Study Task 6

I intend to investigate whether it is possible to make realistic water in the analogue animation medium of stop-motion. I want to investigate this because stop-motion is a passion of mine and I want to discover whether stop-motion really is a limited animation medium, or whether, no matter how complex the phenomena it is that is being animated, that it can in fact still be made to look realistic without digital assistance. Water of course is a particularly hard phenomenon to recreate and so will be a very good test of this medium. That is why I am going to make two versions of a short ocean scene (in calm and stormy conditions) both an analogue version and a version that is digitally assisted, which involves the animation of waves and a cloudy backdrop. 

 

My research is going to help as a starting point as I can base my designs off of the production studios who have tried to animate oceans previously. I will particularly be looking at the work conducted by Laika for ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and ‘Two Balloons’ by Mark Smith, which both feature ocean scenes that have featured or been assisted heavily by stop-motion. My research on stop-motion clouds will focus on ‘Two Balloons’, ‘Mound’ by Allison Schulnik and ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’ by Yuri Norstein. Of course, my animation will not have the same budget and time scale in which to create a similar ocean, however I believe this to be both an accomplishable and a challenging practical response that will aid my essay’s investigation. 

Study Task 5

This task helped me gather together and start to triangulate the research I've conducted so far. I split the research into the three sub-categories of water, which will each be their own paragraph. I then collected examples of the films which are relevant to these key terms and finally found critics citing information about each example, both proving and disproving the research question (made clear through the red/green colour-coding). This has been good for visualising the research I have and by colour coding the critics, I can see that I have a good variety of viewpoints, giving more depth to my essay. One improvement perhaps would be to show on the table how the imagery and critics relate to each other with arrows. 

Animatic

This week, I converted the storyboard scenes into an animatic. This involved adding in-betweens to each action to clarify what was happening. The sound effects also helped bring this clarity to the film, using free sound files from online and pairing them with the actions. Me and Harry went over the timings for each scene, bringing it close to how the final film will be in the end. We figured it will roughly be 1 minute and 10 seconds, which is a manageable amount of animation to make in the time we have. The feedback from the tutor was that he liked the loose, sketchy-style to the animatic and that we were almost good to go with the animation. To improve it however, the sound effects are not the ones that will be used for the final film as we'll be creating our own. One of the scenes with a sped up cycle of many nights and days also didn't translate very well in the animatic but will do in its final form.

What Went Well

• This process was useful for estimating the timing and understanding that the animation we wanted to fit in was a manageable amount
• The sound gave clarity to the actions
• The tutor liked the sketchy, loose style to the animatic

Criticism

• I didn't find working in a tra-digital format as rewarding as getting involved with the woodwork side of the project, however I understand the importance of this stage
• The sounds are not in their finalised forms but give a rough idea of the atmosphere
• The night and day cycle will be improved in the final product by using lighting instead of an effect

ToonBoom - Harmony - Induction

At first I wasn't a fan of this 2D software as I found it hard to use, however during the course of the lesson, I began to pick it up more. I created a robot walk cycle, which overall I'm pleased with. I could improve it by smoothing the motion of the far arm and far leg (as these doesn't quite sync in the loop) but otherwise the walk is fairly seamless. 

Researching for COP

This week, I carried out a large amount of research. I was sceptical at first that I'd find enough information to carry out an investigation however there was an abundance of examples/critics. The majority of my information was found online as this was where I had access to behind the scenes of animations and interviews with creators. The examples of animated water I will be exploring are: 'Kubo and the Two Strings', 'Coraline', 'Two Balloons', the 'Gatorade' advert and 'Hedgehog in the Fog'. This is a nice range of animations from large production companies to individual projects. If I was to improve this research, it would be to find more criticism against stop-motion as a medium, however this has been quite difficult to find. 

I then planned out the investigation. It'll look individually at 'water expanses' (waves, oceans), 'moving water' (rivers, showers, pouring water) and 'gaseous water' (fog, clouds, steam). These categories cover all the films I've researched. 

