I did some more designing for the Arctic Tern.
Thursday 29 January 2015
From Script To Screen - Arctic Tern Intial Sketches
Getting down some initial sketches for the Arctic Tern, Sam suggested I try to make it more majestic as it is a key point to my story, which makes a lot of sense to me. Next batch should hopefully be more majestic.
Wednesday 28 January 2015
Character Design Workshop - 28/01/2015
We had our last session with Justin today in which we had to design some characters, a short scene and make a storyboard for it.
From Script To Screen - Animal Thumbnails
I sketched down some designs for the animals that may be in the zoo scene, I wanted them to all look quite sad, to reflect the trapped feeling that the salesman has. The world needs to look dull and depressing for most of the story. Until he is finally free, which is when everything will be more vibrant and colourful to reflect his freedom.
Monday 26 January 2015
From Script To Screen - More Influences
Just another influence map, Ella suggested Fosters home for imaginary friends earlier today which completely slipped my mind.
From Script To Screen - Character Thumbnails 27 - 47
Some more designs for the salesman, looking back at previous drawings it appeared two worked quite well together. So I used one as the younger, happier version of the salesman who is free and the other as the middle aged, 'I hate my life' depressed and slightly more plump version.
On a side note, as PG and Sam pointed out to me I had forgot to number my last thumbnails. I have updated that post and they are now numbered.
On a side note, as PG and Sam pointed out to me I had forgot to number my last thumbnails. I have updated that post and they are now numbered.
The Artist's Toolkit - Contra Zoom Tutorial
I did the contra zoom tutorial, it's a nice little effect that could have some use in the future.
The Artist's Toolkit - Crash Coverage Tutorial
Today we did the coverage pre vis tutorial, I feel like its missing some explosions.
Sunday 25 January 2015
From Script To Screen - Initial Character Sketches
I started sketching some basic character designs in my sketchbook yesterday whilst on the way to Oxford (excuse the other random doodles) and decided to start creating some more in Photoshop today.
The character needs to be able to express his frustration and depression with his life and job in the opening seconds of the story, so I've mainly been focusing on making him look unhappy.
The character needs to be able to express his frustration and depression with his life and job in the opening seconds of the story, so I've mainly been focusing on making him look unhappy.
From Script To Screen - Influence Map
Starting to get some designs down for the world and characters, Phil gave me some really cool suggestions to what the design could look like. A kind of retro feel to the salesman, could make for some fun and interesting designs. Here's my first Influence map, looking at various character designs and environments.
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Film Review
Fig. 1. Psycho poster.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) is a work of art, with a mammoth twist that will
leave you shocked. With lots of clever usage of the camera and brilliant
performances by the actors, Psycho is
a film that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Psycho
is famously known for its shower scene, in which the Marion is brutally
murdered. Hitchcock is able to create a disturbing murder without actually
showing much, at no point do we see Marion penetrated by the knife, in fact you
see very little of the knife. With clever use of camera and a haunting stabbing
score by Bernard Herrmann, Hitchcock forces the viewer to fill in the gaps,
merely suggesting that the murder is taking place, he allows the viewer’s minds
to run free. As Kermode points out in his review, ‘Designer Saul Bass's preparatory storyboards so closely detail every
moment of the sequence that some have suggested he should share directorial
credit with Hitchcock.’ (Kermode, 2013). As Kermode suggests, an unsung
hero for the success of this scene is Saul Bass. Some people will argue that the
success is hugely influenced by Herrmann’s score, that tells you how
uncomfortable you should be feeling, however this scene would not be as
impactful if it wasn’t for each of these aspects, the planning, the shoots and
the score work in harmony to create a murder scene that will live on in the
minds of its viewers.
The structure of the film is also incredible, for
the opening half of the film you are made to believe that Marion is the
protagonist. You feel connected to her and start to feel scared for her as she
runs away with the $40,000 that she steals from work. Up until the shower scene
you have someone to feel connected to, but after her demise you are left
distant from what is happening. As Brayton states in his review ‘it promises that it will be a film about
Marion and then sucker punches the viewer, and never permits us to recover our
footing.’ (Brayton, 2012). The scene never gives us time to process what
has happened, who has killed Marion and who are we meant to connect with now. The
film continues to play out, building suspense, leaving the viewer wondering
when the killer will be caught and how many more people will die.
