Project 4: Week - My Final Idents/ Evaluations.

Evaluation of Using Cinema 4D.

For this project, we were asked to create 3, 5 second idents, containing mixed media and high definition live footage to put together as a group for the DCM (Digital Cinema Media) 2014 Ident competition, To do this, we would have show our detailed workflow containing our efforts of creating abstract footage, compositing it in Cinema 4D onto live footage that we have shot ourselves, and then display our hand at post production editing in Adobe After Effects.

As a whole I think the word that I can use to describe my time using Cinema 4D is perseverance, as I'm never rellay that confident with using this program and am usually reluctant to go further than I need to with it. But using all the different effectors and tools to morph and create shapes of literally anything I could think of, really made me much more confident with using this piece of equipment.

One of the issues I had with Cinema 4D was being afraid of just messing something good up that I had created, as we are always told to just play around with the program and “do what feels right.” However, this time, especially when creating my creatures for the Euphoric piece, I totally agree that using as many different ways to create something as you can is just a golden rule that one must abide by to get anywhere with this kind of software. 

I also am very reluctant to use anything considered close to “abstract” so this module was definitely a challenge. Despite this, I really enjoyed focusing on creating pieces of footage that didn't have to be based on anything real, because a lot of the time I would never get the subject perfect, just close to what it was meant to be, and in this case there weren't any rules like that.

In the future, I am to handle equipment like this much more confidently, and not being afraid to mess anything up as there is literally an “Undo” button on the top of the screen. I also want to continue using abstract footage and using compositing techniques in order to create more intricate and detailed pieces of work.

Evaluation of using Adobe AfterEffects.

For this project, we were asked to create 3, 5 second idents, containing mixed media and high definition live footage to put together as a group for the DCM (Digital Cinema Media) 2014 Ident competition, To do this, we would have show our detailed workflow containing our efforts of creating abstract footage, compositing it in Cinema 4D onto live footage that we have shot ourselves, and then display our hand at post production editing in Adobe After Effects.

As a whole I think I have adjusted to AfterEffects really well, and have learned that there is so much more to post production that editing footage together. I have gained knowledge of using time correctly on this software, and have also learned the valuable fact that visuals can’t just be changed by editing the brightness and contrast.

One of the only real issues that I had with AfterEffects was the use of masks, and although I did look for a proper solution at the time, the only reasonable thing I could think of to do when masks were resizing themselves, was to render out and re upload footage back into it, which technically did work. I had a lot of fun and gained loads of knowledge about changing the visual effects to suit a certain mood or emotion, as I’ve never really tried that before, and it’s definitely something that I’ll try again.

I would definitely like to keep the skills that I've gained from this module for the future, as I’ve learned that although getting used to the skills may take some time and effort to master, they are really worth it when it comes to the quality of my work and how mundane and boring my work would have looked had I not ventured on a bit more with it. 

Project 3: Research into Mixed Media Idents- MTV Poland

This ident was made to be broadcasted on MTV Poland. And it consists of a number of slow panning shots around a site in the country-side. It starts off with a CGI’d piece of plastic/fabric twisting and turning over the edge of a lake. It continues to transform until it turns into a set of speakers, obiously to relate back to the MTC company. As it is doing this, the water makes a small ripple, which escalates into a smal tidal wave.

There are a number of techniques thatused in this animation. One of those techniques is the effect of the water, and making it move and contort. The most popular way to do this would be to create a plane on cinema 4D or something similar, and editing that plane, being able to pull and twist the plane which can make a ripple/movement effect on the water. The way that the stereo would be created would be to make the stereo first, and the go to morph and change the look of it by adding effectors such as the twister tool, and then reversing the footage in order to make the morph turn back into the stereo.

This ident caught my attention imediately, for a different reason than a normal MTV advert would. The fact that this ident is rather tranquil and has a set colour scene rather than as many as one could possibly try and get, just makes the video stand out more against all the other idents, making it a very clever choice. There isnt too much to focus on in this ident, which can work very well in  its favour, as the animators can focus more attention on the remaining pieces of animation. Because of this, the animated counterparts are so crisp, clear and realistic and eye catching.  have been 

Project 4: Research into Mixed Media Idents - Sang Yup Kim

MTV – Sang Yup Kim

This ident, I thought was probably one of the more time consuming idents that I’d seen. I starts as what

 appears to be in the inside of a body, with organs and skin and cells all pulsing and moving around. The camera then zooms out of the inside of the body to show the audience what was on the outside. It shows this small, shiny and rather angry looking creature who resembles a heart. The heart promptly explodes after the camera has steadied for about half a second, to reveal the MVT logo inside of it.

