Untitled from Lisa Hvidsten on Vimeo.
mandag 20. juni 2011
Done rendering.
Friday the last frame was rendered out. Its bothering me that many monthts of hard work results in a product that runs for under two minutes.
søndag 19. juni 2011
RENDERING.
I am currently rendering out the whole thing. I use scanline for the beauty pass, and vray for an ambient occlusion pass.. I fake some indirect illumination.. Looks much better when I have ambient occlusion.
Also: I think that even if depth of field is there on the beauty pass- its not necessary to have DOF in the Ambient occlusion pass.. It just steals so much render-time:/
The next thing now- is to try to add the star in after effects.. First I planned to make it with a lens effect in 3Ds max. It works, but it doesn't look so good.. So as I said- I`ll try to make it in after effects. If I am not able to do it, then my "max-star" is my plan B.
And sound.. I must find, edit and apply sound.
Also: I think that even if depth of field is there on the beauty pass- its not necessary to have DOF in the Ambient occlusion pass.. It just steals so much render-time:/
The next thing now- is to try to add the star in after effects.. First I planned to make it with a lens effect in 3Ds max. It works, but it doesn't look so good.. So as I said- I`ll try to make it in after effects. If I am not able to do it, then my "max-star" is my plan B.
And sound.. I must find, edit and apply sound.
DONE with it:
I meant to write about the animation lately..however- I just went into my own little world, and FOCUSED. The last two week I've been a machine..and suddenly..I had animated so much that I cant believe it. Friday I had the weekly meeting with Deryck.. Had 15- 20 seconds left to animate. I showed him a crappy render of the progress so far, and he discovered one last camera-issue thing. I am crossing the line in
one of the last shots. The wife stands up, moves from screen left to screen right, and suddenly a new line is made. (180 degree rule). The following shot therefore violates the 180 degree rule.. Deryck suggested that I either animated the camera so that it stays on her right side trough the whole shot, or that I keep the camera still, but changes its position so that the wife never moves from one side of the screen to the other. I chose the last option.. (don't want to animate one more camera= lazy!) Turned out OK.
one of the last shots. The wife stands up, moves from screen left to screen right, and suddenly a new line is made. (180 degree rule). The following shot therefore violates the 180 degree rule.. Deryck suggested that I either animated the camera so that it stays on her right side trough the whole shot, or that I keep the camera still, but changes its position so that the wife never moves from one side of the screen to the other. I chose the last option.. (don't want to animate one more camera= lazy!) Turned out OK.
ADDING PERSONALITY:
One thing that I decided to have in mind when I animated was that I would ask myself- what kind of movement will the character have- based on the fact that he is a gingerbreadman? Also the way we move is depended on the situation we`re in, and how we are feeling.
I asked the question "If the gingerbreadman was not at gingerbreadman..what other creature would he be, if you JUST have MOVEMENT in mind? My answer was: A little child. With his big, heavy head and odd proportions, I think his movement will be very similar to what we see in a two- three year old child. So I`ve tried to keep this in mind for many of his moves- however- several places I have enough with just making the animaion look OK..and the whole "childlike" thing is not easy to implement in every case, because you really need to think.. and have time for it. Also the wife has some childlike movement, especially when she walks.. she turns out to be really cute I think:)
I asked the question "If the gingerbreadman was not at gingerbreadman..what other creature would he be, if you JUST have MOVEMENT in mind? My answer was: A little child. With his big, heavy head and odd proportions, I think his movement will be very similar to what we see in a two- three year old child. So I`ve tried to keep this in mind for many of his moves- however- several places I have enough with just making the animaion look OK..and the whole "childlike" thing is not easy to implement in every case, because you really need to think.. and have time for it. Also the wife has some childlike movement, especially when she walks.. she turns out to be really cute I think:)
lørdag 18. juni 2011
DO NOT LOOK AT Animation Mentor student videos while animating:
It will rip your self-esteem away.. at least that's how I feel. I frequently look at the 11 second club contest.. Its so inspiring to look at talented animators.. However- now when I looked at my own then- I just felt.. "wow..what a dung of useless crap I've animated today". To produce a short..alone..and to keep the spirit up can be challenging. You want to make the best short in the world right, and
then you realise that you just..cant. All you can do is aim high- and hope to get SOME of the result that you had in mind. I must accept that its going to take YEARS before I am able to animate at the level that I aim for. And I must learn to "let go"..
OK..you know you could just do that "one" little last thing to get that shot perfect.. The problem is; that "one" thing is never "one thing",
and you simply do not have the time. I was unsure of if I was the only one feeling like this. Then I watched an interview with Shawn Kelly (ILM) and Carlos Baena (Pixar)... they said that very often they felt uncomfortable leaving a shot.. "I just want to fix ONE last thing..etc.. The advice they gave was..just let go.
Another funny thing is..I've gotten much better at animating in a short time now..
The shots that looked OK three weeks ago looks like crap now. So I have had to go back and improve "old" animation, or else the difference in quality would
be very noticeable I think. The cool thing though- is that I've obviously had progress. One of the things that I had to improve many places is overlapping, weight and and timing. Also I've been adding more breakdowns- and let the computer to less inbetweening for me. Still- I really must learn to take greater control over the inbetweening- I let the computer have far to much power in that matter. I do not want to continue to be a curve-editor animator, searching for "happy accidents"- as Keith Lango says.
then you realise that you just..cant. All you can do is aim high- and hope to get SOME of the result that you had in mind. I must accept that its going to take YEARS before I am able to animate at the level that I aim for. And I must learn to "let go"..
OK..you know you could just do that "one" little last thing to get that shot perfect.. The problem is; that "one" thing is never "one thing",
and you simply do not have the time. I was unsure of if I was the only one feeling like this. Then I watched an interview with Shawn Kelly (ILM) and Carlos Baena (Pixar)... they said that very often they felt uncomfortable leaving a shot.. "I just want to fix ONE last thing..etc.. The advice they gave was..just let go.
Another funny thing is..I've gotten much better at animating in a short time now..
