Sophie Rattue BA2b, click menu

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Evaluation of final film

Overall, I'm disappointed that we weren't able to bring our original vision for the film to fruition. If I had known 4 weeks ago that half of our team members wouldn't be able to participate then I would have opted to animate the last scene instead of burnout. Not only because it shares similarities to James' piece but also because the film now doesn't have a (completed) meaningful or coherent ending.

However, I am still incredibly proud of what we've been able to put together despite the circumstances. I think we were able to make our main character feel consistent & like the same person at different ages, despite my lack of consistency with the film's style. I also think that we were able to depict 'fascination' and it's main attributes- each section has a clear link to animation and thoughtful integration of our recurring motif character.

Although, reflecting on this now, I feel that maybe I should have made the bear white after it jumps out of Allie's heart, as it only has this glowing blue look in the first section, then switches to solid white with no real explanation.

I'm also slightly disappointed that we weren't able to fully realise the 'finding fulfilment elsewhere' idea- where Allie was supposed to get re-inspired by taking a break. Without this, I feel we've fallen a little into the trope of 'achieve your dreams and be happy forever'.

But, despite the drawbacks I really enjoyed working with James & Amber and I am looking forward to working as a group again. Next time, I'll have a better idea of where I fit in terms of job roles and I'll be sure to keep more focus on the group's ideas rather than my own. Also, if a similar situation arises with absent group members, I'll be quicker to move on and make decisions, rather than wasting time waiting for others.

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Producers In Industry and my experience

I took on the role of producer for this group project as I would eventually like to lead the production of my own animated series someday. So, I wanted to practise my leadership skills as well as organisation & management.

What I hadn't realised was how much planning and non-creative work that involved. Producers, as I understand them, usually come up with the central idea for a project and drive the creative vision. However, since this project is group-focused and all ideas need to be taken into account, my role fell into the more management-side of production.

According to screenskills.com, a producer's role can vary by studio. In larger productions their job is more administrative- managing the pipeline and creating schedules. However in smaller companies they may have more opportunity to make creative decisions. They are also responsible for securing funding and making business deals.

(Source: https://www.screenskills.com/starting-your-career/job-profiles/animation/production-management/producer/)

Stephen Dorrance, the animation producer at Jellyfish studios, says his job requires a lot of troubleshooting and making sure both the client and animators are pleased with what is being produced.

As discussed in this conference, traits of a good animation producer involve stamina, a detail-oriented vision as well as being able to solve problems in a creative way. They must also be able to maintain perspective on both the 'big picture' & the project as a whole, as well as the individual needs & problems of the team. Empathetic, but decisive- able to make hard decisions.

Kevin Geiger, who worked for 12 years as a supervisor at Walt Disney, created these Gantt charts to show the basic outline of an animation production pipeline. As a producer he is responsible for making sure employees are producing work simultaneously in a 'parallel pipeline', feeding into a central hub, rather than in a linear fashion- where one group must be finished with their work before another can start.

(Source: http://animationoptions.com/index.htm)

Geiger's list of things to address when trying to optimise the production of a 3d animated film. Everything must be considered, from creating libraries of resources and files to organising test screenings.

Collaboration seems to be the key attribute of a producer, as Dorrance describes, they mustn't be too controlling but also shouldn't be someone who lets themselves become overwhelmed.

After leading this project and trying to deal with each setback (people dropping out, files getting corrupted, not having a sound designer etc) I've found the experience really challenging. I often felt overwhelmed and highly stressed, to the point where I was really struggling with my mental health. I don't think I'm very well-suited for this position, although I want to be a leader I personally find scheduling and managing to be very difficult.

However I do feel that I've learnt the importance of being decisive- the times we've struggled the most as a group was when we were hesitant to make choices, essentially stopping us from moving forward. But, when I decided to cut parts like the montage or assign everyone their section, we were quick to make progress.

According to screenskills.com, directors take the creative lead in most projects, they decide on the style, tone and overall vision. They recruit actors and artists then work with them to bring the idea to life. Sometimes even producing character designs or scripts themselves. This seems much more like my ideal way of working- to be the leader of something creative, rather than administrative. So, maybe art director would have been a better role for me to take in this project.

Moving forward, although this group project was somewhat disappointing for me, I now feel more confident about what my role is within a group & where I am best suited.

