Final video

Evaluation

Evaluation

 

 

To begin with we all chose different companies or animators to do our research on. I had chosen to do my research on two well-known animators Ray Harryhausen and Willis Obrien. Ray Harryhausen famous for his form of animation as ‘Dynamation’ and creating the armature for film ‘Mighty Joe Young’. He was working under Willis Obrien’s tutelage. Willis Obrien’s is most famous for his film King Kong which was later re-crated using CGI. Doing some research would allow us to get a better idea of how stop-motion animation works and would allow us to get an idea possibly for our work. Different techniques would also help us think in different ways for our animations. For the research I studied these animators and I also watched videos which I later uploaded to my blog.

As a class we created armatures and were shown step-by-step on how to create them properly by our teacher. He showed us an example of his work from when he did it in university and we all thought it came out well. But the majority of the class had different ideas on how they thought they wanted their animation to turn out, only one or two students decided to carry on working with the armature and to the benefit of these students they got help from the teacher. I decided not to carry on with this because I thought it would’ve been time consuming and not what I really wanted to do with the animation.

For my planning I began by uploading videos of what inspired me and I also wrote down some ideas that I had. One of the main videos that inspired was an animation called ‘manipulation’, this gave me an idea on how I wanted to animate my animation. The ideas came to my head as I watched the videos the more videos I watched the more ideas I had. I had three ideas at the end one which was an advertisement for a holiday company of my choice. This idea would have a man involved in many activities, activities that you would do in a holiday. It would’ve began with a plane flying across the screen, this plane is drawn on a plastic sheet and the plasticine man would be doing these activities. The other idea I had was to create a fighting scene but with this idea I realised would be difficult to create so that was abandoned quickly. My final idea was to have the plasticine man jump out of the plane and land and just wave to the crown. With this idea I wanted to show to the audience my animation skills so no real storyline was behind this. I wanted to show how smooth the movement of the animation could be. Creating the figure out of plasticine was not as difficult as I thought it would be, didn’t take long. I did not really have to make a background for the animation it was going to be done flat, only thing that was 3d was the plasticine man. Creating the plasticine man I wanted to create more than one because of the idea that I had. I wanted to make different size figures for the zooming in and out of the animation. By the zooming and out of the animation I mean that when the camera zooms in I want the plasticine man to be the same size but his surrounding to stay the same. Zooming in the camera and the man staying the same size with the background getting bigger is what I wanted to achieve.

Animating the work was not as difficult either because of the space and figures I was using. Because I was working on a flat surface I did not have much problem with things falling over I just had to focus on the movement and make sure it was as smooth as possible. I began with the plane drawing and had it moving across the screen with the clouds also moving to give that illusion of the plane flying. When the plasticine man was introduced it was simple, I simply had him appear from behind the plane and jump off of it. As he was dropping I didn’t have much trouble moving him down and the clouds moving as well to also give that illusion of him dropping. The only problems I had that I would realise later on in the animation process that I made a mistake in one of the frames by not remembering to move one of the sheets. This was an even bigger problem if I realised towards the end because it would’ve meant that I had to delete all the frames to go back and fix that one. Other than that animating was not a problem, very time consuming because of how I was focusing on the movement and how smooth it should be.

When I showed my final animation back to the class I received good feedback that I did not think I would get. I received comments like the soundtrack of the animation was simple but effective because it made it clear on what was happening with the plane flying and the man falling from the sky. Visuals were clear but the sound is what really helped with the animation. The simplicity of the animation was praised because it was easy to follow and did not have a whole lot going on. It was as long as it was because it was supposed to be a mini advertisement for a production or a holiday website but due to it being changed it didn’t happen. The length of it also made it look as if it was an ident, this made me think of where it could be shown for the placement of the animation. I was also told there was an interesting use of 2d and 3d animation and how it worked well together e.g. when the plasticine man falls from the sky but lands on a 2d floor was well thought out I was told. The pace of the animation was also commented on by the audience, the fact that it was really fast made it that bit more interesting because it meant that you had to pay attention to what was going on or you’ll miss it. The bit where I cut 3-4 times where the plasticine man was falling was well animated I was told because I was thinking about the height at which he was falling. This was animated in cinematic way because of the way I thought about it. The animation reminded one individual of another animation called manipulation and this was good because that was what inspired me in the first place to think of animating in that particular way.  I also received some negative but that was my fault when I thought about it. The most negative feedback that I received the one that the majority of the class kept saying was the concept of the animation and how it did not have a storyline wasn’t good. I had to explain to the class that this was something I thought about I also was told that the text at the end where it said ‘superman’ was actually part of the animation and did have relevance to the concept of it. This was so that I could refer the animation back to a well-known superhero.  There were some frames that seemed really fast and jolted the flow of the animation but I believe I was the only one that noticed but it is something that I would fix. The biggest and main problem was the lighting of the animation, there were certain times it went from a dark white to a bright white and this made it look unprofessional. But I chose just to have two colours, black and white for the simplicity of the video to make it easier to follow. The other colour that was shown in the animation was the plasticine man which was a creamy skin colour type of colour. This was so that the audience would know that it is a human and again it is a simple colour to animate with, if I was to choose a bright colour the audience eyes could only be glued to that object and nothing else so I was not looking for contrast I was simply looking for it to blend together.

