Acting for animators

Acting for Animators By Ed Hooks.

Seven Essential Acting Principles:
1. Thinking leads to conclusions, emotions to actions.
2.Humans only empathise with emotion
3. Theatrical Reality is not the Same as regular reality.
4. Acting is doing also acting is reacting.
5. Your character should play an action until something happens to make him play a different action.
6. Scene begin in the middle, there is no beginning.
7. A scene is a negotiation.

Ed Hooks writing style is very easy to read and I really like the way he has put together this book for animators. He seems very down to earth and like he appreciates that as an animator we don't need to act for stage we need to get our characters to be actors which is a slightly different skill set.

I think he has a very interesting out look on his acting principles and he stands by them as being essential and a necessity since the time or Aristotle.

What I found really interesting of pages 55 and 56, is how character's have rhythms. I think that's why it goes so hand in hand with music videos. I think it's a very poetic notion to have but actually it makes a lot of sense, it's almost like there rhythms are there soul's otherwise there's no life there.

I've now finished reading the book. And although I appreciate his seven principles, the one I think is most important for this brief is the one about how acting is reacting. For this brief this biggest thing is the reaction to the song lyrics.

I think it's good to read things like this because even if you don't anaylse it deeply you're still bound to take the information in and process it in a different way.

My final thing I would like to comment on is how much I appreciate this last page pictured underneath. It's so interesting and refreshing to read what's expected in the real world from a grad student, and it's scary how soon that will be me. I really like how he makes it very clear that narration isn't appropriate if you want to be an animator because it's soul sucking of your characters. And I also really like the fact that this is someone saying there isn't as much pressure on being the best with the software it's all about your story.

I find that really exciting and promising that I might actually get somewhere in this industry, because most days I worry that it will be too difficult.

3 Briefs

So for this task we have been ask to select three briefs from the D&AD or YCN website and explain why we have chosen them.

http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/itv2

The first brief I have chosen is the ITV 90secs, I really like the fact that it is aimed at people of my generation and they would like it to remain northern. I think that gives a lot of scope to explore my heritage and make something that's modern a bit cheeky and very northern.


http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/yorkshire-tea

Again I like the fact that this brief is still very northern and I can use personal experiences drinking tea to create a series of animations relating to northern tea drinkers. I was drawn to it because as soon as I read it I had initial ideas. Elevensies for instances, the afternoon gossip and tea drink. The drink to wake up the morning gremlin. The tea drink just to warm your bones in chilly weather. The cheer you up because your sad drink. The procrastination drink in the office.

http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/whistles

The final brief I chose is the Whistles perfume campaign. I chose this one because although it seems like they want a lot of branding I think the idea of mixing live action and animation for a commercial for it could potentially be the branding images. I think it'd be a really nice brand to design for because I work in the same arcade as there shop so I understand there cliental.

Nicolas Rolland & Ludovic Versace

Le Poulpe from Nicolas ROLLAND on Vimeo.

I decided to include this animation as part of this module because I think what makes it successful is the sound. This animation is very much a performance of the hands, but I really like how the sound effects are all created from vocals. The bubbling the fishes make and the little cough, sounds of the wind all work really nicely under the speaking of the story. This is something I could incorporate into my performance. I think that another thing I need to go out and find is poetry and animation because poetry is often written to a similar beat to lyrics so I think that too would fit really nice in with this brief.

Visually I really like this pixelation because of the aesthetics. The bold colours work really well in telling the story because they are engaging. I also like the innovativeness and the numerous uses of the hands. It took me several watches to realise that they are clouds at the end.

 
(No) Sex (No) City ! Festival Ambi'Valence 2014 from Nicolas ROLLAND on Vimeo.

I then decided to go on and find more work from Nicholas Rolland and there isn't much out there that's as good as the prior animation. I came across this piece and at first I watched it, and I didn't think I liked it because I think the style of it does make it look like it is a piece that has come from clip art. However when I watched it again I had so much appreciation for the narrative, it's so fast but so much happens and it's got an ending that does just make you smile. I think the reason the narrative works so well is because of all the sound effects and it makes me question the brief and wonder if you could portray the song lyrics without actually speaking the words, I think this would be a really interesting thing to put forward and see if you could do.

