-Animation follows the same principles as video. A series of images is played one after the other to create the illusion of movement.
Animation Methods:
1. Hand drawn - drawing/painting backgrounds and models by hand, frame by frame.This can be done physically on paper or digitally using software.
2. stop motion - using materials to create sets and models which you then photograph.
What is frames per second?
-Frames per second refers to the amount of frames that make up a single second of animation.
Frame rates
TV- 25
Cinema- 24 or 48
Videogames- 30 or 60
What is a keyframe?
-Keyframe is when you tell the software you are going to move the image.
I tried to use Adobe Animation to try to move the ball shapes in different ways, the tools I have used are Selection Tool to move the shape and Oval Tool to make a shape. To make the shape to move I clicked on it, move it in different way and click Insert Keyframe on the timeline. In this experiment I learnt how to make my own animation and move shapes one after another. I’m satisfied with my experiment, I would also add the background and different type of shape moving towards you.
I enjoyed every part of an experiment and it wasn't hard to use different tools, but If I had to move the shape in a different way I just had to use "Insert Keyframe" every time. The animations I would like to make more are like different face expressions, maybe some kind of different shapes moving and changing their size
Using a Graphics tablet and animating walk cycles
10/09/2024
Objectives:
1. To apply understanding of the fundamental principles and software behind animation production.
2. To improve your understanding of the principles behind animation.
The juxtaposing of frames to create the illusion of movement.
12 Animation Principles
-Squash and stretch
a sense of weight and flexibility
-Anticipation
use motions and movement that have a wind up of some kind, prepare the audience for what the are about to see.
-Straging
place subjects and objects based on their importance, so you direct the audience's attention to them.
-Straight Ahead & Pose-to-Pose
Straight Ahead: animate frame-by-frame from beginning to end.
Pose-to-Pose: start with drawing the beginning.
-Follow Through & Overlapping Action
loosely tied parts of the bode should continue moving beyond after the character has stopped, then be pulled back.
-Slow in and Slow out
things in the real world need time to accelerate and slow down when they move.
-Arc
most natural movements follow a trajectory, so when animating character movements you should consider angling joints and body parts slightly.
-Secondary Action
adding a secondary action can support the main action and give the movement more life.
-Timing
more drawings=slow
less drawings=fast
-Exaggeration
over emphasise a movement or action, to create an extreme style.
-Solid drawing
characters fit in a 3 dimensional space (3/4 front).
-Appeal
you have to bring characters to life through drawing-distinct shapes that give off personality.
In this experiment I used Adobe Animate to draw a face by using Graphic Tablet. To draw a face I used Paint Brush Tool. To add a new drawing of a face with different face expressions I right clicked on Timeline and selected Insert Blank Keyframe. I also used Onion Skin to see my previous drawing, so it's easier to draw a new one. I'm quite satisfied with my experiment, I like how the sad face expression is changing to neutral and then to smile face.
To make an animation run at smoother speed I could add more drawings of face expressions and more keyframes. It was a bit difficult to create this animation compared to a bouncing ball experiment because every time to make a new drawing I had to draw it again, but by using Onion Skin made it easier because I can see my previous drawing.
Understanding Cinematography
16/09/2024
L.O:
1. To improve your understanding of the principles behind animation production.
2. To build your confidence in using a graphics tablet with Adobe Animate's tools.
Cinematography - it strengthens the narrative.
Camera shots
-Extreme Long Shot is a view from an even greater distance, in which people appear as small dots in a landscape.Shows the subject from top to bottom; for a person, this would be head to toes, though not necessarily filling the frame. The character becomes more of a focus than an Extreme Long Shot, but the shot tends to still be dominated by the scenery.
-Long/Wide shot is a shot that shows the subject within their surrounding environment. A wide shot tells the audience who is in the scene, where the scene is set, and when the scene takes place.
-Full shot - Frames character from head to toes, with the subject roughly filling the frame. The emphasis tends to be more on action and movement rather than a character’s emotional state.