The target audience for my animation I would say would be about from 8-40. A broad audience like this because of the simplicity of the animation and there is not a lot going for it to be aimed just a specific age group. But the reference to the old animation called ‘manipulation’ could aim it at an older range but overall the animation would make a broad audience smile. The gender of the animation is both male and female the content and what is going does not really make it one sided. Cultural experience also makes the target audience bigger, having an understanding of the character superman would help. Superman is a well-known superhero and the majority of people know him so this helps with the target audience. Socials groups also has a broad audience, from professionals to school kids.

My animation would be broadcasted on YouTube this is so that the audience can view it whenever they want at any time and place. It could also be screened at an animation festival, this will have a wide audience because animators from all over can come and watch.

The animation overall I think came out as I planned. It did not come out exactly as I planned but with a few adjustments there was a good outcome. In the future I would focus on my planning and preparation for the animation as this is key to producing a good animation, this is key to producing anything good so it is something that I would be focusing on in the future. Time management and organisation would’ve really helped with this assignment. The research I did at the beginning I believe also helped me because it made me think outside the box instead of just having a normal idea I was able to experiment with them.

 

 

Process of producing the animation

Storyboard

This was my first original idea of how I thought my animation would turn out. As you can see there is a range of activities taking place, but after thinking about the idea for a while I realised it was not realistic enough to carry out. If I was to carry out this idea major planning would've had to take place which I did not have much of. I would've had to think of the shots and the making of these scenes as well as the character. Individual mini props would've had to be made for him.

The whiteboard was the main idea that I had this is the base to my idea. I will be using this as my background. at first I wanted to just use the whiteboard and one plasticine man.

Moodboard

Idea/proposal

My idea will be aimed at an audience aged from 13 to 25. I have aimed for a young audience because of the style of my idea, my idea will be drawn on the whiteboard and animated with a 3D object. This would appeal to a young audience since it is all cartoony and the storyline I come up with would also appeal to a younger audience as well. The gender of the target audience that I will be aiming at will be mostly male but it could be different due to the storyline I create. There is a possibility that I would create a fighting scene or just a simple everyday object doing everyday activities.

For my stop motion animation I have decided that I would create an animation using white board and clear wipe able tracing plastic sheets. I also decided that I would use plasticine for the creation of the man because I had to keep in mind that I still needed to create an animation that had 3D object. My idea will begin with a plane flying across the whiteboard, the plane will be drawn on the plastic wipe able sheets and moved with the clouds also drawn on the plastic sheets. The clouds and the plane will be moving to give that illusion of it flying. This would be done for a like 2 to 3 seconds and then the plasticine man would be introduced into the animation. Because of the problem with him not being able to come out of the plane door because of his size I will have appear from behind the plane and then dive and have him falling. This is where I use the plastic sheets with the clouds drawn on again with them moving like clouds do and the plasticine man dropping moving down the screen. Because my idea had changed I will end it with the man landing and then getting up and waving to the audience with a tree and some birds flying in the background like before this will be done using the plastic sheets. The birds are seen in the distance so I will have to draw them small and have to rub them out at every frame and then draw them again to make them look as if they are flying. For the sound.

For my first initial idea I planned on creating a fighting scene but the realised it would be difficult and not easy enough to create. The next idea I had was to create an advertisement for a holiday company. My idea was going to have the same plastic sheets and the same plasticine man but the idea will be different. It would’ve began in the same way with the man jumping out of the plane and look more realistic with him appearing from the front of the door of the plane. This would’ve of meant that I would’ve had to create many plasticine man of different shapes, this would be for each frame changing sizes with the man zooming in. 

Target audience: Animation films are usually considered to be children's films and can be watched by the whole family. This is because animation has a visual appeal for kids with basic characters and a simple plot that children can follow along with and enjoy. A lot of these films do cater for adults and parents as well because sometimes the stories can have a serious meaning under all the visuals and humour. I want to attract both male and female but this will depend on my storyline. If I came up with a fighting scene the audience that it will attract will be mostly male but if come up with a normal scene then there will be a mix between male and female. Males are more likely to enjoy fighting scene more than females because of the violence and if the fighting scene is well sorted out than there will an even bigger audience. If my idea was to change to a compromise then there will be a skydiving scene with a man with no parachute to add an element of humour. This parachute idea would also mean that it would be aimed at a bigger audience because it is an advertisement.

