Festivities!

These are just a few images I took over the christmas break. I tried to capture the spirt of christmas, the festivities and the good family and friend times we enjoyed on the break. I think my favourite two images are the one of the two Chinese lanterns next to each other in the sky, I'm not to sure why I like this image, I just like the simplicity and the fact they have stayed close to each other as they have flown off! My other favourite is the photo of my dog asleep with only his nose in focus. I like the depth of field and the textures of his nose close to the camera lens.

Sylvain Chomet

Sylvain Chomet talks about animation.

Showreel

This is a showreel i have recently made with all of my animations so far. I used small snip its from them all and placed them together and added music to show what I have completed on the foundation course so far.

Playmobile Animation!

This is the final animation i made over the christmas break. I made it from Playmobile a childs toy belonging to my cousin. This animation took a long time to make as i had to move ever piece every time i took a picture. I really like it and i would like to make a longer one in the future, i love to see an inanimate childs toy come to life through animation and the creative things you can do with such objects.

Monkey Animation

This is another animation i made in the christmas break. These are just a series of images i took of a toy monkey called mojo i have had since i was a child. I dressed him in odd clothing and objects i found around the house, took several photos and made an animation out of these photos. I think the animation is fun and creative and i really enjoyed making it and think it has worked well. 

Lego Animation

This is an animation I made in my spare time, although it is a simple idea i enjoyed among it and think it works well. I chose to put that music to the animation as i thought it suited it well. If i had more time i would introduce more characters and make the middle part of the animation longer. This was just a short stop motion animation i made as a small test and practice for more i will make in the new year.

Metamorphosis Animation

I am very pleased with the final animation. The frame is placed around the prints to show it is like a brain scan, to show the mental change of Gregor. I firstly wanted to show how Gregor changed into a bug using ink printing, however i found it challenging to create prints that looked human like, they all looked very bug like. I decide to collaborate with Connie as we both wanted to use ink and had similar ideas. We discussed our ideas and made the ink prints and realised they look like brain scans, so we decide to change our idea to how Gregor has changed manually instead of physically. We placed a small subliminal message, an image of a beetle, into the animation about half way through, which only flashes up for one frame. The feedback from the crits was mostly positive: good idea, cleverly done, different, good ink prints however they did say they would like it to carry on longer, maybe loop parts or make more ink prints.

Brain Scan

After looked at my complete ink prints I realised they look a lot like brain scans. I decided to change my idea to the mental change of Gregor instead of a physical transformation and make my animation look like a brain scan. They also look very bug like so it does tie in to my original idea of the transformation into the bug. These are some experiments I put into my sketchbook on how to overlap and lay the prints out.

Ideas Generation

In the book it does not explain how Gregor changes into a bug, it just says 'he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.' I want to make an animation to show this transformation and change. I will make my animation by creating ink blotches that look like a bug transforming and use stop motion to do this. I will use indian ink as that has shellac in it a resin secreted by the female bug. I will use a range of cartilage paper and tracing paper and place an ink blot in the middle of the paper, use a straw to blow it out and fold the paper over to create the shape. These are a few test prints i did to see if the idea work and if they look bug like. I think they worked well and i am pleased with the result, however i am worried as to how i will make them look as though they are transforming into something else.

Metamorphisis Found Imagery

This is some found imagery i found whilst researching metamorphosis, the way different things change and morph into something different. I gathered many good ideas of how i could make my animation for example drawing, projection, paint, ink, stop motion.

Jan Svankmajer Exhibition

I really enjoyed the Jan Svankmajer exhibition, especially his animation based on Alice in Wonderland, showing me that you can take ideas based on books and films and interpret them in your own way. I liked to see the props and objects he used to make his animations in front of you as you watch them on a screen. I liked his sculptures and the way that he used many different objects to create them and the interesting, imaginative outcome they produced. 

After the exhibition we had a walk around Brighton, I really liked the Pavillion and the different shapes and  architecture it creates. I liked taking photos of the seagulls sitting on the pier and the silhouettes they create with the sun in the background of the image. We visited a few shops and collected found imagery from the day used to create ideas and link memories and concepts together to create an idea.

