Applied Animation- Evaluation

Applied Evaluation

This module has been one of the most helpful to me as a student as it has made it clear what I would like to do in my future, as well as what I could do with the 3rd year and further for work. Within Applied, I have gained so many new skills and experiences that I can take forward into the future. This was because it was the first large project I had been a part of, as part of a team. So this took me to new levels of understanding where I fit into a group and what I can bring to the group also.

When starting Applied, I was intrigued by the thought of doing a documentary, but this was a really hard task to take on, as we needed to fit so much narrative into such a small period of time. So this was a challenge for all of us in the group as we needed to make sure everyone understood what we were trying to tell them and educate them about. Which was Palm Oil. Overall I do think we teach people to think more about Orangutan's and the impact that has been made on their land and the rainforest. So this was an accomplishment, but if you dont know of palm oil, before the facts at the end, it could be confusing, yet with the facts, the confusion is answered so the audience understand. Yet I did step far out of my comfort zone doing an abstract animation, courtesy of one of our team members that normally does this. So it really opened me up into new styles and new ways of working and building sets that I had not tried before. So this is a change I was unsure about but works for the context of our story, and what we are showing because of the symbolism.

When doing this project there have been many points of learning and progression of my skills. How to work under pressure, how to animate more carefully, how to juggle building 2 sets at once, and more that have made me understand more about how it would feel within the industry with so many people counting on you. I have learned most of my new skills, when editing and using Dragon Frame. As I used this software for Character & Narrative but didn't really know what I was doing, so as my team mates taught me, I learned so much that helps me. One being the toggle tool, onion skinning and actually setting it up on 2's as I didn't know this was even a setting to change. So this was really good to know and has made me more confident using software. Especially when in editing. I did a lot of new things when editing so this was something that I can take with me now. I understand more about key framing, colour correction and taking out a blue screen my hand through key framing the scene. So this was something that I was proud to learn as I have always been scared of software before this.

When asking our tutor about the animation he mentioned the sets being good but looking flat through the camera. This was something I had not realised before but I know what he meant and this is something I will have to learn more about and change. I dont know much about lenses or which one to use so this is something I will have to ask peers about to gain more of a understanding. But the sets, I was planning on splitting them in 3rd year if needed. So it ends up like Aardman where the background is really far away as this adds depth to the scene and makes the foreground the main focus.

In the past my animations have been rather linear, which ends up looking boring and simple. So for this, I feel we did well to include close-ups, mid frame shots, wide frame shots more, as it gives variety. Not just that, but it makes the audience feel more involved and like the characters are important and to be sad when they die. Which when shown to different audiences, shows this is the effect it gains. This is why cinematography really come into play and became so important. I didn't really think of it too much after the story boards in my last projects, so this time I really took a step back on different occasions to see where a different camera angle or close-up was needed to show more to the audience.

Pre production was something we were really good at splitting up and organising, we all shared colour pallets, initial storyboarding, they did characters and I did the sets. Although I was mainly in change of the animatic. I am very proud of the work I produced as I didn't just drag in the storyboard into the animatic and leave it like most, I nearly fully digitally animated our animation to show our audience before our pitch, yet this was important as it gave people a much clearer view of what we were planning to do than when they were still images, so everyone knew what we were going to do and our plan. So this was something that I was proud to show as it showed our progress and how I was willing to work hard to produce our documentary. This all meant that by the time our pitch came, we had set designs, character designs, concept work we all produced, as well as primary and secondary research we all produced as well as many more. Including a ghantt chart we followed throughout.

From the beginning I was wanting to do the sets for this animation, as I made them for my last animation and found I much prefer a hands on approach. So this gave me the chance. I am so happy I chose this option, because it has made me realise I want to pursue a career in set/prop design. So this decision really paid off. When doing the sets, I mentioned in different posts, that the nest scene was not done in my style, as I am never one to do abstract and collage work. So this was a whole new area for me to go into.

