Mooms prop - Character and narrative first ideas

I struggled a lot with finding which prop, as the idea and tone of the scene could be completely changed depending what he is reacting to, if it was a small object he may get onto the floor, or do i need a table?

I thought about things like a laptop, then i would have freedom to what was on the laptop, if he didn't get a job, failed uni, failed a competition or game for example. i also thought about the idea of maybe something breaking, or a hobby and something isnt working like maybe a broken string on a guitar.

i considered if he is drunk, mad and if he really believes what he is saying. for the moment i think i have settled on the idea of a flay pack done wrong, or trying to fix something, i feel it could go well, possibly only having the flatpack coming into view half way through or possibly him trying to put it togeather in the first paragraph and it completely falling apart in the second with him falling to the floor as if he has given up.. like me with maya basically.. i know i keep mentioning it but i feel his frustration so i guess at least its something for me to build on.

Truck maya exercise

The first thing we had to create on maya was a truck, which compared to other things i have attempted to construct recently, actually wasnt as difficult as i first thought, although it was mostly just made from blocks which made getting my head around it alot easier. One thing that helped alot was starting to imagine how everything is made from shapes, breaking up there form. 

I struggled a little more getting my head around adding colour, or more so the different textures and how much light could reflect off each component, 

My truck ended up very simple, but i did try and make the front reflect more light then the back, same with the metal poles in the wheels, i made them very reflective trying to get them to look like metal. 

I used 3 point lighting for the truck, at least with the lights you can see the reflectiveness on the truck and the shadows created giving it a lot more depth especially once it had been rendered. 

YCN Brief consideration - Study Task 1 - complete

YCN Brief consideration and evaluation

I picked two briefs from www.ycn.org, going through each one to see the pros, and the cons, pinpointing what it is about the brief that i find so appealing or the problem within it i want to solve. I considered Which would be most beneficial to the brief, which one would challenge me most and which i felt could fit in well with my practices among much more. 

what will i benefit from these briefs and which ones will benefit me and my skills more, this is hard to think about because its a little bit of head over heart. Which ones i feel most comfortable with, the ones that will likely match my skill set or i feel will be most enjoyable, compared to once i will find more a challenge but may force me to learn new skills and create something i never thought i could achieve.

PROPERCORN

Creatively bring to life our ethos of 'Done Properly'

Brief: http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/propercorn

Creative Challenge

How can we creatively bring to life our ethos of ‘done properly’ to our customer?

We want to consider the daily touch points of our customer’s life where they will be most receptive to engagement. How can we creatively connect with them in these moments and give them a memorable burst of our brand and beliefs. This could be in the form of a campaign or piece of communication in a more traditional sense, or it might be an altogether more radical physical engagement or experience.

Propercorn is a popcorn company who believes if they are going to do a job it should be done right, meaning the quality in the product they sell, the ingredients, the design and the custom service is of a high standard. I very much was drawn to this brief because of of there beliefs as knowing where my food has come from, and what i am eating is a very important part of my life and after doing more research into the product as a healthy alternative for snacking on the go or just in general. Straight away once i looked more into the types of places it was being sold, knowing they are mostly organic and health stores and after reading more about there ethos made me straight away new it was something i would like to help promote as an alternative to snacking on things like crisps, chocolate and other high sugar and salty items on the market.

Along with the fact it is a company i would like to back, they are also very supportive of students and the arts, just making everything about it a very desirable thing along with freedom within the brief. Although the amount of freedom is slightly limited as they have a set theme and illustrations for there product, i would like to have those boundaries and see what i could do to make there own ideas come more to life to try and challenge me in that way, as it is very open to how i could go about the brief. 

One thing i am worried about the brief having such clean cut ideas already and such a strong personality about it already i feel i would struggle to keep the same quality in my work. But this is definitely a brief i want to at least attempt even if i don't pick it at my first and main brief for responsive.  

