Monday, 16 June 2014
Animation Evaluation
Animation Evaluation
During this assignment I was required to work to a brief and
produce a 15-30 second long stop motion animation. Throughout this assignment I
was aiming at developing some skills in the production of stop motion
animation, using traditional frame – by - frame methods to animate 3D materials
such as objects, puppets, clay figures and other models. To start off the
assignment each member of the group was asked to create a blog, this is so that
we are able to publish any of our work online for a wider audience to see. Once
everyone’s blog was set up, we then moved on an introduction task with our
teacher to help give us a better understanding of what stop-motion animation
was. This was one in the TV studio as there is enough space to animate our own
bodies.
One the introduction in top stop-motion animation had been
done we moved on to task 1. This task had been done individually which helped
everyone explore stop motion animation techniques including persistence of
vision, stop-frame, frame rates, and their development up to the present. I
also had the chance to explore the techniques and development of stop motion
animation investigating pioneers and contemporary animators, and the genres and
forms developed from the past to present day, in my case I had looked at Jan
Svankmajer who is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media.
Dimensions of dialogue is one of Jan Svankmajers most
recognisable piece of work out there. The film is split into three sections,
‘Exhaustive Discussion’, where Arcimboldo-like heads reduce each other into
bland copies; ‘Passionate Discourse’ a clay couple merge and dissolve in
love-making, only to eventually disown and destroy each other; and ‘Factual
Conversation’ two heads fail to communicate with each, presenting various
objects with their tongues, none of which match. The animating of this was
quite basic. Jan animated this with a set that he created, perfect lighting and
good sound techniques.
As I had done my research on him, he had helped influence me
into creating a basic but efficient looking animation. The techniques that he
had used were all simple this may be because his animations were created in the
past and technology has now improved. So now that I had the some research into
stop-motion animation I then moved on to posting some useful and important
stills and clips from animations which have been significant in the history of
stop motion animation. Moving on to task 2 of this assignment I had planned and
one some research on ideas and techniques enabling me to produce a stop-motion
animation film of 15-20 seconds in for a TV advert, a website such as YouTube
and/or a festival for example the Leyton Sixth Form College Oscars.
So starting of task 2 I had written up a treatment
identifying the content, audience and screen contexts of my proposed animation.
I had defined my audience for my animation by age, gender, interests and
viewing context. Identifying the audience was the toughest part of this task as
I was not sure whether to target my animation at a younger audience or an elder
audience. My final decision was to aim my animation at a younger audience as
they would have a better interest into stop-motion animations. I had then
pitched my proposal to the class and my teacher as this would give me a wider
opinion of what they think I should have and not have as well as some sound
track choices and sounds. One my treatment and my pitch had been completed I
logged what I had received from them onto my blog.
Once all research, treatment and pitching had been done I
moved on to the pre-production of this assignment. I had compiled a portfolio
showing that I have considered the use of possible formats such as stop-frame
techniques, time lapse photography, Claymation, using found objects, modelling,
puppetry and combined formats. It had also included preliminary animation work,
ideas and pre-production documents. Documents such as concepts of my animation,
whether it would be a subject, characters or visualisations. Production ideas
and designs, this would be the set, background, audio and storyline. I had also
included some introduction to stop-motion animation work into the portfolio as
well as a mood board, storyboard, lighting and colour.
As extra help on of our teachers had helped us create an
armature puppet from scrap. Using the model that I had made I practised some
stop-motion animation to have more practice and a better understanding on how
to use the hardware and software. Once I had completed the pre-production I
moved on to the production of my animation. Production was simple as all I had
to do was get straight into building my set which was fairly easy. I then
started animating my object moving around my set. This was quite time consuming
but I would say it was worth it. Using hardware provided by the college this
had helped my job be a lot easier.
My animation was around 12-15 seconds long excluding an
intro and an outro. I had decided to add a calming but enjoyable soundtrack as
background music to give it that groovy feel to it. This had also helped gather
a wider younger audience. Production took me around 3 days. Once I had
completed the animation using IstopMotion I moved my final piece to final cut
to add some sound effects and the soundtrack. Sound effects I added were of a
flying plane and a bird squeaking.
Next up, once I had edited and finished my animation I had
collected and analysed audience feedback from my class as well as feedback from
people who have been on my blog. To help me gather all the information needed I
had tried by best to get as many answers relating genre, content, style,
narrative, character, techniques, aesthetic qualities, creative qualities and
technical qualities. I had also gathered responses from discussions, reviews
and feedback from online.
