Remember - Benjamin Zhang Bin

Benjamin Zhang Bin - 
About a week or so ago I bought 'Remember' by Benjamin on a whim. I wasn't too sure what it was about, but immediately was captured by the beautiful illustrations the book contained. The story isn't the most memorable, but the use of colours and framing immediately captures a mood, and the strange luminosity of the pictures is quite impacting.


Though not a storyboard, I find this quite relevant to what I have been doing, as the frames manage to capture a moment and movement(through the streaks of colour and brush strokes etc). The compositions are quite striking too and seem quite cinematographic, and are the type of illustrations I should perhaps be attempting, since the quality is so high.


(These are links to more images by Benjamin Zhang Bin)
http://www.comicvine.com/benjamin-zhang-bin/26-57301/artwork/108-294296/benjamin_82/105-925500/ and http://www.comicvine.com/benjamin-zhang-bin/26-57301/artwork/108-294296/benjamin_84/105-925503/

A little more on storyboarding...

When looking through 'From Word to Image - Storyboarding and the filmmaking process' by Marcie Begleiter I've realised there are a number of ways to illustrate different camera movements in a storyboard than just using different coloured arrows. (I usually use black arrows to depict camera movement.) Camera movement can be depicted in the shape of the panel, for example if it resemble a sort of L shape, it can illustrate Tilt/Boom down and then Pan/Track screen left. Drawing frames inside panels too can illustrate zoom in and out. 


In regards to composition the book quotes Alfred Hitchcock who states:
'I never look through the camera, you know. When in doubt I draw a rectangle then draw the shot out for (the cameraman). The point is that you are, first of all, in a two-dimensional medium. Mustn't forget that. You have a rectangle to fill. Fill it. Compose it.' 
This highlights the fact that the storyboard, in some cases, is very important when imagining specific visuals for a film. There are certain things that are needed to be considered in the frame to make it compelling,  some of these are:
Positive and Negative Space, Depth cues, Balance, Shape, Contrast, Overlap, Focus, Scale.


I think in future when it comes to storyboards I will need to work on proportion and scale, working from reference in order to capture and illustrate the intended shot in as best a way as possible thereby creating a clearer representation of what is wanting to be achieved in the film.

The Lion King - Characters and movement.

The Lion King is a brilliant work of animation, and film in general. Not only is the animation itself done to a high quality, but the movements and attributes of the Characters are so well thought out that the mix between Lion and Human characteristics is seamless.




The below video explains some of the background work that was involved in creating the characters and their movement - including observing lion's movements and how characters frames were exaggerated (such as Mufasa's shoulders and head, which are  blocked out to show he has a strong build and is an impacting character - and a contrast to the more weedily frame of Scar). 


Exaggeration is one of the 12 principles of animation and can been seen a little in the movement in the above video. In animation is has been said that if movement is too realistic  it seems a bit dull. Exaggeration may not be that noticeable, but helps add energy to the movement of characters, giving them life.


An animator in the below video points out that hand's are important to stress emotions, and once challenged with Character without hands had to concentrate on the movement of the body's attitude. This is something that I'm attempting with my animation, as my character hasn't any hands and has limited facial features (unlike in the Lion King, which faces are brilliantly expressionate) so should mainly express itself in it's movements. Therefore the movement should be deliberate and lively.




I think hand drawn animations like these are able to create life in the characters anyway due to the time and care that is obviously taken whilst drawing them.

Final Storyboard for Animation

This is the final storyboard for my animation.

Animatic - Cat thing!

Hopefully when animating with Maya I will be able to stick roughly to this animation as a guide - timing wise (as well as possible shots).

Eyelids and Ears.

Since I'm planning on having a white background it's important for my animation to stand out and be interesting enough to justify the lack of background. I've been concerned that the characters are going to lack expression, so decided to adjust the eyes (since they seemed quite blank and motionless in my practice animations), and give them eyelids.

