Looonnnnggg time since I last updated this blog, and there is quite a few things to tell. First I would like to thank you for reading the blog and finding it interesting enough to read;-)
Lets start where we left off; THE GLAMMIES. The industrial brief, which counted as a project for next year grad vise, was the most exciting project of the year. I think the sole reason for this, was that we, for the first time, worked in teams just like in the industry. In this project you really see who's a team player and who's not.
My first taste of the Glammies was actually already during the last week of the Character Exploration project, when I was privileged to be chosen for the storyboard team. The teacher had already come up with the storyline, and then we "just" had to do the storyboard. This turned out be a bit more challenging than I first imagined. One thing is to imaging the scenes in your head, another thing is to figure out where everything compared to the camera. Further we had to consider the audience, and how they perceive the "mise-en-scene". Fortunately we had a great team, that pulled through and came out with a good and readable storyboard.
The next stage was to make the shots. The storyboard was divided into the three animation disciplines; Computer animation, 2D animation and 3D animation (stop-motion). In computer animation we got divided into animators and 3D artists, just like in the industry!! In the animators team, which I was a part of, the different shots got divided between us, and then it was just "ready, get set... animate!". I actually forgot a very important stage between the storyboard and animating; the previz! Previz or previsualization is where you make very rough animations to see how long the whole piece is, and where you need to short and where you might be able to prolong the shots. I cant stress how important this stage is. Not only does it help visualise the time of the shots, but further down the line, when the shots are getting made, you will be able to just slap the animations into the previz. The previz will then in the end become the final compiled version. This task kinda resulted in a teamleaderish position. Mark Nicolas and Sam Wright were the wonderful people, that got the burden and did a remarkable job on it!!
So now I just skip forward to the Glammies day, BUT that doesn't mean that the whole project went smoothly. There were some really hard working people on this one, cause unfortunately it's not everyone that has the same sense of responsibility for a team project. Despite that we pulled off a magnificent show!!!
The Glammies day came, and on that day we (the first years) are runners. Helping out with setting up the cinema for the show, welcoming industry people, managing tickets etc. Definitely not as hard as making the show, so it was a relaxing day. Personally I got nominated for "Most Promising First Year", but didn't get the award:-( The award went to James Hodges for his brilliant stop-motion Character Exploration project. You can have a look at all the nominees and winners at; http://www.glamfest.net/08_glam08movs.htm
To sum up the Glammies day, then its definitely something to look forward to every year!!!!
Right what else have I been up to?? Just before leaving Wales for summer vacation in Denmark, I joined in on a competition on www.threedy.com, which is a forum for 3d artist and animator to get feedback on works. Other than help, advice and feedback, they also hold monthly competition in digital sculpting, matte painting, speed painting, speed modelling and animation. I wanted to try out the animation challenge with the topic "Guitar Hero". The basic rules were to an minimum of 5 second of animation involving guitar hero or someone rocking out with an instrument. A pretty open topic, but good to let the imagination run free. Here is my stab at the competitions topic:-
I gotta say that I had some trouble getting use to not working with the biped. But the biggest mistake I did with this animation was a really rookie one, not doing enough PLANNING! I simply just jumped into animating, without doing anything thumbnails or a clear idea of what I was doing. This resulted in spending more time on figure out what the guy would be doing than actually looking at the animation. MISTAKE -> LEARN -> MOVE ON. Unfortunately I didn't win the challenge, but Ill just have a go at it in the next challenge with the topic "Wrestling Move".
The next big thing thats happened since the last post is my sister WEDDING!! The wedding was so beautiful. It could not be anymore perfect. It was held at Vindeholme Castle, which is a small castle with bedrooms as well; Vindeholme Castle. The reason I bring this event up on this blog is because I made an animation for the bride and groom along with a speech, as my wedding gift to them:-
The initial idea was developed and storyboarded 6 months ago, and then I have been spending some of my spare time on the project. I'm pretty happy with the result. The animation in it isn't anything to be proud of, but the somewhat seamless transition between the different objects was a bit harder than I initially thought it to be. In the whole piece there are 22 animations that needed to be fitting together so the audience doesn't get distracted by the transition from to the other. If I look at the animation only, I gotta say that the animation where the sperm cell transforms into the plastic scooter is the best one. You really feel the impact of the plastic scooter colliding with the ground. And if I look at the modelling only, I think the Ganesh model is one I'm proudest of.
As the animation was a personal gift to the wedding couple, I included a lot of things that is only understood by the wedding couple and close family/friends. So if the the whole piece doesn't make sense, you can just mail me for the whole interpretation. Its basically the wedding couples upbringing and how they meet, displayed through objects.
Well I think that was it. As some of you know I'm currently in Denmark, Ill remain here until the 2nd of September. A nice long vacation, where I plan on improving my drawing skills, learn some digital sculpting, do some animation, visit friends and family, and maybe relax a bit:-) I will most likely update the blog at least once before going back to Wales, so Ill just say have a nice SUMMER everyone and see ya later....
