An important step in developing my Pixilation was creating storyboards to act as a guide as to how I was going to put together my final product. For this I took the same approach as I did for my previous Storyboard project, planning my initial ideas on post-it notes in order to get a feel for the chronology and visual syntax.
As the project was not centred around the storyboards themselves this time around less attention was paid to the detail of actual illustrations and more to the motion depicted. I highlighted using arrows the direction in which characters and objects would be moving at all times, accompanied with a short description detailing the length of certain actions, the framing of the shot and any camera movements that were to take place.
My pixilation begins with a close up of an alarm clock ringing with a soft focus. A hand then knocks the clock off the bedside table and we focus pull to focus onto the person who turns over in the bed, covering themselves with the duvet. The lump, then begins sliding towards the end of the bed.
We then cut to a shot of the hallway, with the wall out of focus in the foreground. The door on the right, slowly opens and out slinks the person, lying face down as if still asleep, moving across the screen towards the bathroom. Then, we cut to a series of quick whip-zoom close ups of various bathroom objects as to imply the person is getting dressed.
We then cut back to the same shot of the hallway as before, this time with the person moving from the left to the right side of the screen, back inside the room. Then cut to a mid shot of the person stepping into a cupboard. The doors close and after a brief second the doors open to reveal them in a new set of clothes.
The person then steps out of the cupboard and we cut to a close up shot of a pair of shoes, which tie themselves when they put their foot inside of them.
As a part of our studio practice I was tasked with producing a pendulum animation that would complete it's arc in exactly a second when played back at 12 frames per second. For this task I used the technique of pose-to-pose animation, where I plan out the key frames ahead of time and carefully calculate how many in-betweens are needed for the motion to be fluid and synchronised.
Before drawing a single frame of animation I planned out how I was going to animate my arc by sketching out the points in which I would draw each frame. This was done to ensure even spacing, which is vital in simulating a fluid motion in which an object speeds up and slows down in velocity. I took into account the ease-in ease-out principle and drew more frames closer together at the beginning of the motion. This gives the pendulum weight and volume, adding to the realism of the motion.
The main keyframes I used were when the pendulum began it's arc, when it was mid-swing and when it had completed it's arc, which were marked A, B and C respectively. For the motion to take exactly a second it had to take place over 12 frames, meaning the motion must end on Keyframe C which is the 12th frame. Keyframe B therefore must be on frame 6, meaning I must draw 4 in-betweens before and after Keyframe C.
Overall I am mostly satisfied with the final product, though I do feel I could have maintained the volume of the pendulum a little better. I am happy with how the animation implies a certain weight to the ball, so overall I would deem the exercise successful. In future will try remain on-model throughout and maintain a consistent volume, though I may also experiment with squash and stretch techniques and try and incorporate more of the principles of animation.
Bjork is no stranger to animated music videos. Over the course of her career she has collaborated with animators on numerous projects, but it's her 1995 collaboration with John Kricfalusi that is of particular note. Kricfalusi's trademark aesthetic is on full display here. One of the defining principles of Kricfalusi's work has been his restraint in remaining on model in his animation, very much subscribing to the dogma of squash and stretch, but taking it to new extremes where the characters change shape and volume drastically.
The video makes use of live action also, compositing Bjork into an animated world. This provides a nice contrast to the exaggerated proportions, overlapping action and appealing designs of Kricfalusi's animation, highlighting the ways in which it breaks conventional laws of motion to create a surreal and almost dreamlike aesthetic.
Kricfalusi clearly has a passion for animation, and this is evident in the way his work basks in the glory of the 12 fundamental principles. If you were to go through the video frame by frame you could pick out at least one example of each of Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas's fundamental principles of animation. Seemingly, not a single frame is the same, which gives the characters an air of life which is rare in today's climate of digital 2D animation, an aesthetic closer to the classics of Disney than more contemporary animated shows, particularly in the comedy genre.
Today, during our studio practice time we were briefed on the 12 fundamental principles of animation by our tutor. These principles were laid out and developed by veteran Disney Animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson, who were both a part of The Walt Disney Company's core animation team 'Nine Old Men'. The following blog post will be a summary of the notes I made during the lecture and my main take away from it.
1) Squash and Stretch: Allows the animator to give the illusion of weight by emphasising the squash and stretch of a movement.
An example of squash and stretch in action.
