I have been playing around with some possible colour options to use with some examples of animations that have a similar colour scheme.
Month / March 2018
Report Proposal Weekly Reflection 3
19th-25th March 2018
Development
I was in a bit of a creative block this week regarding the proposal, as I’m not quite sure where I am going with it. I have done some research into greek theatre as a possible link to animation but I am struggling to find sources that back up my argument. I think I might need to restructure my thinking and find a different path to go down. After easter I will have a talk with Lyndsey and try and get something a bit more solid.
Areas for Development
Continue coming up with ideas and looking for resources and have a better idea of where I am heading in order to get some feedback.
BBC Collaboration Project Weekly Reflection 3
19th-25th March 2018
Development
This week was the start of the Easter holidays which makes starting animating a little tricky! But I began looking at Moth Animation studios for some reference and inspiration. Although their style is a lot of character based work, I really like the tone and use of colour. In particular the ‘Salvation Army’ project they did, as it uses quite flat, 2D shapes to create a very creative and interesting world. These will be elements to keep in mind moving forward.
Areas for Development
To continue researching and developing so that I feel in a good position to begin animating and creating new ideas after the break.
Greek theatre and puppets
As a possible link to animation I thought it would be interesting to look at traditional greek theatre, as this is the start of performance as we know it today. We as humans have developed the need to tell and watch stories, both animation and theatre does this. The famous greek theatre masks are also a possible connection, they make the wearer almost a puppet to the story.
I have found some quotes below that I could use to demonstrate this point, as I think there is definitely an argument to make about the connection between accent Greece and puppetry (and in that animation).
‘The Greek theatre history began with festivals honoring their gods. A god, Dionysus, was honored with a festival called by “City Dionysian”
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Theatre/
“According to the stories of Hephaestus, blacksmith to the gods, creator of three-wheeled automobiles of the bronze giant Talos, or Daedalus, architect to King Minos, “mechanician”, inventor of moving statues. Greek mythology bears witness to the creation of animated figures, if not true puppets.”
‘There are many descriptions of true puppet shows which certainly existed in Ancient Greece. In The Banquet, tells us that among the guests invited by Callias to this symposion, a showman from Syracuse demonstrated his “puppet”, but it is difficult to determine the exact nature of this figure. At least this text provides testimony of the presence of different types of entertainer, probably including puppeteers.’
https://wepa.unima.org/en/greece/
Moth Animation
‘Founded by three short film directors who began collaborating on commercials, feature film segments and positive films for NGO’s and charities’
I wanted to show some of moth animations work because I think it stylist and shows a similar feel to what I am trying to achieve. I like the use of warm colours and sense of humour, but it still sends an important message. Although not all of their work does this, in the examples above I like the 2D hand drawn vibe, using flat shapes and colours on top of each other.
Personal Branding Weekly Reflection 2
12th-18th March 2018
Development
This week I looked at different types of branding and who they might be used by, and some examples of animators websites and online portfolios. I found this really informative, as I found it quite hard to find these examples, in particular stop motion animators. I also looked at a few examples of job adverts to see what kind of jobs are available, and the kind of language they use.
Areas of development
Next I will look at more examples of job adverts and think about how I could taloir my personal branding to fit with they requirements.
BBC Collaboration Project Weekly Reflection 2
12th-18th March 2018
Development
This week mostly involved collating our ideas, we created a rough storyboard as a group and from this developed three coloured images each. I feel happy with how the project is going, and I think we are working well as a team. There are a few creative differences into how we want to take the project, but I’m sure this can be resolved with further discussion. We put together our first treatment, which isn’t great, as we were all a little confused about what the structure of what we were doing. We now have a much clearer understanding though so I’m confident our next submission will be better.
Areas for Development
In the coming weeks we will need to decide on a constant style and colour palette, as we are all on different wave lengths at the moment. I am happy with the structure of the animation, my next move will be to continue working on sketches and rough storyboards, and communicate with my group so we can finalise a style and technique.
Report Proposal Weekly Reflection 2
12th-18th March 2018
Development
I have started to look into Greek mythology in more depth, and I made a list of possible sources to help further. I really enjoyed looking into this which had made me sure I want to write about it in some capacity. The stories (such as Prometheus) are gruesome and morbid, and I think this could link into animation nicely. In particular stop motion, as it has the ability to un nerve and creep people out.
