Final Evaluation

A few weeks ago i went in to show Rick what i had done so far and we had a chat about things that i could improve on and things i needed to change.

So the first thing i changed was i made the video widescreen before i started to do anything else and then i sat down and watched what i had and made a note of what i needed to change to get the animation just right.

So the next thing i decided to change was the type at the end of the animation so i had a look at the type used in the actual game and game promotion and in the end i decided to go for the Sonic title font. The reason for this is because i felt it would be the most recognisable to the audience also its bold and chunky so it is very easy to read and so it went nicely with the Sega logo i made the other type the same colour.

One thing i was really struggling with was the tagline i have tried to develop it a million times but it is not my strongest point so in the end i decided to use '20 years of sonic' (to make sure i was promoting the anniversary since that is what the brief has asked) 'Relive the adventure' (the only worry i have with this though is it only really grabs one of the target audiences, the people who have already played the game. However i then realised what it will do is make people want to pick up the game again and start playing or even make those new, younger members of the target audience think they may be missing out and want to start their adventure.)

Then what i needed to do was find a song that would fit really well, i was going to use the original sonic theme tune on the first game but i find it too obvious and very annoying so i looked into other options. I knew i wanted to use a song from one of the sonic games to keep it as close to the game as possible and i did find a song on youtube but i am unsure of which game it is from but it defiantly sounds a lot better than the original song i had chosen. The song i did choose was from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 'The chemical plant zone' and i just think its slightly different from the 'green hill zone' music which was very cliche but still gives the same feel its just slightly more edgy and feels new and fresh.

After this i then studied the game a bit more looking at the pace of it and what happens to sonic when he hits an obstacle or enemy and tried to replicate this the best i could. From the beginning i couldn't get it right it was always to fast or just looked a bit odd but after looking and playing the game myself i think i have managed to make it look very similar and now people who i have shown my work to have been able to understand what is going on.

The next thing i wanted to do was play with the composition of the shots to see if i could make them more exciting, i tried making the images bigger cutting off sections in the shot and making some of the images smaller to fit more of the surroundings in.

Overall the animation has really developed from when i went in to talk to Rick and i now finally feel happy with the end result and i also feel more confident with working in after effects and the quality of the video when it is exported is so much better of that in premier. If i was to do this project over again from the very beginning i would of worked this way from the start but i still feel that getting a second chance to re do the project has really helped the way i work develop so i feel prepared for my next project and i know i will finish it successfully and on time!

Tests and Development

Ok so this is another test i did to in after effects, i have made the video into widescreen like is should be and i have played around with the part where sonic falls into the water. I watched someone play the original sonic game on youtube and i have noticed that when sonic hits his enemy/obstacle/water he flashes for about 2 seconds whilst your still moving him. So what i have done differently in this one is as soon as he hits the water he flashes and he continues to flash as he starts rolling again. I think this represents the game so much better and i showed one of my friends this video and she even said 'awww he is flashing like in the game' so i think i have finally cracked that! Also just to mention i haven't yet added the start and correct finish to the animation i am just focusing on the original footage that i have so i can plan properly how long i have to add them in.

I wanted to keep playing with the tests so i played around with the positioning of the images in shot and the timing of the type at the end. I do like the text and the way it appears on screen but i still think it is too slow it needs to be constant, sharp and snappy just like the animation and the game would be. Also after i had exported the movie i have realised that some of the shots sonic is completely cut off and it is just close ups of the floor/object he is suppose to roll across so i need to go back and re look at this.

Still not beginning but what i haven't mentioned is that after the first test i removed "remember me" for the tagline as i don't think it fits so at the moment it is just "20 years of sonic, relive the adventure' this still needs some work i think so i am going to keep playing with this but use it for now just to map out where it should be and the speed of its appearance. I still have managed to get the speed right i still think it is very slow but i think the rest of the animation is working maybe just need to try moving things around to see if there are any other options to make it more exciting.

Ok now i have added the beginning and the end, i have tried to create a sense of enigma at the beginning of the animation and i have certainly done that as the clips are way too fast that you can't even tell whats going on! So these now need to be slowed down so that they fit nicely with the rest of the animation. At the end of the animation i have still used a clip of sonic walking towards the camera but this time i have added a wink at the end just to show of sonics cheeky persona and i feel that it is an end to the animation not just cutting out into type but like the beginning it needs to be slowed down.

