Extended Practice

Course blog

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Lost Beagle 2 spacecraft found on surface of Mars

British Beagle 2 probe has not been seen or heard from since December 2003 and had been presumed destroyed

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Beagle 2 Mars lander’s remains may have been spotted on red planet

Press conference on Friday will provide an update on the fate of the Mars spacecraft that disappeared on Christmas day in 2003

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The Journey of Beagle 2, Is my final animation exploring the story of Professor Colin Pillinger and the lost Beagle 2 lander 2003 mission to Mars.

It is my final animation for my MA in Graphic Arts at the University of the West of England.

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A example of scene developments and rejected concepts for my work on 'The Journey of Beagle 2', an animated exploration of the failed mission to Mars.

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Current version of poster designs to accompany animation. 

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Illustrations that were to be animated before aesthic style changed to two dimensional line drawings, poster designs, and a portrait of Professor Colin Pillinger 

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Different variations on an initial poster design I later scrapped. I wanted to have Professor Colin Pillingers face front and centre as I felt that he was such a figure head for the mission but later felt that the message of the endeavour was at the heart of my animation and as such his face was unnecessary. The circle grid is a reference to Damien Hirst's spot paintings, one of which was used as a calibration chart on the Beagle 2 lander. 

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At this stage I feel that I need to take decisive action in regards to style and content in order to allow for the work to feel complete and full in its communication. I feel that the stage I have created implies that this is all an unachieved idea and limits the over all themes of exploration and discovery impotent if it has never left the desk and paper stage, as such I feel that an ambiguous starry sky or black board would allow for the same theme to be presented, yet it would not be explicitly leading the audience to any conclusion, rather allowing for an individual interpretation. Previously I had created an animation that had almost achieved photo realism, that of a close up sun, but felt that it was again too expressive in its communication of themes and thus would only serve to confuse and muddle the intended ideals of the narrative. As a result I looked to simplify the animation in order to more effectively convey the message. During my research one of the elements I had responded to was the pasts representation of future technologies, i.e. the basic elements on a computer screen as two-dimensional lines to connote depth and other information. It is an element that is prevalent in science fiction of the 60’s, 70’s and the 80’s and now feels dated and in some respects quaint, as such I felt that utilising this as a distinct visual style would aid in communication that this is story, although dealing with the grandest ideals of who we are and where we come from, indeed our very genetic ancestry, It is still a story that comes from a place we all know, not the worlds richest governments spending billions and utilising limitless resources, such as the initial ‘Space Race’, but it is a narrative of local man from a small island reaching for the stars and as such a two-dimensional line drawing aids some way in connoting this theme.

By creating the images in two-dimensional line drawings within After effects I am also able to use fractal noise on a separate layer which will not be visible linked via a displacement map to create the appearance that the lines are wobbling in between frames, in essence that they are each a hand drawn element that is slightly different on each frame and as such is jumping in between. This imbues the work with several ideas, again the reference to it being hand drawn further implies the idea that this is a home made, frame by frame adventure. The lines imply ridged precise computer like precision yet the inability to stay still ingrains a lifelike quality and as such motion and speed are all implied without having to actually move the image and as previously stated they hark back to science of the past, in particular mankind’s space endeavours, something which Professor Colin Pillinger is interminably linked. Giving all the images the lined style permeates the work with a constant, coherent voice thus affecting its tone and manner making it consistent and clear and therefore allowing it to utilise one message visually while further conveying other themes through, not only the shapes themselves but also through the audio as well. 

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Professor Colin Pillinger: What Makes Us Human?, Professor Colin Pillinger answers the question: What Makes Us Human?, Jeremy Vine - BBC Radio 2

Professor Colin Pillinger ponders human curiosity, martian life and living with MS.

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Star

In trying to decide on a visual style for 'The Journey of Beagle 2' animation I experimented with different styles and effects.