Taylors Coffee

Engage younger customers with a new product innovation for Taylors Coffee

Brief: http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/taylors-coffee

The Creative Challenge

Create a new coffee product innovation for Taylors of Harrogate.

We’re looking for revolutionary ideas that can really shake up the coffee category. This should be a drink, preferably hot, and should avoid instant coffee and anything requiring the purchase of an electric machine to make it – i.e Pods/Capsules. Think about trends for this younger audience, where you could see the market going and how it will appeal whilst still fitting in with our brand values. What could be fashionable or desirable for 16-25 year olds in this space that isn’t currently out there?

It’s worth looking into the progression of coffee, often described as ‘waves’ or ‘generations’ to see how we’ve moved from very basic instant to embracing origin and new taste profiles. For the purposes of this brief, what could the fourth or fifth wave look like for this audience?

Taylors coffee are looking to aim there brand at a younger audience, although i do think they shouldn't be trying to sell coffee to 16 year olds as it seems a young age to get people hooked on coffee, although i know i consumed a lot of coffee at that age. On there website they have a range of coffees ranging in strengths and situations, along with tips on the best way to brew coffee for personal taste and even what can be done with left over coffee granules to exfoliate on there instagram. 

I guess what i liked about this was i thought it would be a nice challenge to try and convince a younger audience for quality in there coffee, along with there different types of coffee i thought the variety could be very appealing if marketed right as although instant coffee may be easier, getting coffee like this is often cheaper and alot nicer (well i think so) and coffee although not the best for you is something alot of people between those ages drink at least once a day. 

I feel like i could use the names and branding of the coffee to my advantage, using real situations and how coffee improves it relating to the type of coffee being promoted at the time... this would be a challenge as unlike propercorn i wont have much original material to work with except the logo, and would have to try and still keep it sophisticated with the style in order  to keep with the way they flow, although i feel like playing on the other uses of coffee could also work when trying to reach a younger audience but it is a large age group to work with. 

itv2

Help itv2 re-connect with 16-34 year old Brits in 90 seconds

Brief: http://www.ycn.org/awards/ycn-student-awards/2014-15-ycn-student-awards/briefs/itv2

The Creative Challenge

We need your help to re-connect 16-34 year old Brits with the new itv2.

We know that what young audiences currently think about the channel is out of step with the new content. We also know that the look and feel of the channel isn’t helping them understand this change and recognise that it is a channel ‘for them’.

The good news is that when we show them promos from the new shows they like what they see. The bad news is that not as many young people are watching the promos as we’d like.

As a result, there are loads of 16-34 year olds out there who don’t know that itv2 has changed for the better, and therefore don’t consider it a go-to channel. There are lots of TV channels and content brands vying for their attention, not to mention wider entertainment options. So we’re looking for amazing, creative ideas that will help us stand out and make us a relevant choice for 16-34 year old Brits.

We want to see ideas that will make people want to watch itv2 and talk about it with their friends.

We’d like to see short, sharp ideas that will make the most of our owned channels. We have 90 second ad-breaks between our shows that we could do something more exciting with. You have full license to do whatever you like with these spots and can draw on or play with any of our other touchpoints as part of this.

For example, we have a fast growing following on Facebook with a healthy reach. We have talent like Leigh Francis – also known as Keith Lemon – who make an impact wherever they go. We have live shows and a whole tower of studios on the Southbank.

ITV2 like Taylors coffee are trying to re-market themselves to attract a younger audience, as they are trying to completely re-style the channel almost and have a full renovation. i feel like this could be quite fun, but also challenging and reminded me of an ident brief i completed a while back, which would give me the opportunity to help advertise the change, possibly with short/fun animations following more the direction the channel is trying to head in. 

There seems to be a fair bit of creative freedom with this brief also as by them trying to change who the channel attracts, they will still be constantly changing and growing trying to find there new identity leaving more opportunity for the style open. This would also allow me as a brief to create a short animation and leave me in a position where i could almost try and imagine i had the power myself to decide where the channel was heading leaving alot of creative freedom. 

