We'll Just Have to Wait and See

Well, there you have it

2010-05-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

With those edits in place, more sound effects put in where they need to be and deadline just around the corner.
I believe that is all I am going to manage thus far.
Overall I am pleased, yet when I look back there is a lot more I could have done, but alas time has ran out.
For instance, I would have gone back and re-rigged Axl again, this time not making the mistake of turbo smoothing the mesh before skinning.
That proved rather troublesome.

So sitting down and watching this film the numerous amounts of times that I have, my focus will always fall on the little errors that I can see I have made; each little mesh fold, slight lapse in animation, the terrible timing, that to first time viewers may not be noticeable, but will continue annoy me.
If I had the time I would go back in and edit them as best as I can.
I have edited out the majority that grated on me, such as Axl’s hand passing through the can when passing it to the egg.
As a wise man once said, “There is no such thing as finished art; there is always room for improvement”, such a wise man.
However, another man once said, “Perfection rules out the possibility for creativity”, another wise man.

Animating this film has been interesting at times, frustrating and brilliant.
It has been a lot of fun going through this project, tackling ideas and finding out useful techniques which have been invaluable.
I am pleased about how well I managed to balance university, a part time job as well as maintaining a social life.
This year has taught me quite a hefty amount on time management and I feel my animation skills have improved vastly.
If I could restart the course again, starting from the first year with my skills as they are, I would.
I would like to see how well I would manage it all over again and how much further I would improve, that’s how enlightening I have found this whole experience.

So here it is, as I submitted it:

Nearly There!

2010-05-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Again, it's been a while, deadline is fast approaching, but I believe I am pretty much there.
Here's an update of of everything since March:

In terms of animation, everything has been fully animated, rendered out and comped up. All inserted into a fresh premier file with soundtrack added.

I managed to get a day arranged with Niall, the media manager of AFC Bournemouth, to come down to the stadium and get my footage and soundbites for the film. He introduced me to Tony Allen, the sports commentator for Radio Bedside, who happily recorded some commentary lines I had written up. Many thanks goes out to Niall and Tony for their help.

Soundtrack wise, I took a little visit into the library and had a browse of their sound effects/sound bites section after hearing of it some time ago. A long overdue trip that would've made life alot easier if it had been done earlier. I managed to accumulate a selection of cd's with sounds I could use. After listening through them for suitability, I whittled down the selection to three cds; "BBC Sound Effects Library", "BBC SFX Football and Rugby Crowds" and "Carlin 143 Solo Piano Popular Styles". A little time spent on cutting and sorting out the soundtrack, it is now complete and I'm pretty happy with it.

Now to the animation. Having animated the majority of the film by the time Easter came round, left me the task of going through and tidying up the general sloppiness that was present. I updated the set with a couple of AFC Bournemouth posters, added books on the shelves and photos of my favourite Bournemouth players; little touches to add a football fan feel.
I also added the football footage I had into the scenes where the tv could be seen. I scoured through the matches I had obtained, matches of Bournemouth against Barnet and Notts County respectively, for sections which matched what was happening in the actual film itself as best as possible. So all the Bournemouth related things have been added.

Rendering was very time consuming, as I finished a set of scenes, I set them in backburner and left them to render as I worked on the others. I rendered foregrounds, backgrounds and depth maps. It took me a little time to remember how to do depth passes, but worked it out in the end (set everything to black, add fog and adjust the camera environmental range, render and viola! A depth pass ).

Imported the relevant files into After Effects and then began comping. Setting out the compostions was relatively quick and easy, adding an adujustment layer with either lens blur if I had a depth pass and gassiuan blur if I had foreground and back ground seperate, thus giving the scenes areas of focus. A noticeable problem with the animation before is that everything in the scene was the same shade of colour due to the cell shaded nature. Adding the blur in seperates the background or points that aren't overly important into the distance, bring the main focus to the action happening on screen. It has also solved the problem of depth of field, how detail on things further off in the distance deteriorates the further you go back.

Credits was a simple task to tackle after this. So now it has been rendered, here is the latest version!

Only thing I want to change is the opening title screen, it's very messy and sloppy as it was the animatic version, so some work needs to go into that. I'm going to have one final check through for things that need changing, eg. Axl's hand passes through the can when he passes it to the egg. Also going to add a few more sound effects in to emphasise certain moments, for instance, when Axl lands on the floor and when the egg bounces off his head.
Not long to go now. Scary times.

Latest Animatic!

2010-03-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here's how it stands at the moment. Most the film is now animated, all that's need over the next few days is to go in and tidy up the animation and change things I'm not happy with.
No sound still; due to timing changes the music doesn't match up.
Will get that sorted by rushes!
So here it is:

Should have it nice and tidy over the next few days. Here's hoping anyway...

March. Make or Break.

2010-03-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's been a while since the last post, but don't worry, I have been working; been busy animatoring away :)

Here's a progression of schedules to show the work flow and how I've managed trying to stick to schedule. *Cue drumroll*

1st March:

14th March:

So far I'm keeping up to schedule, I've got nearly all the animation keyed out and majority of it tweened. Only a couple of short scenes left to do which I should be able to get done by the end of today (here's hoping anyway). Then all that's left to do is to tween and tidy up all the animation over the next week (most of it is done already, just a tidy up required) and have everything ready for rushes on Weds 24th.

