Major Project Week 9 – 2D Workshop

Tutorial Talk and 2D Workshop

This week we started the morning with Dan Wilson on After Effects with the volcano effect for the first session and learning new techniques on after effects with layers, colours and the effects of it making it look animated. It was a fun activity and gave me ideas for our hybrid animation for our main project this session which I introduced the idea to my group after the morning session as were aiming to use Blender for both the 3D and 2D. Below is the picture of the volcano that Dan sent us in photoshop, and the next one shows the camera angle and layers we learnt about which I haven’t known about using tools that are new to me and finally made a video of it for this exercise. 

The afternoon session was our tutorial time with Aodhan, for my progress was the fixing of the final design of character sheets which I almost done and my next target goal was for making a list of sound that will be used for the project which I would help Sarah when she is redoing the animatic so we could input the sound to match with the scene. Aodhan made some pointers on my w.i.p.s of the final designs and the scare o meter which I did for the boy’s face from 0% to 100%. For the boy for his final design he told me to watch out for the arms, so they are both the same length and are done and coloured this week before next Tuesday. This talk gave me time to make sure I wouldn’t be doing what I had done for the pre production week so I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. 

 

Animation Dissertation/Report Tutorial Talk Week 8

Tutorial Talk with Yuan

Just had my one to one tutorial talk with Yuan for how much progress I’ve done for my dissertation and what needs fixing so I’m on the right direction. First was the title, it was too long as I have to keep it brief and avoid repetitive language as it must be short and concise. For the introduction it must be spit into two for balance as one paragraph is the context of hybrid animation and examples like movies and tv shows that would be included within the coursework and the other I will analyse for this dissertation with no first person like me, I or you within the dissertation including the conclusion.

Section 1 – Make sure to add ‘Figures  1,2,3…etc’ before the image when taking a good look at the photo before moving on. I also needed to change the structure of the dissertation from 2D/3D, techniques, the impacts and Sony’s Spiderman with the conclusion with no first person pronouns. I also need to watch out for repetitive language and the middle section/main body should include arguments to answer the question. 

 

Major Project Week 8 – 2D Workshop

Tutorial Talk – 2D Workshop

There was a 2D workshop this morning with Dan Wilson who showed us his works with circles and animating shapes on after effects. Some tasks were easy but had lots of controls, tools to follow and he did speak fast during the first half of the lecture which was hard to follow. 

The second half of our session had our lecturers during our tutorial talks wit Aodhan. I showed Aodhan my intro for the first part of the storyboard since I couldn’t squeeze it in for the pre – production. I also showed of my gestures of the boy (more than for final design sheets) which Aodhan thought they were really good since I explored the facial expressions of the boy and asked me to do a scare o meter to show the boy’s sacred face from 0% to 100% from having a heart attack. 

For this month were focusing on experimenting and recognizing the art style of our project with the hybrid animation and both 2D and 3D art styles that will perfectly match in sync. Here is the gestures I done this week including the storyboard intro. From the gestures I fully understand what I would have to when redoing the boy on the character sheet to avoid it looking flat and stiff to the viewer.

 

 

Major Project Pre – Production Week 7

Pre – Production Presentation

This week our group had presented our Pre – Production Presentation of our short film ‘Is Somebody out there?’ to show off the progress we had done to 7 weeks. Sarah and I spoke for our presentation with Dylan clicking the screen to the next slide. We briefly recapped our finished plot which Sarah wrote, the style and other animations were taking inspiration from and other short films to fit the horror genre of our short film and the style of animation we are going for which is hybrid animation of 2D and 3D animation.

I had talked about the character designs of the boy, the father and the creature each represented by a specific shape with colour schemes and inspirations and research from other characters that fit our characters personality. Dylan worked on the layout and environment of the cabin on the rooms hallways and doors of the environment and the 3D previs of it on Maya. 

We also did an asset list of what it would be included for our short film like significant prop assets, furniture, the environment outside and finally what will be in 2D and 3D. (I did a 3D model of a pumpkin or simply known as a jack o lantern. I shown my research on jump scares and building up suspense which we are going for 2 suspense scenes and 3 jump scares for short film for this time. 

Sarah had shown off the first 2D animatic in her style to show what we are aiming for and how to greatly improve our animatic/previs. We then showed our storyboards which I had created to fit the art style we are going for which includes the middle and ending parts. We then mentioned the software’s we will be using for the project and finally redid our schedule of the timeline of what we should be doing. 

