Project update

Ive finished out the project last night and tried to go back through and double check little mistakes I found. Re-rendered everything, and re-burned to another dvd so I can see how the finish will look. Over all I'm happy with the final product. I'm sure there will be a few places to touch up during todays viewing of it.

Video Clips

This is the Fans that are controlled by the puppet tool.

This is Angie and her walk and body movement.

This is the Paparazzi walk cycle.

This is the intro scene I worked on first

Final Project In Process

So while working on this project I have realized this is some what like... making a puzzle one piece at a time and then putting it together. I've loaded my assets into After Effects and created organized folders in hopes it will help me when putting the complete puzzle together. I am currently working with the animations for each of the characters. Many of them have moving parts or walk cycles. I'm posting a screen shot of the environment and short clips as well to show the movement of the characters I've included into the project.

these are screen shots of my characters and how they will look inside the environment. Some of the buildings hare here, i wanted to have a good picture of them together but it was becoming too wide. In this example i just separating them so you could see them better.

Asset List

Buildings:

Clubs fronts

Bright buildings

Spot lights

Hollywood sign

Star sidewalk

Palm trees

Street Signs

Characters:

Old man on golf cart

Person on Vespa

Rabid Dog

Mob of Fans

Paparazzi

Angelina Jolie

Bodyguards

Flasher

Misc.:

Helicopter

Delivery Truck

Jelly Fish

Oscars

Coffee cup

Pepper Spray

Eggs

Hollywood sign

Revisions to the Project

I have really struggled with coming up with a good concept to this project, partly because the theme is wearing thin for me. After hearing I needed to really step up the story line and the obstacles I put in alot of thought about what one person would run into in a busy and populated city. I made a list of anything dangerous that would happen in a city and pretty much redid the story line and pieced it all together. I needed more danger!

Town Design thoughts:

1. Lots of Neon Lights! I've been researching the streets of holly wood and noticed that in any big city there seems a need for bright neon lights all over the place to glamorize locations in order to attract the locals.

2. Spot lights in the backgrounds of the buildings is another set up I want to put into my comps for the towns.

3. Must have the Hollywood sign somewhere!

Structure:

Act I – Angelina Jolie is having to get ready for the Oscars which start that very night. She must find a way to get ready in time which means picking up her dress, and getting her hair done. She is running behind and decides to take to the streets to get her needs done. Along the way are a mob of fans and paparazzi that slow her down with the flashing bulbs of their cameras.

1. Blubs will blind her and cause the screen to go very dim and slow her movements, the farther away she gets from them the better she can see.

2. Fans want her autographs so inside her bag she has presigned photos she tosses at the hungry crowd.

Act II – While running from the paparazzi and fans she comes becomes involved in the dangers of the streets and obstacles she must get around in order to make it to the dress and hair shop.

1. She must run through a construction site where there are open pits in the road.

2. Dodge angry old man on a golf cart who is swinging a club.

Once she makes it to the dress shop she decides maybe she can go out the back door to get away from the paparazzi only to find there is a rabid dog she must now run from. Once she is on the streets again she meets back up with the chasing paparazzi. She is now on her way to the hair shop.

1. A aquarium delivery truck goes by dropping jelly fish on the street and in her way.

2. People on vespas try to run over over.

3. A flasher exposes himself to her.

Act III – Angelina now reaches the hair shop but a crowd of paparazzi and fans crowd the door giving her no way out so she takes to the roof and starts jumping building to building, helicopters over head try to follow her, dropping more paparazzi down to chase her. She spots a ladder leading back to the ground and slides down. Once she has reached the streets she searches in her bag for her cell phone and calls for a ride. The limo pulls up and takes her off to the oscars where body guards then help her into the building.

Calendar

Thursday, Nov. 12 - Start editing those assets! Assets! Assets! Assets!

Tuesday, Nov. 17 – Have all my assets made and complete, and organized in After Effects so they are easy to find.

Thursday, Nov. 19 – Start on animation and building the comps

Tuesday, Nov. 24 – Rough draft complete and critiqued in class.

Wednesday, Nov. 25 - Start suggested fixings to the project and tightening up areas that need it most.

Thursday, Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, Dec. 1 - Have Second draft complete, and start editing and working in sounds.

Thursday, Dec. 3 – Have another critique to cover any major issues, and suggestions on the sound improvement if needed.

Tuesday, Dec. 8 – Work on Dvd and minor issues with final project before turn in.

Thursday, Dec. 10 – Final Due.

Story Board

This is a super rough drawing of how my story will lay out for my next project. It was kind of hard to do because most of my assets are photo-based. I did the best I could to draw out the scenes even tho there will be a great deal of detail to be included in the actual piece.

