Animation

Artefact 6

2011-06-09T04:53:00.000-07:00

The sixth artefact is an acumination of work from the previous two artefacts into the final animation in this artefact I focused on key framing on top of FBX motion capture file information that was plotted onto the 3DS Max Rig in the previous artefact.
For this artefact I key framed and added additional animation until I deemed The final artefact satisfactory. After finishing the clean-up of the animation it will be export back into 3D Studio max for Rendering. The animation mainly involved correcting limb placement as the scale of limbs from the rig are different from the skeleton that represents the motion capture information within the scene as the rig is automatically compensated for size and bones differences between the two when the animation is plotted onto the rig, but still after this process limbs and animation needed to be manually altered in the animation occur e.g. collision problems with limbs and contact parameters with other objects don’t match up with the animation. The process of export work back from Motion Builder into max is a simple one save the file in motion builder as FBX then open up 3D Studio Max and open up under all file extensions, then select the anted import options and the animation is re-import into max format.
I had no problems or any real difficulty when working on this artefact in Motion Builder but the process was time consuming like all forms of animation. I suffered problem when trying to export the animation back into 3D Studio Max.
From this i conclude that there is befits and disadvantages with using motion capture and should be used as part of the already extensive list of tolls available to animators to come up with solutions for their work.

Artefact 5

2011-06-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

The fifth artefact continues from the fourth artefact in development of 3D Studio Max character and biped for the use of motion capture animation. This artefact demonstration the set up needed to be done when working with characters
created in 3D Studio Max or any other 3D program to make it ready for motion capture and regular key frame animation. In this artefact I demonstrated characterizing importing motion capture information, plotting. Characterizing is process need to make rig recognisable within the program, the program offers number of templates to for rigging character, and new template can be written using Python scripting for custom and non-biped rigs. The template used on a selected imported bone automatically uses same pre-determined naming conversion as in 3D Studio Max, to
construct ik/fk chains and hierarchy to govern the movement of the rig. Importing and merging scenes used to bring assets needed for particular work e.g. props motion capture information’s and secondary characters. Plotting is used to ingrain the animation from imported motion capture information onto the rig so the character can be manually animated through secondary animation layers and also readies it for exporting as the motion information can be import into 3d studio max but the program doesn’t understand it.
I had difficulty at the characterizing with the pelvis bone stub not moving with the rest of the characterized rig before and after the animation was added, so I had to compensate this problem with key framing the stub bone into position on each of hundred and thirty two frames. Apart from this there were no issues with the importing and setting up plotting of the character.
I learnt from this artefact how to plot characters and ready them for key frame animation and for export back into 3D Studio Max.

Artefact 4

2011-06-09T04:48:00.000-07:00

For my fourth artefact I created a custom rigged character within 3D Studio Max using editable poly and biped rig then baked and export the character into Motion Builder. This artefact to demonstrate the process needed in making usable
characters that are compatible with motion capture data within any give project.
When making the artefact I used a character that I made and designed for a previous project Nice Cup of Tea animationduring my second year, the reason I chosen this character was that it would pose interesting problems that I will be able
to explore for my next two artefacts such as importing Motion capture information into non standard humanoid character rig. The rigging system I used was 3D Studio Max standard biped system it took me time to familiarize myself in editing the biped rig learning how to edit bones length and shape, and extra bones within the neck and moving placement of digits for hands and feet. Most time consuming part was editing envelope of effect of biped rig. It is a simple process but time consuming due to amount of points of effect that needed to be edited within the envelope.
In conclusion I succeeded in my goals of creating and exporting the character, and from this I have learnt valuable lessons in the process of using motion capture animation within a project, I have learnt how different rig systems work within Motion Builder and other programs
For my next two artefacts I will use the exported character from this artefact within motion builder and import BVH motion Capture file onto the character and from that point hand animate it until it has reached a level that I deem satisfactory to demonstrate the use of motion capture and key animation techniques.

Artefact 3

2011-06-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

For my third artefact I have moved my personal development from the recording process into the editing of motion capture information. In this artefact I will be working with motion capture piece that I record and used in previous two artefacts. In this artefact I will demonstrate basic motion editing, from manipulating motion capture points, rigid body, graph editing. Then characterized models in scenes and using key frame animation key and character controls this will be all done using the program Motion Builder.
During the creation of the artefact it took me time to learn how to use the program correctly as traditional key frame animation is similar to other programs from Autodesk such as 3ds Max and Maya but when editing with optical
information there is a different paradigm of tools to use before the point when animators can change it into more tradition format of animation when adding characterized biped models, this hampered me in the beginning of the artefact
creation getting up to speed with the required skills to demonstrate editing of motion capture information. But
From this I have learn valuables lessons in how useful motion capture animation is and learning full processes used in the industry to bring motion information into a useable form and how to be able to incorporated in to an animation. This artefact has make think about the argument of how motion capture is destroying key frame animation but the truth is most of skills used in key frame animation is transferable into motion capture animation due need of the information to be edited and tweaked for use. For my next artefact I will create a rig that is compatible with motion capture
information.

Artefact 2

2011-06-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

For the second artefact I have concentrated on the initial setup and calibration of motion capture equipment. This is to demonstrate the practise associated to working in professional studio and development of skill set needed to work as
animator/technician when using motion capture as primary tool for animation. I will document the setup and calibration process by recording the session with video camera with fisheye lenses attachment and still photographs. Then I will compress the film down to length usable for the presentation.
I had no set back with the initial setup and calibration of the motion capture but there were technical problems when recording the sessions. When filming with the digital camera had a maximum recording time of one hour needing to reset so record session to multiple takes. This problem was amended when editing and compressing the MPEG4footage in Premiere Pro. The camera also couldn’t be used during calibration as all the studios lights needed to be turned off for calibration and recording as the extra light source would create false positives and cameras would start
tracking the wrong light sources. I was also unable to use photos taken of the later part of calibration and the use of the motion capture suit because problem with communication with other individuals I was working with.
I conclude that I learnt valuable lessons to be learnt from this experience in organisation from booking rooms to learning how to setup and the use of systems and also greater upstanding in the technology and theory of how the systems
work, from this I will be able use what i know to further improve myself and my skill base.

Artefact 1

2011-06-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

The first artefact I created two short animated walk cycles to compare advantages and disadvantages in different forms of animation, first walk cycle was using conventional key frame animation while the second I used a motion capture. I used free stock motion capture file . I used 3D Studio Max for the key frame animation and the motion capture port, for both animation I used the premade systems skeleton biped rig as it can be manipulated by hand and compatible with motion capture file data such as BVH(Biovision Hierarchical Data).
I had to make changes from what I had originally planned. The concept was to use motion capture suite to record my own version of a walk cycle, but at that time the motion capture suite was un-available. Also it became apparent I wouldn’t be able to record a walk cycle as the effective capture area of the suite was too small. I had no such set back with the key frame animation but it took me time to get used to using 3D Studio Max Skelton rigs as I am used to making and using my own rigs. But from using skeleton rigs I have learnt how to use the multitude of build in features such as steps mechanic that helps pacing and location of the foot fall within the scene.
I conclude that I have learnt valuable skills in the process of making this artefact and given me greater skill set that I can use for my future artefacts and in other projects. The limitations of the universities motion capture system had made me rethink about future artefacts and what forms of movement with limitations that I have already described.