-3/4 American shot (Cowboy shot) - A variation of a Medium Shot, this gets its name from Western films from the 1930s and 1940s, which would frame the subject from mid-thighs up to fit the character’s gun holsters into the shot.
-Medium long shot (3/4 Shot) - Intermediate between Full Shot and Medium Shot. Shows subject from the knees up.
-Medium shot - Shows part of the subject in more detail. For a person, a medium shot typically frames them from about waist up. This is one of the most common shots seen in films, as it focuses on a character (or characters) in a scene while still showing some environment.
-Medium close-up - Falls between a Medium Shot and a Close-Up, generally framing the subject from chest or shoulder up.
-Close-up - Fills the screen with part of the subject, such as a person’s head/face. Framed this tightly, the emotions and reaction of a character dominate the scene.
-Extreme close-up - Emphasizes a small area or detail of the subject, such as the eye(s) or mouth. An Extreme Close Up of just the eyes is sometimes called an Italian Shot, getting its name from Sergio Leone’s Italian-Western films that popularized it.
-Eye Level Shot - taken with the camera approximately at human eye level, resulting in a neutral effect on the audience.
-High angle - Subject is photographed from above eye level. This can have the effect of making the subject seem vulnerable, weak, or frightened.
-Low angle - Subject is photographed from below eye level. This can have the effect of making the subject look powerful, heroic, or dangerous.
-Dutch angle/Tilt - Shot in which the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the horizon line is not level. It is often used to show a disoriented or uneasy psychological state.
-Over the shoulder - shot where a subject is shot from behind the shoulder of another, framing the subject anywhere from a Medium to Close-Up. The shoulder, neck, and/or back of the head of the subject facing away from the camera remains viewable, making the shot useful for showing reactions during conversations.
-Bird's eye angle - (Top Shot) A high-angle shot that’s taken from directly overhead and from a distance. The shot gives the audience a wider view and is useful for showing direction and that the subject is moving, to highlight special relations, or reveal to the audience elements outside the boundaries of the character’s awareness. The shot is often taken from on a crane or helicopter.
Reverse angle shot(180 degree rule) - A shot taken from an angle roughly 180 degrees opposite of the previous shot. The term is commonly used during conversation, indicating a reverse Over-the-Shoulder Shot, for example.
-Two shot - A shot in which two subjects appear in the frame.
reference: Bibliography
By Justin Dise. (2016). Filmmaking 101: Camera Shot Types. [Online]. bhphotovideo.com. Last Updated: Tue, 07/12/2016. Available at: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/video/tips-and-solutions/filmmaking-101-camera-shot-types [Accessed 7 October 2024].
In this experiment, I used Adobe Animate to draw different types of angles. I learned about camera shots and tried to draw 4 different angles by using my knowledge of shot sizes.
The shot sizes that I drew are Mid shot, Eye level shot, Dutch angle and Close up. The Close up one is not really right because the subject it too small. I could improve it by drawing the subject bigger and it would look more closer to viewers. I feel satisfied with the experiment, I really liked to draw them by myself and to draw different angles.
Understanding and Creating Audio
17/09/2024
L.O:
1. To develop your understanding of how original audio is created.
2. To practice using audio hardware to produce original sounds.
The Fundamentals
When creating a film or video piece, sound makes up 50% of what the viewer experiences.
-Foley - sound affects that are made or recreated in post-production.
-Music - sets the mood and tone for the audience.
-ADR - automated dialogue replacement. Dialogue that is not recorded in-camera or on set.
Microphones
The pick up pattern determines the area how far the microphone
Recording-microphones
1. H2 Handy ZOOM Recorder
Directional
2. RODE - NTG2 (shotgun mic)
Directional
3. AKG D230 (Reporter mic)
Omnidirectional - pick sounds from all directions, comes with the cable, pop filter
In group of 4, we tried to make 5 Foley sounds and a dialogue. We had to use the shotgun microphone, pop filter to get rid of the noise around you like walking, coughing, etc, and a cable. The Foley sounds that we did are, walking on the rocks-the sound of walking on ground/snow, shaking the tree-sounds like the leaves are moving because of the wind, dropping lots of small rock over the metal handrails.