Areas for development
Perhaps focus down my research slightly into something more specific as the entirety of greek mythology is quite a large undertaking. I may look into a specific story or a specific point in history. I will continue to gather resources that may come in handy at a later point,
Introduction to Greek Myths
To begin my research I thought it would be sensible to get a basic of Greek Myths and there purpose. They were stories used to explain the world at the time, in order to make things seem less scary. They began as the literal description of how the world was, but were also used for entertainment, to instil morals, and as allegories. In a way they are very similar to the stories of the bible. Although we now know most of it isn’t fact (of course some people disagree that is just my option) they are still entertaining and meaningful stories. They are different from folk tales as they were believed to be the true origin of the world.
http://www.greekboston.com/culture/mythology/greek-mythology/
In these myths, the world began with Chaos. This is used differently depending on the context, sometimes it is an all powerful force that birthed the world and will ultimately end it. In other contexts it is a God like physical being.
Chaos created Gaia , the earth, and Eros, who was love. Gaia was created to be a home to the gods, and the term Chaos meant something slightly different at the time, simply meaning ‘a dark void’. She also had a child, Ouranos. They themselves had children (although they were technically mother and son but the family lines get a bit blurred as everyone is doing it with their family members all the time in Greek Mythology), and these were the 12 titans. This is the second generation God if you will. They also gave birth to 3 cyclopes and 3 100 headed monsters. Ouranos didn’t like these monstrous children, so pushed them back into the womb of Gaia. She was less than pleased, so teamed up with her youngest child Kronos to over through the sky, and chopped of his man hood with a sickle. This caused a chain of events that led to the creation of the love Goddess Aphrodite, and the three furies.
While this was happening the other 12 titans were pairing off and having children of their own, leading to the next generation of Gods. As time went on, they became more ‘human like’ and more flawed, some were attributed to good qualities and other bad.
Much later in history the God Prometheus is ruling over the earth, and him and the goddess Athena create man. It is important to remember that Titans, Gods, and Man are three separate things, though the lines are a bit blurry. When mankind was created, all the good qualities had been given to the other creatures (created by Epimetheus) so Prometheus gave them the ability to stand up right, and create fire. This angered Zeus, as this was his domain, so he punished Mankind by creating a woman, Pandora. He gave her box full of all the evils in the world, but at the bottom of the box was hope. Prometheus was chained to the Caucasus Mountain, when every night an eagle would come and eat his liver, and everyday it would grow back.
https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-gods-myths-and-legends-119894
http://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-folklore/greek-mythology-and-human-origins-0064
https://www.britannica.com/topic/myth/Animals-and-plants-in-myth
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/63370
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Am-Ar/Animals-in-Mythology.html
First draft treatment and group meeting
Today we submitted a first draft of our treatment, a concept page combining our ideas, and an animatic using the three coloured images we each came up with. We also wrote a first draft of the written treatment. We still need to decided on a constant style, as we all seem to have different ideas of what we want, from rotoscoping to CG. I am not confident in CG and I wouldn’t feeling happy using the project as a place to start as I don’t really have much interest in it, I think we should stick to something we are all happy with like 2D or after effects. I just don’t feel like we have the time to do a 3D animation and it isn’t really appropriate to the task. But of course working in a group requires compromise, so the thing that links our animations together might be colour and transitions rather than how they are made. I just personally feel that adding CG elements to a mostly 2D animation will look out of place and possible amateur, although it can be done well I just don’t think we have the time.
In todays session I found that making a list of what needs to be done and who has completed it really useful, and a good way to organise everyone and distribute the responsibilities.
For next week the aim is to set a colour palette and style, and create some animation tests. I would also like to find some more reference examples to help further my research and do some more art tests.
Title – Disabled Superheroes
Short animated film
Our film follows a casual conversation between Darren who has cerebral palsy and Grace who has dwarfism, and how they handle their disability in the everyday world. The conversation is light and fun, so we intend to reflect this in our animation. We will visually represent the conversation through fast paced images and movement that reflect the characters personalities and the content of their interaction.
The team will connect each scene with a similar colour palette and interesting, diverse transitions.
Maddy Caulfield Animation 