 I realised I would have to animate/view the eyes in smooth view (as I am intending to smooth my models later. As if I work from the un-smoothed model, then smooth, the eyes stick out too far and look strange. I have used Sphere's to create the new eyeballs and eyelids. They seem to work well, the use of eyelids allows me to (to some extent) to direct the eye-line of the character therefore making it more expressionate.

Hopefully by creating movement with the eyes and ears the top half of the body doesn't seem too static, giving a bit more life into the animation...

Using the graph editor has helped me to adjust the speed of the blink, to easily work out the best effect. 

Cyriak

The animator Cyriak spoke and presented his work to us on Thursday. This was interesting as it illustrated how a free lance animator gets by in the working world, and how client-lead animations are different comparatively to ones 'done for fun'.

Though his animations aren't really to my taste it was really interesting to see how much could be produced using After Effects (as I don't really know much about the software) such as the below animation.



It also illustrated that animations don't necessarily have to be strongly lead by narrative to receive an audience. He explained his animating process and showed that not all animations have to be pre-planned heavily, he referred to his animations as sort of 'snowballing' and growing as he created them.

Simon's Cat

Simon's Cat animations are hand animated in the traditional manner (hand drawn and frame by frame) but using Adobe Flash and a Wacom Tablet (with a frame rate ranging from 12 to 35 frames per second). 


They're quite simplistic in style but this is what gives it it's charm, it's not too complex and the eye is drawn to the 'action'. I am a little worried my plan to just have a white background for my animation is a bit too simple, but looking at this I see that it could be quite effective - I just have to make sure my animation is up to a standard that deserves to have a blank canvas to be shown on. 


The sound in these animations are also simple, complimenting the animation, and therefore effective. The fact that there isn't any background music highlights the sound that is there and the movements that go with it. The 'meows' too are expressionate, something I should consider when adding sound to my animation, as it will add the changes in emotion etc.



Sound

Character Movement (and Hedgehogs)

At the beginning of my animation I'm wanting the Little cat-thing to be at ease and happy as it walks along, so have been looking at the way the characters in this Road safety animation move, bouncing slightly to music. The movements are quite large and deliberate so I should consider this, as well as the rocking of the body from side to side. The steps are quite deliberate and large in this animation, so perhaps i should exaggerate the movements of my own characters feet.

I attempted to create this sort of movement, but at the moment it seems a little lifeless - I am yet to animate the tail, so the top half is quite static. I can't help feeling the eyes are really empty - so am considering perhaps adding eyelids, or pupils perhaps...

I also think the movement should be a little more bouncy and lively, as then it will contrast when the character is scared etc... (this would be done by adding more bounce to the rocking motion)

Storyboard for Second Poem

So this is the final storyboard for our second poem, I tried to use colour to enhance the 'feel' of the piece, since it is less narrative driven and more of a montage. Due to this I found it really difficult to storyboard, as we weren't to know what sort of shots we could get due to weather and what would/ wouldn't be at our location. Therefore this is used mainly for reference than to be followed solidly. It gives the main theme, a girl trying to find a place to sit down and have her soup.

Silent Things

I found this lovely short film called 'Silent Things' - directed by Rob Brown.

the full film can be seen at: http://youtu.be/Aiw7Ng3pBuk.


The sound design in it is really well thought out, being used to help illustrate the world through the eyes of someone with Asperger's syndrome. It muffles voices sometimes, or silences them all together, and uses hums and tones to convey different emotions. The sound is thicker when things are strained and uncomfortable adding to the actors' performances. This use of sound reminds me of the ringing and tones we are using in our first project, and it's interesting to see how effective it can be to create an unsettled atmosphere.


The softer, almost silent moments at the beginning and end coupled with the swooping of the kite are incredibly peaceful, the length of these shots too add to the calmness. There are a lot of nice shots in this, I've been particularly noticing the mid shot/close ups of the actors themselves (especially side profile), as they seem to fill the screen. Some of the shots too have that nice calm sunlit feel we've been looking at for our second poem (though don't really have much chance of obtaining due to the weather at the moment!), and that sort of solitary feel. 