Latest animatic due soon!

Eddie Howe's Barmy Army!

2010-02-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest news on obtaining footage from the mighty Cherries! Again, copy and pasted from my Hotmail:

>>Will,

I should be able to provide you with some game footage from this
season, obviously it will be of professional quality so will save you
having to come and film anything. These pieces of footage will not
feature any commentary.

I'm still working on the commentary issue but there are obviously
licensing and copywrite laws that we must abide by, leave that part
with me.

Niall

>>Will,

I hope you are well and apologies for the delay in replying.

I have obtained match footage for you - I have the full ninety minutes
from both the Notts County and Barnet games. Is there someone I can
leave the discs with in the media school for you to collect them from?

Having spoken to the BBC Solent commentator Paul Scott, he would be
more than happy to provide you with some lines. The best way to action
this is for you to come to the ground early one match day with a
Dictaphone and some script for Paul and he will record you some lines,
I'll get you a date for this in due course.

Thanks,
Niall

Score! So there it is. The two games where we just happened to win :P
Better get script writing for Mr. Scott. Btown vs Morecombe on the 6th, hopefully get everything recorded then, and another victory! Promotion this year is on the cards!!

Latest update!

2010-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been pretty ill of late. Damn immune system. >.< Fear not! As I have been doing some work, been animating scenes. So far I've almost got the first minute animated, though it needs some tidying up, but the bulk of it is done. Building up momentum now, so should be able to get it all done in about 2weeks? Leaving me a week to tidy up and tweak, a week for some brutal critism and another week to fix said crit. Here's what I have so far in CG:

Apologies for the poor quality; I rendered out in draft quality for speed purposes to see how everything ran in real time. The music is messed up in this due to me editting, getting rid of shots that weren't need/were on screen too long etc. Music will be fixed once everything is animated.

THE PLAN! MARK II

2010-02-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

New Schedule with more time put aside for animating as the comping won't take very long.
Better laid out this one is, plus I have a few days spare at the end in case of screw ups :)
So 7 weeks of animating and a week for a once over to make sure everything is goooooood. 2 weeks of comping. Doesn't look as hectic with it all planned out like this, here's hoping it all goes to plan! Chances are, they won't, but let's go for it ;P

Introducing Axl, The Cell Shaded Lizard

2010-02-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

Here's some still renders of the guy pulling some expressions and poses.
Hopefully they come across alright...

I believe he is now properly ready, rigged, skinned and textured...Finally!
Right, now to get on with the animating!
Catch ya later!

THE PLAN!

2010-02-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here is my schedule I have drawn out. Currently I am just under a week behind. Hopefully should be caught up by the end of this week.

I have left myself quite alot of render time, this acts as both leeway for any problem that may occur and a safety net in case it really does take ages to render. Here's hoping to keep as tight to this schedule as poss. So far not a good start. Update to be made in a weeks time.

A bit of neglected research

2010-01-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

So, Cell Shading. Risky business, especially 3D cell shading, but I've got my heart set on it.
Just got to play around with the mapping techniques to get the perfect effect. I think Axl needs more of an Ink outline, just to add to the cartoon look.

Anyway, here's some images I'm drawing inspiration from:

Painting the background is an option, though I shall see how much time I have once I've finished all the keys, breakdowns and tweens. The Borderlans style of having an outline appeals to me, as it breaks away from the CGI realness. I find adding an outline is more a 2D hand drawn property, so I'm incorporating that into my film.

Here's one of the images I'm using as inspiration for the colour and tone of my backgrounds. Handy that there's a sofa and cabinet in this pic :)

Body language! I have 2 books on the subject; "Need to Know? Body Language" by Carolyn Boyes and "The Definitive Book of Body Language" by Allan and Barbare Pease. Hopefully they will aid me in achieving the correct and most effective way to convey body language visuals. Due to no dialogue, this is the major way of communicating to the audience so I better get it right!

I was put on the spot the other day and felt rather uncomfortable and it was pointed out that that's how my character should be. The poses I put in the animatic are very weak, I was intending on putting alot more effort into the actual animation themselves, but being put on the spot really did open my eyes. Stronger poses! My film is in danger of becoming generic! Noooooooooo! Must. Not. Be. Generic!

I Know I am, I'm Sure I am, I'm Bournemouth Till I Die!

2010-01-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

Ah AFC Bournemouth :)

Talking of which, I have been in touch with the club to see if they could provide me with anything for my film. Old highlights/commentary that I could use, permission to use the players images in the background, anything they could privde me with. Bit of a long shot, but I thought it was worth a shot. Here's how the talks have been going (Copy and pasted from my Inbox):

>> Hello,

I am a third year animation student and was wondering whether it would be possible to obtain sme footage from you to use in my final film?
I have a football match playing in the background and need some commentary to use as part of the soundtrack. Being a Cherries fan, I thought it would be a nice touch to have them feature in my film.
I was wondering if there was anything you could provide me with?
I would be willing to pay to use any footage/audio you allow.

