production schedule
puppet composites & AE puppets
puppet test
shape layer bg test
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Back back back back back
I'm going back to some original ideas. I had changed the story and it was getting convoluted and maybe over worked for me to work on.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Rethinking a few things
I have a meeting tomorrow with Phil Smith, who taught the Dreams on Film class I took this summer. This class was a big inspiration to me in the content I want to address, which affects both the manner of story and the visual aesthetic it is treated with. Now that I am preparing my pitch for him tomorrow it has really come to my attention that I think part of what I wanted to show originally has gotten lost in all of the elements I have been dealing with, so I'm going to try to write it out.
Something that has been important for me to show and that I have wanted to show for a while is the idea of the dreamscape, and the space of the mind made physical. I thought that this idea would assert itself in the narrative I had created because of the non-linear and segmented manner it has been cut into. Now, however, I feel that a more appropriate way to describe it would be to find the dreamspace and allow the narrative to come from that. I think that I feel too rooted in 'making sense' right now, but the core idea, and the atmosphere, and the ambiguity I want to describe does not necessarily make sense - I probably feel stuck because I am contradicting my own vision.
While I enjoyed working with the set I think I really need to let go of some of that technique in order to achieve the aesthetic that I want. At Ottawa one of the panels that really impressed me was Thurop Van Orlen's presentation on the piece he has started pre-production on, Black Forest. He is creating this piece in stop motion, with a flattened sort of look to it.
I really liked the use of lighting and textures in the concept work he showed and it allowed me to consider stop motion again without using a full stand up set. I have seen this in Pjotr Sapegin's work as well - I think I just need to update it for my own personal technique and practical goals.
Something that has been important for me to show and that I have wanted to show for a while is the idea of the dreamscape, and the space of the mind made physical. I thought that this idea would assert itself in the narrative I had created because of the non-linear and segmented manner it has been cut into. Now, however, I feel that a more appropriate way to describe it would be to find the dreamspace and allow the narrative to come from that. I think that I feel too rooted in 'making sense' right now, but the core idea, and the atmosphere, and the ambiguity I want to describe does not necessarily make sense - I probably feel stuck because I am contradicting my own vision.
While I enjoyed working with the set I think I really need to let go of some of that technique in order to achieve the aesthetic that I want. At Ottawa one of the panels that really impressed me was Thurop Van Orlen's presentation on the piece he has started pre-production on, Black Forest. He is creating this piece in stop motion, with a flattened sort of look to it.
I really liked the use of lighting and textures in the concept work he showed and it allowed me to consider stop motion again without using a full stand up set. I have seen this in Pjotr Sapegin's work as well - I think I just need to update it for my own personal technique and practical goals.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Project Proposal
Kristen Campbell
Senior Project Proposal
Oct. 4th 2011
Project Summary
The project i would like to complete over the course of my final year is a 5 minute stop motion animated film. The working title of the film is Swift and it is about a young girl who has grown distant from her older sister.
Synopsis
Finding her home situation dull and her older sister distant, Fia looks for creative solutions to remedy this.
Description
Swift is a character piece that describes the inner dialogue and frustration of an eight year old girl, Fia, who is facing an emotional distance from her older sister. In reaction to this, Fia looks for ways to distract herself and be independent. She ultimately finds that while doing things on her own can be fun, she misses the company of her sister. The atmosphere of the film is light hearted. The film is intended for a general audience and will also be appropriate for children.
Swift is presented in a series of short vignettes that each highlight a personal thought of Fia. It is set in a transient space where props move in and out, and constantly is shifting, similar to theatrical stage design. This method is to describe an introspective look into Fia’s mindspace, and is reminiscent of memory or incomplete thoughts. Swift offers an understanding of a difficult event through the perspective of a child, and a resolution through growth and expressions of caring through gesture and positive actions.
Visual Treatment
The aesthetic of Swift relies on 3D objects in a stop motion set. To emphasize the dreamlike quality of the film, the props are designed in a non-literal fashion, and only imply representation, ie. a tree prop is created by a collage of leaves at the top of a vertical paper frame, but it does not carry the shape of a representational tree. The props will be created with fabric, various textured papers and cardstock, and will be backlit. Fia’s character will be represented with a puppet doll, which will be created with structural foam and fabric.
Sound Treatment
Swift will be narrated minimally by Fia. Each vignette will begin with a personal thought of hers. The film otherwise will be comprised of diegetic sound that will be warped and altered, to enhance the idea of non-literal space.
Production Schedule
Concept Artwork
Senior Project Proposal
Oct. 4th 2011
Project Summary
The project i would like to complete over the course of my final year is a 5 minute stop motion animated film. The working title of the film is Swift and it is about a young girl who has grown distant from her older sister.
Synopsis
Finding her home situation dull and her older sister distant, Fia looks for creative solutions to remedy this.
Description
Swift is a character piece that describes the inner dialogue and frustration of an eight year old girl, Fia, who is facing an emotional distance from her older sister. In reaction to this, Fia looks for ways to distract herself and be independent. She ultimately finds that while doing things on her own can be fun, she misses the company of her sister. The atmosphere of the film is light hearted. The film is intended for a general audience and will also be appropriate for children.
Swift is presented in a series of short vignettes that each highlight a personal thought of Fia. It is set in a transient space where props move in and out, and constantly is shifting, similar to theatrical stage design. This method is to describe an introspective look into Fia’s mindspace, and is reminiscent of memory or incomplete thoughts. Swift offers an understanding of a difficult event through the perspective of a child, and a resolution through growth and expressions of caring through gesture and positive actions.