Length: the length of my animation, I don’t want it to be too long so approximately 30 seconds long or shorter. This is so that the audience get a good look at what’s going on to make it clear for them. If it was longer than the animation could seem like it was repeated and just get boring. So the shorter the animation the more the better and the more interesting it will be. I want it to be clear and interesting to watch and fun for the audience so approximately 30 seconds would be good.

Soundtrack: for the soundtrack of my animation I will not have any music but I would have sound effects. The sounds effects I would use will be a plane flying, sound of a man falling, and a splat sound. If it was for my initial advertisement idea I would’ve had advertisement music. I would’ve had extreme activity music because the plasticine man would’ve been doing these activities and then towards the end I would use some calm music. As the extreme music is playing I would have sound effects playing, things like car screeching, parachute going off, plane flying and diving sound effect.

 

 

Willis Obrien

 

Willis Obrien was a stop motion and special effects pioneer. He was best known for his movies ‘The Lost World’, ‘King Kong’ and ‘Mighty Joe Young’. He’s most famous and well-known for being the animator of the original classic movie ‘King Kong’. It was commented by critics as being one of the most iconic films in the history of cinema. In 1975, ‘King Kong’ was named one of the 50 best American films by the American Film Institute.

Willis Obrien had many jobs, factory worker, fur trapper, cowboy, and bartender. He then developed an interest in dinosaurs and worked as a guide to Paleontologists in Crater Lake region. This interest that he had with dinosaurs later on went onto him taking up sculpting and he was noticed and employed by News Company as a sports cartoonist, he was also illustrating really well as well as sculpting. He combined the experience that he gained with sculpting and working with a cameraman to animate his sculptures. He made a dinosaur and a caveman. A San Francisco exhibitor saw the animated 90 sequence by Obrien and commissioned him to make a movie with a budget of $5,000. This was the first film that Obrien had made ‘the dinosaur and the missing link: a prehistoric tragedy’. It was a comedy silent film that was premiered in 1915, the movie lasted 5 minutes. It took him 2months to make, Obrien later on referred to the caveman as King Kong’s ancestor. Obrien carried on making more short films such as ‘Prehistoric Poultry’ and ‘Morpheus Mike’. His first big movie was in 1925 where he was the animator of the movie ‘The Lost World’. His first full length movie was described as being spectacular and the sight of realistic moving dinosaur’s astounded audiences and made it 1925 box office hit. In 1930 Obrien began work on an RKO pictures titles ‘Creation’, he debuted the results of a new system for integrating his miniature figures with live action photography. The rear projection system allowed Obrien to project previously shot live action film one frame at a time on a screen combined to the miniature set. If he wanted to do so additional background scenery could be painted onto one or more panes of glass on the camera side of the screen. This blends in with the rear projected image and the miniatures.  Obrien was to use this system for the rest of his career.

 

Obrien was hired by producer Merian C Cooper to supervise special effects on a movie about a giant ape which was entitled the eighth wonder. The idea was at first to make a half man half ape creature it wasn’t working, but after three attempts at creating a creature that was suitable for the movie they completed a creature that was completely removed of any human like features and this was approved. The movie received a new name, ‘King Kong’.  A steel armature was used for King Kong’s skeleton. It took Obrien and a small crew over a year to animate King Kong but their hard work paid off with King Kong breaking box office records. Obrien was also known for his attention to detail for example there was a scene in King Kong where he takes the young lady into a cave and there is things like steam coming from a lake and swimming animals. This made it that much more convincing for the viewers. 

Stop motion animation dates back to 1909 where there were short comedies that were being made but Willis Obrien took it to another level with King Kong creating a new era in film.

 

Ray Harryhausen

 

Ray Harryhausen was a stop motion model animator, as well as being a visual effects creator, writer and producer he was known for creating a form of animation known as ‘Dynamation’.

