This week we learnt about NDisplays, which are used to render videos for irregularly shaped screens such as those seen wrapped around buildings. It was interesting to learn about the process within UE5 as beforehand I had only seen the process done in other programs and in different ways. I’m unlikely to use the technique for my current project, but I have considered if I could use the technique with some 3D animated characters as a cool and unique shot for my showreel, while also looking into the differences in how 3D animation is done for such projects.
Project Progress
I haven’t made a huge amount of progress on the practical side of things, but I have gathered a lot of visual research to reference when I start designing the clothing. Focusing on the main character, I have taken inspiration from both traditional Romanian (and other similar eastern European traditional wear) clothing alongside techwear/cyberpunk clothing. Reflecting on the various aspects from both clothing types, I think having the clothes shaped like techwear/cyberpunk clothing but with colours, patterns, textures, and detailing from traditional Romanian wear will work best, but I will still play around with different combinations when I begin the concepts.
I also took the rig I will be using for Rahela and took screenshots of a neutral pose at various angles that I can draw over for the concepts.
Finish up blocking this week, apply the feedback, then go to splined for next week.
Week 2 Assignment: Blocking Plus (+ Redone planning)
I replanned my shot and redid the blocking. I was able to reuse a couple of the poses from last week since the start was the same. Reflecting now, I do wish I had pushed myself even more, but I still learnt a lot and I’ll want to do more body mechanic exercises and shots in my own time anyway so I can push myself more then.
I do need to get better at shooting reference, as I always struggle to capture all the elements I like into one shot so I end up with multiple references. This isn’t terrible, but does mean I end up pulling from multiple clips and then having to match up certain movements later.
Blocking Plus Feedback:
Have the character come in a lot more strongly, really stretch back the arms and arc the spine
Currently the character catches herself a bit too well before falling, the way she steps down looks like she should be able to avoid falling. Have body angled backwards more just before step down and then have her quickly leaning too far forward
Keep the second step down closer to the first foot, again to make it look like she isn’t able to balance herself
Arc the body more as she falls, create some nice lines of action
Be mindful of her upper body making impact first, with the head and hips hitting next, then the upper legs, then the lower legs
Twist the body as she is pushing up with different hands. As she pushes with one hand, that same shoulder should be raised with the pressure of the push upwards, with the other shoulder dropping as that arm hangs looser
Bend toes more as feet push up
When she stands, have torso straighten sooner and knees bent a little
Add some difference to the angles of the body in the pose before she bows, tilt shoulders one way and hips the other
During the bow have variation in arms and hands, they look too mirrored at the moment
Have the shot end with the character centre stage, she’s too far to the side
Went over class content for both week 3 and week 4 this week, so that we can have more taught content to work with and implement sooner
Telling Stories Through the Camera: Establishing Shots
Establishing shot (how this immediately tell the viewer what is happening and where the story is at before going into the story itself. For example, The Simpsons often shows a shot of the family’s house with sitcom music playing to set where the story is taking place and (with the type of music used) the tone of the setting.
We were given some links to examples and analysis of establishing shots, and basic stablishing shots in Maya
During this part of the lesson, I was considering how my second idea, the one I’m currently planning to focus on developing, is basically all establishing shots due to the nature of how show opening’s work. Every shot in an opening is setting the mood and giving context to the show it is leading to.
180 Rule:
The 180-degree rule is a cinematography guideline that helps filmmakers establish the spatial relationships between characters in a scene. It’s also known as the 180 rule.
How it works
Imagine a straight line drawn between the heads of two characters.
Keep the camera on one side of the line for the entire scene.
The characters should maintain their relative positions to each other.
Why it’s important
The 180-degree rule helps the audience understand the scene’s geography and the characters’ relationships.
It helps maintain visual consistency throughout a film.
It helps create dialogue scenes that feel consistent.
Breaking the rule
Intentionally breaking the 180-degree rule can be used as a technique to further the story.
For example, a director might break the rule to symbolize shock or to disorient the audience.
Though a bit loosely connected, the 180 rule reminded me of this video I watched a while ago analysing the introduction of Bumi, a character from Legend of Korra. The video focuses on how much context was packed into the 5 second character introduction, how well it was done, and touches on how the rest of the series often fails to carry this success forward.