I went on to thoroughly search through Nicholas Rolland's website and he had a link to another animators website called Ludovic Versace. Now I can't say for definite but I think they studied at Ecohl Emile but they've definitely worked together at some point.

Well his showreel is just the bees knees.


I'm not a massive fan of the soundtrack but the work that's in there is just amazing. You can see almost all the twelve principles of animation in there, and there's just so much of such high quality. I had to watch more. The one I specifically like is the one called golden boy, and it's not made to share but I've included a link to his website and it's on his homepage. But it's just fantastic. Here's the trailer for it but to appreciate it you need to watch the full four minute animation.



Trail golden boy from Ludo on Vimeo.

So I don't think Ludovic's strongest element is his sound as he has a very french electro beat to it. But the narrative and detail in the visuals are impeccable. The narrative is a story about greed and basically the boy has a load of gold in his head and his dad keeps spending it until his mum has to step in otherwise he will have nothing in his head. AS a plot line even though you can see where it's going the visuals are really engaging such entrancing colours and rhythmic movements. I think if these two teamed up as animators they would be an unstoppable force.

http://rollandnicolas.com/

http://ludovic-versace.fr/

Experimentation in Tone of Voice

https://soundcloud.com/fionastucla/sets/initial-sound-tests

So I had a go at recording each of the Idea Generation boards to just to get a feel of each of lyrics and try and help my decision to narrow my choice down. However I think that I really like them all and I think they all have potential so it might just boil down to which song is my favourite.

Although saying that I do have some rational behind my choice, I don't think I'm going to choose happy because the beat of the lyrics means no matter how you perform it, it does sound similar to the song and it does need to be a bit different.
Nowhere fast is the one with the most room to give a unique performance but I don't feel attatched to the song, I don't think I love it enough to base an animation on it, I'd probably hate it a lot by the end.

So it is between Run DMC and Destiny's Child. I think I'll just see which one I'm most in the mood for when we have the performance workshop.

Brent Sievers

The Divide from Brent Sievers on Vimeo.


I think it's easy to see why this animation was chosen as a vimeo staff pick. The quality of the animation makes it stunningly beautiful. The simple and childlike feeling is juxtaposed with a very adult colour scheme and older themes in the narrative, it works really well. What I like most is the jerkiness and the flash like motion in the cars, traffic and lights, which is all matched with shapes with very sharp edges that never quite align. Then there’s the softer motion, coinciding with the rounder objects like the worms, the movement of the dog and the persons arms. It's a lot more fluid and really has an impact on the visual aesthetics when you're constantly flicking between the two. Also this matches the narrative of the flickering of nature, the green worms and grass, with the man made environment.



I then decided to find out more about the animator and went onto his website. I was a little disappointed there was nothing about him on there but I watched Sievers Showreel, which does give a lot of information about his style of animation. I think the song fits really well because it's all very lively and it did make me want to watch more of his work. I particularly liked the one of the bird and the very long eye lashed fish.




This animation is immensely charming with the complimentary textures of the different types of paper and the quality of line with the crayon. I think the way it changes underwater makes the colours really pop and the part of the narrative where the long eye lashed fish rescues the bird is such a wonderful piece of animation because it looks like nothing else you've seen.

I did also watch a couple of other pieces of his work but I didn't enjoy them as much mainly because one seemed very heavily inspired by Run Wrake Rabbit.




I think they are different enough to say he was inspired by Run Wrake Rabbit, especially with the gray colour scheme and so on. I think that I am bias as I don't actually like Run Wrake Rabbit so I find it difficult to understand why anyone would be inspired by it. But what I do think is successful about his version and in all his animation is that his style embraces traditional medium. I really like how there's water marks in this and although it does look like photoshop animation, it's very personal in that it is in his drawing style and I think it's very important that we embrace traditional mediums in modern technology.


