OUAN406 - Designing Characters

During the idea stage of development and the initial planning of the animation, I made the decision to only feature one character throughout the 30 second title sequence, the main character; Isaac Van Der Grimnebulin. The reason for this is to not give too much of the plot away through characters, and at the beginning of the book I'm adapting very few characters are mentioned. As this title sequence acts as almost a prologue for the adaptation, I thought it would be best to keep the character count to a minimum and focus on the main character. Another reason is time and focusing my efforts into producing one detailed character in my opinion will be more beneficial to the overall quality of the final product, as oppose to creating two or three characters and dropping the overall quality of them.

To gather ideas for how I was going to interpret and draw an initial sketch for Isaac I looked at descriptions of him from the novel and descriptions of him from sources online. 'We see Isaac, who is fat like a blimp is fat (taut skin), therefore definitely not fat like a sack of potatoes is fat (blobby, knobby, and apt to spill out over his belt). A vivid image for me is of his many grey body hairs sticking straight up from his blimp-taut skin.'

The process for the character design was after looking at descriptions of the character from the book and forming an image of him based on the content I searched online for various references relating to the description. Some of the aspects of the main character that I looked up references for were; body shapes, facial hair, faces, goggles and industrial or victorian era clothing. These together allowed me to draw properties of his clothing and anatomy correctly, the design started out as a loose sketch in my sketchbook which took around 20 to 30 minutes because I was continually adjusting various sections such as the size of his stomach and the arch of his back to make it look like he was putting in a lot of effort carrying his large body mass. Getting this aspect right and making him look like a heavy, sluggish man was probably the most difficult part of the design. After the idea was completed on paper, I took it into photoshop and adjusted his proportions further, making sure everything was as I thought it should be before I redrew the lines in a cleaner way. Due to the versatility of photoshop, I was able to continually change parts of his design with little effort and managed to include a belt equipped with various tools, some damage to his coat. I also changed the position of his right arm to give him a more dynamic pose. After several reworks I came up with a design I was happy to colour and call finished, sampling colours from various images to make sure the colour scheme worked well and didn't look too unrealistic whilst maintaining his dark and serious disposition.

OUAN406 - Designing the Laboratory Set

During the planning process I had in mind that I wanted to design and produce two sets in total. The reason I chose two is I was trying to find the balance between having enough to work with in terms of different things to shoot and focus on whilst having a realistic work goal and making sure that the final piece is finished before the deadline to a high standard. With this particular module I want to make the title sequence to the highest standard possible because in the past it has been the final animation that has brought my work down and I feel I focused a lot of effort on the design and research areas of the project meaning I had less time to work on the animation during the allocated time for the brief. Furthermore, whilst considering which two settings I wanted to use as the two in the title sequence I read back through sections of the book and considered which two locations would be the most ideal for setting the scene and would reflect the story in the most basic way without giving away details about where the story goes. From this, I concluded that two suitable environments from the story in which a lot of the story is set, especially near the beginning are the city itself, so the audience are given a sense of scale and an insight into the kind of world the story is set. The other more enclosed set I planned to make was the main character, Isaac's, laboratory. The reason for choosing a much smaller scale environment for the other is for variation, but more so that I can depict a certain level of detail that I probably won't be able to create with a city given the scale and finally to show characters in locations.

The first set I'm making due to the fact that in my mind it's much more important to the sequence than the city is the laboratory. If time becomes and issue then I can just adjust the narrative and the storyboard to suit the one set, and work around it like that. This was one of the ideas I had when I first decided on the idea of building the sets myself, until I thought there could perhaps be room for another setting within the title sequence, and I could shift between the two to create some interesting visuals. In terms of the process of making the laboratory set, I first spoke to Roger in the wood and metal workshop to see what kind of thing was possible, before I started designing anything. He was really helpful, and said, like mentioned in a previous post. 'Firstly, will the set be fixed or will you be able to take it apart and remove sections of it, this could be useful for several reasons such as attaching or detaching other segments of set if the need arises, or even transporting it around if I needed to move it somewhere. Next, how will lights or cameras be attached to make any lighting arrangement I want possible, also to be able to shoot different camera angles, cameras could be fixed to the set or rigged in different ways, so this is something that will also have to be considered. Another important factor is props, when asked if I was going to buy miniatures from arts of dolls houses for example or make the props myself by hand I said I was going to do a combination of both, to make sure anything I want to use as a prop is available to me, and how I think it should be. The more obvious things that come to mind when thinking about the pre-production planning and overall design and making of the set is things like size and more importantly scale, as well as materials and overall cost. I would be making it with a very little budget so I am trying to be as economical as possible when it comes to time, money and overall design of the things I'm making.'

I had never before looked into set design, at least in this much detail before, and it looked like a very lengthy but interesting process, so I was excited to start developing my idea further. The first thing I did to get my head around what I would be making and how I wanted to approach it is start looking at 3D spaces, and designing some potential room shapes that would work well at displaying the kind of setting I needed it to and be able to hold the different types of furniture comfortably. This started off as a challenge for me because I had very rarely had to drawn designs in a 3D space like this, but as I became more accustomed to it, it became easier and I managed to produce a few designs for rooms quite quickly, although, they felt too simple considering the intricacies of what the room is used for, a laboratory and the kind of strange objects that it would be filled with, they didn't feel right to me and in some ways were too simple.



Using what I'd learnt when it came to drawing objects in 3D spaces, as well as creating a 3D environment from scratch I managed to produce a design, and an overall idea that I felt I could move forward with. When designing the set, I had to take into account lighting, the space and how it interacted with objects or bits of furniture, what materials I would use for individual objects and the level of detail that would be sufficient to create a convincing set but at the same time not create too much work given the time I have to make it.



The drawing of objects in a 3D space such as this was another new thing for me, which I'd never really done before. In order to achieve the medium to high level of detail I wanted I used a huge amount of references and mood boards in order to make the objects as realistic and authentic as possible. Some of the objects I wanted to include in the environment were also quite complicated and the need for references to draw them was even more vital than some of the simpler parts of furniture. However, the objects that weren't so hard to draw were the cube or cuboid shapes, these felt quite natural to draw and all they took to make them look more interesting was a small bit of detail or decorative work around the outside. With the book case, drawing the main body of it was easy, and adding small sections such as the base and top came naturally, these objects are of course complicated when you start adding book shelves and books to them in their hollow interior but remain quite simple nonetheless. Some of the more difficult parts of this particular design was placing things like the chair in the space, as it is quite a complicated space and took a while for me to figure out of to set it up and where to place it in comparison to tables, book cases for example. Although it was another new aspect for me, something I found quite interesting and fun at the same time was lighting the environment. As far as lighting goes, this was relatively straight forward but I thought it would be best to keep it simple and not to over complicate it since I would probably make it look unnatural, and I wanted it to be quite dimly lit anyway. There are three light sources in the environment, the light bulb hanging in the center of the room, the lamp located near the book case, the light coming from the monitors under the first floor and four if you count the small amount of light coming through the windows upstairs. Despite the need for detail I did try to keep it under a certain limit because I would have to either make or purchase these objects, and I have given myself around three to four weeks start to finish to produce the sets so I can begin shooting the title sequence in plenty of time. Here is an example of the mood boards I produced not only to gather ideas and inspiration for the laboratory set but to advocate the theme and mood of the project itself through their dark and eerie qualities.

OUAN406 - Proof of Concept / Problems

Proof of Concept (POC) or a proof of principle is a realisation of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory has the potential of being used. A proof of concept is usually small and may or may not be complete.'