To gather the best audience feedback possible I had asked my
class and other audiences some questions. I had also gathered some feedback on
my blog as I had posted my final animation onto blogger to receive a wider
feedback whet it would be positive or negative. Question that I had asked my
class were the following: Who is the target audience? Where this would be
screened? Technical qualities? Strength and weaknesses? And areas to improve
in? Starting off with my feedback, I had decided that I should record
everyone’s feedback individually just so I could go back and listen to it when
I write up my feedback. I had received some positive and negative feedback
overall. Starting off with the audience I had been told that my animation would
suit best for a younger audience aged between 5-10, overall the responses I had
received from this question were expectable as that is the age range I was
aiming for when creating my animation.
Next up was where would this be screened? The feedback from
the audience for this question had been different, many said that my animation
should be screened on the web as it is a fast best and quick animation. Others
said that I should be on TV channels such as cbbc and Disney channel. As an
animator I was expecting these responses as I knew that my animating was
targeted at a younger audience which then has to be broadcasted on channels
that appeal to a younger audience.
I had also received feedback regarding the technical qualities.
The answers that I had received from this are about the camera, editing and the
animation overall. Concerning he camera the audience said that it was good and
that the high shot that I had was used well, some didn’t like it but overall I
believe I should have created a different set so that camera could be placed in
a better position. The editing on the other hand I had received was all
positive, the sound was good, the cuts were sharp alongside with the
transitions and the speed of the clips. As an animator who enjoys editing I
believe that I would have produced and edited a better version of this with
just a bit more time, but whatever has been done is done now. The strengths of
my animation had to be the editing as this is what the audience had enjoyed the
most but as of the animation overall I believe it was poor. If there were any
improvement opportunities I would have decided to start over again with a
different set and objects with the same storyline to the original.
Overall I believe that y animation had tuned out to be what
I was expecting of all of the planning I had done beforehand. This assignment
had helped me have a better understanding to animation with the research I had
done and the help from teachers on how to animate objects of characters whether
it would be models I created or toys that I had bought in from younger
siblings.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
As i had not created a story board, instead i had filled out a dope sheet full of the different shots, techniques and a quick synopsis of the action that my final piece would have. whilst filling out my dope sheet i had also adding the type of sounds i will have and the amount of time it would take.
Equipment & set
..
Stop motion animation in TV
What
is stop motion animation?
In animation stop motion animation
is a cinematic process, or technique used to makes static objects appear as if
they were moving. This technique is commonly used in Claymation and
puppet-based animation. The objects are brought to life by breaking up the
figure's motion into increments and filming one frame of film per addition. Stop
motion animation can also be thought of as just a series of still photographs
put together to make a moving image. Stop motion animation is almost as old as
film itself. Film makers needed a way to animate objects on screen and the
technique was devised. The first instance of its usage is credited to J. Stuart
Blackton and Albert E. Smith for bringing a toy circus to life in Humpty Dumpty
Circus (1897).
How
are stop motion animations created?
Stop motion animations are commonly created using objects
such as clay to build characters, they are also created by building a set for
you characters to move in. a camera and an editing software. When animating
using a camera the first type of shot has to always show the entire frame as
this helps give the audience a better understanding. The camera must be placed
so that it is sitting steadily and cannot shake as this makes you photos very
blurry and not in focus. A good source of lighting is needed. During the early
years of animation most animators had to use the natural light of the sun, but
as time progressed many animate in dark rooms with a lamp of a flashlight over
their sets. Once the lighting, set and camera are all ready, the movements
sequence would be the toughest. Moving the figure or character bit by bit in
very small movements each time making sure you do not lose control of you
character.
Where
can you find stop-motion animations?
Animations
can be found almost everywhere you look, from websites to games to films. Many
animations are placed on the web on websites such as YouTube and Viemo, these
are the sites that have millions of user’s online every day. They range from
all different skill levels and artistic styles. They are also found on TV
channels such as Cbbc and Disney channel kids as these channels are aimed at a
younger audience that appeals for them.
Stop
motion animation on you TV.
Dominating children's TV stop
motion programming for three decades in America was Art Clokey's Gumby
series—which spawned a feature film, Gumby I in 1995—using both freeform and
character clay animation. Clokey started his adventures in clay with a 1953
freeform clay short film called Gumbasia (1953) which shortly thereafter
propelled him into his more structured Gumby TV series. As many different TV
shows have been made for the younger audience with the use of stop motion
animation for many reasons one of which is that these appeal to young kids. From
1986 to 2000, over 150 five-minute episodes of Pingu, a Swiss children's comedy
were produced by Trickfilmstudio. In the 1990s Trey Parker and Matt Stone made
two shorts and the pilot of South Park almost entirely out of construction
paper.
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Final project backgrounds
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| The background for my final piece should end up looking something similar to this. |
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| I also considered having a night sky depending on whatever looks good. |
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| The runway of my final piece should look something similar to this. |
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Animation Proposal.