The Metamorphisis

The short story by Franz Kafka tells the tale of Gregor changing into a bug and the challenges he faces. He doesn't focus on his physical change but the difficulty he faces with his parents, sister and his job. It shows that Gregor is the main breadwinner for the family and how much they depend on him, this create a tricky situation for Gregor and allows the reader to choose which side they are on. The table gets turned as Gregor is now dependant on his family who cannot cope with this change and keep him locked in his room, with only his sister visiting him with food. The opinion of the family soon change as they are deciding to kill Gregor which i found quite sad. After Gregor death Kafka concentrates on the change in the family especially his sister Greta, he explains how she has turned into a beautiful young lady and has matured and finding herself a job and someone to take care of her. 

I really enjoyed reading this book and gave me a clear picture and many ideas for the start of this project. I liked the drastic change in characters and the different emotions it created throughout the story.

Life Drawing-Projection

I enjoyed the life drawing class as we worked on movement poses going from the floor to gradually standing up. I also liked the projection images, projecting bugs and insects onto the model and the new shapes and textures this creates. 

The Toy Box Shadows

I am very pleased with my final outcome. Some feedback i got from the crits included: clear idea, the idea is based on form, technically very good, sounds add to the playfulness but are a bit cliche, thinkers before practioners, well made, slight movement of the camera or set, title is a bit overpowering either beginning or the end. I will take all of these comments on board and act upon them for following projects. I enjoyed making a stop motion animation and using plasticine however it takes a lot of patience so for my next projects i will try using computer based programs or drawing.

Ideas Generation 2

I then looked at something from my childhood that I loved and was also playful and fun: Wallace and Gromit. After looking at this it sparked the idea of using plasticine and making a stop motion model animation. I wanted to make it fun and entertaining for the audience and something the viewer can relate to such as Michael Landy and Lutz Bacher did. I decide to make an stop motion plasticine animation with the main character interacting with different props, i also want to have a short scene where he is interacting with his shadow on the wall.

Ideas Generation.

I looked into the Lutz Bacher exhibition in more depth and decided i wanted to look at culture swell as my own life, i wanted to make it playful and use shadows just like her work. I started to look into shadows in more depth and looked at people such as Tim Noble and Sue Webster and Diet Wiegman and their shadows images made out of rubbish, I also looked at the John Lewis advert from 2007 which made a shadow picture from objects. After looking at these I knew I wanted to make something playful, fun and include shadows in some way.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Diet Wiegman
John Lewis Advert

Transcription

We visited several exhibitions in London to get inspiration for this project. We went to Michael Landy Saints Alive which was a collection of large sculptures. He takes traditional paintings and rearranges them, and then makes modern day sculptures. He makes the sculptures very abstract and interesting and gets the viewer involved by making them very interactive.

We also visited the Lutz Bacher exhibition Black Beauty. This was about disconnected culture and her own life producing works that play with identity and the human body. She makes large sculptures and allows interaction to happen by placing them in a large space. Her sculptures focus a lot on shadows and are very playful.

At the photographers gallery we looked at the work of Jacques Henri Lartigue: Bibi. This series showed the depict of this marriage in the 1920s. The images are mostly black and white showing their visit to london. They are in chronological order from the early days leading up to their divorce. Home truths: Photography, Motherhood and Identity aims to challenge the stereotypes and sentimental views on motherhood. The work is subjective with a sense of seriousness and intense reflection.

We went to see the Selfish Giant at the Curzon cinema Soho. The Selfish Giant is set on the outskirts of Bradford, the film follows two young boys Arbor and Swifty who have been expelled from school and try to find work in a metal scrap yard. They find themselves in danger which leads to tragic consequences. I really enjoyed the film, I thought the story was really engaging, the characters we're believable and the shots were excellent.

