Animatic with footage put in.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Take 2
The result of the second shoot with some color correction. I haven't shot any footage of my puppet but it is a possibility tomorrow - at least with tests.
Setup
Some photos of my setup on the first shoot. I remembered to bring another camera today so I don't have to use my cell phone!
The laser projector, handily secured onto some plywood
Camera/Computer setup (Stephen helped me out so much)
Camera/Projector set up
Had to get creative in getting things to weigh down the cloth
Testing a surface to hold the physical puppet on
Lots of Lumea tests!
Testing the VGA cable on the projector (so that I can screen from my laptop). I had some problems with screening the image from the same source I was using dragon on, so that should be solved for today (if all goes well....!!) lil' Sam Rockwell goes where no man has been projected before.
The laser projector, handily secured onto some plywood
Camera/Computer setup (Stephen helped me out so much)
Camera/Projector set up
Had to get creative in getting things to weigh down the cloth
Testing a surface to hold the physical puppet on
Lots of Lumea tests!
Testing the VGA cable on the projector (so that I can screen from my laptop). I had some problems with screening the image from the same source I was using dragon on, so that should be solved for today (if all goes well....!!) lil' Sam Rockwell goes where no man has been projected before.
First Shoot
I setup and did my first shoot yesterday - though the majority was really more in the setup. I don't think I have ever experienced EVERYTHING going wrong before. They were all fixable things but I can only test my problem solving skills so much... but I got a lot of sleep so review the situation and figure out what to do better on today's shoot.
I have three videos from last night of all the same footage - one from the webcam feed, and two from the digital camera capture, one edited for color. Lumea really glows like I wanted to, but on the webcam! I am attracted to how the lower quality camera captured the image, but also I suppose because it provided another compositional setup which I didn't really consider before. I like the reflection that Lumea casts on the table though I left it out of the composition in the digital camera capture because I didn't think it would look nice with the scene. I recall that as something I was liked in the time and space project exploration as well, and I am surprised that I consciously made a decision to exclude it. The reflection brings it back to a real world context and makes it more interesting to see. I also liked the lower angled camera. Maybe I should just shoot from the webcam instead...
The webcam feed video
The unedited digital camera footage
Digital camera footage with color correction
I had some problems that really were caused by me being tired and not focused anymore, such as shooting with the wrong footage... I used old footage that was incomplete, which is also why Lumea jumps to the side in the middle of the video.
I've decided that at this point I need to keep experimenting with the light. I was hoping that I could get a finished scene out of this weekend, but I think it would be wiser to spend more time with setup and understanding the projector and how the light is affecting the camera.
I have three videos from last night of all the same footage - one from the webcam feed, and two from the digital camera capture, one edited for color. Lumea really glows like I wanted to, but on the webcam! I am attracted to how the lower quality camera captured the image, but also I suppose because it provided another compositional setup which I didn't really consider before. I like the reflection that Lumea casts on the table though I left it out of the composition in the digital camera capture because I didn't think it would look nice with the scene. I recall that as something I was liked in the time and space project exploration as well, and I am surprised that I consciously made a decision to exclude it. The reflection brings it back to a real world context and makes it more interesting to see. I also liked the lower angled camera. Maybe I should just shoot from the webcam instead...
The webcam feed video
The unedited digital camera footage
Digital camera footage with color correction
I had some problems that really were caused by me being tired and not focused anymore, such as shooting with the wrong footage... I used old footage that was incomplete, which is also why Lumea jumps to the side in the middle of the video.
I've decided that at this point I need to keep experimenting with the light. I was hoping that I could get a finished scene out of this weekend, but I think it would be wiser to spend more time with setup and understanding the projector and how the light is affecting the camera.
Animation
This is the final version of the animation I am projecting. It is in reverse because I am using a back projection.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Some scenage
Some ideas for scene compositions.
