Extended Practice- Study task 1- Extended Brief- Initial Interior Layout

Extended Brief- 

Initial Interior Layout 

After looking at shops and looking at what I would need to show, I designed a few sketches on the layout of the shop. This is also going on the already built furniture that I have for this animation. After adding colour for easier understanding, I was really drawn to the idea of having an upper level to the shop which meant the one on the bottom left was my preferred initial design.

This is a more professional design of of what the layout might look like after more extensive research. The upper level is more of a library and scroll area, and the lower to be filled with more random items the father Allbright has collected over the years. This is obviously after the change of story idea to be more than just clocks, to more bits and bobs of whatever he's found of interests, which is why it is called an Emporium.

These sketches below are very quick designs for the top two and a more quick detailed, digital sketch for the bottom design. They are so I can show the interior layout, think about shot angles, colour scale as well as lighting studies. So they are going to be very useful once done in full to show the audience what I was planning and how they were used in the final animation.

Extended Practice- Study task 1- Extended Brief- Initial Character Designs

Extended Brief- 

Initial Character Designs

When starting out the character ideas, I was imagining the main character to be an elderly man as they alone create sympathy when sad. Yet I then added a daughter, so the male needed to be her dad, and therefore more middle aged than older. I needed to then look at who the character was and who he needed to be. Many different personality traits needed to come across, as well as him being a fatherly figure. This was so he could still draw in the audience and make them feel for what is happening in the story, that his shop is losing all of its business.

These are the character idea boards that helped gain a better vision of who needed to be built.

Father&Daughter

These are the characters that I designed when exploring what made a father figure and kind look for his face. This was very difficult because I had never tied a character like this before and it still needs work on making him memorable as well as the perfect main character for the audience to see and watch for most of the animation. 

Character Necessities:

I know he needs glasses, this is because he has been working in low light working on very small objects his whole life. That repetitive eye strain is what caused his eyes to grow worse. He also needs to look tired. This is because in Victorian times it was harder to live and make a living. His long hours within the shop have aged him and left him tired, yet still loving what he does as it is something he is good at and was passed down to him from his father. 

(Have references in the shop to the shop being passed down)

This is why more time needs to be spent on designing the character because of how important he is and how much he is prominent within the animation, so the audience must love him.

Extended Practice- Study task 1- Extended Brief- Feedback so far

Extended Brief- 

Presentation & Feedback so Far 

After producing work for this presentation, I was able to show more of the story and intent of this animation. After the last presentation the animation story was a little unclear so showing the storyboarding drafts let my peers understand my animation and what I am trying to show with the story. This is why for this presentation, colour pallet, storyboarding, character mood boards and shop front designs helped peers see my vision of a 3 minute animation.

One of the main points made was the street. I was struggling with the scale of this as it needed to be a whole street, yet it was suggested that I could do one long strip and shoot the three shops on either side separately so they look like they would be opposite to each other. By doing this I don't have to worry about building a whole street and beyond, they would be straight shots or slightly tilted for depth, showing the scene to be larger than it is.

Another good point risen was the ending, i was struggling with where the story was going to end so it is still something to work on, but it was said that I could make the neighbour more popular but he is alone, therefore the main character have each other even if money is sometimes an issue. This is where the story of family comes into it and draws in the audience as it is a single dad and his young daughter. 

I will also have to figure out how the set will be build too, the sides need to open so I can move the camera to different angles, as well as getting in to easily move the characters about. This is always difficult so making it easier in any way would make a big different overall when trying to do a full 3 minute animation. 

I have also been wanting to create a logo/ name for the animation, this is o it can be recognised by a name and therefore easier to find when online, as well as easier to explain as the title should hold meaning to what the animation is about. This is something I have never done so would be good to produce as it can also lend to creating business cards.

Overall this process was useful in giving me a direction to head in the module, what needs attention and what I need to get going with. 

Extended Practice- Study Task 3 - Projection Mapping Christmas Brief 4

Study Task 3 - Projection Mapping Christmas Brief 4

Here is the process of building the robin animation, as well as filming, and how it was done. This was my first paper-cut animation so it was great to see how it is done, as what stages need to be done to get to the filming stage.

We went for a cartoon style bird which I think was a great choice as it made him look more appealing and cuter for a Christmass animation that was being shown to all ages.

This was the first animation after I put all of the images together on premier and exported it. As you can see it is way too slow and the colours dont stand out enough, which is a crucial thing for it to show up on the dark building.

Here is the second animation, which plays faster and looks more appealing as the lighting and contrast have been turned up. I make it brighter because of the building, so I really hope I have been able to edit this enough for it to be seen by the audience that it is being shown to, as we are both proud of this short but effective animation. I am also proud as I have now done a paper cut-out animation.

Extended Practice- Study task 1- Extended Brief- Shop front detail sketches

Extended Brief- 

Shop Front Sketches

When deciding upon the Victorian era and style, I had to look into the shop fronts that existed in that time. As my character is a shop owner this meant it had to be clearly a shop with obvious features for the audience to be able to see what my character does and the contents of the shop.

Extended Practice- Study Task 3 - Projection Mapping Christmas Brief 3

Projection Mapping Christmas Brief- 3

At this point we are needing to do storyboards, planning and a pitch for the Lifting Tower Board to look over.