The shots that looked OK three weeks ago looks like crap now. So I have had to go back and improve "old" animation, or else the difference in quality would
be very noticeable I think. The cool thing though- is that I've obviously had progress. One of the things that I had to improve many places is overlapping, weight and and timing. Also I've been adding more breakdowns- and let the computer to less inbetweening for me. Still- I really must learn to take greater control over the inbetweening- I let the computer have far to much power in that matter. I do not want to continue to be a curve-editor animator, searching for "happy accidents"- as Keith Lango says.
fredag 17. juni 2011
Animation:
Sadly- I think- we haven't done much character animation at Noroff. So the training I had before the project sums up to no more than two months. However- my boyfriend Chris bought me the Keith Lango VTS for Christmas. Its a goldmine- and I've watched hours and hours of them. But still I haven't had much time practising my animation skills.
My previous experience is that I animate about 10 sec animation per week.. With a little math- I soon realised that this would absolutely NOT do if I were to reach the deadline.. Then I was told by Deryck..that his animators on "The Lion of Judah" animated about 5 seconds a day. "WHAT"?! I thought.. Who could do that? What kind of super pro animators did he have?? Actually just TWO "pro" animators he had.. and the
rest of them was pretty fresh from school if I understood him right.. So I decided to think like this: If they could do it, then I can do it. I CAN do it, and I WILL do it. So I started to "compete" with Derycks animators.
At first I had no chance..five seconds a day..no way.. However..very shortly I worked faster..and some days I actually made 5 seconds a day. Keep in mind though..my character has no fingers, feet or advanced facials. Actually this was some of the reason for me to choose this particular story in the first place.. I knew that my characters would look simple, and therefore I would not struggle more than necessary with skinning and animation.
My previous experience is that I animate about 10 sec animation per week.. With a little math- I soon realised that this would absolutely NOT do if I were to reach the deadline.. Then I was told by Deryck..that his animators on "The Lion of Judah" animated about 5 seconds a day. "WHAT"?! I thought.. Who could do that? What kind of super pro animators did he have?? Actually just TWO "pro" animators he had.. and the
rest of them was pretty fresh from school if I understood him right.. So I decided to think like this: If they could do it, then I can do it. I CAN do it, and I WILL do it. So I started to "compete" with Derycks animators.
At first I had no chance..five seconds a day..no way.. However..very shortly I worked faster..and some days I actually made 5 seconds a day. Keep in mind though..my character has no fingers, feet or advanced facials. Actually this was some of the reason for me to choose this particular story in the first place.. I knew that my characters would look simple, and therefore I would not struggle more than necessary with skinning and animation.
Props
Added curtains for the window, made the goblin-couple, shelves for the walls, lamps, flour, and rolling pin.
The wife had some plastic surgery.
I've made the wife more appealing- added hair and some decorations for her dress.
torsdag 16. juni 2011
The shots of the star
As I wrote in my previous post I wondered if the first shots of the twinkling star looked alright. Deryck and I had already talked about these shots: as you can see at o:09 sec from my original previz the first shot of the star was a mid-shot/long-shot.
He advised me to make this shot a close-up of the star instead. I agreed with his suggestion, however I wondered how I could move from the star, to the "magic" opening of the book, and then show the gingerbread man. The star twinkle, the book opening and the characters reaction are three different actions that occurs pretty much at the "same" time. I wanted to show this- fluidly and and with clarity for the audience. At first I just added the close-up of the star, and then made a cut to the long shot that jibs down to the book. It was at this point I wrote the previous blog-post asking "how does it look NOW then"?.
I saw that there was something about it that I just did not like- but I was unsure of what it was. The cut between the at 0:09 sec and the following shot felt wrong, and the whole "operation" with moving the camera from the star to the gingerbread man- it just didn't feel right.
Deryck looked at it, and instantly said- "your close up of the star has much space screen- left. Since your character is placed right of the star, then your screen-space should be screen- RIGHT.
Also you should make your jib-down shot have more of a ease in and out- it moves to fast!". These things I hadn't thought about at all. (I guess that experience with a REAL camera would do me some good- and give me a better instinct/feeling for how a camera could/should move in a 3D software like max actually.)
The third advice he gave me was: "when the camera moves down and shows the book opening, don't stop- let it rotate or move back so that the character is also included in the shot".
I thought about what he said- and realized that these suggestions could solve my "problem"- that I wanted the three actions (star, book, characters reaction) to fluidly appear to happen almost at the same time.
I eagerly made the changes- rendered out- and once more showed Deryck the result.
I was still not happy with the cut at 0:09 though.
Now Deryck said- "much better, but you know what I think would look really cool?
- If you show the characters first reaction to the star twinkle, BEFORE the mid-shot of the star when camera jibs down. So we discussed this for a little while- and agreed that the natural thing would be for the character to first react to the STAR twinkle, then show that the book opens, and show the characters reaction to this.
It is silly that a thing like this can make a person happy- but I actually felt real happiness and excitement at this point, because I realised that the suggestion that Deryck now had would make the shots like I wanted them to look. I would have fluid motion, clarity of actions, and no jumpy cuts of the star- because a shot of the character would occur in the middle of them. We had successfully solved all the issues with the shots that bothered me. En eureka-feeling really.
It now looks like this:
Nice- yeah? :)
He advised me to make this shot a close-up of the star instead. I agreed with his suggestion, however I wondered how I could move from the star, to the "magic" opening of the book, and then show the gingerbread man. The star twinkle, the book opening and the characters reaction are three different actions that occurs pretty much at the "same" time. I wanted to show this- fluidly and and with clarity for the audience. At first I just added the close-up of the star, and then made a cut to the long shot that jibs down to the book. It was at this point I wrote the previous blog-post asking "how does it look NOW then"?.
I saw that there was something about it that I just did not like- but I was unsure of what it was. The cut between the at 0:09 sec and the following shot felt wrong, and the whole "operation" with moving the camera from the star to the gingerbread man- it just didn't feel right.