Clay mouse head

In ceramics we had a play with clay, so i made my mouse (more like rat) head. I really loved doing this, and would love if i could just do this all of the time, making puppets and things out of clay. I forgot to take photos of the head before these top ones so i will attempt to explain the process we used instead. 

We first got a lump of white clay (some people used the terracotta clay as it was less dry and easier to work with)

 then we split the clay into two balls and made them in to equil cups, then we scored the edges, and added slip, adding the to hollow domes togeather to make the head hollow, then using slip and scorring added on the rest, making sure there is a whole into the head to stop the head from expoding in the kiln. 

PIZZA - reasurch

Pizza from Ross Phillips on Vimeo.

Both these animations art by ross phillips, one being a repetitive animation of a dog grabbing some pizza off a table, Its the simple movements, lasting 15 seconds, and starting and ending in the same place so it is possible to be put on a loop (imagine how many pizza slices that dog gets to eat).

Its simple and effective so could be a good style for idents, which you can see below he has also done idents for E4 making him perfect to look at. I looked at another short film he did also about the 'future of mobility'. I really like the way he animates, the colour he uses and his smart character designs. alot is said or happens with not using to much detail. even in the future of mobility the animation went perfectly with the narration to visually explain what was trying to be said in a very clear manner.



E-sting from Ross Phillips on Vimeo.

Future of Mobility - resurch

Arup - Future of Mobility from Ross Phillips on Vimeo.

This is a short film helping to promote sustainable transportation, with very clear imagery to get the message across. and showing how we can improve the way we et from one place to the next in the most cost effective, time efficient and in a sustainable manner. Simple shapes are used , and vibrant bold colours. It is very clear, with interesting, clear characters and very visually pleasing with a lot of repetitive animation, which i really intrigued by at the moment.


The colours and the shapes used also change when it swaps between the urban like and the more eco friendly way, making it more lively and less busy using brighter colours to try and go with the positive feel of that part of the animation. I need to look into layers, with a set background that i can move, and move the main characters around the background set. i wanted to look at this to see also how i could animate someone cycling a bike.

Tower block reasurch

I want compare how they repeat, the style, how different they are from each other along with colours and sounds.


Tower Block. Loopdeloop from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.

once again im coming back to looping things, as if they are never ending and it is something i want to try more of, at least for one of my idents.the first one is asif showing the strange goings on from within a tower block, and is looped, using very simple colours which are teal, pink and back. Each loop is 20 seconds long before it repeats.



Play. from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.

I found these as its the same guy who animated phantom limb an animation i watched earlier in the year. this one seems more shape baste and each loop is only 10 seconds long but very beautiful also. Its the smooth movements i like the most how it just flows like liquid.

Im fine thats - research

once again it was the simplicity of it, the bold colours. and the way a lot of the animation stays quite still yet wobbly. I guess its about human nature and the main characters journey from push-over to an angry manic. simple narrative, and character design within the 2D animation.

I just think its beautiful, with very few spoken words really and to me is quite poetic. This was animated with a tablet, so an outcome like this style wise would be something to aim for in the future with getting used to movements and colours. im not a big fan always of realistic animations, i think the beauty with cartoons like this is you can play around with features and colours and add a lot more to get a characters persona across to the audience.

practicing with my graphics tablet

so because i cant use a graphics tablet to save my life i decided to have a practice now i finally had a cable for my tablet (which happen to be samson phone chargers.. if only i new earlier)

first i quickly drew my mouse although had no reference... and as you can see.. first thing i scribbled.. mostly to get used to using the tablet. 

i then started working on a character, i realised i hadn't done much drawing or character designing recently so thought it would be a good shout to create a character i could use whilst practicing. i wanted to create an urban cyclist.. as my new idea is to have someone cycling on a bike.. well maybe a few and try and put it onto a loop going past for the BBC four ident.

i got this idea when watching alot of them on the tv, and thinking it didn't have to be a full narrative so why not? if i can work out how to animate on the computer and animate someone on a bike (i feel this may be impossible at my level) but if so i could maybe get some quality, and its relevant to the tour de France which is something i feel would actually for the channel almost if its done right. 

