Category: Project 1: Skeleton Dance

Going into the next term after the break there are several things I have planned and considered going forward with the project. Since I am now within the modelling stage of the production, my first aim is to create the character model and ensure that it is an anatomically accurate as I can make it. My next step will be to complete the environment modelling which from there, I can produce lighting test renders so I can ensure that the spotlight works effectively within Arnold.

I wish to allow a lot of contingency time to figure out the rigging process as well as the skin painting as I have to be able to detach several limbs including the head, arms, forearms and potentially the legs.

Below is the rough schedule I have planned for myself in order to complete the film within the time allowed. I have left room for a lot of contingency space within the post editing incase I need to complete any animations within this time. My main concern and priority going forward will be the rigging process however, which I will research and study further as I create my character model.

Rough Test Model

In order to start thinking about such instances, I have created a rough model of the skeleton head to get a better idea of how my drawings translate in 3D space. The main issue that is strikingly obvious to me is the anatomical issues surrounding the collarbone, which I will research and adapt upon more during the modelling process.

Following on from last weeks storyboard, I created an animatic which pairs audio-visual elements such as sound effects and written music from freesound.org to build a strong sense of musical timing within my film, as like relevant 1930’s cartoons “this performance is primarily audio-visual “and re-created in a “self-sufficient diegetic world” (Crafton, 2013. pp.17). Expanding on that, I focused on the timings of the sounds coinciding with the movements in a similar fashion to that of stop motion animation. This helped me assemble the general movements I intend to animate coming into the next term.

Ideas and considerations for 3D adaptation:

• I wish to push further on the animated style explored rhymically in the animatic, where I time the frames to the music in a more minimal and more controlled way.
• I want to see if I am able to collaborate with sound students to push the audio quality to a more professional level.
• I may explore potential cinematography changes, especially regarding the “VS” shot.

References

. Crafton, D. (2013). Shadow of a Mouse: Performance, Belief, and World-Making in Animation. United States: University of California Press.

Storyboarding and key Story Beats

Perhaps the most essential step of my animation process for this film will be the storyboarding. Heading into this task, I set out with the intention to keep my cinematography flat, without many varying camera angles to give it a more ‘2D appearance’ and mimic that of the view of a real theatre, relating back to the ideas of the Vaudeville comedy. A key element Kenny Roy expands on in his book How to Cheat in Maya 2014 is when considering staging is “how you are going to maintain the high level of communication throughout the life of the shot?” (2014, pp.8). Considering this, I thought what the main element of my story, that adds audience communication and directional attention, is the spotlight. Due to the lack of changing shots within my piece, the spotlight will act as a cue for the main change of action between the character, which will benefit me in the process of creating my shot list.

Story Beats

Beat 1:Introductory black screen which will include finalised title card designs, such as the skeleton head or warner brothers style ‘merrie melodies’ card. Ideas to potentially have effects that act as film rolling to give a contextual feel to the piece.

Beat 2: [Wide Shot] Pin-hole transition opens the scene to the two skeletons standing on a stage with low/ minimal lighting. both of the skeletons are standing in a still and autonomous pose that does not have the minimal movement of still human beings (E.g. breathing).

Beat 3: [Wide shot] The pinhole transition ends and the two skeletons stand in the centre of the screen. There is very low or no sound to create a feeling of anticipation and tension. as on cue with a beat of sound, two spotlights will fall directly onto the skeletons, setting up the ensuring theatrics.

Beat 4: [Close up] Cuts to a close up of Skeleton A’s face looking concerned and worried for what is about to happen.

Beat 5: [Close up] Cuts to skeletons B’s face filled with anger and competitivity, he is more prepared for this battle and is ambitious to win.

Beat 6: [Wide shot] The spotlight falls on Skeleton B, he is raring and ready to go. He dances with fluidity and effectiveness.

Beat 7: [Wide shot] Skeleton B avoids the ‘trap door’ with ease and glides over effortlessly, winning his round of the dance battle thus far.