Deryck looked at it, and instantly said- "your close up of the star has much space screen- left. Since your character is placed right of the star, then your screen-space should be screen- RIGHT.
Also you should make your jib-down shot have more of a ease in and out- it moves to fast!". These things I hadn't thought about at all. (I guess that experience with a REAL camera would do me some good- and give me a better instinct/feeling for how a camera could/should move in a 3D software like max actually.)
The third advice he gave me was: "when the camera moves down and shows the book opening, don't stop- let it rotate or move back so that the character is also included in the shot".
I thought about what he said- and realized that these suggestions could solve my "problem"- that I wanted the three actions (star, book, characters reaction) to fluidly appear to happen almost at the same time.
I eagerly made the changes- rendered out- and once more showed Deryck the result.
I was still not happy with the cut at 0:09 though.
Untitled from Lisa Hvidsten on Vimeo.
Now Deryck said- "much better, but you know what I think would look really cool?
- If you show the characters first reaction to the star twinkle, BEFORE the mid-shot of the star when camera jibs down. So we discussed this for a little while- and agreed that the natural thing would be for the character to first react to the STAR twinkle, then show that the book opens, and show the characters reaction to this.
It is silly that a thing like this can make a person happy- but I actually felt real happiness and excitement at this point, because I realised that the suggestion that Deryck now had would make the shots like I wanted them to look. I would have fluid motion, clarity of actions, and no jumpy cuts of the star- because a shot of the character would occur in the middle of them. We had successfully solved all the issues with the shots that bothered me. En eureka-feeling really.
It now looks like this:
Untitled from Lisa Hvidsten on Vimeo.
Nice- yeah? :)
SHADING ISSUE:
I've always wanted to experiment with toon shading. When people are asked "which animated film is your favourite?" you get answers like "little mermaid", "The jungle book", "Robin Hood", "Lion King" etc... Probably every one of us get a dreamy look in our eyes when we think about such films.. We all agree that shrek is cool right.. And that toy story rocks.. But do we get that warm feeling in our heart? I know I don't...
When I first dreamed of being an animator, I wanted to do puppet animation actually. My second choice was 2D animation, and 3D actually came third. However- since there was no school I could go to and learn puppet or 2D animation, then I was "stuck" with 3D animation. Well, the point is- I've wanted to experiment with toon shading.. I am sick of all those polished CG renderings.. I am sick of glossiness and caustics, sick of perfection, sick of reality. I do not care how well you rendered out that teapot.. It doesn't make me FEEL anything.
So.. I thought- "I`ll show them- I`ll make my film toon shaded".. Not like flat shading no, "real" toon shading- like you see in old Disney movies. I did some research and learned that the technique they used to paint the scenes in the disney classics is called GUACHE. I studied a lot of shorts on YouTube..
What I also discovered was that ink lines are only included on the objects and characters that are animated.. No ink-lines on backgrounds or static objects. Also, the shading on moving characters and objects is simple. No shadows on them. I felt really excited about my deductions.. And when I found a shader called "guace" I was in heaven. My film was definitely going to look like this.. I started to shade my scene..
The fall from heaven- and back to cg-reality:
One thing that I had not thought about was the fact that a toon shader looks like a toon shader because of the limited amount of how it is affected by lights... SO when I applied toon-shading to the big surfaces- like the kitchen bench and the walls-
I lost the night/Christmas/cosy feeling in the scene. Everything looked FLAT! I am sure that this could be solved in some way- but I did not have the time to experiment it for too long.. I realised that in order to stay on the time-schedule I had to make a choice- either keep the toon shading- and not have contrast in lighting, or have keep the lighting- and not have toon shading.
I chose to "kill my darlings" - the toon shading. I felt that the lighting was important, and that to keep the toon shading would be stubborn of me. To have a "cool" toon- shader in a scene that did not make you feel anything- because everything looks flat would be...wrong.
So back to 3D-shaders it was:
Looks all right- she grumbled.. :)
When I first dreamed of being an animator, I wanted to do puppet animation actually. My second choice was 2D animation, and 3D actually came third. However- since there was no school I could go to and learn puppet or 2D animation, then I was "stuck" with 3D animation. Well, the point is- I've wanted to experiment with toon shading.. I am sick of all those polished CG renderings.. I am sick of glossiness and caustics, sick of perfection, sick of reality. I do not care how well you rendered out that teapot.. It doesn't make me FEEL anything.
So.. I thought- "I`ll show them- I`ll make my film toon shaded".. Not like flat shading no, "real" toon shading- like you see in old Disney movies. I did some research and learned that the technique they used to paint the scenes in the disney classics is called GUACHE. I studied a lot of shorts on YouTube..
What I also discovered was that ink lines are only included on the objects and characters that are animated.. No ink-lines on backgrounds or static objects. Also, the shading on moving characters and objects is simple. No shadows on them. I felt really excited about my deductions.. And when I found a shader called "guace" I was in heaven. My film was definitely going to look like this.. I started to shade my scene..
The fall from heaven- and back to cg-reality:
One thing that I had not thought about was the fact that a toon shader looks like a toon shader because of the limited amount of how it is affected by lights... SO when I applied toon-shading to the big surfaces- like the kitchen bench and the walls-
I lost the night/Christmas/cosy feeling in the scene. Everything looked FLAT! I am sure that this could be solved in some way- but I did not have the time to experiment it for too long.. I realised that in order to stay on the time-schedule I had to make a choice- either keep the toon shading- and not have contrast in lighting, or have keep the lighting- and not have toon shading.
I chose to "kill my darlings" - the toon shading. I felt that the lighting was important, and that to keep the toon shading would be stubborn of me. To have a "cool" toon- shader in a scene that did not make you feel anything- because everything looks flat would be...wrong.
So back to 3D-shaders it was:
Looks all right- she grumbled.. :)
onsdag 25. mai 2011
Hi!
I have been animating for a little while now, but I felt the need for shortening the story a little bit- to get less seconds to animate. I have removed about 12 seconds of animation. Fortunately my story was developed a long time ago, so I really know it well- and feel that the changes I have made doesn't ruin the story. But feel free to disagree, and give feedback if you want to:)
YouTube-LINK
I have removed:
* The part where he sits down beside the dough.