• Animating Water / Steam
• Animating a Fan / Rotating Blades
• Achieving the Correct Lighting
• Gathering / Creating Props
• Audio
• Generating Fog / Weather
• Mechanical Movement
• Organic Movement
• Establishing Dramatic Camera Angles
• Learning / Working with New Software
• Falling Objects / Representing Gravity

Animating Water / Steam

Because I will be creating a stop motion animation, substances like water and steam, or fog and mist can prove to be very difficult to animate, without making them look unrealistic. The way stop motion of animation is created is by moving stationary models and taking a frame every time you move the model, because of the random nature of water and steam for example and the way it behaves, it would be nearly impossible to use actual water and steam in a stop motion animation. I have thought of some alternatives if I do want to include these substances in the final animation. Firstly, the easy route is to use a software such as After Effects and simulate the steam or mist that way, essentially via the post production process. However, one way it could be done is by using a clear material such as glass, or a transparent acrylic for example and painting on the steam as it develops, I could either do this whilst I'm shooting the frames, or make it separately and import it afterwards, although it would remove an extra process if I were to do it in the actual set to start with. When it comes to water, things such as a clear thick hair gel or substitute can work well at becoming water, other materials such as cling film or bubble wrap may also prove to be sufficient at emulating water in a stop motion animation.

Animating a Fan / Rotating Objects

When it comes to the complex problem of introducing rotating objects into the animation, I think the best option for me is to create one using After Effects again in the post production stage. This would save any problems I would encounter for animating it by hand from happening, and allow for me to concentrate on other parts of the movement within scenes, aside from the rotation of the blades. This way, I can also incorporate motion blur and add a realistic dynamic to the scene through this. I found a video tutorial explaining the process to do this including camera tracking, so it shouldn't be a problem to add to the animation once everything is filmed.

Achieving the Correct Lighting

In order to make sure the lighting is correct and projects the correct mood into the scene I will have to experiment with the knowledge I have over lighting and do some tests before I shoot. I will however be using several light sources, acting as natural light through windows of the set and then synthetic sources from within the set, such as a monitor or a lamp for example. One thing I want to make sure doesn't happen is that the light makes the character appear 'shiny' due to the paint I will use to paint him with. In order to do this, light sources must be properly defused so they aren't intense and overwhelming. If after the animation has been shot I feel that the light could be adjusted, I can always add tints or change the level in After Effects.

Gathering / Creating Props

Some of the props and furniture for the animation will be made by hand, and others purchased from online. I will probably make things like the book case and windows, and scientific diagrams and papers etc will be easy to produce by hand, other than this, I will purchase more complex items such as lab equipment and chairs or tables from on sites such as eBay. When it comes to adding clothing to my character, I will try my best to make it by hand, fixing wire in between layers of the material so it is easy to move and manipulate when it comes to animating it. I plan to buy things like boots however from eBay, since they would be quite difficult to make with the detail I want them to have. Finally, several prop ideas will be computer generated in post production software such as After Effects, this includes perhaps a ceiling fan, a monitor or perhaps a light source.

Audio

When I first envisioned the final piece I had the idea of very jarring, almost folk, string music. I decided I didn't want to have an sound from the on screen actions and use purely a piece of music over the top whilst the action takes place. I didn't think that producing sound for the action would work, also because the vignette style of the action and transitions would make it feel very clunky and not well put together. So I'm going for a montage type feel to the title sequence. Luckily, for a recent project a friend of mine gave me a few sound files that he made that he said I could use for anything I needed. One of them in particular is a slower more emotive string piece that I could use as the music I overlay for this particular piece, and that's probably what I will do.

Generating Fog / Weather

Like I mentioned about steam, I will probably use CG effects for things like steam to save time and keep the overall project under a certain level of complexity so I don't risk not meeting the deadline. This will still give it a good atmosphere and level of detail, just without certain hand made touch. In terms of weather, After Effects has simulation features dedicated to snow, wind and rain etc. So there is no problem there when it comes to incorporating some weather effects if I feel they need them.

Mechanical Movement

This is just an idea for now, and I'm considering the idea of mechanical movement and how I will approach it in case later in the development stage I do actually want to feature some machinery moving for example. I have researched into certain methods of stop motion animation, and feel the use of wire supports would be useful here to create smooth, automated looking movement. The wires or supports can later be removed using Photoshop.

Organic Movement

I want to make the movement of the main character as realistic and convincing as possible. He is after all a human character and despite the use of stop motion, I do want his movement to be quite subtle and not feel robotic. To ensure this, I may have to do some tests with the model and look specifically how characters move in other stop motion animation pieces, and how people move in real life also.

Establishing Dramatic Camera Angles

I have certain camera angles planned in my head and on a storyboard. I want to use dynamic and interesting camera angles for the action to be displayed under. This relates back to the idea of creating a montage made up of vignettes for the sequence. I want the action to be interesting and the camera angles to tie together well despite being quite different, this may need some careful thought to ensure that the scenes fit together in an appealing order. The main thing here is to use an appropriate amount of variation. I do want to include some over head shots, as well as close ups and panning shots in order to display the action in an interesting and well thought out manner.

Learning / Working with New Software

• AutoCAD
• Ethos
• Dragon Frame
• Maya
• After Effects
• Audacity
• Premiere Pro

Falling Objects / Representing Gravity

One thing that crossed my mind that I may need to understand in case I want to use any objects falling or representing gravity in the stop motion feature is how will I do it. Essentially after doing some research into some 'making of' videos, focusing on stop motion animation pieces it seems that various supports is the answer. I've seen different animators use wire or plasticine for example to support objects as they move, and are then removed frame by frame in software such as Photoshop afterwards. This isn't necessarily a difficult thing to do if you plan it correctly, it is however, very time consuming.

OUAN406 - Title Sequence Research

Coraline

I've chosen to talk about the opening title sequence for the film, Coraline is for a number of reasons. Firstly, for the purposes of research the Coraline title sequence was produced using the stop motion animation technique that I will also be using for my title sequence. I think during the title sequence the animation itself is intricate in its portrayal of things such as thread and fabrics. A lot of thought has evidently gone into how to make it appear as though fabrics are breaking and tearing as needles go through them, the way the thread seems to fall so naturally. Another thing that I want to take from this is the innovation of how certain physical aspects were created. An example of this is where the stuffing for the dolls is being poured from a height, and the way it looks on screen is very believable despite the use of stop motion. This accuracy and believability is something I want to make sure I portray during my stop motion title sequence with difficult aspects such as steam, water boiling and other features that in reality you don't really have control over. Another thing I really liked about the title sequence was the use of camera angles and shot framing combined with the transitions between individual shots. A mixture of close up and extreme close up shots are used to bring the audience up close to the action where threads are being passed through the eyes of needles and intricate bits of sewing is taking place. I love this use of continually close up shot because there is a very clear focal point on screen continuously. Furthermore, there's no particular story told in this section, at least not in conjunction with the films main plot - but it immediately sets the tone of the film and presents itself to the audience through the style, colour and same character that continues on throughout the duration. There is a hint of ambiance during the title sequence, because of the ambiguity of the subject and this is emphasised by the cut in shots that focus on various parts of action without committing to any particular subject as the main focus, whilst machinery and props are the main point of interest for this sequence. One last thing I noticed from this title sequence is the use of machinery that was incorporated due to the narrative or story that the sequence shows. The movement displayed by the machinery in the title sequence is very mechanical and representative of how machines perform, there will be a lot of contraptions and devices of a mechanical nature in the sequence I plan to create so I would like to be able to emulate the movement in a similar way to this. One of the reasons I chose to look at this particular title sequence was I've been looking at the vignette style of piecing pieces of footage together as I think that style of editing would work well with the different ideas I have for my own title sequence in having the main character perform certain tasks around his lab to give the audience a back story to the type of work he does and set the tone of the environment the story takes place. Overall, from this incredibly well put together title sequence I would like to portray the same seamless transitions and flow between the well planned shots and simultaneously produce quality animation, even when tackling difficult ideas such as the boiling of water or the rotation of fan blades.



