Animation final

Animation Test

In this first test I mostly looked at the animation of the handle. I have used 24 frames per second but recorded in 2's. I feel that this creates a smooth movement for the handle and works well.

Testing animation

In this test I wanted to see how the box could animate. As I was unable to stiffen the hinges enough for the lid to hold itself up I had to reposition the camera angle to hide the back of the box where I was going to hold the lid to animate it.

Animation process.

I am doing a 3D stop motion animation and have made a jack in the box and have bought a victorian clown like doll and spinning top to use. I have also built myself a set using a box, wallpaper and some carpet. 

To create the actual animation I used iStop Motion moving the box, doll etc a little at a time and pressing space bar to get the camera to take a new shot. 

The handle on the box was held in place with a disc of wood on the inside and some tape so that it could be stopped in any position. 

When I had animated using iStop Motion I exported the video as a quick time movie. 

 I imported the music to Final Cut Pro. I had edited this at home using the Audacity music editing program. I wanted to create a surreal a creepy feel with my animation and so eidted my music ot help create this effect. I slowed the music down a little, to make it "hang" in the air as it goes along, almost as if it was struggling to play through the note and onto the next. I then copied the track and placed it in a new track. I reversed this and slowed it down. This creates a very surreal feeling to the sound as it plays backwards as well as forwards. 

After that the animation was loaded into final cut pro where I edited it. I used scale and keyframes so that I could crop the footage where my hand was visible animating. I also used this to make sure that my close ups were well composed. 

I then used filters to desaturate the image. I allowed a very small amount of colour to come through into the video. This gives it a timeless quality, and also make it quite surreal. 

I then altered the brightness and contrast of the video to enhance the visuals and really create the surreal feeling to the animation. 

I then used the text tool to add the credits at the end. I used the cross fade video transition to makes this made in and then out, to give a smooth, professional feel to the end of the animation. 

Second Animatic

I made this second animatic to get a better idea of what the animation is going to look like, without going to the effort and expense of producing the fully formed and edited animation.
After producing this I realised that I didn't like the last shot in the animation =, looking head onto the box again. I don't feel that it work or fits in with the animation at this point. I decided to remove this before producing the final edited animation. I also decided that I needed to make sure that I was using a close up on the doll as the box opens, to really focus  attention on this.

First Animatic

I created this animatic by adding some extra frames into my storyboard. This allowed me to start planning the timings of the animation and also a better look at the shots I would use.

Digital Storyteling Design Process.

I have already posted how I edited the photographs.

I imported my photographs and sound material into Final Cut Pro. And then dragged my story mp3 into the time line. I listened to this through and cut it in the parts where I needed pauses.

I then started to drag the photographs into the time, I opened them up in the viewer first so that I could set the time for each of them. I then dragged them to the time line. I could then drag the photograph out from here if I wanted to make it last longer or shorter.

For the part of the video showing the journey to the shop I set the duration of each photograph to 2 seconds. This set a nice pace to the changing of the photographs to represent a journey through the photos as I take the viewer to the shop. I then used the cross dissolve transition as I feel that this creates the effect of travelling through the photographs

 When the story is talking about being in the shop I have used photographs of the sweets on the shelves. I use a quicker pace of 1 second for each photographs to show the excitement of a child looking at the these sweets. This leads to the child being given a packet of buttons.

Again I use one second per photograph for this section about the busy road. This crates the feeling of it being busy as more photographs are being show and also shows the fast rate of the traffic driving past.

After the buttons had been run over I decided I wanted a sequence where I fade in between photographs zooming in to the packet. I dragged the transition effect out to make is fade slower. This is a similar effect to that used when there are deaths on TV, where the camera slowly zooms into the character and their stillness. I wanted to show the drama of the event to a child using this. The slow cross fading is an effect used by Chris Maker when the destruction of Paris is talked about - this shows stillness and creates the drama of the event for the audience.

