Ronnie Leah, BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts, UCA Rochester.

After hearing about Simons concerns surrounding our animation, with it being too long and that the final scene looks off, today I decided to improve up this. The most pressing issue was the time in which the animation currently sits at, 3:10, which is 1:10 above the time specified on the brief (2:00). Originally I thought that this would not pose as much of a problem, as it shows that I have gone over and above in order to create an animation. However I now realise that I have been given at time limit and by going past it shows that I have not fully understood the brief. This would not be acceptable if done on a professional production, with a time specified by the client and so why would this be any different.  My reason for going so far past the time was that I wanted my main contribution to the project to be done to the best of my ability. This lead to me adding in additional actions to Moom in order to better fit the brief of a comedy. This had the effect I wanted, however caus...

 Today as a group, we presented our project to the course. We made a Google slides presentation containing our groups art of. I have linked this below and also uploaded screenshots as examples. I was excited to present as I was proud of the work in which we have produced for this project and feel that our end result matches the brief specifications.  Link Funny Bones Presentation After presenting our slide and explaining the processes we each went through in order to complete the work, we then showed off the final animation.  After showing off our animation, the main criticism Simon had towards it, was that it was 3:10 rather than the specified 2 minutes. This was a problem as it meant we had not officially met the brief. We would have to reduce the animation to 2:20 at the maximum which is 10% in order to meet the brief. However this was not the worse problem to have in the world as we had put in the work, now all we had to do was trim it down. This could be done by edit...

  Below is the final animation of "When Not To....Go Outside" I found the animation process to be a very interesting experience. As a group we all focused on different parts of the animation in order to get it done, Emily and Marta focused on 2D and 3D, while I animated in 3D. In order to make sure the whole animation was completed on time, I started it immediately after finishing the pre-viz (this was roughly 3 weeks). While Emily was in the process of completing the final models, I began animating the scenes in order, using the Pre-viz as a guide.   At first I struggled to get the timing of the character right. Every time I attempted to animate the scene, it would look unnatural and too quick. This was due to the lack of anticipation, which I learnt helped make the animation look a lot more fluid. I tried to include this as much as I could throughout the animation, however their are still parts which would benefit from this. I found it hard to visualize the scenes, even...

 Today I went through the list of changes I needed to make and applied them to my animation. Most required me to update certain objects in the scene, such as the background or house, as they had been improved upon in later scenes. I also added extra elements, such as cars driving past, in order to make the world seem lived in. Its little details like that which really add a lot to an overall shot.  After cleaning up the animation, it was now ready for sounds to be added. I imported the video into Adobe Audition and began adding the same sound effects found in the pre-viz, in order to block out what I already had. I found that some sounds did not fit the finished animation and so I changed them. Since I changed how some of the scene's played out, I had to add additional sound effects in the appropriate areas. I spent a lot of time finding the right sound and tried out multiple until it was perfect.  I really like how the audio turned out and feel it adds SO much character ...

 After finishing all of the animation, I then put it all together to check see how all of the elements work together before constructing the final version.  I wrote down a list of changes which needed to be made for the final animation: At a shot at the beginning of Moom's house, this will establish the audiences place in the world Scene 1 (Shot 2, Moom Hammering) Make Moom Smooth  Scene 1 (Shot 7, Ball Bouncing Around House) Make Change the background to the final background Scene 1 (Shot 8, Ball Bouncing On The Trampoline) Change the background world to the final version  Scene 1 (Shot 9, God Using Computer) Change the colours of the computer, chairs and Texture God Scene 1 ( Shot 10, God Walking) Texture God and change the colour of the computer in the background Scene 1 (Shot 11, Plug Falling Out Of  Wall) Plugs prongs are left behind when the plug leaves the wall Scene 1 (Shot 12, No Gravity) I have managed to complete this scene however, whenever I try to ...