Lecturers Review on project

Overall good and a bit better to the pitch presentation from October with some things covered compared to the last presentation. First was us finding someone or selecting music for our sound design which we did not add into the film, the pacing of the short film as what will be quick paced and what bits will be slow, the pipeline of our production and finishing off with our pre – production stage. Also some references they mentioned with die hard in the elevator scene and smiling friends for reference for our main project to look at. With our storyboards I had made, they had some comments on some scenes an specific moments with the camera angles for third person, zooming out instead of rotating and some scenes needed fixing. They also said to include gestures for the boy and the dad when it comes to line of action and to improve drawings of the character design sheets. They also made comment on Sarah’s animatic which did not match the style of the storyboard itself. 

After the talks I wrote down notes from the presentation on what I should focus and what needs improvements. So talking with the group and our roles on fixing, I focused on the intro of the storyboard and gestures of the boy, Dylan with the environment and picking colour schemes of the project the layout of the cabin and Sarah starting the experimentation stage for the production. 

 

 

Major Project Blog Writing Week 6

Reflective blogs

We were briefly recapped on blogs and especially our reflective blogs for this semester’s major project which should cover our research, artistry, techniques/planning and we’ve used communication between team mates. For our major project we have to focus on our idea, pre production, production, post production and our portfolio pages. 

This really gave me a new insight to my blog and what should be changed and added onto it. That I should always add my opinions on the lesson on what I have learnt, what the lecturers had explained in our lessons and evidence on what we have done for our projects/lessons. It gave time to reflect and go to my previous posts to make sure everything is clear and concise for my major project and essay. 

For our pre-production stages and before having our presentation for week 7 I took the time to model a pumpkin for our major project being the 3D element for our environment outside the cabin. Here the link to the reference I used to help me model a 3D jack o’ lantern.

Following the videos guide was a bit hard sense I had to remember certain controls and keys while modelling and it was very fast to follow. But I was able to follow it and model the pumpkin and fix the UV of the pumpkin to showcase for next weeks presentation on pre – production. 

Here is the result.

I also took time to create character design sheets for the father and son with references I had collected from other multimedia shows and movies to build the characters and work on the middle and ending part of the storyboard this week to experiment with camera angles and use the layout of the cabin which my teammate Dylan had modelled for the proper layout of the cabin. 

Took a lot of time for the storyboards and experimenting different camera angles and perspective which my lecturer Aodhan talked about the story and to make it feel less comedic. 

 

 

Animation Dissertation/Report Tutorial Talk Week 6

Our tutorial talks were this week as I had my talk with Ryan about my essay on which topic I’m discussing, my chosen title being the question I answer and my outline/structure of the essay itself. He said my work was going in the right direction of my structure and what I would be talking in each section, of there was some pointers Ryan had given to me for my essay to relate to my title question. For the topic is hybrid animation and the question will be have it is the better type of animation to use this modern time and how it effects animators and the audience themselves. His advice was quite helpful for the direction I’m going for this essay with the topic I will be analysing for. 

 

Major Project- Experimentation Week 5

This weeks lecture involves the experimentation and ideation of animation which Henry went over for Tuesdays class. He talked during the lecture about:

– Defining Pipelines
– Research
– Reference!
– Identifying methods and processes
– To achieve art style
– Learning & Developing techniques and skills
– Identifying risks
– Strategic Planning
– Identifying and Developing resources
– Recycling resources

Contrast

Key element for visual legibility
• Contrast is achieved in different approach
• Some overlap
• Independent factors

Colours

• Colour Theory & Psychology
• B&W
• RGB = 100
• Indication of saturation and luminosity
• R = 30, G = 59, B = 11, Y = 89, C = 70, M = 41
• Vibrance Saturation
• Perceived Brightness

Composition, Lighting, Storytelling, Framing, Leading lines, Contrast, Shape Language, Repetition, Level of Detail, Scale and Dynamism.

3D vs 2D

• Identify your Tools
• Weaknesses / Limitations
• Strengths / Efficiency
• You have experience in both – Use it!
• Do not discard an ideas because a complex technical
skill
• Research
• Ideate and Experiment
• Find solutions
• Work non-destructively
• Don’t be intimidated by procedural workflows
• Don’t be intimidated by node-based systems
• Feedback – Adjust – Feedback – Adjust – Results
• Keep learning

Resources and Advice

• YouTube
• Community Forums
• Other Social Media
▫ Twitter / X
▫ Facebook
▫ LinkedIn
▫ Art station Portfolios and resources
• Documentation and Sample Files
 Reverse Engineer Sample Files
• Libraries and Recyclable assets
 Build your Libraries 2D and 3D
 Learn to build Custom Brushes
 Understand Masks & different types of texture maps


Resources & Advice
• Build simple projects with block outs and
premade assets and test!
• Don’t be afraid of Software. It’s just a tool
• Understand the pipeline
▫ Embrace Ambiguity in the early stages
▫ Adapt to ambiguities and investigate

 

Communication
• Find Solutions
▫ Even if it means using different mediums (3D
and 2D)
▫ Always go back to the script and consider the
end goal.

