first short

This is the first shot for my Minor Project: "Never Again"

Animatic

this is the animatic for my minor project. some of the shots have already change, but the main idea and order stays the same.

I still don't have a sound designer but for most of the shots I know which sounds I need.

In the introductory shot, which I show in the next post already finished I need some birds, wind and a train. passing by, then a door open (when the light over the child changes), and some sound simulating voices that call lucas inside the house.

some of the sounds are going to indicate things that happen off screen. Like the door, train and voices. and I also need some music.

If any sound designer is interested in working with me and doing the sound, this is my e-mail:


angelav.pinilla@gmail.com / angelav.pinilla@hotmail.com

Play + Inspiration

Play and inspiration sometimes are very ambiguous terms, but the idea encapsulated by this words reference some deep elements contained by different aspects in society. These words make reference to a variety of circumstances and in many cases depending on the person they change meaning.  Inspiration doesn't act the same way in an artist or a programmer an play does not have the same meaning to a 5 year old boy compared to an 18 year old gamer.

The fact that these terms are so wide opens a window to explore them in many different ways. In the first week assessment I guess the idea was to explore these terms. So for all of us the starting point was the same, the brief was very clear and yet the possibilities where so many that it was a bit difficult to decide where to start. And as it was evidenced each person produced a different response to this project and yet each one of them was able to explore, engage and play with the media and resources they decided to use.

In my case, I decided to do an animation using my 200 drawings to explore a process I make every morning as a routine and I tried to make it interesting. Deciding what to have for breakfast. In this process I found hat sometimes when you do straight ahead animation you are able to change and explore with the media. And also I found that sound effects often become an important element in an animation.

Community + Practice

the process of developing a game involves many steps and variables all of them require a thoughtful analysis, planning and development.

In many cases the main idea in the production of a game is to explore new resources in order to make it innovative in areas such as graphics or simulation. Other times the game being developed has normal graphics and effects but is supported by a really great theme or it may have a normal looking appearance but a real interesting idea, or an innovative way to interact with the user. Depending on the different media game developers want to explore, areas such as ludology and narratology develop in different directions and levels.

Game developers are normally free to set their own limits during the conception of a new game. so one of the first steps they take is to decide the genre, media, and the main idea. After this, aspects related to the narratology are decided. some of these aspects are

- Story 

- Character

- Plot / Action

- Sequences- Representation

the other important aspect to consider is the Ludology, where the developers are able to focus on the ludic qualities of the game, defining it's essence. ludology includes important aspect such as:

- Rules

- Goals 

- Play

- Interaction

- Behaviors

- Properties

- Scenarios

- Objects

- Simulation

Though the continuous development of different kinds of games during the years some terms have become important in order to be able to understand and develop an appropriate concept. These terms have become part of the main principles of interactivity. These are

Feedback, where basically every action form the system of the user produces a response or an outcome depending on the level of interaction of the game.

Non-linearity, this affects the structure an behaviors of an interactive media. And though tis resource we are able to bring different experiences to the user.

Randomness, this property gives an interactive application the ability to introduce different elements in an unpredictable way, so the interaction is always changing and surprising as long as it is well developed.

Adaptability relates to the property of keeping a constant evolution in the game so is able to respond the needs of the user reconfiguring itself to fit the users inputs.

Collaboration for me is one of the most important principles. Because is though the participation of different developers and also users that an interactive application comes to life.

Memory, this relates to the ability of a game to remember or story particular information about the users so they are able to reexamine this information. And example of this is the list of the highest score in some games or the ability to continue a previous session in a quest game. 

Space + Enviroment

The use of space in games and animations is very relevant in order to create a believable immersive experience. 

The environment usually is a very important element in interactive applications. Sometimes it defines the game-play, navigation and structure of games. Also though the appropriate use of space we can reveal the user important information about what he is supposed to do, how to do it also the path he must follow

Through the space and environment we can generate more than a location to place a character. for example we can generate changes in the environments to represent shifts of time, seasons, give the impression of waking though really long distances and even we can represent when danger is getting closer to the gamer.

One of the first examples I remember of playing in different stages where we were supposed to achieve different objectives in order to move forward in the game was Mario 64.

In this game every stage provided a mood tough the objects, the color palette and the music and also going though the space was a challenge itself.

Another game I remember for its use of space providing a challenge was ‘world of goo’. Where the gamer had to overcome each level building bridges and structures between pieces of the stage. 

