#kalynwilliams

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #8

In chapter 20 of Austin Shaws, Design for motion, he discuss character driven design boards. Character-Driven Deign Boards are design boards that express character emotion. With emotion, viewers can relate to the characters on the screen. Professionals dedicate time to develop characters emotions. Exaggeration in emotions are important because motion design is a short form of storytelling, so there isn’t much build up. Exaggeration is going to show exactly what the characters are feeling. Though many of us are not great at drawing, it could help us to convey what we are trying to express. Once we have design the characters we must prep them for motion. Tactile characters can be rigged for stop motion or live action animation.

 In chapter 3 of the Animation Bible, we explore the pre-production process. The first task is to find personnel. The director and producer are the two key individuals in a production. There are many other positons that go to many different people. The next thing to do is develop a concept. Once there is a concept we can pitch the idea so we can find someone to help make the film. When the film is ready to be made, we can start making the script. Then we can start getting sounds and storyboards together and focus on timing.

 In Andrew Selbys Animation, we talking about the different types of animation and basic techniques. Traditional animation with drawing is an early form of animation. Stop motion animation gives you a lot of freedom, you could us all types of objects and drawing forms. 3D computer-generated animation is becoming the more popular type of animation.

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #7

In Understanding Comics, The Invisible Art, we learn about the comic book form and its relationship to film. Scott McCloud discusses comics and how important they are. He states that when he was a kid, he didn’t want to read comics because of how childish he thought they were, but one day one of his smart friends, told him how great they were, and from there he was hooked. Comics are a great way to express the message you are trying to express, it helps people to visualize it. He states that animation is art in sequence. The only difference between comics and animation is space. Each successive frame of a movie is a projected on the same space on a screen while comics occupy a different space. We also learn how the reality created in films is not really our real reality. Like when he says, “do you hear what I am saying”. We are not hearing what he is saying, we are reading what he is saying. A flag is not a country, a word is not a sound, symbols are not ideas, and notes are not music. We use these icons to express what we are trying to convey. Words are abstract icons, and symbols are images that we used to convey concepts and ideas. Most people, young and old, respond to pictures just as much or more than realistic images. Cartoon simplify images. Our minds do not have trouble converting shapes into faces, and humans associate faces with random objects.  

[mixedmediaanimation]

Progress Report #3

1.The Magic Trumpet!  

  By Shawn, Jasmine, Max and Kalyn.

2.Mood Board:

3.Summary:

  This story is about Kalyn’s friend Sofia. She is Mexican and that serves as an inspiration for her music choices. Her story is broken down into three parts: The beginning, jazz, and, Mariachi, all forms of music she has played. This piece is auditory. We want the colors and music to move the audience as much as the music moves us. We haven’t interviewed her yet, but we’ve talked. We want you to know the story without getting lost in her interview. We are doing this story in dark silhouettes because music will be associated with different types of people, and that’s why it’s better if it will be faceless, but we still want to recognize her culture. We want to emphasize the material used in the mariachi uniforms. We also want it to be a colorful experience, and in order to do that, the backgrounds will have to be painted colorfully with watercolors. You will see her, and/or other musicians  play the instruments while the music is playing; dancers dancing gracefully in the background.  You will also see her reflection “metaphorically” shine through the piece. We want you to see the music as well as hear it and feel what she has felt throughout her life, through the experience of listening. You will get a feeling of what it is like to play an instrument, and enjoy the music. During the non-musical part of the video (the interview), we are going to show the more serious side of this occupation (through her band teacher).

4.Group Roles:

Kalyn                                                                         Director/Writer/Interviewer

Creative lead for project. Will lead the interview with Sofia. Decides of meet-up/work division.

Jasmine                                                                     Animator/Editor

Will help with the movement of instruments and elements seen on-screen. Will decide on the best way to transcribe the story visually. Will help with final editing tweaks.

Max                                                                            Editor/Sound Designer

Will decide on how the audio and video clips are to be put together. Will also help with animation.

Shawn                                                                        Animator/Sketch Artist

Second main animator with Jasmine. Drawer.

5.Conflict Management:

  We have decided that if there are any general disagreements (which is a normal part of any creative process), we will attempt to find the solution by discussing the variety of options that we have, in order to find a diplomatic agreement that will lead to the progression of the project, and a solution that will be most effective in reaching the specific goals that we will establish, in a timely manner. Every group member’s main priority will be to make their contributions effective, and if there is a disagreement, we will respect everyone’s opinions, and try to find a solution that will seem agreeable to all. It’s also important to remember that there is a limited amount of time for the creation of this project, and therefore it’s very important to think and act in an effective and realistic manner, in the sense that sometimes it’s necessary to make sacrifices or find alternative solutions, that sometimes can bring even better results.

Problems we’ve discussed so far involved:

-The BackGround: Should we use color paint (or just some uniform background).

-Subject: There’s a lot to talk about and we’re not sure how to pinpoint the subject. We are leaning to focus on Sofia’s maniacal teacher.

-Interview: It is probably going to be too long. We could cut it down, or include some parts that are not stop motion (extract from Whiplasher, or some kind of still imagery).

-Shooting: We decided that downward shooting would be the most effective given the project.

-Cut-outs: We were debating on using actual pictures for the instruments or just silhouettes. We settled on a mix of both.

-Characters: We were contemplating using Joints (maybe tac’s) to move elements on-screen.