  After completing some designs concepts for what Moom could look like, I then showed my ideas to the group. As we were running out of time and did not receive a fully realized design from our designer,  we decided  to pick one of my designs. The one we ended up going with was the top middle design as its the most iconic look for a made scientist.  I then exported Mooms UV's into Photoshop and drew out the design.  Although the texture isn't perfect, It will do for now as its clear enough to see that Moom is a scientist. If there is time at the end I will come back and improve upon this, however I feel as thought this is the least important part at this point in time. 

 This is the initial render for the town used in the pre-viz which I originally made as a concept idea. As a group we decided that we liked this scene and so will use it in the final animation.  I have added in additional trees and a building in order to make the environment seem more full when in the background of some of the shots. I may add more later depending on how this looks in the scene. 

 I decided to move straight on to skit 3 as skit 2 required the finished environment. I did all of the scene which did not require any new models. When Emily is done making the models, I will be able to continue on with the scenes. For now I want to improve the environment and make a texture for Moom. If the video about does not work please try the link below. If that does not work then all videos have been uploaded to the Basecamp in the folder "Animation Process".  https://youtu.be/SOV5CoL7ZsE

 I am making good progress on the animation and have managed to complete most of the first skit. I have managed to animate all the way up to the final scene in the skit, when gravity is turned off. I am going to leave this shot till later on when I have the final version of the scene.  If the video above does not work, please try the link below. If this still does not work, all videos have been uploaded to the group Basecamp in the folder "Animation process" https://youtu.be/2F-cGXG3mys

  So far I have been able to complete a large amount of scenes for the first skit. I am getting used to animating in Maya and feel my use of the keyframes has dramatically improved from the beginning. The last scene with the books falling over is by far the best one. I feel I captured the weight of the books effectively and really like how the domino effect looks when fully finished.  This version of the animation by far looks more visually interesting than the pre-viz. Although the book shot took a lot of time to animate, I feel I am on track to complete the animation within the timeframe.  I put all of the clips together to see how well they work with each other. I like the animation moves at the moment, its not too fast so you don't know what going on, but their is also not wasted shots.  If you are unable to access the video please use the link below. If that still does not work all video's have been submitted to the group Basecamp in the folder "Animation Proces...

  Today I began animating the first scene, where Moom is hitting the machine. I found that it took me a long time to complete, what seemed to be, a simple scene. The biggest problem I ran into was getting the timing right for each of Moom's actions. When I would complete a part of the animation and play it back, it would either look to slow or too fast. I also found that it did not look natural.  I decided to play around with the keyframes, seeing how the animation was effected if I changed the amount of frames to do an action.  This helped me going forward to time other actions in the scene. I also struggled at first to parent the hammer to Mooms hand, as it would result in the hammer teleporting to the grid. I thought this was due to not freezing the transformations of the hammer before parenting, however this did not change anything. I eventually realized that I should be parenting the hammer to the finger control, rather than the hand control. I was then able to compl...

 After completing the pre-viz, it is now time I begin animating the real thing. I have left myself roughly 3 weeks to do so, in order to make sure all the work is completed to the best of my ability. This leaves time for actually animating, as well as any technical difficulties which may arise during the process. Its important that I complete my job within the designated timeframe so that I do not let my team down.  As a group we have established a workflow: Marta completes concept art/orthographs, Emily takes the drawings and make them in 3D and I (Ronnie) work on the animation of the character Moom and am in charge of bringing all of the 3D together. It is important that everyone completes their job so that we can work efficiently.  I started by watching back the previz in order to see how well the written narrative translates to 3D. For the most part I found that it makes sense, however the animation was too basic to feel any emotion towards the character or plot. For ...

 Today I imported all of the 3D models made by Emily into the street concept I had created in order to see how everything would look for the pre-viz. I felt that the environment I created served its purpose well as the backdrop supporting the events which take place within each skit. It appeared that Moom fitted into the world well, which is good for consistency when portraying the narrative of our skits. We will be able to use this environment in the final animation with the appropriate changes.  After identifying the world of the animation, I then began watching through the animatic to remember the events which transpired. I felt that our animatic did not fully represent the events in a clear enough way and so noted down points of improvements so that we could solidify the skits within the pre-viz.  Once I was happy with what I needed to create, I then spent the day making the pre-viz. I kept the Pre-viz as close to the events as each skit as possible in order to create...