Telling Stories Through the Camera: Characters
Establishing characters by:
drawing up designs (even if we plan to use premade rigs)
creating a short bio describing who the character is and where they are in the story
listing characteristics that demonstrate character’s motivations and why they are who they are (don’t just say a character is ‘quirky’, why are they quirky? how are they quirky?)
What makes a compelling character:
Sympathetic (different from likeable)
Nuanced (they have layers)
Flawed (they’re not perfect)
Active (they go after what they want)
Important to really think how we want our characters to be introduced
Show not tell: in the context of character’s, show the viewer the character’s personality through the character’s actions
This week’s assignment:
1. Shot blocking: Continue to flesh out/develop our chosen idea. Continue creating layout/previs shots, and combine them into a video to create a first previs draft.
2. Character Biographies: Write some backstory, characteristics/traits for our characters. These things should drive how we visualise them.
I didn’t think to include the storyboards updated from last week’s feedback in this review, so George asked that I include them for next week for him to see and give further feedback on.
Idea 1 Moodboard:
I wanted this idea to be set in a world and time similar to medieval Europe. Within this world there is a magic system, and the greater population fears and hunts down those capable of using magic. I wanted the main character to be a blood mage who harnesses his power from his own and other’s blood, similar to a demon character from the anime Frieren. For the shots of the mage demonstrating his power, I have been imagining visuals similar to those shown in the season 1 episode 2 opening scene of Arcane, and the Atlantis scene of Kida sacrificing herself.
I found it a bit tricky to find visual reference for blood magic as I was picturing it, but I would also consider the blood bending scenes from both Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra as reference. Though these (from what I remember), don’t show blood being manipulated outside of the body, these scenes could be used as character animation reference.
Idea 2 Moodboard:
The first moodboard is more for visual style, where the second is for setting and vibe. I do feel I should have utilised more of the taught content from last week for these boards, as I don’t think they show enough for worldbuilding. Because this idea is an opening, I initially thought I wouldn’t be focusing much on world building, but as I mentioned above I now realise that the world building is even more important for an opening as an opening should show the context and tone for this.
Wanted bright colours, interesting visual styles, visual metaphors, etc.
Want a mix of folklore/ancient mythology and cyberpunk vibes
This week has helped me decide I want to have at least a rough plot and setting planned out for the fake show this opening would be for, as that will drive the majority of what I do for the opening.
Idea 3:
I again didn’t focus enough here on the worldbuilding for this idea as I could have. I struggled to do this as this idea is pretty basic in this regard from my viewpoint, as it is set in real world, modern day London, and the animals are just a fantasy added on top.
While looking for visual research, I did remember the animals conjured by Sandy in Rise of the Guardians, which I would like to draw from as photorealistic creatures by themselves don’t feel as fantastical and eye-catching. I did consider these things when creating the storyboard for this idea, but I hadn’t yet found a visual inspiration for this.
Initial Shot Blocking:
Storyboard Panel / Maya Shot Blocking:
Shot 0010
Shot 0020
Shot 0030
Shot 0040
Shot 0090
Shot 0100
Shot 0110
Shot 0180
I struggled a bit to replicate the camera angles and poses from my storyboard, but I do also prefer the last three shots to the storyboard panels as the perspectives and framings feel more correct and appealing.
Moodboards + Initial Shot Blocking Feedback:
Moodboard Feedback from George:
Chosen Idea (Idea 2) Moodboard:
Make sure to keep these bright colours throughout the film
Tie down the vibe of the opening since there’s conflicting vibes from the openings shown. It is serious like Arcane? Silly/funny like Dandadan? A good mix like Chainsaw Man?
I think I would like my opening to be a good mix with a leaning towards silly/funny, so I need to have this in mind when developing this idea in the coming weeks.
Shot Blocking Feedback from George:
Shot 0010:
Could zoom in more, or at least add something to the background to make it more interesting
I have a couple things I would like to try out for this shot for the background, including light projection like in the Arcane season 2 opening, and a photography/graphic montage like in the Edgerunners opening.
Shot 0030:
Character could have turned more at this point
Character could also be stood a bit to the side so he’s less centred for a more interesting/appealing shot
I want to block out the poses for all the opening shots before adjusting how much the character turns further, as the opening shots are zooming in one after another as the character turns. I would like to have the final pose of the turn blocked before adjusting the ones in the middle.
