Structure...

Hi again,

I wanted to post a few ideas about structure -

I think I'm going to use Prof. Sofian's idea to make the opening and ending sequences of my project using digital animation. I think it's a very good idea because it could really separate the story in the memory from the parts which are supposed to be "the present". It's also very cool conceptually ("new" animation technique shows the present...). What I'm gonna do is trace over my already scanned-in pencil tests in Photoshop and see how that looks.

Here I've made a few test (I think I'll use a darker blue maybe)-

Do you prefer one over the others?

A

Flat colors

B

you can barely tell - but this one has a little shadow in it.

C

this is the same only in black and white and blue (with shadows). It may be more stylized, but I think its also less vivid...

Also - I wanted to post the 2 issues people commented to me about in seminar.

1. What should be the opening question?

It could start with a general "tell me that story again", or maybe I could start with the question "do you think people by nature are good or bad?" (and repeat the same audio at the end).

I think that repeating the audio might be a good idea, but I'm not sure, I'll have to try it.

2. The technique and color transitions.

So, after seeing my bits of animation all together and hearing people's comments, I became a little worried.

I hope the transitions will feel natural and click together when it's all painted and cut together.

I mean, a lot of films move back and fourth between animation techniques. I just wonder how they end up looking so seamless. Well, they are made by pros (that probably has something to do with it...).

In any case, I made a chart that shows how my project is structured so far. Making lists makes me feel calm.

- sometimes I reused a frame just to show the technique is repeated.

Ok, that's it for now.

I'll post the blanket sequence next.

The chickens and the cot

For last class I've finished the dirty kitchen sequence with the three chickens. I'm so glad there are pet chicken owners out there, who not only took the time to film their beloved chick, but also posted the clips on youtube . What a great source that is for research!

I think that the kitchen animation could use slightly extended pauses here and there (where the still images are) - but I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out.

The animation which appears after this could use some more work (more frames). I'll find a way to make it more obvious that the boots that appear around her are those of the soldiers mentioned (I could make their pants a kind of green perhaps).

Also, I'll try my best to make the next sequences interesting. I hope I can find a good way to build up to the point where the woman brings her the warm blanket, which is the most important part of the story. This part should probably really stand out (maybe by using high contrast in color, or interesting angles?).

But here is what I got so far (the subtitle font has changed - I hope it is more pleasant to read!).





Another question that's on my mind (but there is still time to think about this) is how to make the "present" storytelling graphically different from the story itself (which is in gouache). I'm referring to the very beginning and the very end of my project which is kind of an exposition and conclusion. In these parts she is a grandma making a bed (the idea is that while she is doing this - she is telling me a story).

There are lots of ways to approach this. My original idea was to use really faded water color wash on this animation - but that might be too similar to the gouache. I'll try to think a few good options and make some samples I can post.