Jack Witherden

Monday, 10 May 2010

Background Clip

15:53 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

As stated before i used my time-log to help me get all the timing right on this animation. The different raw sections of this animation have been put together in Final Cut Pro to create MOVs which are perfectly timed to work with each other at later stages in effects production. There have been a large amount of issues i have had to overcome to get the two parts (bluescreen/nonbluesreen) to be prepared for time syncing and positioning. For the positioning side i came up with using little markers within my scenes to act as a reference as to where the figure will be placed. This has been done by marks on the table or just a tiny piece to blutack where the figure will be placed.

video

Sunday, 9 May 2010

Running Reference when Shooting

16:20 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

To get a realistic motion when my figure is running i have been following an old image i found of a man running, divided up into seperate frames to describe each step of his movements in this motion. It has been of great help to me when shooting my Figure animations when i didnt quite know how it would move in a next step without acting it out upon myself. (which i also ended up doing alot of the time)

Monday, 3 May 2010

Figure - Bluescreen Pictures

09:21 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Here are a few images from the blue-screened animations that i will use in my animation. The figure will be edited out of its blue background using a Keylight plugin in After Effects and then placed into the background movie clips which have been be shot separately. I made the stop motion backgrounds of this first part of the animation and then noted them in my time-log to ensure that these animations have the right timing and how long they had to be to match in with the backgrounds.

I used an A3 piece of bright blue paper as a background, placed in an even light source so that when coming to production stages i will be able to key out the blue evenly. Most of the animation will use this technique and i have hidden the base of the figure's stand by cutting a small hole in the paper so that the support of the figure sticks through and i can animate it in the same place which helps in later stages.

Taken from 'Figure_Waving', Post Key light Effect in After Effects.

Taken from 'Figure_Landing'

Taken from 'Figure_Jumping'

Taken from 'Figure_Running'

Monday, 26 April 2010

Work Set-up

05:09 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

This is my work area for the animation. I have a DV Camera set up on a tripod which captures the figure against a bluescreen background and streams it via Firewire to the Macbook. I used the Mac book because while my MOVs are rendering out from After Effects on my imac, it will not prehibit me from carrying on with capturing the next scene. The area where the figure is actually shot benefits from natural light which, from some research on tips for stop motion, is best to get an even source.

Here is my first set up when creating my test animation with bluetack. A high quality webcam is used here to stream the live feed into my imac in which i can then shoot the scene frame by frame.

Lastly below are two images of my shoot for the backgrounds scenes in which the figure will be jumping two dimensionally across each media. The stone i got from a garden centre is very heavy and it may be a challenge to photograph each shot with the precision of something lighter. The parchment i made myself from an old trick i learned to stain paper with tea bags and blot coffee granules to give the effect as shown. The non featured medium here is the notepad which i am yet still to purchase however that should be relatively easy to shoot apart from the animation of the cover lifting. I will be using a lot of blue-tack to hold it in position whilst i shoot the frames.

Saturday, 24 April 2010

Third Storyboard - Developed Idea

23:54 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Here is the storyboard for my revised version from the previous narrative. It encompasses the advertisement as well as the narrative. I think this version will be allot more efficient to accomplish and have a more interesting feel to it rather than the figure just exploring its surroundings. It also gives the animation purpose and helps explain that this animation is about evolution of technology which is really fitting to the subject matter the animation is advertising.

Slight change of plan - Purpose?

15:32 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

To give a possible purpose to this animation, i have come up with the idea of making it into a promotion/advertisement. I realized during drawing up my second storyboard idea (see previous post) that it was quite dull and had no real purpose to it. I had an idea whilst thinking of the evolutionary path this figure takes in the first part of my storyboard and wondered how i could get this to the next step. This made me think that obviously after hand drawn animation on paper would become computer animation. The advertising idea will be to have the figure still leaping out into 3D space but not doing much other than sliding down the desk, (see previous post), to it leaping into 3D space and exploring the next evolutionary step in animation. The figure will then see the computer and the advertisement will be put in place for Mac. I will need to storyboard this and work out how it will all link together etc.