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My final pieces

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sound design

For burnout, I wanted to create a sense of unease and tension throughout, so I used the sound of a humming fluorescent light from BBC sound effects in the background. I find the constant, high-pitched buzzing to be quite anxiety-inducing, so it reflects the mental state of Allie pretty accurately. It's also reminiscent of whirring computer fans- something else that I find heightens stress when working late at night. I also used a static effect from the same site for the 'head cloud'. I then recorded myself doing the same actions as Allie- a sigh in defeat, dropping pen tablet, shifting in a chair, getting up to walk out of the room, and tapping my fingers on a desk to use as footsteps for the bear character. By recording these myself, they sounded much more accurate & perfectly timed to the actions on screen. However, getting the reverb to sound right was difficult, I wanted the room to sound big & empty, but with reverb it seemed more like a giant cave. This is especially noticeable with the footsteps, I couldn't find the right balance so the echo is a little over exaggerated.

Overall, I think this sounds quite effective considering our group didn't have a sound designer. However, the quality of my recorded foley isn't the best and I had to denoise most of my recordings. So, in the future if I need to record again I should book a session at the recording booth in Uni.

For spark, Helen suggested I add some music to the opening credits, so I went with some atmospheric piano. I didn't want it to be too upbeat as that would upstage the music I chose for the cartoon bear's theme song, but I also didn't want it to be too slow and solemn. The song I ended up using is quite neutral and works well to emphasise the more upbeat, kid-friendly sound of the TV.

Again, I recorded myself for Allie's noises- when she falls & when she gasps at the TV. For this, I pitched up the recordings to sound younger. This worked ok, but it doesn't feel realistic and since I altered the original recording so much it sounds weirdly distorted. Maybe finding a clip online may have worked better for this- used some realistic baby gurgles.

I also recorded myself for the bear as it 'woop's and jumps out. I pitched this up too, but to a much higher level. As opposed to Allie, I think this worked well as the bear character is already quite abstract & cartoony- it doesn't need to sound realistic. And paired with the twinkle sound effect the two sound fitting and equally exaggerated.

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Cleanup, colouring & editing burnout

As I did with 'spark', to finish this segment I began by cleaning my rough linework & adding details like expressions and the drawing glove. My filmed reference really helped with this, & I think I was able to portray Allie's emotions quite effectively. Then I used the same colouring method as I did for 'spark'- filling in flat colours with the bucket tool and using a brush to add block cel shading. Again, this created some inconsistency with my other group members' sections, however, by combining dark shading with a bright blue highlight I was able to achieve a very dramatic look that I think works well with the tone of the scene.

I also made the decision to colour her eyes in quite a dark off-white, which help draw attention to the reflection of the tablet.

Some areas I struggled with were details like the hair- in my first attempt I added too many rows which didn't look consistent with the rest of the sequence, and I had trouble trying to visualise them at different angles. As a result, when she puts her head down her hair looks a little strange- her braids come down further on her forehead and seem to come towards us rather than towards her left ear. I think using reference for this probably would have helped. Additionally, making a quick model using plasticine (like I did for the last character design project) could have been an easy & effective way of making sure my drawings were accurate. So, for my next project I may try to sculpt a model of my characters beforehand & have it next to me as I animate.

My original drawing for the 'outside' didn't seem consistent with the floor level- it looked as though there was a hill right outside the door, so I redrew it with a lower horizon. I also made it lighter & blurrier to give the idea of a road & trees without being too specific. Exactly what is outside doesn't really matter- the sheer contrast between this & the black room is enough to symbolise freedom.

I also tried my original idea for showing the 'burnout' title first. It worked & looked quite effective, however, the scene itself didn't look right as Allie didn't have a shadow behind her. Then, reflecting on Helen's notes, I then had the idea that I could instead use the word 'burnout' as a kind-of shadow. I utilised what I've learnt during my work on the Jellytots video and used an invisible mask on Allie to slowly reveal the word as she walks. .

Then, I added an outer glow to the letters, so that when the screen turns black, a vague imprint of the word still lingers & quickly fades- so you may not even notice it. I love this effect as it reminds me of how you can still see the shape of lights when you blink, or how a match glows then quickly fades after you blow it out (adding another layer of imagery to the term 'burnout). I originally had it visible for much longer, but a peer recommended I shorten it to about half a second and I think this is much more effective.