After adding all of the photographs I then added the other sound material I had got to the time line. This was background traffic noise and the sound of splashing in puddles. I then placed this in the appropriate position on the time line. I then cut some of the background noise from the recording of the story and copied this through the time line to the places where the story have been paused. This creates a feel of continuation with the story rather then making it seem that it stops and starts.

Digital Sotry telling - evaltuation

What were you asked to do? (Project brief tasks)
I was required to create a digital story in a similar style to that of Chris Marker's La Jetee. The film was to last between 5 and 10 minutes. The theme was family mythology and I needed to look into different stories that could be told from my family.
What did you make/present?
I made a photo montage film based on a story about me dropping a packet of chocolate buttons in the road as a child. The buttons were ran over and we had to get another pack. I took photos and recorded sound to use for this.
What did you want to communicate?
The main thing to communicate was the plot line for the story. I needed to represent the different sections of the story that gives it's structure and sense. I wanted to show the story through the child's eye by taking photographs from a low angle. This will allow the viewer to view the events through a more child like perspective.
Who was your intended audience?
My intended audience is my family. I found in research how story telling is used to help create a sense of identity, however these stories are fluid and change fro telling to telling. I have created a digital story that will tell the same thing every time. This means that there is a set basis for identity to be based around rather then a changing story. The video can be shown for many years to come, within the current nuclear family and to children and grandchildren to communicate that sense of the family identity. The story is fairly simple and told in a way that is suitable for all ages. This means that it can be shown to children to help create this sense of identity at the crucial stage for this.
What materials and processes did you experiment with?
I made a digital collage by scanning in photograph, textures and other images that I found. These were then compile in Photoshop.
I also used Photoshop to change the saturation of photographs and use pin light blending mode to allow colour to come through from a duplicate layer. This helped to give a sense of a rainy day to the photographs.
I used traditional collage, cutting up text and sticking it back down to create my title. This gives a child like, hand made feeling to the title - communicating that the story is about a child and the photographs are mostly take from a child's point of view.
What materials and processes did you reject?
I didn't use digital collage in my final. I wanted to communicate my story through a series of photographs, making the event seem more real to an audience. Using collage would have disrupted this, and therefore I decided not to use the process.
What materials and processes did you use in your final designs?
I used Photoshop to edit my photographs to make them seem more like a rainy day as they had been taken on a bright, sunny day.
I also used traditional collage to create my title. To communicate it being child like and hand made.
How do the materials you chose to use help you to communicate your message to your audience?
By editing the photographs I more successfully communicated the rainy day. If I hadn't done this my photographs would not have fitted in with the story. My use of photography helps to make the story seem like a real even, rather then using other techniques such as illustration etc that may have taken this away from the story.
What did you do to ensure you worked with tools and materials safely?
I made sure that I had no food or drinks around the computers and that I took regular breaks from the computer screen. I made sure that the camera was protected when taking photographs splashing in the puddles. I used the long zoom to help achieve this. When taking photos by roads I made sure I was a safe distance from traffic on the pavement. I made sure that I attained model release forms for my models to prove that I had the right to use the photographs.
How well did you manage your time?
Although my time management could improve I feel that I have done better on this project then previous ones. I had gotten more work done early on on then before. My main issue at the minute is balancing all the areas of my life as with college, work and church commitments I am finding it hard to find time to relax and have fun - running the risk of burn out. I am trying to address this. I have started to use a timetable that I have created for myself to plan my college work and other activities for the week around work, college and church.
What were your strengths in completing this project?
I have used Final Cur Pro before and find that I Take to the program fairly easily. This meant that I didn't have to worry about controlling the program and could work on the creative side of the design.
What would you like to have done differently?
I would firstly like to try and balance my commitments more effectively. I would also have liked to put some more work into the development stage of the design process.
What will you do to ensure you improve for the next project?
Next time I will make sure that I balance these areas of my life more effectively and put more effort into the design development side of the project to ensure I can achieve the best grade possible.