Monday, 16 June 2014
Evaluation
Evaluation
For the first task of this assignment, as a
class we had all chosen one animation company or animator from a list and then
done research on what they do. I had chosen to do research on Aardman
animations as I knew off some of their work. Aardman animation are a company
who specialise in stop motion animation such as morph and chicken run. Doing
research on them would allow us to get some ideas on how these companies had
created there animations and the techniques which they had used to create the
animations which would help us create ours. It had shown us what makes a good
animation. Also looking at the animations which they had created had helped me
come up with my idea on what I would like to create.
For the planning of the animation I had started off
by writing down ideas which I could use to create an animation and once I had a
solid idea I went on to the next stage which was to expand on it. I wrote down
all the iconic movie moments which I may use in my animation and talked about
what I would need to create it as well as how I would do it. Secondly I had
created a mood board putting all my thoughts and ideas on such as props
backgrounds characters and so on. I then went on to create a story board as it
would allow me to know step-by-step how I would create my animation and keep me
on tracks
We then moved on to creating our character and sets
which we would animate. As a class we had started off by creating an armature
with help from our teacher showing us what possible things you could do with
stop motion animation. After starting it most off the class had given up on it
as they weren't interested in making it however me on the other hand, I had
decided to continue making it as I thought with the armature a could create
something amazing as with stop motion animation anything you imagine is
possible to make. Creating the armature had taken me a lot of time to do. After
using wire and metal joints to create the skeleton I had moved on to make the
head, hand and feet. It had taken me time to do as I kept on starting over
because I wanted it to look perfect. After I had made the body parts I added
paper mache to make it hard so it don’t lose its shape. This had wasted some
time as I had to let it dry overnight. I then moved on to the next stage which
was to add sponge to it to make it 3D. Adding the sponge was hard as I didn’t
know what size to cut it so it took me a while to get the hand. Once the sponge
was added I had moved on to add the tights which was the skin off my character
which impressively I had done really quick. Once my character was completed, I
had moved on to the final stage which was to paint it in gold paint making it
look as much as an Oscars trophy as possible. The paint had taken a day to dry
which had used a lot of valuable animating time. Creating the armature wasted a
lot of time as I didn't know how to make it and needed a lot of help from my
teacher however he wasn’t free that much so I had to wait till I could get hold
of him if I wanted to proceed to the next step. Once I completed the character
I moved on to create my set which was simple as I took a box I found lying
around and added black sugar paper creating a completed stage.
Animating the work wasn’t as hard as I had got the
hand off making a stop motion animation in the past trials I had. However
creating my stop motion was slightly difficult at times as there were parts in
my animation I had to keep my character bending backwards which was really hard
and time consuming as the character kept falling over which made me have
to start over. Other things which were hard was when trying to get the
character to sit from the transition between him standing an him sitting it
kept on dropping too fast and it was really hard to keep it in position without
holding it up with something. This was also time consuming and wasted a lot of
my editing time. I had used iStopMotion to create my stop motion animation. The
software was easy to use and I had got the hand of it really. Editing the
footage was also very easy and fast as I had many previous experience editing
using final cut pro to edit footage such as when making a music video or when
creating an ident. I had added sound to my video using final cut pro as well as
some transitions between the clips.
When I had shown the final animation to my class I
had a mixed variety of feedback. Some of the negative feedback I had gotten was
that some people had no idea what the concept of the animation was and what was
happening in the animation. However most off the people who felt this way were
people who never watched many movies and for those who did watch movies, they
were quick to pick out what movies referenced. More negative feedback which I
had gotten was that the movement of the characters at time weren’t so smooth
which made the clips hard to understand. Also, they said that the way the text
was used wasn’t good and was poorly placed and colour was bad which could have
been clearer. On the other hand I had received positive feedback such as the
editing was good such as the sound level being clear and level throughout and
transitions used well. More feedback I had gotten was when I had asked where it
is most likely to get screened most people had said on a YouTube ad before
videos such as movie trailer and videos. I agree with what they said as a lot
of people would be able to see it. Another question I had asked was about the
aesthetic qualities and they said that it didn’t look so good because the way
that the character had moved was not so good and was shaking a lot and also the
pace was not consistent throughout as some parts were really slow and some
parts were really fast. When asking them about the creativity put into the
animation most had said that a lot of creativity was shown as they saw the
amount of effort put in and also the overall ideas was well thought of and
unique. This also goes for the story line as once I explained what was going on
many of them had said that the story was really good however the animation
could use some improving on. I think that the overall feedback that we had
gotten was really helpful and I agree with what they had to say so if I was to
get another chance at making the animation I would improve on those factors.
Overall I think the overall animation had come out
well and as I had planned. From doing this assignment I had learned many things
about animation. For starters when doing research on Aardman I had learnt how
they had created their animations and the processes they went through to
complete their task. This had helped me when creating my animation. If I where
to get another chance at doing this I would manage my time better and also
improve on some parts when creating the animation.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Process of making armature
Step 1: i had first started of by making the skeleton of my armature using wire to create it.
Step 2: i then added plaster to the armature so that it could be stronger
Step 3: i then added sponge using PVA glue which i added to shape out the body. i also shaped out the head using clay and added newspaper mixed with Pva glue to make it stronger
Step 4:i then added tights to the outside which was the skin
Step 5: i added latex to the armature and finally finished it off by adding gold acrylic paint.