Bill Plympton Movie premiere, Master Class, and Lecture

Last week was a great week! I got to see a feature premiere called Idiots and Angels by Bill Plympton. How many movies have you been to where you got to meet the creator and hear him talk about his film? It was a awesome experience and something I will remember for a long time. His master class was really inspiring as well. He talked to us about how he lives off his independent animations and how to get our own animations out in the publics eye by submitting them into film festivals. I was equally impressed with the Dog series he showed us and the drawings he did for us on stage. That night I got the icing on the cake by attending his lecture. Can you believe the guy is in his mid 60s? I sure didnt.... and he has more films he wants to do yet! I cant wait to see the newest one he is working on called "Cheatin."

Final Project Idea Redone

So I decided to change things around in my project some so that the idea that the paparazzi was still the bad guy of my topic. Instead I just turned it around where the Celebrity was the main character trying to find her way to the Awards show in time.

Genre - Adventure, Comedy, Animation

Logline – In fear of being late for the Oscars Angelina Jolie must race against the sun to get ready for her award show and make it there on time.

Synopsis - Angelina is a famous actress for many action movies but now she must race against the time to get ready for the Oscars. The paparazzi would love to take a few pictures for their tabloid magazines. Angelina must find a way to get ready for her appearance and fight off the paparazzi on her way.

Nice Examples I Found

Final Project Idea

Genre - Adventure, Comedy, Animation

Logline – In fear of losing his job at the Daily Star, Pablo the Paparazzi must do what ever it takes to get the dirt on the hottest celebrities of Hollywood.

Synopsis - Pablo is a amateur photographer of a famous tabloid called The Daily Star. His boss becoming demanding for better dirt on the celebrities of Hollywood, he threatens Pablo to get the scoop or lose his job. Pablo sets out on an adventure where he must learn his way around the dark alleys and shadowed streets to follow, spy, and stalk the prominent faces that strive to live a normal life outside of their fame and fortunes.

Visual Development

http://www.interfable.net/graphics/cityofif.jpg

http://edugamesblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/teamplay1.jpg

http://finaldownload.com/graphicsfile/screenshotimages/Daimonin_13.png

http://www.legendarytales.com/images/darkness-springs-action-rpg-2.jpg

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=s5k0ae&s=5

http://www.animetheme.com/games/psp_rpg_sc03.jpg

http://www.lumental.com/wdragon_screen_2.gif

http://img.metaboli.fr/products/Fallout2/en/screenshot4.jpg

http://img.metaboli.fr/products/Fallout1/en/screenshot4.jpg

Final Final project 10 & Write up

In this version I added a few more people and new monsters that float from the sky, I also changed up the running tabmonsters so they all look different. I had a hard time with the camera and spent alot of time working with that, I ended up redoing the camera all together.

Final project 10 & write up

Project came out ok for me, I went and added more people and made up some stalking paparazzi and monster tabloids to chase the celebrities around with. I rebuilt most of the city and patched in the ground so everything is now part of the road.

Project 10 & Write up

So far the project is going well , I used pages from the tabloids to create buildings of my city, and the streets. I would like to add more people to the final project, maybe have them running into the alleys. Another thing I need to fix is my walk cycle on the tabloid books, at first they were walking smooth, but now they have a bit of a hiccup in the end, and I'm not sure what caused it.

I'm not yet sure of the sky line but I know something should be added. Over all I'm liking the way its coming out.

New Idea Proposal

Rethinking this project I figured I was going too complicated which usually ends up with a failed project. In this project I want to create a large 3D space with white floors and black background. As the camera moves into the shot we see multiple celebrities moving past the camera trying to escape from something behind them. I plan to use more than what the illustration shows, probably around 5-6 celebrities running by. I tried to find pictures of celebrities who weren't happy about having their photo taken at that certain time. I also looked for pictures that showed them in motion or running from the scene. In behind them the camera will fly past them exposing a row of tabloid magazines moving and marching at the same time chasing after the celebrities. each book will pivot on its corners and swing the next one over to take a step forward. This is one area I need to experiment in and try to create a fake anchor point so the other side can swing over after the other. Once the books come closer the camera will swing over head, giving the viewers a top version of them walking. They will cast a nice shadow to the side and behind of them. Once the camera is over top you will see them dropping the annoying subscriptions that always falls out of the pages leaving a small trail behind them.

Idea for Big Project

I have this idea of creating a art gallery of tabloid stories. Interactive hallways with people in there viewing the different tabloid issues or headlines. Something else I would like to play around with is maybe using news videos at some of the art pieces. I want the order of the gallery to be as if it was a timeline, using alien babies to today's star trash. As the camera moves through the scene, I want to include a wiggle effect that makes it look as if your the viewer walking through the gallery. I want to totally build this gallery , carpet, walls, to lighting effects.

