Update on project

I have booked a session for green screening on March 22nd. In the meantime, I'm going to continue with experimentation and my process with the project.

Here is an amazing animated origami video which gives me inspiration. The idea of one origami changing into another is the kind of thing I had in mind.


Swan

Dolphin

Max Reaction

I recently did a reaction shot of myself and then used it as reference to animate Max in Maya.

I attempted to a reaction to which a person goes from happy to confused. Acting isn't my strong side but I gave it a try anyway. Below is the video of my reaction.

Reaction from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.

Here is Max's reaction I animated based on this reaction.
Max Reaction Shot from Jack Vanes on Vimeo.


Graph Editor

Source: How to cheat in Maya: Tools and techniques for Character Animation by Kenny Roy (Page 66).































The Graph editor is a useful tool in Maya as it can help with the easing on animations. It presents the animation curves, allowing you to manipulate the keys and curves. I think this tool would come in handy with animating.

The Art and Science of Screenwriting

The Art and Science of Screenwriting by Philip Parker is an intriguing information book about writing screenplay.

A Creative matrix (Chapter 2, page 12)

A creative matrix is used in films and television programs. Screenwriting usually need to collect aspects from these to attract people. Every screenwriter has to deal with writing various sorts of elements whether they like it or dislike it. There would be no point in screenwriting if one cannot be interested in only one element of screenplay. The idea of a creative matrix provides us with the means of seeing various elements various elements that make up screenplay conjunction with each other, except they do not have only one element in them that dominates the others.

The story, form, theme, plot, genre and style are viewed as reference points in the matrix when it comes to writing screenplay. Whatever elements will be more or less effective than the other will vary depending on what the specific type of written screenplay it is.

The Return Of Max

The animation in this module will be done in the form of Max.

I have played around with Max for a bit to get the hang of using him again. Here's a couple of key poses.

Angry Max
This pose could use some line of action as it appears to be lacking. It needs more exaggeration to give a feel. Also I don't really think the lighting is very good. So I'll need to get better at this. However I do like the facial expression and the shake of the fist.

Max Shrug
I like this pose as it seems to have debt. If I could find a criticism about it, it would be to maybe play around with it more to give it a better gesture. Again the lighting could use some work.

Animation plan

Plan

I was thinking about animating a scene with a piece of coloured paper being folded into a paper animal. The animal will then rotate and make some animal poses throughout. In the background, there will be a background of a habitat that corresponds currently in the picture. The animal will then unfold and change into a different animal, and so will the background. This will be done in front of a green screen so that the background can be manipulated and put into position a lot easier.

I should be wary not to use any green paper for the origami animals as this could get in the way of the green screen.

 

 

I have brought some crafting paper (Origami paper) which is specifically made for origami modelling. I did this since the paper is specifically made for folding, it will get the best results from it.

Here is an simple basic origami crane I made using the origami paper.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Advanced Origami

I picked up a book from the library titled Advanced Origami by Didier Boursin. The book contains necessary material to assist in my project. There is an animal section in the book that could prove to be useful.

Here is a collection of some of the origami figures that I found very interesting. The advance use of detail is very conspicuous, which I find fascinating albeit I found the instructions quite difficult to follow.


These are instructions on how to form a pecking hen. I really like the form of it as it simulates the essential structure of a real life hen.

This is the guide on how to make a fish. I like the way the mouth is formed to make it appear like how a genuine fish would.

 

My story synopsis

The Painting

During November of 1986, there was a wealthy city man named Adrian who lived in Mississippi. He recently discovered that his cousin, Kevin had moved into a new house out in the bayou not long ago. Adrian wants to get away from the city for a while where there are no noises or polluted air coming from industries. Thus Adrian concludes to spend a week away visiting his cousin in the bayou. Adrian has not seen Kevin in a while and he has never seen Kevin's new house before so this occasion seems more exciting to him.

Upon arriving at the house, Adrian and Kevin exchange hugs as they are so happy to see each other again after a long period of time. They spent the entire day in the living room talking about recently deceased relatives, playing chess and listening to the radio. Adrian enjoyed it as he thought that it was a great time away from the city, away from the noise and air pollution.

Before they knew it, nightfall came. Both cousins had enjoyed themselves and wished they could have gone on longer but they just accepted it as they could always continue the next day. Kevin told Adrian that he would be sleeping in the guest room and after wishing Adrian a good night, Kevin went into his own room to sleep. Adrian went into the guest bedroom. Upon entering, he saw that the room was clean and very nice. Adrian knew that Kevin has put some work into this to make sure Adrian's trip was a nice one.