For Example: The Pixar logo with the lamp is a good example of this principle put to use in a 3D context, as the lamp squashes and stretches as it animates, giving it weight, volume and character all of it's own.
2) Anticipation: The movement that a character or object makes before an action.
Anticipation > Action > Reaction
For Example: 0:59 When Tom swings the golf club, this is a perfect example of anticipation in animation as the wind up is emphasised before the resulting action.
3) Staging: (Mise en scene) The presentation of an idea or mood so it clearly communicates with the audience. This can be enhanced by shot framing.
For Example: The Simpsons often has good staging, with a diverse range of camera angles in which the characters facial expressions are always visible and mannerisms clear and concise thanks to their positioning in the scene.
4) Straight Ahead and Pose-to-pose Animation:
Straight Ahead Animation: the process of animating frame after frame without the use of Key-framing. If you're not careful you can wander off and lose a sense of scale, volume and balance. For Example: Less emphasis on timing makes it harder for large teams of people to work together meaning Straight Ahead Animation is more suited to solo animators at specific moments in a scene. An example of this would be some of the more exaggerated walk cycles in cartoons such as Ren and Stimpy. Pose-to-pose: meticulously planned. The animator works out what key poses will be needed ahead of time. An assistant then draws the in-between frames. Pose-to-pose animation allows for a more collaborative process and more control over timing and movement. For Example: Most forms of traditional 2D animation use this technique as it allows for large teams of people to work together on a single project within a manageable space of time.
5) Follow through and overlapping action: actions that happen after the main action has stopped or an object has changed direction.
For Example: Spike, the dog from Tom and Jerry is a prime example of this in the way the skin fat on his face moves and overlaps when he moves.
6) Slow-Out and Slow-In (Ease-in, Ease-out): Variation in the number of frames at different stages of an action.
Fewer Drawings > Faster Action
More Drawings> Slower Action
7) Arcs: Most human/non-mechanical movements follow an arc or circular path, which makes the animation flow.
For Example: Popeye's punches are probably the best example I can think of a circular arc in a piece of animation. Movements are natural, well timed and follow a circular path, making the animation flow more fluently.
8) Secondary Action: An action that reinforces the intentions of the first. (Not to be confused with overlapping action.)
For Example: During a walk cycle, often the characters arms will swing or facial expression will change mid-stride to reinforce the primary action. In this specific cycle, Finn's backpack moving on his back is the secondary action.
9) Timing: To effectively use timing one must refine one's work through a gruelling process of trial and error, trying again when you make a mistake. Most animation is done on twos (two frames per drawing when played at 24 frames per second), while camera movements and pans are done on ones to ensure smooth camerawork. Reference is also vital to ensuring the timing of your animation is optimal.
For Example:
10) Exaggeration: not just about being bigger, faster etc. More subtle exaggeration is more effective in some cases.
For Example: There are examples of exaggeration being put to good use throughout Ren and Stimpy, for example: when Stimpy is looking through the hole in the garden fence and his eye becomes detached and comically elongated.
11) Solid Drawing: The basic principles of drawing form, weight and volume to give the illusion of fully three dimensional characters. Good solid drawing has depth and balance.
For Example: Characters in The Simpsons are well modelled and follow a consistent volume across a variety of shots and camera angles.
12) Appeal: The design must be aesthetically pleasing and able to clearly communicate the intended message to the audience. Every character must be visually appealing in some way or another with an interesting personality present in their design.
For Example: The surrealist character designs of The Regular Show are appealing due to their absurdity.
The process in which I came about producing my storyboards can be attributed to this Youtube video by RubberOnion, which outlines the process of rearranging sketches on small post-it notes to form a coherent narrative and working from there. This allows for flexibility and experimentation in the early stages to ensure the visual language is on point and communicates the intended message.
Initial post-it note stage
I garnered feedback from my tutors in this early stage of production to ensure I didn't move forward with my storyboards without a coherent narrative. This allowed me to make changes based on the feedback I received. For example, one of my tutors was concerned I was using too many profile shots and not fully utilising the verticality of the setting I had chosen and hence suggested I use more high angle shots to impose upon my main character, painting him as more of an underdog. Creative processes like this are a collaborative process, even if it just involves garnering feedback from your peers and tutors.
