Animation Research and Practice - Sea Life Centre and Animatic

I went to the Sea Life Centre with my parents and found it EXTREMELY helpful.

I tool a lot of images, the ones on this blog post are the ones I took on my iPad along with the videos. I have a lot more but they are currently at my parents house on the camera they used and I haven't been able to get them off them yet.

I really like the shadowing of the floor in the images below and I really want to test this out for animation in the next couple of weeks.

I noticed there were particles floating in the water and is something I would like to try out and test

I took a lot of the bubbles as this is what I mainly need for my animation and there were so much there. It is very useful for me as it allows me to see what they look like in the water and how they move.

The Jelly fish were really helpful for the tentacle that I have in my film and the way they move was fascinating. 

I took a lot of videos, especially ones that showed creatures with tentacle like limbs as this is something I need for the tentacle I have in my film. I really want to get the way it moves right and accurate and these videos will help me do that.

compilation of sea life centre - what i took from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


Animatic-

This is my animatic so far, I have made some of the changes that were mentioned before the christmas holiday. Like changing the memory parts slightly so that they flow a bit better and adding an ending to it. I still need to do some more things to it, but I feel it is coming along.

28 - Final Film Animatic from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Professional Animation Project Submission

From the last time Jamie saw the animation, I had felt like most of the animation was done and all that was left was to finish it to a high quality. This included adding: the colour, the final outline, the ETC logo at the end, and a camera pan on the Wifi character walk.

I also changed the timings of the Earth walk and splash at the beginning to make it flow better. I was going to add a camera movement to the splash as it does move across the screen, but because it is only a few frames a camera would of been too quick and look weird. Instead I took out a couple of the frames and re positioned them better and I hope it looks smoother and less like a sudden jump.

I found the score from http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
and the other sound effects were from http://www.freesfx.co.uk/

I feel the sound works well with the piece and adds to the carton feel of it. I also think the sound effects make certain parts stand out like the splash and when the logos are popping up, drawing the audience to looks at these parts more. I managed to time the popping up of the logos to match with when they are being said, they are not directly when they are said but they come up a little after. I think this looks a lot better than the way it used to be and now the audience can see it while the voice over is saying it.

Overall I feel that I have kept to the brief, that I have created an animation to high standard and I have conducted myself professional when talking with the client. I tried to keep to the original style, although I realised that the Earth character is more oval shaped than I originally drew him, but the colours and styles of bot the character are still the same. I did have a bit of trouble with the Wifi character walk, as the legs cannot cross over and so it looks like he has a little limp, which I feel gives him a cute personality.

This module has really helped me to gain knowledge of this part of the industry and I have learnt a lot about how it works and how to communicate with a client.

The Progress of my work is on older posts.



Professional Animation Project - Final Submission

Professional Project Submission from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Professional Project - Christmas Period - Project Progress

Over the Christmas period I have continued to fix things up and finish the animation.

Below I have fixed the internet and put in the wire properly and I have added the Wifi character and have coloured him.
I have tried to incorporate the ETC colours when the internet is plugged back in. I have also added the shadowing under the logos to make them stand out against the Earth character more. It looked flat without it.

47 from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


The animation below I have added the Earth characters eyes. I have tried to make them expressive as possible since he does not have a mouth and I think they work well with the character.

53 from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


Below is the finished animation with no sound. I have finished adding the shading to the Wifi character and just made sure everything looked finished to a good standard.
58- ETC Project finished with no sound from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Below is the Final Finished Animation with the sound included, which is the same sound and sound effects from the previous week that Jamie thought worked well. I didn't think I needed to add any more and too many sound effects would make the voice over hard to hear.
60 ETC Project finished with sound from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Animation Research and Practice - Week 12 - Project Progress

Unfortunately this week I have not done as much as I would have liekd as I have been trying to finish my other module so that over Christmas I could focus on this one.

Essay Feedback

This week I received my essay feedback and have a few things to add and change, but overall I just have to finish it off. I will continue to do this.

Reference Videos Off the Internet:

This week I also been researching on the internet for some reference videos as it is hard to film everything myself. 


Below is some sort of kite, but I thought the way the tentacle moved would be a good reference for the tentacle in my film.


I also found the video below of a camera inside a bubble of water, I really liked the effect it has and I am thinking of something similar for my film, but I need to research futher to how I would go about creating this illusion.


I also found this videos of an ink experiment type thing. I liked it as I like the way the ink is in the water and I imagine the tentacle being surrounded by a substance similar to this and so I will research this further.

More Reference Videos:


I also took more reference videos this week of my Auntie and this is why there is a password. It was very helpful to see they looked and the way a woman's figure looked on it's side. 
reference videos for private from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Feedback off Mum and Emily:

Emily feedback was that the ending still needed work and I completely agree with this I have been struggling for an ending to fit and so will continue on with this. 

