michaelchapmanba3b

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Evaluation

Whilst I was quite slow in starting the personal portfolio project, It was a useful project to work on. I was able to work on a few projects to hand in for this unit. The first being a character turn around for myself as a puppet which I fabricated. I also animated a short segment for my show reel with my character holding an email whilst looking down and across to the contact details. I then was able to get a small bit of work experience by animating a GIF for the Colorado Department of Labour and Employment which needed a GIF about telecommunications in a style of a Rube Goldberg machine and then finally the GIF I made with Steve Kirby with a Parsnip lifting up weights to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. As you can see I have a variety of animations skills both stop motion and motion graphics. These are the two styles I believe I am good at. However I am only marketing myself as a Stop Motion Animator and Fabricator because whilst Motion Graphics is a good skill to learn I would still say I’m still learning about the programmed and the commands.  

The Puppet fabrication of myself went well. I attempted different materials as well as different process then before such as using a thin wire in the material to make the jacket pose able. I was also able to leave space for silicone hands to be placed in the puppet where as before on two past occasions I did. I also experimented with alpaca fur where are before my characters hair have often been sculpted. Making this particular puppet was a completely different progress and I learnt a lot from the entire fabrication process about what to I should do next time ie put more wire in the clothes and what I shouldn’t do next time ie glue the clothes down and cast new pair of silicone hands instead of using old ones. This puppet turned out well. It was the first time I tried to capture a likeness off a real life person being me. That posed new challenges with sculpting the face. I believe I did an ok job. The puppets head for obviously isn’t the closet look alike however it does share elements of my looks and features on the puppet. Ultimately I’m proud of the puppet making process which has been useful for marketing stills, business cards and even a small animation. Next time I would make the likeness a bit more accurate and perhaps be able to add interchangeable features much like other stop motion fabricators use replaceable mouths for lip syncs.

The Puppet turn around went ok. The animation is smooth enough for the turn around as well as the character remaining in position throughout the entire footage. It showcases the puppets strengths as well as giving the audience a full 360 showing the hood I made for the hoodie. However I would like to re-film this sequence as there are a couple of issues. The first being the letterbox feature on dragon frame where you can see if your puppet is in the frame was turned off and I didn’t notice until after I rendered out the footage. However it’s not a massive loss as it cuts off a small portion of the head. I will attempt to re-film this after submission. Another issue I have with it was I didn’t tidy the puppet up before filming and as a result loose strands of fabric are present on the entire turn around. Again this was an issue I didn’t spot until I had finished filming. I don’t believe this issues effect the quality of the turn around however. Whilst it is a shame due to time I wasn’t able to re-film this I knew I was going to get footage of my character as an outro for my show reel which seemed like another element to add

The outro for the show reel shows my puppet holding an email, the puppet looks down, then across as he seemingly scans the email, then looks back at centre frame as the screen fades to black. Whilst simple, I like this footage. In context it’s a nice way to end a show reel whilst demonstrating a small piece of my skills as a stop motion animator as well as showing a small bit of personality. The material was trimmed up from the previous footage and as a result the puppet looks much better in this piece of footage and seemingly has a small bit of personality and life given to it. If I could critique it I would say the movement is perhaps a little to simple, with the puppet looking up, looking across and then back to finally stop in center frame. I did this to try and replicate a previous example of work I animated as in year 2 I made a puppet of myself that I didn’t finish but needed it for the outro of my show reel at the time. The puppet I made of myself for this particular project I wanted to make a better version of the outro I made last year to which I do believe I succeeded.  