Watercolour painting w/ linework
After carefully planning out the sequence of storyboards I would be working with I began working on the actual panels which I would be refining into my final storyboards. For this, first I sketched it out in pencil on a piece of watercolour paper and then began painting it with watercolours. The watercolour is there so that I can plan out which areas of the frame are which tone, I chose the colour blue because it has cold connotations and will help me envision the atmosphere of the world. Fine-liner pens where then used to bring out elements in the world and add dimension to the characters and scenery. It also allows for me to imply motion through the angle in which certain elements, such as the snow are skewed, which is important when working in a medium such as animation.
Final frame composited and refined in Photoshop
Upon completion of the line-work I then scanned the images into the computer using the EPSON scanner and began refining the lifework and tonal elements in Photoshop. To simulate snow I used a noise layer. refined the levels and used the screen blending mode to blend it with the background, creating a snow-like effect, subtly skewing the layer to simulate a blizzard. I applied a gradient to the background in order too simulate night time and used layer masking to ensure scenery in the background (such as the icicles) was illuminated enough to be visible and everything consistent with the overall lighting.
Traditionally, production on a feature film begins with a screenplay, but with Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller (director of Babe: Pig in the City and the original Mad Max films) and artist Brendan McCarthy (well known for his work on Judge Dredd and 2000AD) approached the production differently. Concept art and storyboards largely informed the early phases of production, which really shows in the final product. To put it simply, the film is a 2 hour car chase, complete with just about every action movie staple you can think of. Fury Road received a lot of praise on release for thriving in it's simplicity.
Before he even had a script, Miller had the whole film planned out visually.
Where Fury Road succeeds is in every aspect of it's visuals, particularly in the way scenes were storyboarded to create exciting and coherent action scenes, which is important in a film which relies heavily on said scenes. Miller has stated in interviews that it was important not to shoot too much of the film in profile, instead working on a sort of Z-axis, which adds more dimension to the film. This really shows in McCarthy's storyboards, with their dynamic camera angles, reminiscent of 2000AD comic book panels. The film also faithfully abides to the visual style set out in Brendan McCarthy's storyboards, replicating the grimy, used-future aesthetic of 2000AD.
McCarthy's storyboards owe a lot to their 2000AD roots.
This aesthetic also owes a lot to a lot of the post-apocalyptic fiction that came in the wake of the original Mad Max, which has influenced a wide range of popular culture, from comics to films to video games. The character designs, particularly of arguably Fury Road's most enduring character; Furiosa owe a lot to Jamie Hewlett's 90's post-punk feminist action heroine Tank Girl.
The overall aesthetic owes a lot to works inspired by the original Mad Max films.
Composition is key to the success of Fury Road in the visual department, and for the film to succeed in the visual aspect it must be working from the strong foundation of a storyboard. The lack of dialogue in the film, which earned it scorn from some critics is compensated for with it's clear and concise visual storytelling. There is no confusion as to the orientation and motion of the action sequences because of how scenes are framed. The director and storyboard artists are well aware of the visual language and don't try to deviate too far from these established conventions. The 180 degree rule is an important part of this, in creating easily to follow, coherent action scenes For scenes which utilise lots of quick cuts in succession, the Director of Photography on Fury Road, John Seale used centre framing to maintain an audience's point of interest. He explains this is so that the viewer doesn't need 3-4 frames to figure out where to look.
In many ways Fury Road is the antithesis of the modern action blockbuster, swapping shaky-cam and CG action sequences for intricately choreographed sweeping vistas, pyrotechnics and practical stunt work. It's a film that's gained a large amount of respect from people working in the creative industries for it's uncompromising translation from storyboard to screen and a rarity in a cinematic landscape increasingly saturated with derivative works and endless sequels.
1) Fade in from white to an Establishing Shot of mountainscape during snow storm. A grapple hook appears centre frame from the other side of the cliff.
2) Mid shot of icicles in the foreground hanging off edge of cliff. There are two ropes in the right third of the screen tugging in opposite directions as if to imply weight is being put on it.
3) Long shot of a man ascending a mountainside. The framing puts into perspective the scale of the mountain compared to the size of the climber.
4) Close up shot of climber as he climbs up onto ledge. Hands in the foreground, with the face slowly rising up into centre frame while the storm rages on in the background.
5) Extreme close up of rope being strained, to demonstrate tension in the scene. The snowstorm in the background also begins to intensify, mirroring the tension being put on the rope, an example of pathetic fallacy.