Will Van Dao

>> Will,

Thanks for your email to Mick Cunningham which he has read and passed to
me for response.

I'm Niall, AFC Bournemouth Press Officer and so ultimately control media
interest in the club.

Your project sounds very interesting and we may be able to help, although
first I would require a little more information as to the type of material
you need and exactly what this would be used for - could you give me a more
detailed break down please?

Thanks,
Niall

>> Niall,

Thank you for getting back to me, I am very grateful you have taken the time
to consider my project.
Thank you to Mick as well for passing the email on to you.

I am an animation student and am currently working on my final year film.
Basic breakdown of the story is that my character, an anthropomorphic lizard
Axl, simply wants to sit down and watch the game, however a troublesome egg
with a mind of it's own sabotages his plans. A Tom and Jerry-esque, cause
and effect, light hearted film.

The plan is to have video footage of a Bournemouth match playing on the TV
screen in the background and manipulating commentary audio of a Bournemouth
match to fit around what is happening in the main action of the film itself,
for example; when Axl dives to catch the egg from falling and misses, to use
audio of the commentator saying something along the lines of "He really
Also, if possible, I'd like to be able to use images of some of the players
to put in the background as posters.

If you have a moment to spare, I think this is the best way to illustrate
how I mean.

Here is a link to my animatic on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xax1jILHkRU

At the moment I used some commentary I found online from random matches as a
placeholder to what I have in mind.

Thank you for your time.

Will.

>> Will,

Apologies for the delay in responding.

Thanks for the link, I've watched your video and was impressed. I
understand better now how you intend to use the footage and we would
be happy to accommodate you at one of our Saturday games, please have
a look at our fixture list and let me know which one best works for
you - http://www.afcb.co.uk/page/Fixtures/0,,10324,00.html

I must stress, that any material obtained from the club must not be
used for commercial gain. In addition, could you provide me with a
breakdown of the equipment that you will be using at the stadium. This
way I can ensure that you are positioned at a prime location in the
stadium.

Thanks,
Niall

____________________________________________________

So there you have it. I've got permission to go to the club and record a match, bit more than I was expecting. I have emailed asking if they have any archived footage I could use, but as of yet, Niall hasn't gotten back to me. Just thought I'd show off that I can film a match, duno about you, but I'm chuffed :D
So been in contact with the TV production lot and they've agreed to give me a hand.
Dean Court here I come! Up the Cherries! (What a fearsome nickname)

A Few Things

2010-01-31T17:29:00.001-08:00

Hey hey everyone :)

*Tumbleweed...*
Right! Time for an update of everything I've been up to.
I admit I'm falling behind. Even though I'm working everyday morning till night and then some, just seems like I'm not making any progress. Bit annoying I haven't started animation yet. Sorry folks, here's hoping after the last couple of weeks, things will pick up from here :)

The whole rigging and skinning of Axl hasn't gone as smoothly as I would've liked, UV mapping problems, rigs breaking, skinning failing, max crashing..etc, but I have learnt alot from it. It was a pain staking process, but I think I am there.

Here's the latest of Axl, all skinned and rigged now:

I guess I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere cos of the amount of circles I've been going in. It was pointed out that it didn't seem like I knew what I wanted, so I spent some time looking into what I wanted the film to be like.

I've made a few changes to the film. I've been playing around with the paint and ink maps in Max, creating a cell shaded look. After re-texturing and re-skinning (for the millionth time) Axl, I really like the new look. I find it captures the 2D-ness I wanted. I'm aware Cell shading is tacky, but I like the sketchy look, it breaks away from the clean 3D that everyone is doing nowadays.

I'm pretty proud of the eyes, I've managed to have working pupils adn eyelids so I shall make full use of those come animating. Seeing as there isn't dialogue and it is heavily body languaged based, I think this is a good outcome considering the amount of fails I've encountered so far. Also managed to get a working shine to them, so any light that hits the eye gives a little sparkle, adding a bit of life to the character. The one thing I really want to avoid are "dead" eyes. That and a crap film...

Here's the 3D version of Axl with snazzy eyes:

The scenery has taken a heavy makeover, the scene before wasn't to my liking, playing with cell shading techniques on here as well, adding textures on top, recreated the good old school backgrounds that I wanted. I guess my aim is to create something old school with new touches; recreating 2d in CGi. Ah, the world of postmodernism we live in.
I'm getting quite heavy influence from Tom and Jerry cartoons, still abit of work to be done on the set, but I'm Xref-ing the set into each scene I'm going to be working on, so I can update the set and it'll update all the scenes accordingly, saving me alot of time.

Cell Shade experiment:

The 3D eyes didn't work as well as I would've thought, So I cell shaded them as well, trying to maintain the sparkle, which I think I managed to do;

Here's Mr. Axl sat on the sofa (Mind whre you put your hand sir). The sofa needs an added layer of colour so it doesn't look so flat, so I'm on that now...And I'm aware that Axl's hand is going through his thigh. but this was just a test to see how things looked together.

In the previous picture he's got a stronger outline compared to this image. I think I prefer the stronger outline. Makes him stand out more and appear more cartoony. Into Max I go to fix that!
Here's hoping huge amounts of progress will be made from here :)

Updated Script

2010-01-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

Considering the changes I have made since the first script was written, think it's about time there was a new one up with said changes made.