Yet I dont mind the result, but I would have liked to do the whole thing in felt, to match the style but couldn't afford all of the materials. So for the cost I had, I feel I worked as well as I could and produced all I could in the time. For the larger set. I love how this turned out, for the digger scenes As they worked out to be the correct sizes, as well as looking green and alive as a forest scene. Yet I know I can do better. So this is a task and goal I am setting myself for next year, so I can work harder and produce more pieces of work that I can be proud of, like props and small scenes that I can put in my portfolio. Although the comment I got from our final animation was that it looked flat, so this brings it back to needing to learn more about the lenses and how depth works through a camera to avoid this. as I dont want my sets to look flat and boring.

When editing I have learned much from my previous year. I didn't know how to really use software for this other than Photoshop. So I know have a much better chance of a high quality animation that I can colour correct, edit and apply effect to, that look better than in photoshop. This is from working with a team, it had had so many benefits to me personally as I have grown so much from the first year to now and have learnt so much from this module, just from what they have been able to tell me about editing and software. So this stage was a whole lot better than the first year when I didn't know anything about the editing stage really, so this shows my growth that I can use within the 3rd year also.

When working within a team, we found we worked really well together. We worked hard, worked well as a team and didn't have any angry arguments. Something we did do, was deliberate and try to find the best outcomes for our animation. This was nothing negative, as it showed we were able to talk to each other honestly and not tip toe around each other, we got things done and to the best of our abilities. We did have issues though, mostly with equipment, which is why we got held up when animating as this was a stage we had not really planned for. As we couldn't find cameras, lenses, lighting and stands so all of this effected our process, as well as the outcome. So next year we will be making sure to have everything we need, when we need it so this does not happen, and we dont get stuck behind.

When starting out this module, I really didn't like the thought of working with others for something so big, but now, i have grown into the thought and know I couldn't have done it alone, or at least would have had a whole lot more stress with it. This is why i enjoyed this project once it got going, as I realised that you cant always be in control and you need to share the burden, something I really wasn't used to, so this was hard to get used to, but i have by the end. So I am fully open to the thought of doing this next year, and sharing out jobs, in order to see what can be done in a team, not just alone.

This is why i will be doing stop-motion in the future, as a definite. And over summer, I want to hone and build my skills into making quality products for props and sets. So I can come back and someone have good faith in me to produce something they will love, as well as me. So this is why I will be doing all of this at home, so I can also add it to my portfolio, and further my skills as a set designer and hands on worker. So this is what this module has done for me, it has opened me up to new possibilities, boosted my confidence and made me want to work harder and produce more and more for hand made items that I can use within sets. whether this be furniture, books, tiny plants, animals or even puppets, as I dont want to forget how to make them. So I have a plan set for my self that I hope to be able to do within these 4 months, so i can come back a more enlightened person from the start of the year.

Applied Animation- Pitch Bible

Pitch Bible

The pitch bible, is to let an audience understand what our animation wishes to do, accomplish and what style is holds. This is an incredibly important stage as it lets possible clients or people who could back your animation, see what you have to offer as a company. So this is why we went green going to red. A carried on symbolism from our animation and pitch from the start, showing what is to come. 

This can also show off the characters, their personalities and the concept behind them and the story. Ours also includes images from our actual animation so they can see what the character really look like in stop-motion form, not just in digital as this is not what they are for the animation. So this can give the audience the insight into the medium of choice and how that impacts how the whole animation looks and feels.

Here below are all of the pages filled with all of our works, showing how the documentary shows everything below, and how each character is portrayed. So this is why it is so important to clients, as they can see exactly what they are going to get from the animation, no good showing all digital if your going to surprise them with it being motion. It needs to be a clear journey. So this is why we made our pitch bible the way it is, and why the main creator of the pitch bible, one of my teammates, made sure to link it to the works we were doing, which were the press kit and cd and cd case.

Applied Animation- Finished Animation

Finished Animation

This is our finished animation, after being told of text issues we went for the one below. As it fits in with our theme more. The one from before was simple yet boring, as well as being too small. So this was an easy fix for us to do. 