I have tried messing around with the beginning of this test and i have made a few mistakes and its all over the place and one of the clips sonic is cut off again so i need to revisit this. I feel that the type at the end is getting there, the speed it almost perfect and i defiantly like the fact each word comes up individually because it makes it more legible the audience are more likely to pay attention when they aren't over faced by text. So its slowly getting there!

I added sound to this one and i thought i had faded in and out but i haven't and it sounds terrible! I want to experiment with the soundtrack too, this one is the most obvious but will help the audience understand but i am going to try a few tracks all from the sonic games but maybe a bit less obvious and less annoying! I also made the speed of the video faster and i think it works better but the bit where he falls into the water needs to go back to the speed i have had it as i think its too fast now.

I tried another song and i think i prefer this, i am not too sure which Sonic game it is from but its different and has a bit more of a beat. This animation overall is by far the best just a few more tweaks here and there to make sure everything is perfect but hopefully it will finally be complete!!!

Soundtrack?

Now i need to find a song that will fit nicely with my animation so i started off by typing 'sonic soundtracks' into you tube to see what i could find and the first one i came across was The sonic 'green hill zone' which is one of the original and most famous soundtracks of the game. I am going to try this over the animation on one of my tests to see if it will fit as i think it will probably be the most popular and recognisable.

Then i looked at loads more but i don't think they will fit as the tempo and overall feel will not suit the overall mise-en-scene of my piece. Here are a few more examples of songs i looked at.

The 'Marble zone' music was a bit too slow for the pace of my animation and a bit too deep, its not exciting enough so i kept on looking.

I then stepped away from the first Sonic the Hedgehog and looked at ones from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 but again it was too deep and not exciting enough for the pace of my animation and i didn't want to steer to far away from the original game which is most likely for people to pick up the music from.

So again i reverted back to the original Sonic the Hedgehog 1 but this one is far too slow and has a very, very relaxed feel to it and i want my piece to be a bit mental and a lot faster so i continued my search for the right soundtrack.

Then i came across this soundtrack from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 'The chemical plant zone' which i love ... it still sounds like a sega made sonic theme tune but feels a lot newer a lot more exciting than something people are going to expect to hear. It also gives a small enigma to the piece but not enough so to not realise what it is!

So i then found another song but again was too slow so i know i am defiantly going to try the original 'green hill zone' and 'The chemical plant zone' from Sonic 2 and see how i get along with putting them over the animation to then make my final decision.

List of things to do!

2/08/2011

So i went for a talk with Rick and we had a discussion about things that need improvement and what i was missing so this is a list of things i need to do before Monday 22nd August.

1. Explore the type used within the sonic game/game promotion to find a subtable font for the end of the animation.

2. Play with the composition of the type to find a more exciting way to show it of.

3. Reshoot the beginning of the animation to stop shadowing.

4. Look more closely at the pace of the game to get a more realistic feel to it.

5. make the end of the animation look like the end as at the moment it just cuts to type.

6. Play around with the tagline to make it better and make sense!

For future reference i need to make sure that my decisions are backed up and have a purpose and are not just put there because it looked ok.

Finding the right type!

After a meeting with Rick i actually realised that some of the decisions i have made or lack of need to be backed up with a reason. For example the type at the end of the animation actually had no relevance to the piece it was the first font that came up and i thought it looked ok. So i had a look at some packaging and font existing within the game and used to promote it to give me a better understanding of what it recognised to portray Sonic the Hedgehog/Sega.

The first font i tried was the sega logo font which i found on Da font and placed it at the end of the animation but i don't think it works that well as it is too clumpy and in your face however is that what i am after? Sonic is fast, exciting and in your face and at the end of the day in the brief it mentioned the aim of the piece is to promote the company using its most successful character as the dominant feature. I couldn't upload the video to my blog but it is on my pen drive in the folder 'tests' and it is called 'sega font type'

Someone playing Original Sonic

I wanted to add this to my blog just to remind myself of the overall mise-en-scene of the video game and pay closer attention to the sound, colour scheme, appearance ect... After a talk with Rick i realised i do need to pay a but more attention to these things as i have lost them within my piece and i need my animation to reflect the game properly.

