Butterfly Modifications

Reference Image:

Here is the final shot of what the butterfly will look like:

I have created a bump map in order to create veins within the wings of the butterfly. I wanted to add detail but not too much. I'm happy with the amount of detail that I have gone to, I think that there's just enough detail without making it too obvious.  I have re-textured the butterfly and have played with it so that it catches the light as it moves.

I think that these subtle changes have made all the difference to the effectiveness of how well this butterfly works. The reason that I changed this was because of the 'week before' deadline presentations. The feedback that I got on the butterfly that I had before was that it looked a little solid, thick and not particularly realistic. I'm really glad that I got feedback on this as I think that the comments that I got have pushed me in order to change it. I think that the modifications on this have completely transformed its effectiveness and I think only highlights the importance of getting other peoples feedback on things. Without the feedback that I received on this, I possibly might not have ended up with an effective butterfly within the scene.

Self Promotion

The last few moths I have been considering different ways in which I could start to promote myself. At the moment I have the usual channels i.e, My Vimeo Channel.

I have been considering the best way to utilise these various methods for example, with my Vimeo I'm using my Vimeo channel, instead of just using my Vimeo account. I have found that by having a channel that it has allowed me to direct people to one place that presents my work. I have found that this is a neat and effective way of sending people a link to my work.

I have also started using Twitter. Although I have had a Twitter account for a while now I have never really made the most of it before. However, over the last few months I have started to use it as a way of following designers and posting links to my work. I have decided to keep my Twitter as a design related medium and use it in a professional way. Instead of using it in a similar way to the way that someone might use Facebook I am trying to keep twitter as a way to keep myself up to date with the industry and also hopefully keeping the industry up to date with my stuff, (if people would like to see!)

However, one of the main things that I have been using in terms of self promotion is 'linkedin'. Heres a link to my linked in profile. I have been using Linkedin since the beginning of this semester and I have found that it has been an extremely useful way of creating connections. For example one time when this has proven effective is since me and Steve have finished our placement at the Neighbourhood I have been able to add contacts form their studio. I also hope to get a review of the placement from the studio, which would be great in terms of having a recommendation that other people could view. We also are waiting on a recommendation for the freelance work that we created.

 http://uk.linkedin.com/in/mattgeeling. 


Whats next?

Well I have had a domain name for a while now, however at the moment the design is very basic and is basically the same as my business card, with a link to my email address. My intention for my business cards is to create a design that is related to my show, so that anyone that pick one of my cards up can remember my work.

I will design my website around my ideas for the show and around my final piece and this will be something that i will promote on my business cards etc when I create them.

Based on my previous post I would like to incorporate one aspect of the unit to house my business cards, I think that by having one section that was based on promotion that it is a nice way to tie different elements together. Using the design for the show, to emphasise my self promotion.

Show Ideas

Under the work top section I intend on having some form of draw unit. I intend on playing around with just having a couple of draws able to open. However, I intend on modifying the draws, possibly by mounted blocks on the inside of them so that they only open so far.

I would like to have one draw designed so that it contains promotional material, i.e. business cards and any other elements that I feel will help promote myself.

Flip Book:

Fairly early on in the project I thought that it would be a nice idea to create some form of printed document, for example a little book which included information about the characters in my animation. However information that included aspects about where the bugs I made originated form, the habitat information and their habitat requirements etc.

Throughout this brief I have been using a few books for reference, one of which is a book about insects and their habitat etc. Below is a shot as an example of the type of information that this book showed:

One solution for this is to create a flipbook in which I can choose the bugs that I want to animate. Im thinking that I could create an animation to make a flipbook out of, which on the right hand side you see one of my bugs move and then on the left it includes information about my bugs.

Prototype of Piece:

When we were down in London at Nexus Productions they showed us one of the prototypes that they had had made for one of their character designs. I would like to get one made of my glow bug, in which I could use the idea of pin boards and display mine in a similar way to the ones shown above. 

Butterfly designs:

Something else that I would like to do for the show is to create a display case which has some of my own butterflies in it. I intend on getting hold of some real insect in cases and display some real one, with my own butterflies modified to look as if they were real. 

I am thinking of using the printing process of 'photo screen' and printing my butterflies design onto silk. Here is a mockup to loosely illustrate what I am thinking:

Close up:

My reasoning behind displaying using the ideas that I have talked about above, is because I think that it is a nice way of rounding of my project. My connection with the Museum and the help that I have received form Dmitri has been invaluable and I think that by displaying my work in this way would be a great way of rounding this project off. 