2nd Term Projects

2010-01-25T11:05:00.003-08:00

Card Game

2010-01-25T11:05:00.001-08:00

Rolla Coaster

2010-01-25T11:03:00.002-08:00

The Banana Gag

2010-01-25T11:03:00.001-08:00

Visulation Building

2010-01-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

Animation editting

2010-01-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

Unedited

Edited

Falling over Cycle

2010-01-25T05:59:00.000-08:00

Walking Cycles

2010-01-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

Normal walking Cycle

Silly walking Cycle

Animated Head

2010-01-25T05:56:00.001-08:00

Spine Rig animation

2010-01-25T05:54:00.000-08:00

Leg Rig animation

2010-01-25T05:53:00.000-08:00

Arm Rig animation

2010-01-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

This is the being of the rig that i will have to use in this terms project, in this exacise I created a simple arm rig thats uses inverse kinetic animation chanis to make the arm move around the elbow joint and for the fingers

project brief

2010-01-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

First animation of the term

2009-10-16T10:59:00.001-07:00

This simple animation is to get back into the swing of things for this term and new year. In this animation I had to created a simple plantery system model using spheres lofted and extruded splines,to animate this I had to use the curve editor to mak the plantes obit in the right direction without going back on itselfs as it normally happens when making a object perform a rotation around a stationry point or a circular path.

I HAVE RETURNED!

2009-10-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

Im back this time redoing the second year due to being ill but hopfully nothing like that will happen again. this year im going to do loads more post and more regualry (crosses fingers).

Finished animation

2008-12-16T12:02:00.003-08:00

The Animation

The Visualsation

2008-12-16T12:02:00.001-08:00

The other Board Game Research and Design

2008-11-11T14:49:00.003-08:00

There was not much researc into this board gam but the inspiration for this game came from Tretris (1985) created by the russian Alexely Pajitnov i was interested by the shapes an intersting point is that the game named after the shapes they are tetrominoes they are all the different shapes combotnation of just using for blocks, i wanted to create a game using such shapes on board this came to conclusion of that I would have to design point based board game i need to create a board that would make it challengeing and engaging a board that lest play use different stragies, the layout of this board was in spired by Scrabble (1938) by Alfred Mosser Butts but wasn't released 1942 in the format we know today. i was inspired by the grid layout and how the board incorgaes people to spread out there words tt get double or triple word scores.

The possible desgns i have created so far:

Shapes:

Links for research

www.tetris.com/
www.scrabble.com

Animation and Visulsation Research

2008-11-11T14:49:00.001-08:00

For these projects i have chosen to use the same envioment, of 1920's inner city scape. the research that i have done into the visual style of the game mainy comes from films that I have watched and studied, such as The Public Enemy (1931)
Staring James Cagney and Jena Harlow. also my person favourite little Ceasar (1931).
I also looked on the internet to find other images from the right time frame such as art deco design from 1920's and 1930's also looked at classic cars and innner city america building of that era.

Art Deco Design

Car Design

Building design

Links to research

http://www.lostnfoundantiques.com
http://www.sunburststudio.com/sungallery/image1.htm#
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021079/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imrickndakota/271826452/
http://www.watertowers.com/
http://www.squidoo.com/1920cars

2008-11-06T13:48:00.002-08:00

This image that i have chosen by a unknown artist has been designed as a desktop wall paper due to its resulation a=size and shape. The reasons that i like this image is due to its 1950's / anime style.

Arm animation

2008-11-06T04:39:00.001-08:00

value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tVyF_EPd7IA">

This animation was to demonstrate the use of hierarchies within 3D Max to help simplify animation. This works by algorithms within the program that can let you dictate one object to follow another, this has a number of uses when creating motion in animation of arms and legs. To stop limbs from flying of randomly but also to be used as basis of more complicated forms of animation using rigging with IK chains inverse kinetics. This is useful in controlling a scene when under construction and also to serve as basis of a animation structur.

Train

2008-11-06T04:38:00.000-08:00

The reason for this choice of image was that I was wondering how it would looked compared to the real life environment that trains exist in. To create the environment for the train is a simple process of dropping the image into the scene via the use of the rendering environment option.

The Bouncing Ball

2008-11-06T04:23:00.000-08:00

The bouncing ball excise serves person to demonstrate the use of graph editing in changing the dynamics of way object moves and reacts. In this case using the curve editor tab and function to change the speed of the objects moves at the beginning and end of the motion to make the balls bounce seem more realistic. This works by making the ball move faster and change nature of the motion curve to make it sharper at the point. This works in opposite when it reaches the peak of the bounce use the curve editor to slow the movement and make the movement curve more rounded.
The graph editor is useful in giving an object weight within a simple animation without the use of some kind of physics engine. This also creates believability of the animation in way characters and objects move.

ew

The art fo seeing

2008-10-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

Identites Video Public

2008-06-01T12:46:00.001-07:00

Identites Video Home

2008-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Identites Video Cars

2008-06-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

these are the videos that feature in ym identites showcase.

Identities Evaluation

2008-06-01T08:17:00.001-07:00

Reflecting on the way that I managed my time working on the project and implementing my designs, I could have used my time and resources more effectively. At points working I was rushed to complete animated and rendered film as I spent too much time reworking the design of my Avatar. I also had time management problems when doing my Box/Showcase as I spent too much time working on scene transitions within flash than on the actual content of the embedded objects. This in turn affected the Box/Showcase as I could not make any changes to get the sound of the videos to work within the flash file that was suggested in my usability test. From what happened while working on this project I have concluded that I need to change my work ethics in projects from this point I should be using some sort of planner or chart for example Gannt software what is a free download.

After finishing the Box/Showcase I did a usability survey. I surveyed 5 students the results from the survey showed that the main problem with my work was there was a lack of sound even though I have added sound to the films that I created but when compressed it didn’t seem to work. The second thing I was flagged on was size of my gallery they said it could have been allot bigger and also the transitions between areas of my work could have been shorter.