My initial idea was to create a short animated advert for a
British Airways. British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United
Kingdom and its largest airline based on fleet size, international flights and
international destinations. When measured by passengers carried it is
second-largest, behind easyJet. The airline is based in Waterside near its main
hub at London Heathrow Airport. A British Airways Board was established by the
United Kingdom government in 1972 to manage the two nationalised airline
corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European
Airways, and two smaller, regional airlines, Cambrian Airways, from Cardiff,
and Northeast Airlines, from Newcastle upon Tyne.
My idea was to create an animated plane that fly’s around an
animated background that I may use green screen for, or actually create a
background out of plasticise objects such as clouds or birds. The plane would
be made out of paper, so it would be made step by step by myself, whilst taking
a picture of each bend I do to the paper or step I take to create the paper
plane. The materials that I would use for this would be easy and accessible
materials such as Paper, plasticise, Apple Macs and Cameras. The cameras that I
would use would be a Canon DSLR camera. My target audience would be from any
ethnicity, religion or culture as my animation does not contain anything that
would offend anybody. Also I believe that my animation would interest an
audience between the ages of 17-55 as it is shot any sharp. The animation would be around 15-20 seconds where, the plane would built, then moves for take off, takes off and eventually land.
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
During the starting point of my Animation project, as a class we had to research many different animation artist from the past. I had decided to choose Jan Svankmajer.
Jan Svankmajer
Jan Svankmajer is a
Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a
self-labelled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which
have greatly influenced other artists such as Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay,
and many others. Jan Svankmajer was born in Prague. An early influence on his
later artistic development was a puppet theatre he was given for Christmas as a
child. He studied at the College of Applied Arts in Prague and later in the
Department of Puppetry at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. Svankmajer
made his first film The Last Trick in 1964 and for over thirty years has made
some of the most memorable and unique animated films ever made for example
Alice, gaining a reputation as one of the world's foremost animators, and
influencing filmmakers from Tim Burton to The Brothers Quay.
After studying puppet theatre for four years in Prague,
Svankmajer began his career as a director, designer and puppeteer at the State
Puppet Theatre in Liberec. During the Early 1960s he had started to work with
several different theatre companies in Prague to stage a variety of puppet
plays. During the year of 1962 Svankmajer had switched his interest to
filmmaking, he had felt that more work would be possible technically, and that
his work would reach a better audience from around the world. As a filmmaker
Svankmajer had created many highly praised films involving animation and live
action.
During the year of 1972 Czech authorities banned him from
making films for seven years simply because he had been filming footage of
Czech’s life without authorisation. Working as a professional, Svankmajer takes
a very individual approach to filmmaking, in contrast to most stop-motion
animators. When watching a Svankmajer film, the viewer could be presented with
a cast of real people, porcelain dolls, skeletons, animal corpses, corkscrews,
tights or any object that he had found interesting. Svankmajer’s imagery is
usually dim, frequently shot in black and white and it would often have films
with no discernible plot, he always considers choosing to focus on the beauty
of the movement of the objects, and on the simple creation of a strange and
evil world.
Recently during an interview, Svankmajer explained that he
uses animation to allow objects speak for themselves. He had said that this is
because he believes that objects are capable of concealing the events that they
have witnessed. What Svankmajer does is listen to the listen to the objects,
and then communicate with them by animation and bringing them to life. In
another interview he clarifies that his ability to make this interpretation is
the single most important thing to him within his work. He criticises other
animators for preferring to demonstrate their technical abilities rather than
concentrating on giving meaning to their films.
In Many of Svankmajer’s short films the viewer’s imagination
is given freedom to create a personal sense of horror, in reaction to the evil
and sensitive imagery used in many. Because Svankmajer’s work is so rigid in
style and content, it would seem to be unmarketable for commercial purposes on
TV, especially given popular tastes. However in 1988 he made a music video for
Hugh Cornwall, and a year later made two short films for the worldwide known
channel MTV. As his wok is becoming more widely recognised, his work is having
thoughtful influence on animators, from the famous Brothers Quay to even the
most prominent of Hollywood directors, like Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam.
In 1997 Svankmajer received the ‘Persistence of Vision’
award at the San Francisco Film Festival, a fitting award for a director with
such solid ideals. Despite the fact that most of his work exists in the form of
short films, and therefore can only receive limited release, it seems clear
that his talent has made its mark within the realms of animation and
film-making worldwide.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Animation Practice
Pingu is another classic stop motion animation with very artistic claymated characters and a very catchy theme song. had no idea it was a BAFTA award winning stop motion TV series.
some pictures from my jungle inspired stop motion, this was really fun to do and make with a fellow class member.
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