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Project 1 - Adaptable Craft
Using research and idea generation, produce an outcome through animation, photography, sound or film that tells a story through environment only. Challenging the way we communicate without relying on character, actors, or dialogue.
Initial Ideas and Planning
Phone Photography
Process
I used an app in order to manually adjust the ISO and shutter speed of my phone camera. The first shots of the O2 were tests with the effects of altering the ISO and shutter speed. At the beginning of the shoot, I wasn't sure what I wanted to take photos of, so I focused on attempting to abstract the university's interior design, before moving to find photographic opportunities online. I enjoyed adjusting the ISO and shutter speed to create different visual effects for my photos. I found that creating a large divide between the two values created interesting effects with both colour and contrast. The photos below are unedited - the difference in colour balance is due to said experimenting with the manual settings. Below are some photos from my process.
Best Outcomes
All of these outcomes are unedited.
Notes on Photography
- looking into mentality/emotion
- instead of chaos, clarity and peace?
- ^ looking into the more dreamy abstract photography of the spire from below, which have cool blue tones and blend into the clouds
- ^ "head in the clouds" feeling distanced from reality, good or bad or neutral
After taking these photos, I want to explore what environments in dreams are like. I think it is particularly interesting how in dreams, places that we are extremely familiar with can become distorted or changed without us noticing. For example, I have had dreams before where I've been at "school", and while I knew for certain in my dream that I was at school, the building and surroundings were none that could actually be found in my school. The feel and ambience of the dream environment convinced my sleeping self that I was definitely at school. Looking back at the dream while I am awake, I see that the pieces from my memories and understanding of the physical infrastructure of the school were merged and distorted by my subconscious to create this new yet familiar dream-scape environment.
A Change In Direction
I plan to further research this by writing down my dreams when I wake up, and studying how my subconscious takes things from my day-to-day life to reflect on them in my dreams. I have previously been curious about dreams, so I wish to confirm and expand my knowledge through secondary research in order to inspire my work and final piece. I could potentially explore distorting reality to attempt to mimic the effect of dreaming.
Metaphorical Object In Media
Objects, set, and environment are extremely important factors to consider when creating a piece of media. The physical environment portrayed within a piece of media can provide the viewer with contextual information, such as the time of day the scene is set, the time of year, and the time within history. Man-made environments are particularly expressive due to the architectural possibilities. The place a story takes place in directly impacts and/or depicts the lives of those living there. Environments can tell the type of lifestyle that takes place there, for example, a littered city street would imply a busy and problematic way of life, or alternatively show a lack of care from the people living there. In the same way, objects and set designs can visually depict contextual information to the viewer. For example, using objects that appear to be from a different time period can signify the piece's set place in history. Using modern technology and objects with current trending aesthetics will show the audience that the piece is set in current times, due to their familiarity with objects that appear in their everyday lives.
As well as providing context, objects can be used as metaphorical devices in order to create an added layer of narrative depth. Kyle Deguzman explains through StudioBinder.com: "A visual metaphor is a representation of a noun through a visual image that suggests a particular association or similarity. Visual metaphors are commonly found in film, television shows, photography and even commercial ads create meaning out of objects and symbols. The meaning created from these objects can help move a story forward, relate to an audience or consumer, or establish a theme" (Deguzman, 2021). The study and practice of using symbols to communicate meaning is semiotics, in which symbols and other visual icons use a person's psychological understanding of the world to provide a visual impression or message. An example of semiotics would be how: "Graphic designers, artists and others working in visual communication must consider how symbols, signs and [colours] affect the interpretation of their works. For example, it’s important for a graphic designer to create a logo for a company that is not only eye-catching and memorable but also communicates the impression the company intends to make on its customers" (TechTarget Contributor, 2017). This applies to objects being used as visual metaphors in media. Depending on how thorough the creates have been, every small detail in a piece of media can have been placed there purposefully. In this way, every non-living, non-organic entity in media has the potential to be used as a vehicle for symbolic communication.