* The part where the character lays down in "his" cookie-cutter.
* The part where he removes the dough from the wife, and the part when he carries her to the oven.
* The part where he decorates the wife with a button.
* Some walking, when man and wife approaches each other at the end..
Also I have added a new shot at 0:25 sec, we look at the character from a low angle.. Also a new pose here..he looks at himself.
Besides any feedback in general, I could use some feedback on the shots of the star.. From 0:09 sec to 12 sec. Does it look OK? Deryck mentioned a close-up of the star would look nice..should it be a closer close up? Is it OK that the camera moves?
I have gone sligthly blind when it comes to the camerawork in my production at this point..looked too much at it I suppose!
PS: the previz you are looking at does not contain any of my "final" animation. I am currently animating in another file. I use the previz-file to test out different things, and implement the changes to my "main" file.
I have been animating for a little while now, but I felt the need for shortening the story a little bit- to get less seconds to animate. I have removed about 12 seconds of animation. Fortunately my story was developed a long time ago, so I really know it well- and feel that the changes I have made doesn't ruin the story. But feel free to disagree, and give feedback if you want to:)
YouTube-LINK
I have removed:
* The part where he sits down beside the dough.
* The part where the character lays down in "his" cookie-cutter.
* The part where he removes the dough from the wife, and the part when he carries her to the oven.
* The part where he decorates the wife with a button.
* Some walking, when man and wife approaches each other at the end..
Also I have added a new shot at 0:25 sec, we look at the character from a low angle.. Also a new pose here..he looks at himself.
Besides any feedback in general, I could use some feedback on the shots of the star.. From 0:09 sec to 12 sec. Does it look OK? Deryck mentioned a close-up of the star would look nice..should it be a closer close up? Is it OK that the camera moves?
I have gone sligthly blind when it comes to the camerawork in my production at this point..looked too much at it I suppose!
PS: the previz you are looking at does not contain any of my "final" animation. I am currently animating in another file. I use the previz-file to test out different things, and implement the changes to my "main" file.
torsdag 5. mai 2011
The book!
In my story, the recipe book plays an important role. I want it to open in a "magical" way.. I have found a super-great script for animating page turns: Book rigger
I still need to animate the book itself. I`ll see if I find a good/easy/fast way of doing it. OR I`ll just let the book be open, and just animate the pages that turns (with the script).
I recently discussed the issue of copyright with my teachers. I thought I might just download some pictures to use in my book. The question of copyright, and all the "ifs" since I am a student..made me decide not to download and use images. I made them myself, and this probably didn't steal more time than it would to find images and dealing with copyright. I am not great at drawing- but at least the images are mine:) I write this blog in English to give my teacher Deryck a chance to understand me, however I am not supergood in English.. So if you see any spelling mistakes in my pictures below- please let me know;)
I still need to animate the book itself. I`ll see if I find a good/easy/fast way of doing it. OR I`ll just let the book be open, and just animate the pages that turns (with the script).
I recently discussed the issue of copyright with my teachers. I thought I might just download some pictures to use in my book. The question of copyright, and all the "ifs" since I am a student..made me decide not to download and use images. I made them myself, and this probably didn't steal more time than it would to find images and dealing with copyright. I am not great at drawing- but at least the images are mine:) I write this blog in English to give my teacher Deryck a chance to understand me, however I am not supergood in English.. So if you see any spelling mistakes in my pictures below- please let me know;)
The character
It is a little while since I finished the gingerbreadman- character, however I want to share with you how I made him.
It is almost hard to avoid him looking like gingy from shrek..
I mean, a gingerbreadman is a gingerbreadman. But I have made my own design anyway.
My gingerbreadman looks like this:
The arms and legs are longer than gingys, also I don't have all the decorations that gingy has.
I never liked gingys mouth for some reason; The "circle" that deforms..I just don't like it. But I see that for gingy, who is a
talking character- this is the most natural solution. However- my character will not say anything, so I can design the mouth the way I find most appealing. A simple mouth.
For the face I have made eyes, eyebrows and mouth movable. He is now able to show a range of emotions. The eyebrows can move up and down, sideways and also bend to show both sadness, anger and surprise. The eyes can blink, and also has two basic emotions, happiness and sadness. The mouth can show surprise, sadness, happiness, and calmness. I used morpher. I have little experience with morpher- but after a while I got the hang of it:
For the body I choose to make it as simple as possible, no decorations- except the buttons. I think it looks OK! When I skinned the character
I soon discovered that the topology could be better. At least three edge-loops is required to make elbows and knees to deform nicely. So I had
to update the topology a couple of times before I found just the solution I needed. Now the character has 2 100 polys on the body- and a total of 10 000 polys including the face. It functions well. I really dislike skinning- I must say. The whole process is just..boring and time consuming!
I chose to use the brad- noble skeleton rig. A little while back, I tried the rig- just for fun. And I immediately fell in love with it. I was suddenly able to make good animation, in much shorter time than I am used to. So I chose to use it for rigging my character. To make this "natural"- sized rig fit a 15 cm gingerbread man I had to rescale the rig. I bought brads re-size script. Works like a charm!
The wife is also pretty simple. I consider making some "hair" on her- if I have the time. Her movement is limited, so skinning her was not as hard as for the gingerbread man. I have given her a slightly pin-up ish design. If Marilyn Monroe was a gingerbread-lady I think she would like something like this! However- I did not want to make the design TOO sexy. In the context of the innocent story, I think it would be wrong.
It is almost hard to avoid him looking like gingy from shrek..
I mean, a gingerbreadman is a gingerbreadman. But I have made my own design anyway.
My gingerbreadman looks like this:
The arms and legs are longer than gingys, also I don't have all the decorations that gingy has.
I never liked gingys mouth for some reason; The "circle" that deforms..I just don't like it. But I see that for gingy, who is a
talking character- this is the most natural solution. However- my character will not say anything, so I can design the mouth the way I find most appealing. A simple mouth.
