Project evaluation - Competition Brief

This brief has been one of the most difficult projects for me as i couldn't find a decent idea and stick with it! It has been a constant struggle for the past couple of months to keep the momentum going however it has been a great experience for finding a good working method for me in future projects and hopefully the 3rd year.

At the beginning of the project i struggled for about 3 weeks to think of ideas and by this time people were in production! However the fact i was sat in front of the mac constantly wasn't helping ... it was almost like i was scared of testing! I also found it hard to express my ideas to the class and to the tutors as i lack a lot of self confidence and i was afraid of being put down. However as the project progressed i began to test loads of different scenarios for a final piece and it started to become easier for me to progress. Even though my ideas were developing the methods i used such as stop motion animation (drawing on the window) weren't working so it kind of felt i was going around in circles. I tried to resolve this by 'cheating' and editing the lines all in post production but that wasn't any good either. So i thought a change of idea would be a better decision. I continued to change ideas again and again and it felt as if i would never find a successful idea. I think i was trying to hard to make an amazing technical piece the ideas behind them were horrendous! So i went back to the start and made something very obvious and clear and i think it work fairly well.

The final piece didn't turn out too great in the end but to be honest after the huge struggle i didn't think it would be a master piece, the clips are overly repeated (which is very obvious) and the music is ok but gets annoying after watching the animation to many times!

This new method of working where i start testing early in the project i think works well for me and it has definitely impacted on the following projects especially the channel ident brief. I think although this project has been a bit of a flop i think it has been the most beneficial since i have finally found the way i work the best. I want to continue this way of working through the 3rd year and hopefully progress nicely.

Sonic Animatic 2

This is a rough animatic without sound (because it wouldn't export with sound!!!). It is just under 30 seconds long which i think is appropriate for a short promotional video to celebrate sonic's 20th birthday. However this doesn't show how the piece will end. At the end of a sonic game text comes across the screen to tell you that sonic has passed a certain level so i want to bring on in stop motion animation 'Sonic has passed 20 years' ? I also need a tagline to appear underneath that or maybe before .... actually yes before the text appears.

Sonic -> Beach

Just wanted to add this video in here just to show that although i am moving a fair bit away from the obvious sonic this is still relevant! Sonic at the beach.

Test

These are just some short videos of how i was creating the tests.

Research/Ideas development

These are some photos i took when i was doing my tests.

Research/Idea development

I recently went to Abersoch in Wales and while i was there i thought it would be perfect to do some research into footprints while on the beach. I took photos and also did a few stop motion tests of footprints going across the screen and also drawing into the sand.

Idea

Ideas

I am having lots of problems with this project i think it is because i can't think of a good idea to stick with and when i finally think of a decent one and see it in my head i can't physically create it! I want to do something hand rendered like i was originally trying to create, i want it to be simple.

My latest idea ... I want to show small footprints being directed by my hand similar to the effect of manipulation.

Research

For my new footprint idea i was trying to get an idea of whether the footprints would look different when moving faster ... but they don't look majorly different just deeper at the front as there is more pressure there but i am using flat/cartoon like footprint so it doesn't really apply. Now i just need to figure out a style that suits the project most.

Camera Shot?

Instead of using the whole window throughout the whole animation i thought it might be interesting to use close ups to make it more pleasing to watch so i cropped the image i already had to see what it may look like.

Group Crit

Group Crit - Tuesday 15/02/2011

At the group crit i showed my 'cheater' test and i got some positive feedback however the majority said that it was too photoshopped ... the lines were too pixelated and if i was going to carry on with this idea the i should do it properly and draw on to the image by hand. Some one suggested animating it using a light box and another said maybe do what i have been doing in photoshop but it Flash and it will create a less pixelated effect. Orina also said that because the lines are moving it would look good if the clouds were also moving. So i need to set up a camera and take a number of images to animate over.

| Test | CHEATER

I did many test of trying to draw on the window but because of the lighting it wasn't very clear so i took a photo and decided to draw on it digitally. But i feel like i am cheating myself as i wanted it all to be real!

| Test | Drawing on the Window

I started then to draw where i had placed the tape but the outcome was poor ... the line was not clear and nothing how i expected it to look like. I then figured out i was drawing in the most detailed area of the window so i need to test on the lighter area.

| Test | Marking out the buildings

After a couple of attempts of trying to follow the outlines on the buildings free hand i decided to quickly mark them out with masking tape. So me and luke spent about half an hour marking them ... Luke watched the screen of the camera and directed me on where to put the tape ... THANK YOU LUKE (i couldn't of done it by myself).

| Test | Post it note

I was in the middle of testing and i noticed there were decorators going up and down the building on scaffolding ... i thought it would be interesting to try and incorporate it within my animation. I like the way the men move as the ball rolls over the top of them. However the quality of the animation is quite shocking so i need to consider the amount of movement i create and style of post it.

| Test | Post it note being building

This was a quick test to show the post it (sonic) going behind the obstacle ... i think this works quite well as it adds a bit more interest to the animation rather than just going over the horizon.

| Test | Window (Drain Pipe)

Another test using the drain pipes rather than the horizon line ... i think this is a bit more interesting but the whole thing needs to be faster.

| Test | window (Better quality)

Another quick test ... the start is slightly out of focus but i managed to sort it out before the post it bounces ... i think this is ok but i need to be a bit more creative. By this i mean use the backdrop in a more interesting way rather than just running the post it over the horizon. Maybe make him run behind objects, slide down drain pipes, use different heights and camera angles.

| Test | Window

This was a quick test to see what the post it note would look like against the window ... I think this is fairly successful ... there are some glitches in this as i kept banging into the tripod as i was moving about and also i put the flash on by accident at one point but i like the overall effect.

| Test | Jump

This is a quick test to try and figure out how to make the square post it into a circle to represent sonic when he jumps into the air.

Work space ...

This is just a quick snap shot of where i have filmed my tests ... although its my bedroom the plain backdrop has been useful to act as a green screen and make the post it not stand out properly.

Ideas

After looking through some of the tests and ideas i decided i want to stick with the post it note on window idea. I want to make sonic feel part of the real world rather that all digital where it normally lives...I want to shoot everything as i see it and not fake/imitate it.