For this assignment we were tasked with our groups to create an animated short based of the theme of “Adventure”.
Pre-Production
During our pre-production process we wanted to start off generating multiple ideas that would be satisfactory for the requirements in the brief.
I took a head strong approach to the initial concept ideas of the project which later resulted in me taking a helping role instead of a commanding role in the groups animation.
I started off my brainstorming sessions in a similar way to the previous semester. We used an online program called Miro to visualise our ideas as if we were using a whiteboard in class.
Starting here, a variety of ideas came from the group and from our lecturers that helped the initial concept transform into the finalised animation.
Concepts and Final Decision
We started with 5 Concepts and thought that a tally system was the best way to decide which one we most wanted to do. At the end of the thirds tally we decided that we’d either be taking on the golf concept or the chicken concept as the rest weren’t chosen. This changed though when the group had a last minute group meeting on a sunday evening which I couldn’t attend and decided that they would rather do the alien concept even though we had already ruled it out. This upset me as the decision was made without me and I was told after it was because all the previous votes were to vote the ones we didn’t want to do instead. I was annoyed that I had been lied to just to get another idea done, but I bit my lip and decided it was in the group’s best interest to move forward with this idea.
With our concept finally decided upon we looked to do 2 additional storyboards to give us a better idea of which way the project would head. This would then allow us to work out the requirements of the project regarding scene and character assets and the software/hardware required to create them.
We were now confident that we knew where we were going with the project so we set about researching relevant content that we could use as reference and inspiration.
Presentations
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HcAz3AoBLb8RHPecWaGDyBrDWqxsiGTD/view?usp=sharing
First animatic
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GGMSAOgHo9JhMXWhBzy8oXxWGK5rba8q/view?usp=sharing
At the end of the presentation we were given feedback on areas to look into, possible options for improving elements of the story so that the narrative of shots was easier to understand. We were to take these criticisms and go and make an updated animation.
Updated animatic
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jVMpctjVc6-9Jil7VOPu2EekiWll3uN4/view?usp=sharing
The reception of this updated animatic was positive and really encouraging. With this now completed we had a strong base to help us in the assignments later stages.
With this the animatic had been given the all clear and we went ahead and produced a Trello board which we would use to assign roles for each part of the animation. From my previous knowledge of Maya and the creation of music and sound effects I primarily focus on helping create those assets for the group.
Trello board
With the animatic and Trello board now in play and being used to their fullest we were able to create and manage everyone’s input through the project. It was essential to make sure that we had a clear idea of the work we were required to do and we decided to distribute the workload evenly so that everyone would have the best chance possible at contributing towards the project and getting the best possible grade they wanted at the end of the project.
Production
The ship asset went through a slight design change at the end of the project giving it small antennas at the sides of the ship. I took inspiration for the video game character Opa-Opa and cargo spaceships.
The planet was to be used in the opening scene to give the background a more 3d look as the ships flying towards the giraffe planet. I made mushrooms for the planet’s surface but we decided they wouldn’t work in the final animation and left them out.
I also created backing music for the animation taking inspiration from the cinematic orchestra intros from space movies like star wars and star trek and then tried combining an orchestral piece with a Chinese percussion drum kit to a jungle theme for when our alien character is walking on the giraffe planet for this part I took inspiration from the Jumanji movies. The final part was romantic string instruments for the ending of the animation showing the alien and giraffe coming together. Unfortunately the group felt it was too intense for the light hearted feel of the animation so we left it out and used the Gateway Galaxy theme from Mario Galaxy, which suited the animation far better.
Final Animation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V499vN6mxQuWiDDgzBSO58CmG3CoP8V4/view?usp=sharing