Progress

Since I last blogged progress has been slow and I had a week where my interest in the project was waning. But after much soul searching, watching of films and reading of animation literature; the enthusiasm is coming back.

Last week I looked at screen ratio sizes and worked on developing a base layer size for the background underlay. The overlay has not yet been sized given that I think that it will be a fluid part of the background development that will emerge once the underlay has been locked. Given that I am now looking to make this a  background only project that displays the backgrounds in context and then also in isolation for analysis I've decided that I will work in widescreen format as I think that this will best suit the sweeping pans and detail I want to include; especially in the external shots.

Methodology, I'm old fashioned, so I walked my way through the animatic and worked out the size of background safe areas for each shot.

In addition to working out background sizes and screen ratio, I've also been continuing to research to add more depth to the exegesis. Found a great book about layout by Fraser Maclean 'Setting the Scene: The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout.' Rare to find a book about layout and it worked well in terms of my study into the storytelling properties of backgrounds. Worth a look- some fantastic background and layout art as well. 

Recently had a birthday and got The Art of Brave book which has some fantastic concept art, colour scripts and storyboards. But for me the inclusion of on sight/ location referencing and the importance of the weather and texture in backgrounds as a means of adding meaning to narrative. I love it when my research requires me to analyse the 'Art of' books- so inspiring. 

Home Truths

Having spent the past few weeks working on the animation and the animatic side of my Honours film, I am beginning to see that I may have to modify my project to ensure completion. I've spoken to past Honours graduates and they have spoken about the fact that a completed project is more important than a half finished one and that makes perfect sense. I don't want to compromise on the quality of my project and in a sense undo all the progress I have made on the theoretical side of my study for the sake of over extending myself to create something that is incomplete or substandard. 


Another lonely thought rolling around my head is that perhaps the creation of an individual film on top of a full year of Honours standard study and research was perhaps a little too ambitious. I have a couple of options, I can continue the project in a modified format and graduate at the end of this year, or I can study part time and finish the following year on my film, or I could take a leave of absence and then come back to study. But to be honest, I really want to finish Honours this year. I don't have the luxury of being 18 or 21, if I'm going to make any sort of inroads into this new career then I have to start sooner rather than later. 




 Another thing that I have realised after 6 months of Honours study, and perhaps this may change once I am more experienced or after some time in the industry; but at the moment I don't want to be an independent film maker, I don't want to have to do all aspects of the film making- from storyboarding to animatics to character animation to backgrounds. I'm happy to do all of those things, just not all on the one project, I want a chance to be a part of a studio production line. I think my decision is based largely on the fact that my study is concerned with a single aspect of film making, layout/background and that it is only now that I am getting the chance to really get into the process of designing and rendering backgrounds. I've also been thinking that the creation of an entire film with the inclusion of incidental characters also detracts from the main thrust of my study which is the creation of backgrounds as a narrative device. 

Backgrounds are important :)

Phew, after all of that, here's what I'm thinking as a modified project. To compliment my research and study into layout and background development that acts as a narrative device I will create the backgrounds only for the short film. This will give the backgrounds an opportunity to be the primary focus of the film and will also allow me to continue production of the film after I have completed Honours, whether that be as a part of further study or independently. The background deliverables would be presented in context (as part of a film complete with camera movement and possible sound effects and music) and in isolation with identification of multi plane layers and use of background/layout techniques and devices. I think putting more of my focus into the backgrounds and 'forcing' the viewer to only consider the background, will further challenge me to move away from character directed narrative and instead use objects of significance and the environment to tell a story. Who knows, this may change again? But as one former Honours student said to me, 'it's better to think about modification now at this stage rather than a couple of weeks before it's due.' I agree. 

Animatic: A Work in Progress

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I have continued to work on my holiday schedule to complete as much as possible.

