I really struggled splining this shot, and I do wish I had added a lot more poses into the blocking before splining to avoid having to redo a fair bit of the animation. I do like the overall progression of the shot though, and I’m hoping to have it looking a lot better by next week with some polish work.
Spline Feedback:
Track the arc of the hips as character stumbles into shot. Arcs should look like bouncing ball arcs to reflect the heavy landing of the body with the stumble as apposed to more gentle arcs seen when walking
During the fall, rotate the body and legs upwards more so upper body really gets ahead of the legs
Fall could also be quicker, at least for the upper body
Have her start raising a little earlier after the fall
Peel the body off the floor, with her head lagging behind for a while
Could remove the first pause where she notices the camera/audience, have the pushing/standing up be more continuous to help it feel less clunky
As she stands, again have the head and neck lag behind
As she bows, have a leading hand that reaches the chest faster, with the other spaced out more. Then have them swap since the previously non leading hand will be on top, so it can move into the final position faster this time
This week we went into detail for what a literature review is, and how to approach writing one.
I found the structuring advice helpful, where Nigel explained different ways to organise the writing. I often struggle to keep my writing clean and concise, so following more of a structure where things are broken down by key topics will be useful.
We were also given further dos and don’ts, such as avoiding being too narrowly focused with our research. When exploring a topic, it can often be useful to consider research outside of the specific scope that can lend valuable frameworks and considerations to our own research and writing.
Topic Progress
I haven’t made much progress with my topic development due to other academic commitments, but I have been thinking more about where my specific interests gravitate around when it comes to Andor and its core themes. I really admire how Andor displays the horrors of fascist regimes on a personal level outside of heroic acts, the idea of just wanting to exist but never being able to escape your personal responsibility to fight back. I think it would be a good idea to look into research that focuses on the glamorised view of war and the military that many films and shows have, contrasting against that shown in Andor.
Week 3 Assignment Work: Character Sheets + Continued Shot Blocking
This week we were supposed to have all of our shots roughly blocked out and combined into a previs draft video, but I unfortunately fell behind schedule due to other projects so I only managed to update 3 of the shot blocks from last weeks feedback in that regard. I did manage to write up character sheets for my main character and the wolf character, as well as do some visual inspiration research for each.
Additionally, as I mentioned last week I didn’t think to include the updated storyboards for Idea 1 and Idea 3 for last week’s review, so I also showed those to George this week to show I applied his feedback.
Idea 1 Storyboard Updated:
While I found applying George’s feedback for this idea did improve the idea a lot, I still struggled to refine the storyboard to a point where I felt satisfied with it. The idea still feels weak to me, probably due to a lack of clear, strong, emotional beats. I do think that if I had chosen/in the future chose this idea to develop that those emotional beats could be added and refined to strengthen this idea further.
Idea 3 Storyboard Update:
I didn’t end up updating this storyboard since George said it was already solid, while quite short with not much depth, so there wasn’t a lot to comment on. Thinking more about this feedback though, I thought that rather than focus on multiple children witnessing these animals, it could be one child we follow through the advert to allow for more personal connection to the child character and the experience they are having.
Character Sheets:
I enjoyed making these character sheets, and reflecting on last weeks lessons helped me realise how useful these sheets will be when planning and animating these characters. I would like to also make similar character sheets for the secondary/background characters for this reason. While making them, I was also considering more how the fictional world of this fake show works, and what it is like for these characters to live in this world. I would also like to put more time into the world building and set design to build upon these initial ideas, so that the opening achieves what show openings should and fully sets the tone of the world, characters, and story.
Continued Shot Blocking:
before / after
Shot 0090
Shot 0100
Shot 0180
I would have liked to have done more shot blocking, but I am happy with the improvements I made to these shots. I do think the wolf in Shot 0180 could be even bigger, but the current increase in size already helps a lot. I have also realised now that when capturing the newer version of Shot 0090 I used the wrong keyframed poses (which are from Shot 0100) so I need to change that as I liked the ones in the older version.
Continued Shot Blocking Feedback
Shot 0090
Much better, try to have less of the previous empty space in other shots
Shot 0100
George liked the difference in how everyone is posed, as it gives each character different personalities
Some of the silhouettes could be clearer
Shot 0180
Make wolf even bigger
Maybe also shrink dumpster more to make wolf feel bigger
George recommended I look at the wolf animation in Thor: Ragnarok, as this wolf is huge and the animation + camera angles really sell that even in shots without immediately clear size references
As well as making the dumpster smaller, I think it would help if when I am modeling/building the environment for this shot, I add in lots more items for scale reference (such as cardboard boxes, litter, bottles, etc)
This week we were shown how to spline our blocked animation, including cleaning up both the general animation and the animation curves with the curve editor.