I have already discussed with Dmitri that I would like to provide a write up of my project for their website/blog and I think if I could incorporate this somehow within the show would be a nice idea.

Slow Motion Reference for Butterfly

I felt that it was important to observe how butterflies fly and how they behavior in order to make sure that my butterfly fits within the environment that I have created. When we presented last week one of the things that I received feedback on was to try to make the flight of the butterfly seem a little more natural. This video shows how a butterfly flies in slow motion, so it is great to see the way that the wings actually move. It's interesting to see how the wings flap all the way down past the body and then the whole movement propels the butterfly forward and up. This is definitely something which I am going to translate into my own piece.

The Neighbourhood Portfolio Crit

This portfolio visit was a little different from the rest that I have had over the last year or so, as it was the first return visit that I had made to a studio and it was also the end of mine and Steve's 2 week placement. Me and Steve sat down with Jon, (one of the companies directors) and Stuart, (3D artist). It was great to sit down with both Jon and Stu as it was them that we saw along with Sarah, (studio manager), before Xmas.

As we knew that we would be showing our working to them at some point whilst we were there, we decided to put together a new showreel that was shorter and had some sort of opening and closing to leave an impression in someone's mind.

Where we were sat in the studio we were sat opposite some tenants that are self employed and rent studio space from the Neighbourhood. It was good to sit here in the studio because as we were working on our major project, as well as chipping into meeting etc we were able to get a sense of proper studio life. I think we found a nice balance between working on our own work, whilst also being able to sit in on meetings and join in on discussions. One of the tenants was an animator called Jonathan who gave us some great advice. We had already added him as a contact on Vimeo and he had taken a look at our work. He said that he liked it, the only thing with our showreels is that he suggested that we made them slightly shorter and concise. Taking this on we decided that we would re-edit our showreels.

I've struggled to find a music track that I felt was the right pace and gave the right amount of energy to showcase my work. However, at the beginning of the placement I came across a track which I thought had potential. The first thing that I showed them was my new showreel and both Jon and Stu said that they liked the edit, then music choice worked well and was upbeat and that they thought that it was much tighter than last time that they saw my showreel. I was really pleased with this and it made me feel confident about the content that I had included. I still want to change elements within my showreel, however this is mainly the parts of my major project. So, with this in mind, when I finish my major project I will include aspects from it.

As mentioned, during the placement we sat in on a few meeting. In a few of these meetings they had prepared presentations. Therefore, we decided that it might be a nice way for us to present our major projects to the Neighbourhood. Below is a link to the presentation that I presented to them.

PRESENTATION TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

It was great to hear their feedback on my major project as they seemed to like it. Personally I feel that this project has allowed me to use lots of the skills that I have learned over the last few years and utilise different things where appropriate. I think that in terms of a full process, from initial ideas, research, through to production as a whole it is the project that over the whole course I have got the most out of. This is why I was happy with the feedback that I received.

I think that the best feedback that we received was when they liked our work last time, however they could definitely see improvement, which was really nice to hear. They said that they are looking forward to seeing the work when it is finished and that they would like me and Ste to go back in when it's finished to show them. Having this crit on the last day of the placement was a fantastic end to a brilliant placement and is definitely the portfolio crit over the whole year that I have got the most from.

Tandem Work: The last Werewolf

This post is a reflection on the work that both myself and Steve did for the 'Tandem Brief'. This post has been written by both myself and Steve.

This brief came about after our recent visit to London after visiting the Tandem Films studio. Daniel Greeves got in touch with our tutor Christina and asked if any of her students wanted to get involved with a project that they were working on for a client. We were asked as it was felt that we were progressing well with our Major Projects, so that we could devote some time to this. As well as this is was thought that we'd represent the course well and really take advantage of the opportunity.

The brief was to create a few different animations in which we would represent both the transformation from man to werwolf and a victim attack. The animations that we created were an arm bend, a pelvis snap, a rib break and a neck snap. We decided that  although working together in terms of ensuring the style was similar, that we would split the animations up and do two each. The way that we decided to split these up was as follows:

Steve

Pelvis Snap

Neck Snap

Matt

Arm Bend

Rib Break

We started out by finding imagery and creating some style frames to send down to Tandem, to see if we were on the right page. The response to these was that they looked good, so with the go ahead we started producing some tests.