Not sure if I'm Sleepy or the ass pulling the cart >.>

After the animation tests I have spent time revising the animatic and further reducing the role of the character in the film. This process started by printing out the storyboards and putting them on a massive pin board, a real one not a virtual one lol- old school. Once they were all in order I went through them and looked for double up or unnecessary shots. I then let it sit for a day or two before going through the same editing process with a fellow artist. I ended up knocking out at least a third of the boards I had already drawn; I suppose animators with more experience wouldn't make that mistake, but I think the film flows better without the extra content. 




Once I had the basic storyboards I worked in ToonBoom Animate Pro to create an animatic that would allow me to see the position of backgrounds in relation to potential camera movement and character positioning. The animatic is block animation and the transitions in the backgrounds have only been indicated by crude instant wipes- these are not indicative of the final piece. I included a scratch sound test as well, choosing a few key sounds that are an idea of what I want to include in the final.


Here's the animatic as it stands at the moment:

So Then This Cat Walks By.....

Three years in an animation degree and this is the very first time that I have attempted to animate a four legged walk cycle. Oh the struggles! In light of the joy that is self teaching, I've included some of the first ones I attempted, oh yes there were many.

This one was the first one and used live action film reference:

There are some good moments in this one, but my biggest problem was that the model cat was black (making it damn near impossible to see the legs) and I could not get my head around the cycle rhythm.


This next one I decided to seek help from Preston Blair, old faithful.

It was probably my interpretation of the walk, but I ended up with this odd sort of happy cartoon dog action which was a little odd, it almost seemed as though instead of four legs there were two pairs of legs walking independently.

The final one was done after much searching and researching of bigger cats, tigers and lions to get a more realistic although exaggerated feel to the walk. I also looked into walk cycles I could find in animation films such as Disney's Aristocats and The Lion King.

For a self teaching exercise I'm pleased with the result and he has the right amount of cautious movement that I wanted to indicate he is following someone from afar. The cat is a minor (tiny) part of the film, but more than anything I just wanted to learn how to do a four legged walk cycle and to prove to myself that I could do it.

Needs to loop :)

Animation Test: Old Lady Walk

Needed a little time away from the animatic, wanted to make big story changes but have decided to let it ride for the moment and will instead do some preparatory animation tests on characters and objects.

The characters are a sideline to the background, I've been working on basic walk cycles that have given me an idea of how the character is looking on screen, the impact of movement and the importance of weight shifting and balance especially in the case of the old lady walk. The test below is exactly that, a test. Some things I'm happy about include the colour combinations, the simplification of the character and the fact that it does look like an old lady walking. As I move into the actual walk cycle for the final film in semester 2, I will work on smoothing the flow of the animated movement and getting greater consistency in the appearance of accessories such as the bag, hat and scarf. All of these will aid in reducing the unnecessary rattles that are present at the moment.

Location Maps

Given that my Honours project is all about foregrounding the background and telling narrative through location, the literal interpretation of where things are; is very important.

In this next phase of pre-production I will be revising the animatic and combining it with a more developed sense of character and place. For this reason I've been working on layout maps that will help me focus on specific shot layout and background development. Here are the two maps I've been working on:

 Interior of 2 Walter Street from street front 

Exterior: Walter Street 

Mid Year Break: Production Schedule

Not really having a holiday this year, gotta work on my Honours film. Here's the schedule so far:

No holiday for me this Mid Year Break

Week 1: 11 June- 16 June

• Topographical Layout of Suburb & Environments (Interior & Exterior)
• Revise Animatic- Examine overuse of character

Week 2: 18 June- 23 June

• Revise Animatic- Shots and layout
• Background List

Week 3: 25 June- 30 June

• Animation Test - Old Lady Walk
• Animation Test- Cat Walk

Week 4: 2 July- 7 July

• Animation Tests- Transformations of Objects & Environment

Week 5: 9 July- 14 July

• Rough Backgrounds

Week 6: 16 July- 21 July

• Redo Animatic with Backgrounds and Layouts