serenhiscoxanimation

[serenhiscoxanimation]

Adobe After Effects

The final project of the trimester was to create a scene on Adobe After Effects. I'd never used this software before but after experimenting with it in lesson I started to gain an understanding of the basics. For my scene I wanted to create an environment loosely inspired by the TV show Gilmore Girls and portray a small town in New England. I created all of my elements in Procreate and then imported them to after effects. One of the challenges for me was thinking of things to move, in the end I had some clouds, a car and its wheels, move in the scene. One of the biggest challenges for me was using the camera tool as it was quite complex however once i understood it I found i really enjoyable to experiment with. Overall if i was to make changes to this project i would probably add more moving elects to the scene so it is more visually interesting as well as maybe experimenting with the camera function and depth of field further.

[serenhiscoxanimation]

Adobe Animate

The second project of the trimester was to use adobe animate to create a walk cycle of a character we designed. This was my first time using Adobe Animate and I found it a lot different to TVPaint, whilst there were elements of the programme that I enjoyed such as how streamlined and light the software is, I found the brush library quite limiting and proffered the variety of brushes TVPaint offer. Apart from that I found the software pretty easy to navigate. For my character creation I decided to create a cheerful florist. I decided to establish the very bare bones first, just simple stick figures to get the walking animation. After that I tried adjusting the skeleton to input some personality and then finally build up the form of the character. One of the biggest challenges was getting the character consistent over all of the frames so the final animation was smooth, I definitely think i could maybe have added some guidelines so that my animation was smoother but for a first attempt I think it was pretty successful. Adding personality was also a challenge, you have to ave a good understanding of the human body and knowing how changing the position of something could read to an audience, when i originally wanted my florist to be more dreamy, i had her leaning forward to look in a trance-like state, however the result was that she looked like she was rushing to get somewhere which was the opposite of my intention.

[serenhiscoxanimation]

Maya project

The first project of the second trimester was using Maya which is a 3d digital animation software. This was my first time using anything like this sort of software so it was definitely challenging. We were tasked with creating a building using the programme and I decided to build a house inspired by the Weasley's Burrow from the Harry Potter series. I looked up lots of Tudor and Victorian homes for reference, particularly pulling influence from infrastructure from poorer, more urban areas where lack of space meant you had to build up. The main features I observed were lots of exposed beams and overhanging windows. At first I found the programme really difficult to use, getting edges to line up for example, or placing an object and realising you'd overlooked one of the axis. Over time i became more confident, and i found feature like the combine tool extremely useful for speeding up the process and keeping my shapes consistent. Something i wish I had done was to colour the building as I was building it, as I found adding all of the colour at the end very difficult due to the intricacy of things such as the window frames or balconies. Lighting the building was one of my favourite parts of the project, and i enjoyed how you could easily change the atmosphere by adjusting the lighting. Overall, for my first attempt using the software I'm happy with the final result, it was definitely a process however I feel I have learnt many valuable skills and become a lot more comfortable using the software and would use it again.

[serenhiscoxanimation]

finished animation!

Overall this project was definitely a challenge but I felt that I pushed myself and stuck to my idea! I also learnt a lot more about TV paint such as how to use the camera tool, and I feel a lot more confident using the software. This was also my first time using Premier for the sound and I think the end result for the audio turned out well and really elevated the animation.

Due to timing constraints I did have to cut the scene where they walk to the ticket office, this is also where they learn about the ski shop and so I made sure to write about the shop on the platform sign. Whilst it's upsetting to have to cut certain parts, I wanted to focus on the animation I did have, and also wanted to make the timing for each scene longer. Keeping that scene in would've compromised the timing and therefore confuse the audience.

I'm really happy with the hand drawn Raymond Brugge style look, I feel like it makes the whole animation much more interesting, I think my favourite scene to animate was probably the ending with the couple at the station, i really liked drawing the massive parka.

My takeaway from this project would be that in the future I should perhaps start with a simpler concept and get more detailed as time progresses, build the animation from the ground up. This project was ambitious and whilst I still like the end result there are still things I would change (eg the timing in the earlier scenes and the fluidity of the animation in some scenes too) I also didn't have the time to go as detailed as I would like so time management will be a big priority next time.

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Progression of Plot: narrative poem

While working on my animation one of the main challenges I was facing was naming the town. The town had to have a name that could easily be misread (a key plot point in my animation) but also obvious enough that the audience would understand when the twist was revealed. I decided to change this point into my character misreading the ticket as he didn't have his glasses on, I felt this was a believable mistake but also a fitting choice for my character. I decided to name the town they are planning to visit 'sunny town' and then the town the arrive at as 'summit town' I feel like the two had greatly different connotations whilst sounding similar.

[serenhiscoxanimation]

plot for narrative poem

Some of the original storyboards for my interpretation of Margaret Atwoods' Provisions as well as the written plot, one of the challenges is fitting the whole story into the allocated 30-40 second time slot, whilst maintaining the right timing.

[serenhiscoxanimation]

Aaron Blaise

Aaron Blaise is an American animator and filmmaker who graduated from the illustration program of the Ringling College of art and design in 1989. He was then hired by Disney where he worked for 21 years. during this time he worked on several projects such as The Rescuers Down Under', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Aladdin', 'The Lion King', 'Pocahontas' and 'Mulan'. He received an Oscar nomination in 2003 for his co-direction of Disney film 'Brother Bear'. He left Disney to pursue other opportunities and since then has worked on numerous projects, including being the 2D animation supervisor and character designer for John Lewis' 'The Bear and The Hare' Christmas advert.