My overall view on the finished projects is good, and I feel that have succeeded in expressing my identity throughout these projects. I feel I did will on visual and also on the interactive sides of these projects but there is one area that I had no really success in and that’s sound if I could do this again I would have added sound to my original Avatar video and if I had the time fix the problem with the sound in Box/Showcase. In the future I want to learn and use sound more. As in digital media sound plays large part in creating atmosphere and meaning with and piece of media being film or web. I also think it is still important for me to learn how to use my time effectively and these will be my two main points of focus in my next major project.

making of the showcase

2008-06-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

When creating the showcase I divided the work into three separate elements first was the 3D element that would create the backgrounds and the transitions of my 3D environment, second was the flash element of creating buttons and medium to displace my identity and last was to create four different pieces that represented me.

From the started I want to involve a 3D animation or still in my show case and the space station became this scene used had to two different parts the interior and the exterior. The exterior was simple to create as the three planets I created using spheres with textured maps that I downloaded from the internet the planets maps I used where that or Mars Jupiter and Io, these would be used as staging place for the video parts of my showcase. The interior was more difficult to make I used two separate plains to make the basic walls and floor. The two main areas of focus in this part are the main navigational menu that takes form of a drop down monitor and the Avatar area. The monitor was created from tow chamfered boxes for the basic shape the wire were lofted splines. The avatar area was the most difficult to create as when it came to animating the scenes I needed my avatar to move to create some form of interaction with the audience.

The flash I used in this project consisted mainly of buttons but I also added a loading bar at the start of the flash I learned how to do this from web site called tutorialized.com this a link site that had links to other tutorial sites for a whole range of programs including Photoshop, Flash and 3D Max. When uploading content into flash I directly placed into flash time line this was useful for transitions I created but problems with the interactive pieces as it is difficult to get sound to work with large AVI formatted videos files.

The identity elements I created three videos and a gallery. First two videos were pixelizations. I spent a whole day to film both of them first in Nottingham and then in Loughborough after filming I resized the photos and edited it using Premier Pro and added sounds tracks. The third video piece was a short animation inspired by Lotus cars. It took me some time to create the models for the piece as I needed to create the cars shape and also separate working wheels by using a motion engine to make them spin. The gallery was simple button arrangement using many identical slides with different images.

identity research

2008-06-01T08:13:00.001-07:00

When I started to explore identity I found that identity is a vigorously contested area of social theory and from this I research many different strains of theory from Marxists (Althussers) Homogenous Identity that we all share basic identity structure to a psychology standpoint Id, Ego and Super Ego (Freud 1920) looking at how individual identity construct from these three mechanisms. I found allot of material but I had problems in making it related to the work I was doing and how it connects to what I wanted to achieve in this project. From this point I looked into the Post Modernist onto the ideas of having two identities. Identity could be divided into self and social (Giddens 1991). This proved interesting and insightful reading as the theory suggests u can’t have one identity without the other that they are both interwoven. I found this useful to me as I thought this expressed the aim and also how the two projects connect. I see the Avatar a direct reflection of the self, and the Box/Showcase being a part of a corporate identity with the need to create a logo as part of the project.
As continuing part of the research criteria I had to study online community and write about my experience. The focus of my study was on the MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) known as Second Life that first appeared in 2003 developed designed and published by the Linden Research, Inc. I didn’t really enjoy the experience of Second Life this was mainly because it wasn’t the style of game that enjoyed i preferred more action based games rather than social. But I still gain allot from it as it got me thinking about the dynamics of online gaming communities, social interaction and how in turn this creates the online communities identities. This lead me down a path to look at conflict and consent (Marx and Engles) on how hierarchy structures appear in games such and World of War Craft or Conqueror Online based upon the players level. I also looked at group cohesion and Dynamics (Sprott 1958 Davis 1968) on how communities creates their own rules and boundaries such in second life which is opened source that gives people to attack other but people don’t do it out of their own moral justification. I found this important in thinking of levels of interactivity within Media and how the audience reacts and interacts with these 3d visual environments. The environment that I have created is as complex as the ones that I have cited but I found it useful when making my Box/Showcase.

Navigating my identity

2008-03-10T15:41:00.001-07:00

Following the completion of the avatar project I have now moved onto the second part of identity project I have to create an interactive flash that explores me and it must contain the avatar and at least one piece of video or audio media. Things that I have been told to think about:
• What does it look like?
• How easy is it to use?
• How relevant is the content of the site?
• How clearly is the content organised and designed?
• How does the design reflect the identity of the company?
• How does it reflect the philosophy of the company’s brand?
How successful was the interaction design elements?
I have spent some time thinking about this so far I have decided to try and continue with the space theme that I have already set within my avatar animation. The possible designs are a solar system that the audience can navigate around by clicking on the planets to find out more about me. The avatar will most likely be included as floating in space next to his space ship. I want to try and animate the flash by having short animations taking the audience to a different area of my identity e.g. by clicking on a planet and the planets spin around to bring it forward so the text image or video will appear on the planet’s surface.
This is only early stages of design I might end up going for something different.

Evaluation of Avatar

2008-03-04T14:02:00.001-08:00

Looking at the finished avatar and short animation I am pleased with what I have accomplished with the time that I had on this project. I think that the Avatar that I have created from research into identity and also self exploration works well in representing me.
I found the design process most difficult as I ended up looking deeply into theories of identity and also into the people’s fascination with the idea of machines with human qualities. I found that my background in sociology and communication studies was useful in explaining my views and beliefs of identity, but it was still difficult to fully explain what I thought.
I found working in 3D Studio Max easy when creating my avatar during the time creating the Avatar and environment. I was able to create the avatar that I designed, during the process I had made some changes to it in 3D Studio Max. I had added extra detail on the chest section using the Extrude and Inset tools. I also added extra sets of bolts on the joints limbs of my avatar the reason for this is that the overall design needed more detail so I went back to my research and decided to add extra bolts based on the vintage toy robots covered in rivets. I also learned new animation techniques that help in the creation of my avatar and improved my ability to navigate my way around the program. The new animation technique that I learn was creating controls from using wiring parameters. Wiring parameters works similar to I K chain but has a major difference that the wire parameters are controlled using attribute holder from modifier which is used to move object by varying degrees. I found this useful when animating the hand of my avatar as is was quicker and simpler than moving each digit separately.
I think that the environment worked well with the avatar and making the scene complete the look that desired looking back at it I would have liked to created more planets/ asteroids to populate and create a richer and more dynamic environment. I believe that the use of colour and materials was an integral to the success of my work. As the maps for the planet and metal maps used on the avatar and spaceship created a greater atmosphere within the animation and greater and gave a more realistic appear than I thought I would be able to achieve.
I had difficultly using camera and lights within 3D Studio max with the lights I could not find the best way to light the scene this is because I had little experience with these aspects of the program. I had some success using the camera but I wasn’t able to use it to its fullest I wanted to create a guide line to use to guide my camera around the scene but I wasn’t able to get it to work properly. So I had to move it manually this was time consuming and also doesn’t give as smooth transitions and pans thus at the beginning of the animation the camera was jumpy as it spun around the planet. I was still pleased with what I managed to accomplish in this time even though it was frustrating I still managed to create nice use of the camera t the end of the animation as my avatar drifted away.
I believe that I succeed in creating a good representation of my alter ego but, I had limitations in what I could do with it e.g. the camera use and lighting effect, this shows me a clear path on where I can improve with my future work in designing and implementing it.

