Applied Animation: Final Critique

It was really nice to see everyone's animations and to see all the hard work pay off. It was also nice to finally show off my animation, considering the effort I put into it and it was a bit of relief to receive good feedback. Generally my audience had no issues with my animation, but the main concern was the speed at which the camera shutter closes. People suggested that they should have closed quicker, as they seemed to linger a little bit too long.

Personally, I like the animation how it is, and I like that they move that bit slower so you can see the transition of the shutter more clearly. However, I am going to experiment with this in time for creating a show reel, as it was an opinion that was shared with the majority of the group. For the time being I am happy to leave the animation as it is, as I don't think the change is going to have a drastic impact.

Model Making Research: Alisa Stern

Alisa Stern is an Animation artist who lives in New York and specialises in stop motion. She has produced work for Nick JR but it is her Doctor Puppet animations that I like the most, which I stumbled across when I was browsing the internet/YouTube. The short series is based on the BBC's Doctor Who and I'm going to talk about it briefly because I think the design and the production of her puppets is beautiful.

Alisa Stern's 11th Doctor (Matt Smith)

To start with, I like that the puppets actually resemble the human character in the series. I also like that they seem quite realistic to say they are puppets, despite having very thin limbs. Though, having said this, you don't necessarily notice this straight away due to the clothes that the puppet is wearing, which are actually made out of old articles of clothing which I think is a great touch. 

Due to how much the short series "blew up" on YouTube, Stern released a video explaining how she made he puppets, which I found to be incredibly interesting. 

The Making of the Doctor Puppet

The way she makes her puppets actually isn't that much different to the way we were shown during our tutorials, but it was nice to see how the two techniques differ. She goes into a lot of detail about the process and the different materials she uses so I will definitely make sure to keep this video in mind if I ever come to make puppets in the future, as I can see it being a very useful "guide", especially when it comes to making clothes or adding finishing touches. 

Animating with Maya: Anticipation

As part of my animation skills brief, I was required to create an "anticipation" animation. I returned to my previous model of a truck, and I wanted to animate it like a pull-back-and-release toy.  To do this I set the first keyframe as its original position. I then changed the frame number and moved the truck back, setting another keyframe. I then did the same thing again, but this time I moved the truck forward and set the keyframe to occur sooner, so it would appear to move faster.

Motion Path of the Truck

To increase the speed at which the truck "set off", I adjusted the motion path of the truck in the graph editor.

Anticipation Playblast

I thought this was a good way to demonstrate anticipation using Maya, as the truck prepares itself for the acceleration by being dragged back and this movement is in the opposite direction of the major action that is about to follow.

Module OUAN406 Evaluation

For Applied Animation I pushed myself to make an animation using After Effects, as I really enjoyed the tutorials where I was shown how to make 3D layers and use the camera tool. I was also yet to create an animation using the program and I thought it would benefit me to try and broaden my range of skills. I surprised myself at how quickly I picked it up, and was actually able to get the program to do what I wanted, resulting in an animation that I am very proud of. I didn't even encounter a great deal of problems whilst working on my title sequence, and the ones that I did I was able to overcome rather quickly/easily. For example, I couldn't work out how to duplicate the motion path I wanted the camera shutter components to take, so I started to try and animate each one individually when I couldn't figure it out. I have now learnt the importance of googling my issues/asking others for help, and not just trying to work everything out for myself. If I had've done this earlier, I would have saved myself a lot of time and frustration, but the main thing is I now know for next time and that it's okay to admit that you don't know how to do something.

I've also found this module to be one of my favourites because of the new processes and programs I have been able to explore. When I was first applying for the course I thought to myself that I wanted to experiment with 3D work, as the work that I had seen other people produce on the internet had always fascinated me, so I was really happy when I got to try Maya for myself. At first the program really intimidated me as it was so complex and hard to understand, but the more I practiced it and the more I came to understand the tools, I found myself really enjoying it. I didn't find the opportunity to use the program this time around (although, looking back it probably would have been quicker/effective for me to produce my London skyline in Maya, but I realised this too late. If I have the time I think it might be nice to try this out to see what it would have looked like) but I'm looking forward to potentially experimenting with it further, as I have only scratched the surface with the things I can do using it, and I can see myself really enjoying it. I have also enjoyed my model making tutorials, and again, even though I haven't had the opportunity to tie in what I have learnt into this module, I think I definitely want to explore stop motion further in the future. I liked that model making was a change from sitting in front of a computer for hours on end and I also enjoyed the fiddly, hands-on element of animation. 