I also re-did the first tree scene. This was becuase the zoom was clunky and looked odd. So I made it smoother and more gentle as an opening shot. So when the song talks about the tree and what is inside, it is zooming into the leaves so this makes it easy to see the transition of when the Orangutan's are on the inside, so creates an interesting illusion and transition.

We also went back through that whole thing and re-colour corrected where needed on scenes until we had it as good as possible. The only issue I have with the finished piece, is the moving set from when the camera was moved. As this is so clear to me, but to others they cannot see it as easily so at least this was a consolation to my worries. So this was my concern from when people view the animation. Where they can see the mistakes. Although when screening it to an audience, others did not see this so it did help me to look past the small issues, and concentrate on the larger image. and how much work we were able to do and how good the final piece looks for our cause and the documentary.

Applied Animation- Finishing Filming- Week 15

Finishing Filming- Week 15

After the mother leaves, we have time lapses where the crisp packets come in to symbolise the industry cutting down and killing the forest and Orangutan's just for a pointless ingredient in food which we could get locally.  This image is from the first scene after his mother has gone where he is asleep and the leaves all change around him.

For this we really worked as a team, one of us taping, the other placing and the other sticking so this really helped us to move quicker than if we were on our own as it was a joint effort that we all took part in, same for the most of this project and animating. 

This image is from when he has woken up, after a close-up of him blinking and slowly realising what is around him. As you can see we have shown so many different colours and labels within this scene to further our abstract animation and the symbolism we are trying to get across.

After the leaves have changed, the tree begins to fill with smoke and shows they are setting the tree, and whole forest on fire. As we had such negative feedback from when we used cotton wool for smoke the last time, we tried really hard to make it look different this time, and hoped that context of what was happening and sound would make it obvious to the audience. This is why we started out a lot slower, and showed the smoke seeping in through the nest and leaves, like it would in real life. So we thought this looked a whole lot better than before when we did this, so we have learnt from the last time to take it slow.

Here is what it looks like further away to show how the smoke does look like it is coming up through the base and rising up around our character. With the shots we are doing, we are also showing him to be small and alone to further the isolation and loss that he would be feeling. As well as in real life as the mothers are killed first as they are seen as a threat.

To give Louie some movement, we have also shown him to be covering his eyes and showing he is scared of what is happening, but also about where his mother has gone. So this, when shown to peers, really had an impact and they felt really sad after seeing this as he is a baby in distress. Which meant we were doing an effective documentary for sustainability as it is leaving an impact on our viewers.

For the end scene with the inside of the tree, I had the idea to build the smoke mainly up the front, becuase the camera would see it as the whole set, so me and one of the team built a delicate wall up the front and placed the camera in front of it so the close-up could be of the baby and have the smoke coming up to fully cover him. As this will cut to white, as if the smoke has fully covered him and humans have killed him from fire and smoke.

This is just an image to show how perspective really changes how you see something. This is the smoke wall but it looks like the set if fully filled with smoke, so this was something we really learned throughout this whole process. Like placing the nesting at the front, so the puppets weren't on any, but it looked like they were. So quite a few times, we were able to use illusions and perspective tricks to show the audience more than what we had.

This was the last stage before we had all of the clips together, ready to go edit them. So we packed up and got all of the image sequences together in High quality, ready to bring into After Effects and Premier to see what we needed to change and what they all looked like together. So this was an exiting stage, and I was so happy at how well we worked and how well we worked as a team within these last two weeks to film everything we have and produce all of the different scenes. So after editing we will add sound, credits and opening logos etc, and then see what people think, and see what changes need to be made.