And finally this video is about a game 'Echochrome' that has a very clever use of space by using the concept of optical illusions to generate and provide the resources to complete every level. And though it has a very simple appearance it actually helps to reinforce the idea of the game as a puzzle.

STORY BOARD

This is my story board. because of the lengh of my previous idea I changed the story. but the character is still the same.

The story is about a boy who is not allowed to play in the afternoon and is sent to sleep early.To give his father a lesson he decides to run away from home to some unknown destination.  He finds a phone booth. and calls his father in the middle of the night to let him know what he did.

Time + Perspective

By manipulating Time, we generate changes, sensations and responses from the users or the system. Even if we work on generation of simple and mechanical movements we are able to represent change of time, persistence or immutability, especially because time is a real constant and ongoing factor.

Using time as a stage or real factor in the enviroment, may change the mood and general sensation of any proguction. For example, is not the same if an animation about war develops in winter as it would be if it was on summer or autum. And is not te same if a ghost story develops during nigh or during the afternoon. Time used as an enviromental factor changes the image, afects the aestetics, the sound and the feelings it evoques.

Time considered as a moment or period is also used very ofthen in movies, animation an even games. In some games, the story of the character develops through a long period of time, passing from diferents stages of their lives. An example of this is mafia II, where the story develops representing a characters life and he has to spend 10 years in jail.

In games, time is a real factor that afects the jugability and interaction of the users, we may find timers, countdowns, deadlines and some other mechanism that change the interaction and strategies of the game.

In the same way, the interaction with a game is different when is played in real time, where you constantly have to shift strategies, because of the changes that are being generated as you play with it. In oposition to this there ae some games where you actually have the oportunity to pause and consider the next action you are going to take.

Form + Image

Fractal aesthetics is something that began long before the generation of computers, they are being constantly generated by nature and sometimes we not even realize they are around us. Some are generated in a macro scale like the patterns made by the rives and others can only be seen using microscopes. 

 
Maybe one of the reasons we feel so attracted to this shapes is the fact that we try to find some order and structure on them, even though sometimes for us is hard to understand the actual forces and causes that generates them in nature. 

in CG world fractals are generated in different ways. We create complex systems and patterns by the recurrent use of repeating a defined structures that are often very simple, in several iterations or levels. We may use mathematical formulas, algorithms or random generation. 

trying to find some more information about fractals I found that some artist are generating music trough the use of fractal patterns by assigning different sounds to the shapes or iterations. this music is not of my particular taste, but is very interesting to hear it. 

In interactive and even in animation, the use of self generative systems are widely used to provide a different outcome from the normal solutions we often find. We may find an animation that changes every time you see it. The events inside a game may vary in order, even if the outcome is always the same (winning or losing). 

By experimenting with self-similar auto generated shapes, lightning and sound an artist may generate a response over a person. But at the same time if the artist gives control to an user to change the conditions, patterns and responses from the system it could lead towards a very different experience from one person to another.

Gesture + Movement

Digital media has specific conventions established to lead and allow the user to interact with an interactive application through an interface. the variety we have now in media such as touch screens, cell phones, i Pads, game consoles and computers, allow the developers to generate new concepts and ideas that eventually become part of a big pool of resources. These resources are eventually taken by artist and creatives  and transformed into something unique.

Sometimes it not enough just to have an idea. this idea needs to be developed and polished trough a long and maybe complicated process in order to get the best of it, and part of being an artist or developer includes criticize your own work, view it from another perspective and also search for help and feedback from other people. 

The normal language used to interact with the user is formed by a group of already established symbols and preexisting conventions, but every developer is free to interpret the resources and capabilities of every tool in order to achieve a good interaction with the user establishing a bridge between the media and the subject. Also, by generating unique conventions and symbols is possible to provide a beautiful and aesthetic background to an interactive media application.

In the examples seen in class I felt really attracted by "ceremony of innocence". One of the things I noticed on the video we saw, was that the audio seems to be very attractive and it reinforces the idea of the user being interacting with the interface, using the space and generating changes in the environment.

we can shift and accommodate the tools in order to strengthen our ideas. Take advantage of the medium. By moving trough the space, we also give the sensation of moving in time. so one way to change the time in what is been shown is by managing appropriately the space inside the interface in conjunction with sound, and this is a big step moving towards an inmersive experience.

some time ago, looking some information about interactive experiences and the idea of animation, movement and change I found this website: http://anasomnia.com/

I especially liked because of the fact that I can interact with it using a webcam to generate changes in the light and actually trigger a very nice animation. Also the animation is very attractive and is a unlike way to relate darkness to a different world in this case the dreams, that in some cases don't have any sense but you feel the time moving and the action being generated and this to me is expressed in the animation by moving in a kind of vertical growth, repeating constantly some loops where the object generates itself over and over.

