Title Sequence

For the group project I was assigned into random groups with my peers. I've always enjoyed group work, as it involves teamwork and communication. I felt like my group was very well put together, some of use prefer 3d and editing and others preferred 2d and editing. When we had our first group meeting, we handed out roles so we could get started on the project as soon as possible, I was set to work on the 3D and final editing side of the project. We also discussed what title sequence we wanted to do. We were stuck between Taking Flight and Teddy!. In the end we had a mutual decision that Taking Flight seemed like the best choice.

For the first weeks I was assigned to work on creating a 3D plane of Amelia Earhart's. I got reference and also created my own personal 2d planes so I could use them to model from. The plane didn’t need to be to detailed because we were using it to refer from for the 2D animation. So I took this in mind and made the plane look basic, but I also used Maya silhouette mode so I could see how the plane was going to look flat, this would help the plane look decent. Once the plane was finished I uploaded it to our shared google drive so others could begin drawing round it for reference.

After this we had another meeting and I was assigned to make a 3D layout of the room so our 2D artists could get a better perspective of the room for scale. Again this only needed to be somewhat basic because it will be getting drawn over again by the 2D artists. I designed the room based off drawings done by Jamie and Michael. 

Now we had a 3D room layout I was also set to make a basic  3d plane animatic so we could understand what the plane would look like moving round the room. I used Michael's storyboards for reference, and created this so we could see what it would like. It didn’t need to be perfect as a lot of this would be cleaned up in the 2D style animation we was aiming for. After showing the animatic in the weekly class meetings, we were asked to try the plane going the opposite wat round the room because some of the shots of the plane was having it come from opposite directions then the previous shot. This was understandable once mentioned and did make the animatic look slightly off. I re did the animatic with the plane flying the opposite way round the room, it looked much better and flowed much more nicely, again the animation wasn’t perfect as the 2D style we was aiming for fixed this. 

It was at this point the 3D side of the project was done, I now had to wait until everything was ready for animating/ editing. I was happy to help others if they need it however with my 2d skills not being as strong as others there wasn’t much I could do. It was at this point In the project I feel like the work flow slowed down, individuals in the group wasn’t giving much communication and also was taking very long to do work for something pretty simple to do. This meant others had to do extra work as it just wasn’t getting done otherwise. 

This resulted in this project really struggling, we didn’t have much to show due to simply not getting it done. It also meant that animating and editing once it was done was going to be very difficult with just not having enough time. Also with deadlines approaching it was hard to make sure everything alongside the group project was getting done.  

I started editing and animating the plane going round the room in 2D a few days before deadline because of how much the worked slowed down, this was making things more stressful for me as I still had to finish other projects. It was hard to give enough time to each project but I knew it had to be done.  

I think if the group were to do this again some people need to communicate a lot more than what they did. A few of us pulled it together at the end as much as we possibly could, its just disappointing to me seeing other groups all working together, when it was only a few of us working until the end to make sure we had something to hand in.

Sound Project

 My chosen film for the sound project was the Vodaphone mayfly advert, I felt like this was the best option out of the two as it seemed more challenging to try and create sound for a forest environment. 

The equipment I used to create the sound were the following; 

Voice - AKG Acoustics C 414 B-XL ll mic 

Foley – Sennheiser K6 

Recording Studio 

Pro Tools 

      I had to book out the recording studio twice. The first time I went to record sound, I couldn’t get any of the mics to work. Pro tools wasn’t picking up any of the mics plugged in, I also couldn’t find someone to assist me in fixing the issue. However the second time I booked the studio everything was working perfectly this time with the audio. I began with the voiceover as this would take less time then the Foley. I wanted to save as much time as I could for Foley recording as I wanted to make it sound as realistic as possible. 