I was able to get a small work experience role in the most unlikely of places. Colorado Department of Labour and Employment which is a section of the U.S. Government due to family connections out there I was asked by my sister to produce a GIF for telecoms and the procedures around it. Providing me with a base and a rough outline of what she wanted, it took a few days to fully animate and turn into a 25 second GIF, As this isn’t what I’m leaving University to do I was skeptical at first however it was a chance to learn a little more about the programme After Effects with the movement and the effects demonstrated in the GIF. This GIF is one case where I had no creative control and what my client had asked for had to be done without any deviations. Even upon suggesting about making minor changes to the circles or the characters was met with multiple denials. Whilst the GIF is basic it was trickier to do at first with the multiple key frames I had to place. I believe the GIF clearly demonstrates what my client was trying to achieve by creating a Rube Goldberg machine where one action effects the other. With this in mind what I would like to improve is that I would of liked the circles to perhaps be more free lowing as those circles are meant to represent people and since the GIF is about people being transferred system to system it would have been good to show some uncertainty within the circles and perhaps give them life and character. However since it is a GIF that will be shared internally in the department the company only needed a quick and brief GIF which they didn’t consider animation movements or principles. Ultimately I’m glad I worked on it I just wish I had more creative freedom.

Finally my last hand in piece of animation is another GIF meant to advertise a healthy and proactive life style. When Steve Kirby came into our university to preform a masterclass he was able to teach us his After Effects Plug In Limber which was instrumental to the collaboration project. However as a form of test he tasked us to make a GIF. Using an already pre-made rig I was able to animate a parsnip lifting a weight over his head only for the character to drop it again. This specific GIF showcases a good range of timing on the the pause before he lifts the weight and demonstrates a good use of weight to the character and the exercise equipment. I believe this GIF turned out very well. The use of subtle movements I added into the characters performance from the shaking of the arms to the legs almost seemingly giving way before the character drops the weights. This was helped by using the characters exaggerated features when lifting the weight above his head by me making the eyes close really demonstrates a good seance of weight. However this GIF isn’t perfect. For instance I believe I made the character wobble to much once I held the weight up in the air for a few seconds. I would of liked more movement in the pupils as if the character is almost surprised it is lifts the massive set of weights up. Overall the quality of this GIF is good and it demonstrates its purpose rather well in a fun and creative style.

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Final Edit

Today we completed the final edit for our film Chalk. As me and my group have been working on this project for almost nine months I’m glad to see it finally made ready to hand in.

Chalk is an animated film featuring four chalk like beings coming to life on the side of the pavement an encountering animals. They soon learn their new world isn’t as friendly as once thought. This has been a passion project that has been in my mind to make for over five years. Whilst I can’t remember what exactly gave me the idea in the first place, the idea has gone through several re-writes to where it’s been today. i believe the initial idea of having it some dark and thoughtful piece obviously wasn’t going to work. marketing it towards a younger demographic for the style and tone to change was a better idea and lends itself to the concept and comedy more. 

With the deadline vast approaching the pressure was on to finish animating the final segments of the animation. We were all stressed and trying to elevate pressure we can by all contributing with the 2D animation. With Eddie animating the bulk of it, myself and Maddie proceeded to animate the smaller scenes which did seem to help the film be finished on time. However my scene was cut due to time which did feel as a bit of a waste of time on my part but never mind. The film came out rather well. It’s hard to not have a negative opinion after starring at if for so long, almost as if you forget if it’s even good or funny in the first place. However showing it to random people who don’t know or haven’t seen anything like Helen or Adam somewhat reminds me that what we have made is good. The 2D editing on Eddies behalf is really well done. As animating upwards of four characters on a screen is tough he was able to give each one different characters based on the situation such as the circle looking away once the triangle is picked up. it’s small moments like that Eddie captures very well. However I want to return to this film to work on it a bit more with him after the deadline. As whilst the characters are good they appear to be a bit float-ey as in have no weight to them in some scenes. This is something that is easily editable. The sets and puppets work well with the 2D characters, perhaps better then I hoped. It really gives the world a distinct feeling especially with the pixelation at the start. It help gives the film it’s own identity and whilst it was troublesome working out where the characters would be at all times with sometimes a few small errors in the characters and chalks placing, its not that noticeable to the average viewer. 

