Telling Tales - Week 7

This week we shot reference videos for some of our more difficult scenes.

Initially, shooting reference was amusing, but I learnt that it's really useful and that there are many different ways to do something,

Turning around

I also used an interesting (maybe overcomplicated) method to anchor the Hunter and Beast in a 3D space.

Using Maya as a pre-vis tool helped visualise the ground as the Hunter rushes the Beast. 

I also began doing the rough animations for other scenes.

What could be improved:

•  Finding actors/using props so the reference could be more similar to the characters.

Telling Tales - Week 6

We had MAF this week, so progress was slow. However, I did prepare for the Weekly 2 presentation. The feedback received confirmed that we were on track; our story was far more streamlined and the light-hearted. bubbly aesthetic worked well.

The scenes were labelled and allocated; I got my first taste of being a producer, and it was right up my alley! I enjoy organising and spreadsheets, so I created this:

I learnt about rough pass and tie-downs at MAF so I implemented that into our project.


What went well:

• even distribution of work was priority,
• clear, elaborate plan,
• sorting of scenes based on animation level, made it easy to organise ourselves individually.

What could be improved:

• only short term deadlines have been set, further planning is required,
• character designs are pending, so tie-down stage could be delayed, however, I'll work on rough animation and blocking (and Ava on backgrounds) while that is done,
• scenes could be labelled more efficiently.

Study Task 2 - Talk this Way

Lip-Syncing

I chose Sound 3, where the monotonous HAL 9000 expresses its awe. 

I created a fish character with luscious lips and a fin-mustache:

Using the dope sheet, I was able to map out which lip shape was needed on each frame (mostly worked on twos):

I then experimented with After Effects, using layer modes and the Wave Warp effect:

What went well:

• The monotonous voice fit well with the almost expressionless character,
• The fin mustache highlighted the lip movement,

What could be improved:

• The lips shape is slightly narrow and there needs to be more variation between the moth shapes
• Tweening the mouth shapes would make the visuals flow better

I also researched other methods of lip syncing and one I found quite interesting was the use of KeyframeCaddy, a plugin for Adobe Animate that streamlines lip syncing.

Telling Tales - Week 5

Weekly 1 Presentation

After the presentation we realised the story was too long and that we were falling behind. I needed to trust the team more with specialised roles, so we could progress faster. I also learnt more about my directorial/producer duties; organising a schedule and motivating team members to meet deadlines.

The animatic was also completed:

What went well:

• Feedback received was helpful, and the required actions were realistic and achievable,
• Communication among the team was efficient - we are on the same page!
• Roles have been assigned; 
• Background and prop design - Ava
• Character design - R'Shaun
• Animatic and Sound - Prathik

What could be improved:

• We could have been more prepared for the presentation, (I've added a preparation/practice time to the group calendar),
• Deadlines need to be met.