Linked Research [10 pieces - 1 primary]
Primal Research: Recording my Dreams
I purposefully kept going back to sleep for short periods of time after I woke up, as I know that that is when I am most likely to remember my dreams. As a result of this I had a few different dreams, or different scenarios I dreamed about that I recorded. I found that my dreams focused on people I know or I am close with, and involve some sort of ongoing task. For example, in my first dream my parents, a close friend and I were sorting through storage boxes, either organising things or looking for something. The environment that we were in was some sort of house or attic space, but was not supposed to be my real-life house (in the dream it felt like a familiar house, but not like it was supposed to be imitating my real-life house - the interior design and colour scheme of the house was also completely different). Throughout my second and potentially third dream (I am not sure if it was one dream or two, as I noted down what I remembered after I had fully woken up), there were large groups of people either playing a game or starting to complete an art task for "uni". In the second one, there were a few people I knew who interacted with me, from both primary school all the way up to university friends. The third dream scene was weirder in the sense that I didn't recognise the people from the dream. They didn't feel unfamiliar to my dream-self, however they didn't feel like I was personally close to them either. Forgetting about the people in the dream, each scene took place in different locations - as mentioned before, one was a house/attic type interior, but others were more vivid in terms of design (or perhaps I am just emphasising the blurriness of what I remembered now that I am completely awake). I can recognise that some imagery of the environments resemble what I see in everyday life: in one scene there was a classroom-type layout with lots of big tables, which is extremely reminiscent of the classroom layouts in Ravensbourne. There was a large tent-like ceiling which mirrored the structure of the O2, and trees with fairy lights like the nature and lighting around the riverside O2 area and around the design district. Overall, this has been interesting to purposefully encourage myself into dreaming, and putting focus on the objects and environments I find myself in during these dreams.
Why Do We Dream? - TedTalk
This video provided some insight into the main theories of why we dream. It concluded that we currently do not have the scientific proof to complete a definite definition of why we dream. The video explored different theories - many of them related to memory, specifically how dreams reflect on and take pieces from our everyday lives. It seems that, theoretically, dreaming is a way for us to process our memories - this directly links to my current plan of exploring environmental distortion by mimicking the subconscious abstraction of dreaming.
Matthias Jung
- architectural collages creating surreal landscapes with strong narrative content
- exploration of the dynamics of impossible (or improbable) suspended architecture and the new compositions created by these structures
- contrast of individual homes against whole sweeping landscapes creates impression of societal distance, having their own personal world just floating above everything else
- linking to my exploration of environmental and architectural distortion, of processing the world from a more surrealist and abstract perspective, mimicking the way dreams use reality to create new worlds
- focused towards the surrealist way dreams distort reality into something new and in-explainable
What Is Dreaming and What Does It Tell Us about Memory? (2014)
- context on what dreams are scientifically: explains that dreams feel real because of neural activity in the primary sensory areas of the neocortex during REM sleep
- there is evidence that parts of our dreams come from real life
- the second section of the excerpt talks about how dreams are a personal recollection of everyday life and are specific to each individual
- contextual research to my topic of distortion of reality in dreams, strengthens my understanding of the subject
- links to the distortion of world perception which makes sense when dreaming due to the intense sensory experience that is dreaming
Carme Magem
- using paper and paints in order to create collages of famous landscapes or figures
- use of subdued colours that still contrast the plain textures of the background
- exploration into the effect of colour on overall composition
- links to my work in terms of using pre-existing materials to create something new - this methodology and outcome relates directly to my exploration into the distortion of dreams
Max Ernst
- using familiar shapes to create unfamiliar figures, structures, and compositions
- translating the surreal and immersive feeling of dreaming into a physical piece of work to be understood by the general viewer
- visualising the intrigue and curios nature of dreaming through surrealism
- in my work I want to incorporate Ernst's impressive feelings of ambiguity and personality that arise from viewing his work
Francisco Goya
- use of odd and humorous imagery to create social commentary on the contemporary ills of society