Avatar and envioment designs

2008-02-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

Designs
From the research that I have done into different kinds of robots by studying images off the net and various films I have created three possible designs.
The first design is of a muscular robot it was inspired mainly by Gort from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still a 1951 science fiction classic film directed by Robin wise, but also inspired by the design of the daft punk robot suits. The tracks instead of legs were an idea to try and take away part of the human form to make it in more machines like.
The second design is of a more slender and proportioned body more humanoid robot its influences are from the nameless female robot in 1927 Metropolis by Fritzs Lang and also by images that I have collected from the internet to create a collage of ideas, I am intending to keep the designs of these robots quite simple this is because it would be easier to create them in 3D Max but also reflex’s the fact I am myself a minimalist person in the way that I live.
The third and final design is an airborne robot the reason for this is that I want to learn how to fly a helicopter, hence the appears of rotary blades coming out of its back and lack of developed legs.
From these designs I have chose the second design to be this is because i feel that this design would work best for me because I feel there is greater connection to me in its appears than the other even thought they display other aspects of me.
In my finale sketch I have try to draw a uniformed scale plan of my avatar so it would make it easier for me to create. Just from looking at this I was able to work out what basis objects add tools I need to create this. I have also made some alterations to the design
• The main body of the arms and legs will be cylinders
• Braces around the arms, legs, neck and torso will be created use torus object
• The ridged detail on the head and the will be made by using extrude and inset tool to raise and give it a defined shape when turbo smoothed
• The two torso sections will be making from cubes that have been taper and relaxed.

Environment
For the environment for my avatar I would like to create a space scene with a small planet with a flying saucer on it the reason for this me that it reflects the aspects of my identity those being my need for solitude and isolation. This also reflects my interests in science and astronomy and my fascination with space and science fiction. I also think that the iconography of an alien landscape and signifiers of space and science fiction would work well with the avatar that I created, and help would create and overall theme and reflex my avatars style and identity.
The elements that I would need to use to create the environment:
Colour and light- most likely I would need to use material maps to create the colours of my environment the reason for this is that it would be too complicated for me to try and create it within 3D max and also that it would allow me to create a extra level of texture to the environment by e.g. using a map material map of mars or the moon I think that create a realistic environment will suit my avatar better than a cartoon style environment because the avatar itself is not of that style . For the spaceship I will use the metal material map I want to create a ship that is in style with the 1950’s feel of my avatar something similar to the ship in the films Forbidden Planet or The Day That the Earth Stood Still. To create the dramatic environment I would need to use lights from a single directional light e.g. Omni light, target spot or target direct to represent the sun in the space environment.
Objects and Structure- to create the environment will be very simple the small planet will be created using a sphere and put material map on it. The sphere has to be large enough to support my avatar and space ship on it. The more complicated part will be the creating of the space ship I consider the best way to create it would be to use the extended primitives spindle to create the central disc of the spaceship and then use a sphere sliced in two to create the centre of the body. The supports of the spaceship will be made of normal and chamfer cylinders.

second life

2008-02-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

When looking around second life I decided to do some shopping yo see what there was available to buy. the reason behind this was that i was intersted in what other people have created using the open source tool which many people who use second life use it as a second source of income by selling the objects they make this is avaible when buying the full subscription.
So i went to a place called The Panda Shopping Mall to see what was on offer. The most common things were clothes and mods for sale the mods are used to help people to create things for there avatar for example giving ones avatar wings. there were also instruments such as this piano for sale that even had a working metronome sitting on top of it. After looking around other things like clothes and other pieces of furniture i went to the bar to talk to other people.
When trying to sit at the bar I experienced a glitch that turned me upside down this highlighted to me the nature of this program being open source and open to people to edit and create program for it that it Was liable to problems, at points I did find some the things that i tried didn't work properly or free clothes vender that i tried to use.

Avatar Ideas

2008-02-24T11:31:00.001-08:00

Ideas of identity
My own personal thoughts of identity are based on the works of Giddens that I studied during A-levels. To me Identity can be divided into two separate parts theses being Self Identity and Social Identity.
I see self identity as the “Self Project” in a sense as a narrative about the self, that the it is a way of building up of a consistent biographical continuity within the individual through identity stories. These identity stories attempt to answer questions such as What to Do? And How TO Act? I don’t see it as a set of traits inherit to the individual but Identity is a culmination of ideas and thoughts that creates a self biography that identity is no set entity but something we create a mental construct that develop understand about ourselves and others and keeps ourselves moving forward constantly redeveloping the self.
Social Identity can be seen as pre existing as we are born into a pre existing structure as we have to live our life’s with in a social relationship with other around us of society, we learn this identity through socialization e.g. learns the norms of society, language and culture and it is this that creates self identity is in itself a cultural question, as identity could not exist without languages it wouldn’t

Research into design.
I want to create a robot for my avatar I am interested in the style of robots from older films such as Metropolis by Frizts Lang and vintage toy such as Robbie the Robot from the film Forbidden Planet robots from the 1950’s these toys were most popular in Japan and America part of this popularity has to do SCI-FI Comic book Culture based around such comics as the Eagle which featured Dan Dare. But there are many different styles of robot that exist in real life and in the media from the internet films and books and I think that it is important to explore more modern styles and ideas about robots to help create my unique style for my Avatar that contains all the visual elements that would be best used to represent me.
Using the internet I collected large number of images of robots and compared them to my own ideas of what robots should look like. From what I have found a large variety from 3D robots designs, photos and pictures. Majority of the designs that I have seen and cumulated are humanoid from vague human shapes like the vintage toys to human form like from Ghost in the Shell or Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep.
This got me thinking about why are science interested in the ideas of creating life like robots e.g. androids robots that have I high enough A.I to communicate with people on the same level and what role will robots play in future societies. From this I look at the role that robots play within the media they mostly appear in the science fiction genre. Looking into the science fiction genre at most well know pieces of work science fiction seems to more the modern day equivalent to morality stories. Examples of such stories, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov is a short story about how robots take control of society to protect humanity from themselves. Or the Ghost in The Shell series created by Masamune Shirow where the borders of human and machine are blurred and is destroying the boundaries of Human identity. The reason for this is that is the most viable way of creating the machine as a character or major plot device in the narrative structure.
I find it important to think about these ideas they may not be directly connected to the work that I have to do but it’s important to understand the place of what i have chosen to create has in popular culture.