Finally the last animation of his I shall comment on is this entry for Loop de Loop. I think this animation actually has several qualities I don't like in it. For starters I really think he could of worked on his walk cycle. It is very flat people have a lot more motion when they are walking and their isn't even any easing in it. The second thing I don't like is the style of the lady's face for that split second it's all you're looking at and I actually don't want to, there's no appeal in that character she's very indifferent, I think the pout could've been exaggerated with more lines it was lacking detail after all she is a dog murderer! However saying that the more I've watched it the more I've realised how successful the sound is. The slaps and muted bangs make are perfect and set a really good pace to the overall animation. And actually it's an unbelievably clever narrative how the hand starts it at the machine and it ends up with the dogs hand at the end and then a subtle pan to the machine. It's really well done.

http://www.brentcsievers.com/
Student of Rhode Island School of Design.
http://www.risd.edu/

Model of Something Simple in Maya Studio Task 1

So last week I was very sick and didn't manage to do everything on the schedule so I'm working extra hard this week to get caught up. Today I managed to complete studio task one and get my lantern made. It took me a while to break down the shapes and transform the basic polygons in Maya because it's a skill I'm not used to. But I'm surprised with how good it looks. However I think if I was take modelling further I'd easily get caught up in the little details, like having one of the window panels hinged and the cut out stars. I also accidently made some more complex shapes in the process of making this so I actually don't think make the props for Moom will be a challenge and it's something I'm really excited to do.

I'm a bit disappointed with the texture of the ground though. It's supposed to be a green leather but it's not worked as well as I would have hoped, I tried to make the grain bigger but that just looked worse!!

So this week before friday:

Desperately need to do some blogging and studio task two needs starting, COP tomorrows been cancelled so I can play on maya tomorrow morning and start that.

And then at some point I'd like to practice performing two of the songs in different voices before the session on friday. Also a book called Acting for Animators arrived in my letter box so I think that will be really useful for this module so I need to look at that.

Delving Further into Lyrics and Possible Props

So I've done these sheets as rough idea generation. I've shown them Mat and he doesn't seem impressed that I haven't really explored the potential of acting them out differently to how the song is originally performed. He most likes the Smith's one because although this sheet is very much in the style of something I've already done the lyrics are like poetry and could be performed in a completely different way to the song. He also liked the Pharrel Williams song because you could perform it in a really sad voice. 

The more we get into this project the more I'm not feeling it. I don't feel comfortable enough to do this in front of the others, because I'm not really close to any of them, I'm not bothered about making a fool of myself it's just when it becomes forced upon you it's really difficult to enjoy I think this is going to be a really difficult module to get through now I understand what Matt is expecting. I think it instantly makes it more of a thing where I know my performance will probably be best if I do it in my bedroom.. But we will go with it, if it's naff then I can always redo it at home. 

I can't deny that I'm not a little bit disappointed by the fact that Mat was so open about the fact he expects the lyrics to be acted in a way that isn't anything like the original, I just don't get why would you perform a song that's about being happy in a sad voice? It's not going to be comical. It just seems like it's being different for different's sake in my head. 

I also find it really hard because my initial response is to work on the visuals but it's not the visuals that are important for this module and this is making me really sad also it's all about the tone of voice and movement, and I think that's why I was so disappointed when my idea boards weren't appreciated. So I think my next port of call is going to be to perform these songs in different tones of voices at home and just pick one for friday and at least then I'm prepared for the next session.

Module Briefing

This Module has emphasis on, ongoing idea generation and presentation of ideas for a proposal/pitch.

By the end of the Module you should have roughly 10 substantial competition/live brief entries. Remember continous blogging is important throughout this module as you need to write a report at the end of the module.

The briefs don't require heavy amounts of research the emphasis is on understanding the context and the target audience.

The interim deadline is the 22/1/2015.

Sessions will be broken into Group A and Group B, for my next session I need to find and analyse three briefs off YCN and D&AD and print them for next session.

I also I have my first Competition I want to enter Deadline is 15th of november. Ohh Deer Pillowfight. Work on that this week.