What Went Well:

• I found an abundance of information about my topic
• The research helped formulate my argument rather than finding information to fit the argument
• The categories I've divided water into will allow me to investigate this topic as thoroughly as possible 

Criticism:

• Most of the information I found was online, so triangulation will be needed to make sure these sources are valid
• I have too many film examples, such as the rain in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' - I'm no longer investigating this film as I couldn't find enough background information on it
• I've yet to find much criticism against stop-motion as a whole from reputable sources

Study Task 4

Overview

I’m going to look into animating water in stop-motion. This will mainly focus on water expanses (eg. oceans, seas), particularly with regard to my practical outcome, which will be a stop-motion ocean system in two different environments (stormy and calm) as well as a cloud backdrop. I will also look at moving water (eg. rivers, pouring water, showers, rain) and gaseous water (eg. fog, clouds and weather phenomena). I'll look for these examples in animations by LAIKA and Aardman as well as ‘Two Balloons’, ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’ and the ‘Gatorade’ advert. I'll be researching the behind the scenes of these films and looking at seminars/interviews with those who were behind making the films. I predict that it will be possible to animate water in stop-motion format (at a small scale and budget), however it'll be a difficult task. 

Introduction

It would be understandable to believe that water poses as a large problem for filmmakers who wish to animate it in stop-motion. Water’s liquid nature is the antithesis of such a medium, which demands frame by frame morphing, while requiring the animated object to be stationary between shots. It is of course not possible to reshape water and get it to hold its shape in the same way most solid objects can. This task is further accentuated by the fact that so few stop-motion animation projects are running nowadays, due to the lack of monetary incentive to produce such a film. On the surface therefore, the immediate answer to the question being investigated in this essay is ‘no’. This essay however will attempt to investigate beyond this immediate presumption and find out whether animating stop-motion water is in fact possible. The practical side to this essay will be investigating, despite time constraints and a low-budget, whether it is possible to create a realistic looking stop-motion ocean scene. In addition to this, whether or not the practical side helps prove the theory or not, on closer inspection, it is evident that there is in fact a wide array of stop-motion films, from large production companies to individual animation projects, which have successfully attempted animating water, albeit in a small minority with regard to the wealth of animation films that are around today. Whether it be the ocean scenes produced in ‘Two Balloons’ or Laika’s ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’; the rain effects used by Aardman in ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’; the shower scene in ‘Coraline’; the mist made for ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’; or the ‘Gatorade’ advert, which uses the medium of water itself to animate with, these are just some of the many ways water has been successfully animated in stop-motion. 

Sonorous Soundscapes

In the lesson, we were asked to listen to 'the noise between things'. The soundscape was key to giving life to my sock snake animation. I thought about the actions that were happening and I tried to distort them in some way to create a more unnerving atmosphere. The low rumble was created by opening a draw and the high-pitched background noise (meant to represent the insect nightlife in the forest) was created by rubbing a patch of carpet. Ambience and reverb were added, leading to the finished product. The timing is a bit off and the carpet sound could be more refined, however I'm interested in going into soundscaping further down the line. 

Study Task 3

For this task, I read, and condensed into my own notes, my findings of:

1. Cenedese, C (2018), Wave [online], Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/wave-water, Date Accessed: 20/10/20

2. James, S (2019), Wave Characteristics, Available at: https://www.eoas.ubc.ca/courses/atsc113/sailing/met_concepts/08-met-waves/8b-wave-characteristics/index.html, Date Accessed: 20/10/20

Summaries:

1. A wave is 'a ridge... on the surface of a body of water'. The 'undulations and oscillations may be chaotic and random, or they may be regular', depending on the characteristics and conditions the body of water is in. Wind triggers waves by forming small ripples on the water surface. When built up high enough, gravity causes the displaced ripples of water to be 'accelerated back toward the mean surface level'. Meanwhile the kinetic energy from the wave returning to this position causes an 'overshoot' and forms this 'oscillating wave motion', which are waves. Wind speed and distance it travels over water (the fetch) determines wave size/energy. Storms increase wind speed, hence why waves get more energy. Whitecaps are a regular feature of waves, created by the 'crests' of waves breaking, forming a white foam. 

2. Storm winds often combine with regular winds and pre-existing waves forming a 'confused sea' *. This is where waves grow at irregular heights to one another and move in different directions. Waves moving in a similar direction to the storm will get larger. Swell is waves created by distant storms far out at sea but these waves are much more ordered, with regular 'periods' **. Swell can add to 'confused seas' like when two swells collide, this produces 'diamond-shaped'/'hatched wave patterns', adding to the confusion created by winds and storms. 'Interference' occurs during storms 'when two waves run through each other' causing waves to 'add up or cancel out' (eg. 'constructive interference' - where two crests merge, they build to creating an unnaturally high 'rogue wave'. 'Destructive interference' - where a crest cancels out a trough). 

Diagram 1 *

Diagram 2 **

These articles relate directly to my research, in particular the practical element. With this I have a better understanding as to how waves move and behave in different climates (of which I am going to be creating both a rough and calm sea scene) as well as understanding how animators have got their own oceans to behave. I'm aware of the different features of a wave and will make sure to include these in my practical ocean test.