Lecture - Film - Italian Vernacular Cinema

In Italy there was a class division when it came to cinema this was:
Prima Visione and Seconda Visiona - which were made for the middle classes seen as a 'sophisticated' audience and usually played in major cities. The audience would select to go see the film they wanted to watch.
Terza Vision - was for the lower classes with cheap tickets. Due to (in the 1970's) the working classes going to the cinema's practically every night films were created at a low budget and were more formulaic. The viewing habits of this audience were more like a television audience, they would use the time there as a time for socialising, eating, drinking and talking whilst the movie played. They would be able to walk in on half the film, then watch the first half later (As it would be played in a loop) not worrying that the film was therefore not sequential. 


Dialogue therefore wasn't too important, and stronger visuals were needed to catch the viewers attention. In the lecture we looked at a clip from Sergio Leone's 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' which 
has an incredible use of sound and music despite the lack of dialogue. The use of eyeline and constant close ups, camera fragmentation of the body, and scale creates and incredibly tense and gripping scene.


Dario Argentino another director, is spoken of as an 'Italien Hitchcock'. He has slightly Auteur tendencies when it comes to giving himself a cameo in his films, he has a staple of placing himself as the killers black glove in films (similar to Hitchcock having a background cameo in his own films). He would direct very visually capturing pieces in his films to capture the audiences attention.

Fellini is taken seriously as an auteur, his stylish films comment on superficiality of middle class existence. He would use sunglasses in a lot of his pieces, perhaps illustrating reflection and emptiness - a lack of depth.

Rough version of Storyboard.

To be filled out/coloured.

Ilkley Shoot...

On sunday we travelled to Ilkley Moor to film footage for our second film. Safe to say it didn't go according to plan... We'd always known it would be hard to get the right sort of weather (drawing lovely sunlight-bursting-through-trees was a bit optimistic) but we hadn't realised just how debilitating the wind could be. Once we got to the moor it became incredibly difficult to shoot, the wind being so strong it almost knocked us over, therefore steady shots were out of the question. We may have managed to get some footage, but not as much as we intended. So we've had to rethink our concept, perhaps incorporating more 'city-life' scenes into it - as we'll be able to film these in Leeds. 

Expressions...

I attempted to create a mouth for my character model, using a cylinder and the 'bend' deformer which I would be able to manipulate, to create different emotions. This looks a bit crude though, so I'm not sure whether I will use it. 

Instead I've been focusing on the movement of the body to convey emotions, and to give the characters distinctive movement. (I'm thinking the 'Little' one will move lighter and bouncier than the 'Large' one - who will move slower and heavier.

The above is an attempt to make 'Little' seem frightened, first jumping in shock, then shaking and cowering in terror, it's ears and tail sagging. I think it works ok but may need some fine tuning, I have carried on thinking about how both the characters will move, for example how far they can lean and how the tail should probably be remodelled.

Edit:

Giving the Cat-thing swaggerrr

So I've been experimenting in Maya with my character model to work out how it will move. By making sure the main body is not stationary and tilts side-to-side when shuffling forward the movement seems a little bit more natural.


 I have tried to move the tail too as this would be effected as it walks - (use the 'bend' deformer) but due to the shape of the tail it seems slightly odd. I may have to think about remodelling the tail in order to allow a smoother follow through. I may also see if I can lift the feet, to seem more like steps than sliding, but will have to see how that corresponds to the main part of the body and how it will make the character look overall.


You can see the difference without the tail moving - it doesn't seem like a tail and makes things look too stiff:

Rough Storyboardthingy

So in preparation for the shoot tomorrow, I've created a rough storyboard - trying to highlight the main shots we will be wanting. I am hoping I will be able to create a neater version that will help with the edit (in highlighting the aesthetic feel of the film). Sound is playing an important role in our video so we are wanting the flow of the film to take inspiration from that, which will therefore effect the edit heavily. This means the storyboard will mainly be used for visual prompts.