The Big Match Script by Will Dao

INT: FRONT ROOM
Open with a shot of the TV turning on, static at first.
*Click* Title Screen appears on the screen “The Big Match”
*Click* Channel flicks over to show a football match about to kick off.

Cut to side view to reveal Axl the Lizard, sat on the sofa tuning into the football.
Cut to front view showing Axl resting his feet on the table, getting comfortable as the match begins. He reaches behind him and whips out a can of beer, before taking a swig.

EXT: OUTDOORS (PARK)
Birds are seen flying in the blue sky between thick white clouds; a sunny day.
Camera tracks down to show some bushes.
An egg tentatively emerges from the bushes and rolls towards the edge of the hill.

INT: FRONT ROOM
Axl sits up as the football commentary starts to get more exciting.

EXT: OUTDOORS
The Egg begins to build up pace, we see the Egg’s destination; a single house.

INT: FRONT ROOM
Axl leans towards the TV spilling his drink, getting more excited as one of the teams gets closer to scoring.

EXT: OUTDOORS
The Egg is rolling at high speed down the hill; it hits a single stone in its path and flies into the air.
We see it heading towards the door of the house.

INT: FRONT ROOM
Axl jumps up just as the crowd on the TV begin to roar, the commentator can be heard shouting “HE GOES FOR IT!”
*DING DONG*
The door bell distracts Axl, he misses the goal. Axl’s eyes narrow, his pupils look towards his left.

EXT: DOOR
The door swings open, Axl standing in the doorway, annoyed; no one can be seen. He begins to shut the door, however stops when he hears movement. Axl looks down, an egg can be seen on the porch, jumping up and down. Axl looks shocked, but thinks it’s cool. He picks it up.
Door slams shut.

INT: FRONT ROOM
Axl puts the egg on the table and looks at it more closely. He suddenly leans back, thinking to himself.
Axl gives the Egg a can of beer. Axl and the Egg are seen sat on the sofa in awkward silence.
Axl thinks to himself again.

INT: KITCHEN
Axl is stood at the electric hobs, frying pan in hand, about to crack an egg open to fry.

INT: FRONT ROOM
Axl hands a plate of fried eggs to the Egg. The Egg recoils at the sight.

Axl is sat watching the match. In the background we see the Egg rolling on top of the cabinet, getting closer to the edge. Axl notices this and jumps out o his chair, trying to catch the Egg as it falls. Axl hits the floor, he looks up, holding out his arms. The Egg lands and bounces off his head. The commentator can be heard saying “Maybe he should’ve caught that”.
Axl looks at the Egg annoyed.

Axl lies down on the sofa to carry on watching the match. The Egg is seen rolling back into the scene, stopping in front of the TV. The Egg begins to bounce up and down. Axl sits up annoyed. He picks up the egg and throws it to one side as he leaves for the kitchen.

Axl comes back into the room holding a beer. He freezes in shock.
Camera zooms out to show the Egg on the table, jumping on the remote, changing the TV channels.
Axl narrows his eyes in annoyance, picks up the Egg and puts it outside.

Axl is sat on the sofa watching the match. The Egg slowly pops up over the back of the sofa. It starts jumping around Axl. Axl gets distracted from the TV and watches the Egg. The Egg jumps on Axl. The commentator can be heard celebrating a goal. Axl looks up in excitement. The Egg jumps on the TV remote, turning the TV off. Axl shouts at the TV, looks to his side and realises at that the Egg turned the TV off. He glares at the Egg. He then hits it away with the back of his hand. The Egg bounces off the arm rest of the sofa.
The Egg moves closer to Axl and nudges him, it then jumps up and dives down, much to the annoyance of Axl. His eye twitches.

Axl opens up a can of beer. The Egg rolls along the back of the sofa. Axl cowers this time, trying to keep his eyes on the match. The Egg falls off and lands on Axl’s can of beer, spilling it on him. The commentator celebrates a headed goal. Axl looks up at the TV in disbelief as the Egg bounces away.
Axl lunges and grabs the Egg, glaring at it.

Axl is sat at on his sofa, settling into the match again. The Egg can be seen in the corner of the room, bouncing between the cabinet and the wall, making an annoying thudding sound.
Axl puts his foot on the Egg, hands on his hips; a smug look on his face. The commentator celebrates a spectacular goal; Axl turns his head trying to catch the replay. The Egg rolls away from under his foot causing Axl to fall. He sits up bewildered and screams in frustration.
Axl picks up the Egg, glares at it and proceeds to dropkick it.
The Egg bounces around the room, its path leading to the TV.

Axl notices this and dives to stop the Egg, but fails and falls on the floor. The Egg bounces off the TV and falls to the floor. Axl watches the Egg fall in front of him. He glares at it, lifting himself up. He looks up and notices the TV falling. Axl grimaces as the TV lands on the Egg.

Axl looks at the sight in front of him in shock. He slowly lifts the TV. His eyes widen and he looks away. Axl then looks at his hands and buries his face into them, remorsing over what has happened. He buries his head in his hands and cowers into himself.

