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Animation Project Layout.

        For my quarter project, I want to be a doing a 2D animated short. I am hoping to do some action or high anticipation type short because my goal as an animator is to make people feel thigs whether it is excitement or anxiety. My general idea is something like The Diamond Jack short because I think it is very creative and entertaining to watch. I love the art style as well as the action.
But I was thinking of doing something with my dos because I like dogs, and then it came to me to do a dog chase scene. Plus I found a tutorial on Lydia on how to create a dog run. After I watched it I wanted to do the idea even more.

https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/create-a-run-cycle-animation-from-scratch-in-adobe-photoshop--cms-21424
(This isn't the tutorial I watched but I definitely think its helpful).




(maybe it will be with a cat instead of another dog??)

 So with the idea in mind to work on a dog-centered chase scene/run cycle. I was talking to my friend about my idea and we came up with the idea of The Dogfather. After I heard the name I immediately was hooked and I've been looking at images of pugs in little fedoras with cigars and that look overall menacing. My friend has been sending me lots of pictures to use and I have been referring to them as I've drawn out my first ideas.

After a talk with her today during lunch I think I'm going to have the Dogfather playing cards against some other dog (maybe a really furry one to put all the cards like a poodle or something or possibly a cat), and when the other dog wins they will be asked to stand up and a whole bunch of cards will fall out of its fur. So this will start the dog chase as the first one will be running away before the pug/dogfather can comprehend. So then the master will be sending minions and he will eventually be caught.

The idea seems a little complicated, especially since I am first starting out but if all else fails I might just omit some parts or just make a really good dog run/walk cycle. It is all going to be without a script because I think it would take too long to draw all the mouth shapes on top of drawing out this whole story by yself. But I reallly want a chase scene of soesort so thats my goal to accomplish.

Here are some of the concept pictures I've drawn.

Movie Trailer

   Bonjour!! The past couple weeks I have been working on a movie trailer for my video class. We got to choose a movie of our choice to recreate the movie trailer. My group chose Edge of Seventeen, so down below I will talk about the process that went into creating a professional trailer that looks more off-brand than professional.

Process

    The process for the trailer was actually really hard and long. First, we had to brainstorm our movie trailer and then get it approved by my teacher because my trailer does have a little bit of sensitive content. But, after we got it approved we went straight to work. Before filming, we had to map out all of our shots in a google doc and describe what shot they were and how we would be able to create them. After the shots were planned out we had to think of locations, costumes, and actresses and actors. Pre-production took a good week to a week and a half because our trailer was packed with different shots and people and it was two minutes long. So we had a lot of planning to do before could film. We were finally ready for filming and then my school got canceled for a week due to snow and ice so my group had to redo our plans to film. But once we got everything figured out it went pretty smoothly. Filming was fun because of all the different shots we got to do and all the people to work with. It was stressful to make sure we had everything and to make the teachers and actors memorize their lines but after they did that it went by good. Filming took two and a half weeks with a whole bunch of filming outside of school and then we went to editing. Editing was such a long process because a lot of our shots had no audio so that was a whole issue, my project kept getting deleted for some reason, and we had to omit some shots because they were too difficult for beginner teenagers to be able to film okish. It was hard to keep all the audio between -12 and -18 and then matching up audio with voiceovers and trying to match up music with different shots was hard too.But it was also fun and cool to see it all come together and look somewhat nice even though I was very much rushing.

Learned 

    I learned a lot, once again. I have learned how important communication through a team is important because if I was gone and they didn't know it would mess with the schedule and I would have to email teachers if they were avalibe and a lot of decisions fell on me since I was the director. I have learned that if you want something to look nice you must have patience and get lots of footage. Even though I said communication was important, independent decisions are also equally important because you can't just rely on teammates to carry you through a project, there must be some sort of part you did.

Change

   I would change the way the beginning of my video turned out. I don't like how all the clips are just flipping so fast that you have no idea what is going on and that might because our actor was rushing his lines or just the way it turned out but that beginning is just a collage of different shots flipping at a rapid pace and it is a little dizzying. I also would like to change the location of where we filmed some of the shots because I don't think the ones we did in school look the best but I understand that we are students and it is hard to get the variety of shots I want.