Bottle - Ident reasurch

What i like about this animation is how they used what was available to them, sticking with natural materials like sand and snow and still tells a story, almost a love story. I like how they masked the sea and backgrounds to try make the movements more fluid on the beach with the sea even though there is stop motion going on, this must have been harder with the snow animating as the water is a bit more choppy, and there is alot more problems with the light constantly changing, probably due to the snow. although i quite like it, how you can see the sand movie and the light changes. i do think its a very charming film, and really cleverly made even if the ending is a bit sad.


I like how they didnt use a complicated set, i looked at this for reasurch as i wanted to see how i could try using things i can find around me to create an animation, i thought about doing that for the BBC four animation but we shall see what i end up creating.

Research colour club

KIDDA TOUR VISUALS from Colour Club on Vimeo.

I wanted to right about these visuals for the Kidda live shows because of the repetitive movement and simplicity of the characters, yet still staying exciting. I have been looking alot more into how i can repeating frames and keep it very simple but still keeping a slight narrative there, and interesting. Im surprised how many people do it and how well it works, like with danger mouse.. there animations got shorter and shorter as they just made the intro (catchup) longer and alot of there scenes will just repete with the speech over the top. i find it very clever at how well it still works within animation to help save or to not waste time at least.

Ident research - Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon Idents from Lucas Zanotto on Vimeo.





NICKELODEON IDs from Jules Guerin on Vimeo.

I has a look at some recent nickelodeon idents. I really like the first one and how each illustration interacts with a 'real' object that we all recognise which i find very appealing. they are also very funny and quick with a quick funny ending.

what i love about the second one is the colours, and how they flow into one another, the bold and fun like paint focusing on a pin ball machine, which helps to explain why it goes through such a crazy route, as im sure in the past i have looked at the amazing, all the monsters in them, different themed machines, also keeping with a fast pace, before finally bouncing into the logo.

i like the simplicity of the first, although the second to me is something that inspired me more when contemplating doing an ident for E4 or the Cbebbies channel. i want to improve on photoshop and using my graphics tablet so i can create such fun shapes and sharp colours.

Discovery channel original Ident idea

This was my original final idea for the discovery channel ident, originally i wanted them all to do with sound so wanted to animate sound bouncing through and instrument.. but when looking back at old work i decided i wanted to do an angler fish catching it pray.

when i decided this i sat down and cut out the main shapes quickly, before adding a few other details.

all the joints were then sewn together so that they could move freely, the only one i didnt sew was the jaw, so i was/am planning to use bluetack to move the jaw up and down. i feel he needs more detail, so i may use colouring pencils or cut out more detail.

then there was deciding on the fish he was going to catch and how i planned to show the logo, so i thought maybe the logo is the fish and he eats it.... but realised it needs to be at the end of the ident.. i had a look on after effects to see what i could do and have come across the puppet tool.. so i may try to scan him in and hand a play around or animate him stop motion.. and have the logo show a different way..

BBC FOUR original Ident idea

so my idea was to do with jazz music and i wanted a sleek movement of the instruments slowly appearing in each section in neutral coloured sections, as if being drawn.. i tried to hand draw them out but it didnt look high quality enough for the channel so i decided to try again on flash... before i realised i couldn't understand flash and none of the tutorials were teaching me what i wanted..

i feel like i will need to do this on photoshop or try hand drawing it again, although i have a few other ideas i have now jumped a little to, so ill do a post on them soon and let you know how thats going.

this (although its on its side) is kind of how i wanted it to look once they all appeared on the screen.. if i could make the lines clean i think it would work really well! so i may try again on a different program when i get a new graphics cable and see how that pans out.