second life diary

2008-02-24T11:30:00.003-08:00

walking

2008-02-24T11:30:00.001-08:00

The objective was to create a pair of legs and animate them to create a walk cycle through using splines, the link command and IK chains.
First I have to create the upper and lower legs, ankles, toes and hip, all these objects are create from using spheres. The upper and lower legs were created by using spheres and turning into editable poly’s these will make the joints of the leg and extruding the bases of the sphere to make the main body of the leg. The ankles were created by using two spheres the first and smaller sphere goes at the base of the leg. The second sphere is cut into a quarter by using the slice tool then using free transform tool to elongate it and turn it into the back part of the foot to join the two parts to create the ankle section have to use the tool attach to turn them into a single object so it can be easily animated. The toes are made from two spheres one sphere will become a joint between the ankle and tone and the toe itself is a mirrored comp of the back of the foot and use attach again to combine these two objects. The hips are a single sphere which is extruded at both ends.
After creating and naming all the parts the next stage is to link all the parts in order first link toe to the ankle, ankle to lower leg, lower leg to upper leg and upper leg to the hip. Doing this mean that flexibility in the moment of the objects creating a hierarchy of movement.
To animate the legs I have to create a rigging or IK (inverse kinematics) Chains that I will use to animate the objects. The rig can be seen as basically strings of a puppet the rig makes it so that the user can move objects that together instead of moving them separately or making objects move in a certain way e.g. rig can be used to make 3D animated tank trends follow contours of the ground it moves on. To make the rig from the legs first I have to create spline circles and clone and spin on the spot 90 degrees so there is a circle on z, x and y axis covert one to an editable poly to be able to attach the circle to the other ones this becomes controls of the rig that can be manipulated on all axis’s. Then have to Align the rig controls to the ball joint of the ankle this is simple to do by use the space too Align. Reason why it is placed here is because this is where all the motions of the leg can be controlled from this point. At this point I have to add HI solver to connect the ankle controls. HI Solver is a specialist code designed for the purpose of animating limbs within the program, this is the standard technique used in 3D animation industry. For the HI solvers to work the way I need them I have to add constraints this is another specialist piece of code design to work with IK chains, this I used to limit movement of objects these are attached to the ankle controls. This completes the rig and now I can use it to animate the legs this is simply done by using ankle constraints and move them up and down and the rest of the leg will follow it.
I enjoyed making this it was simpler than I thought it would be to make a basic rig and I will undoubted that find this useful in create further animations .

Worm

2008-02-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

The reason for making the worm was to learn how to use Morpher tool in animating an object I also use the Tamper tool to in the process of creating of the worm to be animated. First I had to create the worm I did this by creating a cylinder that will become the body of the worm. To create the worm same from the cylinder I had to use the Tamper tool this modifier tool is used to change shape of object by shifting the mass to one side of the object directing depends on what axis is chosen within Tamper the user can also set a curve to change the shape of the mass shifted e.g. using Curve worm soften the edges create by Tamper. This tool is useful for editing objects to create more complicated models.
After this we have to create the mouth of the worm to do this we had to convert it to an editable poly so we can use Extrude and inset to create the mouth of the worm. To animate the worm first I had to create copies of the original worms in my animation I created 8 copies when creating the copies I had to make sure they were spread out in a diagonal line this way I could keep all the copies together in a line and also have clear views from the sides top and from of the worms at this point I edit the worms and give each one a different expressions e.g. smile and shouting
After this we select the original or intended worm that I want to animate and use the modifier tool called Morpher , this tool works by giving a drop down list that called channels. Each channel can be assigned to an object; next to each channel there is a percentage bar this is used to morphe the object into the object selected in the channel. I use this to change the shape of the mouth of the worm but it can be used to change the whole shape of the worm. This tool probably is useful for create realistic mouth movement within an animation. I used this to make my worm take a deep breath and shout.
I enjoyed making this worm and I have learned allot and hope I can used what I have learned to practise in creating my avatar

second life diary

2008-02-21T12:35:00.001-08:00

first day in my second life

2008-02-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Tree using material mapping

2008-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

The purpose of creating this tree is to learn how to use mapping and materials in 3D Max. Material mapping is to give the user a greater range in coloring objects and also in surface detail by being able to import Bitmaps or Jpegs this is useful as the user can use other programs such as Photoshop to create complex and high detail maps to use on objects. Into the program to create a better appearance e.g. to make my tree look more real I would import an image of bark to be spread on the objects surface. This is really useful tool as it can be used to create extra levels of detail or to make an object look more realistic
I enjoyed making this because I was able to experiment using materials and mapping

Squid and animation techniques

2008-01-31T03:34:00.000-08:00

Using 3D Studio Max I have created a squid that propels itself across the screen. The purpose of me making this was to learn how to use the lathe, loft and array tools in creating objects and animating.
The lathe tool is a modifier, the purpose of the tool is to use splines create 3D objects quickly e.g. good example of this is create a glass or a jug it is difficult but not impossible to creates these objects by using polygon manipulation, but using lathe means that the user only has to draw a 2D cross section of the object that they want to make. I used the lathe tool to create the main body of the squid after that I needed to create the tentacles.
The tentacles were created using the loft is a compound objects tool/creator e.g. Booleans and loft by using two or more objects create a new object. In the case of loft tool by using two splines to create 3D objects e.g. when I was making the squid tentacles I used a line and a circle splines one spline forms a base e.g. the line which the other spline is grafted around to make a 3D object e.g. the circle creates a cylinder around the line. The reason why this tool is used is that the lofted object is easily manipulated using Deformations role out menu this allows to manipulate in different ways e.g. Scale, Twist, Teeter, Bevel and Fit. I used Bevel to create the curves and the pointed end of the tentacle this works by adding extra points of geometry to the loft so that the user can create or edit the shape of the loft. The other reason spline used to create the lofted object can be used to animate it as the compound object is still connected to the original by changing the location of points of the spline will change the shape of the loft . I use while recording is to create the effect of the squid swimming.
To create multiple copies of the leg to be animated we used the array tool hierarchy group of tools along with pivots the array gives the user the ability to create specific number copies of an object and also create an order e.g. all the copies form a line or circle around a certain point in space e.g. a pivot. We used it to circle around a pivot point we created in the centre of the squid body to align the legs in 360 degrees around the pivot it also allows the choice of which axis it uses to do this.
I enjoyed making this animated squid it helped me understand basic concepts of using hierarchy in animation as hierarchy is the key tool used create advance and realistic movement in 3D objects and also other more advance tools in creating objects e.g. the loft and lathe tools.

colour and light

2008-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

This is the picture I have chosen all these images were taken in Costa Rica. The reason why I chose this picture is that I believe that it contains the aspects of colour and light. The image of the washing line being bathed in the bright light creating vivid shadows as the cloth creates mottled effect on the ground. The colours and patterns of the cloths with the light shining through creats a wonderful colarge effect.