We hear a click. The TV turns on to static. Axl looks up as the TV tunes back into the football match. He looks at the TV confused, looks down to notice footprints on the carpet. He follows the footprints, which leads to reveal a Baby Lizard sat on the sofa, remote in hand.
The Baby whips out a can of beer and offers it to Axl, showing him the peace sign.

Axl and the newborn are seen sat on the sofa together watching the match. Both reach behind themselves and whip out a can of beer each, proceeding to drink it. The commentator celebrates a goal. Both Axl and the Baby celebrate.

FADE OUT
END

Overdue Post! Latest Animatic!

2010-01-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

I have now updated almost every scene so far with the new background, using the stills I rendered from 3Ds Max. I animated as many as I thought was necessary to carry the story along using a mixture of Flash and cutting up existing storyboards in After Effects.
I made the changes I said I would and have added the new soundtrack with "Original Rags" played over the commentary.

Here it is!

I will be getting in contact with AFC Bournemouth to see if I can use their footage for my animation in the next week.

Overdue Post! The Set!

2010-01-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

I wanted something that looked student like, nothing overly glamorous. The idea of a studio flat appealed, having the front room and kitchen together in one room seemed appropriate, that way the action can take place all in one set that is easily manageable. I also wanted to keep it simple and as uncluttered as possible as to not distract the viewer from what is happening in the main action. Therefore, I decided to keep furniture a bare minimum. Here are some quick plan drawings I drew out, keeping in mind camera angles, how the action would unfold if the room was laid out as in each plan, where the furniture should go and how the character would move about.

After some thinking, I decided that this would be the best layout. I like the layout for this plan because as I was thinking through the animation in my mind, using this layout, it flowed nicely and worked for the camera angles.

From this, I made a Hudson set to decide on the scale and plan out how things would appear in 3D. These are some still renders from 3Ds Max of the key camera shots that I would be using, judging from my animatic.

Over the Christmas Holidays, I concentrated on getting the set done to the point where I can start animating, so getting the furniture in, textures, lighting and camera angles all sorted and tested.
This is a screen shot of the set in 3Ds Max:

I searched Turbosquid for some furniture to save some time on modeling them myself; however, I changed the textures on them so that they would blend together on my set. These are some still renders from 3Ds Max of camera angles which I will be using for my film.

All that is needed now is to accessorise the room, for instance, fill the cabinet with books, trophies, DVDs, CDs, etc, as well as putting some posters on the walls, maybe have some photo frames dotted about. I plan to have these football related to get the idea across that my main character is pretty obsessed with football, thus reiterating the fact, he really just wants to sit down and watch the match. As of now, however, I believe my scene is ready to animate in, the last of the furnishings shouldn’t get in the way of the animation. I plan to just decorate the scene abit so that it is less bland. The main furniture is all set as well as the cameras and lighting.

I plan to Xref my set into each scene, so that in saves on RAM when I am animating. The main advantage to why I am using this approach is that this allows me to edit things in the original set, for example add in a lamp, and for it to be updated in every scene, saving me time from having to go in and add a lamp into every scene. This shall be used when I have time to fill out the set with CDs, books, DVDs, etc. It will also be useful if I wanted to change colour schemes or textures later on during production.

Overdue Post! Soundtrack!

2010-01-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Soundtrack wise, I found some commentary for the Liverpool vs Chelsea Champions league final highlights and the Argentina vs Serbia World Cup match highlights. I cut these up in Premier and placed them into my animatic, adding some commentary to the story. I tried to have the commentary mirror what was happening in the main action itself, even if it was vague, I like the effect. If possible, I will get in contact with AFC Bournemouth and ask to see if I can use some of their past match highlights to cut up and use.

Having just commentary made me feel like something was missing. I watched some old school Tom and Jerry episodes and noticed how it had light hearted music playing in the background, but dropped to a low volume when something was being said that was of significance.

Tom and Jerry:

I made a search for some light hearted piano music, because I felt piano music would convey light heartedness in the most effective way as compared to a guitar or synths. Also, old black and white movies’ soundtracks were done live on piano as the film was playing, so wanted to have that feeling come across someway; a Laurel and Hardy/Charlie Chaplin-esque way.

Laurel and Hardy:

Charlie Chaplin:

I came across a piece of music by Scott Joplin called “Original Rags” (1899). I put it into my animatic to see how it would work and it seems to tie in nicely with the action, the commentary can be heard just above it when needed so fits well there. I like the pace and light heartedness it adds to the film. The piano piece itself is rather playful in nature which is a bonus.

"Original Rags" by Scott Joplin:

Overdue Post! New Story Boards

2010-01-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

As before, I said I felt that the film seemed abit slow paced and dragged in places, therefore I went through and cut out scenes I didn’t deem overly necessary and cut down air time on certain shots.

With the extra time made available from this, I drew some quick storyboards of some scenes of Axl trying to save the egg from falling, Axl being distracted by the Egg and the Egg spilling Axl’s beer. Each time one of these occurs, a goal is scored which Axl misses due to being distracted by the Egg. I also changed the ending, having the Egg bouncing around and being noisey, Axl stops the Egg and it trips him up, this being the final straw.