The music and sound effects came out very well. Jamie did such a great job at capturing what we wanted out of the music track by providing a change of music around the first quarter of the movie. our composer Jamie used a lot of bass to providing a evil looming threat. In the edit we did have to slightly edit the music track to scenes being shorter then originally planned but we tried to keep the same instrumental cues we could. Equally the voices and sound effects work very well as well. At first I wasn't to sure about having voices in the final version however it gives them more of a character. This element worked well. What I would change for next time is I would perhaps make the music a bit more a seamless transition from very cuts however this can be fixed for the degree show.  

The overall presentation of the film has came out very well and im very proud on seeing it realized. There are few issues with it, a few shots that need to be revisited after deadline. Ranging from the small blue screen movements that occur with the grass background moving in between the fence to the bigger issues such as the square character being held in the white chalk figures arms one scene and the next the square character is on the floor. I hope we can re-visit this at a later date. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Progression Reel

Today I finished the my personal progression reel for the chalk project. I as well as Maddy and Eddie have been working hard on this project with myself and Maddy focused mainly on the stop motion side of the project whilst Eddie has mainly lead the 2D aspect of this project with the small assistance of myself and Maddy. Seeing how this project has continued to evolve and change over the course over the last 6 months puts it into perspective of how the project has evolved and changed over the last few months. I will save my full thoughts for the final evaluation however I’m happy with the work I was able to achieve on this project. In terms of the progression reel I tried to find ever bit of photos and videos I have had involvement in. With progression reels I always enjoy the fact to see how much work I have done throughout the projects and this case is no different. If I had to remake this I was unsure of what clips to use, for instance there was some stop motion filming that both Maddy and I did for the project but with since it was both of us I’m unsure if I should of placed it in the footage. However the evidence is in my entire blog so I think that’s ok to leave out of the progression reel but place in the blog. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Website updates and Evaluation

As mentioned in a previous post, the biggest update to occur is I brought a domain for the website which was much needed as the url that had wix in the name wasn’t professional especially if my website will be on the faces of business cards, show reels, CVs ect. My website www,michaelanimations.com which was based loosely of my art Instagram Mike_animations was the only name I could think of, having said that michaelanimations is pretty clear and understandable to the average client. 

The homepage features my show reel front and centred with it being uploaded from Vimeo. I did consider if I should upload my show reel straight to the website however upon research many other animators use vimeo instead of the websites default video player which I decided to replicate. The top menu buttons are clearly labelled and sign posted with the buttons being updated from previous feedback. The colour scheme is now a calm white, blue and black instead of the orange, blue and and white it was last year. I believe this is a much better colour and has been the colour scheme I have stuck with. I have placed my social media at the bottom of the show reel. I also finally updated the websites picture of myself as a stop motion puppet. I hope to remake the head after deadline it was just I was somewhat pushed for time when I made the original head If I could change this page I would make it so it feels less empty although having researched it not many stop motion animators have much information on their home screen. I just believe I’m wasting some space by just having the show reel on display. 

Clicking on the Portfolio section of the website you are greeted to three sections,, by clicking anywhere in that box or the text you are transported to the various subheadings the portfolio page is meant to represent. I like this feature and I’m glad I took on the feedback on board to make my website clearer. It is clear and concise, with each image representing a different project or model. If I was to add one thing, I would have liked to have added some 2D work I have made, such as the parsnip GIF i made using Steve Kirby’s rig or the Rumpelstiltskin 2D animation we made using after effect. Whilst it wouldn’t feel up much nor would it be the reason people come to the website, it would be nice to demonstrate ways I could do that animation if needed to. 

Firstly the sets Page. Whilst I haven’t made as many sets as I would have liked to I have put all the sets I have had a hand in making or made entirely. Once the picture is clicked it takes the user to a subsection of the website describing what the project is and who helped make it but since I can’t show them all I will show the image later in this post. I feel this is nice way to present information that could otherwise be lost on a viewer. By having clear images of the sets to only click on the images and it expands so the full image is present with a small write up only helps gives the impression that this is a career path. If I could change one element I would have it so that there would be more sets on display but since that issue is mainly aimed for me I hope I can update this section as time goes on. 