Dice

2008-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

As part of learning how to use 3D max I created this short animation from what I have learnt from the video tutorials on the VLP.
The first stage was to create all basic objects that I will need to create the dice. first i created the box which I used the sub option cube to give to keep all sides the same size. The second object was sphere I created 21 of them to populate the environment I used the radius tab to keep all the spheres the same size.
After populating the environment with all the objects that I needed to create my dice I used all four screens to align all the spheres that will eventually become the dimples on the dice. I used the multiple segments of the cube as a grid to align the spheres.
The second stage was creating a martial to use on the cube and spheres. When using material editor there are many options available e.g. import bitmaps to create more advanced materials by using photo shop e.g. create realistic skin. For this I only needed to create was a glossy black and white to use on my cube. The basic colouring options of making a material are:
• Ambient- how the colour would appear only ambient light was hitting the material
• Diffuse- how the colour would look if a bright light hits the material
• Specular-how focus light looks on the material
This basic way of making materials there are more options e.g. softness how soft the light looks when hitting the object.
The third stage is to create the dimples on the dice. To do this I first select the cube and go to create then geometry and then click on the scroll down bar and select compound objects, this gives different options of compounding objects, for this I selected Boolean. This turns the selected object into Boolean A I then select options to subtract A for B and then I select one of the spheres as the B. this brings up a window with option to keep or get rid of the B objects material I select keep material. This creates a dimple where the sphere used to be in the colour material of the sphere.
I enjoyed making this and it also helped me in improving and expanding what I know of 3D Max.

First 3D Max animation

2008-01-19T05:13:00.001-08:00

This is my first piece of animation using 3D Max this is a sort 3 second animation featuring my name jumping up and down on the spot.
I created this animation by first using going into create shape and created text. The text starts as a 2D line object within 3D space to turn the object into 3D we had to modify the object and 'extrude' the object into 3D plain.
The way the movement was recorded was by using auto key to automatically record the position of the object within time line. The time line works similar to other animation software such as Flash by creating Key frames each time the object is edited within the time line and linking these key frames together by creating a motion tween between key frames.
The motion was created by using two different processes. first was using modify again and using another modifier called 'bend' when using this modifier had to select the X axis to make it bend in the relative direction within the 3D plain. Second I moved the object up and down on the Y axis at the relative points to create the jump.
I am pleased with animation that i have made even though it is simple but it’s my first step in create my avatar in my first identities project.

Identities & 3D animation

2008-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I have now started the identities module with an introduction into using 3D modelling software. The aim of the identities module is to research and design two major projects the first will be the avatar in this I will have to create a 3D representation of myself an ideal self an alter ego. The second project will combine aspects of first project by using the avatar as part of a navigational environment that will explore aspects of my identity.
I have started in the first seminar learning how to use and navigate around 3D Max. The software that I have to use in this project 3D Max written by AutoDesk and is one of the oldest programs available but is still the industry standard as it is still used for television, films and animation. The software is complex and difficult to use without training so I have started using a mixture of VLP online guide and guide provided with the software.
The 3D max interface consists of four screens of the same object named Top, Front, Right and Prospective, this helps create an environment that can fully implement all aspects of 3D animation, compared with 2D animation and video that can create a false sense of depth only consisting axis of X and Y compared to 3D animation that has to also comprehend axis know as Z depth. There are many different tools available within the program, more than I think I will possible use, but they are divvied into seven categories.
• Movement< navigation and rendering- used to make it possible to work and move objects in a 3D environment
• Create- used to create basic shapes and other objects such as cameras within the animation to capture a scene while working from a different angle used in 3D animation
• Modify- contain all different tools needed to created different effects using the objects
• Hierarchy- used to create an order within the multiple objects than exists within the 3D environment e.g. by creating pivot points in an object to make it move in a way desired by an animator
• Motion- used for motion capture and used to ground an object with motion picked up- by the process
• Display- used to view hidden objects, lines and view different aspects e.g. what does the model look like with or without shading
Other software that are available is Zbrush by Pixologic, maya what is also made by AutoDesk who bought out the company that owned the rights to maya, lightwave 3D is the oldest of the still existing 3D programs created by NewTek and there is blender which is unusual as its the only open source 3D program available that works at professional level.

Review week

2008-01-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Start of a new year, review week looks back at all the work I have done so far and then use what they have seen of my work to suggest areas of improvement and from this the tutors have suggested that:

• Start to create a portfolio by creating a website to post my best work
• Do more work outside university and focus on my own projects
• Join drawing/ art clubs to improve my drawing because of my interest in flash

Evaluation of Flash Narrative

2007-12-10T10:44:00.001-08:00

Looking at the finished flash file even thought its doesn’t work correctly I have to consider all the work I have done, there are areas that I am pleased with and others that I am not.
I was pleased with the structure of the narrative that I created I the narrative was well thought out. I kept the narrative flow by creating a task bar that tells the player the objective of the area so the player wouldn’t get confused or stuck because they are clueless what the objectives are of the game. Most of the narrative I created is seen within the cut scenes of the used, within the first cut scene at the beginning of the flash it shows the first two stages of Todorvo’s theory of narratives it starts with the equilibrium as the player wakes up and then the disequilibrium is created with the arrival of the zombies. This also demonstrates aspects of Castles theory on modern narratives that’s there is three main character types the king, generally associated with epic films protecting what he has, the knight a person who goes on a quest this is the main character of most films and also games, and the pawn, a person who has no control of the situation he is in, the is the main style of character in comedy films. The character within my flash is associated with the knight. There is no character devolvement with the game because the game is to short create this kind of structure around the character so I focused on a simple plot, for the player to follow I didn’t want to make the game to challenging as the narrative wouldn’t support the players interest if it was too hard.
I wasn’t pleased with the flash aspect of the game and the use of action script the reason for this that I had many problems with it and failed to get my flash animation to work correctly because of it. Due to the corruption I had to restart the action script element, also I didn’t make the buttons that I wanted to I wanted to add an extra level of intractability to the game by having on the task bar test coming up as your go over certain objects to create a higher level of player interactivity as they will be given extra prompts and also general information of the area they are in of the game. At the beginning I had difficulty learning how to use action script, but after I got over that problem then I encountered was that I had so many buttons within the game that it was hard to keep track of all of them and to adjust the instance names accordantly.
I conclude that it was only a partial success as I used my knowledge of narrative structure and theory to create the plot of my game but I failed in utilising the action script properly to show this and stringing the narrative together using flahs.