Schedule

So I've printed out a schedule for the next four months till deadline day specifically for this module. I shall update it by pen and scan it in once month so you can tell I'm using it effectively. I only get a few weeks of shifts at a time and the do vary, so it's easier to do it this way.

Pablo Lobato

Pablo Lobato is a Graphic Designer turned illustrator from Argentina who regularly is commissioned to do work for the New York Times, Time Magazine and Rolling Stone. I think it's important to stretch out influences beyond animation, so although I appreciate designing character isn't important for this module, I still think this work is really exciting and there is still something you can take from it.

Jay-Z

2 Pac

Snoop Dogg

After looking at the images of rappers I think one thing you can take from this designers work is the way theres a continuity in the shapes to lead your eye round the character in each of the poses and I think this should be the same for Moom's keyframes. They need to be really strong with lines that flow really nicely to lead your eye round the shape of the body. Another thing I think is really insightful in all of this illustrators work is his natural ability to frame each of the characters in the picture. Especially with Jay-Z, Prince and Woody Allen, I really like the way each of them sit on the rule of thirds, but have some sort of detail in the center to bring them more into a focal point. Such as Woody Allen's ear, Jay-z's cigar and Prince's hair, just to compliment the off central picture.

Barrack Obama

Prince

When looking on Pablo Lobato's blog I discovered this:

I did this illustration many years ago, just because I wanted to. I love Prince’s music and I enjoy drawing people I admire. He saw it…liked it, and bought it!!! It was used last year for the poster of Coachella.  Man, I’m so proud!!

I really enjoyed this little fact, I think it makes the designer more relatable to when you get to read human statements like this.

Bob Dylan

Woody Allen

http://www.agoodson.com/portfolio/pablo/

https://lobaton.wordpress.com/

Guillame Kurkdjian

Frenchman Guillame Kurkdjian has the swishest website going around town and some even more interesting work on it. I was first drawn to these short vehicle animations after developing studio task 3, Keep on Truckin'. And although they don't seem like much I actually have a lot of appreciation for them after it took so long to make a truck. So I just wanted to share there simple yet elegant pastel beauty with you. Although I think it's useful to know that he uses Cinema 4D for these CG animations.

This next one is of a boat, I'm not really sure what texture/shader thing he used for the water but it's got a really weird consistency, it's almost like a gloopy wallpaper paste with high reflectivity. But I kind of really like it, in an abstract way. I think if there was more stuff like this in his work it would really set it apart, because it almost puts his signature on it by being a bit weird.




Finally the last one of his off vimeo I wanted to share is this weirdly creepy room, which looks like it could be out of Monster Inc or something, it's that nicely done. The attention to detail is really immaculate, this is clearly someone who spends a painstaking amount of time making sure all his lines are straight and things are in the right place. I really like how the back of the chair hits the thirds and the middle of the window hits the other third and then the two walls meet in the centre it really is skilled framing for such a busy room. I am actually surprised at home many things he's put into the scene to make it look busy without being over crowded. If I was to model a room for Maya, I would seriously need to take a lesson out this guys book.



One thing that surprises me and makes me wonder is I wonder what type of characters he would do I feel like he might be from a graphics type course, in his illustrations his font really nice. He has all the skills I want, and such a pretty website.

Here are some links to two of his projects which has some amazing animated gifs, which if you've liked the trucks and the room you will love.

http://guillaumekurkdjian.com/bisous-les-copains-2/
http://guillaumekurkdjian.com/capital-one/

The trucks on there own don't seem like much but I think when you see his whole body of work there is a sophistication and cheeky elegance with the pastel colours that make it worth looking at. This is a talented selection of work, from someone who is clearly very skilled in multiple disciplines. Jealous!

Keep on Truckin'

So in today's session we learnt how to model in simple polygon shapes followed by simple texturing and rendering.

It was quite interesting but I feel like there was a lot of information in one go and now my brain's all frazzled. I think that I've struggled with modelling a lot more than I did with animating last week. I think I'm going to have to sleep on it before starting the study task. I believe this software very much requires a hands on approach of doing and learn through making mistakes. It amazes me how endless the possibilities are with Maya I honestly though they would be a lot more limited than it actually is, so I'm very impressed.