This section is about the animations section, it is laid out much like the sets are with individual boxes however this time it’s animations. Once clicked as mentioned above you are taken to a small write up about the project/animation/set. The animations tarts to play once hovered over. the layout is clear and simple to use with the animations clearly being visible. I like how these are laid out as opposed to other designs on the website. The only element I would change is as I mentioned before I would like a 2D segment however since the BBC project is a mix of styles, one of them being stop motion that I animated it seems to have it’s place there.

Regarding the puppets section I would say this segment has had the most work completed on the website alone. It is laid out much like the previous sections however once clicked on the image of the puppet shows a turn around on the puppet as well as a short bio on who the character is, how it was made and who helped me make it if anyone. Finally the link is a behind the scenes of how I made each individual puppet. Equally the link of the behind the scenes creation is on most of the sets too. I’m quite proud of this section showcasing the best designs I have made whilst at my time at NUA. The turn around are smooth as well as show the puppet off well. To criticise it however the lighting isn’t great with multiple shadows being cast. If I had enough time I would cut around each characters and place them against a white back ground to make up for lack of the pure white background. Having said that it’s not bad as people will mainly be interested in the puppet that is animated being turned around. 

The contact page seems to be a little bit basic but I had a similar problem with this page as I did with the home screen with that I wasn't to sure what else I could put. I have my email address clear and present as well as my social medias again on this page. In an earlier version I did have my CV on the website but I wouldn’t want people finding out my phone number through that way which I believe is the right choice. I wasn’t to sure what to place on this page and if I could do those page differently I would of made a paper air plane with my character holding it instead of the 2D version I designed last year to re-emphasise that I am a stop motion animator and puppet fabricator. However due to time I am unable to make these changes now however I plan to after deadline. 

Finally the Bio page. This is another page that is one of my favourites. The bio is clear and readable with spelling and grammar edited. the picture is a clear one that also allows for comparison between myself and the puppet. I was also encouraged to put icons of whats software I can use and finally finishing the page by placing past clients at the bottom of the page. Whilst this page seems a little busy with a lot of information I think it’s needed for the about me section. I have tried t remain humble and who I am still with no bragging or big headed. I am trying to promote myself by simply being a kind and honest person which I hope my description reflects that. If I could change one element I would maybe move the past clients onto the “Contact me” page not only to free up the page but to also give the impression that various companies have contact me through this website.

Overall I think this website is much better then my website from last year and whilst there are maybe small tweaks I can make to make a good website even better I will be trying to make these through this week but the bigger changes such as re-filming some turn tables may have to wait for after deadline. I’m proud of what I have accomplished, even looking back through the website and watching past work I believe I am much stronger with my work then before. This website confirms that.

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Final Showreel

I made the final adjustments to my showreel. The major update is I removed my phone number and only decided to have my phone number on buisness cards, This is due to not wanting to be spammed by calls if that information is public. I re-edited the green screen clouds at the start to make the images much more sharper and not as blurry around the edges as they were. I was able to hold on my title at the start as before the footage seemed quick to cut away. I re-edited a couple of clips to make them a bit shorter to which I uploaded the final result to vimeo. 

Overall I am proud of this show reel. If there is anything I would do to make the show reel better it would be to make green screen assets perhaps alongside the title cards however I’m not sure if that would be to distracting to the average audience member. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Website and Buisness Card Update

I decided to finally buy a domain for my website, not out of reluctance but because of money. However I do think I am better for making the purchase as it does appear more professional then the wix domain. This means I have had to edit most of my hand in requirements including my CV, show reel and business card

Whilst making the changes to the buisness card I was able move some of the text over to be in the centre of the screen. The text is big enough and reads well with clear icons. I also edited the colour slightly whilst still keeping in mind that the back will be in black and white I tried to brighten the image up so its clear that its a tag and that the black text doesn’t get lost in the subtle shading.

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Showreel

Based of Peters previous comments about my show reel, I decided to make the changes were appropriate as well as add a few of my own. 