6) Extreme close up of icicle breaking, to parallel the snapping of the rope.
7) Extreme close up reaction shot of the mountain climber as he realises his fate. (Eyes open, Dolly zoom.)
8) POV Shot of mountain climber falling. Holds hands out as he looks up at cliff, just short of the summit. Cut to black upon impact with ground.
9) Fade in from black to long shot of silhouetted man at the top of the mountain.
10) Mid Shot of mountain climber looking down off edge of cliff, proud of his achievement.
11) Cut back to POV angle from before, this time with mountain climber looking down. He then turns around and disappears into the blizzard as if he was a hallucination, implying that the climber didn't actually make it to the top of the mountain.
'When I came to disney, one of my first impressions about being here was that there was drawing everywhere. There's a deep legacy of it being in the final product, right up there on the screen that goes back to the very beginning. There's something about that hand of the artist that I really admired so much.'
- John Kahrs, Director of Paperman
According to John Kahrs, the director of the Academy Award winning short film 'Paperman' computer Animation is going through a sort of golden age. 3D animation has proliferated to the point it is the go-to aesthetic for animated feature films, leaving little room for experimentation. Walt Disney Animation Studio's Paperman aimed to break that trend, employing a 3D vector/raster-based animation system to create 3D models whose movements, design and character were heavily informed by more traditional 2D animation techniques, the type upon which Disney built a reputation.
John Kahrs' aim with Paperman was to 'bring the drawing back' to animation, which was accomplished by tracing stylised 3D models. Animators would apply brush strokes to particular key frames and the computer would automatically generate the in-betweens. A more detailed explanation of the process can be found here...
The result is a visually striking, sombre eulogy to the days of 2D hand-drawn frame by frame animation, viewed through the lens of the latest, most cutting edge computer animation techniques and world class animators. Paperman simultaneously pays homage to the days of classic Disney while also pushing the medium forward.
In researching old children's nursery rhymes to adapt into a storyboard I was pointed towards the work of German Psychiatrist Heinrich Hoffman, whose stories often depicted children misbehaving and the resulting consequences. I feel his work would make for an interesting storyboard, due to the bizarre and often dark imagery of his writing.
Our first brief for Level 4 Animation is to visualise a nursery rhyme of our choice in the form of a 12-18 frame storyboard. For mine I have chosen to reinterpret the rhyme 'Incy Wincy Spider', giving it my own unique metaphorical spin. I broke down the narrative to it's most basic form and decided to work from there; a character overcoming adversity and failure.
My narrative follows a mountain climber (who for the purposes of this explanation represents the spider in the rhyme) as he ascends a steep cliff during a blizzard. This parallels the 'incy wincy spider' who 'climbs up the water spout'. The depiction of an 'incy wincy' character is reflected in the use of camera angles, high angles (looking down from the top of the mountain) and long shots (in which the mountain takes up a good 2/3 of the frame) which really communicate the scale of the mountain versus the man.
In developing my storyboards I used watercolour paint to create tone, though the process has proved time consuming, meaning I will likely opt for a less demanding default style for future storyboarding projects. Nevertheless, I wanted to limit the colour palette as much as possible in my storyboards so I could concentrate on tone and communicating a particular sombre mood.
Trip-Hop populariser's Portishead are no strangers to weird and experimental music videos. Together with fellow Trip-Hop artists Massive Attack, they are responsible for some of the most groundbreaking and unconventional music videos of the the late 90s. Here, they prove yet again their ability to marry their unique brand of hypnotic electronica and equally engrossing and hypnotic visuals with the video for their 2008 single 'The Rip'.
In the video we dive into the sketchbook of a surrealist cartoonist, in a 4 minute video consisting of one long and impressively uninterrupted tracking shot worthy of Alfonso Cuaron, which seeps into every corner of this densely packed world, with the camera in constant roving motion. From the first couple of seconds the video synch perfectly with the instrumentals of the song. The Rabbit in the opening times the arch of it's hops to the instrumentation and as the melody evolves from twangy guitar strings to electronic swells, the camera shifts in orientation to reflect this change.
Aesthetically, the video resembles a person flipping through a sketchbook in many ways, with it's low frame rate and crudely drawn crayon illustrations. Despite the low frame rate, the video manages to turn what would otherwise be a detriment into a part of it's aesthetic, complimenting the rhythm of the music to hypnotic effect.