For the face I have made eyes, eyebrows and mouth movable. He is now able to show a range of emotions. The eyebrows can move up and down, sideways and also bend to show both sadness, anger and surprise. The eyes can blink, and also has two basic emotions, happiness and sadness. The mouth can show surprise, sadness, happiness, and calmness. I used morpher. I have little experience with morpher- but after a while I got the hang of it:
For the body I choose to make it as simple as possible, no decorations- except the buttons. I think it looks OK! When I skinned the character
I soon discovered that the topology could be better. At least three edge-loops is required to make elbows and knees to deform nicely. So I had
to update the topology a couple of times before I found just the solution I needed. Now the character has 2 100 polys on the body- and a total of 10 000 polys including the face. It functions well. I really dislike skinning- I must say. The whole process is just..boring and time consuming!
I chose to use the brad- noble skeleton rig. A little while back, I tried the rig- just for fun. And I immediately fell in love with it. I was suddenly able to make good animation, in much shorter time than I am used to. So I chose to use it for rigging my character. To make this "natural"- sized rig fit a 15 cm gingerbread man I had to rescale the rig. I bought brads re-size script. Works like a charm!
The wife is also pretty simple. I consider making some "hair" on her- if I have the time. Her movement is limited, so skinning her was not as hard as for the gingerbread man. I have given her a slightly pin-up ish design. If Marilyn Monroe was a gingerbread-lady I think she would like something like this! However- I did not want to make the design TOO sexy. In the context of the innocent story, I think it would be wrong.
fredag 15. april 2011
torsdag 31. mars 2011
More modelling, Textures and Lighting
As you might have suspected (from both the old fashioned sink, and also the old fashioned stove), I try to make the kitchen in an american 50s/60s style. Since Deryck told me not to worry about the Disney- effect, I really take this all the way:P I have made the floor checker- and appearing used/old. The green stuff on the sink, also made it look a lot better (older). Also, take a look at the window. I have added snow on it- not sure if I am going to keep it yet.
Setting the style for the kitchen bench.
Introducing a gingerbread man model for the first time, to see how he looks in the scene.Also testing camera settings.
The kitchen benches are finished.
The gingerbread house!
Notice that the light is brightest where the action is going to take place. I like this, it makes the bench appear more as a stage. I think am going to keep it like this.
Testing out different colours on the walls.. I feel like the pink one is the best, it gives good harmony to the scene. Added tiles. Also added a glass-thingy at the bottom of the window.
Yes, I think pink will work fine.
Added a chopping board for the house to stand on.
THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL TAKES PLACE!
Originally my scene looked like this:
However, I felt it was kind of "flat" to look at, the scene did not have the depth that I wished for. The action will be on the kitchen bench, and as you can see, the only thing behind that bench is..well, just a boring wall. So I decided re-arrange the kitchen. Now there are much more life in the scene, and hopefully more interesting to look at!
Here I have made the foundation for the scene. The action will play out on the kitchen bench closest to us.
I`ve added an old- fashioned sink.
I decided to remove the middle kitchen bench, and put an old fashioned stove in there.
Testing of lighting from the stove, and also lighting in general.
The finished model of the stove, with materials.
However, I felt it was kind of "flat" to look at, the scene did not have the depth that I wished for. The action will be on the kitchen bench, and as you can see, the only thing behind that bench is..well, just a boring wall. So I decided re-arrange the kitchen. Now there are much more life in the scene, and hopefully more interesting to look at!
Here I have made the foundation for the scene. The action will play out on the kitchen bench closest to us.
I`ve added an old- fashioned sink.
I decided to remove the middle kitchen bench, and put an old fashioned stove in there.
Testing of lighting from the stove, and also lighting in general.
The finished model of the stove, with materials.
STORYBOARD
Here is the storyboard I orginally made for the story:
However, as Deryck pointed out- and that I also was conserned about was the length of the story. I needed to shorten it. So I will remove all the walking from the story, and save many seconds there. Deryck also suggested that I can use time-lapse as a method to shorten it. I will upload my previz shortly, to show you how it went!
However, as Deryck pointed out- and that I also was conserned about was the length of the story. I needed to shorten it. So I will remove all the walking from the story, and save many seconds there. Deryck also suggested that I can use time-lapse as a method to shorten it. I will upload my previz shortly, to show you how it went!
FILM PROJECT
ANIMATION FILM PROJECT.
For my film-project I decided to go for a story I developed last semester. I call it Pepperkakemannens Jul (gingerbread mans christmas) for now, in lack of a better title at the moment! I had several ideas in mind for this project, so I shared some of them with both my friends, family and my classmates. The response was the same from everyone: Make the gingerbread man-story, it is so sweet!
PITCH: A lonely gingerbread man makes himself a wife.
My concern was that it might be TOO sweet, too Disney.. But I got the response I needed: My tutor Deryck told me I should never be afraid of the Disney- effect. And one of my classmates, Alf said that these sweet stories should also be told. Therefore: The gingerbread man it is.
THE IDEA IS BORN:
I actually saw the base of the story in a dream a long time ago. And when I woke up, I wrote it down in a hurry. I've noticed many times before that I tend to get the best ideas when I sleep, I don't now if this is a good sign or a bad! In my dream I saw a gingerbread man that makes himself a wife. I was entertained by the "sight" of this little guy that struggled to make a wife- with tools that are much too big for him.
So this is the foundation in my story. However I needed to do much work with this idea, in order to make it function as a story. The method I used to get more flesh to the bone is the "question and answer" way. I asked A LOT of questions, and did my best to answer them.
Example:
WHY does he make himself a wife?- Because he is lonely.
If the gingerbread- man is lonely..then why has he not made the wife a long time ago? Why NOW? -Because he has not discovered the recipe before now.. ( I suddenly got the "trigger" in the story- the moment that the gingerbread- man discovers the recipe).