Marco Polo

The title sequence for the television series 'Marco Polo' is a very captivating piece of work produced by The Mill. It was created using a form of ancient Chinese painting, using inks to tell a story in a decorative way. The use of animation here is brilliant as it uses abstract shapes at first before the ink takes form and the image becomes clear to the audience. This techniques grips the attention of anyone that is watching it for the duration of the title sequence. The images of the ink were taken using a camera, however some of the wider shots, such as that of the army were composited using a 2D team. The overall feel of the sequence is a very natural and traditional one, with the approach used feeling very original. Another thing to note about this particular sequence is the use of shots and panning throughout. It's almost as if the paper the ink is absorbed on is the land and the ink is in a sense moving over it. The reason I say this is because the paper isn't perfectly flat and has a slight curve or bump to it which in turn represents a landscape very well, whilst also creating shadows, giving way to a very tasteful use of lighting in combination with the dark ink. The camera movements in the title sequence are incredibly subtle and you hardly notice them unless you make the effort to, because they are so seamless. I like the mix of extreme close-up shots and wide shots to tell the story depicted using the ink and each shot type used within the title sequence has a different feeling, for example the wide shots of the birds or the army has a real sense of scale and awe whereas the close up shots give the audience, or me at least, a feeling of intricacy and detail. Some of the aspects I think I can definitely take away from the Marco Polo title sequence and incorporate in my own animation is the use of lighting and the use of different camera angles and camera shots. The lighting, although subtle is a great example of setting a mood through the use of lighting alone, and gives the animation a great tone using the shadows in combination with the ink. The colours are warm but monotone because of this but it looks great in the finished sequence. One of the reasons I chose to look at this title sequence during my research was to look closely at the use of panning and the transitions between the various shots used within the sequence. As well as this the use of still or fixed images as oppose to animated or live action footage stood out and reminded me that titles don't have to be the same, and the way the Marco Polo sequence was done was an excellent example of how title sequences can be experimental and successful. Finally, the use of shots is varied and a no point feels repetitive. The transitions between shots are also seamless and feel natural whilst watching it. Overall, it's a great sequence and there are definitely aspects I can take and use in my own sequence.



Bunny and the Bull



There's a lot of interesting aspects in the 'Bunny and the Bull' title sequence. To me it's a very nice style with seamless transitions between the different shots and the combination of things such as lighting and music go together in this piece very well, to create a very polished title sequence. The idea for the title sequence is that the audience is directed around the inside of a home via the camera, which stops on various inanimate objects which have cleverly placed on them the names of the cast and crew. Something I liked a lot about this was the inventiveness of the idea and the execution. The transition between different objects as the camera moves feels very natural, and although not an animation per say the camera work in this piece is definitely something I want to be able to achieve in mimicking the smoothness and almost natural feeling panning between different shots. I found myself being really drawn in, due to the smooth camera work as it navigates around the room. The use of lighting in the title sequence is also interesting and the use of shadows in the earlier parts of the introduction are very good whilst setting the tone of the piece as a whole. Few title sequences I've looked at so far whilst doing the research for this brief have come across as unique as the title sequence for this film. The use of panning shots and transitions between the different shots is very well done, and is something that I definitely feel inspired with and can take and implement in my own titles sequence. From doing research on this particular title sequence I also thought that, like I've previously mentioned the use of various house hold and inanimate objects to house the credits is a very seamless and natural way to display the names of cast and crew members. With some of the title sequences I've seen the text used almost looks out of place in that it's simply overlaid onto the top of the visuals and can look unnatural. However, this seems to be one of the strong points of this title sequence and this technique works very well. Something I think that I could take from this, is the use of props throughout the sequence. The quality of the props used is quite high, and I definitely want to have a good quality of props in my animation that look good and do their job whilst not looking out of place.



Se7en

The title sequence for the film is comprised of a montage like sequence containing a series of fragments and vignettes that together tell the story of a man, (who is presumed to be the character John Doe from the film) making entries in his diary through the shots of his hands. The main shots in the sequence are of clippings, developed photographs and found or collected imagery. This specific use of imagery and object coincides with the films crime/mystery genre and represents well the type of detective work that is depicted in the film. The grotesque and dark imagery is quite impactful to the audience and the way it's strung together and edited is very suspenseful when the things are combined together. Photographs and other images that are used in the titles can be compared to the work of Joel-Peter Witkin who; deals with such themes as death, corpses (and sometimes dismembered portions thereof) and physically deformed people within his work. Furthermore, the effort that went into creating the props for this piece was phenomenal. Notebooks that you see in some of the shots are all hand made meticulously as it was imagined the serial killer character from the film might have made them, with all of the writing from the books being done by hand with the use of photographs, old tape and other found materials being intertwined into the book also. Finally the books were hand stitched and baked to give a hand made and old or worn feel, this shows just how much work went into the creation if just this two minute title sequence. In terms of the use of camera in the title sequence there is a lot of close ups and extreme close ups used to show in detail the actions of the character in the scene, and the meticulous care that's being taken over the compiling of his notebooks. The close up shots also give the who sequence a mysterious feel because the identity of the character remains unknown. Details are clear to the audience when the camera is used this close up and thus the images shown of various grotesque objects and ideas are more visceral and explicit. One of my favourite aspects of this title sequence is the use of editing and insert frames throughout as well as the layering of different clips. The insert frames give the sequence a very grisly and erratic feel and the range of shot lengths due to the choice of editing is really appropriate given the context of the narrative and overall style of the titles. The layering of different clips to give an almost double vision effect to the audience is a nice choice also and reinforces the idea of the psychotic or obsessive character. This is an example of another title sequence that I've looked at due to firstly its use of vignettes to tell a small story or give a little bit of insight into the mind of one of the characters. The use of vignettes seems to be popular within title sequences because of how quickly the visuals can move on, and thus can convey a lot of information in a shorter amount of time; such as the length of a title sequence. Also, the grisly and dark style that this title sequence in particular has is something that I can take and use in my own when it comes to the use of shadows and lighting in order to convey the eeriness and suspense that I want to convey. The close up shots and slow movement of the characters hands is the final element that contributes to the level of suspense that is seen here. Finally the use of text to list some of the cast and crew is very fitting and fits seamlessly in the sequence as it looks like it's almost been scratched onto the film. In reality it was hand drawn and edited slightly. Overall, this is a very impressive and fitting title sequence that has take a much different approach than anything I have seen yet, and it's experimental style is something I can take forward and use with my own title sequence.



To Kill a Mockingbird

The title sequence for To Kill a Mockingbird is another good example of a well thought out out and appropriate sequence that acts as a nice transition into the film for the audience. Made in 1962, this title sequence takes us through the mind of a child as a sequence of extreme close up shots focus on her belongings. It starts with the opening of a cigar box, revealing a set of items belonging to the child. As the sequence continues, shots almost at the macro level examine up close these items in detail. For the audience, seeing these items close up has a strange effect. The level of detail that the items are viewed in and with them taking up a large percentage of the shot means that the attention of the audience isn't allowed to deviate from the objects and we are submersed into a child like mindset for the duration. The slow panning of the camera across the objects is almost surreal in combination with the slow music playing in the background that you don't quite realise is there because of the intense and eerie visuals. There is also frequent shots and references to a crayon and a child's drawing which at some parts of the title sequence the camera seems to be led by, which is an interesting way and an innovative way of guiding the camera path without making it look planned or too staged. Another thing to note about the title sequence here is the text used to depict the credits is also quite subtle, obviously being made in 1962 this film was in black and white, but it seems that the background the items were places on to film was very pale. The text used is also pale and almost white making it so it doesn't contrast very highly with the background, and they don't stand out a lot when you are viewing the sequence. This could have perhaps been to not detract from the visuals and have the audience focus on that than the text that drifts in and out of shots using a slow fading transition.