Making of time line flash

2007-12-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

I started with planning my flash via flow chart and planned what images that I would need to take to make this project I proximally needed around forty photographs this is substantially larger amount that required by the guide lines of this project.
After taking the still images I needed to process them using photoshop by batching all the images using recorded actions of auto levels to make the entire colour and contrast the same on each image, and then I used the cut-out effect to create the desired comic book effect for my animation. I also used photoshop to edit the images by adding the zombies into the image after I edited them; I took five images to use with the flash.
After the images are edited I import them into my flash library so they would be easily accessible to me when I needed to use them.
In Photoshop I created the background that I used in most of scenes the background also used to make the task bar during ht e interactive parts of the flash.
When putting the flash together my problems started when the information got corrupted due to not saving it correctly, this set me back as I had to start creating the buttons and structure of the flash from scratch. I only used simple buttons in my flash animation but I also used two layers of buttons so I could create hidden layer of buttons to use in the flash to help making the narrative more coherent.
I encountered unforeseen circumstances, when publishing my project the error that I kept on getting was not have enough memory to publish file, even thought I was using a 500 GB portable hard drive the computer couldn’t relay the information fast enough from the hard drive to the computer and back again. This is because of the size of the flash file I was publishing was larger than average because of the images I used where taken with a 7.1 megapixel camera and then edited and saved in photoshops highest setting, creating a file of 67 megabytes

Object Aesthetics Analysis

2007-11-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

I am looking at this hydrostone sculpture by Michael Alfano
from asethitic stand point this sculture is veay appealing to people. this is due to the fact that its a peice that doesn't challenges the audinece its easy to comprehend for audience and to create some kind of meaning. For the audinece it is obviously a well detailed face of a women, what makes this interetsing asethtically is that parts of the face is missing giving a uncomplete picture of the women. It gives the impression of thats its like an orange peel unraviling but the audience will look past this fact and bridge the gaps in the womens face with there own impression of what they think the whole face will look like.

Interactive Narrative Idea

2007-11-28T05:53:00.000-08:00

I have decided call my action script project Resident student, the premise of the game is to survive a zombie infestation of Nottingham, by completing a number of challenges and dodging zombies. Narrative will be structured around images with pieces of text explaining the story. The images will consist of photos and images drawn in flash edited to make it renascent to Resident Evil (1996) style of game play. I will also try using recorded footage to use a cut scenes within the Timeline e.g. if the player dies footage of the main character being attacked and eaten will come up. Spatially I want to use the whole image by featuring multiple buttons, that leads onto greater detail of objects within the main image, making a more in-depth and interactive experience in each imaged used. I also want to make sure the buttons are the right size within the image as this can be a problem of being hard to advance forward in the narrative as the button is too small to be noticed. I will also want to use text prompts to guide and give clues on how to solve puzzles and advance through the narrative.
I have drawn my inspiration from the Resident Evil games (1996-C), and also such films Night of the living Dead (1968) Day of the Dead (1985) from legendary zombie film maker George A. Romeo, I also take inspiration from comedy Zombie films, as due to the rigid structure of using TimeLine ActionScript it would be hard to create horror and suspense so I have decided to go for comedy style of films such as Shaun of the Dead (2004) and The Evil Dead Trilogy Evil Dead(1981), Evil Dead 2(1987) and Army of Darkness(1992) written and directed by Sam Ramie

Interactive Narrative

2007-11-28T05:17:00.001-08:00

The brief of the interactive narrative project is:

•Produce an interactive narrative using still images positioned onto the Timeline in Flash CS3
•This interactive narrative should utilise a branching structure that forces the user to make a number of decisions as they progress through the narrative piece
•Narrative should be the primary concern

The rules and guide lines we were given for this project are:

•You will need to have at least seven still images to complete your interactive narrative
•It is important that image, text, and audio are seriously examined in an attempt to truly consider audience engagement and interaction
•You should use ActionScript 3.0 to build interactivity and the navigation structure into your movie. (A simple ActionScript template will be provided)
•You must publish your final movie as both HTML and SWF
•This is an individual assignment

My preliminary thoughts of this project is that this project has limitations of the interaction between the audience and the program use, so I will need to think carefully how to structure from the templates given to me and tutorials to get the most out of the interactive ability of this time line flash and ActionScript.
The narrative is will be the main focus of the project this were the greatest flexibility. The narrative will be based on a number of chooses the player must make to advance forward. This interaction is key to the success of this project, as these choices got to keep the player interested and will also determine if this player is compelled to play the game.

Links to examples of time line flashes:
• http://www.magnoliathemovie.com/#
• http://lab.constellations.co.nz/
• http://pulledhair.com/
• http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/3371303/l,

Action script tutorials
• http://www.adobe.com/support/flash/action_scripts/actionscript_tutorial/
• http://www.echoecho.com/flashbuttons01.htm

flash animation

2007-11-28T03:44:00.000-08:00

Last two weeks I have been working on a flash short called "At the Opera" im about the flash is mainly composed of frame by frame anmation, here is a few screen shots of "at the Opera"

This screen shot is of the opening scene when the auidence arrives within the opera house

This screen shot is of props that i have creates to use ofr the scenes behind the curtain

One Shot film

2007-11-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

Looking at the finished product I considered what worked well in this film and also what didn’t work in terms of effects, editing, camera angles and mise-en-scene.
Aspects of the film that worked well in constructing the shot the mise en scene created a stark background with the graves dominating the right half of the screen, and have a great presence within the scene that the audiences focus would be drawn to these graves as the stand out from the rest of the grey wintery background. The choice of camera angle that we used helped us create the desired mise en scene as it gave us a great panorama of the grave while still being able to let audience focus on the nearest grave that the poppy is placed on.
I also think that in post production stage of filming was the use of colour contrasting effect worked well. This effect was used to keep the colour of the poppy, while the rest of the image is in black and white. This effects help creates anchorage for symbolic image of poppy, also with the graves in the background makes the audiences thinks of the signifiers that the poppy has.
Aspects of the film that didn’t work well, there was the lack of camera movement while in post production we realised that the image was too static that It would affects the audiences interest within the film.
Changes that I would have made to the one shot film, the use of sound I would have created and added a sound track if I had better knowledge of sound recording and the use of sound editing software, as sound would have added greater depth to the film. I also would have added a slow pan and while zooming in on the poppy at the end of the film. This would have improved the film.
I am pleased with the end product, there were changes that could have been made but we stilled created the desired effect that we worked towards to of making the audience to think and also consider sacrifices people have made for them.

Filming One Shot film

2007-11-15T03:32:00.001-08:00

Filming took place in Newark Polish War Cemetry in Newark, the reason why we chose to film here was that it was a spot that we were already aware of its exsistance and suited are needs as we need a long line of uniformed graves. The filming lasted for two hours, we took mutipule takes of the same scene to try and find the best take and also trying changing angles and also trying the secene without panning to grave to see which combination would give us the best effect.