One of the elements of the animatic is a look at the sun and as such I wanted to try to create an impressive design, as a result I looked at different ways that some of the animation presets would work to create motion and found different tutorials demonstrating this Fractal noise effect. I am unsure whether or not to have the animation have a real look or try and create something more stylised and implied. At this stage however I wanted to test out a realistic looking effect to see how easily it could be achieved and to give me an idea of how I could use it within the final animation. 

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After creating this as a background I set the animation I had already crafted (minus any part of it where I had placed a background) on top of it within a mask so as to contain it onto the graph Paper. I feel that this was an interesting development for the look of the work as it really imparts meaning to an audience and communicates themes by showing instead of telling it also creates an interesting layered image from the beginning and throughout the animatic. I do feel that this highlights the need to revise the content and get a clear grip on what it is that I am trying to communicate.

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After reviewing my animatic it seemed clear that it could benefit from finding a clear voice and tone, I feel that one way to start this would be to create a ‘stage’ for the action to take place within, as such my first impulse was to have it play out on a piece of paper at someone’s desk. I feel that this setting gives me ample opportunity to layer the scene with mise-en-scene, which would communicate a little something about the character, the ideas and inspiration behind the mission. I also feel that this is a great starting place as it gives me the opportunity to open the animation on a simple relatable  landscape that is easily recognisable and as such would allow me to attempt to tackle larger themes inherent within the search for extraterrestrial life. To that end I created an image that took some of these ideas, in an interview with Professor Pillinger expresses his youthful fondness of ‘Eagle comics’, ‘Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future’ and the radio play ‘Journey Into Space’, as such I wanted to express the age of science fiction before mankind had set foot on the moon, so as a starting point took an old poster of ‘Eagle comics’ and an ‘Amazing Stories’ and placed them on a book cover using Photoshop. I also converted a picture of Beagle 2, so as to look like a page of blue prints, to further imply the scientific nature of the desk I used a crumpled paper texture on top of a lined page and place two doodles and an equation on it to seem like an inspirational piece of scrap paper, the doodles are a scientific symbol for hydrogen and a map of key stars within the universe giving directions back to earth, these two symbols are found on discs attached the space craft Voyager (two probes sent to the far reaches of our solar system in order to measure the suns influence, the discs contain various messages and samples of earths culture such as language and music). The equation on the page is known as the Drake equation a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy, as the beagle 2 was attempting to find life or evidence of past life forms on Mars I felt that this equation had an interesting resonance. I also created a simple pencil in illustrator. For the area where the animation would primarily take place I layered an image of graph paper on top of itself so as to make them seem like a pile and giving a focal point to the whole image. 

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With a shot list based on my treatment laid out I went ahead and created an draft Animatic in order to get an idea of how it would play out and how if some of the ideas I had up to this point were conveying the themes I was looking to express.

I feel that overall this animatic and treatment is looking to express too many themes, and in doing so is unable to effectively convey a lot of its key points. The presentation is a mixture of styles and as such is lacking a clear voice running throughout and taking the viewer on the journey through past and present. Its clear that through playing with depth and scale in this way the animation would call for greater depth of field and 3D rendering of environments which I would be unable to achieve in the timeframe and may also convolute the message, making it more about the style than the substance. In a previous animation I completed on the theme of Ocean Acidification I animated on a set background, this achieved an interesting ‘stage’ for the events and also gave me a freedom of communication in regards to scale, as I was able to scale objects and characters up and down to accommodate the narrative. I feel that there is merit in exploring a similar idea here as then I would be in a position to experiment with scale in a similar way and not be as constricted by the editing style. Creating a ‘stage’ would also communicate meaning to the audience in an immediate way and would alleviate some of the strain away from the fast paced quick edits, this would also allow me to experiment with a ‘staged’ space. I do feel that in the majority the editing style works to interconnect all the sections, the most notable exception when the spot painting links to the cow but that could be rectified by having the ‘spots’ morph into the black and white of the cow, I feel that this scene was designed to be a little jarring and as a direct juxtaposition to the rest of the animation however could be seen as a bit nonsensical, perhaps here a quote from professor Pillinger would convey more meaning and imbue the scene with greater depth, as it stands her however it can seem a little confusing. I set out wanting this work to be a little surreal in its presentation and I feel that to an extent that has been achieved within the terms of the editing choices, however I feel that the images I have chosen tend to be a little explicit when they may benefit from being more suggestive thus giving way to an artistic stylised vantage point and thus be more entertaining.   