Same 

    I would keep most of the trailer the same. I think the places we choose and the actors/actresses we choose pulled through and did a good job with the trailer. The little thing I would want to fix are mostly nit-picky so, for the most part, I liked how it came out. The music choices are great, the costumes were good. For the most part, the locations turned out ok and the people did a fantastic job so I am really happy with it turned out

    In conclusion, I had a good time filming this. I worked with some great people and I think we all were able to bounce ideas off each other and we all listened to one another and everything was respectful. The project turned out pretty good and I think I am definitely improving and everything has been really fun so much.

Music Video

     Bonjour!! Récemment j'ai fait un music video avec mes amies! It was really fun and I definitely enjoyed getting to start the entertainment side of my film class. It was a lot of hard work but getting a month or so to work on it was very helpful.

Process
     A few months ago, I got an assignment in my exploring Film class that we had to recreate a music video. We first got to pick our groups and I choose a good friend of mine and a few other people in my class that I had started talking to. I think we actually got along pretty well as a ground considering we all didn't really know each other very well. Next, we had to think of a music video we wanted to try and recreate. It was really tough for my group to pick because there are so many different types of genres and songs. I think it took my group and me about 3 days to agree with Love by Lana Del Rey. After that was picked out, we spent the rest of the week storyboarding, I think storyboarding took us a while because our video was really detailed we and wanted it to look really nice. We thought of everything, like where we wanted to film, what outfits and even planned some shots that we knew that we wanted. After our week long of storyboarding, we started the film schedule. The first thing we filmed was a coffee shop scene. I was very pleased with how these scenes turned out, the coffee shop stuff was probably my favorite thing we filmed. Next came a couple who was studying, and although I couldn't make it to that filming session or the couple outside, I know that they went very smooth and the shots were all pretty decent. The filming period took around a week to a week and a half and afterward my group and I went straight into editing since we were running short on time. My editor was my good friend and she did a very good job. Even though editing primarily took only one person, I tried to keep the whole group together just so there could be second and third opinions and new ideas for shots that didn't work. It was a very fun experience for my group pretty much clicked and we all had so many ideas that it helped make the video great. There were times where we would suggest filters for the shots and they turned out great or if we were missing something one of us could figure out another shot to help fix it. Editing took about a week as well and my team finished just a day or so before the deadline. It turned out wonderful and I am really proud of it.

Learn
    I learned different ways to edit a video like my friend edits a different way than I do so it was cool to watch her because I learned some new things I can try, like using the razor tool and cutting a shot in half rather than clipping it and getting rid of the rest of it.I also learned how to develop a better eye for pretty shots and got to help the cinematographer plan some pretty nice looking shots. I also learned how to be punctual because if I was late I would miss something.

Differently
   There aren't many things I would like to change, I would perhaps like to follow the music video a little bit more because some of our shots were filtered differently but it would've thrown off the balance we had found so it is ok that it was not added in. I also would've liked to have been there to help them film the other two couples because some of the shots aren't very good so I could've added to help create some shots, but maybe not, the world will never know. I would also have liked to change some of the castings just because a few couples didn't look natural or maybe a little camera shy.

No Change
    Things I wouldn't change would be the video idea itself and my group. I think we all had different talents we brought to the table and that made for a very creative and nice looking video. I liked the actress who played Lana, she did fantastic, as well as the other actors/actresses. Everyone was so kind and it really made the whole thing easier. The end product was very well made, the filters really added something to it and the editing was also very precise.

    In conclusion, I had a great time working on this project. I think if I didn't like animation so much I would want to be in the film entertainment industry. My group was very well working and I learned that bouncing ideas off one another really helps to create the best possible idea and the fact that everyone was working together really made it that more great. I loved this project and can't wait to start on the movie trailer.