Additionally, since this piece now ends with a completely black screen (instead of black with a lightly coloured word), we can then easily fade into Tiago's section or the credits for a smooth transition.

The last thing I added in After Effects was the static cloud. Firstly, I followed this tutorial to create a comp of static, then, I used a mask to create a jagged shape and an effect to roughen the edges- giving it a softer (more cloud-like) outline. This was relatively simple to do but achieved the exact look I was aiming for & I don't think there is anything I would change about it.

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Credits idea- Oney

I had a quick idea for how we could stylize our credits-

In reanimated collabs on YouTube, artists will often draw a small character of themselves to place next to their name in the credits

(Skip to 23:50)

I think this would be a fun way of personalising the after-credits and give us a chance to exhibit our own styles. I proposed the idea to the rest of the group and they were on board, so, I drew this quick mini-me. It's also posed so that I can place it sitting on a line of text.

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Embroidery and Spark update

In this final pass, I updated the embroidery by redrawing the flowers and choosing a more legible font. I also adjusted the 'stitches' to be smaller, so the text is less warped. Then I added a shadow behind the giraffe and ball, and added a few more frames to the animation.

Before Allie raises herself up, I brought her head down slightly to create some anticipation & momentum & I think this worked to make the movement seem a little more believable. The change is very small and if I had more time I would've liked to animate her pushing herself off of the ground, but I need to keep in mind that I have another section to line & colour.

Finally, I removed the vhs filter and applied it only to the TV (also added a line of distortion running down the screen). Now I can see that it wasn't really adding much when it was applied to the whole composition & now it will feel much more consistent transitioning into Amber's section. But, I still get to include the effect and have that same warm, nostalgic feel with the TV.

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11/05/21 Helen session

Helen agreed that using the VHS filter only on the TV would work better than using it over the entire sequence.

She also noted:

- Intro text needs to fade in & out more quickly to be easier to read

-the giraffe and ball also need a shadow behind them

-Before Allie gets up- after spotting the TV, there should be some kind of anticipation-maybe make her wiggle or push up.

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Cleanup & colouring & editing spark

After completing my backgrounds, I then moved on to refining the linework. To do this, I used a very dark grey (as black may have stood out too harshly against the light background) and smooth brush.

I followed my rough pass pretty closely, though I did have to shorten the legs as they didn't have the stubby, rounded look I was aiming for, especially when she sits up. I also added some facial expressions to enhance the performance of the character- a bored look at the beginning to show she's disinterested in the blocks, closing her eyes as she falls to show she's bracing herself, and wide eyes as she sits up to suggest she's trying to process what just happened. Finally, I added some secondary movement to her hair, which I think gave it a cuter & more comedic feel.

I think these additions have greatly enhanced the animation- you can recognise Allie's emotional journey- making her feel more like a real person, plus her exaggerated expressions and secondary movement in the hair are cute & cartoony- reminiscent of the program that she is watching.

After that, I duplicated the line layer and used the one underneath to add colour- using the fill bucket. I also added some cel shading on the same layer, so that it was easier to stay within the outlines. Although Amber's style frame didn't include much shading, I wanted to indicate that there is a TV offscreen that's illuminating Allie's face.

In hindsight this has created a noticeable difference between our sections so I don't think I did a good job of keeping my style consistent with the group's guidelines. I did try to shorten the neck and enlarge the ears, but even still, this looks more like my own style. Plus, I'm also just realising that I coloured the eyes with black instead of the brown me & Amber agreed upon. In my next group project, I should take the time to sketch and practise the agreed upon style to make sure I can replicate it properly, before jumping into my own ideas.

In the next stage of editing, I needed to add a glow to the little bear. I've since lost my original photoshop file but to do this I just exported his frames as a png sequence, loaded them into Photoshop as a frame by frame animation, and applied the outer glow effect to all layers. Then, re-exported it as a png sequence.

To give Allie & the blocks some shadows, I duplicated their layer, tinted it to be completely solid grey, then used corner pin to distort it to the shape of the floor. Then I set the layer mode to multiply and the result was this. I'm so pleased that I've learnt this trick as I would likely have spent hours trying to draw the shadow myself in each frame.