I think although it says to keep the object simple I really want to push myself and choose a slightly complex object to model just because I don't think you learn the tools if you don't challenge yourself.

I am also aware I didn't get everything done on last weeks to do list so I'm going to try make it more manageable this week as other modules are also starting. Also I didn't do the camera angel blog, because I'm waiting for a book to arrive from amazon to reference.

TO DO LIST:
1. Blog Posts on Artists and Animators. I have some in draft that just need writing about, I'd like to set a side 1hour to 2hours blogging this week.
2. A Schedule, then blog about.
3. Finish the four song sheets and the storyboards and blog about.
4. Choose the two favourites and test different ways of recording them 5-10 for each and blog about.
5. Start Modelling object for studio task one.

Modelling in Maya

17th Oct

Always set project

ctrl + spacebar, taps between making the workspace full screen

Modelling tools

Several surfaces you can model in, in maya.

1. Polygons,

Components are faces, edges and vertices. 

If you right click on a created polygon primitive (cube, pyramid etc) you can scale each of these.

Main modelling on

1. Raster image

Pixel modelling.

1. NURBS

Same a vector graphic, has no edges very mathematical.

1. Normal objet mode
2. will present you with a preview with a cage, a bit smoother
3. smooth mode!
4. wire frame mode
5. shaded mode
6. textures mode

Window - Outliner.

Very Important. 

It allows you quick access to all your shapes.

CMD + D duplicates a shape.

don’t use copy and paste.

Poly plane for ground.

Group

Like a composition in after effects. CMD G to group items together

Parenting

Children of parent follow parent. All the children are children of an object where as the group is from null so you have to select from outliner.

v=vert

c=edge

x = grid

To move pivot point go to move and hold D down, snap to vertices and hold onto where you want the shape to snap too.

Make a truck. 

Maya Experimentation

So I decided that this Maya business wasn't going to be a breeze so I came in today to play around for a couple of hours to test Moom Walking.

My little hands just want to grab him through the screen and move him, I'm so not used to this mouse business getting in the way.

I found today very difficult and one point Moom looked like this:

Needless to say there was a lot of shouting at the computer. So what would be a simple task for anyone adapted to computer life I don't think it would have taken them as long as it's taken me. Which is very infuriating. However I need to force myself to do these sessions so I can do really well in this module and get better.

I decided my first little task would be to try make Moom take a few steps through straight ahead animation. Mat then came in and said it's not like stop motion it might be easier to do pose to pose. Here is Straight Ahead.

and here is my pose to pose attempt.



I think they do both look pretty similar, his hands are a lot more rigid on the pose to pose animation and he's more clunky and acts a bit clumsier like me in the straight ahead one. I think the trick will be to combine the two in future tests.

Refresher of the 12 Principles of Animation

I have decided before starting this task to refresh my mind with the twelve principles of animation as it has been a long summer and I'd like to have them fresh in my mind before cracking on.

1. Squash and Stretch
Squash and stretch provides life to movement in animation, it gages an object or characters material or weight and really brings it to life. The important thing to remember with this principle is that the volume shouldn't change. Unless it's supposed to.

2. Anticipation
Anticipation is key in building narrative, by taking a pause before an action the viewer is prepared to what is about to happen and it provides a flow and a pace to the animation.

3. Arcs
To make movement look more natural, limbs and both animal and human movement should follow a parabolic line. It's the same with bouncing balls. By following the arc principle movement is made to look more natural. Remember mechanical movement does not follow this principle generally to look robotic it follows a straight line.

4. Staging
Staging is a term taken from theater and although you must follow the rules of composition like in photography to have a visually pleasing piece of work it is important to note that this principle is more important than this. It also concerns itself with entering on and off screen and the movement of characters in a 3D way to composition in photography.

5.  Straight Ahead // Pose to Pose
The difference in technique of animating. So pose to pose is planning all the keyframes in advance whereas straight ahead animation is just going with the follow. I personally like to combine the two, plan a few key frames but just go with it at the same time.

