Tuesday 21 January 2014

VFX roughcut



Here is my VFX rough-cut with my animatic behind for timing. I have roughly keyed out the green screen which still needs more work, and I have positioned and roughly scaled the footage to the size I want it.

VFX anamatic




This is the animatic I created from my storyboard. There are a few timing issues I can see already, but I will generally stick to this when editing.

Storyboard and initial thumbnails


Here is my final storyboard for the film.



 
 
 
 
These are the initial thumbnails I created before storyboarding, to help me with composition.
 



Monday 20 January 2014

Networking task

After our networking session, we were set the task to think about our own network, on a local, national and international basis. I have also done a list of websites and social media which I used to keep in touch with these people or talk and network with different people.

Local-
University (Leeds College of Art)
Northern Film School
Leeds College of Music
Saturday Art School (tutors)
Impact Films
Glow Films
Leeds Inspired
Manto TV
Rabbitportal
Leeds International Film Festival
Bradford Animation Festival

National-
Disney Channel UK

International-
Production International
Skwigly

Online-
Flickr
Pinterest
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Etsy
Deviantart
Blogger

Networking

For this PPP task we were asked to get into small groups to discuss networking and write down everything we can think of about it (why, how and where were the main discussion points). Below is My groups mindmap (I worked with Meg and Stu).


Here are a few little extra notes I took during the session-

Having already attended various networking events, animation meet ups and talking to fellow students and animators in the Skwigly chatroom and Twitter, I feel that I already know what types of networking work for me, but it was useful to recap on other ways.

Bambi Willow

For the Responsive module I have chosen to do everything under my recently changed freelancer title, Bambi Willow. This is to reinforce my new branding, whilst pushing me to promote my work and engage with my audience.

Below is a link to my Facebook page and my blog under this title, which I will need to update and post regularly on during this module.

https://www.facebook.com/iambambiwillow
http://bambiwillow.blogspot.co.uk/

Proposal for study - Responsive



Proposal:
Please identify and explain your self directed or live project. Be as thorough as possible and  include an overview of your area of study, why you are interested in it and an outline of the content you intend produce. This proposal will give staff some guidance and a reference when it comes to assess the work. 

As a multi-disciplinary artist, I am interested in working in a variety of mediums, creating a range of different outcomes; however my main aim for this module is to improve in developing narrative, character and animation production. This will be a self directed brief, developing my own practice under the title Bambi Willow, as I can look into branding and setting up my own freelancing business. During this process I will develop a deeper understanding and strengthen my professional practice within various creative sectors, mainly focusing on animation. To make my project multimedia I will use transmedia storytelling, expanding my ‘world’ across zines and other crafts. My work for this projects suits late teens upwards, looking at the recent trend and increase in handmade and kitsch, which is why it suits being made into different craft forms. I will primarily be working on a panda series named ‘Bam & Boo’. I intend to produce a few small animations/gifs of pin up pandas, which will then lead into developing a more specific and meaningful narrative (may not complete it within the time frame but work towards getting a complete animation by the end of the year for animation festivals). I will also enter the 11 seconds club using these two panda characters. I hope to create a short animation in 48 hours, which will challenge me to work quickly and effectively to make a sweet yet simple narrative driven animation. Within the transmedia story telling, I wish to create a zine under a specific subject matter which effects my characters, create a few print quality illustrations, as well as taking on any freelance projects through these characters. With development these outcomes may vary, and I may find more suitable avenues to go down. I am looking to enter competitions and festivals with any animations I produce, which will be decided when the animation is finished. The craft element of this project will be commercially based, and my aim by the end of this project is to sell work online, at craft fairs, and potentially in art shops.

Collaborative Opportunities
Are there any stakeholders in your project? Do you plan on working with anybody?
If so Identify who they are and what they will be doing

As I am looking into freelance practice and making my own company I will mainly be working alone, but I may seek help if undertaking specific workshops when exploring craft, potentially in laser cutting, screen printing and fabric printing. For my animations, I will also need help with the sound design for my animations, which may need a small team or potentially just one person. I have chosen to work alone for the majority of this project, as I have identified that this is how most freelance animators and illustrators work if they are not within an animation company. Not all freelancers exclusively work like this, however I think it is important that I develop my skills and confidence to work in such a way, preparing me for the future. As this is a self-directed brief, there are no companies or professionals that are stakeholders in this project. I am my main stake-holder, as this module will hopefully project my work into the public eye. I am however working to an audience, and if I wish to succeed I need to ensure that I have aimed it right and please their needs. If I am to sell my work too, this holds even more importance.

Resources:
Do you have any specific resource or equipment requirements.
You should also note if there are any particualar health and safety or risk ssessment concerns. 

I will be using Julia Pott’s ‘Narrative for Animation’ online Skillshare course as guidance when developing my main animation narrative Depending on the avenues I wish to take the craft element of this module down, I may need to book inductions with using the laser cutter, screen printing and fabric printing. For the majority of this module I will need to use traditional ways of working using paper and pencil/pen/ink/or any other materials to render with. I am hoping to explore, if only briefly, hand-drawn animation using paper. I have my own lightbox and a smaller more portable lightbox too, meaning I can animation at home and on weekends. The majority of the time when animating I will be using a mixture of Photoshop and After Effects, using a Wacom drawing tablet, where I will explore animation techniques. I may also use Flash to animate and experiment with. For the sound element to my animation I may need to book out the sound booth, however I will need to look into this more when I come to it.

Submission Details
Please state submission details/ costs if there are any associated with entering a competition. 

I will be entering the free competition 11 second club during this module, however the deadline depends which month I undertake it, as it is a monthly competition. For my main animation, I will need to look into festivals which suit my animation once finished, as it may or may not be suitable directly for children (older target audience), in which case I will need to look into different categories to enter into. Most of these deadlines will be in summer for graduate animations, so I will need to look into undergraduate categories. So prices have yet to be confirmed. I will also look into the D&AD brief ‘Tell don’t sell’ and see if my longer animation fits into that competition.

Bibilography:
Please list a range of books, magazine, journals and web based sources that you anticipate using. Please use the Harvard referencing system.
Also state if you will be undertaking any primary research during this investigation phase

Alger, J. (2012) The Art and Making of Paranorman, Chronicle Books: San Francisco Anderson, W. (2009) The Making of Fantastic Mr Fox, Rizzoli: New York Kaufman, J.B. (2012) The fairest of them all. The making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Severn Dwafs', Walt Disney Family Foundation Press: San Francisco Thomas, F. Johnston, O. (1995) The Illusion Of Life: Disney Animation, New York: Hyperion. Williams, R. (Second Edition: 2009) The Animator's Survival Kit, Expanded Edition: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators, London: Faber & Faber. 11 Second Club [Online] Available: http://www.11secondclub.com/ (27th Nov 2013) D&AD [Online] Available: http://www.dandad.org/awards/new-blood/2014/ (27th Nov 2013) SkillShare [Online] Available: http://www.skillshare.com/dashboard (27th Nov 2013)



Responsive Deliverables


  • Few small animations/gifs of pin up pandas
  • Meaningful narrative
  • 11 second club
  • Dazed and Confused sting
  • Animation in 48 hours
  • Zine 
  • Print quality illustrations
  • Freelance projects through these characters