Review of Rotation Stage

The first week of our rotation was spent visiting galleries and exhibitions around London based on memory. We visited the Serpentine Gallery and saw the giant structure by Sou Fujimoto. I enjoyed the visit and thought the structure was unique and created a sense of freedom and peace. I also visited the science museum as I thought this would expand my knowledge of memory and researched how the brain works and how we record information and retain memories. I found this very interesting and gathered many ideas for my own project. The memory palace exhibition at the V and A museum tells a story of a prisoner recalling memories after the worlds information infrastructure was wiped out, I liked the range of media each different artist used to represent their work and found this an interesting exhibition to visit. 

The next two weeks were focused on photography, the first week we experimented with shutter speed and aperture photographing eggs using lighting to create dramatic effects. The second week was focused on memories, I decided to photograph two objects from my own childhood memories and placed them in an usual position to create an interesting image. 

The next two weeks focused on animation the first week was spent creating a good story and the second week we produced the animation. I learnt how to create a storyboard and use after effects, to edit the animation. It was my first time doing animation and I really enjoyed it, I think our story was interesting and the animation worked well however I feel it needs a little more work to be successful. I would be very interested in taking animation up, having never done this before I enjoyed it the most out of all the courses we tried. 

I found Sound design very engaging, I learnt how to use sound track pro and master sound. We recorded all our own sounds to create our earthquake sound journey. Putting everything together and mastering the sound was the easiest part, recorded many different sounds and making it sound like an earthquake was challenging. 

I also really enjoyed Broadcasting, I learnt many techniques that I will use in the future, including using final cut pro, storytelling, shooting, controlling lighting, editing and adding sound to a film. Coming up with a good story took the longest to master, the filming and editing was the fun part!

Review of the Energy and Process Exhibition by William Eggleston at the Tate Modern.

At the Tate Modern there is an exhibition by William Eggleston called Energy an Process. His images mostly taken in South America experiment with colour and as he describes ‘depicts the banal and everyday’ [(1) Eggleston 2013 www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/william-eggleston]

 He began to experiment with colour in the 1960s when colour photography was associated with commercial industries such as advertising. In 1972 he experimented with dye transfer a process in which the different colours of the images are printed in there strongest form making them durable and unable to fade. The exhibition had two series ‘chromes’ images from 1969-1974 using kodachrome film and ‘Election Eve’ taken in 1976 during the presidential election and records a road trip around plains country, each series displace about 10 images.

I really like this exhibition, his images are bold and colourful creating eye catching and striking photos. He is portraying ‘life today’ [(2) Eggleston 2013 www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/william-eggleston] rather than documenting a particular moment in time. He uses many diagonal lines and reflections as well as bright bold colours and high contrast to make his images effective. Many of his images are taken of landscapes, cars or portraits of strangers he has met in the street.

The way Eggleston has presented his images, in many large frames placed at eye level makes the exhibition accessible but effective for the viewer. The frames are spaced evenly along the exhibition wall, evenly spaced from each other, creating a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

The exhibition is very releevnt to me, I like the style and the bright vibrant colours of his images. His work is very creative and narrative and the way he has displayed his photographs shows this. I am inspired by his images, I would like to make a response to William Egglestons photos and I will experiment with his style of bright colours and the idea of using large frames and spacing to display the photos. I also like the idea of catching people carrying out their daily lives which creates a very interesting and engaging image. I think the visit to the Tate Modern was a good experience, I have learnt a lot and gathered many ideas for use in future projects.

Bibliogaphy

Exhibition Visit:

            Tate Modern Gallery 4/9/13

Internet:

            Eggleston William (2013) Energy and Process

            Tate Modern

Avaliable at www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/william-eggleston (Accessed 5/9/13)

Quote:

(1) (2) Eggleston William (2013) Energy and Process

Tate Modern

Avaliable at www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/display/william-eggleston (Accessed 4/9/13)

Film

Last Chance for Love

I really enjoyed creating the film and i think the final outcome is successful. The hardest part was definetly coming up with a decent story, either the begining was good and i couldnt come up with an ending or i had an ending but not a beginning or there was not enough obstacles in the middle! The feedback from the crits included: the text messages on the screen were effective but not necessary it would of been clear without them, some interesting camera angles, good transitions, the music was a little distracting and too loud, it had a good pace, good edits, clear defined journey and it could of had a few more obstacles. I had never made a film before so i have learnt how to create a story, film and edit and i have learnt some useful techniques to use in the future. To improve my planning and management of time i would allow longer to write the story and less time to film and edit as the story took a lot longer to create than filming and editing. I enjoyed shooting and experimenting with different camera shots and angles the most and i think these worked well and made the film interesting and engaging for the viewer.