Study Task 2

My initial ideas for the COP question focussed around aesthetics and technology:

• Does stop-motion restrict its characters aesthetically?
• Has stop-motion set design developed through time with changes technologically and historically?
• To what extent is stop-motion ever used in isolation from the other animation techniques?
• Is stop-motion aesthetically reliant on other animation forms in regard to special effects?

After researching into these topics and with input from Ben, my question is going down the route of special effects in stop-motion, with particular focus on the problem that water poses on stop-motion animators. 

My new question is:

'Can you make realistic looking water through analogue stop-motion animation techniques?'

Research and Design of Practical Response

I've researched further into the topic of animating stop-motion water and found many animations that have attempted this challenge; from large production companies (LAIKA, Aardman) to individual projects ('Gatorade' Ad, 'Two Balloons' film). I've decided on a practical response based on this research. I'm going to create an analogue ocean scene and an ocean scene with post-production work done to it, similar to the scenes of 'Two Balloons' and the tests made for 'Kubo and the Two Strings', to investigate whether analogue stop-motion footage can produce realistic water or if it needs digital assistance to do so.

Primary Research:

Cinderkit references

Secondary Research:

Studies:

 

First design

Second design - refining any noticeable issues

What Went Well:

• The studies drew my attention to all the details and features of oceans
• Watching videos of waves helped me understand wave motion
• The practical response compliments the research well
• The film examples inspired my designs

Improvements:

• There will most likely be problems I face with the design, however it's not until I start building the ocean that I'll notice these and be able to redesign them
• I haven't decide on the scale of the project - it'll be based on what materials I have to hand

Scriptwriting and Storyboarding

This week, I wrote an initial draft for the script. I then tweaked it after input from Daisy and Harry so the film could be feasibly made in the time we had. Initially there was going to be a garden scene, however this would have taken too long to build the extra scene. This has been replaced with a front-on view of the window from outside.

First script:

Final script:

With a finalised script, I moved onto storyboarding. This mapped out the plot, character actions, camera actions and sound effects. I'm pleased with the loose-nature of the storyboard, although an improvement would be that the characters are not in their final form. As a plan however, it is clear which character is who. 

What Went Well

• Small amount of speech will be easier to animate/lip sync
• The scripting stage helped convey how to much we were theoretically going to get done in the time we had
• Storyboarding was a good first visualisation of the project to get everyone on the same page

Criticism

• At this stage, I didn't have the character designs so they were drawn very loosely
• The black and white storyboard doesn't yet portray the Picasso 'blue period' that the animation is going for
• The first script was over-ambitious (too many sets to build)

 

Toon Boom - Storyboard Pro - Induction

Today I learnt how to use Storyboard Pro. I found it very helpful and the programme will make the storyboarding process of a film much easier. It is also very easy to use when putting an animatic together as it complies all the frames drawn from the storyboard into a timeline. I may use it for future projects.

Below is a short storyboard and animatic I created during the lesson:

Sentient Spaces

Sentience is the ability to feel things, and in animation, is conveyed through the use of living and moving backgrounds. I really like Hieronymus Bosch's work, which utilises sentience to create unnerving and sinister paintings. I also like the stop-motion world of Coraline, where the garden is full of life and moving plant forms that light up. I'm going to use these as inspiration to make my own 4-6 image looped background sequence, which my sock character can live in.

I added the snake to a 2D drawn dark, forest background, which I think fits well with its fierce personality. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue to the forest, in a similar way to Bosch's work. I am pleased with the motion (especially the use of easy ease) and seamlessness of the loop. More work could be done with lighting and shadows though to make the snake appear as if it's actually in the scene. 

Treatment and Mood-board

I have grouped up with Daisy and Harry for this animation as we all want to work in stop-motion. This week we came up with the treatment (story idea, world and characters) for our film as well as drafting individual mood-boards to visualise this concept. This was helpful for making sure we were all on the same page. We're all looking forward to getting started on the project and are now going onto developing the characters and plot in depth. 

What Went Well

• We settled on the idea very efficiently and are all very happy with the concept for the animation
• We've distributed the animation jobs and are sharing some jobs where are interests overlap
• Harry is going to be director, guiding the overall look of the animation

Criticism

• We've yet to work out a timetable for the project
• We've yet to work out who the producer is

Anthropomorphism and Animism

For the task of bringing an inanimate object to life and giving it a 'living soul', I made a stop-motion sock act like a snake. The first attempt wasn't very successful as the sock material wouldn't hold its position. I got around this by lining it with tin foil and this worked much better. I was pleased with the animation and timing, although to improve it, I could be more thorough with the green-screening. 