We continued to respond to the feedback we were given until Daniel was happy with where we were at, then we went into full production and ensured that we continued communicating with Daniel. As we were producing work and they were comping as they went along we felt that it was important to ensure that we planned our time effectively, as we had deadlines that needed to be met.

Here are the final animations that we produced:

Arm Bend:

Rib Break:

Pelvis Snap:

Neck Snap:

Here is a link to the final film:

http://www.tandemfilms.com/page/job/the_last_werewolf&play=true

It's great to be recognised in the credits for a project like this:

We feel that it has been a great experience to have whilst were still students and appreciate being asked to be involved in the project. For more information about the process, please see the supporting sketchbook.

Freelance work: Health and Safety Animations

When we were down in London me and Steve got an email to ask if we would like to produce some animations for  a Health and Safety video. We were asked by Matt Davies who we had the portfolio visit with just after Christmas. 

Here's the 4 videos that we produced. The first two are the ones that I worked on and the next two are the ones that Steve did:

Inhalation:

Ingestion:

Absorption:

Injection:


The feedback that we received form these animation was positive. They loved them and said that 'they were exactly what was required'.

This freelance job was great as it allowed us to work out the best way to manage our time and hopefully based on the feedback that we received, will mean that we could get more work out of it in the future. I think the best thing about this job is that the work came from one the portfolio visits earlier in the year, so it just highlights the importance of making contacts as you never know where they could lead.

Making of RAF advert

This is a great example of an effective 'making of' video and how I would like to create my own making of video. I think that what this brilliant about this video is the way that it shows how everything is progressively building up.

Butterfly Shots

Here are some shots of the scene within my piece where the butterfly flies over the top of the glow bugs. I have explored playing with depth of field in these shots, as a way of pulling focus on different elements within the scene. I have played around with this focus as the voice over talks about different things. For example, initially the focus is pulled on the glow bug which sits within the foregound of the peice and then as it talks about 'objects being able to decieve ... looking like other things', the butterfly in the background flies over the top of the glow bugs and as it reaches the foreground of the frame the focus is pulled to this. I tried to use depth of filed as a device in order to help draw the viewers eye to different asspects within the scene.

Glow Bug: Transition possibilities

One thing that I need to consider is the way that that my glow bug works. Then the wing casings open here the ball on the back of the bug starts to glow. In this test I have taken the idea of the red back which is the colour generally associated with these tablets and have the colour change to the yellow/green glow colour. However is this necessary? Does it need to start red and change to the yellow/green colour? Could I just keep it yellow/green from the start. A benefit of this is that if I sit my bug in the scene next to actual tablets then I could just colour correct the tablets in post, if I require. It would make this simpler and mean that I wouldn't have to have this transition from red to the yellow, just have the wing cases open/close.

GLOW BUG IN SCENE

Here is a test render with my glow bug comped into the scene. I think that it works well. I think that the bug appears as if it sits nicely within the scene and that the occlusion gives it a lot more depth and helps the bug apear as if it is in the scene and not just stuck on top.

Glow bugs

Here are some shots of the final designs for my glow bugs.

I wanted to make sure that the shapes for the glow bugs didn't seem too perfect, as they are meant to hint that they could be washing tablets and not 'hit people in the face' with it. I have had to try to find a balance, until I found what worked. I'm happy with how the legs connect to the body now. I have pushed back the sections around where the legs meet the body a little, so that it seems as if the legs are part of it and not just stuck on.

Volkswagen: The Making of the "Black Beetle" Commercial

A friend sent me a link to this the other day. Although I've seen the actual animated advert I hadn't seen this before. I think that this making of is brilliant. Especially considering the similarity in the subject matter to my own work. I think that what this piece does is highlight the importance of 'making of's' in showing the amount of work that goes into a piece of work. The way that it breaks shots down is great in terms of how the different mediums are composited together, for example the 3D animation onto the backgrounds. This is definitely the way that I want to go with my 'Making of' for this project.

Popping Lid

After talking through ideas with Ste, I have had play at folding the legs back inside the tin. As the shoehorn, head shape pops the lid the legs rush back inside. At the end of my scene when the cupboard door is opening all of the bugs need to hide/be camouflaged so that they can't been seen as 'bugs' in the end shot.