Psycho
has an incredible twist that is still shocking now; the ending reveal adds a
whole new depth to this horror film. Hitchcock leaves you guessing for most of
the film, uses clever camera angles to keep the truth hidden and slyly hints at
what is actually happening. ‘Hitchcock is
the puppet master in this film and keeps the audience on baited breath
throughout the entire story which leads up to the haunting final moments of the
film in which we stare into the face of the monster.’ (Vasquez Jr, 2013).
As Vasquez Jr suggests in his review, the viewers are merely puppets being led
by the master of suspense, Hitchcock makes us wait, until we are finally able to
see the face of the monster. It is particularly impressive how Hitchcock hides
this curveball, in the scene in which the private detective is murdered, the
camera springs into a life of its own and gives us an aerial view of the
murder. This disguises the ‘mother’ making it appear that she is in fact the
murderer.
It is suggested that Hitchcock put some bird
referencing in as a subliminal message, as he would later release The Birds (1963). The biggest suggestion
to this is Norman’s unusual hobby of taxidermy; his office is filled with
stuffed birds.
With clever use of camera shots and a terrifyingly
chilling score, Hitchcock’s Psycho is
a film that should be seen by any film lover. With a haunting message that
anyone can be a murderer, even the boy next door. This film will leave you
always questioning how safe your shower is and has an amazing twist that will
leave you shocked.
Illustration list:
Hitchcock, A. (1960). Figure 1. Psycho poster. http://www.impawards.com/1960/posters/psycho_xlg.jpg
(Accessed on 25/01/2015)
Hitchcock, A. (1960). Figure 2. Shower still. http://www.gingerliu.com/laftatsoma/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/psycho.jpg
(Accessed on 25/01/2015)
Hitchcock, A. (1960). Figure 3. Taxidermy still. http://the.hitchcock.zone/files/gallery/org/4017.jpg
(Accessed on 25/01/2015)
Bibliography:
Brayton, T. (2012). antagonie.blogspot.co.uk. http://antagonie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/hitchcock-day-tale-of-two-psychos.html
(Accessed on 25/01/2015)
Kermode, M. (2013). theguardian.com. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/psycho-horror-hitchcock
(Accessed on 25/01/2015)
Vasquez Jr, F. (2013). cinema-crazed.com. http://cinema-crazed.com/blog/2013/10/23/psycho-1960/
(Accessed on 25/01/2015)
The Artist's Toolkit - Blob Animation
This is my blob animation so far, next step is adding ears to it.
Friday 23 January 2015
Wednesday 21 January 2015
The Artist's Toolkit - Blob Animation
So far I've drawn out the animation for the first two actions that we had to do. I haven't recorded them on dragon yet.
Here's a design sheet for my blob:
Here's a design sheet for my blob:
Character Design Workshop - Week 3
Today we had to design an environment, I had to design an Arabian nights tavern/saloon. Justin told me to try and add a magical feeling to it, so I attempted to add some genie related magic in the last few drawings, puffs of smoke holding objects up.
Tuesday 20 January 2015
From Script To Screen - Final Story Idea
After chatting to Phil, he lead me to this resolved and connected story idea. I did a quick bit of research and found a bird that flies the furthest, symbolising the greatest freedom. The bird is the Arctic Tern, which travels the distance of the earth yearly.
Premise:
Becoming free from the entrapment of a dull life
- Door to door salesman feels trapped in his job,
depressed
- He sells encyclopedias of the world and has to lug
them around all day
- One day at work, a potential customer slams a door
in his face and he drop his encyclopdeia
- The encyclopedia lands open on a page with an
Arctic Tern (bird that migrates the furthest)
- The salesman starts imagining the bird flying
free, he then has a flash back to a memory of him as a child, skateboarding around
the streets, almost flying with the wind hitting against him.
- He runs to the local zoo and looks at the animals
stuck and feels as if that reflects his life, he feels trapped.
- He sees an Arctic Tern stuck in a cage and manages
to set it free, he feels empowered by the bird’s freedom
- He skates off, pages of encyclopedia flying behind
him, as well as his tie and jacket that symbolise his entrapment.
- It ends with him skating off into the distance,
free
Monday 19 January 2015
From Script To Screen - More Ideas
The first two ideas are very similar but have slightly different ways of tackling the story. Feedback is definitely wanted, let me know if the ideas are working, which one is your favourite and if you would change anything.
Premise:
Discovering freedom from an unrewarding life
- Door to door salesman feels trapped in his job,
depressed
- Visits local zoo to relieve some stress
- The salesman looks at the animals and feels as if
they reflect his lack of freedom back at him (shot of him as if he was behind
the bars)
- He sees a bird, stuck in a cage. He notices the
cage is broken and tries to help the bird escape.