This weeks class had recapped the things I already know but the importance from each one to help with my major project since my team and I are going for a type of hybrid animation. Communication is vital and gaining our resources for experimentation with the 2D and 3D animation. For this week I took time with my group on character design, collecting more references and working on the storyboards with Sarah’s script. I took this time to gather some movies and short films with the best jump scares to add into our short film which involves amount of suspense and jump scares which would make the audience shake with fear as I had to narrow down the inspirations for our four minute short film and out them on our Miro. There it took some time but I managed it quite well picking the ones I knew and what others on YouTube think are the best jump scares to fit within our script of the story. 

Animation Dissertation Tutorial Week 5

My tutorial wasn’t on this week, but I used this time to work on my major project with the other members of my group and hold a call meeting later to make sure my tasks are update, two weeks before our pre production presentation and the first draft of my essay for my dissertation which involves the intro.   

 

 

 

Animation Dissertation/Report – Structuring and Developing an Dissertation Week 4

VFX people from Frame stone with Nathan McConnel animation supervisor and Claire from Cinemagic from Soho London 1986 who worked on Guardians of the galaxy movies and most recently VOL 3. Started their animation career in 2002 in Europe and America after getting a degree in Fine Art and psychology masters in computer animation with Doctor strange, Alice in wonderland , Harry Potter, Fantastic beasts, dark materials, spiderman far from home, Thor 3, detective Pikachu, Kingsman, Mowgli, Godzilla and Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Fascinating morning talk with an incredible studio who brough magic to the movie by following the theme of friendship with a tragic backstory. 

Yuan’s last lecture class – Structure and Developing essay/report with a clear overall structure is essential for a dissertation. 

Start with the;

Intro

Section 1     )

Section 2   ———— Main body of dissertation

Section 3   )

Conclusion 

References (More than 10)

A clear overall structure in a report

  • Intro
  • Design/Methodology 
  • Data Collection/Analysis
  • Finding/Results
  • Conclusion
  • References

Introduction

Introduction acts as a bridge that transports your readers from their own lives into the “place” of your dissertation/report. Introduction will provide your readers with their initial impressions of your argument, your writing style, and the overall quality of your work.

Structing the Intro 

  • Arouse the reader’s interest
  • Set the scene
  • Explain how you interpret the question set
  • Define or explain key terms if necessary
  • Identify the issues that you are going to
  • explore
  • Give a brief outline of how you will deal with
    each issue, and in which order

Main Body

  • The main body of your dissertation should be divided
    into sections with subtitles. Each section will cover one
    topic only. Each section should be divided into
    paragraphs.
  • Each section and paragraph need their own structures.
    It will have a topic sentence which tells the reader
    about the subject of the paragraph. The topic sentence
    is very often the first in the paragraph.
  • Every paragraph must have a purpose.

Every paragraph should be:
Unified—All of the sentences in a single paragraph should
relate to a single controlling idea (often expressed in the
topic sentence of the paragraph).
Clearly related to the research question—The sentences
should all refer to the central idea of the work.
Coherent—The sentences should be arranged in a logical
manner and should follow a definite plan for development.
Well-developed—Every idea discussed in the paragraph
should be adequately explained and supported through
evidence and details that work together to explain the
paragraph’s controlling idea.

  • Remember that in academic English, a
    paragraph should contain more than one
    sentence.
  • Try to use a range of linking words and
    expressions such as “moreover”, “in addition”,
    “however”, “nevertheless”, “on the other
    hand” in your paragraphs. They help your
    reader by making your arguments much
    clearer.

 

Conclusion 
• A general conclusion is needed to round off your
work. If you realise you are introducing new
ideas, decide whether they are relevant. If they
are, then think where they should fit in the main
body.
• The conclusion allows you to have the final say on
the issues you have raised. It is also your
opportunity to make a good final impression and
to end on a positive note.

• Draw everything together
• Summarise the main themes
• State your general conclusions
• Make it clear why those conclusions are important
or significant
• Do not introduce new material
• In the last sentence, sum up your argument very
briefly, linking it to the title
• Set the issues in a broader perspective/wider
context
• Discuss what you’ve failed to do if you have

• Allow plenty of time to proofread your work.
• Be aware of the type of mistakes that you tend to
make so you can focus on eliminating them.
• Read your work aloud, which can highlight
punctuation errors particularly.

 

Academic Writing Skill

When writing a dissertation/report that others will read, you must use a
certain style. What you writing has to be easily understood by the reader.
Also, certain conventions – ways of writing – have to be understood and
then followed.

Basic Approaches

You can use academic books and journals you read as models to imitate.
As you write, it may be useful to consider whether what you are writing
reads as if it could be in an academic book.