As a professional, I had the opportunity to interact and get involved in the production of augmented reality applications as a 3D modeler and animator. As part of the pipeline of production, this experience gave me a new view about interaction and communication with the consumer using non conventional tools, for example ID cards and pieces of paper.

These are some videos of my previous experience with AR. 

I apologize for the audio, is in Spanish

Storyboard Fix and continue

this are some changes I made to the story board and some of the new thumbnails I've been working on.

Last week Drawings

I wish they were prettier...

These are the drawing we made in class. In the the first ones I'm trying to use the figures  that help with the construction of a story board: X, O,L,S,N... (they are written in the paper)

I applied it in my ants' cave.

The second drawings in the same picture, are about a character that opened the cupboards, found no food and turn around surprised.

And the third one, is like an action movie scene... in the last picture the man is supposed to have a gun in his jacket... tough the drawing is not very clear.

Layout and Storyboard

This are draws I made to represent some of the ideas I have for this project.

The ant world, probably will be made as a 2D world.

And this is the first part of the story board

Agents + behavior

Sometimes one of the most difficult things to achieve when you create an animation or an interactive application, is to make people feel related or somehow connected to the environment and characters that are being displayed on the screen. As developers and animators there is always a deep intention to generate links between our work and the audience and most of the times this task may become harder than we expect.

to create a connection we may draw upon the user's likes in music and esthetics, what they feel curious about, their memories and opinions, their beliefs and we may even explode their deepest needs for company and comprehension. As long as we can create a new experience for them that satisfies a particular purpose, there is almost no limits to the media and tools we could use.

It seems that the closer the interaction is between the user and the element that compose an specific application or animation, the easier it is to become attached to a particular agent. This is being stimulated by the use of innovative technologies, such as virtual reality, immersive media and augmented reality, that actually converge the use of images, sound, touch and sometimes smell to create interactive multimedia experiences. 

Since this is a field which is in continuous development, some of the research made in this area is still experimental and by this, some amazing and really creative results are developed by artists, engineers and programmers who use different resources to engage the users into a new experience. They create agents that have no specific shape, others may have a cartoonish look and some try to simulate in almost every aspect the human figure and behavior. Like these examples there could be as many types of agents as they are of users.

Depending on the target and the purpose of the interactive application, animation or any media that is being used, the developers try to attract a specific grout of users, and the behavior of the agents is driven by a variety of  elements such as sound, movement,  pre-arranged instructions, random behavior and many different values offered from the environment.

An example of the use of smell to create a more interactive and immersive experience is the Sensory Acumen's gaming product GameSkunk. Though this may be a technology that is still in development and has no common or regular use, it might be a new step in interactive applications that encourages the link between the users and the agents of the application.

Note: I apologize for my English. I'm Working hard to improve it.

Script

DELIRIOUS

screen play by
Angela Pinilla

screen story by
Angela Pinilla


based on the declarations of
J. Robert Oppenheimer talking about nuclear bomb

In a dark space all we see is an ant farm, an then eyes open in the dark.

LUCAS:

Equality? ...
Equality is not an easy word to define.
Are we equally intelligent to others?
are we equally valuable?

who is to decide in this world who is more relevant?
who is prepared to make the sacrifice and step up for others?
who else but a brilliant mind?

In a deeper and darker voice.

who else but me?

LUCAS

A few of them may laugh, some may cry. And then I'll hear nothing but silence once I start my divine task.

close up to the ant farm.

For are those who behave as animals, who are unable to stop their most primitive instincts, the ones we have made slaves. Slaves by choice, they surrender their reason and the voice of their conscience to become nothing but a tool .

close grim smile

LUCAS (O.S)

A dispensable tool that I am eager to eradicate.

He starts to  kill the ants until only a few are left

LUCAS

Now I stand in the edge of total destruction. I might have only accelerated the natural course of nature, but for what is worth there is no way back now.

LUCAS

This...
This is a cursed position in which I am standing in. For any man in history, who reaches my greatness is absorbed by it's consequences.
This evil is consuming me now and I can't stop the complex mechanism I have started. who is to stop me, when with all my might and strength is focused on my divine task.

In a deeper and darker voice.

'Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'

MUM (O.S)

Lucas?!

Mum opens the door and comes in.

Oh dear lord, Lucas! why do you keep closing the curtains?!

LUCAS

Mum?!