Beat 8: [Wide Shot] Skeleton A is now at the centre of the spotlight and acts hesitantly and confused at the attention.

Beat 9: [Wide Shot] Skeleton A is startled by the trap door that begins stalking him. He jumps over the hole with panic and several of his bones detach from his body in surprise.

Beat 10: [Wide shot] Skeleton A’s head detaches and he catches it, gets down on his Knees and mimics famous Shakespearean hamlet scene.

I felt using this reference within the theatre environment felt entirely appropriate, and by utilising the most famous line of hamlet “To be or not to be” it makes a clearer and more accessible reference in place of “Alas poor Yorick”.

Beat 11: [Close up] A still frame as the screen shows the skull spotlight, text appears showing “To be…”.

Beat 12: [Close up] The skull turns to face towards the camera and text appears on screen stating “or not to be”.

Beat 13: [Wide shot] Camera falls back on skeleton B, he dances with grace once more and even further confidence than his last round.

Beat 14: [Wide Shot] Skeleton B falls into the trap door and falls apart, crowd boo-ing sound effects.

Beat 15: [Wide Shot] Skeleton A is winning and starts to do a dance with more confidence and grace than previously. (Perhaps Utilising a `John Travolta ‘Saturday Night Fever’ reference.

Beat 16: [Wide Shot] Skeleton A falls into the trapdoor and limbs detach themselves in a overexaggerated comedic effect.

Beat 17: [Wide Shot] Shows the empty stage with a single spotlight left on the trap door/ hole in the floor.

Beat 18: [Pan shot] Pans down through he floor to show piles of previous skeletons and highlights skeleton A’s hand jutting out of the top of the pile.

Beat 19: [Wide shot] Skeleton A’s hand waves as the pinhole transition closes in on it.

Beat 20: Screen Fades to black and credits start to roll.

Thoughts and Processes for the Following Week

Going into the next pre-production stage of my film, I will next complete the project animatic so that I can find the relevant sound materials and see how this times with the overall pace and action of my storyboard thus far, garnering a more solid and stable idea of the dances and movements of my film.

References:

. Shakespeare, W. (1948) Hamlet. Cambridge University Press.

.Roy, K. (2014). How to Cheat in Maya 2014). Abingdon, Oxon: Focal Press.

Inspiration

Taking inspiration from cartoons from the 1930s title cards, I wanted to adapt both a opening and a credit sequence to my animation that adds a nostalgic and old worldly theme. I feel this will be a succinctly relevant aesthetic tool for aiding in the contextual associations for my project.

Test 1

There are heavy nostalgic associations with the early Warner Brothers cartoons and the famous circular title card, and my rendition almost makes a direct reference to the ‘Merrie melodies’ cartoon openings. These historically are very similar to the Silly Symphonies in the way they explored music and sound in regards to animation. The use of the ‘tunnel’ within 3D space will also assist in pronouncing its status as a 3D animation without being inherently obvious due to the angle it is rendered.

Test 2

An interesting point stated by Goldmark is the 1930’s musical cartoon genre being so heavily associated with Disney that “synchronisation of music and action” was referred too as “mickey-mousing” (2005, pp.6) . Taking this into consideration I looked at the heavy branding involved with mickey mouse and noticed at the start of a few of the early 1930’s Disney cartons the title card feature stills of mickey mouse’s face. To mimic and replicate this in a way that encourages nostalgic association I attempted to use my own characters face in a way that both celebrates and mocks the characterised branding of this era. I wanted to add the further inclusion of movement to mimic how his head moves in rotations similar to that of the globe, but also in a way that accentuates the 3D nature of the film early on.

Editing

In order to fully utilised the contextual setting, I have taken these clips, with a slow cross fading transition, and colour graded them black and white. This editing style mimics that of the clips above such as Wild Waves (1929) and places it within the genre while also making use of the smooth and clean nature that computer generated animation can provide, as well as post editing effects such as motion blur, to add a more visually pleasing look to genre with outdated technology.