- He tries to scare the bird into the direction of
the hole in the cage, after a few attempts the bird breaks free and flies off
- After seeing the bird fly free he feels empowered
and realises if he can set a bird free, why can’t he set himself free
- He rips off his tie, throws his suit jacket on the
floor and throws his briefcase into one of the animal enclosures.
- He then skates off using a board he was meant to
sell, he skates out of the zoo (screen fades to black)
Premise:
Obtaining freedom from the entrapment of a lifeless
job
- Door to door salesman feels trapped in his job,
depressed
- Visits local zoo to relieve some stress
- The salesman looks at the animals and feels as if
they reflect his lack of freedom back at him (shot of him as if he was behind
the bars)
- He remembers a time in which he was a little boy,
skate boarding around in the streets, free
- He leaves the zoo, goes to a shop and buys a
skateboard, on the way he removes his tie and oppressive uniform
- For the first time in a long time he feels free
again as he skates away into the distance
Premise:
The empowering freedom from love, which adds a spark
to a dull life
- Door to door salesmen doing his job, when he sees
a young woman with bright coloured hair skating past him, their eyes connect
for a brief moment. (love interest)
- He sees her as a free spirit, flying free like a
bird, stuck in his mind
- He goes to his local zoo, in need of something to
lighten his mood
- While there he begins to look around at all the
animals, stuck in cages. Much like he is trapped and not free like the young woman
who sticks in his memory
- He feels overpowered by the cages and starts
stepping backwards; he falls over something and shuts his eyes.
- When he opens his eyes it’s the young woman from
earlier, she holds her hand up to pick him up. Their eyes connect again and for
once he feels free. (I feel like there should be a shot where he’s holding her,
and it’s a side shot of them and birds in the background scatter and fly free)
Sunday 18 January 2015
From Script To Screen - The Premise
This is a potential premise of my story, I'm still figuring out character names and little details for the logline.
Premise:
The triumph of respect
and equality over ignorance
The story idea is as follows
Employee of the Month:
A young woman
has just got her first job as a door-to-door salesman, the company she works
for specialise in selling a range of sports items and wear. When arriving at
her office, her co-workers are all male, they look up in disgust and turn to
each other and start whispering. She meets with her boss and finds out what she
has to sell and her route. Upon leaving his office she is stopped by one of her
co-workers, who laughs and her and asks ‘Aren’t you scared you’re going to
break a nail?’ astounded by the man’s ignorance she pushes past him and gets
off to her first day.
She gets
on with her job and by the end of the day she returns to the office, the man
who confronted her earlier is celebrating, he had just been awarded employee of
the month, for selling the most items. His picture was hung on the wall for all
to see, he approaches the young woman and mocks her, suggesting she should give
up and retire back to her home.
Determined
to do well the young woman heads out for the next month, successfully selling
lots of items and become a very well respected and known individual around the
office. The figures of each salesman and woman are tracked and it appears that
the young woman and the ignorant man are tied for points; it comes down to one
last transaction.
The
boss
decides to send both of them out to houses that have never bought
anything from the company before. The woman arrives at the house and
knocks on the
door, an old man answers and slams the door in her face. Intent on not
giving
up the woman knocks on the door again, the man answers once more and
asks what
she wants, the woman explains she is trying to sell a skateboard. The
old man
laughs and questions why a woman is trying to sell a man’s thing, the
woman isn’t
fazed by the rudeness of the man and she places the board on the floor,
she
skates around outside his home, which shocks the old man. Impressed with
her
effects he agrees to buy the board and apologises for his misjudgement.
She
returns to the office to see that the man had failed to sell his last item,
there for she becomes employee of the month, everyone celebrates and the story
ends with a close up of her photo on the wall.
Set in a world that is a zoo, so all the characters are animals and the environment reflects the animals that inhabit it. For example, there is fences that separate the land that is owned, much like the zoo cages, the land and house reflect which animal live there.
From Script To Screen - Like For Like Storyboard Segment (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug)
I choose to do a fight scene in the second Hobbit film, it was a lot of fun to draw. amazing how many shots are used in 30 seconds.
Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) Film Review
Fig. 1. Rope poster.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) is a film that reveals everything to you and then
forces you to watch and wait as the suspense becomes unmanageable. Rope Is an adaptation of Patrick
Hamilton’s play, Rope’s End, in which two young men commit what seems to be the
perfect murder and then throw a party to celebrate, the guests are unaware of
what had happened earlier in the day and confused as to why the deceased hasn’t
shown up to the party.