The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The title sequence for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is different than anything I've looked at so far, because the entire sequence was CG as oppose to live action or stop motion like things I've looked at up to this point. Despite it being CG it's just as impactful as anything of the sequences I've seen so far, the type of imagery used throughout is dark and gritty just like the sequence to Fincher's Se7en but different and much more abstract. On commission whilst thinking about the theme and content of the film, Fincher asked the studio for CG, very adult, super dark, leather, skin, blood, snow, breasts, vaginas, needles, piercings, motorcycles, vengeance', as themes for the sequence. However the imagery stretched to much more than that in the final sequence, and includes imagery such as; wasps, fluid, cables, drowning and fire. All highly appropriate and faithful to the narrative in the film and book. The editing style of the title sequence if fast paced and racy which works well the imagery that was chosen to be shown within the sequence, and gives it an aggressive flair. The use of CG is very well done and gave the designers a lot of room to show various imagery that they would have trouble depicting otherwise. Another important quality to this particular sequence is the use of a very dark colour scheme that is almost entirely black, the only variation from this seems to be the reflection of light off various simulated materials and substances such as the thick oily material that is used throughout. Despite the simple colour scheme, it is effective and reflects the dark themes and colours used in the film, thus introducing the audience to the dark film style straight away. The various use of camera angles throughout the sequence is a great feature also. A huge mix of close ups to extreme close ups as well as some medium shots and some interesting view points, gives way to a nicely displayed action of varying levels of detail, gripping the audience for the duration. Looking at this title sequence as a reference has taught me a lot because it has a lot of differences than some of the other title sequences I've looked at. Whether it is the medium of CG where from what I have seen isn't used for many other films or series, and live action seems to be the most popular. Also, because of the use of CG as oppose to live action, the choice of imagery here was very representative and abstract in comparison. Some examples of this are the phoenix, wasps, the way the figures break down when they collide with objects which can have deeper metaphorical meanings when looked at in combination of the plot. These of course only becoming clear when you have seen the film itself and look at some of the content of the title sequence with the film. Including this piece in my research has helped me a lot and again opened my eyes to the possibilities of what can be achieved when compiling a title sequence, and from this I definitely feel more open to being more experimental with the materials I use or the way I produce my title sequence rather than using established techniques and methods to achieve what I want. Overall this is a very innovative and well-executed title sequence that has shown me the possibilities are almost unlimited when creating something gripping and original. The use of abstract imagery and motion within this title sequence has taught me a lot about the limitations of what can be pulled off and done to a successful degree.



True Detective

You can tell from the title sequence for True Detective that it is heavily influenced by the story and setting of the television series based on the imagery they used. There are heavy uses of landscape and includes the presence of the petrochemical infrastructure of Louisiana in the 90's. The design team for the sequence read the script for the first three episodes before they started producing the titles to get a real feel for the type of visuals that would fit well with the themes and genre of the series. Visually there is a heavy use of double exposures and in this sense the combination of figure and landscape photography to integrate the two together, and show the lead characters in locations. What I like about this title sequence is the use of photography as despite the simplicity it translates very well onto an on screen sequence. One of the designers mentioned that when planning the animation for the images that they wanted to make them feeling like living photographs, and in the final sequence it makes the photographs look like they're floating and surreal which I think is perfect at capturing the mood for the show. From a camera perspective the slow panning combined with the slow motion gives an eerie feeling to the images which again compliments and reflects the setting and mood of the series. The washed out effect used on the images completes the sense of depressive, hopeless themes that are depicted within the show and no shot is on the screen for too long, the overall pacing of the transitions is in tempo with the slow kind of country or blue grass music. Throughout the sequence there is a huge range of different shots used, or shots used within the images that are displayed so that it doesn't come across as repetitive or over done in a sense. The mixture of subject matter also contributes to this, with there being a varied amount of content form locations and landscapes to figures and extreme close ups of objects or facial feature. I noticed there is also a lot of emphasis on elements, with certain shots capturing the weather or fire to represent the idea of the petrochemical industry perhaps. There is essentially, huge amounts of representation in this particular title sequence when it comes to subtle aspects of the plot and general themes, some of them being quite striking and adult in nature, giving a certain serious flair and style to the title sequence. On a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the title sequence for True Detective and thought that the design team that developed it created something very fitting for the shows aesthetic and at the same time something that looked great as a stand alone piece. Like previously mentioned the way they used still photographs and animated them to make them seem like living images worked really well because of the subtle movement involved, and it has given me numerous ideas for creating a similar sequence using still images and using experimental transitions and subtle animations to create a truly interesting title sequence. Overall, the subtle use of animation to make the highly appropriate choice of images come to life in a slow and eerie, almost surreal way, combined with the music and seamless transitions demonstrate how something can be visually compelling despite the simplicity of the idea or execution.



The Last Horror Film

The title sequence for the film, The Last Horror Film is one of the less mainstream pieces I've looked at when looking at different titles so that I'm making sure to cover different areas of film and television to make sure the research of various title sequences is as varied and thorough as possible. The title sequence from this particular 80's film is again comprised of vignettes that detail a person trimming a piece of film and attaching it to the film reel. What I found interesting about this vignette style compared with a couple of the others I've seen is that when the titles of crew and cast members appear on the screen the film playing in the background pauses, before continuing on with the visuals. I guess the reason for this is so that the audience can examine the name if they want to but more importantly the paused on screen action, overall it has a nice effect and works well. The colour scheme that runs throughout the title sequence is dark and has some low key lighting in the form of a blue and green hue, and the use of cold light here is a nice choice considering the main materials seen by the audience are the metal from the film equipment and the film itself. One thing I noticed about this title sequence when I watched it was that it started after a small introduction from the film, and wasn't placed at the very beginning of the film. This was interesting, because I hadn't seen it in many other films where I had focused on the title sequences. However I liked that it was almost a side plot from the actual film but carried on from the film in the fact that it was showing the changing over of the film, when previously the film was set in the cinema. The type of shot the title sequence features is a mixture of close ups and extreme close ups of various actions in a montage like sequence. This sequence is another example of a good use of vignettes to depict action close up and in turn tell a simple story through details. Like I mentioned previously, the use of montage within title sequences from what I have seen during my research is popular and is always a successful component in the sequences I have seen it used in. Furthermore, another aspect of the titles I found helpful was the lighting like I mentioned earlier. Not just the cold lighting tones used but the low levels of light, to emphasise the shadows. I think in this instance it also highlights the genre and sets the tone for the film, and since it's a title sequence it does this very early on. This reminded me that although it's not part of the actual production whether it be a film or television series, the introduction in the form of a title sequence is vital to the audience as it sets the tone and almost acts as a first impression of the production.