I can tell straight away from this ident that it is in full 3D animation, and has had a lot of attention put purely on how this creature looks. The heart will have been sculpted probably from a simple sphere and can be torn apart easily from making the object editable. The background is also very simple, if it has been shot in live footage then I will just be a white screen backdrop used usually for photography. However, this kind of space can be created digitally too by making a plane and curving and shaping it until it resembled a ski slope like shape. Putting simple spot lights in front of the creature will also cast great shadows on the background and make it looks quite realistic.

I think this ident is great to attract attention from audiences of all ages. It’s got that half cute/half gross factor about it which is always appealing to users specifically on the internet. I love the detail and shine effect that the heart has and it also drops a big bomb on the audience when the little monster blows up. It’s also got a lot of humour placed in this ident as well as a little shock, as when the monster bursts, his teeth and eyes just fall onto the floor leaving the skin to blow away, which I think will engage the audience well. 

Project 3: Research into Mixed Media Idents - Digital Cinema Media

To begin my project I went to look at a number of previous versions, created by and for the company. There were a number of still images that were used in the 2013 ident which really caught my eye, a few of them being very abstract. The overall feeling that I got from this advert wasn’t necessarily a range of emotions, but one rather fierce emotion. Throughout the entire advert I got the feeling of awe, excitement, serenity and pride, which, as a marketing technique, appeared to be very effective! In all of the mini-scenes, the two elements of the scenes are very contrasting, both in colour and content. This adds such a dynamic feel to the ident, like literally send shivers up the spine and goose bumps up my arms. This shows that the content has been very carefully chosen;

Although the mini-scenes only last maybe 2 – 3 seconds each, the viewers get a good glimpse of what’s going on. In this scene, the background is a time lapsed view of a mountain range, complete with cloud coverage. The clouds have a flowing and blustery motion which sets the direction and speed of the scene. The scene within the logo has therefore got something to be timed to, the choice of footage was smart because it contrasts visually with the other footage, both in colour and content. The footage of the grass blowing in wind matches the background footage, and it is generally at the same speed that the clouds are moving as well. The overall tone of the scene is quite peaceful looking, but also has a rather majestic feel to it from the scene of the mountains, the blustery wind, and the paling shot of the grass.

Another scene in the ident which caught my eye was this one. My eyes were immediately drawn to the burst of lava, contrasting against the stark background of the globe which, in turn, morphed into what looked like a control centre on a spaceship. Environmentally, the two pieces are linked through the topic of science and exploration, but also give off the emotions of panic, excitement, power and awe, which relates well to the previous scene. The colours in this scene are really my favourite part of it. With the pale background from the earth, and the dark sky in space, which goes so well to push and emphasise the lava bursting out from the logo. There isn’t as much cohesion with the technicality of the camera, as the globe is turning one way, at a pretty consistent speed, and the lava erupts into the other direction, which throws off the attention of the audience. I think this technique works well though, as it fully puts the attention on the lava.

This frame is my all-time favourite of the whole ident. The scene is probably the least contrasting of all, but still has so much effect on the audience, and is definitely what puts the audience at peace, possibly relating to the “Happy Ending,” of a film. The scene shows the tranquil and serene footage in both the background and the logo, linking them perfectly to the emotion being emitted. The background shows the movement of jellyfish, which slowly bob and flow across the screen, which are so contrasting against the pure black backdrop given that it is very deep in the ocean. I think this works amazingly and the footage is so crystal clear it doesn’t even look real. Inside the logo is footage of the sky being shot out of what I can only assume to be an aeroplane? The sky, like the jellyfish, look so serene and easy going that it definitely brings a sense of calm to the ident. I think there is obviously a lot of technical dedication has gone into this, as underwater and 30,000 foot shots would not be hard to come by. 

Project 3: Final Animations/ Evaluation.

Here, are my two final and finished scenes from my animation. 

The aim of this project was to showcase my skills in a digital format, showing how well I could manage, produce, and eventually display my work in the from of an animation. 