Applied Animation- Filming More Scenes- Week 15

Filming More Scenes- Week 15

When starting to animate all of the larger scenes, me and one of the members of our team decided to work out the music to the scenes. So for this we went through the song, and I found the exact time in which each scene needed to fit while my team mate wrote down what I was saying for the timings as she wrote the scenes, I then worked out the math of the exact frames we needed to fit into for each scene to make scene. This really came in handy and was something we continuously referred to when filming so each one could be the exact right length, with a bit added onto a few for editing. So this was something that we had not thought of until filming and was a crucially important page that really, we couldn't have done without.

To finish off the outside scenes, we needed an opening shot of the forest, going into the tree. For this we needed to re-set up the camera and lighting. As this was the opening scene, it needed to be bright and happy before everything goes wrong. So this is why we spent time getting it set up to take the two main shots.

Here is the whole scene as best as we could get it. For ages I spent time trying to get the set into shot more and show more of the trees because I spent time making them so I wanted them to be seen. Sadly though, we couldn't get it to show more than this before the base sides could be seen, as well as the background ending. So this was something we struggled with but in the end had to settle with what we had and this was what we could show.

Here is a closeup of the top of the tree, what we will be zooming into. This is so the camera can fade and when it comes back in, your inside the tree with the orangutan so this tied the two sets together.

This was when we were playing around with the characters, seeing how they could interact and move together, but also so we can look at camera placement. This was to get lighting right, as well as scale. This is becuase this was a swap over of the sets so the whole set up needs to change accordingly.

Here is where the camera needed to be placed and where it felt right. Although this is a scrapped clip from when we first tried out animating. The two other teammates moved them while I was in charge of the lighting and Dragon-Frame. This was so they just had to concentrate on the characters and not the taking of the pictures and everything else. The reason for this being scrapped was that when I was playing the animation, which we did ofter, the baby monkey was moving way too slowly and awkwardly into the mothers arms so this looked odd and wasn't working. So I told them and they agreed, so it was easier to start again and try to get it right. This was something I wasn't used to because I didn't have time to do this for my last stop-motion so its nice to have time to do shots correctly and have them work out properly.

This was the next one we tried, for this I animated the baby to begin with when he starts to roll, up until he is nearly completely over. I was really proud of how this scene has gone and my role in getting it there. Although when the baby comes down it is a little slow, it works nicely for the rest of the scene and we were all really happy to have this scene completed because before this, we felt so behind and lost in how we could complete this in time. Yet once we got going, we got really into it and just kept going.

Although the camera died on us and at this point there were no other batteries available so this is only half of the scene that we could animate before charging the battery over night. This was something that was annoying as we had to keep an eye on the camera because it could die between 2-4 hours so this was quite a big window of worry for when doing stop-motion, because if the camera moves, there is no getting it back. As I tried when we came back for 30 minutes to get it back but it wasn't right even after that so we had to just carry on.

So far this is what we can see from the Dragon-Frame view. The colouring is off but no lighting can fix this because of their colouring compared to the background becuase changing the lighting either makes it too dark or too saturated. When looking through this I am happy with parts of the set and how it is going but because it looks so different from what I would have gone for, it really makes me question the aesthetic, but from an outside perspective, it looks like a nest and like an enclosed safe set. 

Although the issue for this, was that the magnets wouldn't go through the thin wood, but it was as thin a wood as they would give me or it would have snapped. So we found that the baby puppet had non magnetic bolts in his feet becuase of a mix up one of the team mates had, so they had to be changed. As well as the magnets just not being strong enough. This was something I need to consider in the future more when doing sets, as they need to be built for puppets and to be magnetised though. So this was why it was useful going to Factory and Mackinnan & Saunders, as they said use actual metal sheets. The ones uni uses for their stands. As they are sturdy as well as being very good for magnets to hold the puppets with. So this is something else I learned and have made a note of for 3rd year.

Because of the puppets not being strongly magnetised, this did make it harder to do certain scenes, although becuase of them being on 4 legs, this did mean we were ok for most of the time. They just would have added more stability within the characters.