 When designing the layout of the house, I took great inspiration from the images below. I wanted the characters house to stand out as being unique to them, whilst also being practical for them to live in and for our team to animate in. I tried to think of what the character needs to be able to do in his house, in order to play out the events of the story.  Below shows the layout of the house's bottom floor, with the bed covering the kitchen and fully furnished. I will now send this design to Emily so that she can begin making it in 3D.                                                                      

 After completing the storyboard, Marta sent me the files so that I could turn it into an animatic. As I was the editor for the team it was my responsibility to make the animatic.  After looking through each frame, I felt as if the story wasn't presented in a very clear way. This was important as we want the audience to be able to understand what is going on. For this reason I added in some extra frames just so it made a bit more sense. I feel as if the animatic would have benefitted for a few extra frames, just to allow time for Moom's actions to be laid out more clearly. However we no longer had enough time to make this improvement as we needed to present our work to Simon. I then imported the images into Premiere Pro. I adjusted each frames time, making sure there were pauses between the skits to ensure the audience can process what's going on and to help divide them up. Below is the animatic with no audio Animatic With No Audio I tried my best to make the story seem as ...

Now that I had created a story outline for our animation, I then wanted to focus on the world in which the events would take place. I decided to make a street view of what could appear in the background for the final animation.  Below is a mood board of images which inspired my towns design. At the moment my scene feels a bit empty compared to the images which inspired it, which look lived in. There are many elements in the images below which I still want to add to my version as they make the scene feel more stylized and real.  I focused on the more low poly, cartoony art style, as I wanted to create a world which suited the character of Moom. Its important that the style matches his character in order for the animation to seem believable so that he does not look out of place.  I  then completed a 3D concept of what the street view could look like outside of the characters house. The scene is still in its blocking out stage in order for me to explore different ideas....

 After research different characters and identifying what sort of character I want to make, I decided to help visualize my ideas. I created a list of common scientist archetypes.  Scientist/Inventor common archetypes Messy white hair/ Moustache Large lab coat Goggles Gloves Boots Bowtie/tie Beakers and potion bottles Explosions and smoke This then inspired the ideas for my character designs. I tried to incorporate a range of ideas, while still keeping the overall design somewhat simple and recognisable. Although it was not my job to design the character, I thought that it was important as the groups researcher to present the ideas I have learnt from my research. The best way I thought of doing this was by creating different designs which I could present to the group in order to inspire the real design of Moom.  I will now present these ideas to my team so that we can come up with the final design for our character. 

  So far as a team we have been able to identify the situations we want our character to go through for the sentence "When Not To Go Outside". I began in a previous blog, coming up with different situations which could happen in each skit in order to flesh out our ideas more. I've been doing a lot of research about the character and was trying to create one which is interesting. This seems to be easier when the character has a defining personality and purpose. as you can then show this in their design. I thought maybe the character could have a bigger role than just being stupid and so I thought of character who is a scientist who makes useless inventions. They are trying their best to push technology further, however with every invention they make, their seems to be a glaring flaw in its design/purpose. I like this idea as we can decorate his house with silly and strange inventions and label them for the audience to read. We could also design the characters house with hi...

 Now that we have picked the ideas which we like for 'When Not To Go Outside', we now need to flesh out the ideas in order to create a finished series of skits.  When Not To Go Outside....When There Are Giants! Character is warned not to go out side because of giants. Shows outside of house and door opening. Character goes to take a step out of his door and is instantly crushed by giant foot (foot could crush house). This idea relies on its quick punchline in order to be funny. The character doesn’t even get a chance to go outside before being crushed. The audience could be introduced to the giants in a previous sketch and for whatever reason the character must leave his house. This leads to him instantly being crushed. By doing this it connects the two sketches together. Character could then be seen as smaller in the next sketch. The character could be watering his plants and suddenly see a bug on the floor. They get a menacing look on their face and slowly raise their leg to...