Shot 0090:
Zoom camera into table more. Storyboard panel felt much nicer and intimate, the space around the Maya blocking feels weird
Shot 0100:
Have all the characters looking towards the main character (who is sat at the end of the table closest to the camera
Could potentially cut to each character between Shot 0090 and this one, with a quick little intro for each, before we see them all together here
I liked the idea of cutting to each character with a mini character intro for each, so I want to look into examples of this being done for inspiration on how I could implement this.
Shot 0110:
Could maybe tighten up shot to show character from knees/waist up instead of full body
My original plan for this shot was for the camera to be animated doing a slight rotation around the character as he walks forward, keeping the frame of the buildings around his upper body throughout the shot. I would like to try this first to see if it helps make the shot more appealing, and depending on how it looks I will also/instead try George’s suggestion.
Shot 0180:
Make wolf bigger, doesn’t feel very intimidating/interesting being so small on screen
Add in buildings at the back of the shot (where the alley ends) with silhouette
As shown in my Idea 2 Moodboard, I did actually think of Moro (the white wolf) from Princess Mononoke as visual inspiration for the wolf in this idea, so I agree that it should be a lot bigger in this shot to have the same mythical and intimidating vibe.
We went over the structure for our thesis proposal in more detail today, including what to include/avoid, different research methods, and some example works. The research methods isn’t something that was taught to me in great detail on my BA course (where the theory classes mostly focused on various topics rather than approaches to the writing itself), so this in particular was very helpful to learn about.
Topic Progress
While researching the various artefact medias (those I listed as my current interests last week), I ended up watching a few video essays on the Star Wars series Andor (2022) which inspired me to at least consider it as my chosen artefact for research purposes. A video by YouTuber Spaceman, ‘Andor is A Star Wars Masterpiece From 1978‘ was particularly well composed to elicit excitement and inspiration. I also very much enjoyed ‘Andor: Anti-f*scist Art‘ by Just Write for the same reasons.
I am still unsure what the wider topic of research will include. While I am interested in the complications of a mega-corporation with conflicting values against the media it produces, such as the conflicting values between Andor and Disney, I am unsure of what question or angle to approach such a topic from. Alternatively, I could approach from an analysis angle where I explore how the visuals of Andor reflect its socio-political themes, but I am a little concerned this might be too limiting. I will be considering this more in the coming weeks.
This week we are going to be animating a ball with a tail, referencing squirrel footage for the moment. We aren’t going to be focusing too much on how the body moves, as we are mainly practicing the anticipation movement before the jump, and the follow through of the tail in regards to the body.
George also mentioned it’s better to exaggerate and overshoot these kinds of movements and then scale it back depending on feedback, since when working in a study animation supervisors don’t want to have to keep telling you to increase movements bit by bit by bit. It’s a better workflow to overshoot (within reason of course), and it saves time on feedback since whoever is critiquing can say something like “scale that back by about half” rather than having to guess how much it needs increasing.
The animation for next week should be blocked so we can practice working pose to pose and blocking out anim. The week after will be splining and clean up.
Pendulum Feedback
I uploaded both my pendulum plan and animation to syncsketch.
Feedback from George:
Bottom joint should trail back slightly more
Bottom joint shouldn’t go higher after stopping than while moving (I originally thought this might give the feeling of the base stopping suddenly some weight, but I can see now it feels wrong)
The movement of the second from the bottom joint just before it stops swinging back and forth should be reduced slightly
End of animation could do with being extended to give more time for the bottom joints to finish moving. Feels a bit too quick on the last few back and forth swings
This week we were exploring the history of experimental and abstract animation, and within this the difference between Formative and Conceptual abstraction.
From my understanding, formative abstraction refers to the visual language and aesthetics, whereas conceptual abstraction refers to the narrative and storytelling methods. With both, it is important to consider why and how something might be abstract.
Activity
An activity for this lesson was to choose a short film we think is experimental, and consider how we might argue for it being either or both formatively and conceptually abstract.