When I have been considering this I have been looking for reference in a few places. I have looked at how tortoises retract back into their shells and also snails in order to see how natural/or not the movement is.

Here is a test, showing how the insect will retract into its shell:

Insect Development (2)

Character, ("Elephant Beetle")

This insect is based on the "Elephant Beetle".

Here is a basic mockup of the bug design. Obviously at this stage this looks as it does, a shoe polish tin with legs stuck on. So now, I need to play with the design so that it suggests the tine but its more like a natural bug shape that has evolved in sections to suggest the tin design.

Beetle Design: What will it be made from?

I have been exploring for a while now the possible things that the 'elephant beetle' could be made of from under a sink. The way that I imagine this character is for it to be the older 'matriarch' of thbe group, he's the boss! In an earlier test in which I had a play at animating  walk cycle, I animated him so that the rolled a little from his shoulders and had a bit of 'attitude' so to say.

With this in mind the type of objects from under the sink that I want it to consist of are things that might have been under the sink for a while.

If something was to evolve it would take a long time, so I want to choose objects that might not necessarily be used all the time, things that might sit in the back of a couple for a while.

I have decided to use shoe polish and related objects in order to create the bug as I think that this type of objects could feasible sit in a cupboard and not be touched on a regular basis.

Creature Comforts

"Each juxtaposition of voice and creature, even or especially the most unexpected, creates something wonderful. The domestic version, which like it s predecessor is made by Aardman Animations, is every bit as good as the original. While the animation is masterful – beautifully timed and fully attendant to character, even when a character is merely listening – what makes "Creature Comforts" valuable is the unscripted, and unscriptable voice of the people."

Robert Lloyd, LA Times

I think that Robert Lloyd from the LA Times sums it up nicely when he says "what makes Creature Comforts valuable is the unscripted, and unscriptable voice of the people". This is the main reason why I decided to approach the voiceover for my piece in this way. The unscriptable nature of the recording with Dmitri meant that it lead to a very natural sound. It was nice that the recording was fluid and it was nice just to hear someone that was just passionate about their subject area. This is something which I think I would struggle to achieve if the voiceover was scripted. I understand that a script is important in most scenarios, however this time I found this to be the most effective way for this particular brief.

Voiceover

For this project I have spent a lot of time considering narrative and sounds. Initially in order to develop narrative I used David Attenborough's  Madagascar as a way to cut up ideas and build a sequence. After finding a sequence that I was happy with, I started to consider the possibilities that I had open to me in terms of a voiceover.

Although Attenborough's Madagascar was a great inspiration I wanted to feel like the piece was mine. So I decided to use aspects of cut up narrative that I created in terms of inspiration for creating my own voiceover. One thing that Attenborough's voice has is a sense of culture and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just searching for an 'Attenborough' impersonator to read a script.

With this in mind I considered how I could get around this and started to think about what it was about his voice that made it seem so natural and work. I came to the conclusion that it was because he was an expert in his area and what he was saying just seemed natural and seemed to flow. The only logical thing for me to do at this point was to get in touch with Dmitri at the Museum, as he had been such a help already and see if he would let me record him to use as a voiceover. I decided that I wanted the recording to flow so I created a series of questions which stemmed from the sequence that I had created previously based on the edit taken from Madagascar. As I was happy with the way that the sequence ran I wrote a few questions covering the main areas of the narration.

By using these questions as a starting point I wanted Dmitri's responses to form the final voiceover. This worked extremely well and I'm really pleased with the outcome! With just under 30 mins of recordings I've got a heafty edit to come as I want my piece to roughly last 1:30 mins - 2mins, however I feel that I'm in a good position now to start that process.

Paul Bush

I've been meaning to put this film by Paul Bush here for a while now. It's really interesting for me to see how he has used found audio in order to create a narration, something which I have been considering myself.

The thing that I like about this Paul Bush film is the way that it has a documentary style feeling to the piece. I have been considering what I would like my piece to be in terms of the type of animation and one thing that I have avoided is making it seem as if its some form of advertsment. In terms of the messages that I want to convey in my piece, I am using it as an exploration about the idea of ecosystems and the use of camouflage.

Re Camouflaged Butterfly

Here I have had a play with caomouflaging the butterfly onto the packagaing. I'm happier with how it looks here, however they're are a few aspects that I would like to develop. For example there is still text within the design of the butterfly and I think that this would be more effective if I block the colours surronding it out.