- "in looking at Los Caprichos, to suspend our disbelief and equate goblins, monks, prostitutes and nobles as participants in a world that tests the limits of reason: no clear boundaries distinguish reality from fantasy" (MacLean, 2006)
Marcie LaCerte
- using hand-drawn/digital animation to explore the inexplicable scenes from people's dreams throughout the pandemic
- using abstract shapes and surreal, bright colours to create the sense of wonder or confusion from the dreams
- animating through what the speaker was explaining - just going with the flow of the subconscious
- shows again how fragments of everyday life impacts us subconsciously
- 'In the video, [psychologist Deirdre] Barrett identifies those mysterious creatures and feelings as "invisible monsters." She told the New Yorker that they are likely stand-in for real threats like COVID-19, which are hard to imagine in physical form. "People aren't able to dream about a specific thing. They're dreaming more in metaphor and ascribing these feelings of anxiety and trauma to kind of faceless creatures," LaCerte said.' (CBC Radio, 2021)
Huda Elgamal
- bold contrast of complimentary colours
- the gloominess of the dark blues, navy and black stands boldly within the fiery yellows, reds and oranges of the sky behind the dark structure
- abstract quality creates a sense of ambiguity and mystery
- bright colouring and abstract quality links to my topic of dreaming
- focus on narrative quality through the architectural structures and abstract landscaping, rather than focusing on the figures - links directly to the brief and the method in which I may use
Primary Research - Dream Journal 2
During my second dream recording I had one long, vivid dream that came a lot easier to remember, and also had a semi-coherent story line. What was particularly interesting, linking to my topic, was the environment in which the dream took place. My subconscious had created a world of tall mountains, with a large colourful city on top. The architecture and feel of the place was similar to a mix of meso-american structures and terracotta/clay houses, with mainly oranges, greens, and yellows in the colour palette. The surroundings in the dream shifted from this town to parachuting off the mountain the city sat on, creating scenes of deep canyons, waterfalls, and ambiguous structures. The dream then shifted to a scene outside a cave mountain tunnel entrance, with scaffold-like structures above and lots of dark reds, browns and beige stone/clay colours. Again keeping with the meso-american theme, the "crocodile" gate to the tunnel had vertical spike teeth as decoration at the top and the bottom, which clamped down partway on intruders. It is incredibly interesting to me the amount of detail that can be seen with dreams, which co-exists with the vague quality and blurriness of dreaming.
Analysing Film
Persona (1966) by Ingmar Bergman
8 1/2 (1963) by Federico Fellini
The Girl Chewing Gum (1976) by John Smith
Class Notes on Notable Films and Directors
Sketching and Story-boarding
Notes On Potential Final Outcomes After Research
Mark Making to Music
Experimenting with Shape and Technique
More Mark Making
Reflection
I currently want to create a final outcome that uses imagery of everyday life but distorts it, in order to convey and explore how the subconscious takes fragments from everyday life and creates a whole new environment when dreaming. I particularly want to focus on the juxtaposition of familiarity and disfigurement of dreams. I am currently considering using film or photography and creating a sort of moving collage. I am also considering using animation to explore "distortion" with more creative freedom.
External Reflection
Experimenting with Animation
I used the app Flippaclip to experiment with different subjects I could animate. I used imagery of a house as an example of a familiar place to be distorted. I started with the idea of creating a dream-sequence narrative around the house, starting with a distance shot and getting closer by sweeping past the house. I enjoyed playing with perspective here, but if I use this shot in the final outcome I will animate it frame-by-frame as I think that will make it flow better. I had intended to animate it frame-by-frame but I made mistakes and went back to fix them; while the final attempt of this shot is better than the first, I would want to animate this shot more smoothly. I then tried to emulate a fish-eye lens by curving the edges of the house. From this I experimented with abstracting the physical structure of the house, curving it so much that the house-front appeared circular in shape. Inspired by this, I animated the wheel-like "house" spinning, showing each four walls as if the outside walls had been laid out and meshed into a circle. I wanted to make the wheel appear spinning faster, so I added squiggles to the lines, which seemed to work. I finally wanted to explore twisting reality, to do this I used the ruler tool to create an extremely simple house drawing, then drew over it layer by layer to slower change the shape of the lines. It was quite therapeutic and calming to draw almost the same thing over and over again, only making small changes and not worrying about making mistakes. With this method I felt like I was mirroring the subconscious mind while sleeping, creating images and following the flow of thought. I think it will be interesting to combine this continuous method with the warped perspective drawing (of the house) from the mark-making exercise.