Up in the Air

The reason I decided to look at the title sequence for Up in the Air was that it focused heavily on shots of landscapes and is made up almost entirely of birds-eye view shots. As for part of my title sequence I want to show the city the story is set from above, I thought that this could be helpful in visualising how it's possible to incorporate this kind of huge scale view into a title sequence similar to what I would like to do. Furthermore, I feel that it's done very well in this sequence and I can use it as a solid reference if I need to. One thing that I liked most about this sequence was the transitions and positioning of the panning shots in combination with one another works really well and is another nice example of compiling various shots in sequence. There is an array of different transitions used; including, panning, zooming; appearing on screen in sequence next to each other, swiping across the screen and panning through various shots before stopping and flicking quickly between stills. These almost over the top transitions are fun to watch and in a way set the tone of the film being quite a light hearted overall, allowing the audience to adjust into the right frame of mind before the film starts. This sequence is paced well and fits the pace of the music that's laid over the top, which happens to be quite soulful in genre, so the two aspects compliment each other and allow for an enjoyable introduction to the film. As well as this, the text used to credit the cast and crew members isn't too formal and uses other interesting transitions to introduce the text to the audience, similar to that of the images that are transitioned on and off screen. One of the main reasons for choosing this particular title sequence as a research piece was to look specifically at how shots high above the ground, and of various landscapes were done. In the title sequence I'm creating I want to be able to create one of the sets to be a city scape and be able to shoot some high angle or birds-eye-view shots of the city scape. So the main goal with this title sequence was identifying what the best way to shoot these over head scenes and also how various other title sequences including this one had worked with them and made them transition between each other. I want to use what I have learnt from this to make the sequence I'm making as professional looking as possible, and the reference here is a good starting point in my opinion.



Year Zero - Offf Barcelona 2011 Main Titles

This is one of the more grisly title sequences I've seen and happens to be on of my favourites. The actual title sequence itself acted as an introductory sequence for the prestigious post-digital event OFFF festival, that's held in Barcelona. This particular title sequence was based off of the festivals theme of 'year zero'. The content is based around a nightmarish idea of the future and features a very loose narrative the future getting progressively bleaker. One thing about this title sequence is that it's around 5 and a half minutes long, so much longer than any other title sequence I've looked at by almost double, so there is a lot of content to talk about. Firstly, the colours are very appropriate to the content consisting of dark mostly earthy tones with the addition of some low key lighting in green and purple but that's very subtle and isn't very noticeable in the grand scheme of the sequence. I feel like the point of this sequence as the introduction to the festival it was made for is to build up for several minutes until the climax at the end, signifying the commencing of the festival. This is shown in the way it's shot.The shots at the beginning are of every day things, people travelling, using the underground for example as well as shots of buildings and cityscapes. There is also several shots of a man walking, which can be calming to the audience at first due to its slow pace. Some of the camera work is quite shaky which I like because is gives of the point of view type shot, as if it's some form of amateur footage, this works especially well due to the nature of the narrative as vague as it is. The way the credits are positioned within the footage and various visuals is really inventive and something I liked a lot from this particular sequence. Credits are shown through the tattooing of pig skin, graffiti on walls around the city, sign posted on signs or billboards, through crumbling structures, written along steps, and are injected into the finger nails of characters. Due to the immersive element of the title sequence the credits are quite hard to pick up on despite them being quite visible and just blend naturally into the environment. This makes it so it doesn't bring you out of the feature which is something I like. From watching this technique of adding credits to the feature combined with the others I've seen want to incorporate this into my animation so as to not take the audience out of the sequence and create an short animation that can be appreciated as an animation on its own as well as a title sequence. Another thing to note is the variety of different camera shots that are actually used through out the sequence, I noticed as I was watching there was a huge amount of variation, from huge wide shots of the city scape to close ups and extreme close ups of characters and other pieces of action. The transition between them isn't too extreme though thanks to a high standard of editing that switches well between various different types of content, from characters to maggots for example. The transition for something like this in the title sequence is done via some inventive and experimental editing techniques such as the camera snapping between shots in quick succession or the layering of footage and changing how transparent the different layers are to make it so the footage almost seeps through rather than just appearing on screen. Furthermore, I like the combination of live action footage and the composited CG footage that I believe was necessary to create something like this partly because of the science fiction element of the infection that is spreading. CG helps with certain aspects such as the destruction of building and the floating vehicles we see throughout the sequence as well as more subtle aspects such as the incorporation of credits and lighting. Despite the use of CG is was used very sparingly to create all in all a very real feeling product, that due to the constant barrage of real elements and locations you get fully submersed in as the tension, music and content builds over the period that you're watching it. The way the feature builds up towards the end of the feature is very natural and almost catches you off guard because of how gradual it is over the 5 or 6 minutes that the title sequences lasts. The shots get shorter and more close up, revealing smaller details in quick succession which almost over load you with visuals; combined with the building of the sound in combination of the visuals the sequence leaves a very impressionable feel on the audience. Using this as a piece of research or reference was very helpful for me because of the large amount of content it had to offer, from the incorporation of the credits; the use of different mediums as previously mentioned with the use of CG and live action footage; the atmosphere that's created so well with the lighting and sound and finally the high quality of editing that was achieved in order to make the title sequence feel like it had a natural flow to it, these are the main things I can take and try and implement into the work I produce not just in this project but in any other projects I undertake.

OUAN406 - Initial Idea

When we were first introduced to the briefs I was quickly trying to think of books that I could use as a foundation to produce my titles around, which was the brief that I eventually settled on. After thinking carefully about books that would be good for the task, and that hadn't yet been adapted into a film or television series, I have chosen to base the titles around the book, 'Perdido Street Station' by China Mieville. Whilst deciding which book to do, it made me realise how open the brief was in terms of possible routes you could take based on the book alone, there are so many different genres that would have been fun to replicate in various forms. As well as this, it was interesting to consider different types of books, such as graphic novels and manga volumes in conjunction with full length novels. However, I decided to avoid these as an effort to stay away from pre-existing visuals that may taint the ideas I had for my own adaptation to be portrayed through the titles I produce.

Perdido Street Station, is the book I finally chose and is a combination of science fiction and fantasy written by China Mieville. The reason I chose this book in particular, is because of the varied and interesting scenes that I can remake for the purpose of the animation. The book is set in various locations but the main city that is featured in the book called, 'New Crobuzon', is a place that I'm interested to try and portray based on the description of it in the book as well as the laboratory of the main character, Isaac, as I think the cluttered working environment would be an interesting set to try and build and portray the way I imagined it as I read the book.

The following is an excerpt from the book and is an example of the kind of description on various locations, the way it very viscerally describes the setting gave me a detailed idea of the kind of place it is and how I could possibly represent it within the limitations of the brief and with the resources and time I have.

'The river twists and turns to face the city. It looms suddenly, massive, stamped on the landscape. Its light wells up around the surrounds, the rock hills, like bruise-blood. Its dirty towers glow. I am debased. I am compelled to worship this extraordinary presence that has silted into existence at the conjunction of two rivers. It is a vast pollutant, a stench, a klaxon sounding. Fat chimneys retch dirt into the sky even now in the deep night. It is not the current which pulls us but the city itself, its weight sucks us in. Faint shouts, here and there the calls of beasts, the obscene clash and pounding from the factories as huge machines rut. Railways trace urban anatomy like protruding veins. Red brick and dark walls, squat churches like troglodytic things, ragged awnings flickering, cobbled mazes in the old town, culs-de-sac, sewers riddling the earth like secular sepulchres, a new landscape of wasteground, crushed stone, libraries fat with forgotten volumes, old hospitals, towerblocks, ships and metal claws that lift cargoes from the water.'

The book itself is full of thorough and gripping descriptions like this, which makes it ideal for interpreting and using the descriptions to make a world and design the environments for the animation to take place. There are several places throughout the book that I am keen to include in some way, in terms of environments, and the characters are no less intriguing than the setting. The main characters of the story, of which there are many, include; Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, a human scientist; Yagharek, a winged bird like humanoid and Lin, Isaac's girlfriend and sculptor. Overall the book is incredibly original in its ideas and following the story that takes place in the book really taps into your imagination, which is hopefully something I can portray in the animation through my ideas.

