground, hopefully Kelvin will have that great radio station he has on.

l will finish Abigails character

ln the evening continue blogging

The Process - The Script

2007-05-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

When l started the project all of my notes were in a notebook, this l will present with my finished work. Whatever is in my online rvj is what came after.

Since changing the project from a film to an animation, l knew that the script had to be altered in such a way that it would adjust to the desired form. But even before l came to this decision. l had the problem of the script being too long, this was made even clearer when l had completed the animatic shown in a previous post. something that was mentioned by Andy and Daniel. This left me with the dreaded task of working out what had to go and what could stay. Characters and scenes were elinated and eventually l got down to a reasonably sized script which was then adapted for the animation. These l will present with my finished work.

Artist Analysis - Rob Chiu

2007-05-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last year l had the pleasure of going to a talk that Rob did at the NTI building, l really love what he does and to think he did it with a package that l had just been introduced to. Some of the work he showed on the evening is on the website, l have put a link to his site if you would like to view his complete works. It was interesting to see how his work had progressed with his style becoming more apparent. l asked him about his work ethics, l thought he was going to say that he planned and did all the things we are expected to do, but he didn't. He more or less said that he just went with the flow. l suppose its just a case of not everybody thinks or works the same. l need to plan and although l have found that despite planning l can go off on a exploratory tangent, this can be good but can also be bad.

In making Slough happy it was interesting to see how the tone of the voiceovers voice changed when the scene changed. When setting the tone of the project she is more like a guide and the music is more typical of the effect of the website. When she talked about exercise the music changed to a more relevant and uptempo beat, her voice also became a little more enthusiastic. Again when she talked about commuting, the music again changed and took on a more fun kind of approach. This helps to reinforce the fact that as well as strong visuals, sound is equally as important

One thing l would say is that that background noise that is there whilt you are on the site gets a bit irritating after a while. He likes to use a lot of inteferance in his work, and jolting of the sequence.

In the image below from The Ronin OFFF REel 06, there is a character that is quite static, all the movement is done by the camera whose movements tend to be pans rather than zooms. This is something that l had to address in my work as l tended to do a lot of zooms into the scene, which really was a predictable mode of transition. Although there were times when the zoom worked. The train you see in the image that rolls by providing the element of motion. l think the way he incorporates illustration with live footage is interesting too

2007-05-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

2007-05-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a sequence taken from one of Robs projects. Rob uses quick and sharp movements in his characters, this is often contratested by the slower, smooth or more constant movements of the characters surroundings. This is often shown in the movement of the camera. For instance in the from where the picture below is taken from, the character is quite static and the train and the camera do most of the movements.

2007-05-09T11:55:00.002-07:00

Where it all began

2007-04-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

Athaleah is a story l have been thinking about for a while, eventually l decided l would do it for my final project, which was initially going to be a film. So after brainstorming other elements of the story l started to research locations, storyboarding, appropriate clothing and seek out characters. This is why you see the rushes of Martin at the canal site. But after weighing things up including taking into account the way time was swiftly passing by (ain't that just typical of time) it seemed to make more sense to animate it in a fashion.

Athaleah, in a nutshell, is a story about mature woman who helps a young man find the path to the task he alone must fulfil. For a while has been tormented by dreams and premonitions as well as having to deal with a thirst that he cannot satisfy.

Apologies

2007-04-12T04:46:00.000-07:00

Ok....l know this might seem like a bit of a strange way to introduce you to Athaleah, but the blogging process started a little later on in the scheme of things. So l kinda focused on understanding the whole bloggin thing and so used what was to hand, which is why you have rushes and animatics before the story and story boards. But now that they are there, l will eliminate that process as they are the storyboards in motion. Hopefully from this point on you will feel a little more familiar with what l am doing, although l cannot say that it will be strictly chronologically ordered.

Shalom

Location search

2007-03-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures l collected by the canal by Winson Green prison. You will recognise a few of the scenes from the rushes l filmed

Animatics for the film and animation

2007-03-26T08:19:00.001-07:00

Here is the original animatic made from the storyboards l initially did.

This animatic is a mixture of the original storyboard and a few quick roughs l would help in the transfer over to the animation

rushes

2007-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the rushes from my first film shoot

26th March 2007

2007-03-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Ok! l now have a GM account and am setting up my online RVJ, but l need to set up my website so l can link stills of my animatics to my mini movies. l am well chuffed!! wu ooh!!