See you next time,
Sophie the First

Professtional Articale Review-Moana

Bonjour! This blog will be talking about the review over a well known movie created by Disney, called Moana. This movie debuted Thanksgiving of 2016. Many people while watching thought Moana was the same as any Disney princess ever created, but one author, Eliza Berman, thinks she is the exact opposite of any princess gal.

The Argument

   Berman believes that Moana is an Anti-Princess. A heroine to join the ranks of Belle and Ariel, the ones who saved themselves and didn't need no man to help. Moana's of age journey is different compared to many of the other princess as Breman decibels,“I don’t know that any of the other princesses we’ve been involved with we’d describe as badass" (Time). She talks about how the Polynesian movie was based off myths from their people, the wayfinding by using the current and using the stars are all true. They also made a 16 year old girl save the universe. By herself. Moana is a role model for anyone that wants to independent: "we thought it would be very appealing to do a female empowerment story that didn’t center on any sort of romance" (Time). Moana, unlike the rest of the princesses is built different too. She is made for the harsh expedition unlike her counterparts who were made to be beautiful, Moana was made for stardom (Time). She concludes her article by saying Moana will inspire a journey of self discovery for the audience and hopefully a chance to relate through a person’s own journey.

   This argument is very valid since most princesses have most been to just look at and let the prince handel anything bad that comes their way. But Moana presents to the public that women are more capable to fend for themselves and in the movie, she proves it over and over. Breman does a good job of bringing up the fact that she is an independent young lady. But, her  evidence usually suggest that it was an opinion. A weakness that Breman has is that her opinions on female independence is clouding the evidence, even though she also has a very strong voice in her writing and really knows how to express herself.

Improvement

  I think the article is relevant to today’s society. Women still aren’t treated equally and maybe this will open the eyes and let people understand the anyone can be capable of anything. The author could’ve done a better job of adding quotes from Disney producers or maybe people who worked on the movie, she only had a few in her blog. The author does hit the main points from the movie explaining why Moana isn’t like all princesses but a definition of bravery. The evidence is pretty convincing to show that Moana is no ordinary girl. But I think the ending could be better, but it does talk about a serious topic. People could possibly take this another way and then t wouldn’t be convincing anymore. This article has proven to me that I need to be more reliable with my evidence but that I also can do more research

on my topic/movie to make it great.

This was a great passage to read and to light the differences in our modern society. This is important so everyone can be equally represented both on and off screen. It is import to empower young girls so they can come into the workforce passionate and determined.

Review over "In a Heartbeat"

   Bonjour!! Today I will be reviewing a professional animation, more specifically the new short animation that recently came out; In a Hear5tbeat by Beth David and Esteban Bravo. I thought his animation was very well made it was absolutely amazing. So without further ado, let us watch the short film.

             

                David, Beth and Esteban Bravo, directors. In a Heartbeat. Ringling College of Art and Design, 31 July 2017.

     Design 

    What made this animation particularly amazing was the many principles of design they included into the project. The balance was great, nothing was too ark or too bright or too busy. Everytihng was layed out very nicely and it didn't overcrowd for example in the beginning when one of the characters is in the tree, nothing took away from that moment. It was layed out nicely to not draw attetion to unneeded things. The movement was also very good. It flowed smoothly from one scene to the next and no one was left wondering or confused. The Unity was also very good, the colors and aniamtion in general was very pleasing to the eye for example, when the two meet in the center of screen with the slight contrasting colors canceld eachother and the nothing was too eyedrawing, the whole piece is very balanced.

Story 

   The story was very easy to follow, a boy who has a crush is scared to make any contact or talk to his crush but then his heart leads him around,  making descions for him leading the two boys to met for the first time. The boy with the crush becomes very flustered  and tries to ru away, leaving a piece of his broken heart but after a while the other boy finds him and he helps the main boy to heal his broken heart, bringing them togther in the end. A classic, Dsiney romance. The tale was to share the commiunty f the LGBTQ and make everyone a bit more aware and accepting. They also hoped to inspidre young kids to do whatever they want and et their heart take control to do what they love. The animation team did a great job with their overall look, it is very pleasing to watch with the fluid movemnet and great artwork. They also did a great job at bringing up important issues (LGBTQ equality) and turning it soft for everyone to recongize it. It brought up awreness for a now common occourance. 