Friday, 23 April 2010

Second Idea + Storyboard

10:45 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

After looking back on my first storyboard idea, i felt that the task to build an entire model city just to shoot the last to scenes in was quite inefficient taking into consideration the length of time it wold take to achieve a stop motion video in the timescale i have. Therefor my new idea for the narrative of this peice is to still have the figure evolve through the different mediums of stone, parchments, and notepad paper. However instead of it turning into a cyber robot and walking through a city in 3 dimensional space (which, looking back seems very out of place and strange), but for the figure to meerly explore its surroundings which in this case are the actual place where the previous scenes are shot. The figure will do this in 3 dimensional space still, however it is much more connected and relevant than the previous ending. Here is my storyboard for the second idea.

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Stop Motion Testing

07:23 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

This is my first test piece of stop motion. From watching it back i can tell that i will need to think about my movements more and pre determine which should be slower and which should be quicker. Its all very rhythmic from looking at this test.

I have also been experimenting with different techniques and finding out which gets the process done in the most efficient time. I have spent most of the day taking single pictures with an SLR and then uploading all of them to my computer and finally animate them in Final Cut. I have also tried to film a motion then chop it up digitally and animate that way. For this test however, I used a program especially designed for stop motion animation in which a stream from my digital camera to my computer allows me to simple click my mouse when i take a picture and then automatically saves it out.

For this process i needed a DV cable which i don't have yet, however i experimented with a few webcams and thus got the test below. I will be purchasing a DV cable so that i will have much better quality images and will not have the camera automatically alter focus/light all the time.

video

Stop Motion Tips Videos

04:17 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Im currently getting ready to shoot some test scene of stop motion just to get a feel for whats possible and what possible pit falls i should try to avoid. I found these two videos about the infamous stop motion animator, Javen Ivey who created 'My Paper Mind' (a direct influence for my aquapax viral). The videos show tips on lighting, techniques, animation flaws and general advice on how to shoot a stop motion film successfully.

Wednesday, 21 April 2010

History of Stop Motion Animation

15:32 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Stop motion animation has been around for a long time, almost as long as traditional film-making. Originally stop motion involved animating objects which included the animated movement of any "non-drawn" objects such as toys, blocks or any rigid inanimate object you care to mention. This was quickly followed by cel animaiton. And then animators experimented with clay animation and puppet animation used in films such as 'Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'Wallace and Gromit'. Tim Burton's association with stop motion animation originated with this short film, 'Vincent' (1982).

Some early examples of stop motion films and techniques can be seen in the "The Humpty Dumpty Circus" (1898) and in "Fun in a Bakery Shop" (1902). In 1907 "The Haunted Hotel" was a very successful movie with the cinema audience of the time. In 1912 one of the first clay animation movies using stop motion was released to great critical acclaim. It was called "Modeling Extraordinary" In 1916, the first woman animator, Helena Smith Dayton, began experimenting with clay stop motion. She released her first film in 1917, Romeo and Juliet. December of 1916, brought the first of Willie Hopkin's 54 episodes of "Miracles in Mud" to the big screen.

"Suzy Snowflake" is a popular Christmas song written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, made famous by Rosemary Clooney in 1951 and released as a 78 RPM record by Columbia Records, MJV-123.

It was during the 1950s which was the transformation period of stop motion animation. Stop motion not only gained a wide audience appeal and was accepted in pop culture, but for the animators involved in the studios, the stop motion process was a convenient alternative to the traditional hand-drawn process.

This was also a time of commercialism for stop motion animation. Not only was it used more often in films, but stop motion could be seen in television and commercials. All this is credited to the well-known television show "Gumby", which sparked the interest of stop motion to pop culture.

Art Clokey is best known for his creation of the clay animation “Gumby”. The character, Gumby, was created in his 1955 student film project while attending USC (University of Southern California). He pitched his film to Sam Engel of 20th Century Fox, and the rest is history. Clokey is also distinguished for creating clay animation commercials for Budweiser and Coca Cola

An extremely strange (and amazing) feature film was made in 1993 by the Bolex Brothers using the pixelation technique in which live action is fused with stop motion by using actual people in frame by frame animation, 'The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb' (1993).

Last year saw the first feature length stop motion film shot in 3D, 'Coraline' from director Henry Selick. The film breaks a lot of milestones: at 100 minutes it’s the longest stop-motion feature ever, and the first to be shot entirely in 3D.

Monday, 19 April 2010

Initial Storyboard

08:53 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

This is my initial storyboard for the Idea previously mentioned.