I began this project a little unsure of what I wanted to produce from it, I knew I wanted something rather cute and different, but I wanted it to stick in people's minds, and this is why I added such a bizarre ending. I started off with the intention of creating everything in Cinema 4D, but soon after discovering After Effects I think I knew which one I preferred. I really enjoyed making assets and in particularly, the little walk cycles and loops of my characters, as I really saw them come to life and it gave them a lot more personality, which is what I wanted to show in my animation. 

I did encounter a few problems whilst animating my work, and one of those was finding my way round Cinema 4D: Although I have a basic knowledge of the program, and enjoy using it, I found it extremely difficult and problematic to speed up my workflow and get my way around the system without constantly needing to ask for help. 

I think if I were to do anything differently, I would have done all of my animation scenes on After Effects, as I feel I got on much better on that program and would have got slightly more work done. But I have really enjoyed this project and would like to finish off this animation later on in the year. 

Project 3: Week 7 - Filming my Animations.

 Filming my Animations. 

After having a bit of trouble with time when trying to film my animation with cinema 4D, I ended up giving After effects a go to see if it would fair any better. And truth be told I wish I had used this in the first place!

I found that using After Effects was just as complicated if you haven't used it before, but once I got the basic grasp of using the layers and merging folders together I absolutely loved using it. I found that my artwork could be seen more clearly and could be fully appreciated without me having to put in artificial lighting in the backgrounds.



I also found that using After Effects was a lot like Photoshop, as I should have sooner since their made by the same company. But using the camera tool was completely different and I think suited me much better, as all I needed to do was alter the image and record that movement as a keyframe on the timeline, instead of having to actually whop out a camera tool. 
I could also go back and edit mistakes easily, take out any random points I had made, or adjust any assets more easily in a 2 dimensional space and a 3 dimensional one. 
This is the set up of my second scene. I found that the colour scheme can be appreciated more in this set up and all of the colours, as well as the assets works really well this way.

Project 3: Creating my Characters and assets for Scene 2.

Drawing Out Characters.

I started out in this part of the project by sketching out ways in which I thought my character would look when he was sitting and walking, particularly from multiple views. 

I soon realised, as you can see from this image, that drawing something coming at you head on isn't as easy as one would think, and I took a good four or five attempts at it before I got anywhere near what I was looking for. 

I also had a crack at drawing my little raccoon character in a sitting position and see if I could draw him, stage by stage, getting up and into a walk cycle. 

I found this task rather daunting, as there was no denying it would take a long time, and instead made his legs a lot smaller and decided that sitting could well be just standing if drawn right. 

Once I had his sideways poses sorted, I then went on to try and tackle his front walk cycle. I looked through a few sources on the internet designed to help with walk cycles from al perspectives, and I eventually found one which helped!

 This tutorial stated that from a front walk cycle, if one wanted to, they could keep the characters body at a stand still and only move their legs, and when crouches and lunges were made, just lower the height of the body.

I tried this out and was over the moon when it worked! not only was it so much more simple to do, but it looked so much smoother as well! And as with all the walk cycles I'm doing, I have created them using multiple frames on Photoshop's animation timeline. 

I also realised that I could simply re-use assets that I had made in scene 1, such as the trees, rocks and skulls, so that it would appear to be the same forest! 

Storyboards/ Explanation/ Evaluation.

Creating and finalising my Storyboards;

 My storyboards depict the travels of a small Raccoon named Archie, who goes on an adventure to find the delicious pie, who's enticing scent makes Archie go against his better judgement, and goes exploring in search of the source of the smell. 




He begins by going to find his close friend Lola, a fawn, who is confined to the "daytime" forest, and tries to encourage her to join him on his travels. And against their better judgement, they travel into the nocturnal forest alone together. 
During their journey, a set of thorns catch onto the skin of Lola, who, as a "daytime animal" will react badly to that.



As they continue their journey, the camera focuses more on Archie, where he begins to hear strange noises. After a while he turns around to address Lola, when he's met with a gruesome sight;
Lola has become putrid and disfigured, a reaction cause by the catch of thorns.
It is then ambiguous as to what happens to Archie and Lola, as the camera pans up towards the top of the trees, where "The End" title appears. This leaves an open ending and plenty of options for the audience.