Here are the new storyboards:

I think that this is clearer having him losing his cool after all these things happening, rather than the channel changing; after being shown in the rushes a couple of times, I don’t believe that idea came across strong enough.

Progress Update

2010-01-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

A progress update!
After looking at the previous animatic, I felt that it dragged abit and so much more could happen. Some of the secenes could be cut down or out in order to up the pace abit; felt it lagged abit. So! I've added in extra scenes and changed the ending abit, for instance, giving Axl and the Kid more screen time at the end.

At the moment, I'm touching up the new scenes in the animatic, they are still in rough storyboard format, so going to redraw them so it fits in to the rest of the film.
I have both characters and the scene modelled. Will spend some time putting the finishing touches on them after I have finished working on the animatic, which should be completed soon. Then all that will be left (hopefully) will be blocking out all the scenes.

Currently thinking of having a commentator to be constantly commentating on the football match, however having the commentary will also reflect what is happening in the film, so for instance, things like "He's running circles around him!", "He slips past his marker!", "He just can't handle him today" etc. Will find some audio to cut up and place into the animatic to see how it well it will work. I still don't know about having music playing in the background, something in the style of Tom and Jerry soundtracks, light hearted music that depicts the tempo of the film. May be an idea to combine the two; have music playing when there isn't commentary and have the music quieten down when the commentator is speaking, so that it isn't monotonous. Will have to see how this pans out!

New post due soon!

2nd Animatic 24/11/09

2009-12-14T19:32:00.000-08:00

This is the 2nd animatic, with changes and CGI background slowly being put into place.

Notes:
- Need to rethink camera angles, far too samey
- Need to think about pacing, seems abit slow and drags abit
- Need to finish the animatic fully, still lacks animation, which means it's losing readability, will Flash animate.
- Consider whether a soundtrack is needed or can the tv be playing constantly in the background. Maybe have the commentator in the background, commentating on the football match, which also commentates on the actual happennings between the Egg and Axl.

1st Animatic 11/11/2009

2009-12-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first animatic:

After showing this in rushes, things that I noted to change were:
- To make the Egg gag shorter, people laughed at the initial serving the egg, a fried egg, so no need to play it out any longer.
- Need to emphasise on his gut wrenching feeling, it doesn't show as well
- Emphasise the channel changing, the point where Axl finally flips
- Have better music

Character Design

2009-12-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking of using a thin lanky character, because it'd be easier to animate in 3Ds Max, compared to the fiddliness of a large bulky character. Having long limbs would make movement alot easier and more pronounced in the animation. I think this will be a good effect as there is little dialogue in my film, concentrating more on body language. Hopefully having large eyes, heavy pronounced use of eyebrows and easily exaggerated long gangly limbs shall help conveying the message across to the audience.

Characters such as Basil Fawlty come into mind; his exaggerated, at times manic, body movements when he is irrate stand out in particular. He also has some pretty impressive facial features which may bear some influence.

Of course, my character isn't going to be human. This is to detract from reality in a way and as the character is going to be a generic lizard creature, retain a cartoony feel. This is also keeping to good old Tom and Jerry and Droopy Dog-esque characters; animals with human qualities. Anthropomorphism at it's best.

Here is a rough character design sheet showing front, side and 3/4 view as well as some expressions.

From this, I modelled the character out of plastercine, to get an idea of proportions and a physical form to refer to whilst modelling the character on Max. Here are some photos:

Using these as a guide, I have started to model my character, the plan is to spend time on modelling Axl then using the finished mesh, scaling it down and using it for the Baby. The baby is essentially Axl's mesh, scaled down and given some baby fat using abit of mesh alterations. Here's what I have so far :

Axl:

Baby:

Latest Storyboards

2009-11-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

Here's the 3rd set of storyboards:

More Inspriation Stuff

2009-11-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

I found this animation called "The Cat Came Back" by Cordell Barker (1988), it has a similar story to that of mine. Thought a post on here of it would be merited, also, there's not much video footage influence posted here either yet. So here's the first.

Here's an example of Droopy. You just can't escape him...

VISUALS

This is a collection of visuals I collected of things I thought maybe helpful. These include facial expressions, cgi reptiles and room layouts.

Storyboards!

2009-11-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

Right, so here's the first go at the story boards. This one is based from the initial idea.

These helped me with seeing how the story was going to read. The camera angles and most the shots needed to be editted due to the horizon line being very high, giving it a voyueristic view; a detached feeling, so the audience wouldn't feel part of it. So more close ups and lower horizons needed.
The Egg coming through the window idea jarred with Rob and Johnny. So after talking to them about it, it needs changing. I've decided to go for the Droppy-esque "No matter where you put him, he'll always come back" idea. Now back to the drawing board!

Here's the 2nd go, with more interesting shots and alot more boards...

After putting these into Premier, in the 3 minutes, some of it feels too rushed with too many shots for a particular scene. So going to have to go through and edit out the unecessary frames. Also there doesn't seem to be enough emphasis on the importance of the can tower to the character and now seems out of place. Instead, I'm going to have the Egg bounce off the walls, tables and sofa after being dropkicked and hit the TV instead, as there is quite abit of emphasis of Axl trying to watch the match; it flows better that way, so just a couple more shots to make it clearer. That way it can be based in one room as well, saving time of modelling an outdoors set. So the stacking shots can be taken out, but I'm keeping the can opening shots as they can be a useful way to transition between shots/scenes. 3rd (and hopefully final) storyboards to be up soon, following the script I posted before post.