Flicker tests

Flicker tests with the little lights within the scene:

Firstly I put the lights within the scene. As they have been wired up to a dimmer switch I played with bringing them up from dark to light as if they were glowing.

I decided to have a play with covering them with some green filters:

The test below shows some of the problems that I have had:

There are quite strong hotspots on the lights.

Outcome: LEDS

This weekend I'm going to get some green LEDS that can be wired up. As they are slim I can drill holes into the shelf and lot them in, it also means that in terms of wiring them up that the wires and battery can sit underneath the shelf and it means that there will be no need for wire removal. This is beneficial as I ma trying to refine my process and reduce the time that it takes for particular aspects without jeopardizing on quality.

Animatic

I have several animatics for this brief as I keep refining them as I am going along, however as I am filming next week I have decided that I want to nail my shots this weekend. This means that come Monday I can effectively start to get the shots that I need and replace them in my animatic as I go along.

Butterfly Test In Scene

Here are some tests that I have been working on over the last few days. After our tutorials earlier this week I was happy with the feedback I got and found the advice really helpful. It was suggested that I produce a very small section as close to finished as I see it all the way through.

I decided that I would take the butterfly, which appears more that once within the sequence and work on this section, as I felt that it includes similar processes to those that I will have to work on for the other sections. 

It includes re branding aspects of the packaging:

Original:

Reworked:

Camouflage:

Buried (2010)

We watched Buried on Saturday. At first I thought this was a litle bit of a strange reference for my work, however I decided to include it as I think it is a great example of how to light a small confined space well. The shots below show different shots of the film in which interesting lighting choices have been made:

Bug Glow Test

 

This is a quick test looking at how the bugs that are going to glow within the scene might do it. The back section of their tail glows, as some do in nature. 

Here are a few examples of glow bugs within nature as reference to the sort of thing that I'm trying to achieve.

Camouflage Test: Animated

After playing with having the butterfly camouflaged to the dishwasher tablet box, I had a play with animating the way it flies on to it.

Camouflage Test

This is an example of the butterfly camouflaged against the washing tablet box. I have played with the symmetry of the wings and I have removed the text from the texture so that it is made up purely of shapes, in order to create a pattern. I have added a little dirt and grunge to it so that it is obvious that there is a butterfly on top, however subtle in terms of expressing the idea of camouflage.

Portfolio Visit: Blue Zoo

I arranged to go an see London based company BLUE ZOO when down in London recently. The type of work that Blue Zoo create is primarily work for children's TV with their own animated series. Although character animation isn't something that I personally see myself going into, with my major project in mind, I felt that it would be helpful to see a company that could give me feedback in relation to my major project.

All of the portfolio crits that I have had up until this point of the course have been great in terms of looking at all of my work and getting feedback on how to improve aspects, things they liked and helpful in terms of promoting myself. I decided that whilst in London it would be great to utilise the opportunity and get in touch with BLUE ZOO in order to help progress my project.

When I arrived at the studios it was a little daunting at first as I wasn't sure that I'd found the right place or not. However fortunately it was the right place and they buzzed me up. The studio itself was a really nice/modern feel to it. When I got up to the studio I was met by Ollie one of the companies directors, who I had arranged the visit with, however he appologised as he had been called into a meeting last minute. However, he had arranged for two of their senior designers to sit down with me which I felt was a great opportunity.

First off all Damian and Mike showed me around their studio, before taking me into their meeting room to take a look at my work. I showed them my showreel and they said that they liked how it included a variety of work. However, they suggested that it was possibly a little too long, as generally you are able to tell within the first 20 secs whether the content of the work is going to be of a high standard.  This was good to hear, as I definitely agree that having a concise showreel would be appropriate and something that I should consider.

This was the first portfolio crit in which I was able to take my Flipbook for my Discovery channel ident. They loved it and said that they wish that more people took something that they could hold. I was really happy with this as I've wanted to get a flipbook made for a while now and I think that it is something different that when visiting companies, they could remember me over someone else. I think that it is important to stand out when there are a lot of people within this competitive industry, however I think that it is important to do this for the right reasons.