As a whole, I think this module has been a great success for me. I have enjoyed learning new techniques and processes and I have been able to build upon new and existing skills to create something that I am proud of. I'm also happy that I have been more organised for this module. Similarly to Visual Language, I blogged about my process and the work I had been producing as I went along, so I never really fell behind. The exception to this is when production came to a holt for a couple of days whilst I was focusing on my PPP, but because I had planned ahead and gave myself plenty of time to get my animation finished I didn't find myself stressing out or struggling to get finished. I actually worked a lot quicker than I had expected, so I had plenty of time left over. This is something I definitely need to keep up in the future, as it has been refreshing to be organised for a change and to not get worked up over my project. 

Model Making: (Missed) Session Four and Five

Due to being ill, I wasn't able to attend the fourth session we had with Don. In this session the group had the chance to create the second half of their caster moulds ready for their fifth session where they would create a foam model. I was, however, able to attend the fifth and final session, but because I hadn't been able to complete my plaster mould I wasn't able to partake in what the rest of the class were doing. Instead I just sat back and watched and helped others where I was needed.

In order to make the foam models, we have to coat the inside of the mould with jelly, so that the mixture doesn't stick to the plaster. Once this is done, the two halves of the cast need to be tightly secured by wrapping a tight, thick strip of rubber to keep them together. This allows for the foam mixture to be poured into the hole in the feet and not have any mixture seep out of the sides/any gaps.

I found that the mixture needs to be mixed very thoroughly and rapidly, as the liquid soon turns into foam. If not mixed enough the texture of the foam will not be as smooth, but instead will have a rough, bubbly surface. I was also able to see the importance of making sure there is enough jelly on the mould because if the foam sticks it is very hard to remove the model and more delicate features can rip off.  We also learnt that you can create a thin wire skeleton and place it inside the cast so that you can pour the foam mixture around it, which will allow the model to be moved into different positions, just like our plasticine models.

I am quite disappointed that I didn't get the chance to finish my model, as I was really enjoying the hands-on work and was happy with how it was coming along. Having said this, I did sit in on the class so I do know how to do the process myself, so if I ever explore with stop motion or puppets in the future I will know what I am doing. The classes were definitely useful to me, as now I am aware of the things I am able to achieve down in ceramics, but I'm not too phased about not having completed my model as I haven't pursued stop motion this time around.

Applied Animation: Finished Animation

I decided to go with a segment of the song Devastation and Revenge by Kevin MacLeod (Free Music Archive) as I liked this particular snippet as it built up in tension, just what I was looking for. As I was unsure where to start the sound clip, I aligned the end of the animation with the part in the song where the music cuts out, then trimmed the start of the song down to the beginning of the animation. Then I added in the sound of a gun shot that I had downloaded from a royalty free music/sound effects website, and aligned it so that it would play just after the music cuts out. Once I was happy with the timing and positioning of my clips, I adjusted the volume levels so that they were loud enough to be heard. I also made it that the music faded in and out. It already did to some extent, but I wanted it to be more obvious.

First Attempt at Sound

I then tried adding in a camera shutter sound just to see what it would be like. At first I thought the sound effects would retract from the sound track, but when I tried it out it seemed to go hand in hand. So in the end I decided to keep them, but I lowered the volume of the clips so that they sat better in the animation.

Second Attempt at Sound

When I exported the video the second time around, I don't think my settings were correct as the visuals had white strips in them. To overcome this I simply exported the file again with different settings and this seemed to work. 

Final Animation

I'm really please with how my animation has turned out, and I'm surprised I had managed to get it completed with quite a bit of time to spare, especially as this is the first time I have properly explored After Effects. I'm glad I decided to work digitally as it has opened my eyes to the things I can do with the programs, and I have found it to not be quite as difficult as I was expecting. This is definitely going to benefit my future projects, as I know now that some processes are much easier in After Effects, such as camera panning. so I will be able to work much quicker without as much hassle.

Applied Animation: Considering Sound

Now that the main body of my animation is complete, it is time for me to move on to post-production, I.E. sound. I'm hoping to try and find some royalty free music that is quite dramatic/epic and slowly builds up towards the ending of the title sequence, so that the gunshot will seem more intense when it sounds and ultimately ends the animation.

Depending on what the audio track sounds like, I'm not really looking to add in any extra sound effects (eg. blowing out the cigarette smoke) as I am hoping that the music will be effective on its own and I think extra sounds may retract from this.

I've had a look on a number of different websites and I've downloaded a number of clips that I am going to experiment with/ones that I feel could work alongside the animation. Here is a selection;

Sound Clip One - Constance

Sound Clip Two - Constance Part Two

Sound Clip Three - Black Vortex 

Sound Clip Four - Urban Gauntlet

Sound Clip Five - Devastation and Revenge