Initial Character Doodles

2009-11-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

Not much, but here's a couple of pages of quick doodles for the main character.
Final character sheet to come soon.

Who's The Daddy?

2009-11-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've posted, so get ready for some catch up posts...Here is the script.

IN DARKNESS: Sounds of moving and groaning can be heard

*TV clicks on*

TV STATIC:
Title Screen comes into focus. The channel flips over and screen of “The Big Match” appears on screen.

INT: FRONT ROOM

CLOSE UP: A beer can is opened, it fizzes and froths

*Generic football commentary can be heard in the background*

ZOOM OUT: A lizard, Axl, is sat on the sofa, holding out a can which is overflowing. He reaches out to grab a slice of pizza from the pizza box on his right and uses it to catch the beer. He then proceeds to eat the slice.

EXT: OUTDOORS (PARK)

Birds are seen flying in the blue sky between thick white clouds; a sunny day.

Camera tracks down to show some bushes.

An egg tentatively emerges from the bushes and rolls towards the edge of the hill.

INT: FRONT ROOM

Axl sits up as the football commentary starts to get more exciting

EXT: OUTDOORS

The Egg begins to build up pace, we see the Egg’s destination; a single house.

INT: FRONT ROOM

Axl leans towards the TV spilling his drink, getting more excited as his team are getting closer to scoring.

EXT: OUTDOORS

The Egg is rolling at high speed down the hill; it hits a single stone in its path and flies into the air.

We see it heading towards the door of the house.

INT: FRONT ROOM

Axl jumps up just as the crowd on the TV begin to roar, the commentator can be heard shouting “HE SHOOTS!”

*DING DONG*

The door bell distracts Axl, he misses the goal. Axl’s eyes narrow, his pupils look towards his left.

EXT: DOOR

The door swings open, Axl standing in the doorway, annoyed; no one can be seen. He hears movement. Axl leans down, an egg can be seen sitting on the porch. Axl looks at it puzzlingly.

It starts to jump up and down. Axl looks shocked, but thinks it’s cool.

Door slams shut.

INT: ROOM

Axl puts the egg on the table and looks at it more closely. He suddenly leans back, he remembers the Big Match.

INT: FRONT ROOM

Axl and the Egg are seen sat on the sofa watching the match. Axl gives the Egg a can of beer, before opening himself a can and taking a swig. His tummy rumbles.

INT: KITCHEN

CLOSE UP: Axl opening a box of eggs.

ZOOM OUT: Revealing Axl holding a frying pan, frying some eggs.

INT: FRONT ROOM

Axl hands a plate of fried eggs to the Egg as he sits down with a plate of his own. He looks down at the Egg and the Egg returns the look. Axl gives it a puzzled look of “what’s up?” The Egg starts spinning on the spot and “faints”, Axl double tracks, looks at the Egg and the fried eggs on the plate. He pauses for a moment, before slowly dragging the plate of fried eggs away.

Sat watching the match again; noises can be heard. The Egg begins to fidget and move about, nudging Axl, annoying him. Axl glares at the Egg as it continues to bounce, making the sofa squeak in the process. Axl has enough, picks up the Egg and puts it in the cupboard.

He lies down on the sofa to carry on watching the match. The Egg is seen rolling back into the scene, stopping in front of the TV. Axl ignores it. The Egg begins to bounce up and down. Axl sits up annoyed, the Egg continues to jump up and down, spinning and “dancing”. Axl’s eyes narrow. He picks up the egg and throws it to one side as he leaves the room.

Another can of beer is opened. Axl is seen coming back into the room whilst pouring the beer into his mouth. He stops suddenly and leans forward in shock. The Egg is on the sofa bouncing up and down on the remote, flicking through the channels. He hears a snippet of commentary: “He goes for it!” the channel flicks over. It flicks over again, the crowd can be heard cheering, the commentator says “Goal of the Season for sure!”. Axl’s face drops in disappointment. He has had enough.

Axl picks up the Egg, glares at it and drop kicks it in anger. It bounces of the walls, the table and the sofa before flying directly towards the TV.

DARKNESS: *CRASH*

FADE IN:

Axl can be seen in utter shock and disbelief. He blinks twice. The TV is on the floor, sparking. Static can be heard. He slowly lifts it up. He stops as he notices egg shell underneath the TV. He picks it up and finds the floor has a gooey substance to it. A worried look comes onto Axl’s face. He looks up at the TV screen; it’s covered in goo. The TV focuses again, a news report is broadcast. The top bar of the screen reads “MURDERER”, Axl’s reflection looks back at him in place of the actual broadcasted picture. Axl hangs his head and starts to whimper and sob; shaking his head slowly.

The TV can be heard flicking over; a faint murmur of football commentary can be heard. Axl looks up tearfully, bottom lip quivering. He looks confused. He turns around and sees a small Baby Lizard sat on the sofa holding the TV remote. Axl looks shocked and relieved. The Baby Lizard gives him a wink and whips out a can of beer, offering it to Axl. A small grin appears on Axl’s teary face. A can of beer is opened.

