Narrative - Skinned Character, Storyboards, Animatic and modelling progression -

Over at Pixel Reign, we are nearing the end of our project, so I thought I would upload the work that I have done to contribute to our group.

http://pixel-reign.blogspot.co.uk/

Skinned Character -

Character Modeled - By Ilmi 

Hut Modeled

Hut Concept

Storyboards

Mudbox - sculpting

With Thriller lighting and Ambient

Character Design Project -

During the Brief to our new character design project we received two key words with which we are to base our projects upon. I got the words, 'Arthurian' and 'Arabian Knights' 
At first I was a bit confused on how I could approach the design of my characters, but after a talk with Justin the ideas began flow, and the two words offer such diversity of design that I could create an interesting character.

Arthurian

Arabian Knights

Lip syncing - Modelling tutorials

First stage of lip syncing, focusing on jaw bumping

Second stage, adding the movements when the character pronounces the (M's and O's)

The First Stage of Modelling:

Pixel Reign! Follow our group blog

http://pixel-reign.blogspot.co.uk/

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to Pixel Reign. A small animation studio comprised of four students from UCA Rochester studying (Ba Hons) CG Arts & Animation. Together we are working to create a short animation based around the theories of narrative structure.

To do this, we have been given a specific time period on which to focus our animation, The Middle Ages or Dark Ages (800-900 AD).  Be sure to follow each of our personal blogs for more information, all of which will soon be brought onto this official Pixel Reign blog!

Group Members:

George Whiley (http://georgewhiley.blogspot.co.uk/)

Ilmi Omar (http://ilmiomar.blogspot.co.uk/)

Jake Carpenter (http://jake-carpenter.blogspot.co.uk/)

Anthony Duke (http://anthony-duke.blogspot.co.uk/)

Maya Tutorials - Unit 6

Render Layers

Passes

Shape De-formers

COMMISION - Final Animation

COMMISION - Art of

The Art of –

COMMISION - CD Template

COMMISION - tracking test

Commision - Influence Map

Commision - Storyboards and Animatic

Animatic

Unit 6 - Pitch

After Effects - 3d Space

Commision - Draft Script

Aging of the Telomeres - SCRIPT

Commision - Initial Idea

Having one single camera movement for the duration of the animation, slowing down at certain key stages of - Cell Division - Shortening Telomeres - DNA bases breaking and dieing.

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With the use of Motion tracked 2d text (in 3d space) to describe what is happening. Much like futuristic information Holograms - or like in the opening sequence of 2003 film Spider-man, however not as complex.

 

Begin with a table and a pair of shoes with laces hanging down as the camera pans towards the end of the shoelaces (in this case playing the role of the Telomeres) 
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The camera then zooms through the end of the lace into the inside where it shows a network of DNA strands and bases
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As the Camera weaves in and out it stops and zooms out of the cell to see it duplicate, and then the pan back into the new divided cell.
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In this cell there is substantially less DNA bases, supporting the strands as they begin to break up, due to the cell division, and the shortening of the Telomeres
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The Camera pans slowly back weaving in and out of the DNA strands withing the cell back to remainder of the Telomeres as they are about to die
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Camera glides backwards out of the shoe lace ending with the words 
(Telomeres - Tying up the loose ends of Life)


The information will be given as stated above in text motion tracked to the key areas of camera focus.


Art Style

Light shades of Grey and whites for the majority of the DNA strands and vibrant colours for the DNA bases -

Commision - Initial Research - Tying Up the loose ends of Life

Telomeres and Aging

(Tying up the Loose ends of Life)

Only recently have scientists discovered the science of aging, is down too our bodies cells dividing overtime and the Telomeres shortening, due to the division and multiplication of the cells. Each of the around 100 trillion cells in the body is made up of Genes and Chromosomes, each of the Chromosomes made up of around 10 million DNA bases, and at the end of theses bases are a repetitive strand of DNA that act as a sought of buffer to protect the many DNA bases behind them.

Each time a cell divides, DNA replication is caused causing the loss of some DNA bases, as the cells divide more and more as we age, the Telomeres become shorter and less likely to protect the DNA from being lost. As the Telomeres become shorter we feel the effects of aging. So to sum up... When Cell's divide - - - > Telomeres SHORTEN!

At Birth = 10,000 DNA bases 

Elderly Human (Near Death) = 5,000 bases

The Telomeres are the buffers on the end of the DNA strands -

 

Maya Tutorials - Unit 5

Unit 5 - Presentation

Crit Presentation

Unit 5 - CD cover

The Hatstand and Table - Concept art

Time Machine -

Time Machine

OGR - Part 2

OGR2

OGR - Part 1

OGR1

Bouncing ball - Falling Boulder -

Bouncing ball -

Falling Boulder -

Morph - Animation

Work from:

me: The Hat-stand

Michael Smallwood: Bubble gum dispenser

Lloyd Prior: Glove

Unit 5 - Animation

So it begins, on Monday 5th we received our object and emotions and I got:

THE FURIOUS

 

HAT-STAND

 

I was very pleased when I received these two things, as a Hat-stand is a very humanly shaped figure, with feet and possible facial features. The emotion of 'furious' just makes everything that more humorous!

Creative Partnership - Unit 4

Creative Partnership

Introduction to Animation - Walk cycle

Introduction to animation - Bouncing Ball, Swinging Paper Clips and Swinging Pendulum

Unit 4 - Story telling - Crit

Unit 4 – Story Telling presentation

Final Pre-Viz -

Final 2d Animatic -

CD - Artwork

I am aware that it is the wrong date!

