Course Summary

And now comes the part where we all suck up our lecturer and write about how we’ll cherish this experience forever… Well, it was brilliant. So there. Seriously, Narratives in Animation was undoubtedly the most enjoyable subject I’ve done at uni. Each of the assignments was challenging but never felt impossible. The progress submission and the media package in particular helped me chip away the work I would have to do for my final film without even realizing it. When it came time to start chipping away at the final film, I had all the tools to complete the task as well as experiment in order to create something unique. I am exceedingly proud of my final film and, despite being referred to as ‘Tommy Ass End’, am now convinced in perusing a career in digital media. Thanks Josh and Lisa.

See you in Digital Media Studio.

Thomas.

Presentations

Ari and I presented our final animation today. Weird wouldn’t begin to describe it. It was great to finally be able to present all my hard work, but everyone else had chosen to make crowd pleasers; many of which were genuinely hilarious. Mine was the only serious, and rather creepy, animation, which was very strange. After the film had finished and the credits were rolling it seemed like everyone was staring at me like a dog that’s just been shown a card trick. Then again that could have just been nerves. It was also good to hear my respective markers could see the pain on my face while I was presenting which I’ve been told can only work in my favour. The relative speed with which the others groups presented meant I cut much of my speech and the audio on the animation was unfortunately low.

If given more time, more attention would be given to conveying Nihl’s personality within several shots before he sees the light that turns out to be seraphi. Also, due to a simple lack of time, close-up shots of Nihl framing his P.O.V shots had to be cut and therefore when the camera does switch it can be slightly unclear to the viewer.

Week 11 Part 2

The song used throughout the animation is Closer (Precursor) by Nine Inch Nails. Due to its eerie sound effects and ominous droning noise, the song was always intended to inform the timing of the film, with every shot lasting 2 bars of the song. With every shot the same length, an ominous inevitability of tragedy is present throughout the animation. This formed a strong foundation for the soundscape and slowly increased in volume over the course of the animation.

Additional sounds were recorded on guitar to accentuate specific events, most importantly, the finale where Seraphi really lights up. This was done by playing an 'e' octave and slowly bending the higher string to achieve a harsh, dissonant, sound. In the final seconds white noise is layered over the guitar to imitate increased static.

A specific ‘Nihl sound’ was created by scratching the guitar strings with an echo and whirring effect applied in ‘audacity’. Sound is used during Nihl’s point of view shots to illustrate an animal such as Nihl would have much poorer hearing than we do. Also the final shot of all black that is completely silent is intended as a P.O.V. shot; however, as the character is dead, obviously no sound can be heard.

Week 11 Part 1

The final inside layout of the DVD package. The inside was intended to contrast the darkness of the front and back covers (which remained the same from the media package). The concept for the design was to focus on the angelic aspects of Seraphi's design and the fact the more sinister elements are blurred out due to the burst of light. The arrangement of the Post Omega Productions Logo is intended to evoke religious imagery and surround the image with as much reverence as possible.

Week 10 Part 3

In this before and after example, After effects were crucial in conveying the conclusion of the narrative. Seraphi 'exploding' could only be achieved through after effects by firstly applying a lens flare and animating it to follow seraphi's 'head'. Second a CC light burst effect was applied to streak the image outwards. FInally, a bulge was added in the centre of the shot that increased as the shot progressed, this had the eerie effect of seraphi distorting the space around it. As a finishing touch, many other lens flares were added to the sky representing many more creatures like seraphi.

Week 10 Part 2

Received our marks back for the promotional package. I am very pleased with the result. The 3ds max renders could have been of higher quality and given that the production still were largely generated in photoshop, it will be difficult to recreate the look in flash while animating. However, I think this has helped to set a high standard for my character animation by having such a direct comparison. Of particular note is the comment on my feedback sheet that concept artwork could be a possible career for me. I figure that's pretty much the best feedback someone could get in this course. Cheers for that.

Week 10 Part 1

As a way of figuring out what was possible and what had to be completed in which programs, adobe after effects was tested early on. Below is a comparison of two photoshop backgrounds. The first places too much on the foreground instead of where Nihl's shadow will briefly appear in the background. Also, as this shot is relatively early in the animation, light had to be taken out in order to increase the build up to blinding light towards the end. Film grain was applied throughout the animation (apart from the POV shots) to increase the gritty and abrasive feel. This effect also made elements generated in photoshop and flash better integrate within the 3ds max environment.

Individual 'glitches' were also animated using noise and displacement maps to distort or scrape some of image away. This all follows on from the idea that the events are being recorded on degraded 'security cameras' placed randomly throughout the wasteland.

Week 9 Part 1

The requirement of production stills proved invaluable in finalising the style of the animation. The methods of animation and realisation of the characters had already been finalised but the backgrounds still needed some experimentation. Below is an unaltered screen shot taken from the 3dsmax model.

There was a decent amount of 'moody' lighting present in the 3ds max model but the emphasis was not placed on the right areas of the shot. Also the main plot device (a light appearing at the end of walkway) was not present to the extent required by the narrative. In order to achieve this, a strong 'S' curve was applied tot he image, as well as heavy use of the dodge and burn tools. Finally, a very light 'poster edges' filter was overlaid on top of the image so the flash generated characters looked more at home within the shot. This was the result:

Week 8 Part 2

The final poster i the series is to be an extreme close up of Nihl's eye in which instead being in the background, the environment will be reflected in Nihl's eye. Below is a Prelim using a concept of Nihl that had been painted for the progress submission.

In order to complete the poster, I highly detailed version had to be painted with the graphics tablet which required much layering and light correction to get the creases and wrinkles required to convey nervousness. Finally, an image of elephant skin was warped and multiplied over the painted layers to give a final touch of organicism.

Week 8 Part 1

With the posters for the media package, a very subdued style will be used in contrast to the animation, which is all about the big ‘reveals’ of its two characters. Initially, seraphi was be placed very dominantly over each poster, albeit very opaque, however, it was suggested the character be left off the posters entirely. In order to create a cohesive series of posters, Nihl will be featured in various scales throughout. A very opaque environment shot will also be used in order to provide context to the posters.

Below is a bonus poster that was not submitted because its simplicity was inconsistent with others