Sound

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjri6w

A major consideration when regarding music with this is the context regarding the year. As stated in ‘Tunes for ‘Toons’, “Carl Stallings extraordinary influence on cartoon music as a whole suggests a host of possible avenues to explore” (Goldmark, 2005,pp.7). Looking into Stallings work, he used predominantly traditional orchestral instruments’ such as flutes, violins and brass bands. Comparing this to my main source of inspiration, Disney’s Skeleton dance, there are several things in the sheet music I considered going forward.

A Key aspect here is the Allegretto tempo, which implies it should be played quickly and briskly. The 4/4 time signature also allows for the pacing of the animation to be timed more simply due to the even number of frames it allocates space for musically. There is also a heavy use of percussion involved within this project, and the creative use of an Xylophone to replicate the sound of bones.

One of my initial opening composition ideas was to make direction audience associations with black and white cinema which is the famous tune if ‘The entertainer” which I have adapted in my own rendition below and applied to the same key as the music of my film. However, I still did not think this fit as efficiently to my opening as it was very slow, and seemed to contrast with the overall soundtrack I had initially planned making the film seem more relaxed in nature.

When composing the opening, I wanted to stress more on the key instrumental and Allegretto tempo, to make a music ‘clash’ (Symbolic of the skeletons ‘battle’) that arrives at a harmonious conclusion. I felt this was more audibly symbolic of my piece and also felt more original as a piece of work.

References

.Goldmark, D. (2005). Tunes For ‘Toons. Los Angels, California: University of California press.

Due to the heavy inspiration my project takes from early 1920s animated features such as the ‘Silly Symphonies’ there is already a direct reference to be made with instrumentals generally used in the classical music genre. As stated by Goldmark, many people in America “attribute their first conscious memory of the classical repertoire to cartoons” (2005, pp. 107). This in itself could benefit my animated project overall aesthetic simply by contextual association and theme. An interesting point that Goldmark mentions is the intergration of popular concert music and opera often featured in the pieces from the 20s cartoons, and commercialise them which subvertly created a timeless piece that integrates several eras and sustained through popular animation (2005,pp. 108).

Musical References

Starting to develop a musical motif I made note of the traditional instruments heard in the ‘Skeleton’ dance as well as making using a similar key to replicate the tonality. The Key instruments I wanted to explore were the Basson, one and Flute, as they add a realistic and non digitally enhanced clarity that is often heard in the early Disney Silly Symphonies.

Due to time limitations and a general lack of musical knowledge, I have taken these segments of experimentation and contacted a friend who has more experience in musical composition.

All the above practised and considered, Goldmark makes a compelling point that the historical ties Disney linked with Disney’s overuse of the same classical cannons do not expand or test the limits of the relationship between moving image and score (2005). It may also be relevant to consider historically MGM’s use of classical instruments to convey sounds and motions of violence and chases, and how this can later be applied to my own work.

References-

. Goldmark, Daniel. 2005. Tunes for ‘Toons. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles, California.

I believe it is essential, even if not explored personally, to consider the rubber hose animation movement that was prevalent in the 1920s- 1930s animated culture. An essential part of the rubber-hose style is that animators were using “curving forms” that sacrificed ” any sense of a body’s structure for the sake of smooth, flowing movement” (Barrier, 2003 pp.74). An interesting thing discussed by Barrier is how The Skeleton Dance was animated “very rapidly in essentially mechanical patterns ” and how the skeletons “take part in simple repetitive dances” (2003, pp.61). He expands how ” their bony limbs are surprisingly rubbery” (Barrier, 2003, pp.61) and gives implications that the robber hose style is complimented by its strong use of sound. Due to the rubber-hose style’s inherent ability to create smooth cycles, its timing with music potentially looks less forced and mechanical, ironically adding a level of realism to ‘dance’ motions. This arises many considerations when designing my own skeletons and their movements in relation to sound.

