Eddie Howe's Barmy Army!

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!

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

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

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!

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

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!

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)