A closer study of the original game

I wanted to look more closely at the movements of sonic since i have portrayed the game to be constantly fluent and it is some times stop start and change of direction. But most of all i wanted to look at how sonic reacted to banging into an enemy or obstacle and i have noticed that he doesn't at all go back in the level but instead just jumps backwards a little and flashes for about 2 seconds so i need to try and recreate this with my plasticine model as best i can.
(1:50-2:03 time of video where he hits enemy)

T-Shirt Wars

I also found this while looking at different stop motion techniques and this is very similar to the Evian advert that i love .... i think that is why i enjoyed this one so much! I think this one works well as it incorporates humour and the animation on the t-shirts and between the actors is wonderful (again the use of human and animation interaction that i keep picking up on). After watching the making of i found out it took 2 days and a lot of t-shirts (didn't state how many i was a little disappointing!), i also found that as one member of the team was taking the photo another member was taking a photo so that on their mac the actors could see their onion skin to show them exactly what their last movement was to keep the animations fluidity precise. I do think with a stop motion animation that a slight imperfection is nice as it shows the charm of stop motion because of the amount of effort and time that goes it. My animation could benefit from using the onion skin but i don't have the software to do it at home so i need to carefully plan out exactly how many frames i will need for each sequence to portray the correct speed without the shadowing that is occurring at the moment at the start of the animation.

Magic Water

I wanted to look at even more stop motion animation just to see other peoples fluency and detail to see how mine could improve; I found this animation called 'Magic Water' that again incorporates animation and real life a technique that i am really starting to warm to. This animation is very simplistic but it all flows smoothly as i Rick pointed out i have some slight shadowing from not planning out the amount of frames i would need to portray the correct speed. One think about the animation that is different to mine is the fact it doesn't really have a purpose it is not been set to promote/advertise or tell us something or at least i can tell by just watching the animation itself although i did find a little info underneath the video.

"Do not take things for granted. We in Sweden are so used to have clean water a few steps away. We need to be more grateful to all these things we have started taking for granted. Would we survive if our precious water suddenly changed... to this?

I used a Nikon D80. Rendered everything in Sony Vegas and animated it in MonkeyJam. One third of the sound effects was made by me, but the rest was found on www.freesound.org. Every single frame was made by me and me only. The clay is a mix between Premo Sculpey and Cernit. Not ideal for stop motion.
This animation was meant to be a simple morph, but when I start projects like these I can't stop."

Project Evaluation

I was a bit upset when i found out i had been referred for my final chunk of year 2 as i then began to panic about whether i would progress into the 3rd year! But as i had a second chance to get a pass i really put my all into it, like i should of done in the first place. I really struggled with the 'competition brief' as i couldn't find an idea to stick with and i almost discarded the project until i eventually ran out of time and therefore handed in an undeveloped idea. I have used work as an excuse for my terrible time management and i feel it has really got in the way, throughout July i said to my manager i could only work the maximum of 2 days a week and i feel that my time management has improved a lot. As a result of this i am only going to be working 2 days a week so i can focus my energy on my degree as it will be my future (hopefully).
This project has been the most unsuccessful to date but i feel it has been a real help to my working method and being referred has helped me to realise what work i have been missing and how to continuously develop my ideas into a finish piece. I know i should of already grasped this way before now but this project i feel has finally lead me down the right path just in time for the most important year!
The things i have done differently this time are: using mind maps to show all my thoughts as last time i didn't note everything down i kept most of it to myself; putting my ideas down into storyboards to make it easier for me to visually see how i need to film/animate; developing my storyboards instead of just filming i have made creative decisions on what i want to change, add or discard of; using animatics as a starting point to my final piece i have found it easier to add into my animatic the final clips of animation so that the correct speed and clips are how i planned them.
Another thing i found very helpful was after i had a rough idea of what i wanted to achieve i went straight out to test and gain some primary research and this is how my final idea developed, instead of being sat in front of a computer i just got on with it and it was easy especially as it was nice weather! I found my tests to be very successful so it was a fantastic starting point as to what i wanted the final piece to look like. After i had some tests i added them together to make short sequences to get a feel of the speed and overall feel/flow of the animation. So when i found what i liked i then started to draw up some storyboards and play with them and as they developed i used photos of the scenes instead of just drawings and drew on where Sonic would go past the camera. This technique was so useful as i could see where i had placed shots next to each other that may look a bit repetitive so i will be using this technique in future to help my project development.
When the storyboards were almost complete i then began to create hand drawn animatics to start to get the speed of the separate clips right and make sure they fit together nicely, since this was developing i then started to use the same photo technique as in the storyboards to give me a clearer idea of what the shot will actually look like. As i got nearer to finishing the animatic i added in clips of my final piece to make sure the timing matched until the whole animatic was the final animation. I felt this method worked well as i was sticking to exactly what i had planned and not just winging it like in some of my previous projects so this is defiantly the way i work the best (and the way it should be done).
The final animation i think has worked well and it is exactly what i pictured, however if i was to do it again i may have picked more locations but i wanted to see how many i could find in one place which i think i managed to do well. I think i have used my time well as i have focus all my energy into it and haven't been distracted, i have to say that the working method i have used within this referred project has been successful and i have stuck to my set time limit. Which i decided on when i gave myself boundaries for the brief. I think this time around the use of my own set boundaries was a great idea because i need some strict guidelines to stop me from losing focus, i planned to start the piece at the beginning of July and have it completed and handed in the first week of August which i have done successfully so in the future i need to set myself guidelines within an open brief as i believe this i how i work the best.