I chose the short film ‘Scavengers’ (2016), later turned into the series ‘Scavenger’s Reign’ (2023). I would argue that while it feels different, the narrative isn’t actually abstract or experiential. While the environment of both the short film and series, planet ‘VESTA – 1’, can be considered a character in its own right by the narrative, this isn’t a new or rare concept to see. I would look at iconic films and series to draw examples of this, where the way the characters interact and are impacted by the environment present the environment as a character itself.
Instead of being Conceptually Abstract, I would argue that the film is a piece of Formative Abstraction that is so successful it transforms the audience reaction to the narrative and tricks the viewer into thinking the narrative is unique. With the short film, we are repeatedly shown brutal and visually uncomfortable behaviours from the humans towards the planet, all so they can experience a moment of the feeling of their home planet. The visuals are like that of a nature documentary, holding on to the details and causing discomfort and sorrow for the planet and its creatures as they suffer the brutality of its own existence and the further impact of its human invaders.
The genre of “Scavengers” would traditionally be science fiction, however as previously mentioned the visuals represent that of a documentary, following both the planet and how it copes and suffers and adapts to the humans. In “Scavenger’s Reign”, this is explored further and we see how, in turn, the human characters react to the planet. I feel the focus on the planet being at mercy to the humans in the short film is representative of how the series as a whole explores the environmental character first and the human characters second. I would argue that the short film isn’t science fiction at all, it is a visually experimental, explorative, documentary of what lengths humans will go to survive and cope with their surroundings, and how in turn the environment suffers from these lengths when the environment isn’t considered as its own being to be respected.
My Research Topic
An activity for this lesson was to choose a short film we think is experimental, and consider how we might argue for it being either or both formatively and conceptually abstract.
I chose the short film ‘Scavengers’ (2016), later turned into the series ‘Scavenger’s Reign’ (2023). I would argue that while it feels different, the narrative isn’t actually abstract or experiential. While the environment of both the short film and series, planet ‘VESTA – 1’, can be considered a character in its own right by the narrative, this isn’t a new or rare concept to see. I would look at iconic films and series to draw examples of this, where the way the characters interact and are impacted by the environment present the environment as a character itself.
Instead of being Conceptually Abstract, I would argue that the film is a piece of Formative Abstraction that is so successful it transforms the audience reaction to the narrative and tricks the viewer into thinking the narrative is unique. With the short film, we are repeatedly shown brutal and visually uncomfortable behaviours from the humans towards the planet, all so they can experience a moment of the feeling of their home planet. The visuals are like that of a nature documentary, holding on to the details and causing discomfort and sorrow for the planet and its creatures as they suffer the brutality of its own existence and the further impact of its human invaders.
The genre of “Scavengers” would traditionally be science fiction, however as previously mentioned the visuals represent that of a documentary, following both the planet and how it copes and suffers and adapts to the humans. In “Scavenger’s Reign”, this is explored further and we see how, in turn, the human characters react to the planet. I feel the focus on the planet being at mercy to the humans in the short film is representative of how the series as a whole explores the environmental character first and the human characters second. I would argue that the short film isn’t science fiction at all, it is a visually experimental, explorative, documentary of what lengths humans will go to survive and cope with their surroundings, and how in turn the environment suffers from these lengths when the environment isn’t considered as its own being to be respected.
This week we opened a sample project so we could use existing assets to learn about sequencers in UE5.
Sequencers are essentially timelines, and are a key aspect of making a film in UE5. It’s best to have different sequencers for different types of assets, and then a master sequencer from which the film will be rendered out from.
We also looked into cameras, and how we can use prexitising settings to replicate different brands/models of physical cameras.
Project Progression:
I found a rig I would love to use for my project (the Zio rig by Hernan Ares), but despite many of the creators social media pages saying it was available to download, I couldn’t find a page to actually download it. I contact the creator via email in hopes he might be able to provide a link to a purchase/download page or even provide direct access to the rig for a fee. In the meantime, I can focus on making a rough storyboard and looking for alternative rigs to use.
Serra also was able to find the city subway train project from the Unreal Marketplace again and its actually on sale for free at the moment, so I was able to add that to my vault for future use. I’m also planning on exporting the model to use in the previs. Serra also sent me a link to some documentation on 2D Materials in UE5, which I will be referring to when I start experimenting with materials myself.