MUM

Change your pajamas and go out to play! I need to clean this mess you have for bedroom.

she walks towards the curtains

LUCAS

C'mon mum.

she open the curtains and illuminate the bedroom

MUM

And STOP killing your sister's ants! she needs to bring them to school on Monday.

LUCAS

Lucas lets himself fall in the chair and sights.

Delirious

Proposal analysis

As I started to analyze in detail my minor project proposal I realized that this idea would probably need more time and work that the one that is available, and though this is something I want to create when I have the opportunity to do so, it might have to wait to other time.

So from this decision I took, I have developed another idea that could be constricted in a smaller period of time allowing me to fully develop an animation containing an equally interesting theme.

This short animation is a monolog between a child with several Delusion of Greatness and a very dark inner self and the entire world represented by a small ant's colony.

REFERENCES AND INSPIRATION

The basic Idea for this animation came from a video of J. Robert Oppenheimer talking about the construction of the nuclear bomb and his participation in the Manhattan Project.

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.

And as I imagined this coming from a child with attitude and personality issues it seemed to me as an interesting idea.

Some how I relate this child attitudes as an negatively evolved Calvin, from 'Calvin and Hobbes' as in his selfishness and rudeness but also in his ability to imagine different scenarios that encourage his view of the world.

I recognize a different production by Tim Burton with some similarities with my idea and take it as a small reference to develop and give some potential to my animation. trying to assimilate some of the characteristics that make it so appealing and interesting such as 'an interesting look' and a very good script.

Since I want to use a dark and dim tone in most of my animation I decided to choose a dark palette that doesn't constrict to only black and white but also uses some tones of blue and bits of red/orange.

from the previous Idea I also would like to preserve the idea I had for the textures and details for they correspond to a style that I really would like to implement. this focus specially on the textures, the use of textures in the characters and the general look for my animation.


CHARACTERS

the characters involved in my animation are basically a child, the ants and his mum.

Lucas: he is a sensitive and very intelligent child, who creates alternative worlds in his imagination establishing an alternate reality with him as a self sufficient and superior being.

These are my first sketches.

These is my Final choice for Lucas

These are my plains for making the 3D model.

Ants:  they perform as the representation of the world in Lucas imagination. They are perceived as weak, unstable and worthless creatures shaped only as a diversion for a higher power to play with.

Mum: she doesn't perceive Lucas behavior as unnatural and doesn't try to over-Analise his activities. For her Lucas is just a disorganized child with a healthy imagination.

During the animation, I probably wont show the face of the mother, so facial gestures wont be  needed for this character.

These are the sketches I made for the mum, I decided to use the second.

These are the planes for the 3D Models

References and Inspiration

The Backwater Gospel

The inspiration for my minor project came from a song I was listening one morning in the train. - A song about boxing.

This is the song, it may be in spanish but still is the source of my inspiration:
El club de los imposibles - Bunbury

I decided to do a short linear animation, about two characters in a boxing fight.

The idea of working on something related to this activity has come to me before but for some reason it was never fully developed in something concrete. Now I want to do a short animation telling a story about this, but mostly my story is about how physical weakness can be turned into a strength.

In my search for inspiration I started by watching some of my favorite short animations.
And then I made a list about what I like and what I find interesting about them so I could start classifying some of the aspects that I want to have in my own work.

TEXTURES
I took the Idea from two main animations, though I've seen this kind of effect in some other videos.

 

CHARACTERS
About the characters, I like the idea to keep them simple (mostly low poly count) but still attractive mostly counting on the textures to achieve a good appearance.

 

About the characters this is another idea that caught my attention, basically keep sharp shapes and very textures with defined lines and details.

 

COLORS

In this aspect I still having some problems defining which way I want to go, or even if I want  to obey a single palette during the whole animation or if I want to change it while the story is developed.

doing an image search for this purpose I found some color combinations that interest me because of the contrast they provide.

DETAILS

By watching some other videos I noticed some other details that added and unique look to the animation, of course some of them are dynamics, simulations, hair and so. But some other are light effects mixed whit textures and filters added in post-production.

OTHER STUFF
This is just another link of a 2D animation that inspires me to achieve a good animation, to go beyond lights, textures an fancy 3D effects, this makes me think about natural looking animation, about smoothness and somehow well achieved simplicity.

This is a links that I think will help me to go trough the whole production process:

Blog: The Backwater Gospel


And finally, this is an image I found looking for some information about boxing, and I post it to remind me where I don't want to go, and if I reach this point I would know that I have to give step back and find what I really want to achieve.