Firstly, The clip of of Drefus the squid is the first thing the audience sees making it come full circle at the end. I also do believe my show reel is very strong only showcasing the best clips I have made. I also included some Chalk filming in there. Whilst not finished at the point of writing this I only included the scene where I animated the hornet taking the character and flying away. I believe its good to add that scene in even if I will re-add that scene at a later date once its been colour corrected.

I also moved the descriptions top right, this is because at the top left it seemed to be cutting out some details from a few animated sequence. I wanted to showcase the best of my entire catalogue and the descriptions covered some of it. I lined it up with the contact details at the end to give it a uniform feel to it. Based on Peters suggestions I cut down the squid clip quite massively allowing me to have time to put in a set pan from the collab project as well as two character turn around from bestiary and the collaboration project Chalk I am working on right now. Finally based on Peters suggestions I moved the puppet of myself as the outro to the right so he seemingly looks across to the contact details.

I am quite proud of this showreel and I dare say it may be the best one I’ve made. It’s snappy, short and to the point only showcasing the best of my abilities which I believe are quite strong whilst also remaining in time to the music and the descriptions, while basic, give a small insight into the role I played in a specific production. If I do return to this in this week it will be to tweak something but the main core of the work has been completed. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

As it is the final week before hand in I decided to finish of some loose strands. I was able to take my puppet outside to the park and with a bit of wire and k&s tubing I was able to make a fake washing line. I took many shots with my character however the shot I chose above really stuck with my. I like the caring hand resting on the t shirt. Whilst I took many pictures of the puppet and the shirt which I expected to atleast get his face in shot this one seemed much more personal. I have to remember that this is a buisness card, so the image is going to be small anyway so I want to have my name readible on a piece of card no bigger then a credit card. I think the front buisness card is a nice but fun little idea which I think projects my personality quite well while demonstrating my fabrication skills. 

I created two versions of this business card, one with wrapped text to match the wash tag and one that’s plain text. I believe I like the non wrapped text image more. My reasoning for that is whilst it is a nice idea and is trying to stand out, I ultimately want my business card readable which is why none of the washing icons are on the bottom either as that would just confuse the image. I was eventually able to take a picture of a washing tag and was able to use the clone stamp tool to remove the instructions. Whilst it may be obvious to some, at that size I don’t think it will be. Does it communicate to the auidence its a washing tag? I think so. I think it’s the clearest chance I will get. Jon did suggest about making the text vertically however to fit my website vertically may end up squashing the text making it non readable. To emphasise the fact it is a washing tag I wrote “100% Cotton Hand Wash Only” text below which is deliberate, I did play around with some suggestions. Peter suggested I write “100% animator” but I think if I did then it may loose the image its a washing tag. Ultimately this side will be printed in black and white so I wanted to keep the base colours plain as I could and by choosing a white shirt with black text I believe I was able to do that. 

I may return to this in the week with small edits. I also plan to buy my domain this week for my website however the main core of the business card I expect wont change. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Reflective Journal - (06/05/19) to (12/05/19)

This week we as a group we have fully been in production with editing the footage to get a rough assembly of the finished film. Eddie has really been working hard on the 2D footage whilst Maddy and I have been working on editing some quick scenes to help Eddie with his 2D work Both Maddy and I have been removing blue screen scenes where the camera shot down the path.  One of the scenes I tried to help out is with our main character, Chalk our main character grabbing a chalk stick and raising his hand to smash down the chalk on the snail. However upon a few attempts where I was a bit rusty on After Effects Maddy said I should leave that particular movement to Eddie as he has the movement down to a T. Its been hard to motivate my group as previously my group said that they doubt they can get the work done before submission. However ass a director and the head of the project this was quite hard to accept and tried to move round and make some shots easier by using some repeated shots. The group once got motivated again after getting a rough cut of Jamie our composers music. 