Visual Treatment
The aesthetic of Swift relies on 3D objects in a stop motion set. To emphasize the dreamlike quality of the film, the props are designed in a non-literal fashion, and only imply representation, ie. a tree prop is created by a collage of leaves at the top of a vertical paper frame, but it does not carry the shape of a representational tree. The props will be created with fabric, various textured papers and cardstock, and will be backlit. Fia’s character will be represented with a puppet doll, which will be created with structural foam and fabric.
Sound Treatment
Swift will be narrated minimally by Fia. Each vignette will begin with a personal thought of hers. The film otherwise will be comprised of diegetic sound that will be warped and altered, to enhance the idea of non-literal space.
Production Schedule
Concept Artwork
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Ottablog - Day 5
Final Day
national gallery , barnett newman, Inpenatrable, Sol Lewitt, Duchamp Readymades, impressionists, Louise Bourgeois
I managed to sneak an hour to take a quick tour of the National Gallery (it was less sneaking and more that I did not make it to the panel I was going to go to) and that was a great break from all the running around at the festival.
closing ceremony
little disorganized
good stuff at best of ottawa
national gallery , barnett newman, Inpenatrable, Sol Lewitt, Duchamp Readymades, impressionists, Louise Bourgeois
I managed to sneak an hour to take a quick tour of the National Gallery (it was less sneaking and more that I did not make it to the panel I was going to go to) and that was a great break from all the running around at the festival.
closing ceremony
little disorganized
good stuff at best of ottawa
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Ottablog - Day 4
Saturday was when all the job information panels were being held at the National Gallery, so I stayed for three. I am considering this my makeup for not being in class... it was like a Professional Practices field trip.
The first panel I attended was "Gimme a Job!" which was a discussion between recruiters from different studios, DMX (studio B in Vancouver), Walt Disney Studios and Cartoon Network. I think what I found particularly reassuring was that all the recruiters were friendly and very open - they displayed their own passion for good and interesting work over just getting the job position filled.
Panels and recruiting info
The panel with Pendleton Ward and Thurop van Orlen was like a two for the price of one... informative about their process but pretty much a comedy act.
Dead but not buried
ironic I guess?
Colorful
overall, ok, nothing different from most anime
The first panel I attended was "Gimme a Job!" which was a discussion between recruiters from different studios, DMX (studio B in Vancouver), Walt Disney Studios and Cartoon Network. I think what I found particularly reassuring was that all the recruiters were friendly and very open - they displayed their own passion for good and interesting work over just getting the job position filled.
Panels and recruiting info
The panel with Pendleton Ward and Thurop van Orlen was like a two for the price of one... informative about their process but pretty much a comedy act.
Dead but not buried
ironic I guess?
Colorful
overall, ok, nothing different from most anime
Friday, September 23, 2011
Ottablog - Day 3
to be edited(Short comp 4
heliotropes
camels was great
International showcase 1 )
After the screening the animator's picnic was going on, but I had planned my whole week out and I had few breaks, so I took that time to go visit my grandparents and my uncle from my mother's side. I hadn't seen them in quite a few years. It was great though a bit strange, because I went back to my old neighborhood... it was like constantly experiencing deja vu. What makes this an interesting experience for me is that in my film I am leaning towards it being representative of piecing together a memory or understanding of a certain time and place for Fia. There were things I realized were wrong in my memory when I went back... small things like signs being square when I thought they were circles, the school being brick instead of grey siding... trees taller, etc. Though when I got to my grandmother's house, everything was just the same, the smell, where everything was. We dug a bit further and looked through some old family photobooks. It was good to refresh myself on the way that experience made me feel, because it is something I want to convey in my film.
heliotropes
camels was great
International showcase 1 )
After the screening the animator's picnic was going on, but I had planned my whole week out and I had few breaks, so I took that time to go visit my grandparents and my uncle from my mother's side. I hadn't seen them in quite a few years. It was great though a bit strange, because I went back to my old neighborhood... it was like constantly experiencing deja vu. What makes this an interesting experience for me is that in my film I am leaning towards it being representative of piecing together a memory or understanding of a certain time and place for Fia. There were things I realized were wrong in my memory when I went back... small things like signs being square when I thought they were circles, the school being brick instead of grey siding... trees taller, etc. Though when I got to my grandmother's house, everything was just the same, the smell, where everything was. We dug a bit further and looked through some old family photobooks. It was good to refresh myself on the way that experience made me feel, because it is something I want to convey in my film.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Ottablog - Day 2
Today was a busy day with a total of four screenings and a panel. The highlight for me personally was the Canadian Showcase and meeting two filmmakers that have inspired me greatly, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby. Their new film, Wild Life, was screened in the Canadian Showcase and was later discussed in a Masterclass panel they hosted. I picked up some great insight into their process which I can relate back to my Senior film, though before that I would like to run over some thoughts about the other screenings I saw today.
The first screening I saw was the Canadian Showcase, which I found the most impressive in screening selections so far. As I am looking at my showcase guide I can see I have circled half of the films in the screening to remind myself to write about them, though to prevent myself from writing into the night (its already 2am! How did this happen?) I'll try to keep it down to three pieces I found myself most impressed by.
Wild Life - Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
This was the main reason for me to go to the Canadian Showcase - I saw When the Day Breaks many years ago and I still remember how engaged and affected I felt afterwards. They had captured a very ineffable, intrinsic part of what it is to be a person and to be connected to others in this film. In Wendy Tilby's own words, Wild Life is very much like the opposite of When the Day Breaks. It acts as a documentary describing a remittance man's gradual isolation after he moves to the harsh prairies of Alberta in 1910. I was struck by the beautiful and poetic manner they capture the sadness of the main character, and also still be able to juxtapose it next to light hearted and comical scenes. Their work always reminds me that despite what systematic divisions of genres demand, the description of a human nature does not carry those boundaries.