This is the finished scene from the beginning where the baby is playing. As I said above, this was one of the best scenes because of its playful nature and how it shows the audience the characters so they can grow an attachment, which would have grown more if we could have made the animation longer. Yet as you can see, this scene needs editing, there is a split second where Marie some how is in the wrong position and sits for a brief second so this needs to be cut. As well as adding in another close-up from when Marie looks to Louie before we looks outside as this can also show the puppet, as well as have more interesting shots to the whole thing is a lot less linear.

Here is an image from the scene where the mother is cuddling the baby after seeing the diggers coming for the tree and destroying the forest. This was a good scene to do for the audience to be able to see the characters properly, so for this we have added in a cut scene where it shows a close-up of the two just rocking and being close, as this also felt more intimate and heart felt.

This is an image from when the mother is leaving, for this scene we needed to fit a lot into a short amount of time and one of our members is quite heavy handed so moved the mum too quick so in the final cut, she moves really fast as it wasn't spaced out and careful. 

So this is all adding to the learning, as we didn't see this until it got to the end when the scene needed to end and the mum wasn't in the right place so it didn't fit and had to over shot by a few seconds, so this was part of working in a team, where you have to say something if something isn't going good or correctly, whereas I didn't for some stages. Although I had way more input and voice than I did in other responsive projects so this was something I was proud of myself for doing.

This is just another image showing the two characters in the set. As well as when we were trying to work out one of the hardest camera angle shots. Marie needs to look out of the tree, for this we wanted an over the shoulder shot, or a hand shot at least to frame the digger scene. This proved to be one of the hardest, not just for filming, but for editing too. We ended up creating a structure within the set where we attached the camera to it so it was above her shoulder, shot that scene, and then did another with just her hand showing. So we wanted to see it in editing to see what we kept and what we needed to take out.

This is the scene we were able to capture from the camera placement. So we were proud to be able to get this filmed, but the door doesn't quite work well as it is mesh so bends oddly but I couldn't figure out a different way of doing this scene and neither could they so I experimented and it didn't work but this was something I had never attempted before so meant I could think of alternate better ways to do this in the future.

This is the other scene we captured, this was to either frame the digger scene where she is looking out, or to go beforehand and show she is looking at the sky background moving slightly, before she looks down. These will be difficult to edit because I dont know how to remove backgrounds or blue screens from scenes so this will be a team effort to understand what we need to do so we will need to have help from people who understand the software more. So these scenes will be a make or break in the editing section of our journey.

Here is the end scene from the cuddle, where the mother cuddle Louie and then leaves to try and go protect him. This is the scene where I animated Louie going towards the mother and going into her arms to hug her, seeing she is worried. So this was really fun to animate as I got to move him. Although looking back he does move quite quick so this is something I really want to work on so I can move him more delicately and slowly, without it being slow and awkward. So there is an art to the whole animating itself. But this is the scene where the mother moves way too quick by the end so this is the part of this scene that I would have changed the most.

Applied Animation- Editing Our Animation

Editing Our Animation

One of the main scenes that needed editing was the hand scene when the mother pulls the trees to see the diggers below. For this we set up a blue screen for us to remove later on to leave just the frame. Yet this was wrong because when setting up there was a shadow on the screen which we didn't see when filming so when trying to remove it, it wouldn't pick it all up and looked wrong.  This is why we went on After Effects and I had to make shapes on each blue screen present and remove the background. This was so we could put a scene in behind in the hole and fill in the scene. This was something I did not know how to do previously so this was an incredibly useful task but very time consuming and went wrong a few times, slowing me down further.  This can be used for green screens in the future so is a skill I will try to remember, but if not, peers proved to be extremely useful as some do only digital so knew how to use this software.

It is hard to see from the screen shot I was able to get, but above the hand is now a hole that a sky background can be placed behind, as I tried to place the digger within this place but the cut out had left a halo around the outline, that if deleted, removes the leaves with in, so this is why I chose the sky scene as a replacement and as an experiment and problem solve.