6.Inspirations:

-La Valse Botanique: https://vimeo.com/41230843

- Paper Cut-out Spiral Joint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQx5B_km1-E

-Cutout Animation Showreel: https://vimeo.com/256316969

-The Adventures of Prince Achmed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25SP4ftxklg

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection 6

In chapter 17 of Austin Shaw’s Design for motion, Type-Driven Design Boards, discuss typography in design boards. Typography is the art of designing and 

setting words for visual communication. Kinetic typography adds, the movement to the words. Motion design must be aware of how cultures influence typography. Motion designers also need familiar with baseline and typography. Serif and sans serif are typography terms that motion designers need to know that describes letterforms that have an accent or flourish stemming from each end of a character in the font family. With so many typefaces to choose from, selecting a typeface could be a very daunting task because it could be overwhelming for the audience. There are also many stylistic treatments that could be applied to typography. The type could be created graphically, hand-lettered, or constructed tactilely.

In chapter 8 of Design for Motion, The Outer-Eye, Shaw discusses Mood Boards. Mood boards inspire and inform concepts by containing images that influence the visual aesthetic. They inspire narrative, emotion, and ideas. Even though mood boards are important, it is important that a designer maintains a personal vision or concept. You must ask yourself, am I expressing my vision? Or am I expression someone else’s vision. Because it is easy to do that with mood boards. Mood boards help designers to find a creative solution quicker than they would not making one. A good way to make a mood board find images and visuals that inspire you. When your gathering images you don’t have to think about how your project will turn out.

In chapter 10 of The Animation Bible, Stop-motion Animation: A Survey of Techniques, Furniss discusses animation techniques. When people think of stop motion they probably think of clay. Stop motion could be made in 2D animation techniques. Some people use sand and other partials to create a stop-motion animation. Stratacut animation is used by slicing. It combines 2D and 3D animation techniques.

[mixedmediaanimation]

The Traveler 

[mixedmediaanimation]

My My Magic Trumpet

My story is about my friend Sofia. She is Mexican and that serves as an inspiration for her music choices. I met Sofia when we were in kindergarten. She has been playing the trumpet since she was 8, in all different types of styles. She knows her music. She has played in many bands and for thousands of people. Her story is broken down into three parts, The beginning, jazz, and, Mariachi, all forms of music she has played. This piece is auditory. I want the colors and music to move the audience as much as the music moves her. I haven’t interviewed her, but we’ve talked. I want you to know the story without getting lost in her interview. I’m doing my story in all silhouettes because music is associated with different types of people, I want it to be faceless, but I still want to recognize her culture. When I make the style frame, I want to emphasize on the material used in the mariachi uniforms. I want it also to do be a colorful experience. To do this I want the backgrounds to be painted colorfully with water colors. You will see her “or other musicians” play the instruments while the music is going. You will see dancers dancing gracefully in the background.  You will also see her reflection “metaphorically”, shine through the piece. I want you to see the music as well as hear it and feel what she has felt throughout her life when listing to it. You will feel what it is like to play an instrument and know what it feels like to enjoy the music.

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection 5

In Chapter 10 of Cinematic Conventions, Thumbnail sketches, and Hand-Drawn Storyboards, we analyze the different types of shots to put in our storyboard. Wide Shot reveals everything in one sitting within the frame. They should show all the visual aspects of in the frame. The close-up is a tight framing of the subject. The distance can create higher emotional intensity. A medium shot frame of the shows the subject at a medium distance, usually from the waist up. An extreme close-up shot brings the viewer even closer to a subject.  The low angle shot makes a subject feel larger. The Dutch angle is when the camera is rotated to make the horizon appear at an angle. These shots in frames could be used to help your storyboard.

In chapter 7 of design for motion, we talk about the inner eye. The inner eye is the internal editor that makes judgments. Freewriting helps writers gathers ideas because it continues writing without judgment. During concept development, it is useful to have a balance of internal and external exercise and references. Free writing opens doors to unique ideas and pathways and offers an opportunity to explore and make discoveries within our internal landscapes.  There is no bad way to free write so we shouldn’t constrain ourselves, we shouldn’t even have to worry about spelling and grammar.

In chapter 2 of the animation bible, we look at storytelling strategies. A way of storytelling is using conventional forms. The genre is a way to categorize films in a familiar way. There are many genres such as romance and comedy. The Narrative design helps design the narrative, using structures like linear, Multilinear, and interactive.

[mixedmediaanimation]

Reading Reflection #4

Comic books are a form of storyboarding. Disney evolves there storyboarding based on the needs of filmmakers. They originally would lay individual panels out on the floor and point to the drawings as the composer played the music. Then they got the idea to pin them on a cork board. Donald Graham, a Disney drawing teacher stated that “Any drawing could be moved to a new position on the board, eliminated or replaced. Various types of storyboard: Storyboard in animation must provide a clear depiction of the action for the film. Live action films do not need to do this because the actor created the emotion for the character. In television, a storyboard is not necessary because editors have the option of picking a video from 3 different camera angles. Storyboards could also be used for special effects; the storyboard allows for tight synchronization. If the storyboard is a plan for the film, the treatment is made for the script. The first things a storyboard artist needs to do is work with inspiring images. Images are very important because it is what the artist sees. Surfing the internet, cutting magazines, your own pictures will help you inspire your pictures. When designing a character, it is important to note that the details and physical appearance of the characters will tell you a lot about them.

Compositing is the art of combining two are more distinct elements to create a sense of seamlessness or feeling of belonging. It is used to select, adjust, blend, or stitch multiple visual elements. Concrete composting combines elements from different to feel natural. Abstract composition is bringing elements together in a way that does not appear concrete or photo-realistic. Mattes describes the process of isolating, removing or extracting. Feathering is a way to control how sharp or blurry an image is.