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Michael Dudok de Wit

Michael Dudok de Wit is a director and writer born in the Netherlands. He is best known for his films 'the red turtle', 'the monk and the fish', and 'father and daughter'. He studied animation at Farnham in England and made his first film 'the interview'. He has directed and animated many award winning commercials for television and cinema. He has received critical acclaim for many of his works with both 'the red turtle' and 'monk and fish' being nominated for Oscars and his film 'Father and Daughter' winning an academy award. His film 'The Red Turtle' was also coproduction by Studio Ghibli.

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Jan Svankmajer

Jan Svankmajer is a Czech filmmaker who studied at the Institue of Industrial Arts and the Marionette faculty of the Prague in the 1950s. He started working as a theatre director and then experimented with film making after becoming involved with the multi medium productions of Prague's Lanterna Magika theatre. He began making short films in 1964 and created stop motion animations. He has an ability to make surreal, nightmarish and yet somehow humorous films. His work often involves uses exaggerated sound and bringing inanimate objects to life. He has been a member of the Prague surrealist group since 1969.

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Walt Disney

Walt Disney is an American motion picture and television producer and showman born in Illinois. He is famous as a pioneer of animated cartoon films. He is the creator of animated characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. The Disney company he founded has become one of the largest entertainment conglomerates in the world. At the start of his career he created Oswald the Rabbit, the design would be reworked into Mickey Mouse. Disney created a series of animated shorts including Steamboat Willie and the Silly Symphonies. Disney produced the first feature length animated film with 'Snow White and the seven dwarfs' in 1937. One of the most pivotal films in Disney's early career was 'Fantasia' which was soundtracked by classical music and te animation was inspired by the emotion of the music.

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Yuri Norstein

Yuri Norstein is a Soviet and Russian animator. He directed his first film in 1968 and went on to create a series of short films notable for their attention to atmosphere and fine detail. From the years of 1959 to 1961 studied at the film studio Soyuzmultfilm'. He uses a multilplane camera to create the illusion of there being three dimensional depth. Lost Angeles recognised his film 'Tale of Tales' as the best film of all time, later on Japan would name his film 'Hedgehog in the Fog' as the best film of all time. 'Hedgehog in the fog' went on to gain a cult following. At the age of 80 he is currently working on his animated film 'Overcoat' which has sent 40 years in production, the longest production time for any animated film ever.

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Richard Williams

Richard Williams is a Canadian-British animator and academy award winner who is best known as the creative mind behind 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' The Disney and Warner Bros collaboration featured live action actors alongside and interacting with animated elements which Richard Williams was in charge of. He began making animated films at the age of 12 before deciding to focus on fine art and illustration, he developed a distaste for the art-world and decided to return to animation, deciding to bring art into animation. He also animated the two Pink Panther films and serves as the link between the golden age of hand drawn animation and computer animated successes. He has taught masterclasses all over the world as well as writing 'The animators survival kit' which is essential reading for animation students.

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Max and Dave Fleischer

Max and Dave Fleischer are two of the most prolific and influential men to work in animation. They got their start in the silent age, and pioneered at one of the earliest attempts at blending live action with animation in their 'Out Of The Inkwell' series which was achieved using their rotoscoping process. Rotoscoping involved drawing onto live action film and is still used in animation today. The brothers had a top of the line animation studied that rivalled Walt Disney. The first character they created was Koko the clown. They then went on to create many more iconic characters such as Popeye the sailor and Olive Oyl as well as Betty Boop. They have had a major influence on the industry and have been named as inspiration by Looney Tunes creator Bob Clampett as well as John Kricfalusi, the creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show.

[serenhiscoxanimation]

Len Lye

Len Lye was a New Zealand artist who was at the forefront of experimental filmmaking in London. He is best known for his abstract animated sequences which he would create by painting and scratching directly onto the film. The films were paired with Jazz soundtracks to convey a 'body energy'. These experimental films were then produced as adverts and shown by cinemas all across the country, this meant that Lye's work was seen by larger audiences and introduced the general public to artistic movements such as surrealism and abstraction. He wanted his work to be a ' full body experience' and would compose with motion in the same way musicians compose with sound.

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Lotte Reiniger

Lotte Reiniger is a German director and filmmaker. With a career spanning 60 years, she has created more than 70 animated films using her distinct silhouette style including adaptations of cinderella and puss in boots. Her most famous film is her 1926 silent film 'The Adventures of Prince Achmed'. She learnt about scherenschnitte which is the art of cutting shapes and designs in paper with scissors which would be hugely influential on her work. She watched a lecture by Paul Wegener on the possibilities of a animation which inspired her to become an animator. She then worked with Wegener on his 1918 film 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' She then worked at the Institute of cultural research in Berlin where she created her first animated short with Carl Koch. Her signature style involves cutting silhouettes out of paper, the camera hanging over the table would then take a photo and she would move the figures and repeat the process.

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Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren is a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer. He was a pioneer and innovator of animated films and developed new ways of thinking about animation, including hand drawn animation, drawn on film animation, pixilation and graphical sand . He studied at Glasgow school of Art and worked at the UK General Post Office Film Unit once graduating where he created a unique style. He then went on to work at the National Film Board in Canada, he opened an animation studio and trained animators. The highlight of his career was his 8 minute film 'Neighbours' an anti-war film that won an Oscar.

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Opening scenes of my narrative poem animation alongside the backgrounds. I really enjoy seeing the project start to come together, although the characters aren't in colour yet, I think they interact well with the background. I may go back to work on timing but I like the choice of shots, especially the ones of the train, as I feel that they effectively pulled focus to the poem's theme of a journey.