Final Storyboard

This is my final film storyboard, it is quite simple but tells the story well. There is a beginning, a middle with obstacles that include running late, a busy train station, waiting for a train, putting on make up, looking at a map, getting lost and an ending, the lady turns up and her boyfriend has gone. Some of the feedback i got from this storyboard included; must make it clear that he is waiting for her, introduce him early on in the film, make her keep looking at the time to show she is running late, good obstacles, clear storyboard. I will use the feedback to improve my story and really exaggerate the rush and struggle the lady is in to meet the man. I am planning to spend a day filming and 1-2 days editing and adding sound.

Broadcasting-Ideas

The first idea we came up with is creating a horror story. A young girl would be being chased down a corridor  with four doors, behind each door is one of her fears. In order to be free she has to overcome each fear and end up in a happy place. The feedback we got from this idea was that it may be difficult to film everything in just 1 minute and the ending needs to be stronger. We then decided to just focus on one fear and show how she overcomes it, however there was not enough obstacles to create a really engaging story. The second idea was a romantic story, a lady is meeting her boyfriend to work things out after a row, its her last chance to make things right. She is running late after work and many obstacles get in her way; she gets lost, waiting for the train, she has to get through a busy city, when she finally reaches the meeting place her boyfriend has gone, she realises its too late. Coming up with a story i found to be the hardest part, it is hard to come up with a good ending, a good resolution to the obstacles created in the middle.

Sketch Book-Broadcasting

These are a few pages from my sketchbook during the broadcasting rotation stage. I researched different broadcasting techniques and what creates a successful film. The rule of thirds, golden ratio, 180 degree rule and 30 degree rule were all techniques i looked at. When filming i will use them to create a strong and successful film. I also looked at story and image and different camera shots and angles to keep the viewer engaged with the story. The story must have a beginning, middle and end, with obstacles that the protagonist has to overcome to create dramatic tension. A change has to take place to keep the story exciting, this may include a twist in the resolution which can be foreshadowed. Different camera angles (wide shot, close up, insert/detail) props, and camera movement (pan, tilt, tracking) must be used to keep the viewer engaged in the story. From doing research i have learnt a lot which will help when creating my own film.

Final Sound Journey-Earthquake

I really enjoyed creating our sound journey, from collecting all the sounds and putting it all together and seeing the finished piece. I think it is successful, it is clear to hear what is going on and works well with many sounds all at once. I had never made a sound journey before so i learnt how to create one using soundtrack pro, create a sound storyboard and master sounds. The part i found most challenging was creating the sounds, i wanted them to be really loud and distructive without actually breaking anything. I created most of the sounds by banging doors/lockers, dropping books, knocking over chairs and banging kitchen utensils together. Putting all the sounds together and mastering them in soundtrack pro was easy. Some of the feedback I got from the crits included; all the sounds we produced ourselves, it was well edited, well mastered, it had a simple but effective structure and it was technically successful. Some people said it could of been louder, it needed more bass and it could of included people, screaming and crying. However i did not want to include people as i thought it would be too cliche and not sound genuine. If i was to improve this piece i would record even more sounds and make it slightly louder, to add to the panic and devistation of an earthquake.

Sound Storyboard

This is my sound storyboard, i drew a few diagrams of what sounds i wanted to create, including doors banging, things falling from shelves, windows shattering and water pipes bursting. The storyboard is quite simple but i think it is effective and works well. It is clear to see what is happening in each frame and is a good guide when creating the sounds. I would of liked to add a few more frames into the storyboard to show more distruction and maybe made the beginning and ending longer to show the calm before and after. 