Dimanche (Sunday) - Patrick Doyon
This film really captured my heart, it had a simple but distinct line aesthetic. It was a cute and funny look into a child's memory of how his family would spend Sundays. I found it insightful into how the main character of a child's attention is distracted by all sorts of things, especially when he is the only kid in a large group of adults. It was quite charming and one of my favorites at the festival.
Second Hand - Isaac King
This was also one of my festival favorites (maybe its my Canadian bias?). It has a focus on different 'timings' of people and the pacing of the film reflects that exactly. It juxtaposes a fast paced businessman next to a slow and calm elderly couple next door. Storywise I found it surprising not preachy, because it appears at first to be a pro-green film, but I found it really revealed more of a message on balance and organization. The visual technique was what I enjoyed the most about this film, as King managed to merge 3D and stop motion dimension with 2D animation seamlessly.
CMYK - Marv Newland
This film was particularly exciting to me because Martin Rose was the producer! He had shown us some sneak peeks in class for this film, and also explained it was Newland's first foray into experimental work. It is nice to see animators crossing over to try different work, I think I found that encouraging.
Short Competition 5
PES - the deep - always love pes
Das Haus - great 2d /3d, flat animation in layers in AFX good sound and timing
Short Comp 3
(blanche fraise?)
Did not enjoy curation so much because it frequently went between very dark films and then very silly/sophomoric intervals. Was hard to feel any carryover feeling from films.
I'm Fine Thanks - was good but I thought lacked some elements that I assumed from the trailer
Muybridge's strings - very different from his previous films (mt head and Kafka) though contained some elements.
Panel notes -
process driven - lots of experimenting to fin the correct feel for the story. They tried digital but it lacked the 'heft' of traditional textures and media.
piece together film loosely, but it all comes together with sound.
what I love about their films is the mise en scene, the insight into the characters lives and not just the character stand alone. Their setting is just as important, and how they act with other people is just as important as their own actions.
The first screening I saw was the Canadian Showcase, which I found the most impressive in screening selections so far. As I am looking at my showcase guide I can see I have circled half of the films in the screening to remind myself to write about them, though to prevent myself from writing into the night (its already 2am! How did this happen?) I'll try to keep it down to three pieces I found myself most impressed by.
Wild Life - Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
This was the main reason for me to go to the Canadian Showcase - I saw When the Day Breaks many years ago and I still remember how engaged and affected I felt afterwards. They had captured a very ineffable, intrinsic part of what it is to be a person and to be connected to others in this film. In Wendy Tilby's own words, Wild Life is very much like the opposite of When the Day Breaks. It acts as a documentary describing a remittance man's gradual isolation after he moves to the harsh prairies of Alberta in 1910. I was struck by the beautiful and poetic manner they capture the sadness of the main character, and also still be able to juxtapose it next to light hearted and comical scenes. Their work always reminds me that despite what systematic divisions of genres demand, the description of a human nature does not carry those boundaries.
Dimanche (Sunday) - Patrick Doyon
This film really captured my heart, it had a simple but distinct line aesthetic. It was a cute and funny look into a child's memory of how his family would spend Sundays. I found it insightful into how the main character of a child's attention is distracted by all sorts of things, especially when he is the only kid in a large group of adults. It was quite charming and one of my favorites at the festival.
Second Hand - Isaac King
This was also one of my festival favorites (maybe its my Canadian bias?). It has a focus on different 'timings' of people and the pacing of the film reflects that exactly. It juxtaposes a fast paced businessman next to a slow and calm elderly couple next door. Storywise I found it surprising not preachy, because it appears at first to be a pro-green film, but I found it really revealed more of a message on balance and organization. The visual technique was what I enjoyed the most about this film, as King managed to merge 3D and stop motion dimension with 2D animation seamlessly.
CMYK - Marv Newland
This film was particularly exciting to me because Martin Rose was the producer! He had shown us some sneak peeks in class for this film, and also explained it was Newland's first foray into experimental work. It is nice to see animators crossing over to try different work, I think I found that encouraging.
Short Competition 5
PES - the deep - always love pes
Das Haus - great 2d /3d, flat animation in layers in AFX good sound and timing
Short Comp 3
(blanche fraise?)
Did not enjoy curation so much because it frequently went between very dark films and then very silly/sophomoric intervals. Was hard to feel any carryover feeling from films.
I'm Fine Thanks - was good but I thought lacked some elements that I assumed from the trailer
Muybridge's strings - very different from his previous films (mt head and Kafka) though contained some elements.
Panel notes -
process driven - lots of experimenting to fin the correct feel for the story. They tried digital but it lacked the 'heft' of traditional textures and media.
piece together film loosely, but it all comes together with sound.
what I love about their films is the mise en scene, the insight into the characters lives and not just the character stand alone. Their setting is just as important, and how they act with other people is just as important as their own actions.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Ottablog - The Arrival
I am attending the Ottawa International Animation Festival 2011, courtesy of the student scholarship program organized by Leslie Bishko. I have finally navigated to my motel room and my primary instincts are clear: make coffee and write. Anything.
I have slightly more motivation than just being awkwardly talkative, and it stems from some resentment (something that actually motivates me alarmingly frequently). It sounds negative, but lets pretend I am transforming it into the positive - pro-activity! Typically I am good at navigating, but today I committed some serious sins against that art by a) forgetting to print a map, as well as b) starting to walk without orienting myself first. I walked in all sorts of wrong directions for 40 minutes, saddled with my duffel and laptop, which I cursed all sorts of obscenities at in my head. So, I am determined to make this luggage choice worthwhile, and document the cuss out of this trip.