Further Development - Animatics

As i am coming up with more and more ideas for my video i have just kept updating he animatic and it is working really well for me! I have obviously used animatics before but this time i feel i have used them properly to find the right speed and constantly update. Here is another one with the tagline and logo at the end to get a feel of how it works alongside the video.

This is my final animatic and i really think the photo version works well as i can clearly see what is going to happen within the shot. The speed is right and the clips follow in the right order so all i need to do now is replace the photos with the actual clips and i am on my way.

Ending the Animation

I have a start to the animation and the middle but i can't seem to find the right ending but would the game always end the same with a different player? .... each individual would surely end it differently and as this is my chosen theme (everyone is different so each game would be) i think maybe speed up the clips as it gets closer to the end until it is that fast it fades to black and the tagline would appear then Sonic 20th Birthday and finally the Sega logo. (Add to animatic). More filming commences tomorrow as i have the whole day to do it so by the end of tomorrow i will have the majority of the animation placed into my animatic and i will have a plan as to what i need to film in Wales when i leave on Monday. I am really looking forward to getting stuck into the final filming tomorrow as i can't wait to see what it looks like put together.

Inspiration

The last time i was in Wales i visited 'Hells Mouth' beach and a lot of rubbish from people using boats seems to wash up on the shore here! It is such an interesting beach and every time you visit it, its always different. Here are some pictures that i took while i was there of things i found interesting and i plan to go back when i am in wales on the 25th July.

After the statement i have just made above about 'Hells Mouth' being different every time you visit has made me think that each game of Sonic you would play and the different people playing it would be a very different experience. I think this would be a great concept for my sonic piece as i could create a message along the lines of 'Every play is different to every person but we all love it anyway' (this needs some work but i think i am onto something). SO is there away of incorporating this small idea in with the idea i have been developing? I am going to play around with this before i head off to wales and keep it in mind when continuing with my original idea.

Animatics

So after the tests i have put together i have come up with an animatic of how i want the sequence to look like so far, i still need to figure out a start and ending but this is exactly the right speed of how i want sonic to roll across the screen.

This is the second animatic and i have added the beginning and end to it, the beginning is to be an establishing shot of Sonic turning around and the end being the dog running up and taking sonic. I am still very unsure of the ending as i don't think it has any relevance really other than for the comic factor but i am interested to see how it looks. The speed of the ending in this animatic is way too fast so i need to plan how quickly i want the dog to come in and run off and obviously i want it to be clear on what the dog is doing so i am going to capture this before i plan the timing. (See what the dog does natural first).

After this i thought to myself i really need to pin point an ending before i continue, i always seem to think that these things will just fall into place but i have been working on my time management and my planning and my time management has really improved but i need to be more assertive when it comes to my planning. So i did a brain storm of possible endings and i came up with: the dog running off with sonic; someone standing on sonic; sonic rolling towards camera.

This is another animatic i did (still with the same ending) but i added a few parts i had already shot to see how the speed of things would actually work. I thought the speed of this was ok but looking at it again i think it is way too fast, you don't get a clear picture of whats going on SO i am now going to slow it down to the speed i would like! In the final sequence i recon i need to add more frames to make the movement more smooth (less jumpy and blurred) and hopefully it will slow things down a lot more.

Ok i have finally got the speed right! However it is still only 9 seconds long and i planned a 30 second long animation so i need to add different scenes to it. I am going to wales Monday the 25th July and there are a few places i know i want to film there so i am going to develop my story board again now to add these in ... i have a mental picture of the places of which i want to film so from that i will add to the animatic. AND i have scrapped the dog ending and in fact all the ending possibilities i came up with SO as i have come up with a new concept i need to find a more suitable ending.