Story Board
Final Outcome
Final Reflection
Bibliography
ArtRedGallery (n.d.). arteredgallery - c. magem. [online] www.arteredgallery.com. Available at: https://www.arteredgallery.com/artists/magem#Previous [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
Bunyan, D.M. (2013). Max Ernst Nature at Dawn (Evensong). [online] Art Blart. Available at: https://artblart.com/tag/max-ernst-nature-at-dawn-evensong/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
CBC Radio (2021). Why this artist animated people’s weird pandemic dreams. [online] CBC. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.5927937/why-this-artist-animated-people-s-weird-pandemic-dreams-1.5928323 [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
Deguzman, K. (2021). Visual Metaphors Explained — Parasite, Shawshank, More. [online] StudioBinder. Available at: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-visual-metaphor-definition/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
Elgamal, H. (2021). ArtStation - abstract environment. [online] ArtStation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/5XDyq8 [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
HighBrow (2017). Mesoamerican Architecture. [online] Highbrow. Available at: https://gohighbrow.com/pre-columbian-architecture/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2022].
Lewis, P.A. (2014). What Is Dreaming and What Does It Tell Us about Memory? [Excerpt]. [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-dreaming-and-what-does-it-tell-us-about-memory-excerpt/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
MacLean, R. (2006). Los Caprichos. [online] www.gla.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/aug2006.html [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
Sierzputowski, K. (2017). Surreal Architectural Collages That Float Above Serene Landscapes by Matthias Jung. [online] Colossal. Available at: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/10/surreal-architectural-collages-by-matthias-jung/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
TechTarget Contributor (2017). What is semiotics? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] WhatIs.com. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/semiotics [Accessed 9 Nov. 2022].
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Project 2 - Metamorphosis
As a team create a response to the theme of "metamorphosis" that uses elements of film making, photography, and animation. Challenging your ability to work collaboratively and using your strengths in each medium to create an outcomes in two weeks.
PLANNING
Mind Map of Initial Ideas
Mind map of initial ideas - after discussing different links to metamorphosis, we decided to explore Colm's idea of photographing tube stations, and comparing the change from empty to busy through different time periods (we later shifted this idea to explore the change of the stations over time). After viewing clips from VFX movies - such as Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), I had the idea to change the medium of film to reflect the change in time, for example using black and white footage with static sounds, and morphing to more modern film techniques, more dynamic angles, and more overlaid animation for current times.
Detailed Planning with Chosen Subject
We decided to make our short film about the evolution of London's Tube system; morphing the film medium from black and white to bright and modern to emphasise the changes over time. After discussion with a tutor, we found out that due to the solid infrastructure of the Tube, it is difficult to renovate it and update the trains and stations to more modern designs, and as a result there are many Tube stations and trains that were just abandoned. We finalised our idea, deciding to photograph and film shots of both active and abandoned Tube trains and stations, using a progression from black and white to colour to enhance our communication of the evolution of Tubes. We discussed whether to start with black and white then go to colour and vice-versa, and I had the idea of (if we ended with black and white, going backwards in time) ending with a shot of an abandoned train changing from black and white to modern, symbolising how these historic unused Tube lines, while abandoned, are still here just waiting somewhere; a piece of historical everyday life lost for the desire of progression. Rhys and I plan to use animation to enhance and emphasise the contrast between the old and the new. In my mind, currently I have the image of using abstract animated effects with bold colours for the modern shots, and minimalistic subtle effects for the old. In terms of sound design, static can be used over the black and white shots to mimic old technology. I proposed the idea of using flat, wider shots when taking old photos, and using unique dynamic camera angles when taking modern photos in order to visualise the time difference and both creative and technological progression.
RESEARCH
Contextual Research
The History of VFX
Notes on VFX and Group Work in Industry
Primary Research: Visiting Tube Stations
We each visited different Tube stations to find good ones to shoot in. I went down the Jubilee line and looked at each station from North Greenwich to Waterloo. I took photos and videos to document the spacial opportunities with each place, as well as recording the sounds of both the stations and the sounds when on the actual trains themselves - I think there is so much we can do with the roaring noises of the trains zipping through the tracks to accentuate the stark contrast between the quiet abandoned Tubes and the busy social active ones.