The best thing about being lost are the accidental scenic routes, or forging your own routes (my recommendation is to first ward off the timidity you might feel in a new place, and to blast through wherever you go as if you are the Bomberman himself). I was certainly thinking about who I would whine to about this experience first (It's all of you! Viva la internet.) but I also managed to bumble past almost every building I plan to visit later on. I like to think this is similar to my creative process, that there is a lot of awkward bumbling initially but eventually it gets tuned down to an efficient process. Considering the walk from my room to the museum of civilization is 45 minutes, I think it will be my calf muscles getting the tuning done.
Now that I have exhausted my whining I'll move on to some actual content. I managed to see the 'Short Competition 1' screening. I was surprised at how much the content varied, there was really a huge range of things from high school films to seasoned professionals, promotional work to experimental. There were a few works that stood out to me particularly in technique. Yoshihisa Nakanishi's Many Go Round employed 2D animation cut out of paper to transform it to 3D, and then further it into a 3D tesselation. I also enjoyed Alexander Gelnner's MANNIMANN and Alexandra Hetmerova's Swimming Pool which both had unique, strong narratives and a bold but simple aesthetic of lines and bright colors on black. Their stories could not have been more different in theme and atmosphere, so seeing these together really demonstrated the flexibility of visuals when paired with a narrative.
Tomorrow will be very busy, with many more screenings to scramble too, as well as some panels and artist talks thrown in as well.
I have slightly more motivation than just being awkwardly talkative, and it stems from some resentment (something that actually motivates me alarmingly frequently). It sounds negative, but lets pretend I am transforming it into the positive - pro-activity! Typically I am good at navigating, but today I committed some serious sins against that art by a) forgetting to print a map, as well as b) starting to walk without orienting myself first. I walked in all sorts of wrong directions for 40 minutes, saddled with my duffel and laptop, which I cursed all sorts of obscenities at in my head. So, I am determined to make this luggage choice worthwhile, and document the cuss out of this trip.
The best thing about being lost are the accidental scenic routes, or forging your own routes (my recommendation is to first ward off the timidity you might feel in a new place, and to blast through wherever you go as if you are the Bomberman himself). I was certainly thinking about who I would whine to about this experience first (It's all of you! Viva la internet.) but I also managed to bumble past almost every building I plan to visit later on. I like to think this is similar to my creative process, that there is a lot of awkward bumbling initially but eventually it gets tuned down to an efficient process. Considering the walk from my room to the museum of civilization is 45 minutes, I think it will be my calf muscles getting the tuning done.
Now that I have exhausted my whining I'll move on to some actual content. I managed to see the 'Short Competition 1' screening. I was surprised at how much the content varied, there was really a huge range of things from high school films to seasoned professionals, promotional work to experimental. There were a few works that stood out to me particularly in technique. Yoshihisa Nakanishi's Many Go Round employed 2D animation cut out of paper to transform it to 3D, and then further it into a 3D tesselation. I also enjoyed Alexander Gelnner's MANNIMANN and Alexandra Hetmerova's Swimming Pool which both had unique, strong narratives and a bold but simple aesthetic of lines and bright colors on black. Their stories could not have been more different in theme and atmosphere, so seeing these together really demonstrated the flexibility of visuals when paired with a narrative.
Tomorrow will be very busy, with many more screenings to scramble too, as well as some panels and artist talks thrown in as well.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Compositing Progress
My goal is to ultimately get this piece as polished as possible for my grad panel, but also to use as a piece in a demo reel, etc. I want to get something finished that is to the quality I want. I feel like right now I am 50% through it. I have spent the last week pretty much using every bit of my spare time to edit it, so I feel like I could get it done by Wednesday. Things are starting to fall in place now and it feels more secure, even though I know I need to still work hard, I know that it is ultimately going to fulfill a goal if I push through.
Today I developed how I am puppeting my hair (it involves it being on 2's, but using some of the default interpolation in After Effects, so I have to stagger it). Right now I am not happy with how it looks but with a bit of tweaking I think it will be fine.
Other than that I want to add some ripple effects, which I wish I had worked on earlier but I will just have to deal with working through it when the time comes. (most likely.... tomorrow.)
Today I developed how I am puppeting my hair (it involves it being on 2's, but using some of the default interpolation in After Effects, so I have to stagger it). Right now I am not happy with how it looks but with a bit of tweaking I think it will be fine.
Other than that I want to add some ripple effects, which I wish I had worked on earlier but I will just have to deal with working through it when the time comes. (most likely.... tomorrow.)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Mocha
I got a lecture about using the computer to my advantage so I have been trying to wade further into software I skipped over because I didn't feel like I had the time to learn it. I know the basics of After Effects but I usually prefer to do things manually (much to the sadness of my recurring tendonitis). I have to track a lot of things for this shot so I looked into tracking, and finding that the default tracker in AE was not very sophisticated, Daryl-Lynn suggested I try Mocha, which also comes with AE but is far more intuitive in tracking planes and shapes. Fia's nose is my track point for all her feature and hair so I spent an afternoon dicking around in Mocha and trying to get it work. Once it did, the results were very satisfactory, and if I had spent this afternoon doing the tracking manually, I know it would have taken me three times as long.
Some helpful tutorials I found to help me get started on Mocha:
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/stern_eran/03_RG_CornerPin/video-tutorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaTsJAG6dMQ
http://vimeo.com/3107078
James also lent me his handout from Brian Charles' motion graphics class. I am hoping to take that next year.
"These boxes are here to HELP YOU"
Some helpful tutorials I found to help me get started on Mocha:
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/stern_eran/03_RG_CornerPin/video-tutorial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaTsJAG6dMQ
http://vimeo.com/3107078
James also lent me his handout from Brian Charles' motion graphics class. I am hoping to take that next year.