Jamie’s music came out very well. Whilst we have never worked with a composer before we only suggested we wanted a drop from the happy and bouncy music to something that’s dark whilst still carrying a similar motif. Jamie made a great bit of composition, mainly using brass for the project which really makes the animals feel more of a threat. There is some slight tweaking that needs to be done however which Jamie has already corrected. We wanted some notes to linger a bit longer during the emotional scenes as well as the music turned down a bit. Jamie who isn’t a student and only sees updates when we send him an updated piece really enjoyed what he saw and physically made him laugh. This was good to see and hear as after working on a project for as long as we have we loose focus of if the project is even good or funny anymore so to get an outsiders perspective makes me feel proud of what we have accomplished so far. As mentioned when we received Jamie's Music it gave us a spur of energy to carry on and pursue this animation further. As a result we were able to animate a few scenes of animation in the space of two days. 

Finally the week finished with me editing a trailer together for the project. Whilst this is an optional aspect of the project I wanted to do it as before I came to Uni, editing trailers was what I was used to. I used a cut up version of Jamie’s music to create a 30 second trailer. The problem is for a film that last 2 minutes there is only so much I can add without ruining the main jokes and surprises. I did try to keep some of the surprises under wraps by not showing some footage which I hope if this is shown at the degree show that the audiences will still manage to laugh seeing a cut up version of the film.

That was all the progress we made this week as its mainly been focusing on getting the project together and ready for next week where it will be a rush to complete it. Whilst we still have some footage left to edit, once that aspect is done which I hope will be Wednesday or Thursday should be just a case of colour correcting it to match the lighting of the sunset scene we tried to do whilst filming. As it is the final week I’m sure myself as well as Maddy and Eddie will be focused on Portfolio aspects as well so I hope we can find time to to assemble the clips and get the film ready to hand in.

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Reflective Journal - (06/05/19) to (12/05/19)

The second to last week before submission and I have been focused on continuing on with my designs. The week started with me getting the fabric material with my logo printed on the meter long of fabric printed four times encase I mess up other attempts, It was in the middle of the week that i was able to use this material to make a t shirt that my character would be posed with. The inital idea was for the t shirt to be hanging up on a washing line. If I was to do this process again I would make sure the t shirt could actually be worn by the puppet of myself. Never the less, I simply used the remaining k&s tubing i had left over from the puppet, some aluminium wire to resemble washing line and used double sided tape to stick the t shit. I finally went to the park with my puppet to take a series of publicity stills for my puppet  with the t shirt and this washing line. I’m happy with the results as I have a few images I could use from this. Along with this I started designing the back side of the business card by me replicating a washing tag. This side will be in black and white however I wanted some form of texture on the other side. I used a PNG image of a t shirt texture which works surprisingly well. However the two styles seemingly don’t match with a stop motion front and a 2D back. Helen suggested that I use a real washing tag and add my own details which is a good suggestion and seemingly backs up the idea that I am a stop motion animator and fabricator. Next week I aim to use a washing tag and simply use the details I already have but re-organize them instead. However so far I am happy with the progress and I believe I am on the stage of fine tweaking the business card as I’m almost there. 

This week also saw the completion of the puppet turn around, both the Goblin puppet I made as well as the puppet I made of myself I was able to use on the turn around. The goblin armature came out well, being the smallest puppet I’ve made and not having a big surface area  this is the puppet I worried about the most today however this one I was able to achieve in the first shoot. Equally the shoot with me filming the turn around of myself as a puppet went well. my only issue is I didn’t necessarily clean him up before filming it as there are a few strands of material hanging loose. I also forgot to turn on the letterbox effect, so where I saw my character fit the frame, realistically it meant the top part of my puppet was cut off. Whilst it’s unfortunate I don’t think I can re-film it due to time as I still need to work on other various projects. It does however mean I may place my outro footage in the submission folder as well being a new bit of footage for my show reel. When the deadline is finished I will try to film these segments in my spare time. However the Alex puppet, being the one from my personal showcase project appeared to be to heavy even with a sellotape on his feet. This has pushed back my schedule as I expected to be finished filming with my turn around however I need to book a new slot for next week to animate the final turn around. Whilst this is a slight delay to my schedule with other work I plan to try to animate this final turn around for a final time. I intend to use blue-tac next time instead. The issue comes from the turn table being slightly angled and with that particular puppet being slightly top heavy, it means once I have turned the puppet round so the puppets back is facing the camera it naturally leans back. How I can prevent this next time is by using blue-tac as aswell as pose it slightly different to prevent the characters toppling over. I will make amendments to this next week.