Conceptart/storyboarding - ideas for shoot.

So i'm finding it quite difficult storyboarding for a montage sequence, as most shots are dependant on nature (such as use of sunlight and plants etc) so have been drawing shots we may want to include. 
(These are rough and will hopefully be rendered to a better state later). 

The bottom right image involves the cracks in the walls which interested me when I visited Ilkley Moor - they could be interesting to use (here I've roughly indicated Siobhan tracing them with her hand - but it could be used just as an image itself (camera running down the cracks etc). 


Here are some of the images I took that inspired this:

Second Poem - Concept art/moodmovie

 These are ideas on poses and atmosphere we are trying to capture, (incorporating some of the poem). It's a little hard to completely imagine what may look good until we are actually on location (which we have now decided will be at Ilkley Moor) especially since there is less narrative in this film than our other (as we are opting for a more montage-based film)

Continuing from my mood board I compiled some rough footage I captured with some music to further illustrate what we are attempting to create. That calm, solitary feeling.

Floaty Feet

When modelling my toy I've been thinking about how it will move, especially when creating the feet. The feet became separate from the body and reminded me of this animation:
A Studio Hari production created by Alexandre So

This animation is a series of many for children's television, it's effective as it uses simple shapes but illustrates the story clearly. It has caused me to think that instead of attaching the feet I could possibly let the body float above them, this would allow more movement and could look better. The body of the Owl is still in a way attached to the feet, as if by an invisible force, and so things such as force and strain can be shown through the resistance - the body doesn't just float away. I quite like this, as it could allow movement such as bounce etc to be involved in the characters motion. I will have to experiment with the movement and see what I can achieve - below is a smooth-view of my model so far.

MoodBoard for Second Poem

I took some photos in the countryside, trying to capture possible ideas for shots and composition, as well as the general calm feel we want in this second film. The low light of the sun causes interesting effects through trees and highlights silhouettes and as it is Winter I think the frost that covers the leaves could possibly be visually interesting.

Lecture - Film - French New Wave Cinema

French New Wave cinema was very literal, (whilst Italians were becoming more playful in film), driven more by art movements and realism. The were against more manufactured set ups in film, such as using studios and special effects as well as over dramatising and setting things in the past. Instead French New Wave cinema focused more on ordinary life, filming things such as the streets of Paris and avoiding too much production. Ordinary speech therefore, was preferred to artificial dialogue.


The spontanaity and disgression applied to their filming process, such as collecting realistic sounds, allowed many to be made cheaply and quickly. By using handheld, light weight cameras and set up, French New Wave cinema has a distinctive natural look, which was added to with the use of natural light sources. 

The movement seems to often break the fourth wall and is keen on the viewer being aware they are watching a film, and not becoming too absorbed in it. By breaking the rules of editing and continuity, and have such things as jump cuts this seems to be achieved.

Camille Marotte

When discussing our second poem, we began imagining calmer, more tranquil scenes than our first film has, perhaps taking the form of a montage, which lead us find this director:
Camille Marotte (Found at): http://vimeo.com/neoheaven  and http://www.neoheaven.net/.

Open.your.eyes from Camille Marotte on Vimeo.

(See also: Forget-me-not http://vimeo.com/7118904 and Coquelicot http://vimeo.com/12314689)

These videos are incredibly well done and beautiful, not necessarily focusing on a specific subject, but creating a calm, flowing atmosphere, with soft lighting and fitting music. The music especially is lovely, and is something we will need to give thought to in our film, making sure it compliments these shots. 
What is really stunning in these shots is the use of light, which not only enhances the softness but also gives a slightly magical, warm effect. Whether or not we could achieve these shots (as the current weather and month may be a hindrance) is to be questioned, but would definitely add to the effect we want in our second film. 
The cutting and shots are slow and calm, with slow movement and long amounts of time between each change of subject adding to the soft atmosphere.