"These boxes are here to HELP YOU"
Beginning Compositing
I've started to composite now and getting my layers together. This is what it looks like so far-
The background is a painting with a water effect on top, and the body is made in flash, blurred and track matted over some paper. More on the water effects later - James and I tried out some different methods to get a water effect in the camera room and it was an interesting process.
The background is a painting with a water effect on top, and the body is made in flash, blurred and track matted over some paper. More on the water effects later - James and I tried out some different methods to get a water effect in the camera room and it was an interesting process.
New Shoot!
I had another shoot and it went swimmingly (har har har). I'm pleased with the results. I had to adapt some of my technique to get it done, but it really turned out for the best in that regard. I had wanted to do replacement arms using 3D created templates, but it really got too finicky. The 3D aspect was great with the Pupurun project but the arms were so small it wasn't worth it here - I ended up just making the arms quickly by cutting strips and folding them.
They could have been more finessed, but I really wanted to have something to at least try out. I have been reading about Yuri Norstein's thoughts on animating and one thing from him that stood out to me was that he explained that spontaneity is important in art - that over-analyzing the process will strip the work of its original quality.
I have seen that in my own work, like in painting, where I have over-worked the image and lost a lot of its gestural quality as a result. What was more important here was the motion of her arm surfacing so as long as it was in the correct position I decided I would be happy with it. Martin also suggested to me earlier to make a few replacement heads and have my cardstock and scissors on set so I could do quick fixes and that helped very much - in the end, it allowed me to finish the scene with her resurfacing, because I just ended up making a few more heads to replace with at that angle. The black hair on her head was still wet paint when I shot it! I reused my already made arms to fashion the front crawl/doggie paddle off screen. So that was my lesson in spontaneity on set!
These are the arms I made and some pictures of the set.
This was the first test of the arms alone -
And this is the footage I shot - the paper around her head is to diffuse the light and will be masked out after.
They could have been more finessed, but I really wanted to have something to at least try out. I have been reading about Yuri Norstein's thoughts on animating and one thing from him that stood out to me was that he explained that spontaneity is important in art - that over-analyzing the process will strip the work of its original quality.
I have seen that in my own work, like in painting, where I have over-worked the image and lost a lot of its gestural quality as a result. What was more important here was the motion of her arm surfacing so as long as it was in the correct position I decided I would be happy with it. Martin also suggested to me earlier to make a few replacement heads and have my cardstock and scissors on set so I could do quick fixes and that helped very much - in the end, it allowed me to finish the scene with her resurfacing, because I just ended up making a few more heads to replace with at that angle. The black hair on her head was still wet paint when I shot it! I reused my already made arms to fashion the front crawl/doggie paddle off screen. So that was my lesson in spontaneity on set!
These are the arms I made and some pictures of the set.
This was the first test of the arms alone -
And this is the footage I shot - the paper around her head is to diffuse the light and will be masked out after.
Fia Drawings
Some concept sketches for Fia, and design ideas. Where she pushes the bicycle is an idea for how to portray her adaptability and creativity, when finding the bicycle is broken.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Un Bel Di
After doing the artist influence presentation, I thought a lot about how varied my influences are and how it was hard for me to pinpoint specific artists that influence me. One thing I did see a repetition of though, was in a specific character.
I found that I have kept being attracted to things around the story of Madama Butterfly, originally exposed to me through Puccini's opera of the same name, though before that it was apparently based on some true stories. Last year I also saw David Cronenberg's film adaptation of M. Butterfly, which was an adaptation of the opera into a play with gender roles switched around. I think in terms of Butterfly, though, my biggest influence lies in Pjotr Sapegin's Aria, which had an interesting interpretation of the character being much more childlike. I enjoy the interpretations of the story, but what I really feel affected by are the interpretations of the character of Madama Butterfly. What I found interesting about Sapegin's Aria was that it focuses on the moment of her loss, where her hope she has been holding onto for years has been crushed. He parallels this with the aria Cio-Cio san sings, which is not about her sadness, but about her insistence that Pinkerton will return to her "un bel di" (one fine day). It is hopelessly tragic.
Butterfly, to my knowledge, has always been interpreted keeping the tragic ending, with the demise of Cio-Cio san (or whoever has fulfilled her role). How I would want to interpret that would be not in the literal demise of a character, but in the loss of some naivete that had led the character into that predicament. Cio-Cio san is so shamelessly robbed of her innocence, and this is made so obvious to the audience, which makes it all the more tragic when she reaches her final realization.
I want Fia to experience the loss of some innocence as a child, and to learn from it and grow. While she loses a part of her childhood, she gains knowledge that helps her begin a maturity and adulthood. I find those transitions to be bittersweet, but overall, positive. Things I have been thinking about have been around emotions like dissapointment, or regret, but only just enough so that Fia can take action to make amends for what has happened. However, I feel like it can't be a situation which can just be 'fixed'- there has to be some sort of permanent loss involved.
A possible scenario, as an example, is that Fia learns something out of anger, or frustration, or realizing a destruction that has come out of her being careless or ignorant.
she cultivates a relationship with nature so that might be an important thing to consider, especially because she lives off the land- so this can also represent a respect for nature.
I found that I have kept being attracted to things around the story of Madama Butterfly, originally exposed to me through Puccini's opera of the same name, though before that it was apparently based on some true stories. Last year I also saw David Cronenberg's film adaptation of M. Butterfly, which was an adaptation of the opera into a play with gender roles switched around. I think in terms of Butterfly, though, my biggest influence lies in Pjotr Sapegin's Aria, which had an interesting interpretation of the character being much more childlike. I enjoy the interpretations of the story, but what I really feel affected by are the interpretations of the character of Madama Butterfly. What I found interesting about Sapegin's Aria was that it focuses on the moment of her loss, where her hope she has been holding onto for years has been crushed. He parallels this with the aria Cio-Cio san sings, which is not about her sadness, but about her insistence that Pinkerton will return to her "un bel di" (one fine day). It is hopelessly tragic.