The main part that needed work was the memories part, Emily suggested:

• For there to be a few graves to come us and to have names on not just RIP 
• To get rid of the water washing it away and change it to something else, like maybe a fade out while the next one comes on 
• To have the wheelchair pushed on by the tentacle and have him signal to the character to get into the chair.
• To find something else to represent the army boots as the way they are drawn, not everyone will pick up on what they are. 

When she steps into the bubble to have her fall a bit as if she has lost her balance and disorientated. Maybe to add the particles into the water - Which I was going to do for the final film but will add to the animatic to show. 

Have the slamming of the character more dramatic

My Mum was very happy with it, she agreed with Emily had said and suggested that for the ending to have her get into a bubble and start to float off and then the audience could see the tentacle reaching out again for the character but you don't see what happens next. 

Feedback off Sam and Ross - 

In the lesson we did our usual production meeting and we got feedback for the stuff we had done, we were also going to be told things we needed to work on for the hand in. 

Overall they were happy with the way I was going. I hadn't had chance to make some of the feedback changes from Emily and my Mum so a lot of the feedback was similar. I feel I am happy with the direction I am going in and will continue to research and work on it. 

Professional Project - Week 12 - Project Progress

After feedback from Jamie and Emily I started straight away trying to fix the certain parts up.

Emily helped me with the speeding up the fall and how to fix up my walk.

Fixing the fall:
Shortened and cut frames out trying to make it have weight behind the fall.

25 trying to fix the fall from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Fixing walk

26 trying to fix walk cycle from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

It has better timing and moves properly how a walk should (going up and down).
29 trying to fix walk cycle from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

I was going to have a camera move the shot along to where he lands, but the camera would be really quick only a couple of frames long and would be pointless because of how quick it would be. So I decided to keep the cut in of where he is falling but becomes bigger and add the internet behind it to give it context of where it is that he is falling.


Below I have started to colour in the Wifi character and this is the walk onto the screen.
39 wifi character walk from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

I then went on to add the camera pan to try and centre them better on the screen and to move along with the Wifi character walk. I feel it works a lot better then what is was before and it flows better.

 
39 moving camera from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Below if what I have so far, the Earth is fully coloured and neatened and the camera pan from above has been added. I have left to finish neatening the Wifi character and the internet and add the eyes to the Earth.
I can see it starting to come together now and I am very pleased with how it is going.
43 from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Animation Research and Practice - Week 11 - Project Progress

For this week I wanted to concentrate on getting my animatic done in rough so that I could then carry on adding too it and changing things.

Below is adding more frames after what I had shown last week.
Again I have taken the section out from my storyboards, where the bubble surrounds her and I think this has worked well and it has more flow now.

animatic 14 only so far from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Again I carried on adding to it and making the timings of parts better, for instance when she is being dragged down I wanted her to be fast but also has some slow parts where we see close ups of her face. I also wanted it to be dynamic that is why she is pulled from one side to the other and then down the front of the screen.
animatic 16 so far from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


I knew I wanted it to then go into her point of view, original I was going to have it just cut to seeing threw her eyes, but while I was animating I got the idea of the blink of shock when she wakes up after being smashed on the floor. I think this works better than my original idea.

I know the blink needs fixing on the timing and it wont look like this in the final look, as I know blinks are not just a black line.

17 blink from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


This is the blink added to the first bit of the animatic.
animatic 17 so far from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.



Next I went onto the memories section and from last week I wanted these to be animated more as they were really static and weren't coming across properly.
I feel they are starting to come across a bit better now that they are moving.
I thought adding more blinks between the memories work work as a good transition between the memories.
animatic 19 so far from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.



Below is with the last memory of the army boot marching towards they screen and then that transitions the screen.
20 so far 2 from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.





Below is the animatic so far but with added music. I have added more of an ending to this animatic. I have repeated the feet part but instead of jumping she takes a step back. I wanted this part to be like she got help or there was hope almost.
But the tentacle part after shows how that she may never get away from the depression.

Both videos have the same animatic but the scores are different.

The first score I prefer as it is sad and the strings sound sad and emotional and i feel it fits well with what I am trying to create.
22 with first score from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


Below is the second score, although I like it I do feel it doesn't fit as well as the first one, but I want to show both to the class and see what they think.
22 with second score from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.


Music and Sound Effects:

I got all the music off of Ben sound the link is below. non of it is my own music and they are a royalty free site.

I found 4 different one from the link below that I liked but once they were put to the animatic they did not work and did not match. The two above I liked, but as I have said I prefer the first one called Better Days.

http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/cinematic

Reference Videos and Images:

Below is the reference videos I have taken this week and I think they will help with my animation. I like the foot one especially as you can see the toes moving as Bethany is balancing and I feel this will add to my character and work. 

Some of the videos have come out smaller, but they are still usable.
reference videos from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Ethics Report:
I have known since the first couple of weeks of doing this project I would have to right an ethics report. I have finished it and found it useful to go through the process for future reference and to bare things in mind. I am waiting to hear back from Denise and hope that it is accepted.