I think that at this stage there are themes that are were explicitly communicated, which has given it an over simplified tone instead of a suggestive implied one. This is partially due to trying to express everything at once and not having a clear narrative running through. I also feel that the individual images I have chosen could do more in their communication of ideas and themes thus layering the work through images instead of telling each one separately and concisely.

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The Journey of Beagle 2 (Animatic)

First draft animatic for MA Graphic Arts space animation. Based on my research I wrote a treatment (link below) encapsulating some of the ideas and themes I wish…

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What is my message?

I asked myself what is my message; I wished to imbue my work with multiple themes, such as hope, adventure, wonder, excitement, exploration infinite possibilities and the partnership of science and art, but wanted to clarify my piece with a concise message to run through it that would include these themes.

I feel that I want my piece to be about the need/duty to explore, investigate and understand the beauty of the natural world/environment around us all by looking at the journey of the beagle 2 spacecraft.

From this statement I began to work on a draft treatment, this being a rough structure of the piece. Working from this treatment I then worked on a shot list with adjectives of the response I would like each shot to illicit.

Shot List.

-       Rocket on launch pad through to take off.

Looking up at the rocket so it is awe inspiring, heroic, large, colossal, impressive, protagonist, a great piece of human engineering and achievement.

-       Smoke Plumes filling and consuming the screen.

Creating a feeling of suffocating, unease, loss and claustrophobia.

(Quick jump cuts between the smoke would build a sense of unease and foreboding, adding to the claustrophobia.

-       Cells forming and moving.

This shot should create intrigue, wonder and continued unease; we have gone from a structure that is at the peak of human achievement all the way back to the single celled organism in an instant.

(More jump-cuts here would continue the feeling of unease and may also be a god way to transition between the smoke and the cells, followed by a zoom out of cellular level to reveal the whole meteor structure)

-       Meteorite travelling through space.

Intrigue and adventure this rock is travelling majestically through space carrying life in the form of cells, it is made of unknown material but is a mighty structure.

Meteor in foreground is almost unmoving but background changing to connote the traversing of a huge distance. As the planet comes into view it blocks out the starry background and fills the screen, the camera stops and the meteor shrinks disappearing into the background.

-       Planet taking shape.

Witness to evolution seems like a natural progression, a puzzle. This should evoke wonder create questions and entice excitement.

-       Back of rocket

I want to show scale and how it can develop from the macro to the micro and somewhere in between. Also should demonstrate motion/momentum and excitement and intrigue.

We have seen the planet take shape but none of the life found upon it going back to the present explores evolutionary leap. It is also a different yet similar form of traveller to that of the meteor, this craft is looking for extra terrestrial life.

-       Sun and Flares

Further examples of macro and micro this should feel grand in scale but also like a live organism to give a skewed perspective.

-       Cog

This implies that the sun is a great machine and that they can work on an incredibly large and small scale alike as long as they are in tandem with other elements, the sun with particles unseen by the human eye and the machine with other similar elements. Again we should be feeling the scale and interconnection/unity of all matter.

-       Clock face

Time is progressive and a creator of all things.

-       Spot painting

This is a direct reference to an instrument that was on the Beagle 2 spacecraft. There is artistry within engineering.

-       DNA

Building block, nature is also a form of artistry and filled with beauty. Again we are depicting scale.

-       Cow farm.

I feel that this is almost a brief respite it would show something familiar and grounded in a comprehensible reality. It may be a bit jarring and a juxtaposition to the rest of the piece but I feel that it is a way of showing some humanity to the piece which is only ever showing a cellular or mechanical level. Also Professor Colin Pillinger was a cow farmer so it directly shows him and that stereotypes are there to be viewed with scepticism and expunged. 