Butterfly, to my knowledge, has always been interpreted keeping the tragic ending, with the demise of Cio-Cio san (or whoever has fulfilled her role). How I would want to interpret that would be not in the literal demise of a character, but in the loss of some naivete that had led the character into that predicament. Cio-Cio san is so shamelessly robbed of her innocence, and this is made so obvious to the audience, which makes it all the more tragic when she reaches her final realization.
I want Fia to experience the loss of some innocence as a child, and to learn from it and grow. While she loses a part of her childhood, she gains knowledge that helps her begin a maturity and adulthood. I find those transitions to be bittersweet, but overall, positive. Things I have been thinking about have been around emotions like dissapointment, or regret, but only just enough so that Fia can take action to make amends for what has happened. However, I feel like it can't be a situation which can just be 'fixed'- there has to be some sort of permanent loss involved.
A possible scenario, as an example, is that Fia learns something out of anger, or frustration, or realizing a destruction that has come out of her being careless or ignorant.
she cultivates a relationship with nature so that might be an important thing to consider, especially because she lives off the land- so this can also represent a respect for nature.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Testing
A test from today.
Some problems encountered today:
First - the light did not go through my cardstock correctly. I used a piece of paper to diffuse the backlight, but I didn't cut out a hole around where the head was (like I did in my concept imagery). So I will have to figure out a different way to diffuse the light or to get light into her head. There is also problems of shadow showing up but I don't mind that so much. But I need to get the light composed properly.
Second - paint on glass has a nice aesthetic but in this case I am on the fence about the sharp black and white contrast. I cannot get the nice gradation that was in the concept imagery. Maybe this has to do with the paint I am using - it is just tempera. I wonder if gouache would be better. I really like the paint texture on the paper but it would be terribly time consuming to paint papers individually. It is really key to get the right gradation around her for the halo effect so I want to investigate that more.
I did get an image I liked when I cut out the paper and took a still photo. This is more along the lines of what I want ..
Some problems encountered today:
First - the light did not go through my cardstock correctly. I used a piece of paper to diffuse the backlight, but I didn't cut out a hole around where the head was (like I did in my concept imagery). So I will have to figure out a different way to diffuse the light or to get light into her head. There is also problems of shadow showing up but I don't mind that so much. But I need to get the light composed properly.
Second - paint on glass has a nice aesthetic but in this case I am on the fence about the sharp black and white contrast. I cannot get the nice gradation that was in the concept imagery. Maybe this has to do with the paint I am using - it is just tempera. I wonder if gouache would be better. I really like the paint texture on the paper but it would be terribly time consuming to paint papers individually. It is really key to get the right gradation around her for the halo effect so I want to investigate that more.
I did get an image I liked when I cut out the paper and took a still photo. This is more along the lines of what I want ..
Saturday, March 26, 2011
3D planning
My template for Fia's proportions:
Right now, I have been trying to model her arms in 3D- but it is not working out so well. I am looking into other methods to make her arms.
Right now, I have been trying to model her arms in 3D- but it is not working out so well. I am looking into other methods to make her arms.
Friday, March 25, 2011
On Female Characters
I was thinking about character design choice and that my character is a female. While the film is about a character experiencing growth I have thought about it specifically towards Fia being a girl, and what roles she faces (or doesn't even know of) in post-civilization. I have often used male characters because there is a neutrality that comes with a male role, particularly with sexuality and emotion. I have been addressing female characters more since I went into animation, while before I had avoided them because it feels too easy for them to sway into a stereotype and I just didn't want to deal with that. I feel like it is important for me to use a female character in my grad film now in expressing something personal to me.
I have been looking at some characters which are interesting to me in film and animation because they perform in a way natural to their individual nature. Whether they act in a way that might be separated into feminine or masculine roles becomes secondary to their personality and environment - for example, when I watched Nausicaa in my animation history screening, she is introduced with the role of an explorer/hunter, and on returning to her village she helps repair a windmill. The way her character is portrayed is not as a butch one, though, she is still very much feminine - she is shown to be driven by a logic that stems from her environment. She lives in a small rural village, so it seems natural that she is hard working. She is a princess in a small community, so she has developed personal connections with the townspeople. Etc.
I saw an argument recently on the character of Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers adaptation of True Grit not being a feminist character. The argument was in that Mattie tries too hard to fulfill a traditionally masculine role, and this does not fulfill a feminist role because she should portray more feminine characteristics. I found I disagreed with this argument because Mattie, like Nausicaa, is a product of her environment, in this case the gritty west. How she acts only seems natural to the time and place she has been raised in.
I have been thinking about how Fia is driven as a character and how she is portraying female characters. I want to focus on her actions having a lot of logic and reasoning behind them. In the prequel piece I am working on, I want it to represent her personality and hopefully bring some dimension to her.
I have been looking at some characters which are interesting to me in film and animation because they perform in a way natural to their individual nature. Whether they act in a way that might be separated into feminine or masculine roles becomes secondary to their personality and environment - for example, when I watched Nausicaa in my animation history screening, she is introduced with the role of an explorer/hunter, and on returning to her village she helps repair a windmill. The way her character is portrayed is not as a butch one, though, she is still very much feminine - she is shown to be driven by a logic that stems from her environment. She lives in a small rural village, so it seems natural that she is hard working. She is a princess in a small community, so she has developed personal connections with the townspeople. Etc.