Fig. 2. Murder still.
Hitchcock described this film as more of an experiment;
he wanted it to be a cinematic equivalent to the play, which takes place in the
actual length of time of the story. Although hugely experimental Rope is a very impactful film, that
appears to be one continuous shot, with no cuts. In actual fact they would have
had to have cuts around every 10 minutes as that was all the film reels could
record for. As Keyes describes in his review, ‘There is a great stroke of craftsmanship at work throughout the film.
Shot in ten long takes, the movie creates an elaborate illusion that there is
no cutaway or break from the action, as if to indicate a quiet observer is
present in the room for the whole duration of the story instead of a mere movie
camera (actual breaks do occur, though, most of them involving zooms into
shadows at the end of one take and then panning back out at the beginning of
another).’ (Keyes, 2014). Keyes suggests that the effect that the camera
creates gives an illusion to the audience of being a quiet observer that is
present in the room, much like a fly on the wall; it is possible that this also
creates an immersive experience that mimics the effects of the stage
performance.
Fig. 3. Chest still.
Hitchcock, the master of suspense, demonstrates his
technique’s impact in Rope; from the
very beginning he gives the viewer all of the information on who has been
murdered, who committed the crime and where they stashed the body. He then
makes you wait; teasing at the idea they will get caught, showing the
weaknesses in the duo, Philip appears to be crumbling from the inside out,
while Brandon is thrilled and wants to proceed to see how much further they can
push the boundaries. An incredible scene occurs in which the maid starts to
slowly take everything off of the chest that the body is hidden in, Hitchcock
makes you watch, cringing slightly at the thought of her opening the chest to
find the body. As Canby mentions in his review, ‘One high point: While the guests are discussing something of no great
moment just off- screen, the camera, catlike, stares at the chest as the maid
gets ready to put some books back into it, unaware, of course, that the chest
is already fully occupied.’ (Canby, 2000). Canby’s comment is a
reinforcement of Hitchcock’s great choice of camera shots to build suspense, by
having the rest of the party members just of screen, discussing things in the
moment all unaware of what could potentially happen. This is what makes the
suspense even greater and such a joy to watch, moments like this are exactly
what the edge of your seat was made for.
Rope
is
a film that deals with a theory of a superior man that can decide to kill of
his inferiors; Superman is a term that is given to this theory that is used by
Friedrich Nietzsche, As Britannica mention in what they wrote about the theory,
‘This superior man would not be a product
of long evolution; rather, he would emerge when any man with superior potential
completely masters himself and strikes off conventional Christian “herd
morality” to create his own values, which are completely rooted in life on this
earth.’ (Britannica, 2014). The film uses this theory in a brutal sense, as
Brandon believes himself and Philip are superior humans, thus allowing them to
kill off their friend David who they deem to be weaker. It’s a sense of killing
for the pleasure of killing and not for a motive as such. Nearer the end of the
film Rupert, the character who was their former teacher and who potentially
implanted the idea upon Brandon, admits that his theories on the superman
theory where incorrect and he was disgusted to see the action of his theory.
Overall this film is a joy to watch and it will
leave you on the edge of your seat. With suspense building from the very start
it is definitely a must see for any film lover, the continuous shot makes the
film somewhat more immersive as you begin to feel like a fly on the wall,
watching as the perfect crime falls apart.
Illustration List:
Hitchcock, A. (1948). Figure 1. Rope poster. http://images.moviepostershop.com/rope-movie-poster-1948-1020198503.jpg
(Accessed on 18/01/2015)
Hitchcock, A. (1948). Figure 2. Murder still. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3lkDY_Vsns/UIQmFRB60EI/AAAAAAAACko/ez0DRr8CbYY/s1600/Rope.png
(Accessed on 18/01/2015)
Hitchcock, A. (1948). Figure 3. Chest still. http://explore.bfi.org.uk/sites/explore.bfi.org.uk/files/styles/gallery_full/public/bfi_stills/bfi-00m-fta.jpg?itok=QWg_ZC1t
(Accessed on 18/01/2015)
Bibliography:
Britannica. (2014). britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/574434/superman
(Accessed on 18/01/2015)
Canby, V. (2000). nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/060384hitch-rope-reflection.html
(Accessed on 18/01/2015)
Keyes, D. (2014). cinemaphile2010.blogspot.co.uk. http://cinemaphile2010.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/rope-1948.html
(Accessed on 18/01/2015)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)