North Greenwich Station
Canary Wharf Station
Canada Water Station
Bermondsey Station
London Bridge Station
Southwark Station
Waterloo Station
On the Train
After visiting a lot of stations on the Jubilee line, I thought that Southwark would be the best for the modern shots. Bermondsey seemed interesting and could potentially be used for the old scenes; after discussion, we decided that Baker Street station would be the best for the old shots due to the amount of spaces and the old look of the station's aesthetics, and Southwark would be best for the modern shots.
Subject Research
Luke Agbaimoni - Lines of Light on the Underground
- use of both black and white and colour photography to capture essence of the tubes
- interestingly all the photos with people in are black and white, focusing on the station and daily life
- use of bold primary colours and light reflections to capture the personality of the tube trains
- dynamic shots playing with light and shadows, using negative space to draw focus - directly links to our goal, particularly my interpretation of our planned final outcome
SiCl Art Ltd
- digital monotone drawing with slight colour added in reflections/highlights
- strong contrast between the black and white tones, using pitch black for the deepest shadows and strong white for the highlights
- interesting perception through use of layers
- simple lines create dynamic shapes through detailed composition
- link to our subject of trains
- links to our own work - the simple line work creating environmental space is perfect for inspiration for overlaid animation
Army of Thieves (2021)
- moody cinematography showing the main character going to work at the start of the film
- use of a combination of wide and close shots to show the surrounding environment
Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg
- (looking at the tube cinemagraph starting at 1:22) black and white photography, with the train animated
- adding interest to a still image, creating contrast between completely still and dynamic movement
- use of interesting perspective through multi-layering
- links to our own work: direct subject link of the tube, technique link to animation over photography
Video from (Jú, 2011). Cinemagraphs by Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg. My own found source.
Train Runners - Eric Davidove
- black and white photography of people running late for the train
- documenting everyday life
- capturing fast movement in silent stills
- direct link to our subject matter of trains/tubes
Afternoon Class (2014)
- animation about falling asleep in class
- use of visual metaphors to portray emotion to the viewer
- bold colours to create an aesthetic and harmonious visual effect
- links to technique with animated media of everyday experiences
Animation from (Osro, 2017).
Priya Mistry
- animation using dark pastel colour illustration
- direct link to our subject matter
- use of harmonious , dark colour palette to create moody vibe
"A Day On The London Underground"
- animation depicting the amount of people using the Tube throughout the day
- use of Tube map to represent each line visually
- making use of subject matter and existing visual semiotics to communicate statistics clearly to audience
Video from (Gallia, n.d.). Source found by Ella.
DEVELOPMENT
Notes on Script Writing
Our Script
Discussion of our plan and development of our ideas
Before creating our story board, we discussed the tube stations we went to on our self-study days, and decided that Baker Street station fit what we wanted for our old shots the best, and Southwark station would be best for the new shots. Daniel introduced us to the idea of following a character through the stations in order to ground the shots to a narrative. We agreed this would be a good idea as otherwise our film would just look like a montage of photos and videos of the tube, which is not what we wanted. Following a character through the film would also allow us to more easily present the transition from old to new (or vice-versa) as the character creates the opportunity for a linear progression of plot. After talking with Laura, we created a deeper metaphorical meaning that revolves around the character's feelings while being in the tube stations. Our narrative now focuses on escapism and the feeling of displacement, using the tube stations through time in order to highlight this motive of overcoming fear/running away from fear. The tubes will be presented as portals through time, using changes in the media and colour tones to highlight the changes; we will use transitions with shots taken of the same architectural surroundings (eg stairs) from the same angle to directly link the two timelines. I suggested we rotoscope over the character in order to remove distraction from the tube as the central focus of the film, which we agreed would be a good idea, however after a tutorial we realised that it would take way too long to rotoscope over film, as video shots tend to have 64 fps, which would be insane to animate over by hand. Instead, she suggested creating our environmental animations separately in Photoshop, and then sending them to the editor to add on top.