Pitch

For this Christmas brief we will be producing a paper cut out animation of 2-3 seconds. We are stop-motion animators so paper cut out was chosen so we could stick to what we know and produce work we will be passionate about doing, this is also the reasoning for us working as the team we are in. Paper cut out will also be a good choice as we can work out which colours work and make sure the end result can be seen and understood.

As this is a Christmas brief, our theme is obviously going to reflect that and show the spirit associated with the holiday itself, that way all viewers can enjoy what our whole group is producing. As the bricks are also quite dark, this could be a potential issue with the animations showing up. So we will be counteracting this by adding bold and bright colour card and paper images, so our Gif shows up for the audience to see. This was one of the main issues of worry as we can’t know exactly how it will show up under projection, so the goal is to make it as clear, simple and straight forward as possible to counteract this.

This is a simple pitch because at this point we dont know what will work on the wall and what wont so I wrote this so they could see we were going to use paper animation and bold colours so it all stands out.

These were the storyboards we sent to Lifting Tower. As you can see they are a lot clearer and easier to understand for them to know what we plan to do.

These were done quickly to see if they could show up on the brick, I dont know what time the clips will be shown but this light works, but if it was at night, we will have to make them a lot brighter and simpler.

Extended Practice- Study task 1- Extended Brief- The Story

Extended Brief- The Story 

For the story, I really wasn't sure about where to take it and what I wanted it to be about, or even how the story was going to come across. This is why it took me over the summer to get the idea together, It was also hard not being able to talk to people about what I could do so this is why coming back to uni helped me figure it out.

This is what the basic plan for the story will be:

1. Scene begins with old man in this workshop
2. Camera pans from him to his workplace during this scene
3. He looks over to his daughter in the corner occasionaly
4. He also looks up to see his shop empty & voices over the street
5. Goes over to window and sees a new shop opened with newer clocks but less quality
6. Looks around his shop all dusty and old
7. Gets worried and backs up into table
8. Sees his young daughter playing again
9. Starts imagining lots of shops being built and his being shut down as everything around changes- his daughter being the one effected as well not having any money
10. His daughter still playing in the corner but notices him upset/ crying
11. She comes over with something in her hand, a watch she has attempted to build and make
12. She thrusts it into his hand and happily smiles before running back into her corner
13. He smiles down and it before crying for a different reason, holding it close
14. He then goes over to the little girl and sits by her, handing her a tool.

This story now emotes feelings many can share, about wanting the best for your children. This story is also about thinking of the future and how it will always be a mystery and scary but you cant miss the small things by looking too far ahead. I chose this story line becuase he is a shop owner who builds clocks, I want to be a set designer and love to build items so this gave me a good insight, it also let me show love and compassion that my character could be feeling during this animation short. I am exited to go forward with this idea and build the world around these two characters to give them a surrounding, atmosphere and a life. This is what an animator must do to create a compelling animation.

This is a mood board and research page on victorian and doll house clocks, as well as what a Horologist is. As this is what my character will be for the shop.

Extended Practice- Study task 1- Extended Brief- Presentation- Statement of Intent

Extended Brief- 

Presentation & Statement of Intent

This is the Statement of Intent presentation we had to produce for this project and what we had to far to give a brief idea of the project.

At the stage of the presentation, I didn't know how much we had to be thinking of this project yet but now I have built a brief idea of this, I am exited to go forward and develop the story in full and produce a character & plan the stop-motion.

Here is the actual Statement of Intent that can show what I am going to do, why I am doing it and to what end.

For this Extended Practice brief, I will be producing a stop-motion animation that is between 2-3 minutes long. I have chosen stop-motion as it is a medium in which I will be wanting to go forward for in my career. As well as being passionate about physically building sets I intention to be able to show I can produce an animation with a wholesome story, engaging characters the audience will remember and animating skills, as they will be needed to make this story worthy of looking a high standard.

This animation undertaking, will challenge me and my abilities as there are ample amounts of things to do and I need to improve upon in this time frame. This means I will need to work extremely hard and effective to finish this animation by the deadline, but if a precise timetable is set in place, I know I can achieve this undertaking.

Context of Practice will link in with this animation as I am covering the subject of backgrounds and how they are just as significant as the character and story. With findings from my dissertation I can determine the best way to make my animation and set design as effective as possible.

The content I will produce, will show how stop-motion is not a lost art and that it can still be used to create animations within specific time frames, as well as keeping an original charming feel about the piece. This will be appropriate for me as a student as I can show people who haven’t thought of stop-motion, to try it and see what they can do, and fall in love with the industry like I did.

The story was something that took me a while to get together as I found it difficult to come up with one without a brief, as well as no guidance. Yet it did give me a chance to find some freedom. Although causing initial issues, I felt I have come up with an idea in which I can find passion for the next year until completion, as well as it being an interesting piece for an audience.

The story will be set in the Victorian times, within an old style shop that he has had his whole life. He finds a shop across the road is offering what he does but more modern but less quality so he has to find a way to keep his business, and keep making everything to the same standard he always as. He is proud of his family business as well as being a kind man. This is hopefully features of him I can get through in the character when I animate him. It’s important to show good understanding of acting when controlling a character because in a stop-motion its harder to go back if it doesn’t turn out right. This is just another challenge I will grow to face and work to make this animation to a professional standard. This is all what I intend to do this module.