6. Follow Through & Overlapping
Follow Through action is best described using an example so if a girl jumps and she has long swishy hair the follow through action would be her hair going up and not falling down when the girl falls down but being a few moments behind the primary action.

7. Exaggeration
Exaggeration is essential in animation as animation cass push the barriers and extend the limits of live film otherwise it would just be live film. Like painting is to photography the art of exaggeration is a major part of the animation. You have to push the limits without going too far.

8. Appeal
The likeability of a character, also similar to charisma in an actor. Whether a character is likeable or dislikeable it's still classed as appeal. Characters needs to be fascinating and interesting.

9. Secondary Action
Secondary action is similar but different to follow through action, it's the little actions that emphasise the primary action so they happen at the same time. Such as a person's arms swinging when they walk.

10. Slow in, Slow Out
This principle covers the acceleration and deceleration of a movement. This emphasises the focal point of the movement and adds to the perfection of the timing.

11. Timing
The timing principle can be taken in several ways, so the timing could be the pace of the piece, how many frames per second etc. Or it could be the timing of the narrative. You could pick up on the timing of certain movements. It really takes a lot of analysis to perfect this principle to make sure all the timings are right.

12. Solid Drawing
Solid Drawing is the principle that most effects the composition of the piece, by applying and looking deeply into the solid drawing principle you are analysing the 3D space, making sure that volume and weight is applied to give it some reality.

A lot of these principles overlap so it's important to not focus on any one but try and meld them together, as a team collaboration of principles.

Hoang Tran

Crayon Carvings.

So for this blog post I'm looking into character.

Now I know these are copies of characters, you can't deny that the method of creating and sculpting them is mesmerising. Here's a short video showing you how's it done.

So I read this interview with Hoang Tran, I feel like I've discovered a lot about his work even though it's only a short interview, http://www.lostateminor.com/2014/02/27/interview-crayon-sculptor-hoang-tran/.

I found it so interesting to discover that it wasn't his idea and that he was inspired by an artist called Diem Chau. A Vietnamese artist who hasn't been around for a while. But his work is really different to Hoang Tran, it's really interesting how he uses his crayon works for commissions and as a form of visual storytelling with characters. Which might be more relevant to this module. But he hasn't actually recorded much of his crayon work he moved more into sewing on porcelain.
http://www.diemchau.com/about.html

I think it's really interesting how the crayons are on a multitude of bases, it looks like they should be families and to me it looks like it's making a statement about how families come in different shapes and sizes and they all link together. I really like how the story isn't clear but because you've been told there is one the audience is going to spend longer looking for the details of the story. I think that's a clever thing to do in a gallery and I know it's a common thing ever since the modernist movement, I just think this is a new way of challenging a gallery space, because they won't take up a lot of room in a gallery.

I also really like how creepy and normal this commission looks, I think the pop culture work Hoang Tran does work better because it's something the audience is surrounded with on a daily basis so even if there are a few details missing they are still instantly recognisable. It's like your brain fills in the gaps. I think Hoang Tran went the right way about it from a commercial and money making perspective because it's easier to sell things that are well known. I just think there's so much potential with this to run with and go into fantasy land. Can you imagine if these were animated. It's be so crazy. I personally can imagine them not being able to move properly because they are grounded to the screen like weird little puppets. I think it'd be such cool visual aesthetic to add thread to them to make them into crayon puppets. I'm onto a genius idea here. Maybe not for a feature length but definitely a short film.

Lyrics Analysation

1.When I was just a baby my mama told me. Son,

Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns.

But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die

When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry..

Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues

So this song was my initial reaction to the brief, I just thought it had really possibility to be super dark and therefore emotive and powerful. I realised if I was to do this though the performance I would give to it would be full of energy and show off my best animation talents so I've decided to leave it at this stage.

2.Money is the key to end all your woes

Your ups, your downs, your highs and your lows 

Won't you tell me the last time that love bought you clothes? 