Project 9 & Write up

In this project i used a combination of particles , some glows, and movement of the words to create a short intro for some cheesy celeb. site or video. I was able to make a TV static screen, and use it as a luma matt to fit inside of the O in Television then have it zoom into the screen. I like the combinations the words use for entering the comp. Learning to make Trash fall and wiggle was probably the hardest part.

Project 8 & Write up

In this project I used a few comps to build up this one to create a 3d dance floor for celebs and dances to dance on. The floor was probably my favorite part. The dancers and and groups of people are controlled by the puppet tool to get them to dance with the music. This was the first time to experiment with sound in my project, over all I think it went well.

Project 7 & Write up

In this project I used alot of steps and elements to create this blue print look that zooms out from a animating and rotates showing the animation of the text being created through scribbles and finally in solid form. I really liked this effect alot from video copilot from Andrew Kramer. He was pretty clear in his explanation of all of the steps, towards the in he got a little fast but only because he has done those certain steps so many times in his tutorials. He did use graphics from his Riot Gear but i was able to produce my own that looks similar.

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/blueprint_reveal/

Project 6 & Write up

In this project I tried to create a flow and rhythm of text that formed the shape of the Hollywood hills and sign. I could only use text so I animated the paths of over a hundred celebrities and had them flow across the screen in different speeds. Your eye is still able to catch a glimpse of some while others are harder to see. The Hollywood sign settles on top of the hill of names under it, but later becomes unstable and collapse which also make the names jumble around and become mixed together. I used two exclamation points as spot lights in the background over a soft blue hue underneath.

Pablo Ferro

Pablo Ferro has come along way since his early days in New York where he taught himself animation from a book by Preston Blair. He began his career freelancing through New York, animating for Academy Pictures and Elektra Studios. Then found his first job producing black and white commercials where he later met a former Disney animator William Tytla, who became his first hand teacher. He went on to stretch out his talents in many fields in the film industry. For more than three decades he has been a director, editor, producer, and title designer, and today he is still creating title sequences for movies. Just a few of the graphic sequences he has design in the past years include: Bones, Men in Black II, The Truth about Charlie, The Street, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Hope Floats, Good Will Hunting, and one of my personal favorite Beetle Juice. This is just a small list of what movies he has titled.
Ferro is known as an early master of quick-cutting and for using multiple images within one frame. He is well known for his distinctive hand-drawn titles, and has also worked with high-tech and optical techniques. This trademark though was hand-drawn lettering that he incorporated into movie titles.
In his works I noticed a fast rhythm in the pictures, words, and shapes of objects he used in movie titles. He splits pictures and multiplies them across the screen many in rhythm of music playing in the titles. The one thing I notice the most is the fonts of the letters, especially in the early days of this work. They have that hand drawn feel to them with a mixture of warm tones and shapes. In my project I tried to incorporate my own rhythm from the beginning while building up to the fall and break up of all the litters. While I wasn't allowed to use pictures in this project I tried to keep my color tones toned down enough for the text to create a movement across the screen.
I would like to experiment in later projects using some of Ferro's split screen methods, and possibly place in music that will match up with my text and imagery. His work as a movie titler has really shown me some great ideas, and I still wonder how he was able to do so much hands on projects during the day we didn't have after effects.


Links I've found with great examples of his work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gXY3kuDvSU&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE0QZDXEEGg&feature=related

http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/caringoldberg.jpg

Project 5 & Write up

In this project I experimented with using masks for the first time. I also figured out how to use the Lens Flare effect to help make the names disappear instead of just the masking doing the job. The only thing I wish i could have figured out was how to make the texture for the stars stay still, just letting the mask itself move down.

Project 4 & Write up

In this I decided to use text alone to create a Intro feel into the beginning or advertisement of a tabloid. In this project I used a series of animated camera angles, sure targets, motion blur, and particles to create a accelerated movement through the composite. I decided not to included images this time and just animate the text itself. The particles help create a form of depth within the piece as it rotates, and the motion blur adds to the spin.

Project 3 & Write up

I think I enjoyed working on this project the most. I created the background using parenting and 3d rotation of objects much like the clock example we did in class. I nested the background in with the rest of the other comp. In this project I put the viewer in the middle of the paparazzi action. I tried to create a cycle of different images of paperazzi that spin around and did different things such as getting in your face.

Project 2

Project 2 from Cassandra Case on Vimeo.

Experimenting with nulls, parenting, and 3D aspects of After Effects.

Project Video Test

Project 1 from Cassandra Case on Vimeo.