Finally I received some comments on my show reel. Firstly the music piece fits well and doesn’t need adjustments. I was asked to cut the clip of the squid swimming as it goes on for a bit to long which is what I was thinking as I was watching it with Peter. Finally the outro, peter suggested moving the character to the right so that when myself as a puppet holds the email up and looks across it lines up with the contact information. It also adds a nice piece of symmetry  compared to having the description of the projects that side also. The only comment I received about my website was to remove the icon as me as a marble statue. I meant to change this earlier in the process but as I had to wait for my puppet to be finished I promptly forgotten about it. Since now I have finished the puppet I can make the appropriate change.

In terms of what I aim to achieve next week. I need to buy a website domain for myself and therefor update all the appropriate places my website is cited. I need to continue my work on the business cards by taking some pictures of a washing tag and to also update my show reel based on the comments I received with Peter. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - One to One

Today I had a one to One with Peter and recieved feedback from a few different hand in requirements.

First off the showreel. The music seems to be fitting, quite upbeat and works well. I got advised to cut the clip of the Squid swimming by at least half as that takes up a lot of time which I can do as I’m still editing the piece. I was also advised to move the puppet of me the right of screen and have the contact details to the left so that when the puppet of me looks across at the email, the puppet also looks at the contact details. When I asked if that clip of me holding the email at the end is ok, Peter said yes as it shows a bit of personality which is what I was trying to do. I can make these changes next week ready for submission and also adding some puppet turn around too. 

Regarding the Buisness card, peter suggested a good tip. He also picked up on the fact that the 2D design of the washing tag doesn’t translate well which instead he suggested taking a real picture of a washing tag. This is something I had considered but didn’t really look into. However now I will try. I’m not sure where I can purchase washing tags and to sew  blank washing tags on is time I don’t have. I plan to get a white t shirt and use the clone stamping tool on Photoshop to remove the pre-existing words from the washing tag to then place under all the contact details I already have. However Peter loves the idea and thinks I should pursue it.

With the website I asked him a series of questions. First of all he liked the fact I had added the logo’s of companies I have worked with and think I should keep it in. The only suggestion he could make was to change to logo with the blank eyes which I had previously forgotten about and now I have my puppet I have no excuse. This is an easy fix. 

This was quite a handy one to one session and did help confirm a few elements I had previously suspected.

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Trailer

I used the already existing footage we have with the 2D character in to make a trailer for our film. I have had experience editing trailers before but with much longer pieces of footage. However the trailers I used to edit were about 2 minutes each, however with this particular film, its 2 minutes so I had to select my clips wisely without showing the entire film. It was quite difficult what shots to use as I didn’t want to ruin some surprises in the trailer. However I believe I found a healthy balance of showing footage with some of the character interacting with the stop motion puppets and some of the action. 

I used Jamie’s music track however severely edited with the happy theme in the first half and the horror theme in the second half. I did debate to make two separate trailers, the first being a complete child friendly trailer however since there is only a couple of shots where the characters are together and happy it didn’t work. The second option was to make a horror theme trailer with its absurdity coming from the fact these chalk characters are in a horror but again, I didn’t want to ruin to reveals. In the final edit I went for a combination of both. it somewhat ruins to surprises however the casual audience member will not know when the style changes, they only know it will. I gave this trailer a could of edits and this particular one Maddy and Eddie thought it worked. I kept with it and was able to make a 30 second piece. If I was to make this again I would of perhaps focused more so on the childlike trailer or the horror trailer. Making both seems to be only way however I feel it does take away some of the surprises.

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Portfolio - Alex Turn Around

After the failure of last week with the character falling over mid turn I decided to stick this puppets feet down on the turn table as well as spreading his feet at a wider stance so that the character doesn’t fall over which worked and I was able to get the full footage of the character turning to reveal all the detail on the figure.