Foley sounds
Combining Audio and Animation
23/09/2024
L.O:
1. To be able to trim, normalise and export audio from Adobe Audition.
2. To build your confidence with Adobe Animate's tools by creating a lip-synched animation using original audio.
Editing Audio with Audition
Trimming - removing any sections of an audio file that you don't need.
Normalising - editing an audio file so that the sound levels are consistent ans hit a target level.
Reverb - the technical term for echo.
Pitch - how high or how deep a voice sounds.
What are flaps?
Flaps are the term that animators use to refer to lip movement.
Lip synching - is a technical term for matching lip movements (Flaps) with sung or spoken vocals to create the illusion of speech.
When you are animating lip synching, you can use these shapes as a guide for a new syllable is spoken.The exact shape of the mouth can be different depending on the nature of the character's design and how they are saying the words.
In this experiment I used Adobe Animate to make my lip synching. I created different layers in timeline, so it will be easier to manage, to draw or to put sound to the image or make changes for something that I have to do. On my Flaps layer I draw my lip drawing and when a new syllable is spoken I added a new keyframe
And for Audio layer I used one of my foley sounds that I did with my small group together. I could also improve my experiment by drawing eyes and how they move in different ways and to change a chin a bit as it changes when we talk or laugh.
Stop Motion Animation Experimentation
30/09/2024
L.O:
1. To develop your understanding of practical skills relating to different animation methods.
2. To begin learning editing tools for use in video post-production.
Create the illusion of movement by jusxtaposing images together.
So in the lesson we were talking about stop motion, an animation method whereby you physically manipulate objects on a stage so that they appear to move on.
Different kinds of objects that are animated in the music:
1. Fruits
2. Furniture
3. Moving background
How did you create yours? Break down the process, referring to technical terms where relevant(FPS, Juxtaposing etc)
Reflect on how you found the experience, including the photographing stage and working with your small team.
Source Window- to edit an individual clip. Drag the clip into the source window to view it and make changes.
Program Window- what is showing on the timeline, when playing something on the timeline.
Project Window- to compile all of the different files, to import all of your different assets
Audio Meters- to monitor how loud your sound is.
Track Select Forward Tool- when you click at different points, it highlights all the different images, but only from the point that you click onwards.
In this experiment I tried to make stop motion animation. First, we had to take pictures with my small group and we planned that the sweets are going to be unwrapped and move around every time we took a new picture, and the lego shapes are moving clockwise.
To change the speed of the all pictures I selected them all and clicked Speed/Duration-Duration box and change to 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds and make it 2 frames long. And click the Ripple Edit box which means it will automatically close all the gaps between all the images and keep them together on the timeline.
To make the clip a bit slower at the start, on the Time line press control A, click on the clip and drag it forward and to extend the length of an image I changed speed by clicking Speed/Duration. I also made an image a bit slower at the end by dragging the edge of the image and move forward, use Speed/Duration.
Understanding Idents and Storyboarding for Moving Image
07/10/2024
L.O:
1.To understand what TV Idents are and the impact that Persuasive Devices have through research.
2. To develop your practical skills with drafting storyboards for film.
An ident is a short call sign or brand name that helps the viewer identify the channel or service they are watching.
Establish the branding of a channel - attract the audience to the brand through a distinctive look and feel.
Act as a bumper - a short pause between programmes and adverts.
Persuasive Devices
-They are commonly used in marketing communications.
-Persuasive Devices refers to filmmaking techniques you can use to command attention for your brand.
1. Celebrity Endorsement or Testimonial: a popular celebrity promoting a product.
2. Emotional Appeal or Transference: the commercial is intended to make the viewer feel certain emotions(happy, sad, excited)
3. Humour: the commercial's main purpose is to make the audience laugh. It also gives little information about the product.