Research on Aardman
Aardman Animations
Aardman
Animations is an animation company that was founded in 1972 by David Sproxton
and Peter Lord. Aardman are known as a world leader in model animation. The two
had begun to know each other when they were at school. They had been doing
animation during their free time and used a camera that belonged to David’s
father. There first project was to produce something for a show called ‘vision
on’. They had used cell animation to create a short piece which featured a
character called Aardman who was the first character they had created. BBC had
bought the film which is the reason that in1972 the company was founded.
After
graduating from school they moved to Bristol where they created the character Morph
which was used for the children's programme 'Take Hart'. Morph made his first
appearance in 1976 and the Amazing Adventures of Morph was screened in 1981.From
the start Peter and David had always thought in building up an adult audience
for animated films. They had created two short films BBC Bristol called Down
and Out’ and ‘Confessions of a Foyer Girl’. BBC had decided to ignore it in
1978 however couple years later it was seen by channel 4. Also with films like
Early Bird Aardman had shown that real people could be characterised with understanding,
humour and sensitivity.
Peter and David had met someone called Nick Park while they were at the
National Film and Television School while he was doing some work on his student
film on his student film. The saw his work and then he had gone on to joining
Aardman full time in 1985. One year later Peter had decided that they produce a
new rock video with director Stephen Johnson and the Brothers Quay called
sledgehammer. The music video had gone on and won many awards that year. The
company was asked again in 1989 by channel 4 to produce five 5 minute length
films. The series was a big success and it had looked at the world of animation
by using real characters and voices. it had features many pieces of work such
as Nick Park's Creature Comforts, Richard Goleszowski's Ident, Barry Purves
Next, and Peter Lord's War Story and Going Equipped. The series had went on and
in the year 1990 had Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
1933 was a great year for Aardman as they had won an Oscar award as well as
over thirty different awards worldwide. A 30 minute film called The Wrong
Trouser created by Nick Park is now seen as one of the most successful animated
films ever made.Aardman had gone on to create their first full length film
called chicken run which was funded by DreamWorks. After its release in 2000
the films reviews and box office spot was outstanding. Chicken Run had gone and
grossed over £220M at the worldwide box office.
To mass
critical acclaim and outstanding box office results, Wallace and Gromit's first
feature film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was released by DreamWorks in October
2005. The film topped the box office charts in both the US and UK and garnered
many prestigious international awards including the Academy Award for Best
Animated Feature Film and a BAFTA for Best British Film. As the studio's
reputation has grown both in the UK and overseas, so has the demand for its
commercials work. Aardman produce approximately 75 commercials each year, using
a wide variety of animation styles. As well as working in stop frame,
productions in CGI, Flash and mixed media are thriving. From Peter and David's
tabletop beginnings, Aardman has grown into a major, world class studio. Their
work continues to be innovative, entertaining, brilliantly characterised and
full of charm, reflecting the talent, energy and personal commitment of all the
people who comprise the Aardman team
Process of making an the
animation
The company first start off with a 2d design of the model they would be
designing and from the model they begin adding clay and sculpt their model to
make it 3d. They then add fine tuning to make it look much better. They then
can use the model after adding pieces and materials creating a puppet which can
then be animated. Many
different materials are used to create the model such as clay, rubber, foam
latex and many more depending on the character you are going to create.
Armatures are used by the company which are made by plates and drilled balls
linked to rods to create a metal skeleton. Know Aardman use armatures in almost
every single one of their characters apart from small puppets. Also morph was
one character in the Aardman Company who had never had an armature used on and
is made out of solid clay.
The company
give their characters head that are made out of clay and there reason was that
it makes it easier to move around and animate the facial expressions. For the
way the animation talks, different types of methods are used. If the character has
a minimal amount of expressions the person who is animating may sculpt the
mouth shapes on the puppet's head whereas there is a lot of speech needed there
would be separate mouth sculpted for each letter of the alphabet and then the
animator would replace each mouth so that he could attain different word
shapes. The company do not create sets and props unless for props such as hats
and suitcases and other props which are able to be animated. They get companies
who specialise in making sets and props to make it for them. Once the creating
of the model is done they go on to the studio and start to animate.
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Possible Movie Ideas
Platoon
For this movie, the clip which I would be using is the final
clip of the whole movie where Elias who is the main character of the film, and
after being shot several times, falls to the ground in a dramatic death and
dies. For this clip I would not really need any props as people would be able
to understand what is happening without any extra props.
King Kong
The clip which I would try to recreate from King Kong would
be the clip where King Kong climbs up the empire state building because he just
broke loose and him at the top of the building holding Ann Darrow in his hands and
hitting away the planes trying to take him down. In order for me to go on and
create this clip I would need some props. For starters I would need planes. I
would most likely make the planes by using paper to create a paper plane. Also
I would need to create an extra character to act as Ann Darrow. I would most
likely use a Lego women as they are small and I would not have to go through
the trouble of creating her which would save me a lot of time.
Pulp Fiction
The clip which I would be recreating from pulp fiction would
be the dance of scene between Uma Thurman and John Travolta. This scene would
not require any props. The reason is because it’s a dance off and rather than
adding props once people hear the music playing in the background they would know
what movie it is straight away.
Godfather
I would try to recreate the clip where Vito Corleone is in
his office and him stroking his cat. If I was to do this I would need some
props. The main prop that I would need is probably going to be a cat as he
stokes a cat in the clip. I would be creating the cat out of clay as I thought
it would be easy and simple creating a cat out of clay as it doesn’t have many
features which require hard work. Also it is a small cat so I would be able to
make it faster.
The Matrix
The scene I would be creating from the matrix is when neo
goes into bullet time when getting shot at by Agent Smith on the roof. For this
scene I would not need any props however I would need to learn how to add
special effects to make it look better.
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