Ball with Tail Blocking Feedback:
I uploaded my shot plan and blocking animation to syncsketch.
Feedback from George:
Tail should scrunch up more before jump
Remove rotation of ball other than for the stretch (on jump off and just before landing, landing shouldn’t have rotation) so the movement of the ball is more clear
Keep making sure the tail is following the arc of the ball and itself
Keep checking the end of the tail isn’t getting stuck between frames
Add more squash on landing
Give the tail more of a punchy whip movement on landing before it slowly settles
This week we looked at ‘auteurs’, a descriptor developed by critics within the study of cinema. We learnt the history of the term, and how it considers the wider range of people involved in the production process when critiquing cinema rather than one singular member. However it can still be reduced to a small part of the production process, or even a single person who pushes and ties together the specific theme(s). On the other end of the scale, we could argue huge entities such as Disney are auteurs.
I would argue that Walt Disney himself was an auteur because of his attention to detail and desire to ensure every part of the production process met his standards. I found this blog post by Barry L. Linetsky, which spoke of some interesting insight into how much Disney oversaw and managed each creative decision on his films, ensuring they were the creative, magical artforms that are still beloved to this day. While the blog post also notes he withdrew from his on the floor approach to management in later years, I would also argue by then his vision had been poured so deeply into the foundations of the Disney company that, even with a more hands off approach, his earlier efforts meant his vision was still being meticulously crafted to his intentions. And therefore, I would also argue that even after Walt Disney’s death, the corporation still carries that intention.
Last week we had to cut the lesson short a bit, so this week we finished off looking at sequencers, particularly with their uses and how to organise them.
We then moved onto materials, looking at how to make them, and how to make material instances. With materials, it is easy to make changes but can get a bit annoying when you might want to see those changes happening live in the viewport. With material instances, as long as the material it is created from is set up correctly, you can change the parameters live and it also doesn’t change the base material, making it easy to undo/reset parameters.
Serra also showed us how normal maps work, and how they can add depth and detail to objects without changing the geometry or needing to use high resolution assets.
Finally, we learnt how to blend materials together. I realised this will be very useful to achieve the aesthetic look I was hoping for (as shown on my Pinterest board screenshots from Week 2), because combining and laying different materials will probably be more successful to achieve the mixed media, textile look of the references I was inspired by.
Project Progression:
Finding rigs:
I didn’t get a response from Hernan Ares regarding his ‘Zio’ rig, so I started looking for alternative rigs. I’m considering buying the Artemis and Apollo rigs created by Ramon Arango, who has a strong background and experience in rigging and animation. While I really like the more unique facial features on these rigs and the level of technical detail, the tracksuit outfits that come with the rigs (and need to be deform wrapped to the skin geo) are a bit too plain for my taste. I’m planning on having a detailed environment with interesting materials, so without modification the tracksuits would stand out against the louder backdrop.
Because the rigs are more on the premium side, I want to wait another week or so before buying in case I find something else. While I would be happy to spend the money for them since they will come in useful a lot in future projects also, I don’t want to buy rigs I don’t need and that could be far more complex/detailed than is necessary for this project if there are better options.
Storyboard/animatic:
I began by quickly sketching a storyboard to visualise my ideas. To maintain momentum, I prioritised speed over detail, knowing I could refine the sketches later. I’m planning to make an animatic later by photographing the storyboard, saving time on digital redrawing.
Some shots were difficult to sketch, so I imported the subway train level from UE5 to Maya, and used the ‘Body Mechanics Rigs’ (created by Joe Daniels) as placeholder characters. This let me experiment with different camera angles and character positioning a bit before adding a shot to my sketches.
I realised early on that my project’s initial scope was too much to complete in the time we have, so I decided to sketch out all my desired shots, then selected the minimum number of shots needed to convey my idea and aesthetic to move forward with. This approach allows me to prioritise the essential elements, complete the project efficiently, and potentially add back more complex shots later if I have the time to do so.
Organisation method:
To help me track all of this and to keep myself as organised as possible, I made a Google Sheet for the project that I’m planning to have several pages for, each with their own purpose to help my workflow.