Adrian got ready for bed and soon was lying down. The bed was more comfortable than he had anticipated. Adrian enjoyed the sound of silence. Adrian tried to get to sleep but something was keeping him awake and he could not quite figure out what. Adrian opened his eyes and looked across the room. On the wall opposite the bed, there was a unusual painting of a creepy man with a disfigured face. The face of the man was smiling maliciously and his eyes seem to be directed at Adrian. Adrian wondered that he had no idea that his cousin Kevin was into these kind of paintings, so this was new to him. Adrian tried to go to sleep with it but he could not as the painting was disturbing him too much. Eventually, Adrian got tired and went downstairs to sleep on the sofa for the rest of night instead. He figured that he could ask Kevin to remove the painting in the morning so he could sleep better in that room the next night. Adrian did not want to remove the painting by himself as he was worried that he would break it and Kevin would be angry.

The next morning, Kevin comes downstairs and he is quite surprised to find Adrian sleeping on the sofa. "Why are ya sleeping on the couch, cousin?" asked Kevin. Adrian, who had just woke up, explains to Kevin "There was a painting in the guest room. It was very creepy and I just couldn't sleep with it. Is it okay if I ask, would you mind taking it down so I can sleep in that room easier?" Kevin looks puzzled "Painting, cousin?" he asked. Adrian, now fully awake, said "Yes. That painting on the wall opposite the bed in the guest room." Kevin now looks more confused than ever. Kevin said "But cousin, there is no painting on the wall opposite the bed in the guest room. Just a window..."

Script Test

I made a script based on a detective story with a murder that took place. I made the story up as I went along. The idea was to get the basic structure of scripts. The pacing was efficient as it goes from one scene to another in one page.

EXT. NEW YORK CITY – MORNING

Silhouettes of buildings are shown. Clouds are moving across the New York City orange sky. Daylight is appearing through the ground level. There is a man named NIGEL walking down the street dressed in a raincoat and a fedora, smoking a cigarette in his right hand and has his left hand in his pocket. He strolls down the street, taking a puff of the cigar as he goes along. NIGEL stops outside a supermarket shop marked with “Do not cross police line” tape. The coroner named BILL is waiting for NIGEL outside.

NIGEL

Nigel Gallowson. Badge number 527. Homicide squad.

BILL

About time. Follow me, detective.

INT. SUPERMARKET - MORNING

BILL leads NIGEL into the building. NIGEL tosses his half smoked cigar to the floor before entering. The corpse of a man is shown. The skull has been crushed. Blood is everywhere. Other members of the NYPD survey the room and a crime scene photographer overlooks the body with a camera.

BILL

The stiff is a 35 year old, Caucasian male. The victim was apparently the manager in this establishment. Looks like victim was beaten pretty badly. Blunt force trauma suggests haemorrhage could be the cause of death. The murder weapon has yet to be recovered though.

NIGEL

Time of death?

BILL

By the temperature, I’d say after midnight. I’ll have more details after I’ve completed the autopsy.

NIGEL

Any witnesses?

BILL

Negative. Closing hours are 11 PM and only the manager stays behind after midnight.

NIGEL

Did anybody know the victim?

BILL

That’s a nix. He was a loner and quite a scrooge if I may add. Anyone he has crossed paths with could be a suspect.

NIGEL

(Sighs in disbelief)

This is going to be one tough case…

Box and Edge Modelling

Box modelling
Box modelling is a process of creating a character from a simple box shape. The box is manipulated into more shapes and stretched to fit the required result of the model. This method is very useful as it can be a quick way of getting modelling done. However a downside is that

Edge modelling

This method of modelling involves a tedious process of extruding edges all the way around using reference as a guide. While this method can be efficient and can be beneficial to correct mistakes at an earlier stage, it can be a very tedious process.

First attempt at box modelling

Using the reference as seen in the former post, I used it to model the character using the box modelling method. The result was quite poor as I feel as if I used too many unnecessary vertices that made the model more complicated than it needed to be. In addition, because of this, the mistakes I made were very challenging to fix when this didn't need to be so.

However, credit where credit is due, I'm proud of the way it turned out with consideration that this is a first try. I enjoyed the process behind it and it was not as complex as I anticipated. I really hope to get better at this.

Origami Animal tutorials

As I was browsing tutorials on origami, I found this YouTube channel called Fun To Origami. This channel provides excellent tutorials on how to make origami. This would be useful for my project.

https://www.youtube.com/user/FunToOrigami/videos

Lev Manovich - What is Digital Cinema?
I recently had a look at an essay which describes the redefinition of how filmmaking is seen. It describes cinema as a form of art and that digital cinema has made such a narrative impact. The essay also explains the connection of live action and fictional films.

3D Character Model Sheet

Here is a selection of images that highlight the progress of the 3D character model. The model is of my previously made character, William the Magician as I thought it would seem more familiar to me.