I saw an argument recently on the character of Mattie Ross in the Coen brothers adaptation of True Grit not being a feminist character. The argument was in that Mattie tries too hard to fulfill a traditionally masculine role, and this does not fulfill a feminist role because she should portray more feminine characteristics. I found I disagreed with this argument because Mattie, like Nausicaa, is a product of her environment, in this case the gritty west. How she acts only seems natural to the time and place she has been raised in.
I have been thinking about how Fia is driven as a character and how she is portraying female characters. I want to focus on her actions having a lot of logic and reasoning behind them. In the prequel piece I am working on, I want it to represent her personality and hopefully bring some dimension to her.
Planning
My goal right now for this project is to get it moving. I had a some good chats yesterday with Martin and Ruben about the technical aspects of this project. I want to preserve the painted and hand crafted aesthetic in my test images, but use the computer to my advantage to speed this process up. I have split up the various elements in Fia's swimming image into what would be shot on set and what would be composited later using After Effects.
The head, hair part and nose will be crafted and animated on set. The parts of her body that are out of the water will be made out of cardstock and replacement animated. The ripples from the water will be paint on glass. All of these things will be animated simultaneously in stop motion. I am hoping once the 3D station in the camera room is free, I will be able to do this with luma matting - for now I will have to use a white background and a bright light underneath. It may just have to be thinner paper than the cardstock I am using in order to get the contrast I want. It is just something I will have to test for now...
The body parts that are seen underwater, underwater reflections, eyes, cheeks, mouth and hair will be painted by hand, scanned, and then tracked to follow the head. James brought to my attention today that I won't be able to do the paint on glass until I animate the body, because the ripples are secondary to that; they also create the halo effect around Fia's body. I think for now I will try without, and create the halo primarily around what body parts are above water.
These are my sketchbook notes:
I painted some character concept art for Fia today as well. I backlit them as well after insistence from James...
The head, hair part and nose will be crafted and animated on set. The parts of her body that are out of the water will be made out of cardstock and replacement animated. The ripples from the water will be paint on glass. All of these things will be animated simultaneously in stop motion. I am hoping once the 3D station in the camera room is free, I will be able to do this with luma matting - for now I will have to use a white background and a bright light underneath. It may just have to be thinner paper than the cardstock I am using in order to get the contrast I want. It is just something I will have to test for now...
The body parts that are seen underwater, underwater reflections, eyes, cheeks, mouth and hair will be painted by hand, scanned, and then tracked to follow the head. James brought to my attention today that I won't be able to do the paint on glass until I animate the body, because the ripples are secondary to that; they also create the halo effect around Fia's body. I think for now I will try without, and create the halo primarily around what body parts are above water.
These are my sketchbook notes:
I painted some character concept art for Fia today as well. I backlit them as well after insistence from James...
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Two and a Half D
This post really should have come before the last, but bla bla. I want to go a bit more into detail about the technique I will be using for this project.
I have gone back to the paper technique I used with the pupurun project (http://pepaproject.blogspot.com/). I liked how the animation turned out and I have been experimenting with light through the cardstock. The face of the character will be animated with replacement pieces and the body animated in paint (though, this may depend on the scene). I like the paint on the paper though that might only be practical as a still background, and if I want to do animation on top of that I have considered painting on glass on top of that.
It was nice to paint yesterday and a good way to cleanse myself from stress and routine work for school. I have been using the computer a lot lately and I don't think it is appropriate for the aesthetic I want to make, so I am going to do the next bit of storyboarding and concept art using paint.
Here is a note I wrote down when I was painting yesterday:
"I'm taking a day 'off' and painting concept images and storyboards for my project "Swift". It is about a young girl who experiences a change in her realization of self. While she loses a part of innocence she gains a maturity and dignity in realizing control of those differences. The original idea I stemmed from was centering the film on the word 'fleeting' and looking at brief moments. I am also breaking from the computer today (I made a note here about how hard it is going to be to decode my handwriting, and let me assure you, it is) because I want to reinvestigate the tactile feel of painting and papercrafting. The computer I love but right now it feels too cold and controlled to work on. Fia deserves to be painted (her name means fire, though fiata means fleeting).
A later edit: My official proposal for my senior project.
The subject of my film proposal revolves around a young girl, named Fia. In my film she undergoes a development of consciousness, specifically in regard to self consciousness, both physically and emotionally. Living in a post-civilization world, Fia, who has reached an age of young adulthood, has embarked on a nomadic lifestyle to explore and eventually find a place to settle. After discovering artifacts from the ‘old world’, Fia experiences a time of self reflection as she investigates these objects. The first idea I had regarding this film proposal was to make a series of shorts that centered around the idea of the fleeting, though the working title of the project has now been changed to “Swift”. I want to investigate the idea of childhood, which I see as a series of brief memories and fleeting moments. I want to return to these ideas with Fia, as she experiences this quick and sudden change from one mindset to another, less innocent, but more mature one.
As of now, my aesthetic goals are:
- to encorporate paint and brush textures
- to use a backlight to create a glowing light effect, and to use strong contrast black and white/chiaroscuro
- to have a naïve or childlike style on the character and scene design
- to use 3D relief to create the ‘2 and a half D’ look
I would like this film to be suitable for a younger audience, but to also contain enough of complex ideas and emotions to be appreciated by an adult audience. I would like the audience to be left with an emotion. I want to keep this film light hearted and funny, though I would like to try to make the change in Fia enough to bring a bittersweet note to it. Ultimately, though, I would like to end on a positive and optimistic note.