 

Ray Harryhausen was very intrigued by Willis Obrien’s work with stop motion animation and took a very big interest and looked into it deeper. He began sculpting his own models and puppets and made his first amateur film titled ‘cavebear’. He continued developing his animation skills making several short dinosaur films and finally got to meet his idol Willis Obrien. Ray Harryhausens first professional job came right after high school animating characters for George Pal’s Puppetoons. George Pals Puppetoons were a series of animated films made in Europe in the 1930’s and 1940’s made by American animator George Pal. Harryhausen later produced his own series of educational short films based on mother goose stories. Then in 1946 he got a call from Willis Obrien who was assembling a team for a new Kong type feature, ‘Mighty Joe young’. He had 2-3 years with Obrien working on ‘Mighty Joe young’. Ray Harryhausen had designed Might Joe Youngs armature. Working under Obriens tutelage, Harryhausen accomplished approximately 85% of the stopmotion animation in the film. In order to give Joe a distinct personality he spent many days at the zoo observing gorillas and their behaviour. Even though this film did not equal King Kongs popularity it was said that it was technically superior. In 1949 Willis Obriens work on the film was recognised with an academy award but for Harryhausen Mighty Joe Young was just the beginning. Collaborating with Charles Schneer for about a decade Harryhausen and him brought ancient mythology to life. Charles Schneer was a film producer most widely known for working with Ray Harryhausen and he also had his role in stop motion model animation. Model animation is a form of stop motion animation designed to merge with live action footage to create the illusion of a real-world fantasy sequence. Harryhausen gave stopmotion animation a popular aura when he came up with the term Dynamation, audiences were very intrigued with his incredible creatures. It took a lot of effort to bringing them to life, it would usually take 3-4 months for one scene.  His favourite character was Medusa from the film ‘Clash of the Titans’, each frame he had to manipulate and keep track of more than 200 joints in her head and body so you could imagine how long this would take to animate. To this day he is recognised as a grandmaster of stop motion animation, for 30+ years his movies packed theatres with people coming to see his famous mythological magic.

Types of stop motion animation:

There are 6 types of stop motion animation:

Clay this is a form of animation that uses clay or plasticine. The objects are deformable as well as the background but that will be up to you and also depending on how your animation goes. Clay animation began a short time after the invention of plasticine, plasticine was invented in 1897 and one of the first films to use clay was in 1902. It took 6 more years for the for another clay animation film to be released, this happened in 1908 where ‘A Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Nightmare’ was released in February. Clay animation wasn’t really as popular as it was back then when it was first being introduced as it is today. It took until the mid to late 80’s for it to become popular and reaching the large scale phenomenon it is today. ‘Gumby’ is classed as being one of the most memorable clay animation works because he was one of the first to become famous. ‘Gumby’ was created in the early 1950’s by an American pioneer in the popularization of stop motion clay animation Arthur Clokey. He studied at the University of Southern California and made his first animation film in 1953, a three minute long piece called ‘Gumbasia’. ‘Gumby’ was inspired by a suggestion by his, she said that he based his character on the gingerbread man. Arthur Clokey thought ahead when planning his creation of Gumby. Gumby’s legs and feet were made wide for pragmatic reasons: they ensured the clay character would stand up during stop-motion filming.

Cut-out this a form of animation where flat 2D animation pieces are moved using a certain technique. Animations are created by cutting out flat characters, props and backgrounds form materials such as paper, card, cardboard, stiff fabric and photographs. When working with cut-out animation you can only work up down and left and right across the screen in a flat plane, this is a limitation. You simply cannot walk a cut-out puppet towards camera in relation to a fixed back ground or make it turn in three dimensions. Some limitations can actually have its advantages, you can design an inventive solution for each and very storytelling scenario. A character can be made to walk over a hill to disappear behind it, then reappear as a smaller cut-out figure ascending a more distant hill. The earliest known animated feature films were cut-out animations made in Argentina Quirino Cristiani. Quirino Cristiani was an Argentine animation director and cartoonist. A very well-known cut-out stop motion animation is Winter Days 2003 Japanese film.

Pixilation this is a stop motion animation technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame and frames. When they are being animated the actor or actress becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet, this is because you are in control. ‘The secret adventures of Tom Thumb is a stop motion animated film made in early 90’s. The film is largely dialogue free so not much talking, you occasionally hear grunts and other non-verbal vocalizations. First work known to use the pixilation technique was Emile Courtet’s 1911 film ‘Jobard ne peut pas voir les femmes travailler’ translated to ‘Jobard cannot see the women working’

Puppet this typically involves puppet figures interacting with each other in a constructed environment. The puppets generally have an armature inside of them to keep them still and steady as well as constraining them to move at particular joints. When they are moved a photograph is taken and then moved again and another photograph is taken to give the illusion of movement. The smaller the adjustments when a photograph is taken the smoother animation looks but this also means that it will be time consuming especially if you accidentally mess something up like knocking the model over.  In a way, it defines animation where you give life to non-living objects and make them look life like.

Silhouette this is cut-out animation that becomes a dark black images when a light is shone from the back. This is referred to as silhouette animation. It was pioneered by the German animator Lotte Reiniger. Lotte Reiniger made over 40 films over the span of her career all using her own inventions. She used it to make many shorts as well as the oldest-surviving feature length animated film, ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed’. Reiniger invented this technique of stop motion animation. It was inspired by shadow play.