Plot Planning
Animation Experiments
My experiments with environmental animations and rotoscoping (12fps).
Rhys' experiments with animation.
The above animation uses my own photography, but the animation is done by Rhys.
Ella's Animation Tests
Story Boarding
Initial Shot Ideas
More Developed Story Board
Animated Story Board
Below is my animated story board created on Procreate.
Below is Rhys' animated story board. Interestingly, Rhys focused on emotional animations while I focused on environmental, which we discussed and decided would be very good to combine in the final film as we can reflect the emotional state through the environment, so it is good that we ended up focusing on different aspects of tube animation.
Shot Plan
Tutorial Tips
SET DESIGN, CHARACTER, AND LENS SHOT THEORY
Notes on Set Design Theory
Our Set Design and Character Costume
As our film is environment-based, our set design focuses more on shot composition and the look of the character. Our shots are planned to take advantage of tube stations unique interior shapes, such as escalator tunnels, in order to highlight the personality of the tubes as an entity. For our character costume design, our initial thoughts were to have the person in neutral colours to fit in with both timelines. I realised that if we have any particular bold colour in the modern shots then transition to the old shot, the change may be drastic and not be as easy to follow visually. Ella had the idea of putting a RGB colour wheel through a filter similar to the effect we wanted to see what colours change the least. From this we decided that a dark blue would be the most neutral and stand out well in both the modern and old shots. After discussing, we thought that dark reds and blues will work good for the costumes as it will stand out as well as matching the colour palette of the tube.
Character in Space
My Sketch
Photographer's Shots Based on Sketch
These are shots based on our sketches. We all drew our own individual sketches of what we wanted to photograph - a person on the tube - and Colm went to the station to take photos. These photos were taken by Colm, with Daniel standing in as the character.
Our Character in Different Environments
Alternative Shot Ideas
The following photos show my process and notes when creating an alternative shot to one on our story board. We had to flip the emotion of the frame and use cinematography and lens shot theory to alter how the audience would feel while viewing the same scene. I turned the feeling of restless displacement into curiosity and intrigue, I did this by changing our static side profile shot into a moving shot that evolves from a wide shot to a close shot, following and orbiting around the character to show their face by the end.
Photos on Set
SELF REFLECTION - End of PreProduction
While it would be interesting to replace our story board shots with alternatives, we originally came up with a variety of interesting shots through discussion that work to convey our changing timelines and highlight the interior intricacies of the tube. As well as this, my alternate shots focus more on the technique of our character using overlaid environmental animation to convey emotion, which is good practice for our planned animation but not for the desired focus of our film.
For experimenting with animation, our test shots are perfect and Rhys and I have already animated over some of them. I think it would be interesting to use some of our test shots in our film - all of us have individually taken photos of the tube stations, and Colm has taken amazing shots that would be perfect for our film. If it turns out we need extra footage when editing, I think we can definitely use our test shots.
I have learnt to experiment with different shots in order to creatively explore the possibilities and opportunities provided with cinematography and lens shot theory. The way a set and/or character is filmed massively impacts the feel the audience gets and the message that is conveyed from the final outcome.
POST PRODUCTION
Colour
My Notes on Colour
Colour Intention with Audience
Looking at colour intention and how colours make the audience feel.
Colour In Our Film
FILM
Filming The Shots
Filmed Clips By Colm
Above are the clips before being cut and edited. The shots were filmed and put together by Colm.
Above is the cut down first draft of our film, all done by Colm.
Notes on Editing
ANIMATION
Problem Solving
Picking Our Application
Our application options for animation were Photoshop, ProCreate and Flipaclip. We were considering using Photoshop if we could learn how to use it within our short timeframe. However, both of use use iPads rather than drawing tablets with a laptop so due to the difference in tools we struggled with the Photoshop animation workshop, and decided to use what we were familiar with. While ProCreate has a larger variety of brushes and tools, the amount of frames was limited depending on the screen size, which we thought would be too unpredictable to use. We decided to use Flipaclip, which I have experience in using.