After that I needed to add the bear cartoon in Allie's eyes. I had forgotten to make them transparent in these frames as I was planning on just placing the cartoon below her layer. So, instead I used masks (something I became more comfortable with by working on Jellytots) to match the cartoon to the shape of her eyes. This actually worked a little better, as I was then able to lower the opacity of the cartoon, to look more like a reflection.

Throughout this first scene, one of my main sources of inspiration has been my family's own VHS tapes. I love how the amount of noise and slightly-off colouring creates a warm, fuzzy look. It feels very comforting, especially since I have memories tied to these recordings.

I then wondered if I could replicate the same effect for this section- it could potentially make it feel more nostalgic and personal to the viewer. Using the tutorial below, I duplicated the entire composition 3 times and separated them into red, green and blue, then used position to slightly offset them, creating the off-colour effect. I also added a lot of noise in an adjustment layer.

I really like the end result, I think I was able to replicate the feel of a home movie & it gives the scene a nostalgic warmth. However, the effect doesn't work with the embroidery intro- it looks to bright & jarring and harder to read. Plus, I'm concerned whether using this effect in my scene will further differentiate it to the rest of the film- I want to maintain some level of consistency. So, I may try another pass at editing, this time only using the effect on the TV screen.

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quick editing meeting 11/05/21

Sophie, James, and Amber Present-

We met to discuss editing and sound design.

Since our original plan for the film has had to be changed multiple times due to members leaving and only having 3 actively communicating members, we have decided to add sound to our pieces individually as we do not have a sound designer. Amber does have contact with one however, so if anyone isn’t able to add sounds or we need somebody to check the levels of the final film we could ask them for help.

Also, since we have had to take sections out, the story doesn’t flow & transition quite as well. So, we are going to try and blend each section together using dissolves or wipes depending on what fits best within the scene.

As for Fi’s section, it is still unclear whether we will have enough time to create something to go in its place. James may adapt an animatic that Amber has previously made for that section if he has enough time.

Task this week: Try to complete your section and at some point, at the end of this week or beginning of next week we will check everyone’s progress and see what needs to be done/ how much time we have to add things.

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Backgrounds

This week my mood has really dropped & I'm not feeling motivated, especially after having to cut out a large portion of the film & reasons outside of work.

So, this week I've tried to make progress on backgrounds.

I'm using my style frame as a background for most of 'spark', but I realised I still need to clean up the shot of the TV.

Again, taking inspiration from my own childhood, I remember having this giant, grey, plastic, box TV in the living room that seemed so big & impressive at the time.

So I found some clearer reference images of old TVs online and made some observational sketches.

I then used the bottom left drawing as a base & skewed it with the perspective transform tool in Photoshop. The screen is transparent so I'll be able to place the little bear cartoon behind it.

I think the result looks really effective & recognisable. Maybe if I had more time I would use thinner linework to more closely resemble Amber's style, but overall this will fit well with the style frame I've already drawn.

For the burnout backgrounds, I was unsure whether or not to use soft, blended shading as Amber seems to only use flat colours with some cel shading. However, the lighting is one of the most important aspects of the scene; to give it a dramatic look as well as convey the idea of confinement and loss of passion. So, I used a soft brush to create these:

I like how they resemble brush strokes, and this may actually fit within the style of the rest of the film; as we decided to use textured linework on backgrounds , to look more hand-drawn and create a contrast with the smooth, black linework of the characters.

For the desk background, I wasn't sure whether to add a shadow to the back wall, since Allie moves in this shot so ideally the shadow should move with her. But, I also wanted it to match the wall's texture and I can't do that in ToonBoom. So I'll have to come up with a solution for this.

These backgrounds are very simple but I needed a way to save time and the focus of this section is the character animation anyway. So, in the future, if I have more time, I would like to refine these a little- make the gradient from dark to light a little smoother & more blended. But, for now I think they will work well.

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04/05/21 Helen Seminar and Group meeting

After showing Helen my rough animation for burnout and spark, she made these notes:

Spark- add a little more anticipation as the baby reaches over and a longer beat when she lands, but overall very emotive

Burnout- After the shot where Allie lifts her hand up, we see her sitting at a desk but her arms seems to have come back down- bring up higher. (Will move in ToonBoom)

The shot of the little bear looking at Allie feels too ominous- maybe lighten the scene or animate him walking into frame. And I need to add some anticipation before he walks over to the door. (I will use the lighter style frame I've made instead, and adjust his walking animation in ToonBoom)

Allie needs to raise up a little before cutting to the shot of her walking- otherwise we see her go from sitting to standing without seeing how she got there. ( I will shoot some more reference of me getting up from a chair and try to incorporate that into my next pass)

Try making the word 'Burnout' black. ( I really like this idea, instead of 'burnout' being the last thing you see, it will be hidden as the door closes, which works better to imply Allie has broken out of that headspace.