Examples of Rubber-Hose Animation

3D Translation

An interesting example I found was a YouTube video which accentuates features of the ‘rubber-hose’ style of animation recreated in blender. This, however considers more visually stylistic approaches only in its inherent character design. The movement also do not truly resemble any likeness of the rubber-hose’s squash stretch and cycle adaptability.

Considering this, I have researched into potential ways to create a rubber-hose rig within 3D space a researched several rigging tutorials withing Maya. The video below highlights quite efficiently how this effect can be achieved by using leg and arm IKs. This will very useful for future endeavours into nostalgic recreation within 3D space.

References

Barrier, M. (2003) Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age. Oxford University Press.

While my key reference for aesthetics and design derive from the the 1929 Disneys Silly Symphony the skeleton dance, I think it is important to consider further areas of which black and white cinema has influence on film culture, and aspects of this I can apply to my own work going forward.

German Expressionism

As described by Ian Roberts, German Expressionism do not just represent a particular era and country but “ the very essence of the early film Industry” (2008, p.1) . I think this underscores a very key movement for film in its entirety and helps state its prevalence as an art form which inherently feeds into the representational importance of animation as artistic expression. A strong point Roberts expands on is the idea that German expressionism was “ articulating a sense of existential angst before psychoanalysis had reached the popular consciousness” (2008, p.39) . The exemplification of psychoanalytic expression through film accentuates different aesthetic points which I feel are improved by the black and white medium. For example the use of dark elongated shadows which are ultimately ‘Unhemlich’ (Uncanny) in quality associate with the horrors created solely by the mind (Freud, 2003). I believe the grainy and lower quality aspects of the camera also allow more room for a more anonymous and incomprehensible figure to be formed that ultimately assists in the dissociative and uncomfortable uncanny creativity of ones mind.

In the famous expressionist film Nosferatu: a Symphony of horror (1922), a technique in which the negative of the scene is used to dramatically unsettle the viewer (2008). In application to modern day 3D computer generated imagery this can be achieved by rendering through alpha channels and switching this in post production, and provides interesting points of reference that I could potentially inhibit in my own film as a direct reference to this piece of early 20s cinema. Another important technique mentioned in the inclusion of this film is the of a lighting technique that is shot in a “half-light which renders the edge of the frame almost totally black” that accentuates the centre (Roberts, 2008, P. 45). There are also many scenes in which landscapes are unnaturally exposed to light, causing the time of day to be confusing and difficult to place, ultimately accentuating its supernatural representation (Roberts, 2008).

I think considering these aspects of lighting will be important to understanding how to incorporate important historical and cultural films within my own work. Replicating older technology within modern technology such as Maya may be achieve with a better overall quality within post production. I also feel asset texturing may benefit my aesthetic goals as, while the old fashioned camera inherently draws attention to itself in use, I feel in animation an impression of human craftsmanship will also aid placing its contextual era. In this, I could potentially hand draw textures to show impressions of line work and hand shading onto my models to give them a direct relationship to the old fashioned.

As seen in the Expressionist film Genuine (1920) the background shows direct and heavy line work that gives away its ingenuity, which creates a sense of irony given its name. This could be something I consider stylistically replicating in my own film.

German Expressionist films to reference-

• The Hand of Orlac

• Genuine

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

References

Roberts, I. 2008. German Expressionist Cinema: The World of Light and Shadow. Wallflower Press: Great Britain

For my project I wanted to look into aesthetic considerations that explored the dynamic movement and environment of my characters and how the lighting might be developed later on in 3D space.

I thought the most appropriate setting would be a theatre stage, perhaps reminiscent of that in ‘Vaudeville’ theatre. A stated by Crafton “Although `Vaudeville was nearly defunct at the time, cartoons from the 1930s through the 1960s riffed on its memory” (2013, pp.7).