Idea

02:59 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

I have thought of an idea through looking into stop motion animations and the wide variety of forms of it and how stop motion can be achieved. The range of stop motion videos i have seen has been very large and this gave me the idea of evolution. From simple drawings on paper that alter with each frame to full puppet/figurine stop motion which has been shot in a three dimensional space through separately filming backgrounds then overlaying stop motioned subject on to it. The idea that cities have evolved also influenced me to this idea and i think that if done right, this animation could really be successful.

The idea is to start with a simple two dimensional figure walking on the spot, the background to this will be something primitive such as a rock to symbolize perhaps cave drawings in which i will digitally alter the figure to look as such. The walking figure will then literally jump from the rock background to another more modern medium such as parchment paper (for this i will overlay an effect digitally to give the right effects as with all sections. Again it will jump to more and more modern mediums that have been used for drawing (notepads, maybe a screen). These sections will be a static shot with the figure walking on the spot and backgrounds being moved.

The final section of my animation will consist of a technique i saw from animator, Patrick Boivin, where my figure will make a last jump and the camera will moved from its two dimensional static shot to a three dimensional space. To give this effect i will pre shoot a three dimensional space without any subjects involved, and also create a separate stop motion animation against a green screen background. The subject involved in this green screen animation will then be keyed out and put into the pre shot three dimension camera movements to symbolize the finishing section of this evolutionary animation. The background for the final section will be a city in which i shall build out of card for the purposes of the shot. This city will be establishing the modern and synchronic ideas that were stated in Jean Baudrillard's quote.

Although this is a very time consuming idea, i have full confidence that the end product will be well worth the effort and am very excited to work on it.

Sunday, 18 April 2010

Stop Motion Inspiration - PES

18:56 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

The artist PES has created a series of stop motion animations which use physical objects photographed then placed in succession of one another to create the movement of inanimate objects. Recently PES as created an advertisement for the Washington State Lottery in which two sets of red and yellow lottery balls travel to meet each other and mix up. PES's animations mostly feature comedy concepts and are delivered to a very high standard which i think is needed to make something of this nature look professional and presentable.

Probably the most famous of his work is the stop motion animation, 'Western Spaghetti' in which a range of old fashioned toys are treated as ingredients to make a meal. The ways in which PES has implemented little details such as chopping a section of a rubix cube into smaller pieces really makes this animation stand out. The animation has had numerous awards such as the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Winner, 2009 Audience Award, and TIME Magazine voted No.2 Viral Video of the Year, proving that although an old fashioned form of animation can still be successful in modern times if done correctly.

Artist Website

http://www.eatpes.com/game_over.html

Stop Motion Inspiration - Patrick Boivin

03:46 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Whilst looking through videos of stop motion i came across an animator who excels at the technique and has devised a unique twist on the classic stop motion animation. Patrick Boivin creates a series of stop motion animation which utilizes modern technology to create a three dimensional space in which the subject (i.e. a transformer) can be brought to life. His animations use camera movements that pan, rotate and move around the character whilst the film is playing which gives a very unique and real sense to the characters being animated. Boivin was a massive influence on my direction into stop motion for this project and his techniques bring something totally new to this 'old fashion' form of animation.

Artist Website

http://www.wired.com/underwire/tag/patrick-boivin/

Here is one of his stop motion animations which uses the three dimensional technique.

Stop Motion

03:23 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Through looking at a large amount of stop motion videos on the internet i have seen many that cover a large scale of what can be called stop motion. The most common example is that of drawings which have been shot in succession of one another to give the illusion of movement. This technique of hand drawing numerous illustrations for a short period of time when in their final moving image form is a massive effort and says to me that this form of animation could be viewed as out dated and almost primitive in consideration to digital animation.

Another form of stop motion animation which has interested me is puppetry. Either undertaken with figures made out of clay (most infamous being 'Morph'), or pre existing subjects such as children's action figures and toys. This idea that bringing a character alive which is not just drawn out, and knowing that the physical subject actually exists has really interested me for a long time. It may seem out of touch, but in my opinion the preferences of even a modern day film between CGI and animatronics is definitely the latter. I want to know the character although not alive, actually exists in physical form which makes them more believable to me as an audience member.

I really want to get this relationship between a non physical character coming to life and an existing object also coming to life within my animation somehow.

Saturday, 17 April 2010

Animation Styles

09:00 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

I definately want to create an animation piece for this project however there are a few techniques and obstacles i need to overcome such as what style of animation i wish to pursue. There are many forms of animation which can be used to create a film on their own or used in conjunction with one another.