More Tests

I rebuilt my sonic model and took him back out into the garden to re shoot the successful compositions i had the first time around and try and find more or more ways to make the existing ones interesting. I but them together in a sequence to see if i could get a sense of what they would look like together so i can develop the animation as i go along before i plan out my animatic.

I don't think this sequence works very well .. i think the first part of the sequence where he goes from walking to rolling works and i need that flow but i need an exciting start because it kind of just starts it has no story line. Also i think the last test looks better as sonic is consistent and rolls at the same speed but on different levels of the shot which is exciting and chaotic just like sonic.

The Dog

I really want my dog to end the animation i want him to run towards him pick him up and run away ... so i have been trying to teach him how to do it here is a quick video of my first attempt (not very successful).

I got distracted after this trying to chase a frog around the garden with the camera when i went back to get the model it had gone eventually i found this

So i know he will actually do it but just when i am not watching CANDIT CAM!!!!

The walk

As i mentioned i think it might be slightly boring if Sonic is constantly rolling because in the game he runs first and as he builds up speed and jumps thats when he rolls. So i tested how i think my model sonic should walk/run, i simple just moved his feet up and down and i think it worked fairly successfully.

It is a very simple way of doing it but i think overall i want to show the warmth of the game as in everyone can play it so i don't want to show to much complexity as it would become uninviting. I think my audience will warm more to a piece like that of Sculpey the slug homely and clever.

Test Sequence

These are the tests i did but put into a sequence. I love the chaotic feel as i think this is how the game feels, its fast and almost uncontrollable! I this is small sequence is successful however i think maybe i should start off slow so that the audience are aware of who the character is OR slow it down towards the end so i could start with an enigma and all will be revealed at the end.

I also like the changing of background settings it looks so more interesting and more like an adventure than a plain white background with cut out paper trees. The natural colours of the garden don't clash with the plasticine model, he is still the dominant part of the animation you can see him at all times! I also think that the fact i have positioned sonic in different places within the camera shot to add level and more movement rather than if he just ran straight past the camera at the same level.

I have slowed the start down in the test and i think although its not a huge difference i would like to establish who the character is in the opening shot it saves using text so it is still a small mystery as to what i am trying to show the audience. This gives me more freedom for an ending since i don't have to reveal a million secrets. As the piece goes on i want to reveal where he is so i need some more mid shots so you can still see Sonic but also there are huge hints as to where he is.

Shaun the Sheep

So i had a look at a short animation by Aardman Studios obviously famous for their claymation! I know this is an obvious choice but i wanted to see the difference at the top of the scale! I think what differentiates this from Sculpey the Slug is that the background is made up as well rather than using real life situations to represent the setting the character is found in rather than just on your bedside table or desk. I don't know whether these are made up by hand or created in preproduction but it shows more creativity and imagination as you can create anything to show your desired mise-en-scene. Although i prefer this i don't think i am capable of creating the whole entire background as well since my model is not to the best of standard i want my models to look fairly child like to suit the overall 'bringing back memories' approach. So i think for me the best option is to create a model and work it around real settings such as in the garden or on the beach similar to Sculpey the Slug.

Sculpey the Slug

Before i threw myself too far into the project again without any development i thought it would be wise to look at other animations amateur and professional to try gain and see what i am missing so that i can make mine into a finished piece! This particular animation uses plasticine like i am going to use which is what made me want to watch it the most! It is a simple story of a Slug that creates his own wife because he is lonely it is a very basic story line and it is set in someone (the animators) bedroom i presume. The thing that works well is the use of comedy within the piece i think humour is a very important part of a story as it makes the audience feel good and most likely want to show it to other people! My piece lacks any sort of storyline and i would like to add an element of fun and comedy as i think this will portray the feel of the sonic game when you play it. The use of subtle sounds of movement e.g. the blinking is beautiful and the choice of songs adds to that of the comic factor which is something i need to focus on more as sound is equally as important as the animation itself!!! However one thing i would do differently - because the brief is to create an almost advert to promote Sonic's 20th birthday i need to make it slightly more professional and i think this will be extremely difficult as i am also an amateur! I need to now look at professional plasticine stop motion pieces to get a feel of what level i need to be hitting.