Final Outcome and Reflection of our 30 second Animated Short
For this assessment we were put into groups of 5 and were asked to create a 30 second animation short based around the theme of ‘escape’. My group consisted of Alyssa, Amy, Dara, Shane and myself.
Our first idea was to produce an animation on bath toys escaping from a bathtub. However, on reflection, we thought it might be too hard to animatd water at our current skill level. So, after a bit more of a discussion we settled on a Haunted House Theme. The initial story idea was “Two ghosts enter a haunted house and come face to face with a scary monster. They escape the house in fear, and it’s revealed that the monster isn’t real, instead it’s just a coat rack”.
This initial story later changed after a bit of feedback to having a 3rd ghost playing a prank on the other ghosts instead of having a monster.
Final Outcome
I feel that the final outcome of the short is a success. Our group is happy with the overall effect of the film and character wise we equally contributed to the animation.
For the most part, we followed Dara’s 3D previs for the camera angles and the timing.
The colour palate reflects the mood of the short. Our colours are desaturated and muted in keeping with the spooky setting.
The background music was royalty free from Bensound and I think it contributed to the spooky tone of the short along with the sound effects that we used.
I do find working in a group stressful at times but I am pleased with how we all worked together to produce the short film.
Reflection
A lot of the work this year has been in collaboration with others. I understand that this is a skill that is necessary, but I do find, at times, group work quite stressful. This is something I will need to work on and find ways to manage stress more effectively. This time I was working with a group of people that I know very well as we all went to tech together, with the exception of one. This has an advantage as it is usually easier to work with friends. However, I think going forward working with others would be a good way to make new friends. Generally, our group did work well together but there were times when I felt stressed and frustrated while waiting for others to complete their part of the project. On the whole, however, it was a positive experience, and we did have good fun working together.
Each of us had to draw out a storyboard for the animation project and collectively decided on which storyboard we were going to base our animation on. Once we had decided on a storyboard, we each had to animate a 3D previs of our animation short. A 3D previs is the process of visualising a scene before creating it (3D version of a storyboard). When everyone’s 3D previs was done we decided we were going to go with Dara’s previs for our animation.
After we decided what our story was going to be, each of us had to design and model a character for the animation. Shane and Amy had a ghost each, Alyssa and Dara designed and modelled some of the objects in the Haunted House and I was tasked with designing and modelling the monster, which later on, turned into the third ghost in the short.
With that out of the way we could then focus on the 3D modelling of the room, characters and assets.
As I had the most powerful computer, everyone imported their animations into my Blender file.
I really love the challenge of 3D animation and I took time to try and improve my ghost animation with various versions until I was finally happy with my character. It is so enjoyable to see something you have created come to life on screen. I feel like my skills in 3D animation have really improved this year and I feel more comfortable with Blender than I did at the beginning of this year. I am also better at fixing any issues or problems that might come about. I definitely prefer using Blender than Maya!
My overall contribution to this short includes two character designs and two character models. I also modelled a chair, pillow, small table, coat stand, chest and door, wall candles, windows, trees, bricks, the floor, a coffee cup and the portal. Not to forget modelling the room and the layout of the room. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Out of all that I have learnt this year I have been surprised by how much I really enjoy 3D animation. I know I have a long way to go to improve my skills, but I will happily use blender in my own free time to do 3D animations for myself. I hope to further build on my skills as the years go on.
Overall, I have really enjoyed this project, even though it had its ups and downs. Working collaboratively with others, although challenging, is something I know has positives and I need to learn to manage the stress that goes along with this. For me, the hardest and most challenging aspect of this project, indeed of any project is writing the blog and compiling the reflection. I struggle a lot with spelling and grammar and need my writing read over by someone to point out where I have made mistakes. Then I need help to redraft the work so it flows and is cohesive and reflects what is in my head. Getting words onto paper is a struggle. The drawing, modelling and animating side of things is what I thrive on and thoroughly enjoy. I have enjoyed my first year at Ulster University and look forward to further developing my drawing and animating skills in both 2D and 3D animations.