This is the scene I was able to create. As this was the main scene I was going to do apart from the first image of the trees so I wanted to make it look as good as possible. This is sadly not something I can be proud of. This was because I could see the flaw of the outlines and how if we had realised at the right time, it could have been a lot cleaner and just better overall. Although I was proud of how much work I was able to learn about within editing so this has really helped me for next time and I will use these in the 3rd year.

One of our members knew how to use After Effects more than us so she did colour correction, so I edited the trees brightness and effects. So I could carry on contributing before we finish the scenes. After this we added in facts at the end after getting the scenes to perfectly fit to the song. This was when I looked up the facts from the start which are the most hard hitting and informative, as well as our slogan of Say No To Palm Oil. So this gave us the hard hitting end to make people think about their effect on the rainforest. As well as tying of the animation, we then added on credits and our logo with the uni logo at the beginning and end.

Here is the first animation that we rendered out so we could see what we had and gain opinions from people. After showing people this, we were told to change the text. It looked too small for long distance showing, as well as being a bit off from our theme so this was something we could easily change so this was fine. Although he did point out a spelling mistake so it was good he spotted this as we had not.

He also said things about the actual animation as general pointers. One was about the dead look in the puppets eyes as they dont blink which is something we can change in the future, as well as how the set looks flat. This was an issue I had from the start, so I may have to take influence from Aardman, and have the background very far away and the foreground very up close. To add in depth and perspective. So these were all points to learn from in the future and we have gained lots of experience throughout this module.

When doing work after the animation we needed to finish the pitch bible, the press kit and CD/DVD cover and disc. These are all easy to do but very time consuming, so I took charge of the disc, case and contents with blurb about the animation on the disc case. while the two other members did, one the pitch bible, the other the press kit. 

To get a good image of the character for the cover, me and one of the members of the team went into the stop-motion room and took images of the baby within the tree set with a spot light to get a high quality image as the ones on our phones were not.

Here you can see the one of the left is very dark, but we preferred dark compared to too light as this was easier to edit and become more effective. So this one is a good angle and shows the scared feeling of the baby puppet. Here on the right is when we moved the spotlight around but ended up creating quite a spooky look overall, so this is something we didn't want so we have moved the light around and gone for a darker look that we can edit.

Here was another angle and look for the puppet, where he looks more innocent, scared and alone. So this shows what our animation could be about. So this was a posibility for what we could use but we will look through the camera at all of the images and pick the best one to show what we are about.

Here you can see the press kit image we chose, as well as the info we included on this page. Here is what it looks like printed out from when we got all of the press kit together, as the pitch bible all together in a folder for submission.

These are the other 3 pages from the press kit, telling people about our animation, about us and sea motion as well as the credits at the end. This was another easy task as it was just adding info we already know about, as well as info we have mentioned in our initial pitch and our jobs. When we have entered our animation into competitions. We can add other pages if we are accepted or if we win awards so we can show our support, accomplishments and show we are a good company. I was the assistant on this project, adding in data and info on some of the pages to save time and show my input into the design and information shown.

This is the disc case and cover I have created for us. I used images from our photo shoot from earlier that day, as well as images from the set, and scenes, and the logo. This was to include our information on the documentary. The logos and company, as well and the title and images from the animation.

Here was the template I was following for size and the case size. It seemed really complicated, but once in photoshop, it was easier to understand.

This is the disc before I got the clouds in the right shape, so I could see placement, as well as what it will look like before printing and cutting it out.

And here is the complete disc and dvd of our animation for festivals.

This was a real proud moment for me as we could see our hard work, as well as see what the look of our whole animation is. Which looks very bright, abstract and looks like a forest animation. This was a lot of fun to do but was very difficult to get the sizes right, so I was lucky to have made them the correct size from the different templates from online. So this worked to show me how to do this in the future. Even though discs aren't used often for competitions and festivals, it is better to have one just in case. So this is always something to consider when making an animation for festivals, so it covers your back. So I now know how to do this for the future, and the disc looks really good so this was good for us to see.