Single shot

2007-11-13T04:13:00.000-08:00

Single shot film brief

For this project I have been tasked to make a one shot film this literally means a single continues shot. There are plenty of examples on this site: http://www.single-shot.co.uk/
For this project I have been given a set of guide lines that I must use while making this film
The films should be between one and two minutes long.

You must use a tripod and can only move the camera once.
During the edit of the film you may not “cut” the film image.
You may include titles and graphics and effects within the edit.
You may edit and include additional sound.
You must work in teams
You must document this process upon your online journal.

From the guide lines that I have been given have created some major restrictions, this being the camera fixed position and only being able to pan the camera once this has limited the freedom and scope and giving us a static image. But we can also film any subject of our choice and also almost complete freedom in the editing process apart from cutting the film.

Ideas for single shot films

Memorial based film focusing on names on the war memorial panning down until it reaches the poppies placed at the bottom
A film shot with multiple cameras simultaneously switching between focus from each camera by changing sound to signify different camera and also possible by using colour filtering to highlight certain image
An one minute interview with member of public
Film of a person doing a painting/ drawing in one minute
A compressed film/ changing frame capture rate to take a hour worth of footage and compress it into a minute

Final idea

The group has chosen to do a single shot film of the war memorial. The reason for this chose of subject is because of the Remembrance Day will give this film greater meaning and significances to the audience. The symbol of the poppy has strong indexical meaning of loss, war and morning.
The shot will be comprised of a single focused along lenght of a row of graves facing towards the harsh sunlight. fomr the the corner of the shot a person will walk in and kneel down and mourn infront of the grave and then lay apoopie ontop of the grave. Where poppies will be lying on top of the memorial the camera will stop panning when the poppies are centre of the frame with the white stone of the memorial highlighting the red of the poppies.

Synopsis

2007-11-02T03:42:00.000-07:00

The book that I have chosen is The Art of the Storyboard:
Storyboarding for Film, TV, and Animation by John Hart.
The premise of this book is to explain the role that a story board artist as part of the creative process. Hart conveys this message through out the book. The book is divided into 11 chapters that cover the complete process of story boarding this can be grouped into three different sections of focus within the book. Hart starts with a brief history of storyboarding that’s sets out its beginnings in animation such as Winsor McKays animation 1915 called Gertie the dinosaur, and later in 1920’s Felix the cat and Mickey Mouse. And how slowly storyboard creped into the film industry as a cheap and quick way of planning film sequences in early studio films.
The first area of focus of book the creative process, he write about the role of a storyboard artist as part of a creative team in the film and how the artists input shapes the direction of the and there interpretation of what the scene will look like. He illustrates these points by using a mixture of archive images of story boards from different eras for example, The Maltese Falcon, Forest Gump and Battleship Potemkin, and also his own story boards purposely made as examples. This covers the first five chapters of the book.
The second part of this book covers the techniques that are used in creating storyboards and the different components that exists in a storyboard. The way that he explains this is by using a mixture of his own storyboards and pre existing ones from films to explain the use of basic principles of storyboarding. These are shapes shading to create texture and shadows and to draw people and to show realistic movement. It also explains annotations and how these are used to describe camera movement, lighting and movement within the scene.
In the third and final part of the book he goes into the concepts and functions of the storyboard as part of the narrative structure of films. He describes how the shots that are expressed in storyboard convert to actual filming, and how it affects the visual language and audiences understanding of cinema, and the narrative structure again he uses story boards to illustrates this point again using a mixture of his own and archive images such as Hitchcock’s Psycho
After reading this book I have found it useful and concluded that it achieved the desired purpose of creating better understanding of the storyboard role with creative process, and how to create and use storyboards correctly.

Pixilation

2007-10-29T05:23:00.000-07:00

Just finished create my first pixilation and will be posting it onto my new YouTube
account that I will post all my new videos on soon. my YouTube address is www.youtube.com/user/FullerVideo
In my pixilation we used our shadows as our main focus the reason for this is that we wanted to create something different to all the of pixilation’s being made by other groups, when filming we found out the drawbacks of using our shadows as we did. the effects that you would normally be able to create using the pixilation technique e.g. making a person hover in mid air, was impossible to do because using shadows because of the light projecting onto us and then the white sheet that we used as our canvas, it was impossible to show the effect working as the direction of the light obscures the fact the legs are off the ground.
When we finished the filming we had to use Photoshop Adobe CS3 version to edit the images. After filming I had to edit 420 images. normally I would have to edit all the images one by one but Photo Shop had a process called action, this works similarly to Marcos use action to record all the different editing processes used in a single session of Photo Shop. After recording this use a command called batch in this you selection what recorded action to use and select what image files to be used on this. The changes that I made to the images size of the image to 720 by 576 pixels the reason for this is because it’s the same resolution as PAL DVD 1 format. Other changes that I made to the image was inverting, this made the shadows more prominent also used auto levels, auto contrast and auto colour this was to compensated for different light espouser and to make all the images more unified.
After this process I used Adobe Premier Pro to animate the images to turn the images into a single piece of film when importing the images, used an option to import all the images into a single PNG file, after this it was a simple matter to create a title and to also import a sound track.

first blog

2007-10-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

So far as part of my induction into the course I have been grouped together with other people on the course to work on two mini projects in the two sessions.

In the first session I made a pinhole camera using a 440ml beer can, with the whole group armed with beer cans we set about taking and developing photos. the developing process involved four stages first stage was to put the photo paper into a chemical bath so that the image will become visible on the paper, second stage is to put into another chemical used to seal the image to stop the paper to reacting to light, the last stages used to protect the photo and also to wash off the left over chemicals. I took three photos with it the first two images i took were both over exposed these two images were of the grave yard. It was so it was impossible to save via the use of Photoshop too changing the negative images by switching the negative to make a positive image. the only image successful took was of cross roads with car going past from ground level due the size and shape of the beer can its gives a distorted image bending the dimensions ellipsis shape. The bit I enjoyed about using the pinhole camera was developing the images to what kind of image that I have captured. http://www.lab.constellations.co.nz/induction/07-08/pinhole/

In the second session I helped make as apart of a group a white board animation very simple way of making animations using a high end camera with stop motion features and white which we could draw an image and take a photo of it wipe it off and draw another and carry on this process to make a animation. The objective was to draw a box and a tree and to get the box on the other side of the tree by any means we could think of. We were divided into groups of five to work on one board, we took 187 photographs in two hours, when it was animated it became roughly six seconds of footage. I was pleased with work that and the contribution that I made making this animation, and how it turned out my favour part is the end when the alien space ship drops a new box in on the other side of the tree and the box have little antennas.

I don’t really have any great goals, ambitions so I don’t know really were I am going in life and don’t know exactly what I want to do after the course. The only real reason I can think of why I am on this course is the opportunity to create almost anything I can think of with like minded people. And also that I enjoy it