-       Space

Going back into space takes us to the further reaches of our environment it may seem alien and opposing to the cow farm but would illustrate that how ever far away these seem, one would not exist without the other. This shot should evoke a feeling of the infinite beauty of space showing scale and imbuing a natural wonder.

-       Planets forming an eye.

Our grasp and vision extends our physical selves and through technological advancements we have enabled ourselves to breach the heavens. 

-       Beagle to entering the Martian atmosphere.

This is the next stage of the search for life. There is all to gain here but the prize is trying. Excitement, wonder, adrenaline and adventure all should give us the ending finally filling us with hope for a better understanding.

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The Journey of beagle 2 (Treatment)

FADE IN.

EXT. Launch Pad. Day.

 The day is still and quiet as a great rocket sits on a launch pad, birds sing in the distance a calm stillness is in the air. An incredibly large eruption begins, not as a bang, but slow and steady increasing in volume and power. Take off, the rocket begins to slowly move skyward its journey beginning. Smoke plumes emanate from the base of the huge structure billowing into the air and ever increasingly towards the camera. As it rises the rocket seems to already be making steam trails as it pushes to the heavens. Smoke fills the screen entirely blotting out the rocket and the entire scene from view. The smoke continues to expand in the field of vision evolving from one incomprehensible shape to another until it reforms into the shape of a single cell as seen from under a microscope. The cell shivers and moves in its gelatinous membrane. Other cells come into view and the screen is completely filled with hundreds of cells each jostling for position amongst all the rest. The cells get smaller and smaller as we zoom out until they resemble a blur until we get so far out that the image resembles a large rock. As we back up further still we see that it is a meteorite hurtling through space as the whole rock comes into view we realise that we are travelling along the course with the meteor. A large blue-ish rocky sphere comes into view and completely blocks out everything except for the meteorite, until the rock hits causing a flash of bright light. The camera pans rapidly back to reveal a planet spinning through space and time. On its surface land is being created (we start to very slowly zoom in) and taking all kinds of shapes and colours, until finally turning cold and red. (the camera is close now, only able to make out part of the outer sphere of the planet) The red starts to burn bright and glow against the black of space. The camera moves round to see that we are now looking at the back of the rocket as it leaves the atmosphere and fully enters the blackness of space. We zoom back into the rockets thrusters as the light burns and it takes the form of the sun, great sunspots move across its surface and solar flares emanate off swirling into the void. The flares turn the sun into a great cog and as the camera tracks backward more cogs fill the screen until we travel through the face of a clock. The perfectly spherical clock face continues its journey away from the camera until it blurs into a uniform colour and is met by other perfect circles of multiple colours, each one different to the last. We are looking at something resembling a Damien Hirst Spot Painting. The spots turn on their axis and align up to form a DNA molecule that spins and hangs in the air. (The camera zooms into the molecule) Each of the circles forming the DNA molecule turn from their bright colour to pure black and fill the screen in darkness. (The camera pulls out fast) We reveal a cow in a field and the likeness of Professor Colin Pillinger who looks up to the sky. The camera zooms back into the spotted cow and we see the spotted sparkling vista of space and in particular our solar system. Planets in both the near and far ground slowly move into view and line up to form an eclipse. As they align a semi-visible force emanates from the centre and a great eye takes shape with the nearest planet forming the pupil. We enter the pupil, which becomes the Beagle 2 spacecraft hurtling through the Martian Atmosphere.

Cut to Black.    

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Satoshi Kon - Editing Space & Time

Four years after his passing, we still haven't quite caught up to Satoshi Kon, one of the great visionaries of modern film. In just four features and one TV ...

The exploration of matching scene transitions such as the match-cut, an exact graphic match, intercutting different time periods that mirror each other, jump cuts and other techniques which imbue a flow both invisible and overt in there presentation.

"Kon's work was  about the interaction between dreams, memories, nightmares, movies and life, the matching images were how he linked the different worlds"

This is how I see my work linking seemingly opposing imagery to create balance, flow and the theme of life being interconnected.