Ilkley Moor and thinking about the Second Poem...

In November there was a visit to Ilkley Moor to gather inspiration for our film project. 

Here we gathered images which may relate to the poems. (As the poems were written with Ilkley Moor as inspiration). We also had the opportunity to talk to some of the Poets themselves who accompanied us as well as hearing some be read out loud. 


Though they didn't really influence our first film, when discussing our second which can be found here, I've realised they may be of more relevance, as we are wanting quiet picturesque, calm shots, that are peaceful and soft. Whether or not we film there, it gives nice ideas to the scope and scale we could possibly involve in our shots, as well as illustrating a slightly damp, wintery feel which we want to incorporate. 

Filming!

 We have now shot our footage for our first film. This was done in a day, the first half of the film shot outside, on a street, and the second half shot in the photography studio, and seems to have been successful.

Part One: Street

The first half of the film is in the street and involves more than one actor. The actors played their parts well and by having the storyboard to hand found it easier to understand what we wanted from them. The street filmed in was luckily quite quiet, though every now and then we had to make way for cars and passers by. This was to be expected though and by the crew having high-vis jackets and being on the look out we were well prepared. 

Part Two: Inside...
We used the photography studio which allowed us a pure white background and the chance to light shots more accurately, as well as have more ease using the tripod and other equipment. By lighting the white background we seemed to achieve the glowing 'dreamlike' environment we wanted for the second half of the film.


Overall the shoot was a success and the team worked together well, all pitching in whenever needed.

Pixar - Luxo Jr.

Pixar Animation Studios first animation, 'Luxo Jr', illustrates how inanimate objects can be given character through animation. Despite lacking facial features both lamps have personality yet still uses movement that keeps within the limitations of their structure. This 'truth to materials' brings more life to the animation, as they seem and move like a lamp would, if they were to bend and stretch as if they were a softer material it would not seem as effective.


Both have their own personalities too in the way they move, e.g Luxo Jr being more child-like (and small) something I should take into account if using two versions of my model (Little and Large). This animation is quite relevant as the Lamps are little and large, I should consider how each act - e.g the Little being quicker and lighter than Large, who may be heavier. I could also have Little being quite energetic, with more excitable expressive movement, and Large being more dominating and scary, with more considered movement perhaps.  


This animation also highlights that a simple idea can be effective, the concept and the environment is not too busy, but is fitting and well executed.


I look at this animation as well because it reminds me of my second initial storyboard, which involves a 'yarn of string' (in basics as ball) and interaction with it. However I'm leaning more towards my first idea so will be experimenting with what I can do in Maya more to favour that idea. I am also considering how I can add personality to my model through it's movement (rather than expressions) to make it clearer it has character.

2nd Storyboard

I was slightly worried my first idea was too complicated (with the opening of the mouth etc) so created another concept. This involved a ball as well as the 'Little and Large' Characters- allowing me to perhaps apply squash and stretch in the animation. However looking at it, it seems more complex, and I think I prefer the first idea.

1st Storyboard Little and Large (Draft)

This is my initial idea, it incorporates the concept of 'Little and Large' (needed for the brief). There are problems with it in terms of how I could animate it (such as expressions) - though with experimentation and changes I may be able to achieve the wanted effect. 

Building the Toy and how it will move...

 The Toy I am modelling is a small pink cat - thing. The shapes seem simple enough and hopefully will allow me to create an interesting animation. By taking reference photos and sizing them correctly (as well as holding the object in my hand), I hopefully will find it easier to create a more accurate model within Maya.

On reflection I may reshape the tail, allowing it to be a more pleasing shape to animate separately. 

Now I have my character I have to consider things such as movement and what will happen in the animation. I'm thinking it will shuffle or bounce, or a sort of galloping mix of the two. It's ears could droop etc to show different emotions.