 

E4 Ident set development

my original idea, which i am going to try and stick with as best i can was dj squeak, mixing some decks in a large E4 box.. i feel like setting myself this task didnt help with me falling back as it was hard work to get right! and even once i did i realised the shape wasn't good for lighting and camera movement.. but you learn from your mistakes! i know i show have been doing alot of that recently!! 

although alot didnt work, i did like how it turned out, although if i had more time i would add alot more to it.. and re make most of it.. making it a standard shape set, and re-making the model so the wire can move easily, as its hard enough to make his hands and things move well at 5 fps let alone 24! But he looks pretty wicked so next time i know! 

so i built up the box with alot of left over boxes from the kitchen, taping and glueing card and wire to help get the shapes, then cutting out the speaker shapes to fit into the E4 box. On the speakers i first cut cardboard doughnut shapes and then the same on paper just slightly larger to make them pop out a bit. If i had planned it better, or made it again i would try and hand the speakers actual boxes that sink in with mesh over the top possibly to make them seem more real, and paint pva glue or something over the mesh to stop it moving during animation. 

i printed the E4 simple multiple times in different sizes like decoration, or how you see a clubs logo or tag everywhere, along with djs. the boxes in front of him were meant to become his decks but they need to be re made... 

A Tale in the Sting - BBC4 Idents Research

Next I looked at the BBC4 idents, they are often very clean, and stylish and split into 4 sections in some way, there most resent ones are often like a mash up on some filmed imagery, maybe mirrored in some way.

My idea for this one has been changing constantly with originally me wanting to base it on music and jazz, I may still do this but I am tempted to just do one animation, something quite clean, maybe with objects moving around, and later try and mirror it or layer it to create the 4 segments subtly.
These are celebrating digital channel of the year, which shows in the quality and a simple way to represent such a thing.

Above you cab see the sharp colours they have used trying to keep it quite sophisticated, they see them selves as a channel open to new ideas, and one that will are things you usually do not get the chance to see. an alternative channel for a slightly older age range then E4 effectively.

I do like the imagery, and how the images break up into those 4 areas that BBC4 seem to keep as a main signature. With there idents there is often just music, being used as a nice visual while the next show is introduced, unlike E4 which seems to have a lot of there idents as animations on there own, with there more refined ones like the walking E4 robot idents doing a similar thing to these ones.

also in line with BBC One and BBC Two, the channel logo is now unboxed and centred throughout trailers. But there is still anew end-board design to more closely fit in with the channel's idents and new promo.

 

Here they show the unboxed design, but it changed back into the box for clarity and recognition, also these idents advertise an up coming tv show or documentary of some sort in a very simple manor.

A Tale in the Sting - E4 Idents Research

E4 often have a mixture of there own idents, and often have competitions for the public to create alot of there stings for there channel. There channels main ones often follow a theme, with there recent mascot being a big E4 shaped robot. they have a number of repeating idents, with slight alterations in texts and little surprises within each one to look out for.

I quite liked how it makes using and recycling the same material more exciting, saving alot of time and money. The age range for there channel is young adults and late teens mostly so the idents and stings need to appeal to these audiences, which is why opening up the chance for the young public to create some crazy small animations for the channel to me at least inspires me and makes me laugh, makes me feel more involved in what they are trying to do.

also how they add him and the text into a live action set, reacting to his surroundings, with a dog as a companion, E4 always attempt to make there 'stings' that little bit different, trying to make them funny, sometimes very crudely done and so they relate to the kind of shows the channel airs. 

When doing my own E4 ident i will need to conciser the colours and shapes, making it entertaining and relevant to around my own age range. Making sure i keep into consideration, the style so if i decide to do a stop motion e4 sting like i originally planned, which would mean re-thinking my original set and lighting etc. Or i try to create something on Photoshop. I need to learn to conciser the framing more, and the angles working more on my story boards.

I really do like there mixture of idents, and how they all represent the channel perfectly and what they are trying to get across just each in very different ways.each being usually a very simple funny idea, which is what i struggle with probably, keeping it simple.