Below is the final report.

4^th October – 2:00pm – 3:30pm

11^th October – 2:00pm - 3:00pm

I asked both my Mum and my Dad the 30^th September, if they would be willing to come into University and be recorded in the sound booth and talk about their experiences of Depression and how it makes them feel.

When they came to the university and tried to make sure they were comfortable as possible. Getting them food and drink, making sure they were sat in the sound booth the way they wanted (next to each other). They are my parents so we were chatting and it felt pretty relaxed.

I did give a sheet of basic question:

1.       How does depression make you feel?

2.       How do you cope with depression?

3.       When did you first start to realise you were becoming depressed?

Although I gave them the questions, I did say that they did not have to follow them and that they could say what they felt like saying. I also made sure they knew that we could stop at any point they wanted to. I also made sure they had read the questions before they were recorded and they both agreed they were okay questions.

I felt like the both recordings went well. The first time we recorded my dad need a bit of encouraging from my mum, but they were both happy. It was a shame that the first lot of recordings did not come out as clearly as they should of. The second time we recorded it was exactly the same apart from I only got my mum to record. I still made sure she was comfortable and she was happy at the end of the recording.

Both times we recorded we had to stop a couple of times because of becoming emotional, but we chatted for a while and made sure my mum was the one to say when she wanted to carry on.

If I was to do something similar to this again, or if I had used a person I did not know I would do it very differently.

I would make sure that the participant had signed a consent form, which stated all the questions that would be asked and that we both agreed on the questions, along with what would happen and what they were volunteering too. I would also make sure the participant was anonymous, this would include them being referenced as a letter or a number, whenever mentioned.

I would make sure they are comfortable at every stage of the recording and they felt calm and okay. This including anything from getting them food and drink and just talking to them normally. I would also make sure that what was being asked, they were okay with answering and that if they happened to get upset, that the recording would immediately stop and I would get the participant anything they needed to feel okay again. Even if that meant stopping the recording all together.   

Feedback:

I still need to fix the ending and add too it as it suddenly just ends. The feet are okay and timed okay but the part where the credits comes up need to be moved to after my mum finishes talking as Sam felt it distracted away from what my mum was saying and looking at it now I agree.

I need to hold the black screen at the end for a few more frames to let the audience breathe and her what my mum is saying.

I need to research more into blinks as they are not a black colour and a solid line or colour. But this can be something for the final film not for the animatic.

Everyone agreed that the first score sounded better and so I will be using that one. The second score gave off a vibe of hope, which is not what I was gong for, depression isn't something you just quickly get over.  I still need to think about sound effects and whether they will add to my animation. I hope to test this soon.

Professional Project - Week 11 - Project Progress

From the last time Jamie came in I was to get rid of the ground line, but this will be done for the final piece as the ground line helps me with making sure everything is level.
I needed to exaggerate the Earth fall and have him tug more on the wire, re position the character to the centre of the screen when the Wifi character is helping the Earth up and to think of adding sound and sound effects to the animation. 

For this time I have tried to changed all of these things and to also try and finish animating the ending, where the logos pop up on the Earth character. 

I did a rotoscope test for the ending weeks ago, but it was not very good and it was rotoscoped, so this time I just went with what I thought and I looked at the reference footage but I also just went with what I felt.

Below is the first bit, in rough as I am just seeing if the arms work and the jumps.
16 end scene from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

I then went on to make it a bit neater when I was happy with the rough, so it is easier to see what is going on.
18 end scene from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

I next added the logos, to make sure they looked okay popping on and added the hands to see how to position them. I think it looks a lot better from the rotoscoped test I did and it works better for the animation.
20 end scene from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

I then went on to add it to the rest of the animation so far to see if it would fit and flow with the rest of it. I feel it looks good and flows from the part before it.
21 all from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

I reall wanted to get some sound on the animation, so Jamie could start to see it come together and because it was the last time he would be able to give us feedback face to face, so I wanted to animating to be mostly done and to just be on the finishing everything off stage. I feel that I am now at this stage.

I got the score from http://www.bensound.com/
I feel the sound works well with it and the voice over and it goes with the jolly cartoon feel of it.
I found the sound effects off http://www.freesfx.co.uk/ I only wanted to added souns effects top certain parts like: the splash, when the internet is plugged back in and when the logos are popping up. These are all important parts and I think the soundeefects go well to make these parts stand out.

 
22 all with sound effects from Summer Davies-Newton on Vimeo.

Feedback

The feedback off Jamie and Emily was that the beginning walk and fall still needed some work, which I am going to do next now that I have finished animating everything else.

The sound and the sound effects work well and add to the piece.

I need to add the ETC logo at the end and make the music fade out

I am in the final stages now and I am fixing and neatening everything.

I need to look at when the logos pop up and although they like it, Jamie suggested maybe having them timed to the voice over, or start when both the characters are cheering.

I hope to have some of this done by next week and to be on my way to finishing.