I showed them the work that I have done up to this point for the major project. I liked the fact that I am currently working on my project and able to show my ideas an initial tests. They liked my ideas and felt that it was a strong idea. I was pleased with the fact that they liked my idea, as I think that its important to have a strong idea behind my work.

They gave me some great advice about getting into the industry and how to approach this and were more than happy to answer questions that I had. One thing that stood out to me was that they said if possible its good to personally get into studios and if possible sit down with designers and show them your work. They felt that being able to physically sit down and actually being able to speak in person about the work is much better if this is possible, so this is definitely something to keep in mind.

http://themill.com/work/volkswagen/black-beetle.aspx

Cocroach Matchmoving

This is an example of mathchmoving with cockroaches. This is a great reference point for me as I think that it has been very nicely executed. It's clean, crisp and does what it needs to do!

HALF WAY EVALUATION 2/3/11

I think now is probably about the right time to reflect on how the project is going so far. I want to make sure that I’m still on track and in doing this I’m going to try to gauge how I feel the project’s evolving. I’m going to break this down into a few separate aspects. 

MAJOR PROJECT

Primary Research:

Overall I think that I have a good balance of both primary and secondary research and without a doubt the research section of the project so far has been the most helpful and effective. After initially looking into the idea of objects and collections it led to working with a curator at Manchester museum. Over a series of visits so far I have been able to study and analyse insects within the museums archives and it has meant that I have been able to draw from observation and break particular insects down into detail. This has been particularly important for me because it has allowed me to investigate insects in a lot more detail, than I would be able to do otherwise. By seeing these up close and out of their cases and being able to photograph and draw them, it has meant that now at the beginning stages of production I feel that the project is more informed.

Secondary Research

I am rather happy with the breadth of sources that I have looked at, up to this stage. Looking at animators working with similar subject matters, ranging from Svankmajer, to modern animators such as PEZ. I have also looked into the use of objects within things such as TV adverts for cars and people who create art with objects.

An initial investigation into the use of objects within other peoples work has now moved into an investigation of my chosen subject matter, (insects and entomology). By having both a subject matter and looking into the use of objects, it has meant I have been able to look into a lot of other areas. For example, insects in general and the use of camouflage within nature. This has allowed for an exciting investigation, which has meant that I have been able to look at a wide array of sources, like David Attenborough’s Madagascar and other documentaries on insects and adaptation.

In terms of the trip to London next week I'm seeing this as a great opportunity to utilise galleries and museums in order to research more for my major. After looking into what is going on in London whilst we are there and recommendations from friends, there are a few exhibitions and galleries that are a must see whilst there. For example Gabriel Orozco exhibition that is on at the Tate Modern, in which he’s regarded for his “endless experimentation with found objects”.  I also plan on a visit to the ‘Natural History Museum’, which I hope will provide invaluable research for my project. Whilst looking forward to visiting studios and having my portfolio visit, I’m also looking forward to take advantage of being able to continue to develop my project whilst there.

Overall I feel that the project is going well and I think that I’m happy with the speed of how it’s evolving. The beginning of the project was quite a slow process in terms of research and making decisions, however I’m glad that I have gone through the process because I don’t think that I would be where I’m at now otherwise. In terms of my final piece it is developing nicely now and at the moment I’m considering narrative.

PDP

Portfolio Visits:

I have already had one portfolio visit and plan on making a return visit to at least one of the studios that I had visits with before Christmas. I have one lined up with an animation studio in London whilst we are down there. I found this company earlier this month and was particularly drawn to them with my major project in mind. A lot of their work involves character animation, something that interests me but not something that I wouldn’t want to primarily go into. However, which my major project in mind I feel that obviously I need to understand the principles of character animation, so that I can get the most out of the narrative that I create for my “insects/beetles”. Although I love London, my intention after graduating is to stay up North. With this in mind the main intention for me is that this portfolio visit in London is a great opportunity to get a little advice for my major project and whilst a great networking opportunity also a great chance to specifically talk about my major project.

Matthew Davies

Earlier this month Me and Ste had a portfolio visit, which went really well and was very productive. As well as having a great talk about our work and interests, he also gave us a contact to a company that he does freelance work for and suggested that we get in touch. We planned on meeting them whilst down in London, however the man from the company suggested that we meet up on Wed, however we are only staying until the Tues night. This is a great contact and something that we will definitely be following up.