4. Plain Folks: uses images of people "just like themselves". Makes it so the viewers can identify with brand.
5. Individuality/Anti-Bandwagon: the commercial tell the viewers to think differently, celebrate their own style.
6. Slogan: a memorable phrase is used in campaign or a series of commercials. Viewers remember the slogan ans associate it with the brand.
The most interesting Persuasive Devices for me its the Humour and Slogan, the Humour because it makes the audience laugh and makes them to feel certain emotions ans the Slogan because the brand makes it short and memorable for viewers or customers, and audience.
The first BBC 2 Ident, I can see the metal in a shape of the number 2. It more looks like someone spilt the paint on it which makes it look more interesting and the colour of the paint is blue and its very bright.
Storyboarding practice
First, we were watching a video about two men so we can practice to do a storyboarding the first six shots from that video. In this lesson I learned how to make a storyboard.
It was easy to understand how to draw, label the people in the storyboard. You should include shot type, camera angle, lighting, sound, description, duration and label people and subjects that are around the people/person. It also depends for what you doing your storyboard, for example film, advertisement, music, etc and how much description do you need. I didn't really had difficulties with the practice activity, but if something was missing I added the information that I had to.
In the first shot is where the two men are walking straightly on the graveyard and the camera moves slowly as they walk.
In the second shot two men are walking through the graveyard, they walk towards the camera and it moves slowly as they walk.
In the third shot the two men are walking on the road straightly and staying with their back to the camera.
In the last fourth shot two men are walking close towards the camera and facing the camera as well, and the camera moves back as they walk.
Original Ident Project
14/10/2024
L.O:
1. To apply your understanding of media production to plan for a team animation project.
2. To apply your knowledge of idents to design and produce an original piece.
Animated Ident
-The Ident must include the name ‘Stanmore Studios’
written with the Orbitron font.
-Your ident must incorporate at least one of the Persuasive Deviceswe learnt last week.
-Your ident should run anywhere between 5-30 seconds in length.
-You will have until Wednesday 23rd October to submit your final piece.
Original Ident Project
What were your initial ideas when the project was explained?
-Stop motion, bright colours of objects
What idea and did your team go with and what was the reasoning for it?
-To use modelling clay in the shapes of people and stop motion that turns out into computer animation to make it look more interesting and realistic. Persuasive devices - Humour to make the audience laugh, emotional appeal to make the audience to feel certain way, like happy, interested, excited. Pacing-the length of an ident 15-20 seconds - not too short and not too long. Full body shot - to see more actions and movements.
What part of the skills you have been developing over the last 5 weeks, are you going to apply the most to support the team project?
-Animation Principles, Appeal-to bring characters from clay to real life. Cinematography, Camera shots like Full shot, Mid shot-contains the character from the waist up. Close up-character's face, to understand the their emotions. Audio, music-sets the mood and tone for the audience. Stop motion-to physically manipulate objects on a stage so that they appear to move, creates the illusion of movement by juxtaposing images together.
What difficulties did you have during the planning process, either in your own work or within the team? How did you work around these difficulties?
-To make shots of people and to make sure they are not moving a lot in order to take more pictures so the pacing of an ident can be longer. To make characters from clay because it took a lot of time.
Original Ident
Post-production & Evaluation
21/10/2024
Our initial idea of the project is making an ident to be as a stop motion and then make it as a computer animation at the end.
Yes, our idea of making an ident did change. We made a snake out of the clay and it goes in to the camera frame to the man. The man which we made out of the clay as well is walking and then he transforms into the splat and to the Stanmore Studios text. Our idea was changed, because it influenced on our lack of time to edit every picture that we had to use as a real people who become then as a clay figure.
We had some issues with taking pictures, because we didn't had enough of them because the people we took pictures of were moving and didn't took small steps to make more pictures in order to have a longer video. We also spend much time for making the clay character and making the Stanmore Studios text out of the clay.
Generally, I'm satisfied with how my team individually worked throughout this project and every one was involved in making an ident. But, looking at the result, I can see that the light intensity is changing every time and it's not constant, which is not right, because it's shouldn't be bright or dark when the pictures are changing. The light intensity should be the same and go smoothly.
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