The three main forms of animation are:

Traditional Animation

- Cell Animation

- Hand Drawn

Individual frames of films are photographed of drawings on paper.

Each frame differs slightly from the previous frame to give movement

much like a flick-book does. This form of animation is very time

consuming and i think the ending affect is not worth it considering the

next style, Computer Animation has a similar look if done right.

Computer Animation

- 2D

- 3D

- CGI

- Flash

- After Effects

Computer Animation encompasses a variety of techniques, the unifying

factor being that the animation is created digitally on a computer.

There are many forms of software that can be used for this technique

of animation and it has the capabilities to cover other forms also.

Although this may not be my main focus for actually creating the raw

animations for a film, it will almost definitely be used in some way to

generate my outcome.

Stop Motion Animation

- Puppet

- Clay

- Cutout

- Graphic

- Pixelation (real life photography)

Physical real world objects or subjects are manipulated and photographed

to create a single frame. The process is then repeated to create

the illusion of movement. Stop Motion Animation is extremely time

consuming however the resulting film that is produced from this technique

looks very nice and is worthy of the time invested. Im very interested in

this form of animation and may either use it on its own, or incorporate it

into the final outcome somehow.

Friday, 16 April 2010

Artist Inspiration - Dion Archibald

07:57 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Dion Archibald is an artist from australia who paints a mixture of city landscapes and concentrates on evolving his work from everyday glances he has in and arond city space. A recent exhibition of his showcased a series of paintings from his time in Newcastle (in Australia) and his style is very much from the same colour pallette using similar colours in each painting. This extends to a particular peice i picked up on in which Archibald has used unified colour, restricting the cityscape to a monochrome and dreary view of perhaps a "synchronic" city.

Artist Website

http://www.dionarchibald.com/

'Newcastle - City & Surf'

Thursday, 15 April 2010

Artist Inspiration - Anne Garney

07:32 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

Anne Garney is an artist that i came across whilst looking through some city research and she paints city scenes on site with a high colour saturation and in a very blocky style. I would consider this blocky style as a comment on the rigidness of cities and it really relates to the point Baudrillard made in the quote i chose as a starting point, as cities being the same.

On Anne Garney's website it states that her preferences to subject matters are,

"...buildings, something man-made, set amidst the beauty of nature. I’m looking at color, light, composition, and the movement within the picture. I like a composition that draws you into the scene and that may have one or two secondary focal points which add depth and interest."

She paints natural subjects within the midst of a cities landscape to make nature more accessible and relative to her targeted audience of whom are city based. This relationship between man made buildings and nature is really understood by the audience as their supposed day-to-day views of natural beauty is that of which is included within Garney's paintings.

Artist Website

http://annegarneypaintings.com/index.html

'Beausoleil Stairs'

'Kansas City Skyline, Autumn'

'Garden View Cruz Bay'

Saturday, 10 April 2010

Chosen Quote

05:13 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

For a starting point to my project development i have decided to choose the Jean Baudrillard quote,

"The cities of the world are concentric, isomorphic, synchronic. Only one exists and you are always in the same one. Its the effect of their permanent revolution, their intense circulation, their instantaneous magnetism."

Although i have chosen this quote as a preliminary starting point, my initial ideas which sparked off from a brainstorm around some animation ideas could fit in really well. The idea that cities are permanently moving made me think of movement, action and something happening all the time. The last two words of this quote also really stood out for me 'instantaneous magnetism'. It made me think of attracting people to cities and their impact on areas around them, drawing people in.

Exam Project Brief

05:05 |

Posted by Jack Witherden |

The project brief explains that for this project students are allowed a four week time period to work on their projects without supervision by staff. Students can choose a starting point for some idea generation from a list of quotes provided within the set brief, or independently set up a brief in which they can work to.

The list of quotes is as follows:

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation.
Jean Arp

Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere.
John Perry Barlow

The cities of the world are concentric, isomorphic, synchronic. Only one exists and you are always in the same one. It's the effect of their permanent revolution, their intense circulation, their instantaneous magnetism.
Jean Baudrillard

The new electronic independence re-creates the world in the image of a global village.
Marshall McLuhan

Everything that is new or uncommon raises a pleasure in the imagination, because it fills the soul with an agreeable surprise, gratifies its curiosity, and gives it an idea of which it was not before possessed.
Joseph Addison

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)