I have planned to write the hope fears and opportunities report over the Easter break and intend for this to be finished by the time that we return, meaning that I have the final 3 weeks to finish the project. In terms of self promotion I have spent quite a lot of time working on my showreel, especially for this visit to London. I have also re-edited all of the pieces that I have on Vimeo, so that they all have brief descriptions at the beginning, briefly describing the project, its length and the key skills used.

Time Management

I have been using the diary on my mac throughout this project putting in deadlines set and all of my own personal deadlines. This has been invaluable for me, as it has meant that not only have I been able to plan things as I go along, but also see how I’m doing and track my process and consequently process.

Things I need to consider

Subject matter?

What do I want to get out of this piece?

Narrative?

Matchmoving Test

This is an initial matchmoving test that I created to see if I could get my own geometry to stick to the scene. I haven't got the bug to move in this particular scene as just wanted to see if I could get it to appear as it was within the scene, this is the next step.

New Showreel - 2011

Portfolio Visit: Matt Davies

Last week me and Steve had a portfolio visit with Matt at our flat in town. Just before Christmas we went to see Matt do some filming for a web advert, which was great to be able to see. At the time we had a good chat with Matt about the industry and our own stuff. He said that he would like to see some of our work so we decided to get in touch and organise a crit.

We had a good chat about the industry and some of the stuff that Matt had been involved with. He said he was currently working long hours at the BBC and him and a few people that he works with as a production team, had just won the contract for 10 music videos, for an well known artist, (however he couldn't tell us who!) Here is a link to his work, (Matt Site). I thought that it was great that he worked as freelance camera man, however also was able to mix between the roles of director and producer for projects such as creating music videos.

I decided to show him my Discovery Channel Ident, my 'What Not to Flush Brief' and my 'Morph London' animations. He said he was impressed with the work and really liked the 3D work.

We got onto talking about one of the companies that Matt freelances for and he said although he does the filming and editing for the projects that he works on,  they have someone else that does their animation for titles and any added extras. He gave us the details of the company and said that based on the work that he had seen, that he was more than confident that we could produce animations for them to the standard that they require. This was great to hear and a nice confidence boost. It's also interesting in terms of possibilities in getting some freelance work in the future.

Matt has been a great contact up until this point and I think that he could be a great contact for the future, especially considering looking future plans after graduating. It's good to start to see how its possible to start to utilise contacts. I look forward to hopefully doing some work with him in the future.

Manchester Museum

As part of the research for my Major Project I have been visiting Manchester Museum and working behind the scenes in the museum archives. With the help of curators at Manchester Museum I have been able to start to gather a large body of research for my project. Drawing from observation has really helped me start to understand body shapes, sizes, etc and how particular insects are made up.  

Daniel Firman

       

http://www.danielfirman.com/

The above images are sculptures that artist Daniel Firman has created. These sculptures show how lots of objects have been combined to create a particular design.

Pascal Duval

I found this image when looking into the way that imagery is used in order to make up other images, (the basis of my project). The image above is a great example of how artists, in this case 'Pascal Duval', use imagery in order to create design in a stylised way. Obviously, it is important for me to consider how I can explore using objects in order to create my own compositions.

Shilo's - Dubai Metro

Shilo's - AT&T TechHeads

The video below is a great example of how objects are used to form something else:


Without going down the cliche route of making a robot, I think the video above has particular aspects that are interesting to consider. The movement of how these objects move across the screen in order to form the robot is interesting and is definitely something to consider, when thinking about how the objects I animate can be used within my own animation. Will the objects  used in order to form the insects already be formed, or will they animate to their final locations?

Nam June Paik

One person that I thought would be useful to look at is Nam June Paik. Here are some images taken from his site:

 

  

Now I'm not saying that Im going to create a robot out of objects, however I think the examples shown here are great examples of how an artist has taken one object and used it in delivering a new response in the form of sculpture. There is an exhibition on Nam Jun Paik on at Liverpool Tate at the moment so I'm going to go and take a look next week.

This is a great example of how one thing can be used to represent something else. For example the way that objects are used to illustrate fish.

Subaru "The Car Parts"

This is a TV advert that I found for Subaru, titled "The Car Parts". This is a great example of the type of thing that I have been considering for my Major Project. The idea that I have had reveolves around the notion that objects are used to illustrate something else. This advert uses the car parts as a way of creating a world. For example plants are made up from nuts and bolts.

 

http://timoschaedel.com/