Study Task 1

I started researching my interests in animation. From this, I could see what particularly interested me, which turned out to be a different topic to what I began researching. Initially I looked into both stop-motion puppetry and stop-motion VFX, however I'm now focussing on the problem of animating water in stop-motion. I collected the information from documentaries, online interviews/showcases and websites. To extend on this, I'll look in published media sources next.

What Went Well

• Initial research fine-tuned my interests in animation
• The plan mapped out the paths I could take with my research - I took a different one to the path I started on
• I decided on the topic quite early on, which gives me a lot of time to do further thorough research

Criticism

• Hard to narrow down such a wide scope of research
• The spider diagram plan was a very confusing way of working - the volume of information is very distracting

Evaluate Presentation

I have finished preparing the 10-minute presentation about myself and the year I've had in Leeds. I found this task useful for looking back on what I've done and for seeing how I can still improve in the future. This has also helped me to put down on paper possible paths I may take in animation, as there are aspects I enjoy more than others.

Adventure Animation Post-Production

This week I completed the animation. In the post-production, I added sound, and adjusted the colour levels, saturation, contrast... Other effects like the lens flare highlighted the gem. I Photoshopped some stop-motion frames, where the model had torn, to remove these from sight. To improve what I've done, I could get more familiar with After Effects's effects, as there's such a range to use.

This has been my favourite part as all the stages of work have come together to create the finished product.

Study Task 10 - Keyframes, In-betweens and Extremes

This exercise was good for reducing the number of frames to draw while still keeping the action clear. This is a very time-efficient way of working. I drew the keyframes, then the in-betweens and extremes between the keys. I struggled with the extremes as I didn't want to over-exaggerate the actions, but rather keep them natural. I understand however that the extremes are good for making the character less rigid. I'll use these drawings for the animation but with more in-betweens so the action's smoother.

Adventure Animation Production

I've started drawing the 2D protagonist scenes. Some scenes have been easier than others. The scene with Aiden putting the map down/helmet on went smoothly first time. The scene with Aiden cutting the tree down however took many attempts to get right.

I didn't like the drawings I did for this scene - Aiden's body is inconsistent, so I redrew it.

The second time I drew it, Aiden's feet slid about (didn't appear attached to the ground).

In the final version, I attached Aiden's feet to the ground and added shadows. Aiden's walk is much improved, although I'll cut a few frames out where he freezes up in.

The stop-motion animating went to plan. The puppet was flexible enough, despite some tears.

Adventure Animation Pre-Production

I've set up the green-screen by wrapping the stop-motion stand in green card.

I successfully removed this green-screen when practicing in After Effects.

I've finished rendering the 3D backgrounds, which the Savage will be added to. Some of Aiden's walk-cycles will be used in the animation, but will be tweaked to correct the perspective. With the post-production and animatic finished, I can start producing the animation.

Showreel

I've been working on my showreel. At first I didn't think I would have enough good-quality work to include in the video, however by the end, I was struggling to put everything into 30 seconds. I'm particularly pleased with the editing, where I tried to make each clip seamlessly transition into the next. I kept the showreel at a high intensity throughout, following the pace of the music, to keep it interesting. The tutor advised me to include my contact details, which I later added. Another improvement I'd make would be to make sure every clip is at a suitable resolution, as some clips became slightly pixelated.

Study Task 9 - Animatic and Soundscape

I've created an animatic on After Effects, which includes some developed scenes and walk-cycles. I combined the Maya sceneries, 2D and stop-motion characters.

What Went Well

• Aesthetically-pleasing mixed-medium animatic.
• Sounds clarify actions.
• Timing will overrun (2-5 seconds) so I'll need to cut a scene.

Improvements

• Only a rough time estimate - some actions possibly over/underestimated.
• Some background camera-angles will need adjusting.

Study Task 3 - Switch to 3D backgrounds

 
I created a cave and forest in Maya and I've decided the backgrounds look better being 3D. It creates contrast from the characters and allows for zoom-in-shots. They'll keep to the same colour scheme.

First background concepts

Final background concepts

• Aiden's arms now longer (bottom-right shot)
• Original bottom-left shot was cut from script.

Cave experimentation

It was difficult getting the fire and texturing to work together so I rendered them separately, and replaced the fire with a point-light for the textures render.

The characters were then added. The mixed-medium combination works well.

I then animated the Maya forest, with Aiden cutting a tree down, which worked well.

Reference-Stage

Character-Stage