I continued asking and answering questions until I had a lot of solid sentences. With the three-act structure in mind I started to "fill in the blanks" and organize the story in INTRODUCTION, MAIN PART and ENDING. I tried to find good turning points, twists and bring tension to the story. For example, the wife does not come to life when he is finished making her. Oh no..is our hero not going to reach his goal?
Here is my treatment:
For my film-project I decided to go for a story I developed last semester. I call it Pepperkakemannens Jul (gingerbread mans christmas) for now, in lack of a better title at the moment! I had several ideas in mind for this project, so I shared some of them with both my friends, family and my classmates. The response was the same from everyone: Make the gingerbread man-story, it is so sweet!
PITCH: A lonely gingerbread man makes himself a wife.
My concern was that it might be TOO sweet, too Disney.. But I got the response I needed: My tutor Deryck told me I should never be afraid of the Disney- effect. And one of my classmates, Alf said that these sweet stories should also be told. Therefore: The gingerbread man it is.
THE IDEA IS BORN:
I actually saw the base of the story in a dream a long time ago. And when I woke up, I wrote it down in a hurry. I've noticed many times before that I tend to get the best ideas when I sleep, I don't now if this is a good sign or a bad! In my dream I saw a gingerbread man that makes himself a wife. I was entertained by the "sight" of this little guy that struggled to make a wife- with tools that are much too big for him.
So this is the foundation in my story. However I needed to do much work with this idea, in order to make it function as a story. The method I used to get more flesh to the bone is the "question and answer" way. I asked A LOT of questions, and did my best to answer them.
Example:
WHY does he make himself a wife?- Because he is lonely.
If the gingerbread- man is lonely..then why has he not made the wife a long time ago? Why NOW? -Because he has not discovered the recipe before now.. ( I suddenly got the "trigger" in the story- the moment that the gingerbread- man discovers the recipe).
I continued asking and answering questions until I had a lot of solid sentences. With the three-act structure in mind I started to "fill in the blanks" and organize the story in INTRODUCTION, MAIN PART and ENDING. I tried to find good turning points, twists and bring tension to the story. For example, the wife does not come to life when he is finished making her. Oh no..is our hero not going to reach his goal?
Here is my treatment:
Gingerbread mans Christmas
INT. KITCHEN BENCH. NIGHT. It's Christmas, and warm atmosphere in the old kitchen. The GINGERBREAD MAN is sitting alone outside the gingerbread house and sighs. He glances over at the husband and wife decoration-pigs, and looks over at the husband and wife decoration-gnomes. Another heavy sigh. The STAR FLASHES outside the kitchen window and catches his attention.
He gets up, walks curiously towards the window, but stops when the recipe-book in front of him lit up and like MAGIC scrolls a page by itself. He walks towards the book that shows pictures of a gingerbread man and GINGERBREAD WIFE. Turns head to one side when he looks at the gingerbread man. Looks at the gingerbread wife and strokes his hand lovingly over the image. Focuses on texts and other images, that step by step shows how to make gingerbread cookies- and reaches his hand out to touch the pictures as he "reads".
He suddenly "jumps". Stretches his arms curiously, and looks at them. Turns his head and looks at the gingerbread dough behind him. Walks to the dough, sits down and gently squeezes it. Looks at the gingerbread cookie cutters beside the dough, and walks over to them. First he looks at the gingerbread-man cookie cutter, then looks at the other cookie cutters and then back at the gingerbread man cookie cutter again. He steps carefully into the cookie cutter, and lies down in it. Smiles. Then he blinks twice. Rises quickly and walks to where the gingerbread wife cookie cutter lies. Lifts it up quickly and holds it in front of him. Then looks at the book, and back at the wife cookie cutter again. Then he smiles and does a pirouette.
He holds the wife cookie cutter in one hand, and scratches his chin as he looks at the cookie cutter. Squeezes the cookie cutter to make it more female. Holds it in front of him with both hands and nods. Looks down at the dough. Lays the cookie cutter down on it, presses the cutter down and lifts it up again. Drags the rest of the dough away from the gingerbread wife. Lifts her up with a spatula. Carries her to the open OVEN and puts her in there. Closes the oven door with the spatula. Turns on the switch that is next to the door and the oven is lit up inside. Stands with both hands and nose close to the oven door glass. Carries the freshly made gingerbread wife on the spatula. Decorates her with icing.
He sits on his knees beside her, smiles down at her with folded hands. Touches her gently on the shoulder. SMILES. Touches her on the shoulder again. THE SMILE disappears. He gets up slowly, turns around and walks with heavy steps towards the gingerbread house. Turns his head once, turns it back quickly and moves on. Sits outside the gingerbread house and sighs. The star outside the kitchen window FLASHES.
Gingerbread wife is surrounded by a MAGIC light as she comes to life. Then she gets up and looks at gingerbread man. Walks towards him. The gingerbread man sees her and gets up quickly. Gingerbread wife opens her arms when she approaches the gingerbread man. They hug each other. The star outside the kitchen window FLASHES and shines stronger than ever.
fredag 4. februar 2011
PROJECT 11 - PRODUCTION PLANNING
This week we have made production plans for this animated short:
What we have made is a FLOWCHART and a TIME-ESTIMATE.
Here is my FLOWCHART:
And here is my TIME- ESTIMATE:
Self-reflective text:
I have looked at some different flowcharts. I wonder if my flowchart is to "linear".
In my oppinion, the point of a flowchart is to show that "first you do this- and then you do that". A visual setup for the right order to do things.. But now I wonder if I am wrong. Maybe the point of a flowchart is to show how different parts of the production depends on each other, and also how they kind of "circulate". Maybe THAT is what a flowchart is all about- and not necessarily just the order of when to do things. In my mind it is natural with a "linear" flowchart- since the team consists of one person only. (And one person can just do one thing at the time.) But like I just wrote: Maybe I should have made a flowchart that focuses more on showing how the production parts depends on each other and possibly circulate- no matter if the team consist of one person- or a big team.
