I've recently finished these scene, and I wanted to briefly talk about it because I think it is one of my favourite scenes up to now. Aside from the jumping at the beginning - which I don't think is as good, as I think it feels a bit too wooden. If I get the chance I'd like to go back and revisit this, and add some head movements and fix the eye-line of the character - I think this is a strong character performance.
Scene 018-023
I really struggled with the perspective of this scene; not only did I find it hard to draw out the character twisting their body, but she also walked away from the camera, and I found it hard to scale her appropriately. However, I think I've done a good job with this action, and I particularly like the secondary action on the ponytail, as it drags and sways as she jumps, then once again as it whips around as she looks away from the kite.
I also think this scene is well timed. The timing and spacing of the kite allows it to really crash into the ground. I've allowed enough time for the character to react to the kite swooping down in front of her too, which really emphasises the illusion of life.
When it comes to working in colour and backgrounds, I think it would be beneficial for me to start with this scene as I think it could be showreel worthy.
Today we had the chance to screen all of our progress to date on the big screen in the Lecture Theatre. It was a great opportunity to see what our final films would look and sound like on a large scale...
Progress 27/04
...and I think it's looking good so far. My animation also got a good reaction out of the audience, which was a massive boost of confidence and motivation. I've been receiving comments on Instagram about my work, but it's so much more rewarding to see reactions first hand.
It's really put into perspective for me how much there is left to be done, and I'm just going to keep plodding on and get as much done as I can in time for Final Crit next week.
I've now been animating for 4-5 weeks, and I'm approaching the half way mark with my linework. Had I have not had a week off to go to Lille, I think I would have hit a minute by now, which is really motivating, and I'm so proud that I've made it this far. If I work at the same pace at which I have been doing, I should be able to get finished in time for my deadline. I think it's going to be a bit of a struggle, but I'm finding myself working quicker than what I was at the start of the project, so I'm going to continue to push myself to work. Though on the chance that I don't finish in time, I'm still going to work to get it finished beyond the deadline, as it's a project I want to see through to the end, and I would love for it to be a finished piece in time for final exhibition. The three weeks after the final deadline before exhibition starts would give me plenty of time to finish my film, though the goal is definitely the 18th of May. I'm just going to take each day as it comes, and see how it goes.
Progress So Far
This is the section of my Live Action Video/Animatic that contains all the animated scenes I have to date. I'm really pleased with how it is looking so far. I like that the characters stay consistent throughout and that the clips flow together nicely. I've been posting all of my progress to my Instagram and other social media sites too, where I have been receiving great feedback and compliments on how smooth the motion is, which is wonderful. However, there are still things I would like to go back and change/take another look at if I have time. For instance, making sure the eye line of the characters are correct and that they seem as though they're looking at the object/person they're suppose to be, and making sure to really push the performance of the characters. The scene where I am walking over to the bench is a good example of where this could be reworked. If I make the character droop their head more, and have them looking at the ground rather than the bench ahead, this would really drive the emotion of feeling fed-up.
A scene I particularly like is when Maressa's character drops the kite spool. I love the innocence of this scene, and I think that the timings on the spool make the drop/bounce seem believable. I am still to add in the kite string but I shall come back to this once the rest of the linework has been completed.
I also really like the scene at 0:22-0:25. In my opinion the actions are really smooth, and I've made Maressa's character look at me and back to the kite to try and drive performance, and I'd say I have managed to get the eye line right here too. The subtle lean forward of Maressa's character has really made it clear that she's looking at my character. Not only this, it makes the action seem less wooden than what a simple turn of the head might have felt like. I'm making sure to pay attention to little details such as this (and for example, secondary actions on the hair and the weight of the kite string as it falls) to make it feel as lifelike/believable as possible.
I wanted to take another look at 'Weather the Storm' directed by Peter Baynton. I first saw it at Manchester Animation Festival, and I loved it for its touching story and how the warmth of the colours and backgrounds complimented this.
Weather the Storm - Peter Baynton
This short has an aesthetic that I'm striving for with my own work. The backgrounds in the film have been produced using watercolours, and I especially like how they've considered light throughout. For instance, in the first scene where the old man is in bed, you get the impression of the morning light coming through the windows/curtains, as he is laid in shadows. This is something I really want to focus with my own work, not only because it is something I've not really done before, but I also think it would really enhance the visual look of the film. As the animation is set outside, natural light is going to be a huge factor for me. The shadows that this creates will also help the animation feel less flat, which is something I am worried about as the backgrounds aren't going to be layered. Instead they are going to be scanned watercolour images. I certainly think this is something that Weather the Storm has got right in that respect, so I really need to focus on my shading.
I also like the way that the main character has been coloured. He's been coloured digitally, but with a lightly textured brush, making him fit seamlessly with the textured backgrounds. Again, something I strive for with my own work.
Due to my recent trip to Lille, I have fallen behind on the production of my animation as I've been focusing on PPP and networking for a week. Now that a large chunk of that is out of the way, I'm going to be able to do nothing but Extended for the next handful of weeks (and it really is just a handful, oh my). I'm still feeling optimistic though, so let's just get to it.
Before I went away, I was able to catch up with my blogging (pretty much). I definitely don't want to fall behind with this again, as it was so much harder to write about hazy production memories. In order to keep on top of this, I'm going to write a weekly update post, or if there is something that I feel is really important I'm going to blog about it at the time of production. Not only will this mean that I keep on track of work, the weekly progress post will allow me to see clearly how much work I've done and what needs to be done in order to finish on time.
I attended a Masterclass with Michael Dudok de Wit whilst in Lille for the Fete de l'anim, and it was really interesting. He spoke in great depth about his movie The Red Turtle, and it was nice to hear about the production of the film. Though I haven't had the chance to watch it just yet, I have heard a lot about the film as it was also screened at MAF. If I could get the chance to see it I definitely will, as it looks beautiful. It will also be massively useful for me, as a lot of the backgrounds (if not all of them - I'm not sure) are made using watercolours, which is what I am using for my final film. It was interesting to see how they had layered up multiple watercolour paintings to achieve the final look for the background. It's not something I hadn't considered before but is definitely something I should look into if I have the time, as I think it the technique helped to give depth to the environment.