Evaluation.
 Over all I am rather pleased with how my storyboards have turned out. I completed these storyboards straight away digitally, and that is something I haven't tried before, as usually I have sketches them out by hand first. I did come into some problems whilst creating these storyboards, mainly because of the size of the panels, and my inability to let myself draw something small and less detailed than it needs to be. I did overcome these issues however, especially with the trees in the forest. I was able to make them look rather detailed but maintain a decent size to them as well. I am particularly pleased with the colour scheme I chose for this animation too, as it is out of my usually comfort zone with keeping things simple and rather plain looking, as well as my lack of outline on the scenery, which is something I have never attempted...ever!
So over all I'm happy with the out-come of this part of my project, although I think if I have time, I will create a slightly higher quality version of them, just to make them more professional looking.

Project 3: Beginnings of My Storyboard

Creating Visuals for my Storyboard. 

I have taken inspiration from both online and real life sources in order to recreate a stylised set of scenery pieces that I plan on using in my storyboard, and eventually my animation.

 For this piece, I went out and sought after first hand visuals that I could use to bring a semi-realistic style to my drawings, purely to test and see what kind of visuals would be easier to recreate for my animation. I went against my usual style of drawing and used rather square and parallel lines, bringing out angles in the trees and adding depth to the picture, which is a factor I want to take into consideration when creating a forest in an animation. 

 Once I had tried and tested a more realistic view on groups of trees, I then went onto gather images of trees that I knew would work well my usual  style of art. I went looking specifically for types of trees that were twisted and morphed into peculiar shapes. Most of these kinds of trees seemed to be found in European countries such as France and Germany, which, coincidentally, is where a lot of fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood originate from. 
On this particular image, I focused on thicker lines and plenty of shading in order to create a more dynamic setting. The trees resemble a much more fictional style, where faces of words could easily be hidden among the swirls and patterns. I drew these trees whilst watching Disney's Snow White, which also links in well to the evil presence where faces and words could be brought into them easily and depict a negative entity. 


Taking both of these styles into account, I then went ahead and began creating my own version of these tress, completely from my own imagination with no visual help. I knew I wanted to take the line structure and thin details from the first set of trees and use that as my own, as well as using the light and heavy shading techniques from the second set of trees and blending that in as well. 
And this was the result! I'm really pleased with how these trees turned out, the bold outline blending into the smaller and weaker lines is probably my favourite thing about this image, as it shows everything down to the last detail, without making it over crowded or messy. I went over some of the lines down by the trunk, however, in order to show off a more sturdy bottom end to the trees and not make them look flimsy or unsupported.

Evaluation.
Although I do love how detailed and delicate these trees look, in something like my storyboards, which are only going to be A3 sized, I think there is just too much detail in them and I would need to simplify them. I do still plan on using the original shape, and bringing in defining lines and shading in order to make them more 3 dimensional, and I would be more likely to use these if I were to make a storybook or little leaflet on this animation.

Project 3: Week 1 Plan - 04/11/13

Project 3: Digital Skills Application.

For this project I have been given the task of showcasing my digital skills by making an animated short, along with any other digital work that I feel shows my skills to their full potential. 

Monday, 4th of November:

This week I will be concentrating on making my storyboards up for my animation, giving timings, camera angles and any small notes that the animation needs. 

Days:	Monday 4th	Tuesday  5th	Wednesday 6th	Thursday 7th	Friday  8th	Saturday 9th	Sunday 10th
Work to Complete	Begin sketches in book of scenery and small panels for storyboard.	Look  for real life images: trees woods Disney? - Bambi	Begin higer quality sketches of trees and woodland area in sketchbook	Begin higer quality sketches of trees and woodland area in sketchbook	CAD session  - keep blog up to date.	Documentation.	Reflection

My Animatic.

Making My Animatic;

When creating my animatic, a number of things were going through my mind. One of the first being, "Is this film going to be too long?!" fortunately I found out there was no real time limit and was told to focus on around 30 - 40 seconds of good solid work, than two minutes of a rushed mess.

At first, I was interested in using a variety of ways to make my final animatic using the twelve images I had created during the Storyboarding project. However, I chose to stick with using Cinema 4D, as I was new to using this software and wanted to try out something
 completely new. I started off by opening my completely
 coloured and finalised images from my 
storyboard, completed in the previous project, and
 began to edit them individually, in order, to 
show camera angles, and dramatic movement 
where necessary. I added a toner to make the images 
bright or darker depending on the mood of that particular scene.

Over all I'm very pleased with the outcome of my final animatic
piece; although new to the software, it was very user friendly
and I found that once I had started, it was very difficult to get 
distracted, as the program was fun to use and gave me the great 
effects that I was looking for throughout my project.