Unfortunately I have not had access to my classmates production plans for this project. To bad really- it would have been nice to see how others have solved this.Especially how they have estimated the time for the making of "This Side Up". I have really struggled with the time-estimate. In my time-estimate Liron Topaz has 9,5 weeks to animate 2:30 min. (This Side Up has something like 2:30 min. animation, not including the titles).
2:30 min = 150 sec.
150 sec/ 9,5 weeks= 15 seconds per week.
...15 seconds per week..isn`t that a little too much? I do not like it.
One other thing I do not like, is that the post-production must be done in only one week according to my time-estimate.
I do have 4,5 weeks for the pre-production (including Pre-viz, modeling, rigging and skinning). Is that too much I wonder..
I have analyzed my flowchart over and over again- but I just cant get this right.I must say- there is nothing about my time-estimate that i DO like. But at the same time- I just dont know how to do it better. So I hope that my tutors will provide me with feedback- and tell me where I have done wrong. Right now my only conclution is that there is no way that Liron Topaz made this film in 16 weeks.
What we have made is a FLOWCHART and a TIME-ESTIMATE.
Here is my FLOWCHART:
And here is my TIME- ESTIMATE:
Self-reflective text:
I have looked at some different flowcharts. I wonder if my flowchart is to "linear".
In my oppinion, the point of a flowchart is to show that "first you do this- and then you do that". A visual setup for the right order to do things.. But now I wonder if I am wrong. Maybe the point of a flowchart is to show how different parts of the production depends on each other, and also how they kind of "circulate". Maybe THAT is what a flowchart is all about- and not necessarily just the order of when to do things. In my mind it is natural with a "linear" flowchart- since the team consists of one person only. (And one person can just do one thing at the time.) But like I just wrote: Maybe I should have made a flowchart that focuses more on showing how the production parts depends on each other and possibly circulate- no matter if the team consist of one person- or a big team.
Unfortunately I have not had access to my classmates production plans for this project. To bad really- it would have been nice to see how others have solved this.Especially how they have estimated the time for the making of "This Side Up". I have really struggled with the time-estimate. In my time-estimate Liron Topaz has 9,5 weeks to animate 2:30 min. (This Side Up has something like 2:30 min. animation, not including the titles).
2:30 min = 150 sec.
150 sec/ 9,5 weeks= 15 seconds per week.
...15 seconds per week..isn`t that a little too much? I do not like it.
One other thing I do not like, is that the post-production must be done in only one week according to my time-estimate.
I do have 4,5 weeks for the pre-production (including Pre-viz, modeling, rigging and skinning). Is that too much I wonder..
I have analyzed my flowchart over and over again- but I just cant get this right.I must say- there is nothing about my time-estimate that i DO like. But at the same time- I just dont know how to do it better. So I hope that my tutors will provide me with feedback- and tell me where I have done wrong. Right now my only conclution is that there is no way that Liron Topaz made this film in 16 weeks.
CONSEPTUALIZATION WEEK 2
Denne uka skal vi igjen presentere en av ideene fra uke 1- denne gang også med storyboard. Vi har også laget hver vår animerte production logo.
Her er min production logo, som jeg eventuelt kan bruke i filmprosjektene mine:
Når det gjelder ideeene- så har jeg valgt å presentere "LIV" om igjen:
PITCH:
To løvetenner vokser opp ved siden av hverandre i en veikant- og blir raskt bestevenner. De opplever årstidene og eldes sammen.
STORY:
EXT.VEIKANTEN. VÅR. DAG. En bil suser raskt forbi, og motorlyden blir borte i det fjerne. LØVETANN 1 med grønn knopp VOKSER sakte opp av jorda i veikanten. Strekker seg og ser seg rundt. LØVETANN 2 begynner også å vokse opp rett VED SIDEN AV. Løvetann 1 følger nysgjerrig med. De ser på hverandre. Løvetann 1 vinker til løvetann 2 med bladet sitt. Løvetann 2 er først litt sjenert, men rekker så frem bladet sitt og håndhilser. Løvetann 1 peker opp på himmelen. De holder hverandre i bladene og strekker seg fornøyd med hodene opp mot sola.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. SOMMER. DAG. Løvetennene holder hverandre i bladene og har hodene opp mot sola. Løvetann 2 ser bort på løvetann 1 og oppdager at vennen har fått GULT BUSTEHODE. Løvetann 2 peker på vennens hode. Løvetann 1 kjenner på hodet sitt , og kjenner så på løvetann 2 sitt hode. Da åpner også knoppen til løvetann 2 seg- og også han får gult bustehode. De "hopper " av glede og gir hverandre en klem. En marihøne rusler forbi. Løvetennene følger nysgjerrig med. En humle lander oppå løvetann 2 sitt hode. Løvetann 1 vifter den vekk med bladene. Begge løvetennene ser på humla som flyr vekk.
EXT.VEIKANTEN.SOMMER.KVELD. Løvetennene lukker seg for kvelden, og sover med hodene mot hverandre.
EXT.VEIKANTEN. SENSOMMER. DAG. Løvetennene åpner seg. Begge har fått HVITE HODER. Løvetann 2 rister seg sånn at noen av FRØENE fra hodet FLYR opp i lufta. Løvetann 1 ser på, og rister seg han også.
EXT.VEIKANTEN. SENSOMMER.KVELD. Løvetennene ser på solnedgangen sammen, og gir hverandre en klem. Frø fra begge to svever opp på den gulrøde nattehimmelen.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. HØST. DAG. Et gult høstløv detter ned foran løvetennene. Løvetann 2 har mistet alle frøene sine, og HENGER MED HODET. Løvetann 1 har fortsatt noen frø igjen, og er friskere enn vennen sin. Løvetann 1 ser bekymret bort på vennen og prøver å dytte ham opp med hodet. Løvetann 1 tar vennen sin i bladet og prøver å muntre ham opp ved å hoppe opp og ned. Løvetann 2 prøver å hoppe litt, men blir sliten- og henger fort med hodet igjen.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. SENHØST. DAG. Løvetann 2 har blitt brunere i stilken og henger veldig med hele kroppen. Et vindkast river i begge løvetennene. Løvetann 1 prøver å beskytte vennen sin ved å holde rundt ham med bladene sine.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. TIDLIG VINTER. DAG. Årets første snøfnugg lander stille over de to VISNE LØVETENNENE som holder rundt hverandre.