DARKNESS.

END.

Aesthetic, Visuals and Similar Things

2009-10-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Right, so now for aesthetic influences, visuals and the lark...
I was originally thinking of doing cell shaded cgi, Adam's reaction wasn't one of support, a simple "Nooooooooooooooooooo" uttered and there goes those prospects. Anyway, the idea behind doing cellshaded cgi was to have a cartoony feel to the cgi as cgi that's too realistic, clean and polished doesn't really appeal, plus in the time span, I don't think it's possible. Here's some cell shaded cgi stuff that I liked and although I'm no longer going for that route, I still like the look of it and want to aim for something similar using the power of lighting!
Images of Afro Samurai, Legend of Zelda: Windwaker and Vexille:

I guess I'm after a realistic yet cartoony look with a clean gritty feel to it. Bit contridictory; trying to find a slight clash of aspects that compliments each other. I found the art of Benjamin particularly striking in the the way he uses colour and the technique he uses to blur the colours together, creating a very bold image that stands of the page. The art work is very textured, yet the blending makes it look smooth, this is the type of look I'm after, but more subtle for my film.

For the layout of the setting, I've looked at room designs, decided with a stuio flat-esque layout. That way, everything is kept simple. The modern studio flat designs they have in the Ikea seem pretty promising. Some further image searching of student rooms to give that edgey look on top of that and I'm thinking that's the kind of look I'm after. Here are some examples:

On another note, this pic of Yoshi is a good reference of how I want the main character to look, but taller and more lanky:

It's a pretty good starting point for character design. I like the fact he's wearing shoes, I reckon the Lizard will be wearing some nice Converse looking shoes and a tie; a nice lil accessory I think.

Story development

2009-10-27T17:09:00.001-07:00

Thought it was about time to write here...So here it is, starting from the beginning, a quick overview of the story development. So originally, the idea was: "An Emporer penguin, who lives a carefree life, gets tied down when he has to incubate an egg". A basic story of the "Reluctant Father" not wanting to accept the responsibility. Influences from Jungle2Jungle, Big Daddy, The Simpsons: And Maggie Makes Three.
Adam suggested changing the main character, as a CGI penguin would instantly be compared to any Pixar have already done, examples include; Surf's Up, Happy Feet, the Pixar short etc. Also, CGI isn't great for big wobbly characters and the anatomy of a penguin doesn't aloow for easy animation, ie short stumpy legs. From this, I sat down and from a list, which included sea horse and insects, decided to go with a lizard. Lanky, simple features and biped. The main character would take characteristics from a Mr Bean-esque character, the way he handles situations-viewing everything as a hindrance. Also the relationship Mr Bean has with his Teddy is an interesting point to look at. Just wants to get on with things his way, simple carefree. The Egg is the "hindrance". I like the idea of the Egg having a mind of it's own, rolling about inadvertently "demanding" attention, similar to the way young children do.

Here's what I have from this point till the actually formulation of the script.

One line synopsis of film:
A Lizard, who lives a carefree life, gets tied down when he has to care for an egg.

Overview of story:
- Opens the door one morning to discover an egg on his doorstep.
- Attached to the egg is a post-it note reading "This is Yours".
- Decides to look after it, albeit grudgingly.
-Tries to carry on with his usual lifestyle, but finds the gg interferes in one way or another;
"demanding attention".
- Loses his cool and lashes out at the egg, dropkicking it in anger.
- Panics, regretting his actions. Egg hits the floor and cracks. He runs to the egg.
- Crack gets larger. He fears for the eggs safety.
- The egg hatches, newborn curled up inside. He realises how much it meant to him and cherishes the newborn.

I wasn't sure how to develop the middle section of the story, just having mishaps was too vague, Rob suggested I brain stormed some ideas for situations that could occur. Here's what I came up with, simple ideas that were quick and delivered the message of being "tied down".

From this, I selected three scenarios I thought would work. I decided on;
- Attempting to fry an egg for a sandwich, but the Egg "guilts" the Lizard out of cooking. He sits
down looking disheartened with a bowl of cereal.
- Lying down to watch TV, however, the Egg rolls in and blocks his view. The Lizard moves his head
to see the TV, but the egg moves in the way "demanding attention".
- Pyramid of bottles idea. Have him stack bottles in an obsessive manner, and the Egg ends up
knocking them over somehow, thus being the final straw tipping the Lizard over the edge.

Talking to Nick, he suggested having the pyramid of bottles feature more, show him stacking bottles, that way the importance of the tower is clear. I liked this idea, making it seem like a hobby, collecting of empty beer bottles. (I heard all men are autistic in some way or another, the fact that they have to have a certain way of doing things, a form of order. All men collect something or other. An obsessive habit...Duno if this is true...who knows, anyway!) As the film goes on, the tower getting bigger and bigger, until the Egg knocks it over.

So then it's a matter of putting it in a script.
Next post: Aesthetic, visual references and similar things.

So you see

2009-10-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

Post to come sooooooooon!

Cos Logic has a Brother...