Minor Project: Change in Idea

After speaking to Alan and thinking more into my initial ideas I've come up with a more solid storyline for my animation. Two pigeons fly in on a branch above a park and have a very casual 'human-like' conversation.

They talk about:

• The type of people that come to the park
• The type of food they leave
• Relations with other female pigeons or 'birds'
• Funny scenarios where they've poo'd on people

These common topics then lead to deeper and more thought provoking topics like whether the egg came before the chicken and so on. The humor will be that both pigeons are talking in such a colloquial human way but what they are talking about is something no human can discuss in that perspective.

I will start working on the order of the topics and how the dialogue will get from talking about one subject to another

Minor Project: Further research

Ive looked at more ways in portraying this idea in term of where the characters will converse and how. I think I want the characters to be sitting on a wall on an estate 'chilling' until it leads them into these discussions and the camera will focus on them from a straight and upfront angle.

Some examples:

A short film - Tight Jeans

An episode from series - Mandem On The Wall

To do this successfully I need to really improve on my modelling/texuring skills because how the characters look will play a significant roll in how the project turns out. Starting from today I will revisit a lot of the old Maya tutorials and practice my modelling and texturing to prepare me for turning my character designs 3d

3rd Year Project: Change in Idea

After the briefing today I was hit with the idea of making my minor project on a short animation or a series of short animations that revolve around the humourous  conversations of two characters from an urban environment about common affairs. The characters and their whimsically deviating discussions will be the central point of the animation which means their design will be all the more important to the success of the animation. Two perfect examples of the type of conversations they will have are Ed' and Rummy's in The Boondocks or Vincent and Jules in Pulp Fiction:

The Boondocks - Ed and Rummy

Pulp fiction - Vince and Jules

Adaptation B: Influence map

This is my first influence map to better my understanding on the different techniques of the personification into human characters.

Adaptation B: Brainstorming Character Ideas

This is a brainstorm of some characteristics and qualities of my chosen alcoholic drinks. My aim is to convert these characteristics into human traits to help me design my characters and their personalities.

Adaptation B: Initial ideas

My idea for my part B adaptation is to create characters for a sitcom who are direct personifications of the different types of alcohol students and overall just young people drink at university or on a night out.

Here are the first four drinks I have come up with to personify:

  Jack Daniels - Whiskey












              Smirnoff - Vodka














         Becks - Beer

and

Rosé - Wine

Character Design: Concept, Style and Research

               After some thought I have come up with the concept of an app type game called 'Sugar Cave' (or Sugar shrub, I haven't decided). The aim, or mechanism, of the game is to gain points by consuming falling peices of sugar and sweets caused by the erupting cave but at the same time protect the young of the creatures from being crushed by these objects. The twist is that each character is only limited to one movement whether it is a bounce, diagonal stretch, upwards stretch or

expansion and they have to be unlocked to be used as the game progresses between levels.

              To make the game more interesting and commercially pleasing, as the young can be developed by the player between levels, They will also be able to be customized with unlockable items bought with the points gained.

Top: Rough idea of main characters. Bottom: The different variations of young that can be customized 

In terms of the style and appearance of my characters I have looked at other already existing Iphone games such as 'Cut the rope' and 'Angry birds. I will like to take in the simplistic techniques of character design they've used that make them so distinct and apply them to my ideas.

I will also use Cut the rope as inspiration for my mechanism as they ask the player to do similar things in terms of the dragging, pressing and pulling of the character or object across the screen to reach an objective.

Character Design: Initial ideas

After getting the cards with the words that would act as my environment, mechanism and character I had a distinct idea of what kind of game I will be focusing on. The words were:


Elasticity
(Squash & Stretch/ Bounciness)

Consumption
(Edible/Removal)

Candy
(Treats & Rewards/Obesity)

            






                 These words immediately reminded me of a type of Iphone app game like angry birds or candy crush with the main objective having something to do with the player pressing, pulling or dragging something across the screen so I knew I wanted my game to share similar qualities to this.

I also realized that two of these words (Candy and Consumption) work pretty much hand in hand together and should be used to my advantage whether it meaning the environment will be made of Candy and the objective is to bounce around some how to consume it, or if the objective is to remove aspects of the environment to gain treats or rewards.

Narrative: First Ideas

First Idea

The first idea I've come up with is of a fish sitting in his house in an armchair when he looks at a photo frame on a wall beside him. 

• He gets up to straighten it. 
• when he sits down the frame slides even more out of place. 
• He gets up a second time to fix it. 
• Yet again when he sits down it goes even more out of place. 
• He gets up a third time, straightens the frame, then sits down again. 
• He sighs out of relief and the whole wall collapses to reveal the undersea environment.

Second Idea

This idea has a similar concept to the first but instead involves a crab (with human features) that is admiring his car that he had just finished polishing.

• He gives the car a final scrub with a cloth he is holding 
• When he stands back to admire it again the bumper falls off
• He scrambles to fix it back on but when he does, the tail light drops off
• He runs to the rear of the car to force it back on but then the front wheel comes loose and rolls down a hill
• As he is about to run after it the car falls apart altogether

         Although these are quick ideas I haven't yet pitched to my group members, I have started looking at influences and would like to use Bikini Bottom from Spongebob as a reference in terms of its underwater yet human-like environment and characters.

Fantastic Voyage: Three Act Structure

Act 1 - Spore disposal
Sporophyte attacks entering battle scene and uses spore attack. After attack run away option is used and leave battle. Use pokedex to find out more about it.

Act 2 - Sperm drop
After checking only pokemon - Archegonia - an Antheridia attacks entering battle scene again and using 'sperm drop'. Once again run away option is used.

Act 3 - Fertilization
After battle the Archegonia is checked again and the sperm drop attack seemed to have lasting effect causing it to evolve (fertilize).

Fantastic Voyage: Visual concept

Visual Concept: Pokemon

I want to use the gameboy game Pokemon as an influence to the style in which I portray my animatic. I'm also going to aim my animatic at a young audience of roughly 6-10 years of age and in doing so will make good use of the illustrious childrens program to explain these complex scientific ideas.

 

I'm going to use the notorious pokemon battle scene to introduce the different components of the life cycle and use the 'attacks' to show what they do (Spore disposal, Sperm depositing). 

And I will use the Pokedex as vessel to give further information about each component in a way to get through to the audience without the knowledge that their learning.