Issues Animating Over Video
We ran into issues at the beginning when trying to animate over video, due to the video clips being around 30fps and us wanting to animate at 12fps for optimum smoothness with limited amount of frames. Using Flipaclip I had an idea to be able to animate 12fps then put that over the 30fps, which would involve animating over the video in 12fps, then exporting just the layer with the animation and putting it over the 30fps video, all within Flipaclip. I experimented a lot with trying to do this practically, and it seemed to work until I could not add the 12fps with a transparent background over the 30fps video. To keep the transparent background, the 12fps animation has to be a GIF, but to add a video over the video in Flipaclip, it has to be an mp4. After struggling for a while, I googled it and found out that mp4s with transparent backgrounds don't exist, so my idea didn't work.
Above is a 12fps transparent animation I made for testing, converted to mp4.
Above is a test where I put the 12fps animation over the 30fps video, after converting the transparent GIF to mp4. Due to it being mp4, the animation lost its transparency, so I lowered the opacity to see if that was an option if all else failed.
Above is an animation test where I animated straight over the video in 12fps. As seen in the video, due to the low frame rate the video has lost smoothness and therefore would not work in our final film. I also ran into issues saving the animation layer as a GIF, so I had to download the PNGs and combine it into a GIF online using Ezgif.com. This method works, but I had to change the frame delay as it automatically set it to 20/100s of a second, which was too slow. I changed it to 10fps, which seemed to work but I am not sure if it is the exact same speed.
Overcoming Issues - Change Of Method
Ella did an animation test on Photoshop, using an animation she'd made externally and using that as a transparent GIF. She was able to put the GIF over video in Photoshop successfully, so this is the method we decided to use for animating over video.
Planning The Final Animations
Rhys and I went through Colm's first draft film to decide what we want to animate. As some of the shots were not exactly what we expected, it was a bit difficult to implement our initial plans. However, after discussing with the group, we decided that we would only animate the shots on the tube and the photos that would be implemented during the final edit. We split the tube shots into two each between us, and decided we would do the same with the photos.
Animating The Shots
Rhys cut the video into shots and sent me two videos to animate, as seen below.
Mirror Shot
Rhys suggested only animating in the mirror, I thought this was a good idea because it creates less distraction, and the asymmetry relates to the feeling of restlessness and unease, as well as communicating that these environmental animations are abstract and not physically impacting the environment. I colour picked from the image so that the colours worked harmoniously and didn't stand out too much - I altered the colour so it was visible against the floor, colour tests can be seen below.
I started animating and changed my idea three times - the first version looked too much like mud or heavy slime, the second attempt of waves didn't have enough weight, with the third version I made simple firework-like spirals. I was careful to time the spirals for the exact frame that the character's feet hit the ground, so it was clear that the animation was because of the character's interactions with the world. After completing the full sequence for the third version, when playing I accidentally set all three layers to view. The different versions ended up working together nicely and added more impact at the beginning when she is closer to the tube, reflecting on her anxiety and nervousness which fades the further as she continues her journey away from the Tube. This emotional journey is reflected and communicated through my animation, which is presented below.
Tube Shot
I initially didn't know what to animate, as the majority of the shot is empty window space. I then decided to animate the circles on the train seats as they had the brightest colour, and had a good flow of direction to link the character to the environment. I utilised the character's movements to show her restlessness through animation of distorted circles, which travelled across the seats in waves. Below is the final animated shot.
Change In Delegating Work
Rhys had issues with animating 12fps over video, so after lots of trials and error with converting we decided that I would take over animating the videos and Rhys would animate all of the photos. I delegated the work with Ella, as I now would have had double the workload. She also ran into challenges as the software she had experience in did not allow for animating over videos, only photos. Due to this I took over the animation of the video that needed animation straight over the video. Ella animated the other video that was left, as the contents of the animation did not need to precisely follow the frame. Below are the two shots that needed animating.
Hands Shot
During our previous discussion, Rhys and I had the idea to animate the eye ring the actor was wearing, so this is what I decided to animate. I started with drawing over the whites of the eyes before realising that I would need to draw the eye lids if I wanted it to create new movement. I animated the eyelids for the whole film, before going over with a new layer and colouring over the iris to have it match throughout the whole shot, and also to add the eye looking around nervously. I then added an extra layer in order to cover up the iris from where I had moved it. Finally, I went back over the eyelid and used the eraser tool to add the effect of a crease when the eyelids were closed.