Think about your readers. Your work will be read by your tutors. Does it
express your ideas with clarity? Remember that tutors will have many
assignments to read; writing as clearly as possible will benefit you and
them.

Academic writing tends to be impersonal, objective and cautious, avoiding
sweeping statements or generalisations. Take particular care to avoid
absolutes such as “completely” “absolute” “unique” “totally” “always” etc.

Referencing 

It is most important to ensure that you always back up everything you say
with evidence from a reliable source. This means you need to carry out
research through appropriate reading.

A major feature of academic writing is the need for referencing.
Whenever you use other people’s ideas, even if you are not quoting their
exact words, you must let your reader know their source. Also, you will
need to list all the sources you have used in your work.

Apply Harvard reference style.

Avoid use if “I”, “my”, “we”, “you” etc. However, do not overuse the passive voice either.

Remember that in academic English, a paragraph should contain more
than one sentence. Try to use a range of linking words and expressions such as “moreover”,
“in addition”, “however”, “nevertheless”, “on the other hand” in your
paragraphs. They help your reader by making your arguments much
clearer.

If you do need to refer to yourself, you can write “the (present) writer /
author…” e.g. “The present author considers that…” or “The author’s
view is that…” Avoid “I” or “you” by using “one”. For example, “One could argue
that…” or “If one is in such a situation, one could…” . Avoid “you” and “I” by starting with an impersonal “it” e.g. “It can be
considered/ argued / claimed that…” Avoid “you” or “I” by using passive sentences such as “The solution was
added to the test tube” instead of “I added the solution to the test
tube”. (The meaning is the same but there is no mention of who did the
adding, which can be understood.)

“Based upon the literature I have read, I think that…” ×
“Based upon the literature, it could be argued that…”

The second example shows that you are not presenting your own
thoughts and views but providing an argument that is based upon the
literature you have read.

Choosing the right words

Try to avoid informal words. Think of the sort that would be used in
academic books or journals, rather than magazines. For example, use
“quotation” rather than “quote”, “many” rather than “lots of” or
“teenage mothers” rather than “teen mums”.

Avoid using “lazy” words such as “nice”, “get” or “stuff”. For example,
“obtain”, “acquire” or “become” may be more appropriate than “get”.

Spelling

Correct spelling is important. Use the spelling and grammar checking
tool if you are using a word processor. Remember that you still need to
use your own judgement and common sense when using this tool.

Always use British spelling. Be particularly careful about checking the spelling of the names of
authors and the titles of film titles, directors’ and actors’ names, etc.
You must be accurate. Be particularly careful about checking the spelling of the names of

authors and the titles of film titles, directors’ and actors’ names, etc.
You must be accurate. To make your style clearer, make greater use of the word ‘that’– in
particular after verbs of utterance, such as “say”, “report”, “argue” etc.
“I am going to say that I disagree.”

Avoid repeating the same word in a single paragraph. Try to find an
alternative. Humour or irony are not used in academic writing. Remember that it is appropriate to use qualifications such as “Within the scope of this writing, it will not be possible to cover all the implications of the question.”

Avoid shortened forms: Shouldn’t, it’s etc. Avoid popular phrases or clichés such as: at the end of the day; in a nutshell; when it comes to the crunch. Replace with – finally, in summary, in a crisis. Avoid casual everyday words such as, really, okay, maybe.

  • Those use should generally be avoided
    Basically
    Essentially
    Kind of
    Mostly
    Pretty
    Sort of

Plagiarism and academic integrity Harvard Referencing Style

You have plagiarised if:
➢you took notes that did not distinguish summary and paraphrase from
quotation and then you presented wording from the notes as if it were all
your own.
➢while browsing the Web, you copied text and pasted it into your paper
without quotation marks or without citing the source.
➢you repeated or paraphrased someone’s wording without acknowledgment.
➢you took someone’s unique or particularly apt phrase without
acknowledgment. E.g., “male gaze” from Laura Mulvey’s Visual Pleasure
and Narrative Cinema.
➢you paraphrased someone’s argument or presented someone’s line of
thought without acknowledgment.
➢you bought or otherwise acquired a research paper and handed in part or all
of it as your own.

You can avoid plagiarism by:
➢making a list of the writers and viewpoints you discovered in your research
and using this list to double-check the presentation of material in your
paper.
➢keeping the following three categories distinct in your notes: your ideas,
your summaries of others’ material, and exact wording you copy.
➢identifying the sources of all material you borrow—exact wording,
paraphrases, ideas, arguments, and facts.
➢checking with your lecturers/tutors when you are uncertain about your use
of sources.

Harvard Referencing is a two-part process:
1. Citing within the text
2. References at the end of the work

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