It's like that, and that's the way it is 

Bills rise higher every day 

We receive much lower pay 

I'd rather stay young, go out and play 

It's like that, and that's the way it is 

Huh! 

Wars going on across the sea 

Street soldiers killing the elderly 

Whatever happened to unity? 

It's like that, and that's the way it is 

RUN DMC - It's like that

These three verses are quite long so I think I would have to only have time to do two, I've timed myself saying them quite slowly and two verses are twenty seconds long. What I like most about this song is the beat and the rhythm of the words. The flow of it had such great pace I think this would make it easier to animate to because you could get movements bang on the beat. Also there's a lot of energy in this song and I think it's really powerful so there's chance to embrace a lot of action and show off my skills as an animator. What I appreciate most is how meaningful the lyrics are. To say this song is from the nineties these lyrics are still poignant today. I don't want to be seen to be doing airy fairy stuff and I think this has a force behind it.

3.We only humans girl we make mistakes

To make it up I do whatever it take

I love you like a fat kid love cake

50 Cent - 21 Questions

I really liked these song lyrics because of the visuals. I can just picture Fifty cent as a fat kid stuffing his face with cake. However I think because were working with Maya rather than photoshop I think it'd be really difficult to get these visuals into the short. Also it's all about animating and the performance rather than the visuals so I think this would be good if the emphasis was on something else.

4.I'd like to drop my trousers to the Queen Every sensible child will know what this means
The poor and the needy
Are selfish and greedy on her terms
And if the day came when I felt a
Natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably jump
In the ocean
The Smith's - Nowhere Fast

So I was trying to find songs with more visuals to compromise the fact that I couldn't use fifty cent and I listened to the smiths because I know Morrisey can be quite depressingly metaphor and simile heavy. I really like the idea of animating someone mooning, because it's not really acceptable on live film but on an animation I think it'd just be funny. Although the lyrics are quite intense I reckon they could be twisted in a completely different way to how Morrisey sings them.

5.The shoes on my feet

I've bought it

The clothes I'm wearing

I've bought it

The rock I'm rockin'

'Cause I depend on me

If I wanted the watch you're wearin'

I'll buy it

The house I live in

I've bought it

The car I'm driving

I've bought it

I depend on me

Destiny’s child independent woman

I then decided I needed to find other such songs with possibility for props and I thought this would be perfect. There's so many possibilties for props. It's an empowering song with a good beat like Run DMC's. Admittedly it's not as serious but it's still pretty playful. I also remember the dance routine I made up to this when I was little.

6.A long time ago, we used to be friends

But I haven't thought of you lately at all

If ever again, a greeting I send to you,

Short and sweet to the soul is all I intend.

We used to be friends a long time ago.

We used to be friends a long time ago.

Dandy Warhol - We Used to be friends.

So this song is the theme tune to Veronica Mars. There has not been a better TV Show ever created. There probably has but it won't be as cheesey. I only put this in the long list because it's a song I know really well and sing along to it everytime I watch Veronica Mars (which is more often than you'd think). I don't really have any initial instinct of how I'd animate to it though and also I'd be so sad if I came to dislike the song. So I won't be shortlisting it but it is one that I considered for a while.

7.I left a good job in the city Working for the man every night and day
And I never lost one minute of sleeping
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been

Big wheel keep on turning
Proud Mary keep on burning
And we're rolling, rolling
Rolling on the river
Tina Turner - Proud Mary.

This is another song that I love to pieces and sing all the time and became a consideration because of how well I love it and love prancing around to it. But the more I've thought about the more I've struggled to think of props. I think I've got three solid ones that would be easier to shortlist already though. So I'll just keep this one for the hairbrush microphone in the mirror moments.

8.Because I'm happyClap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do
Pharrell Williams

This one is a last minute addition, so it came on at work whilst I was telling my colleague about this latest project and always makes everyone want to dance, well sway their shoulders and tap their feet. So when I got home I decided to look up the lyrics and I think it's just got so much energy there so much potential for actions. And you could imagine someone with a baton just dancing along, so I think I'd really like to shortlist this one and brainstorm some ideas for it.