Group Meeting

Sophie and James Present-

We discussed what to do with Fi’s section now that she is no longer part of the project. James expressed interest in animating her section (something quick like 5 seconds) which maybe we could also consider removing. So, this depends on how much time James has after completing his own section.

Also, since Fi has left and progress on our own pieces is going slowly, we have also decided to scrap the inspiration montage scene.

I'm pretty disappointed about this, the montage was important for showing how effective animation can be fuelled by taking breaks & observing the world around you. It also served as a pivotal point in the story- where Allie 'defeats the last monster' after overcoming her classmates, frustration and burnout.

I don't think we'll have time to make something new to replace both Fi's section and the montage, which is a shame, but as producer I've decided to prioritise everyone completing their own parts first, then afterwards if there is time we can add something to fill those spaces. Tiago has also been hard to get a hold of and we've only seen one update so far, so I need to contact Helen for advice.

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Opening title

After Jon asked us to include an opening credit scene in our films, I included a basic one as a placeholder for our most recent tutorials. However, I was thinking of how we might be able to stylise it and thought I want to include it within the scene somehow- like it's part of the background.

My first idea was placing the text on the ceiling of the living room, then panning down to see Allie & transitioning into my section.

However I wanted it to fit within the soft, pastel tone of the opening section- possibly relate it to childhood somehow, and remembered my Grandma's embroidery hanging in my office.

Though this particular one doesn't have any words, she used to make other pieces with writing using embroidery and cross stitching.

So, I researched for tutorials on how to create a quick embroidery- effect for text and came across this video:

With this, I was able to make a quick mockup of how the opening could look (The flowers I got from google images so I will have to redraw them in the future). And I added on to my previous style frame to place a picture frame above the sofa.

(Image source: https://pngtree.com/so/flower-corner)

Even though I would like to use a more legible font and make the whole intro look a little neater, I think this is a seamless and relevant way of incorporating the credits into the scene.

I presented the idea to the group as well and everyone was on board to use this as our intro.

So, my next step with this will be to redraw the flowers and adjust the font to be more readable.

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Rough animation- burnout

Using my own films as reference, this week I sketched out the Burnout sequence in ToonBoom to bring it to the same level as 'Spark'. Having reference really helped as I think I was able to achieve some emotive movement & solid, accurate poses. I also realised that because there is no movement in the wide shot, I can just use my style frame. However my linework needs to be refined & cleaned up, so that is what I will improve in the next stage.

For the top-down angle, I used this YouTube video as reference:

I think I managed to convey the idea of somebody walking, but the feet come out a little too far from the body, giving the impression that she is taking huge steps but moving really slowly. So I will bring them closer to the body in my cleaner pass.

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Reference for burnout

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Jellytots

I produced some more work for the Jellytots project during study week:

For this update I added more secondary movement as Tom follows the butterfly & retimed his feet. I think the walk is looking much more natural now, but I'm still having trouble with his feet sliding across the ground. I also added a jumping back action (where he is meant to be splashed by a fish) and am planning on possibly animating a frame by frame splash to put over the water. I'm quite proud of this- it has a good sense of weight as well as anticipation & follow through movement.

I also animated a little more of the T-rex- taking another look at the island from behind the tree.

Working on this project has allowed me to learn a lot about After Effects and I now feel much more confident using the program & Duik Bassel to rig. However, it has had a detrimental effect on my mental health- the stress of having to update this as well as my Uni work has been overwhelming me over the past week, so I've asked to postpone working on it until after the 21st. Hopefully now I can make more progress in my group project.

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25/04/01 Group meeting

Meeting planned to discuss what we want to achieve over study week

Only I was present-

Rescheduling the meeting would be difficult this week so instead we discussed our plans in the chat.

Amber is working on her next pass of her animatic, James is doing background work and I am doing rough animation. Tiago has been harder to get a hold of.

Fi is not continuing with this project