Applied Animation- Final Crit

Final Crit

For the final crit, we had only been able to film fully the outside scenes with set 2 and the diggers. So going into a room full of people who think you have done nothing was hard to do. We had started to do other scenes but they weren't finished so we couldn't put them over the anamatic. We were able to show the very underdone progress so people could see what we had got done but this was still something that was a hard task as it was embarrassing to show at the time. I still know we can get everything done, but at the time of the crit, we weren't at that place yet.

Once we had shown what we had and said what our plan was our tutor said it was ok to be where we were at as this was showing our pre-production work and how much work goes into an animated stop-motion before the animating can even be done. We agreed because we are the only ones in the class who couldn't do any of this work at home to it proved to be very difficult as a task. We were then given feedback from people.

This caused us to be more stressed because all they wanted to do was change the only bits of film we had, so unrealistic things. They thought the smoke looked more like clouds or bubbles, which was something to take on board as we didn't realise this so were very disappointed. Yet they said to re-film it with the set upside down and the camera upside down. I know what they meant, as gravity will pull the strands upwards but it was a useless comment because there would be no real way for us to do this so it was coming form people who didn't understand stop-motion at all. It was more stressful for the fact that we actually couldn't re-film this scene becuase I have had to change the set 2 since then and now have foliage glued all over it, so it was sad to think that the set I am most proud of was something they really didn't like.

After this crit, we were all down-heartened as we felt like failures. So this was a real tough day. So we tried to prove that we were good enough and filmed a great majority of the animation after this got everything we wanted sorted so we worked as a team to pull ourselves up and get going.

Applied Animation-Sets Changing Becuase of Filming- Week 14

Sets Changing Becuase of Filming- 

Week 14

This is one of the shots taken from the final scene where the forest has been burned. Yet now at the beginning, the forest is normal and bright and green, so I need to add foliage. This was why the sets were really hard to do, becuase I needed to wait until filming had already begun, until I could finish what I had started.

For the foliage, I had real trouble deciding what would look good and how they should be constructed. I ended up thinking about sponge, because of the texture it would give and how from a distance it could look fairly natural. For this I ripped up the sponge, with the help of one of my team, into irregular shapes to give different formations to the foliage when it is on all of the different trees. I then dyed the different formations with green ink as this would soak in, giving it different colours and would keep the light texture on the surface, whereas acrylic could have been too heavy.

When painting, I had a brush that had been used for red dye previously, this meant that different sponges ended up different colour. This was something I really loved, because tree leaves aren't the same and they are all different tones when you look closely. So this was something I wanted to keep in, even when the leaves were quite brown, as it adds to the realness of the forest itself.

Here are some of the first batch, as you can see all of the colours vary from each formation. So this should amount to the trees having different looks and individuality about them.

Here are all of the pieces together, I dont think there will be enough but I am letting these dry and seeing how far they can stretch so we can have more room. I have also painted some rope brown as the vines for the larger tree as this is something I have been wanting to do from my original sketches. Here you can really see the different colours, and even when the dye has soaked in leaving some yellow, it just looks like bright green tones within the foliage itself.

Here I have made a start with adding foliage onto the larger centred tree. This really brings them to life having colour and life on their branches so the sponge has worked amazingly to give the set some personality. I have also added one of the vines around one of the branches to it curves around one of the top branches and comes down to one of the lower ones. So the rope it light, it has dried in an off shape. This is why I am weighing it down with a roll of tape so the formation can look more realistic and natural.

The tree is really taking form at this point and I have added some height to the main tree, as well as to some of the smaller ones. The sponge is working better than I thought it would so this is lifting my spirits greatly, as I am not 100% happy with set 1 as it isn't in my normal style, but in the style of one of my team mates, so this is what it will be like in the industry, so it is letting my get used to what others want and how to work with what they are expecting.

Here is another view of how the shapes are all adding to the slight Dr Seuss style tree with the bubble like shape. I am so happy it is coming together at this point as I was worried becuase we have had to wait till the dead scene was out of the way so this is good to have started now.