In regards to Vaudeville’s English context the term describes ” a catch fall for musical comedy” (Cullen, 2006 pp.12), which suits aesthetically the genre in which I intend to make my film. This is particularly prevalent in my plans to incorporate ‘trap doors’ and value comedy over morals. While this may be unachievable for my current modelling abilities, I feel the heavy felt curtains and the grandiose atmosphere created by the French influence is a great place to start building references. I do feel that perhaps the elaborate-ness of the vaudeville stage may not be befitting of my overall film aesthetic due to my simplistic character designs, and may take away viewer focus from my animated performance.

Below I have drawn and environmental concept work which indicates the rough style and lighting I would like to incorporate into my work going into the modelling and pre-visualisation stage. This piece also helps me gain a clearer understanding of the differing character personalities of the two skeletons while utilising only the movements of their eyebrows. The main thing I wish to take into consideration is the heavy use of spotlights, which potentially, will behave like their own characters within the piece, which I intend to explore more in the storyboard and animatic of my film. These lights, as well as concepts of the ‘trap door’ which will seemingly have a mind of its own. One of the key things I wish to conceptualise is the absence of visual audience within the scene. The use of sound will be the main and only implication of audience engagement as I feel this separates the scene further from the ‘real world’ and allows more for modelling time. I also believe the disembodied voice adds a ‘ghostly’ effect which strengthens the uncanny implications of the dead.

An important step when creating computer animation is to create a character turnaround sheet so you can begin to gain a rough understanding of all angles of your future model. I will utilise this going forward into my character modelling stage, and also make more reference to the real anatomical skeleton to get a further level of accuracy than that provided in these drawings.

References

.Crafton, D. (2013). Shadow of a Mouse: Performance, Belief, and World-Making in Animation. United States: University of California Press.

.Cullen F. (2006). Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopaedia of Variety Performers. Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Baring in mind different aspects of design and how they will translate into 3D space, it is essential to consider stylistically how it will be modelled. As stated in the book ‘Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media‘, the “development of good character art is not possible without a solid understanding of nature” (Sloan and Stuart, 2015, pp.3) . Due to my direct reference to the human skeleton, it is important that I consider aspects of the real human body and understand its anatomy. Going forward into the modelling stage, I will make reference to the book Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists (Sheppard, 1933).

Trying to keep the design as minimal as possible, I want to push expression with a lack of facial aspects, heavily relying on the eyebrows to convey the majority of emotion. This design also will help me explore aspects of rigging and character modelling without overcomplicating the design for myself.

Character Inspiration and Mood Boards

A Large influence for my character ideas is Jack Skellington and the concept works of Tim Burton, as I like the ‘lankier’ and threatening yet simultaneously friendly looking character appeal. I think this largely comes from a longer, sharper body contrasted with a softer and friendly face.

Applying these ideas to my own sketches and concepts, I have given the character sharper and longer exemplified collarbones contrasting with a ‘cute’ round face which lacks in emotive feature bar eyebrows. I think the simplistic and minimal facial expression will help add an uncanny element, since facial expression is predominantly read through the upper regions of the face, and accentuate his ‘dead’ ness (Tinwell, 2015).

Aesthetic inspiration

when designing the overall look of the film, I felt very inspired by early black and white cinema, and want to take aspects of this into the final composition of my short animated film. In order to do this I have been considering multiple post production editing solutions and ideas to help build and expand on my overall look development.
Due to one of my main editing software’s being Da Vinci resolve, I looked into old film effects that i can later use in tests to see how the old scratch film look will appear. This will be useful to provide tests with later on in the production stage

Dance and Motion Inspiration

Thinking ahead for motion aesthetics and character reference Ideas, I think a strong visual for these skeletons could be the graceful and well timed dance motions of singing in the rain. The ballet-esque dance moves displayed in the film will I think epitomise the Hollywood association of the late 1920’s, and will help set my animation contextually and tonally.

References

.Sloan, R. and J Stuart. (2015). Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media. Natick: CRC Press

.Sheppard, J. (1993). Anatomy: A complete Guide for Artists. New York: Dover Publications.

.Tinwell, A. (2015). The Uncanny valley in Games and Animation. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press