Based on the book, the dark themes it tackles and the complexity of the plot the audience for the story and consequently the title sequence I produce for the adaptation will be aimed at adults, or at least people aged sixteen or over. Due to the themes and premise of the story the animation style will be dark and gritty, reinforcing the idea of a much more adult orientated style in conjunction with the themes.

For this project, I really wanted to do something more ambitious than I've attempted previously, and over the months that we have been on the course so far, we have learnt an enormous amount of skills in various different areas, from software inductions to spending days in metal and wood workshops or making models in the ceramics rooms. So, for this project since to my knowledge it's the last big project before the end of the year I wanted to do something I haven't tried yet and bring together as much as the stuff I've learnt as possible. When the brief was first given to us, I had the idea to produce the titles for the book adaptation in a stop motion format. I thought it would be a challenge but also fun to produce sets for the animation, of two or three key scenes from the book using the workshop skills I learnt, I also think it would be interesting to try my hand at set design and the planning and organisation that's involved in such a process. To get a grasp of the kind of things I need to consider and also see if it's doable, the first I thing I did initially was speak to Roger, who is the tutor that gave us the wood workshop induction. I gave him a brief overview of my idea and asked him when attempting something like this since I was very new to the process what I should consider with things like cost and materials etc. He was extremely helpful and optimistic about my idea to build the sets and also gave me a lot to think about. Firstly, will the set be fixed or will you be able to take it apart and remove sections of it, this could be useful for several reasons such as attaching or detaching other segments of set if the need arises, or even transporting it around if I needed to move it somewhere. Next, how will lights or cameras be attached to make any lighting arrangement I want possible, also to be able to shoot different camera angles, cameras could be fixed to the set or rigged in different ways, so this is something that will also have to be considered. Another important factor is props, when asked if I was going to buy miniatures from arts of dolls houses for example or make the props myself by hand I said I was going to do a combination of both, to make sure anything I want to use as a prop is available to me, and how I think it should be. The more obvious things that come to mind when thinking about the pre-production planning and overall design and making of the set is things like size and more importantly scale, as well as materials and overall cost. I would be making it with a very little budget so I am trying to be as economical as possible when it comes to time, money and overall design of the things I'm making. After I spoke to Roger I took the opportunity to speak to Mike about if there was anywhere in the building I could store my sets if everything went according to plan, since they could be a meter or more in length each and carrying them around by myself isn't a viable option. He told me that there is storage space in the building and specifically, they could be held in the stop motion room as long as none of the second or third year students work was in there and there was space, so that's one thing that I know I can do now if I manage to make the sets.

So overall, things to consider;

• Can it be disassembled
• Attaching cameras
• Attaching lighting
• Size
• Materials
• Cost
• Props
• Time
• Storage
• Design

From the book, there is a lot key scenes that could be used to represent the story and used in the title sequence. I will have to look into this further to make a final decision when I'm deeper into the planning stage but as of right now, the three settings within the story that I think are necessary at first glance, are; Isaacs laboratory which is where a lot of the story takes place, and not only that, where key moments in the story take place. Also, the city itself. I think it would be interesting, and create a good viewing experience to build a city scape that maybe one or two panning shots can be taken and incorporated into the title sequence to quickly set the scene and let the audience view the city for what it is. The reason I'm interested in pursuing this idea is for several reasons. Firstly, I want to challenge myself and on previous projects it has been the final animation that has brought my overall mark down, and I want to prove that I can produce good quality animations. I also want to utilise as many of the things I have learnt over the past few months and demonstrate how far I've come since the beginning of the course. The various inductions into different softwares such as After Effects and Dragon Frame can really be put to use in this project as well as the workshop inductions and all of the tutorials on various aspects of animation. Even some of the speakers from places like Bradford Animation Festival from companies such as Laika produced huge amounts of insight into various process of the production phase that I can use to my advantage in the project. Finally, this module will be a huge learning curve, I expect it to be challenging but rewarding in the sense that I will learn a lot and hopefully be able to produce something I'm happy with.

OUAN406 - Introductory Post

On Monday, which was the 2nd of February we were given the briefing for the latest module titled, 'Applied Animation'. In essence, applied animation is animation that has a purpose other than simply entertainment. Where previously a lot of our focus on producing animation was geared towards the entertainment side of the spectrum, this module focuses on applying animation to other aspects and media such as title sequences, and credits, idents and animations for a campaign.

There are a couple of studio based tasks to the module which include the first one, named 'Another Dimension'. This task primarily focuses on modelling in the 3D program Maya. The purpose of developing our skills in this software is to I suppose give us a new way of working or direction if we so choose it to produce the final out come for the briefs set within this module. 3D modelling is something I am personally interested in and have read and seen a lot by various artists that I admire and follow. However, with this particular task I don't plan on using it to produce the out come as I want to go down a more traditional route and make the animation by hand, as a contrast to my previous animation which was done digitally, in this sense I think that producing something by hand or digitally will be refreshing. Another reason I want to go down the traditional route is that we were recently given an induction into the wood and metal workshop where I feel like I really learnt a lot and would like to extend those skills further. In addition to this, we are currently undergoing lessons and inductions into the ceramic workshop where the traditional and hand made approach to model making is strong and right now this kind of work is where I really feel I want to enhance my ability with.

Following on from this, the second studio brief contained within in the module is cleverly titled; 'A Tale in the Sting'. This brief allows us to choose between three different studio briefs and proceed with the one we like the most. In my case, the one I'm leaning towards most which I think a lot of other people will also choose is option 2b, 'titles'. The reason I and many others are leaning towards this brief in my opinion, is the openness of it. The outline of the brief is essentially that we have to choose a book that has not been adapted previously for film to television, and adapt it ourselves producing a title sequence for the film in our own vision. This brief will follow, like other briefs the standard production work flow of, pre-production, production and post-production.

Some of the requirements for the animation we produce for this particular brief, which is the one I plan on doing are that it must be exactly 30 seconds in length at 24 frames per second, for a total of 720 frames for the animation. The book we choose to adapt must not have previously been adapted for film or television, and luckily for me I have a few in mind that we could use that as far as I'm aware have not been adapted yet and that could prove to be interesting in their subject matter for me to use. Finally, as far as requirements and limitations go, we must have permissions to use any audio that wasn't made by ourselves if required, so music for example. However, I plan to create most of the sounds myself, but I will definitely keep this is mind and pursue it if I want to use music or any audio that wasn't created by me.  

OUAN404 - Evaluation

The visual language module has been a very heavy but rewarding module. The briefs being set over a long period of time is something I liked as it gave me a chance to put a considerable amount of thought and effort into the work, especially since I enjoyed the tasks that were set. My favourite briefs from the module in particular were ones that gave me the opportunity to go out and draw, so the Set, Series, Sequence brief and the Environmental Storytelling briefs specifically. The open aspect to these tasks also allowed for more self direction and personal input on deciding which locations to draw for example, I feel like this meant we had more control over our work and the kind of things we felt we needed to work on. I personally tried to venture out of my comfort zone in this respect in order to learn as much as I could. In terms of time management I often found myself behind when it came close to the deadlines for the briefs and consequently had to concentrate a lot of work into a small amount of time rather than spreading it over the allocated time that was given for the brief to be complete. Something I have to work on in this respect is balancing modules that run parallel so that I can be as efficient as possible with the given work load. At some points during the module I did find myself falling behind because I hadn't maintained a steady workflow and instead worked on the module in bursts, producing high amounts of work in a small amount of time and detracting from the progression of other briefs. In my opinion, I engaged well with the module as it was probably my favourite module that we have done to date. The briefs are interesting and aren't confined to a classroom. Furthermore, it allows us to produce images of our surroundings with a purpose in a variety of media, which has opened me up to the possibilities of working in different ways to produce visuals with varied qualities. There is a few things I need to improve, like I previously mentioned my organisation and I think perhaps I need to be more imaginative or out going when it comes to approaching briefs such as the Environmental Storytelling brief, I could have chosen more interesting places to draw from, but I learnt a lot from them nonetheless. Finally, this module has taught me a huge amount about how to produce illustrations quickly in a range of media and not to dwell on mistakes and to try and continue to move forward with my development within a sketchbook. It has also taught me to be more experimental and out going with work I produce, the importance of sketchbooks and how to use them effectively to produce ideas, record information and observe my surroundings.