Here is what the big tree looks like, I still need to weigh down the vine more with a heavier weight, but other than this, I am very proud of how it is looking overall. It just shows how much a tree can change when different elements are added to them.

Here is the set so far, It isn't complete yet but I have made a start on the smaller trees and the bigger tree is nearly done. The reason for it not being done in the trees, is that I have run out of sponges. So I have to take time to make more. But I am happy with it so far, So I hope to continue and finish the set to a good standard, as I dont want to let the team down.

Now adding the grass has transformed how the set looks and feels overall, it brings it to life and gives it a feeling of location. I have also added in small shrubs and life on the ground to add more of a forest feel also, as it would feel quite bare without them. If I had more time, I would have wanted to add more trees, ground life and just more detail to this set, but because of time, I cannot make this set any more detailed.

For the background, becuase of the red one when the forest is on fire, we needed to go abstract again. For this I ripped up sheets of blue paper as well as printed paper we found laying around. I did this with one of the other team so we could work together to get this element done. She had gouache, and I had watercolour, so it looked really nice to mash the two colours and textures together to make this background as good as we could make it.

This is a view from above showing the different colours and the different shapes we have been able to create overall. I then suggested we add clouds, and to make them fit with the theme, I said to use cotton wool as they can look like natural wispy clouds when done right.

These two images below were when I was experimenting on texture and which would work best for what we were trying to create. The top is normal cotton wool balls, as I thought they could look like 3D bubbly clouds, but they look too formed and thick. So I created the one below which looks so realistic and I loved the overall effect I was able to create. So I went with the bottom cloud, for this I made the clouds and glued them down with my team mate. So I was happy to have found they work so well for clouds, so I will keep this in mind for the future if I need to do a background.

Here are the two together, where the top one is clearly better than the other, so this was a clear decision.

Here is what the finished background looks like, which I am really proud of overall. The clouds really make the piece so this was really good to see and made me happy to have created it as a duo. So this will go at the beginning for the opening shot, as well as when Marie looks out of the tree to see the digger approaching before the forest fire.

Here is the completed set 2 and how the colour of the foliage really makes the trees come to life, all it needs now to bring in more colour and life, is the background and some natural lighting to show the forest all happy and green.

Here we were setting up the lighting and background. We needed to put the camera, where the base sides couldn't be seen. Yet when zooming in to get rid of this, you lost too much of the trees so this was a real struggle to get right. For lighting, one of the team set up the camera and focused it, while I moved the lighting and lowered it, or brightened it, to get it right where we wanted it.

I love this picture as it really shows the set and how it looks overall. It was annoying that when zoomed in correctly, some of the trees get covered because I am so proud of how they turned out and want to show the work that went into each individual one. But this is the price to pay for set deign, all that work and it might not even be showed becuase of the camera shots and angles. This is something I need to get used to and understand more. With the background behind the set and the lighting being corrected, you can really see how much the blue behind can help in the atmosphere of the whole set.

Here was the show we had to go with, where Marie was looking out of the tree, so she was looking down at the diggers and other trees. I think its a good shot to go with becuase it makes sense with her being high and looking out, so I am happy I then moved the camera to this point after faffing for so long, as I understood what we needed and what illusion we needed to create. So this shows how much I have personally learned so far in this project so it is really helping me bridge my way into 3rd year.

This is the digger scene, where you can see where we have messed with cinematography and illusions by turning the set around to make it look different from the main set, as well as making the whole set look smaller by placing the camera so high as to show Marie looking down. With me and a team member animating the diggers, I did the two on the left, and her the one on the right. Im not happy with this scene though. I love the camera placement, as well as the set, background and even how the diggers move. Yet we didn't notice the camera moving until way after as it looked so small on the screen so we didn't notice it. So this was a big blow to us and really annoyed us and our hard work, but this was part of the learning and how you need to be so incredibly careful with the camera, set and lighting, not to move anything.