Finished Project
Below is the finished result of the 10 weeks of production, and features two different versions of the short film. The first is my initial plans for the black and white movie aesthetic, which feature post-production editing such as flickering and vignettes to try and emanate the feel of a real 1930s production.
Colour Version
I have also published a coloured version to accentuate and make clearer the actions and lighting aspects of the rigging and highlight elements that may have been missed within the black and white edit.
Showreel
Below is a showreel of the different steps and elements of the pipeline which has led to this finished overall result and indicates the building block and steps involved. During this, I summarise the key modelling elements, and preproduction areas such as the animatic, musical development, previsualization and animation.
Miro Board
In a similar vein to the collaborative module, I decided to use miro to visually track my pipeline and progress as the project went on, so I could get a clear understanding of where I was at each point within production and what my next key step was.
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVO1Kk5S4=/?share_link_id=247663101177
Critical Reflection
Upon the 10 weeks of production in which I created this project, I would largely say that it was successful in the amount of work produced in the given time period. I think pushing myself to do an unconventional animation style has helped me understand and explore various aspects of keyframing I had not considered when utilising Maya’s interpolative systems that benefit from transitioning between frames. This being said, I think various elements of my project fall flat due to the animation, and it loses its aesthetic consistency at times that can look jarring and slightly rushed. As I have assessed earlier, I wished to add more time contextual dances to my film to create more direct references, however, failed to plan my film effectively around this to incorporate it. I think if I was able to extend my time on the project, I would spend a lot more of my process on the animation section of the pipeline, to create a more consistent stylisation.
I also feel that my limited knowledge of rendering and lighting at times causes issues due to the excessive noise at some parts of my render. While this works stylistically with my piece due to its ‘outdated’ technological context, I feel going forward I will allow myself more contingency time with rendering, as I found I had to settle for certain lower-quality renders due to time constraints. When it came to the rigging process, I was happy with what I achieved, as I was able to create and understand exactly how to make a detachable rig using parent contains. However, In order to push me in the future, I wish to learn more about IK/FK switches as non of my rigs have this included to date. I think this will be an incredibly useful rigging tool later on.
Another key area I want to push in future projects is texturing. As I stated in one of my earlier blog posts in research, I stated how I wanted to explore the incorporation of German Expressionist painted background into my scene. Due to time constraints, I was not able to allocate efficient time to this cause, but I think learning to paint textures onto 2D models will help immensely with projects and the future, and push myself to create a more independent visual identity in my work. To look further into this idea, In the following months, I am going to explore 3D painting within software such as Nomad and Procreate, as well as photoshop, to get a clearer understanding of this style of texturing. This may also extend to learning how to use Z-brush for sculpting purposes.
Considering my main focus of this film was animation, modelling and 3D, I am happy with the soundscape I was able to create with my own abilities. While I had intended to reach out to musicians to help compose the sound design for the film, I, unfortunately, was not able to, and had to primarily make do with freesound.org and my own composition in Garageband. In future, I think I will continue to utilise this tool to help myself audibly communicate ideas with sound students/ composers.
Extended Reading in Relevant Areas
.3ds Max Projects: a Detailed Guide to Modelling, Texturing, Rigging, Animation and Lighting. (2014). 3D total Publishing. Worcester:3dtotal Publishing.
.3D Animation Essentials. (2012) Andy Beane. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley and Sons.
. Principles of Three-Dimensional Computer Animation: Modeling, Rendering and Animating with 3D Computer Graphics. (1998). Michael O’Rourke. New York: W.W. Norton.
. Character Animation Fundamentals: Developing Skills for 2D and 3D Character Animation. (2011) Steve Roberts. Oxford: CRC Press.
.3D Art Essentials: The Fundamentals of 3D Modeling, Texturing and Animation. (2011) Ami Chopine. Amsterdam; Focal Press.
.Norman McLaren: Between the Frames. (2019) Nichola Dobson. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
.The Film Work of Norman McLaren. (2006) Terence Dobson. Eastleigh: John Libbey Publishing.
Relevant Blog Post
- Week 1: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/01/22/project-idea-generation/
- Week 2: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/01/project-1-development/
- Week 3: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/09/week-3-storyboarding/
- Week 4: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/17/week-4-animatic/
- Week 5: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/02/25/week-5-rubberhose-animation-and-1920s-disney-animation/
- Week 6: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/02/skeleton-project-sound-development/
- Week 7: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/11/week-7-title-card-development/
- Week 8: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/24/week-9-storyboarding/
- Week 9: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/03/28/week-9-animatic/
- Week 10: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/04/09/week-10-animatic-and-planning/
- Week 11: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/04/18/skeleton-project-character-modelling/
- Week 12: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/04/30/week-2-asset-and-environment-modelling/
- Week 13: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/07/week-3-environment-modelling-simulation-and-editing/
- Week 14: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/17/week-4-lighting-rendering-and-rigging-processes/
- Week 15: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/18/week-5-character-rigging/
- Week 16: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/05/24/week-16-pre-visualisation-and-environment-planning/
- Week 17: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/06/03/week-17-scene-animation/
- Week 18: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/06/09/week-8-shot-animation/
- Week 19: https://esmeduncan.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/06/15/week-19-animation-rendering-and-editing/