OUAN404 - Study Task 5 - Looking Closer at Figurative Artists / Osamu Obi

Osamu Obi

Osamu Obi is a Japanese figure and portrait painter who work fairly exclusively in oil paints. From looking at his work quite a lot I have noticed he predominantly paints female figures and often has them looking away from him, out of a window for example or at something in the distance. The colours he uses a usually a little washed out yet rich and full in themselves. I have seen very few of his paintings where he uses a light source and instead opts for natural light perhaps from a window or a door leading outside. This gives his paintings an almost elegant feeling to them as the light and colours are less harsh due to the light being much whiter than a yellow or orange light source. It is also notable that in his paintings he doesn't leave out environments or the setting, and makes sure to include them as a natural frame for the figure he is focusing on, these are often in the form of; walls or a sofa and other household furniture, and this theme is evident throughout a lot of his work. In terms of the expression, they always come across as very intense or somber.

As previously mentioned the subject is often looking away from the camera with an sense of hopelessness or someone deep in thought. This type of pose draws you in because you begin to question the background of the subject, which is one of the things I like most about his work: his ability to capture personality and individualism. A popular pose for the figures in his work is having one or both arms stretched across their chest, as if they are protecting themselves, this makes the figures look anxious or nervous in my opinion. There are certain aspects of his work, and themes that run throughout that imply vulnerability, the pose and the inclusion of shadowy environment in combination with the nervous expression of his solitary female subjects makes me feel like he is keen to portray this in his work.

OUAN404 - Study Task 5 - Looking Closer at Figurative Artists / Anna Bilinska Bohdanowicz

Anna Bilinska Bohdanowicz

Anna Bilinska Bohdanowicz was a Polish painter that was known specifically with her work with portraits. She mainly used oil paints, watercolours and pastels to create realistic portraits and still life paintings. Her portrait work features both males and females often from the shoulders and above. Her style feels a little loose and the finished pieces are never overly detailed but instead have a certain unfinished quality to them, as the colours spills out from its source.

In terms of scale, her paintings were often between 30" to 40" tall, so she didn't work at a particularly large scale, but this meant that her paintings were at a similar scale to the subject she was painting and meant she could work faster than is she did bigger paintings. Going against the trend at the time and producing highly detailed, accurate paintings of subjects she instead was renowned for having great intuition when it came to painting, coinciding with her loose style. Despite the lack of attention to accuracy when it came to the smaller details, I like the her loose style and is quite refreshing in comparison to seeing near perfect copies of real life, I think this type of individualism is represented well within her paintings and I enjoy that she experimented with style instead of just painting exactly what she saw.

OUAN404 - Study Task 5 - Looking Closer at Figurative Artists / Georges Seurat, Figure Drawings

Georges Seurat

Georges Seurat was a French post-impressionist painter and draftsman who was especially known due to his innovative use of drawing media. I am particularly interested in his figure work. After looking at a broad range of his work, I feel like there is very little theme involved in the idea behind particular poses or subjects, but rather he thought of it more of a study of figures and anatomy. In other words, he thought less of his work as art and more of it as a craft, as he was a draughtsman after all. He was also quoted saying; 'some say they see poetry in my paintings, I see only science'.

He uses an interesting mix of materials within his figure work, and some of his work was even made using crayons to give a rough and loose yet textured image, with a concentration on form and shape. Working in this way also meant that shadows could be easily incorporated given the black and white nature of some of his work. Some things to mention about his work, is that firstly it is very calm and almost structured, the poses feel very delicate and natural and aren't forced to produce poses with a lot of dynamic or action. His style is also very experimental and I suppose stylised in that it has a very scratchy tone to it. Despite the textured and scratchy nature of his work, especially that made by a crayon, the form and shape of the figure is evident in his work and this intricate attention to the human body is evident throughout all of his work, painting and drawings alike. Finally, the use of light in his drawings is also very seamless. The tones are very subtle on the shadowed out sections of figures faces, as if they were built up using layer upon layer of lightly applied marks. There is however a very methodical and impressive level of accuracy that you can see in his work through his use of shape to represent the human form and its interaction with light.

OUAN404 - Study Task 5 - The Importance of Life Drawing

I have heard several visual arts tutors mention the importance of life drawing and how it should be a serious practice for any practicing visual artist. Whilst is is considered an old or traditional practice by many, drawing from life is an important part of contributing towards developing key visual skills when it comes to producing any art or design pieces. The fundamental practice trains the eye to see details accurately and observe emotion and gesture that can then be transferred onto a page using a variety of mediums. Skills that are learnt from drawing from life, specifically the figure will transfer to other areas of drawing and improve non-figurative art so it has more substance to it. Some of the crucial parts that figure drawing plays in art education is making you aware of how the body works and operates in a space, depending on the position of the figure and the shape of their body. Throughout my education I have been fortunate to have been given to undertake life drawing classes several times. The first time was first year college when I was 17 years old, it was at this point when I started to practice figure drawing that it became clear to me how little I knew when it came to anatomical drawing. Over the course of 10 weeks I attended sessions where I was given the chance to use a variety of materials to produce drawings of a life model, and over time it became clear to me more so how to body worked and how to produce sketches of different parts of the human body. Afterwards I realised how helpful these sessions had been, as I could already see an improvement on the way I drew people and figures. During the art foundation course I did, I was then reintroduced to life drawing and fortunately I had a basic understanding at this point that I could then build upon. The life drawing I did here was much more extensive than the previous sessions I had done, and I was becoming more confident when it came to drawing the human body. Producing drawings of something this complex requires understanding and technical ability, both of which improve with time, especially when you practice with the figure. The techniques and skills that are learnt from life drawing are highly transferable because in essence, you're training your eye and your ability to observe and translate visual information onto a piece of paper or whatever it may be. Life drawing also helped my general visual ability and I try and practice it whenever I can to make sure I'm on top of it.

During the visual language brief; Flow, Form and Force, the figure drawing we did, which involved doing a range of short and long poses in various positions such as; squashing, stretching, pushing and pulling. During some of the longer poses we could look at the gesture in more detail and include observations such as; shape, form, perspective and foreshortening, all through a variety of mediums appropriate to the pose. The types of poses we were looking at here are all everyday poses that are quite essential in understanding the way the body works in space and in my opinion are important when understanding specifically movement and anticipation to apply to the animation method.

Some of the artists I have looked at, as inspiration when I draw from life;

• Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Leonardo DaVinci
• Gustav Klimt
• Georges Seurat
• Anna Bilinska Bohdanowicz
• Osamu Obi

OUAN404 - Study Task 5 - Life Drawing and Animation

As mentioned in the post about the importance of life drawing post, when it comes to creating animation a fundamental understanding of anatomy and form with the human body is an essential skill, due to aspects such as; movement, expression and gesture as well as understanding the volume of objects and keeping that consistent frame to frame.

Entertainment Studio, Disney, have the tradition of having available, free life drawing classes for its artists within its studios. They more than anyone understand the importance of accuracy in anatomy when it comes to animating and therefore the imperative need for life drawing. These classes are used to back up the idea that capturing the anatomy and the senses of motion that drawing from life offers improves the gesture in animated drawings. One of the visual development artists at Disney, Dan Cooper, also stated that whilst you can use other references to animate from and practice gesture, drawing from life gives you 'structure, perspective and a certain vitality through rhythmic gestures'.