       I set up my voice over track, and began with a few tests so I could get the volume just right, I didn’t want it to be to loud or to quiet. To achieve this I had to speak clearly and try to remain the same pitch throughout the whole voiceover. Also adjusting the DB meter to the right level helped me achieve my voice over consistency. After several test I was ready to record the voiceover. Personally I feel that the voice over came out pretty well, it suits the film in the final render. 

     After recording my voiceover it was time to begin recording the Foley environment. This was difficult as you really have to think about what sounds right for the environment, you don’t want something to sound out of place as it could lower the quality of the whole video. To create somewhat realistic sounds I did multiple tests with certain Foley equipment to see if it sound right though the mic. 

     Creating the mayfly's wings was something I found difficult as they are so small I didn’t want it to sound to loud and unrealistic or to quiet you couldn’t hear them. I decided that tapping on a branch created a nice tapping noise with a slight rustle of leaf's behind that made it sound lighter than just the tap alone. 

    Moving on to water, creating an ambient water noise was very easy. Water in a bucket with slight movement will achieve this. I had problems creating the heavier sounding water as it was hard to get it to sound realistic. In the end what worked best for me was pouring water into a bucket down the sides, adjusting the db also helped the sound levels not be to overpowering. 

   I also created a swooping noise using a fishing rod, this came out just as I wanted it to. It really adds some extra speed to the mayfly. To create trees rustling I used leaf's in a box and slightly moved them around, I had to adjust the db as it was to overpower at first and sound very strange. I also created a very simple plucking sound by simply plucking a leaf of a branch. Finally to create the mayfly's wings in the cave I used a large fern leaf and stood a about 4 foot away from the mic, so it wasn’t to loud. I think this came out perfectly and is probably one of the best sounds in the whole video. 

     Finally to finish the film I edited it on pro tools. Adjusting volume on tracks and getting as close to perfect timing to make the video flow. I think my chosen music track also helps bring a happy vibe to the film. I'm happy with the final render and look forward to recording sound In the future. 

Experimental Project

When the experimental project first began I had a tough time coming up with ideas that used different types of animation. My first idea was to do stop motion animation, however, I was unable to settle on an idea that I was happy to experiment with. I decided to compose a first person perspective view of my interests in life such as volleyball, hiking, paddle boarding, ocean swimming etc using a GoPro. After this, I would then add 2d animation into parts of it, such as fish swimming alongside me. However, after reviewing the footage I captured, I was finding it very difficult to get this to work. Therefore, I had to revise my plan. This is when I came across the following video whilst doing research for paint animation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKy7HNU4vk&t=65s 

         Although the video wasn’t animated, I felt like attempting something similar using Stop Motion animation. I ran a few tests prior to my final film that were not recorded. As I was unable to get my hands on marbling ink, I read up on some alternative techniques online and decided to test out acrylic paint as a replacement. During the first few tests, I found that I used too much paint which proved to sink to the bottom of the water. To rectify this, I mixed more water with the paint so it was similar to the consistency of milk. This helped the paint from sinking, but the combination didn't blend together as well as I had hoped. 

      After some more research online, I discovered that using liquid corn flour instead of water would sort out the awkward blend, and would also created the effect I was after. This combination of corn flour and acrylic would be the closest I'd get to achieving the marbling effect. I completed some extra tests before I felt ready to start the stop motion animation.  

       The stop motion film was carried out in my flat using continuous lighting provided to me by a friend, and my own camera. I set two lights on either side of the work space I had prepared, including a tray (as my canvas) and various blends of paint.  

     Personally, I feel like the whole experimental side of the project went really well. I was happy with the final outcome. I am particularly pleased with the abstract self portrait at the end of the animation because I like the way the paint bled over the surface giving an interesting effect. Despite my positive review, looking back at the project now, I wish I had illustrated the things I am interested in as well as a portrait of myself to finish. By this, I mean I would have marbled the elements I stated previously, such as volleyball references; like painting the ball being served over the net. It would have been nice to see more parts of myself throughout the entire stop motion and think this would have been possible if my original ideas weren't hindered.