This animation utilises the eye ring as a method of showing the character's subdued nervousness; by using the imagery of the eye, the ring acts as an opening to the character's masked anxieties and feelings of restlessness, which get pushed down through the character's fidgeting. There is an interesting contrast here between the animations that showed the character's nervousness through the environment, and between this shot where her anxiety is shown through her jewellery. Due to the close proximity of this shot, the audience can see her fidgeting and understand her feelings through physical body language. The animation adds another layer to this action by conveying her thoughts through the physical imagery of wide, darting eyes that she is refraining herself from doing. The act of fidgeting as a comforting action also covers up the uncontrolled behaviour of the eye looking for an escape, again depicting the character's subconscious repression of anxiety.
Ella's Animation
Late Solution To A Previous Problem
After completing the Hands shot animation, started converting it to a transparent GIF before being informed by the editors Colm and Daniel that just having the videos as MP4s worked better, as they couldn't work out how to add the GIFs over the video anyway. In this way our problem of animating 12fps over 30fps videos could have been avoided by simply animating straight on to the videos in 12fps and using that. Fortunately the only difference for me would have been not converting the animations to GIFs, so I didn't waste loads of time, but it was a good lesson to learn for future similar projects.
TYPEFACE
Notes on Typeface
My Chosen Type For Our Film
I chose this font as it is bold an uniform, linking to the order and regularity of the Tubes. The line work is not entirely straight, providing personality and relating to our character's nervousness. The formal lettering relates to the public appearance our character puts on in the systematic and well-functioning Tube environment, while the hand-written quality makes the film feel unique to this character. We are communicating this specific person's response to the Tube system, these feelings of anxiety are a personal subject that have to be carefully observed to understand or pick up on, and I believe this font accutely communicates that.
After Effects Notes
Ella's Credits Tests
Rhys' Photo Animations
Final Outcome
The final film was edited together with sound design, done by Daniel. There are two versions, the first one with long, uninterrupted shots of walking. The second one has shots of the tube flashing throughout the walk.
Version 1
Version 2
Final Reflection
I prefer version 2 of our final film. The second edit links much more to Metamorphosis due to the inclusion of flashes of the tube appearing during the walk towards the train. This builds a sense of tension and communicates the character's fears of the tube more effectively than the edit without them. The flashing shots also add a sense of intrigue, due to the tonal contrast between the warm and cold shots. The metamorphosis in the final outcome is present with the character’s perception and experience of the tube, going from dread and anxiety to overcoming this and finishing the journey. The muffled sound design is really effective to highlight the feeling of isolation. The character’s anxiety is depicted visually using environmental animation, supported by sweeping music that starts with short notes that resonate with the character’s nervous knee movement. The shot at the end with the light streaming onto the character as she exists creates a sense of relief and highlights the sense of entrapment that the character felt in the tube. Personally, I would have chosen alternate sound design rather than the soundtrack that plays when she gets off the train, as I think the music tries to present the character in an empathetic way, but does not showcase and communicate the character’s anxiety in a way that the audience can deeply understand. Because of this, I feel that the tension and restlessness of the scene is lost and replaced with an overly-dramatic presentation of her getting off the tube. In my opinion, while the music partly creates a sense of achievement, I believe it does not match the vibe of the film and feels extremely out of place to the point of being unintentionally comedic. Also concerning sound design, I would have incorporated J cuts, particularly during the heavy walking scenes. I would have liked there to be more shots of the tube - such as the one where the character is standing on the platform, and the scenes shown in the credits - to shift the focus more towards the Tube. I understand, however, that the project and its intentions changed over the course of production, and everyone has had input that has shaped the course of the film. Overall, this has been a great experience in group work and creating an outcome that everyone has equal say in. I have learnt to delegate work and not take on more work than I can handle. While there are changes I would make with the final outcome, I am pleased that we managed to successfully create a full-length film that incorporates animation, photography and sound design that is over 5 minutes.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Credits:
Created with an image by somen - "yellow grunge textured abstract background for multiple uses"