I was talking to Martin about how I would like the scene to shift and change even though the physical space I am shooting in will never change. He brought up how in theatre that is how the stage is treated, as a morphing space designed to create the illusion of many. I think subconciously I was using some of my stage experience in my ideas of Lumea's space, especially in terms of lighting and using a contrast of light to keep attention.
In my first composition Lumea is introduced and her not-shadow is created, so I made some concept sketches to illustrate that.
From the gesture drawings I did of Lumea, I also got an idea for the final pose I would like to see her in and possible the stage composition as well.
I was talking to Martin about how I would like the scene to shift and change even though the physical space I am shooting in will never change. He brought up how in theatre that is how the stage is treated, as a morphing space designed to create the illusion of many. I think subconciously I was using some of my stage experience in my ideas of Lumea's space, especially in terms of lighting and using a contrast of light to keep attention.
In my first composition Lumea is introduced and her not-shadow is created, so I made some concept sketches to illustrate that.
From the gesture drawings I did of Lumea, I also got an idea for the final pose I would like to see her in and possible the stage composition as well.
More about Lumea
I am trying to get to know Lumea better so here is some stuff about her and some sketches.
Lumea is a bit like Nova, the character we created for the Canada Line Project. Nova was originally going to progress through a physical development through the episodes but her final design remained as a more childlike figure, like in this animation for episode 1.
We had done some test footage when the idea of her development was still in the air and one of the images of an older Nova that James and I created really resonated with me. Though we had to shelf the image in the end to keep the episodes matched up, I felt close to this representation ofan older, wiser and elegantly grown up Nova.
The character of Nova was stemmed from the idea of her being a personification of a star, or some sort of cosmic entity. In some earlier concept art I did for the character, I made a series of 'cosmic giants' based on colors and visualizations of space photographs.
When I created the idea of Lumea, I thought about her being like one of these entities, roaming around space and time infinitely and pensively. The design of her puppet body was based on the idea of dark matter structuring the universe. Her body is unseen in the dark environment, but provides a framework for the scattered lights on her joints and eyes. I also did some artwork last year for my anatomy class that inspired this sort of exploration of both the inside and the outside of the body.
The more I worked on Lumea the puppet the more I felt I lost the spirit I feel Nova has. The wire I had originally hoped would give a gestural quality just looked rigid and cage like. In a few discussions with Martin, she was just known as 'the robot'.
I sat down and did some sketches of what she would look like as a girl, and at the time it was mostly just to loosen up and draw a bit. But I got back what I felt was the spirit of Lumea - a bit sassy, a bit sexy, and much more alive.
I like her gestures in these images, particularly because I feel like they carry through as strong silhouettes. I thought that if those were animated next to her as a puppet... how funny that would be, that her 3D silhouette be so mechanical, while her 2D silhouette is fleshy, emotive and active. Her 2D silhouette is what I am calling the opposite of her shadow. Because this piece is about her exploration within a space, I think that seeing the two parallels of Lumea also notes on the exploration of a mental space as well, Lumea's bright mind compared to her tired body perhaps.
Lumea:
Age: Very old compared to people, but still fairly young in the realm of cosmic entities. She is older than Nova.
She is represented with a warm orange color.
She is naturally explorative, and accepts change and new environments readily.
Lumea is a bit like Nova, the character we created for the Canada Line Project. Nova was originally going to progress through a physical development through the episodes but her final design remained as a more childlike figure, like in this animation for episode 1.
We had done some test footage when the idea of her development was still in the air and one of the images of an older Nova that James and I created really resonated with me. Though we had to shelf the image in the end to keep the episodes matched up, I felt close to this representation ofan older, wiser and elegantly grown up Nova.
The character of Nova was stemmed from the idea of her being a personification of a star, or some sort of cosmic entity. In some earlier concept art I did for the character, I made a series of 'cosmic giants' based on colors and visualizations of space photographs.
When I created the idea of Lumea, I thought about her being like one of these entities, roaming around space and time infinitely and pensively. The design of her puppet body was based on the idea of dark matter structuring the universe. Her body is unseen in the dark environment, but provides a framework for the scattered lights on her joints and eyes. I also did some artwork last year for my anatomy class that inspired this sort of exploration of both the inside and the outside of the body.