Whilst many people see my Drefus wooden squid puppet as their favourite, I think this one is mine as it closely resembles me to some extent and I’m glad of what I was able to accomplish with this puppet. With that said the turn table is nice and smooth to be expected and whilst you can clearly see the play dough I used to stick some of his leg down it’s not that big of a problem, if it appears to be I can crop it to where his bottom of his feet are just out of shot where the play dough can’t be seen. Sadly it was the only way to stand him him on a rotating base without the use of pins. This as well as the other turn tables have been added to the website under the portfolio section which I am proud of. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Editing Test

As mentioned in my previous blog post, myself and Maddy are trying to elevate the stress Eddie is facing regarding the 2D animation by focusing on the smaller scenes. My particular scene is where our main chalk character takes a swing at the snail when it’s focused on the arms making the movement.

Whilst I think I have made the movement a bit to fast, the impact is meant to come from when the chalk character swing heavily down upon the snails eye. With this I included an arc in his swing to delay it but to also try to be as realistic in the swing as I can be. I think the arc is good and the movement is ok a be it a little to fast which I can slow down by moving the key frames however trying to find the right line between swinging hard to cause damage and a soft swing so it keeps with our style but lessens the impact. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Editing Test

As part of Myself and Maddy helping Eddie with the 2D animation by focusing on the smaller scenes. I wanted to first make a test so that I could get used to editing the rigs Eddie has made. With this scene I was more concerned about getting the arm movements in a natural swing as well as going at a similar pace as to how Eddie has been animating. I wanted the hit to be hard and fast but not to fast where we don’t see the action however not to slow where the hit doesn’t feel the impact. It’s a difficult mixture to get right and whilst this is only a test I know I can do better then this previous attempt. 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Editing

Continuing on from the earlier post, as myself and Maddy are tying to help elevate Eddie with his 2D segments, both Maddy and I are working on removing the blue screen out of shots. This one was quite tricky to do however I wouldn’t say I’m finished, only really for the day before I ask for Maddys opinion. Its a difficult angle where if I was to make the road carry on going upwards then it would appear that it is rising up to the sky. The only way I could try and correct this is by curving the path. I don’t believe that’s what the problem is in this sequence. I believe the problem is the road markings that are continuing up the path giving it a slight odd look to the road. I believe I should make the road markings end earlier to avoid any odd illusions caused by this error. I believe I should have it starting to ease out just after the lamp post. As well as it being at the awkward angle it makes the road look like its also raising up to the sky, I believe the only fix to this is to add similar road markings in the middle of the road to represent middle lanes. Its a confusing shot . However I need Maddys opinion tomorrow 

[michaelchapmanba3b]

Collaboration - Music

Today we received the music back from our composer Jamie. Whilst me as well as Maddy and Eddie don’t really know anything about music we communicated our ideas with Jamie about having the start of the music track in a similar tune to a happy and upbeat music track which could be set for a younger audience for the music to only change within the first third when the characters start being picked of one by one. We also asked if we could have a main central theme however the rest of the track was up to his imagination until today where he delivered the track and we love it.

Jamie delivered on the music track providing a upbeat and seemingly joyful music track at the start for it to descend into a darker theme as the film plays on. Some great pieces of music choices to note. I really enjoy the quiet more subtle choices of music he decides to use when the main chalk character is mourning another character which has quite the impact. I also enjoy what seems to be the brass tubes when the Pigeon lands and makes its entrance as naturally it is a biggest animal we have in the film and the entrance is fitting. As well as the theme when the snails are on screen, with a music choice that I can only describe to sound “Globby” to represent the snails is very fitting and adds a wonderful element to the film.

We have asked Jamie if he can make some small and minor adjustments however. We would like the start of the film to have a slight delay from when our main character stands up in time with the music which is a delay of one second. The second delay is when our main character looks up after the snail ran over his friend we would like the music to linger for 3 seconds to play in time with the footage.

However Jamie  has done a superb job and it’s made the film so much better. In some ways it has motivated Maddy, Eddie and myself to really make this the best we can. its going to be a long few weeks but we think were ready.