SHORT LIST TO TAKE FURTHER
Independant Women - Destiny's Child
Explore props and camera angles for each line. Real potential to be punchy and powerful.

It's Like that and that's the way it is - RUN DMC
Explore props and actions to match the beat of the lyrics.

Happy - Pharrell Williams
Explore actions which will need testing in Maya think about more props for lyrics.

Nowhere Fast - The Smiths
Plan out initial idea for lyrics and come up with a couple more ideas for these lyrics.


Next Step:
So for this next step I'm going to work back on paper and I'm going to brainstorm some ideas for props and initial actions for specific lines. I'm going to try and exhaust my brain with them then I'll blog about them sleep on it and come up with a set of storyboards for each, hopefully inbetween these stages I can drop one of the songs, so there's only three to narrow down and discuss with Matt on Friday.

Maya Introduction

Notes for self from Mat's introduction to Maya.

everything should be in a project folder

sounds - sound files

scene - 

sourceimages -for textures

create a project and move moom to the new scene folder.

always set project and select the right project file, then it will automatically save stuff in the relevant folders.

always move things around as the project folder not as single files, like premier.

mouse needs configuring then wheel needs to be set to click and middle click.

IK

inverse kinematics

IK is best for feet as they are planted on the ground, fk is better for still poses.

FK

forward kinematics,

joint based controls, movement goes down the line. Like an artistic mannequin.

to view camera panel go to orthographic panel facial controls.

q- select mode

w- translate / move

e - rotate

r - scale

t - aims lighting/camera’s

orbit, alt and left mouse button

track, alt and middle mouse button

zoom, right mouse button  / scroll mouse wheel

a - frames everything

f - fits the selected object on screen

spacebar - accesses menus

virtual slider is really handy

select real time speed for play back

instructions to animate

when you are animating in maya it is best you keyframe all the attributes at the same time.

marquee select (like magic wand, left click drag) go up to create, sets, click quick select set. Call moon and add to shelf.

Save shelf. 

s - set a keyframe

to set a new key frame at a different time select all and then press s.

turn auto key on after the key frames have been made so any little changes between key frames are saved.

At first I was very nervous about using maya because I am a very hands on person and I find working on a computer difficult because you can't move it with your hands. But actually I'm very surprised with how naturally the short cuts have come to me. I had so much fun creating this action with little moomy. I can't wait to master the movements so it flows easier. I think walking will be difficult but I have downloaded maya so I might have a go with that at the weekend just taking some simple steps across the screen. I also plan to look at song lyrics and come up with at least three prop ideas for each a short storyboard for each and then next session I can annotate them choose my favourite and do some more storyboards for my two favourite props to develop it further. I also need to do a timetable but I'm not going to do that this week as I don't get my christmas hours from work until my manager gets back from holiday. I shall also do a blog post on the twelve principles of animation as a refresher they were mentioned today but I think I can only remember four so I think this would be good to revisited and I shall try find some ideas for research posts and not start the writing but get them set up. I shall also buy a mouse with a middle click.

Here is my finished playblast from my first time ever on maya! I was very worried with Maya with how stylised the results can be a think a big draw back with many animations I have seen produced by other students is how samey they all look. I really like to put my own style on my work and leave an impression and actually moving Moomy has made me see that is possible. I also really like his crazy eyebrows and they reflect how my eyebrows were for the majority of the induction.

TO DO THIS WEEK:

- Look into a large group of ten song chorus/verse lyrics and analyse in a blog post.

- Choose the three best ones and come up with ideas for at least five props. (thumbnail drawings)

Blog about after

- Choose the Two favourites with the three favourite props (six in total) and do rough storyboards.

can save and show matt on friday and then blog feedback in.

- Blog Post on a refresher of the 12 principles of animation

- Find at least one artist or animator to blog about character and narrative

- Look at a new style of camera shots or refresh memory on elegant and professional camera shots to inspire storyboards and blog about.

- Buy a mouse with a middle click

(NB: just overheard matt saying to jump you need to have the feet controls and the pelvis)