Improvemnt 

   An element I could take from this animated short is definitly cleaning up my work and making it look better. This short was well organized and the art looks amazing so maybe if I start working t prove my skills at digital art, weather that be 3D or 2D my projects might start looking a little more professional. The throuhgness this flim has compared to my work is also very unbeliveibble. My work is ok, but there are usually many errors that I make and that I don't go back and fix so possibly trying to fix most mistakes wiol help again with the profesional feel. Something both my work and the short film is probably the time taken. It took me way too long to create my animation and the In a heartbeat probably took at least a year. But we also share the process so storyboarding and then concepting then eventually creation. The process for every animator is silimalr in that sense. To me, the overall animation was pretty good, there are probably ittle mistakes here and there but the story is very creative and differenct. Plus the animation is pretty amazing. The story could get better by adding o to it. Possily showing the characters after they realise they share feelings or maybe a little from the ther boy's point of veiw. 

   Overall I think this animation is truley a work of art. I may not be a part of the LGBTQ community but it is important for any group to represented. Hopefully this hsort will open up people's eyes more and create and more accepting envirnment for anyone and everyone. 

Until next time, 

SophietheFirst

Personal Project-Ninja

        Bonjour! This blog will be about one of my projects that I have done this semester in my animation class. The project I will be talking about is my ninja or story animation that I worked on forever. The project was supposed to teach us how to create a short animated slim, or an animation short. There were a few requirements but nothing too restricting. It was also very fun to work on something that we could make anything up for.

Process

    The process started with us watching some past students works to get ideas for our own short. Then we had a very brief discussion on what the requirements had to be. Some of the things that we must include were having a multiplane and use the puppet pin tool. After the rules were set in place we had a few days to storyboard and draw our characters so we can scan them in. It took me a while to try and think of what I wanted my story to be and how I wanted to do it. I eventually, after a week or so, decided on doing a story about a ninja. But not just any ninja, a ninja who isn't stealthy.  One who would trip and fall and ultimately rip his pants and end up having to go to a clothing store. After I got the story down, I then had to draw my character and took me a while too, until I just started looking up characters to reference. I also wanted my character to somewhat historically correct so I did look up a few ideas on what traditional ninjas would've worn but some of the styles would be too difficult so I stuck with really simple designs. Next, after the coloring which took forever, I got to put everything into Aftereffects. I had a hard time seeing how I would set it u but I eventually just started making new compositions for each new scene and just shortening them and clipping them when I needed to. The whole editing process took a few long weeks, especially with my trying to get this done and the musical and my homework. I actually just finished this project quite recently, which I am very proud of getting it done.

What Did I Learn? 

      I learned a lot while creating this project. I learned that I should manage my time way better and that nothing can ever get done in 5 minutes. But I also learned how to better use aftereffects like the tools and just getting the extra practice I need to be able to do well on my projects in the future. I learned how to keep my layers organized because I had about 60 for all the different body parts. This project was more of a final review with Aftereffects since we started in a 3D program a short while after this project was supposed to be finished.

What Would I Change? 

    I think I would go back in and clean up a lot of stuff. I think the biggest issue is the sliding that my character seems to do. But there are body things that are weird too. Some of the limbs don't match up so I would go and clean those up and maybe add some new layers for that hand and head since it was the same for every single part kinda making it seem really unnatural. I really liked the backgrounds that I created for this project, they look pretty ok for the project. I also like the story and I sorta wish I could add on to it but, where it is at now I really like it. 

Next Time?

  This was a great way to wrap up the 2D animation that we've been working on all year so far. I really enjoyed being able to create something. I also hope that I will remember all the things I learned for next time and that I will hopefully not take so long when I am working on it so my life won't be more stressful then it needs to be. 

Until next time,

SophietheFirst