I have gone back to the paper technique I used with the pupurun project (http://pepaproject.blogspot.com/). I liked how the animation turned out and I have been experimenting with light through the cardstock. The face of the character will be animated with replacement pieces and the body animated in paint (though, this may depend on the scene). I like the paint on the paper though that might only be practical as a still background, and if I want to do animation on top of that I have considered painting on glass on top of that.
It was nice to paint yesterday and a good way to cleanse myself from stress and routine work for school. I have been using the computer a lot lately and I don't think it is appropriate for the aesthetic I want to make, so I am going to do the next bit of storyboarding and concept art using paint.
Here is a note I wrote down when I was painting yesterday:
"I'm taking a day 'off' and painting concept images and storyboards for my project "Swift". It is about a young girl who experiences a change in her realization of self. While she loses a part of innocence she gains a maturity and dignity in realizing control of those differences. The original idea I stemmed from was centering the film on the word 'fleeting' and looking at brief moments. I am also breaking from the computer today (I made a note here about how hard it is going to be to decode my handwriting, and let me assure you, it is) because I want to reinvestigate the tactile feel of painting and papercrafting. The computer I love but right now it feels too cold and controlled to work on. Fia deserves to be painted (her name means fire, though fiata means fleeting).
A later edit: My official proposal for my senior project.
The subject of my film proposal revolves around a young girl, named Fia. In my film she undergoes a development of consciousness, specifically in regard to self consciousness, both physically and emotionally. Living in a post-civilization world, Fia, who has reached an age of young adulthood, has embarked on a nomadic lifestyle to explore and eventually find a place to settle. After discovering artifacts from the ‘old world’, Fia experiences a time of self reflection as she investigates these objects. The first idea I had regarding this film proposal was to make a series of shorts that centered around the idea of the fleeting, though the working title of the project has now been changed to “Swift”. I want to investigate the idea of childhood, which I see as a series of brief memories and fleeting moments. I want to return to these ideas with Fia, as she experiences this quick and sudden change from one mindset to another, less innocent, but more mature one.
As of now, my aesthetic goals are:
- to encorporate paint and brush textures
- to use a backlight to create a glowing light effect, and to use strong contrast black and white/chiaroscuro
- to have a naïve or childlike style on the character and scene design
- to use 3D relief to create the ‘2 and a half D’ look
I would like this film to be suitable for a younger audience, but to also contain enough of complex ideas and emotions to be appreciated by an adult audience. I would like the audience to be left with an emotion. I want to keep this film light hearted and funny, though I would like to try to make the change in Fia enough to bring a bittersweet note to it. Ultimately, though, I would like to end on a positive and optimistic note.
Backlighting
I have a mission this week, and it is to get some character development going on. I also want to start testing my visuals. So today I did a quick one.
I made some simple shapes with my cardstock (same one as the pupurun replacement models) and stuck them on some sketchbook paper. I made my round piece into Fia, which ended up giving her an interesting design. I painted the water with gouache and her hair with gouache and acrylic.
Then, I backlit it. I used my animation desk.
The image with a variation on white balance adjustments.
my next mission - making it move!
I made some simple shapes with my cardstock (same one as the pupurun replacement models) and stuck them on some sketchbook paper. I made my round piece into Fia, which ended up giving her an interesting design. I painted the water with gouache and her hair with gouache and acrylic.
Then, I backlit it. I used my animation desk.
The image with a variation on white balance adjustments.
my next mission - making it move!
Fia
My character has a name now, and it is Fia. I like it, I think it is very pretty.
My new project started out on the idea of fleeting moments, and the root of fleeting is fiata. Fia is short for that, but it is also an actual Italian name, meaning fire, which suits her quite well in my opinion.
Fia is around the age of 13, and is a curious and inquisitive girl. She enjoys exploring the forest and oceanside. She lives in a post-civilization world and currently has a nomadic lifestyle. Having turned 13 she has now left her family and learning about the world before she finds a place to settle herself. She prefers to set site near large bodies of water.
Fia is hardworking when she needs to be, but otherwise she enjoys spending her time observing nature and exploring. She especially enjoys swimming and searching lakebeds or tidal pools. She often encounters artifacts from the 'old world' and may spend her afternoon investigating them. While she enjoys taking things apart to figure out how they may have worked, she is not very mechanically inclined and doesn't spend time trying to make them function in the way they were intended. If she finds a piece that she can use practically (such as her bicycle spoke she hangs fish on) she will keep it on site, but unless it is particularly useful or light, she will not take it with her.
Fia's generation was born post-civ, and only retains ideas of the old culture through her parents or generations that lived in that time. Fia's family originated from a rural fishing village.
My new project started out on the idea of fleeting moments, and the root of fleeting is fiata. Fia is short for that, but it is also an actual Italian name, meaning fire, which suits her quite well in my opinion.
Fia is around the age of 13, and is a curious and inquisitive girl. She enjoys exploring the forest and oceanside. She lives in a post-civilization world and currently has a nomadic lifestyle. Having turned 13 she has now left her family and learning about the world before she finds a place to settle herself. She prefers to set site near large bodies of water.
Fia is hardworking when she needs to be, but otherwise she enjoys spending her time observing nature and exploring. She especially enjoys swimming and searching lakebeds or tidal pools. She often encounters artifacts from the 'old world' and may spend her afternoon investigating them. While she enjoys taking things apart to figure out how they may have worked, she is not very mechanically inclined and doesn't spend time trying to make them function in the way they were intended. If she finds a piece that she can use practically (such as her bicycle spoke she hangs fish on) she will keep it on site, but unless it is particularly useful or light, she will not take it with her.
Fia's generation was born post-civ, and only retains ideas of the old culture through her parents or generations that lived in that time. Fia's family originated from a rural fishing village.
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