Final Story-boards

Final Script -

Final Script

Storyboards [WIP] - Act 1 Animatic

Life Drawing -

Playing with perspective and for-shortening, took a while to get to grips with the idea of it as it felt so unnatural

Film Review – Hitchcocks Rear Window

Fig.1 Poster Art

Rear Window is a Alfred Hitchcock movie released in 1954 based on Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story “It had to be Murder”. It’s an American suspense film starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey and Thelma Ritter. Critics and scholars claim ‘Rear Window’ is Hitchcock’s best, receiving four Academy Award nominations. 

Fig.2 Telescopic Camera

 Jeff (James Stewart) is confined to his apartment with a broken leg; his rear window looks out onto a small courtyard and several other compartments. During an extremely hot summer he spends his time by watching his neighbours. He notices suspicious movements from a certain neighbour who travels back and forth from his apartment with suitcases, soon after the disappearance of wife. Jeff and his partner Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) become increasingly weary about the situation and begin to make further inquiries.

The build up of suspense during this film can only be down to “Hitchcock's supple and witty handling of a story that only slowly develops true tension lends the proceedings a complete sense of confidence” (MCCARTHY, 2000) The way that Hitchcock builds up the pace to the final un-ravelling of the plot makes for a very enjoyable watch, as nearly every other Hitchcock film achieves and “In a very general way, it effortlessly demonstrates all that we now understand to be the splendour of the Hitchcockian cinema of the absurdly logical.” (CANBY, 1983) 

Fig.3 His front row seat to a real-time drama

“Rear Window is a demonstration that the spectator identifies with the camera, and that the entire cinema machine is predicated on what psychologists call the scopic drive.” (Hoberman, 2000) The viewer is made to feel as if he is staring through the keyhole into other people’s lives as they play out, this is exactly what Hitchcock wanted to achieve through this movie.

The film leads the viewer to wonder what is really going on in the lives of our own neighbours, and what secrets lie in closet of them, as Jeff’s home-care nurse says during the film "Whatever happened to that old saying, 'Love thy neighbour'?".

Bibliography

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117775567?refcatid=31

http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/100983hitch-window-reflect.html

http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-01-18/film/out-of-sight/1/

List of Illustrations

Fig.1  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d6/Rearwindowposter.jpg/220px-Rearwindowposter.jpg

Fig.2 http://hitchcock.tv/mov/rear_window/images/window2.gif

Fig.3 http://andrewsidea.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/rearwindow2.png

Film Review – Alfred Hitchcock – Psycho

Fig.1 Poster Art

Psycho, released in 1960 is a suspense/ horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the novel by Robert Bloch, which is inspired by the Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. The film received mixed reviews, however due to its smash hit at the box office, which led to four Academy Award nominations was re-reviewed by many and since then has been a turning point in the film industry in terms of the use of editing and its story.

The follows the secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who steals $40,000 from a client of her employer, and flees to her lover in California Sam Loomis (John Gavin) There is a heavy rainstorm on route, forcing her to stay at a Bates motel until the storm has stopped. The owner seems nice enough, just appears a little lonely to Marion.

Fig2. Shower scene

The Atmosphere created throughout this film is second to none, with one of the most famous scenes constantly parodied in future films, the shower scene with Marion. “brilliantly economical and tense, are simply more psychologically convincing and real than anything else in this baroque, inspired shocker” (Peter Bradshaw, 2010) the quick camera movements and editing within the shower scene involves the viewer almost totally, making one feel as if he is the attacker or the victim. The montage editing, flicking back and forth from the knife to the face of Marion. “The famous shower scene never shows the knife touching flesh, but it's still terrifying.” (Wenk 2011)The attack comes what unexpected to the viewer, making us feel deeply for the death of her. Once this attack has happened the viewer knows that the film is about to fall into chaos.

Add caption

The film has become one of the most overly critiqued movies “And, of course, it was the first movie to show a toilet flushing, so we might also credit it with spawning the entire gross-out genre. ‘Psycho’: we salute you.” (David Jenkins, 2010) The film opened many people’s eyes to what film could become in the future.

Release:

1960

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay by:

Joseph Stefano

Produced by:

Alfred Hitchcock

Genre/subgenre:

Thriller, Mystery, Horror

Country:

United States

Cast:

Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, Janet Leigh

Bibliography

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/01/psycho-review

http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/psycho

http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/71535/psycho.html

List of Illustrations

Fig 1: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Psycho_(1960).jpg/215px-Psycho_(1960).jpg

Fig 2: http://www.weeatfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1960-PSYCHO-0011.jpeg

Fig.3: http://filmsdefrance.com/img/Psycho_2.jpg

 

Introduction to Pre-Viz

After receiving feedback from my OGR it became clear that you would not fully understand the how the characters came to be where they were, and how their rivalry would really show, so from Phil’s feedback I have re-wrote act 1 so that it is more simple however easier to see.

Act 1 –

Environment – Inside Geoffrey’s trailer

Time - Night

FADE IN:

Geoffrey sits at his desk chair, reclining with his eyes closed but still awake. In the corner of the room a small Victorian stool sits with a vintage vinyl player playing soft jazz playing.

The walls of the caravan are littered with posters and framed images of Geoffrey, in his ‘Glory days’ all surrounding the mirror which sits above his desk which he sitting at. 

Geoffrey slowly gets to his feet as his act is announced over the tannoy outside his caravan.

He admires his self in the mirror with a sense of defeat in his face, but still a spark of pride and happiness. He gazes around the caravan as he admires his life work; he drags himself over to the vinyl player and removes the pin. He walks to the door and places his hand on the handle, then pausing to look over his shoulder around him.

Then swings the door open with a sigh

CUT TO:

Patrice is stepping out of his caravan at the same time; he spins quickly on the spot to come face with geoffey.

story-boards incoming :)

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