My Proposal

My idea is to combine an old practice of puppetry with today's modern forms of entertainment including current celebrities as my subject matter. Today's Tabloids are filled with stories and celebrity gossip mostly about things we usually can continue our days with out knowing. Something as simple as taking out the trash can be twisted and turned into a cover story on what dirty laundry is being thrown away. The stories can be far from the truth or exactly on spot but blown out of proportions to make something simple appear more dramatic and entertaining to the public's eye. A large proportion of tabloid celebrity news comes from the celebrities themselves, often by way of their publicists. Stars often create a working relationship with a tabloid, offering them inside info and stories in exchange for free publicity.
Who is the puppet master and who is the puppet? I want to explore these ideas using puppetry effects and motions inside after effects. I want to take simple every day events and dramatize them on stage using images of celebrities found from tabloids themselves. To create the look and feel I will be creating puppets using the images by detaching arms and legs, and animating them when needed.

Internet Sources:

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/tabloid1.htm
http://sunniebunniezz.com/puppetry/puphisto.htm
http://www.tvguide.com/news/patrick-swayze-tabloid-1003942.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppetry

Libarary Sources:

1. Book by Matthew Kieran; Media Ethics

2. New Media and American Politics; Richard Davis, Diana Owen

3. Scooped!Media Miss Real Story on Crime While Chasing Sex, Sleaze and Celebrities; David J. Kraijcek

4. Puppets and "Popular" Culture; Scott Cutler Shershow

5. Cultural Populism; Jim Mcguigan

6. The Media, politics and Public Life; Geoffrey Craig; Allen & Unwin

Pictures

Words:

40 similiar or related words or ideas:

Drama
Star
Headline
Actor
Preformer
Idol
Television star
Actress
Movie Star
Film Star
Thesplan
Act
Make Believe
Roleplay
Character
Ham
Reenactor
Tragedian
Singer
Rock Star
Pablisaty
Ratings
Pictures
Entertainment
Teen Idol
Thursh
Dramatic
Emotional
Humor
Closet Drama
Dramatize
Being Seen
Cover page
Centerfold
Simulate
Thin
Skinny
Tone
Weightloss
Sex
Fame
Celebrity
Famous
Reputation

40 opposite ideas or words:

Fake
Fabricate
Manipulate
Sham
False
Faux
Phony
Dissemble
Cheat
Artificial
Unreal
Falsification
Misrepresentation
Trikster
Forgery
Deceiver
Ringer
Unreal
Bullshit
Assumed
Counterfeit
Imposter
pretender
Hollowness
Shallow
Snob
Snoot
Chubby
Fat
Snot-Nosed
Sexcess
Plastic Surgery
Fake Breast
Infamy
Repute
Opprobrium
Finagler
Imitation
Copy
Mimesis
Mockery

Ideas and Thoughts

I don't know yet my complete ideas but as I sit back and watch the films I can some what picture a path I would like to follow. I want to try and experiment with real time and computer based effects and merge the two together. The feel of a 2d puppet show, or moving of cardboard to create waves of an ocean. I also want to work with illustrated works and work with animated them to tell a story or event like what Henry Darger's film presented. One of the biggest inspirations I have seen many times is from a movie called lemony snicket's I would say this was the first film that inspired me towards animation. I love the drawing effects that come to life and tell a story. I also love the idea of animating text and giving it life during a story.

Here is a great example I was able to find.

Video Reponses

The Kid Stays in the Picture: My first thought about this film was that it was not like any ordinary documentary you see on the History channel or in any of your history classes from high school. The pictures had been cut out and put back together again to mimic a depth of field that kept movement through out the film. The still images worked well with the narrator's voice and to me made me feel as if we were seeing his memories through his mind as he spoke his story. One scene that stood out was when he was with Ally and his dance seem which seemed almost dream like as he talks about their night dancing, and the lights that swirled around behind them. Scenes from his movie merged with pictures of the director and other actors on set, which were still photography taken at the time. Pictures faded and moved across the shots, and newspaper articles merge into the screen and became animated. I found the effects interesting and more entertaining than watching a normal documentary.

In the Realms of the Unreal: A movie, story, history of an old man no one knew until he died. Henry Darger's life came to life when he was alone and in his private space. He painted, wrote, and imagined his own world like no one else could imagine. In the movie, his illustrations became animated. He wrote his story about children, which were based off his own childhood. He seemed to imagine a life that he was unable to live but based on the life he did live. He taught himself how to draw and paint, using pictures he found in newspapers and books. In his illustrations, children's arms and heads moved, some even fluttered across with butterfly wings opening and closing. Pictures were painted in some sceens, some drawn in process as they talked about his paintings. The effects where simple and 2d, but went really great with the story. Henry's imagination came to life in his artwork.

Ken Burns: Ken Burns uses the technique of panning and zooming over still photographs in movies. A simple technique use to make old photographs and images come to life. He stated in his interview that motion pictures were still just images at 24 frames per second, but they are still 24 pictures. Following some of the film, the music, and subject, I was able to understand how the slow movement of the camera kept a steady pace through out the film. For some reason i'm reminded of a graphic artist, who took pictures of pictures to create different effects.