EXT. PÅ EN ENG. TIDLIG VINTER. DAG. To FRØ FRA LØVETENNENE ligger ved siden av hverandre i delvis nede i jorda.
HER ER STORYBOARDET TIL LIV:
SELF-REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER:
Jeg har presentert min første ide (Liv) mer formelt enn min andre ide (Herr Natt). Jeg har skrevet treatment til "Liv", mens "Herr Natt", er mer som en kort historie uten regler for oppsett. Dette har nok sammenheng med at "Herr Natt" er en ferskere ide- som jeg er veldig glad i, men ikke ville presse inn i et treament før jeg har fått smakt mer på ideen. Jeg syns i grunn det er positivt å presentere ideene på en formell måte- rett og slett fordi jeg også tenker mer over hva som er gjennomførbart og ikke da. Jeg tenker at forskjellen på formell og uformell "idesalg/kommunikasjon" blandt annet er effektivitet. Hvis jeg presenterer ideen tydelig og formelt, så tror jeg det kan være lettere for andre å komme med innspill og råd. Det er nok også lettere å få presset sin kule ide på et filmselskap hvis ideen går klart frem, altså blir presentert på en gjennomtenkt måte. Det er vel business- alt sammen. Kjøp og salg.
Her er min production logo, som jeg eventuelt kan bruke i filmprosjektene mine:
Når det gjelder ideeene- så har jeg valgt å presentere "LIV" om igjen:
PITCH:
To løvetenner vokser opp ved siden av hverandre i en veikant- og blir raskt bestevenner. De opplever årstidene og eldes sammen.
STORY:
EXT.VEIKANTEN. VÅR. DAG. En bil suser raskt forbi, og motorlyden blir borte i det fjerne. LØVETANN 1 med grønn knopp VOKSER sakte opp av jorda i veikanten. Strekker seg og ser seg rundt. LØVETANN 2 begynner også å vokse opp rett VED SIDEN AV. Løvetann 1 følger nysgjerrig med. De ser på hverandre. Løvetann 1 vinker til løvetann 2 med bladet sitt. Løvetann 2 er først litt sjenert, men rekker så frem bladet sitt og håndhilser. Løvetann 1 peker opp på himmelen. De holder hverandre i bladene og strekker seg fornøyd med hodene opp mot sola.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. SOMMER. DAG. Løvetennene holder hverandre i bladene og har hodene opp mot sola. Løvetann 2 ser bort på løvetann 1 og oppdager at vennen har fått GULT BUSTEHODE. Løvetann 2 peker på vennens hode. Løvetann 1 kjenner på hodet sitt , og kjenner så på løvetann 2 sitt hode. Da åpner også knoppen til løvetann 2 seg- og også han får gult bustehode. De "hopper " av glede og gir hverandre en klem. En marihøne rusler forbi. Løvetennene følger nysgjerrig med. En humle lander oppå løvetann 2 sitt hode. Løvetann 1 vifter den vekk med bladene. Begge løvetennene ser på humla som flyr vekk.
EXT.VEIKANTEN.SOMMER.KVELD. Løvetennene lukker seg for kvelden, og sover med hodene mot hverandre.
EXT.VEIKANTEN. SENSOMMER. DAG. Løvetennene åpner seg. Begge har fått HVITE HODER. Løvetann 2 rister seg sånn at noen av FRØENE fra hodet FLYR opp i lufta. Løvetann 1 ser på, og rister seg han også.
EXT.VEIKANTEN. SENSOMMER.KVELD. Løvetennene ser på solnedgangen sammen, og gir hverandre en klem. Frø fra begge to svever opp på den gulrøde nattehimmelen.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. HØST. DAG. Et gult høstløv detter ned foran løvetennene. Løvetann 2 har mistet alle frøene sine, og HENGER MED HODET. Løvetann 1 har fortsatt noen frø igjen, og er friskere enn vennen sin. Løvetann 1 ser bekymret bort på vennen og prøver å dytte ham opp med hodet. Løvetann 1 tar vennen sin i bladet og prøver å muntre ham opp ved å hoppe opp og ned. Løvetann 2 prøver å hoppe litt, men blir sliten- og henger fort med hodet igjen.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. SENHØST. DAG. Løvetann 2 har blitt brunere i stilken og henger veldig med hele kroppen. Et vindkast river i begge løvetennene. Løvetann 1 prøver å beskytte vennen sin ved å holde rundt ham med bladene sine.
EXT. VEIKANTEN. TIDLIG VINTER. DAG. Årets første snøfnugg lander stille over de to VISNE LØVETENNENE som holder rundt hverandre.
EXT. PÅ EN ENG. TIDLIG VINTER. DAG. To FRØ FRA LØVETENNENE ligger ved siden av hverandre i delvis nede i jorda.
HER ER STORYBOARDET TIL LIV:
SELF-REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER:
Jeg har presentert min første ide (Liv) mer formelt enn min andre ide (Herr Natt). Jeg har skrevet treatment til "Liv", mens "Herr Natt", er mer som en kort historie uten regler for oppsett. Dette har nok sammenheng med at "Herr Natt" er en ferskere ide- som jeg er veldig glad i, men ikke ville presse inn i et treament før jeg har fått smakt mer på ideen. Jeg syns i grunn det er positivt å presentere ideene på en formell måte- rett og slett fordi jeg også tenker mer over hva som er gjennomførbart og ikke da. Jeg tenker at forskjellen på formell og uformell "idesalg/kommunikasjon" blandt annet er effektivitet. Hvis jeg presenterer ideen tydelig og formelt, så tror jeg det kan være lettere for andre å komme med innspill og råd. Det er nok også lettere å få presset sin kule ide på et filmselskap hvis ideen går klart frem, altså blir presentert på en gjennomtenkt måte. Det er vel business- alt sammen. Kjøp og salg.
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