Test Sounds

I created a few test sound journey to see which one worked best, the food journey worked well as all the sounds were very clear and it was easy to tell what was going on. However i felt it was slightly boring and had no meaning behind it. The earthquake sound journey worked the best, there was a lot of sounds in the mix to create a loud but clear journey. It worked well going from quiet to loud and back to quiet at the end to show the destruction was over. I decided not to add the voices of people screaming and crying as it was too cliche and would of been hard to make the screams and crys sound genuine. For the final sound journey i will record many more sounds and get a range of different materials which will create more of a diverse range in the mix and create a more interesting piece. 

Sound Design Ideas

Theses are a few sound journey ideas i came up with: Idea 1- Nature changing to the City. To start the sound journey it would be calm and peaceful with the sound of birds, bushes rustling and gentle wind. In the middle it would explore some of the latest inventions including computers, mobile, cars, games and electricity. The end would be the busy city, car noises, talking, crowds and construction sounds. Idea 2 - Food Journey. Making a meal including sounds such as chopping, cracking eggs, opening packets, gathering utensils, bubbling, sizzling, timer, cooker, frying, spreading then finally eating with family and background noise such as the tv. Idea 3 - Car Journey including sounds such as engine, banging of the doors, seatbelt, traffic lights, talking, rattling keys, car wash, weather rain on the window, radio and filling up petrol. Idea 4 - Earthquake. It would start quietly with the sound of gentle wind, as the sound journey goes on it will get louder with the sound of things falling over, crashes, banging, shaking, and then back to calm after once the earthquake is over. This is the idea we chose, i think it is the best idea as it tells a story and many sounds are included. I looked at videos on youtube of earthquakes and researched sounds and the volume of the disaster to gather ideas for my own sound journey.

Sketch Book-Animation

These are a few pages from my sketch book. I have researched how to draw various things during the animation project. I have also noted down a few films i watched during animation to give me ideas and inspiration for the project. I found learning how to draw a cup falling and bouncing along the floor in a cartoon way the most interesting and i learnt tips which i can use amongst other things. I also enjoyed drawing someone walking and bending the body to show them walking from side to side. 

Initial Storyboard-Animation

This is my initial storyboard, I wanted to base my animation around a childs story, as i could make it colourful and playful for younger children. The story is based on a giraffe that takes a young girl at night and they go travelling around the world. They get home just as the sun is rising and the little girls parents see them, however after their daughter persuades them they let her keep the giraffe. I think this story is quite successful however I will need to work on the problem more, as it is created and immediately resolved. Some of my group liked the story, however others didnt want to create a childs animation and thought it needed a bigger problem .I really enjoyed drawing the storyboard as i had a clear image of what i wanted the animation to look like, which made it easier for me to create and the outcome has worked very well. 

Final Animation Storyboard

This is my final animation storyboard. I enjoyed creating storyboards and working on them until the story was finalised. I learnt a lot about how to create an interesting story and the necessary themes that should run throughout. For example the beginning should be introducing the characters and creating a problem, the middle is the struggle and obstacles and the end is the resolution. This is quite a rough storyboard, used to layout the 6 scenes of the short story. I have learnt that final storyboards should involve every detail and you should stick to it when creating the animation. 

Animation

For our group animation we decided to create it using paper and cardboard cut-outs. We based our animation around a boy whose father had died and he believed he went up to the stars. He sees a shooting star and decides to follow it thinking it may be his father, he follows the star through the woods and sees it fall into a lake. When he looks into the lake he sees his fathers reflection and tries to grab the star out of the lake but cannot reach it. I think the story is quite good however I feel the animation isnt as good. This was my first time doing animation and i think i have learnt a lot, how to create an animation but also about story and how to draw up a storyboard. If i was to do the animation again i would maybe try and use different materials and add more music and sound effects. I would also maybe change the colour of the animation to black and white to show that the story is sad and upsetting to the viewer.

Edits

These are two images i decided to edit after completing my ideas shoot. I think they have work well and are interesting to the viewer. I decided to change the colour of the image to black and white however i left one subject of the image in colour. I think this has a good effect and makes the photo aesthetically pleasing. For my final piece i want to experiment with colour, showing this memory i have is a good memory.