By using simple lines, animators should be able to give a figure life and personality. By personality I mean a certain individuality that isn't just simply a standard pose or stereotypical expression. As well as this, the figure should look like it is existing in a 3D space, to make it feel like it is existing in the real world or a real world, which is important when it comes to placing a character into an environment and making the two aspects interact with one another. I think it is also important to understand the difference between drawing figures for illustration, and drawing figures for animation. The illustrator drawing the figure will only need one view of a model, whereas when it comes to animating a model, multiple views will be needed through different poses in order to generate the movement through a sequence of images. In essence although the training for both develops the skill to observe and translate what is seen onto paper, there is a certain analytical aspect to drawing from life for animation and a further understanding of the way the body moves that isn't necessary for illustration. Furthermore, when drawing models for animation there has to be as little individual technique as possible, as longer animations generally have many individuals working on them and each artists style must adjust to the direction of the whole production.

OUAN404 - Study Task 4 - You Spin Me Right Round!

The idea for this study task was to test our ability to draw the same object in various degrees of rotation to practice the ability of drawing an object turning. The aspects that were looked at were the ability to keep the volume the same throughout the different viewpoints and keep the object in the same position on the page when it turned, so that when the final images were sequenced and played back there was minimal deviation of the object from the point of rotation.

I have never practiced something like that but understand the importance of being able to draw objects from all viewpoints, including and especially when it comes to animating them. I wanted to test myself so I avoided objects that were uniform from all angles such as a glass or a bottle for example. Instead I opted for a miniature toy fox and its cub. Drawing the two objects side by side was quite difficult because as they were turned they blocked certain sections of each other, this in turn made it more difficult to keep consistent.

I was fairly satisfied with the final out come, although with more practice and precision I believe I could have done it better and kept the volume and quality of line more consistent throughout. The positioning on the page also needed some adjustment as at times they slipped out of sync and the final sequence looked a little jumpy. To try and improve these things, I took the scanned images into Photoshop and traced the frames to improve the consistency of the line weight and the overall quality. This improved it, but it's still not as could as it could be. I also think if I had included more than 12 points around the centre to rotate to, the smoothness of the turn could also have been improved a little, perhaps 24 frames would have made the turn more seamless. This task taught me a lot and has definitely given me a new skill that I can work and improve on as I develop my drawing skills as a whole.

OUAN404 - Study Task 3 - Take 5 / Feedback

During the feedback session for visual language I found myself becoming more accustomed to giving and receiving critique for work that I have produced and that others had produce. I could recognise things that perhaps would have arguably improved in terms of colour, shape and timings; but ultimately the task was about interpreting and visualising sound which I understand is a very subjective thing so the critique was more geared towards the technical aspects of the animations such as movement and fluidity. We took it in turns to show each of our five animations one by one, receiving feedback with each animation. Things that were mentioned include, the choice of colour schemes used within the animation, the choice of shapes and composition, the quality of animation produced and finally the appropriateness of the visuals in comparison with the sound and is it in sync with the sound.

1 - For the first animation, a lot of the feedback I received was similar. A lot of comments were aimed at the textures I used on the first animation for the background, nearly everyone complimented this particular animation which I was please about. Some of the criticism mentioned that the static background didn't allow for a good flow within the animation - which I agree with, and this could have been improved with some more effort put in on my part. Other positive comments mentioned the movement of the wave and how it had a nice flow to it, and that despite the background being static they worked well together.

2 - This feedback for my second animation was a bit more mixed which I understand, and wasn't too use about this one myself for several reasons. Some of the more positive feedback I received was that the timing was good, and the synchronisation between the sound and the visuals was good. As well as this, the shapes I used, a coil or essentially circular motion was something that a lot of people liked my choice of with someone mentioning they would have liked to see it 'flick' at the end. Some of the criticism I received for this animation was that the choice of colour could have been more 'magical' to compliment the sound more, which in hindsight I definitely think I could have incorporated some much vibrant colours to fit the audio. 

3 - In my opinion this is arguably one of my weaker animations for this task, because of its simplicity. However, you could argue that it works with the simplicity of the sound. Some of the positive feedback I received for this sound was directed towards the texture and textured backgrounds I produced to enhance the animations visually, there was a couple of comments saying they weren't sure about the background however. Other feedback included an appreciation for the movement of the object in relation to the sound, and that they liked the circle 'buzzing around'. Someone noted the use of space within the animation. Finally, there were a few people that thought the objects moved around too much.

4 - The fourth animation was quite well received due to the style and the textures I used again for the background. Some people said they liked my 'visual style' and the backgrounds as a whole. In terms of the movement and style of movement, it was stated that the brush I used to produce the outline of the circles was too harsh considering it was to represent a water droplet. Which I agree with now that it has been brought to my attention. Overall however I think people liked the ripple effect it produced. Someone said they liked that I didn't use perfect circles like some people had with this particular sound. In general this animation was quite well received which I was happy about.

5 - The last animation I showed to the class went down quite well. I think my approach to this one was quite unusual and that other people thought the same but not in a negative way. Someone said that it was the best animation for this particular sound, which was pleasing as I wasn't unsure about my approach at first. The main concern with this animation is that I didn't sync the initial sound very well, and most people picked up on this but followed up by saying that the colour scheme was great and the 'sizzle' sound was good in the way I portrayed it. A couple of comments suggested that the animation didn't match the sound very well as much as they liked it, which I agree with and perhaps went a bit too abstract with this one. Overall, despite the obscurity this animation has in relation to the sound it went down quite well and people liked the different approach to the sound. 

OUAN404 - Study Task 3 - Autechre - Gantz Graf

This piece is much different to the two pieces I have previously talked about. First of all the medium, talking only about the style of animation and visuals as oppose to the audio and sounds. The animation is completely CGI, the type of movement involves morphing, pulsating and shaking which fits the audio well but is much different to other pieces I've seen that visualise audio. Of course, in this particular example of visualising sound, the sound is very electronic and mechanical, not only in nature but in production as well, being created synthetically using digital equipment as oppose to traditional instruments. So the overall animation, has a very interesting and unique style in both audio and visual representation.

The types of shapes featured in the animation are also very mechanical and appear unnatural because their perfection, or lack of flaws. The sounds created for this animation are very mechanical, like previously mentioned, but aren't there to entertain as such but are simply abstract and machine like. This of course being the purpose and it comes across immediately as electronic.

The way the visuals almost react to the audio is interesting and well executed, whilst watching the visuals and listening to the audio I felt the synchronization was perfect across the two components and that not a single sound or beat was missed visually. The colour scheme compliments the ideas and feel of the machine like nature of the sounds, consisting of white, grey and black in varying tones and the shapes and objects on the visual side of the piece have a metallic look to them, reinforcing the machine and metal look. Whilst the objects in the video are moving the camera is panning around in a very interesting way with no clear direction so as to reinforce the erratic nature of the movement. The speed of the panning also varies greatly, moving slowly followed by a sudden burst of movement as it moves around the objects, this again being well choreographed in relation to the audio.

Something I found quite satisfying about the visuals to accompany the sound was not only the clean and accurate execution but the speed and pace of the visuals. The way the objects flash on and off representing the beats and different sounds is well done, whilst objects come and go as the visuals progress, making way for new shapes as the previous ones evolve based on the audio. The transitions of the shapes to keep up with the audio is very well done and smooth, it's almost seamless infact as the visuals have a very natural feel despite the mechanical and machine like qualities they hold.