The more I worked on Lumea the puppet the more I felt I lost the spirit I feel Nova has. The wire I had originally hoped would give a gestural quality just looked rigid and cage like. In a few discussions with Martin, she was just known as 'the robot'.
I sat down and did some sketches of what she would look like as a girl, and at the time it was mostly just to loosen up and draw a bit. But I got back what I felt was the spirit of Lumea - a bit sassy, a bit sexy, and much more alive.
I like her gestures in these images, particularly because I feel like they carry through as strong silhouettes. I thought that if those were animated next to her as a puppet... how funny that would be, that her 3D silhouette be so mechanical, while her 2D silhouette is fleshy, emotive and active. Her 2D silhouette is what I am calling the opposite of her shadow. Because this piece is about her exploration within a space, I think that seeing the two parallels of Lumea also notes on the exploration of a mental space as well, Lumea's bright mind compared to her tired body perhaps.
Lumea:
Age: Very old compared to people, but still fairly young in the realm of cosmic entities. She is older than Nova.
She is represented with a warm orange color.
She is naturally explorative, and accepts change and new environments readily.
Some Clarification
Working through this project has been messy, very, very messy! I'm always happy to take on a challenge but this project has proved very frustrating so far. I am used to figuring things out in very quick and solid actions, and I just can't do that this time. Things are starting to come together now but it has been fighting me the whole way so far.
I succumbed to my puppet woes, to a degree, and I tried to find a way to both include and exclude the puppet. I am planning to use it, but only briefly... as a platform to move into another medium.
I think part of what made using the puppet hard was that I had made it for reasons that were so obviously aesthetic based to myself. I drew out conceptual ideas of the characters AFTER I had made the puppet... and it just never felt right to me to use it. I am trying to now use that detachment I feel from the puppets physical self as part of the character as well. James was telling me about a book he is reading which talks about creating dialogue with your work; to listen to it. So I listened and listened to puppet Lumea and she said nothing. And that is what I am going to work with.
I was thinking a lot about how I would be exposing the wireframe of the puppet and using lights to create space. After considering the detachment I feel from Lumea I considered projecting some sort of reflection of her onto cloth behind her. I guess if I was to explain it simply it is sort of the reverse of a shadow... while her physical body is empty and rigid, the reflection is very lively and fleshy.
I am going to be setting these up with the 3D set and seeing how that turns out. For now, here is the original portrait animation I did to test it out. The puppet would be standing in front of it, so that both the flame action of her head and the wireframe of the puppet would be seen together.
I succumbed to my puppet woes, to a degree, and I tried to find a way to both include and exclude the puppet. I am planning to use it, but only briefly... as a platform to move into another medium.
I think part of what made using the puppet hard was that I had made it for reasons that were so obviously aesthetic based to myself. I drew out conceptual ideas of the characters AFTER I had made the puppet... and it just never felt right to me to use it. I am trying to now use that detachment I feel from the puppets physical self as part of the character as well. James was telling me about a book he is reading which talks about creating dialogue with your work; to listen to it. So I listened and listened to puppet Lumea and she said nothing. And that is what I am going to work with.
I was thinking a lot about how I would be exposing the wireframe of the puppet and using lights to create space. After considering the detachment I feel from Lumea I considered projecting some sort of reflection of her onto cloth behind her. I guess if I was to explain it simply it is sort of the reverse of a shadow... while her physical body is empty and rigid, the reflection is very lively and fleshy.
I am going to be setting these up with the 3D set and seeing how that turns out. For now, here is the original portrait animation I did to test it out. The puppet would be standing in front of it, so that both the flame action of her head and the wireframe of the puppet would be seen together.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
MORE PUPPET WOES
There are a lot more problems with the puppet... aside from it breaking on me at one point. It got a quick fix but the problem has transcended beyond the physical state of the puppet... hm.
some new concept art
some new concept art
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