The Mummy Returns (CGI)

I watched The Mummy Returns last night, I would say it is a good classic movie with its pre-quels and sequels. It is comedic, has action and drama. Though all these genres may not be portrayed in the best way possible it is still very interesting, I say this because the funny parts felt forced and I felt the storyline could have been presented in a better way. 

Though what I really wanted to point out is the CGI generated Army Of Anubis. The image is shown below.

As you can see the CGI is not very realistic, the models have been created very well though since this movie was released in 2001, technology was not very advanced. Most scenes of the army were done with them being at a far distance that you couldn't make out their shapes which made it easier. When scenes like the image below were shown, you can tell by the skin texture that these creatures look more game like than movie realistic.

I am stating this just to point out how un-advanced CGI technology was but also when you watch the movie the movements of these creatures were very static and not animal like.

Overall a good movie, I'm just focusing more on the animation side of it.

Red Rabbit by Egmont Mayer

''Mayer’s student film is a beautifully paced, stylistic piece, where no dialogue is needed to convey the emotions of the main characters. Tensions and relationships are slowly and thoughtfully developed throughout the film and we seem to know exactly what the characters are thinking and feeling without anyone ever having to speak a word. Even though as a viewer you really feel the loneliness and isolation of the characters, there is still a certain warmth and touching poetry to this tale.'' El Vez (http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2009/09/26/red-rabbit/) accessed Mon, 21 Jan, 2013, at 15:19

I watched this animation and I agree with the statement above, the animation has no dialogue but the viewer can guess what is going on because of the pace and facial/body expressions given by the characters. This man is trying to hide his pet from the outside world and neighbour who is trying to connect with him on some level. The sound helps to communicate these expressions further because it is timed nicely which I think is good. It is a 3D animation which has beautifully conveyed the storyline and added a comical ending where he realises his upstairs neighbour also has a large pet that she is hiding. When it comes to the environment set around this characters then  I would say that it has been done well, the lighting and little attention to details gives it that realistic atmosphere, for example when the apartment is being shook by the rabbit, the ceiling chandelier is shook too, simple but yet it makes the viewer see the animation as more realistic. So I am posting this film for others to notice how the story is told and could take note.

Website of his other work: http://www.egmontmayer.com/

The Makeover by animation school Supinfocom

Done by:

Martin Vermelen
Matthieu Hassan
Elsa Bréhin

This animation takes inspiration from famous Disney films such as 'Beauty & The Beast'', ''Cinderella'', ''Peter Pan''  and the ''Little Mermaid''.

I would say that the storyline does not really make sense but the music score and visuals help sustain this animation.

I am blogging about this animation because it uses some of the fundamentals of animation such as timing, squash and stretch and anticipation.

The objects in the house are animated beautifully, I would say this animation is also a musical because there are scenes with the objects dancing. Overall, this is good to look at when trying to bring characters to life through movement.

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2011/09/01/the-makeover/

Oktapodi by Gobelins

Done by:

Emud Mokhberi

Quentin Marmier

Thierry Marchand

Olivier Delabarre

François-Xavier Chanioux

Julien Bocabeille

This short 3D Animation with accompanied music by Kenny Wood's score which definitely sets the pace of this work.

The story is about two octopuses trying to escape being captured and eaten. What I like about this animation is that it has beautiful visuals, the environment and storyline fits and works well. The characters actions have been exaggerated and just like old animations seen on cartoon network the octopuses have been given human emotions, which I think helps bring the comedy to this. It shows how you can convey a story in a short amount of time with the right timing.

I would definitely watch it again, the ending is also what helps finish this off nicely when after fighting with the delivery man, a seagull takes one of the octopuses and the viewer can see that the chase starts again, so the situations that the main storyline can be set in is endless.

http://www.oktapodi.com/makingof/  - this is the site that shows the making of this animation. The preparation sketches are beautifully done. An example is shown below.

Until The Quiet Comes by Khalil Joseph

''A PROMO FOR ELECTRONIC ARTIST FLYING LOTUS, THE IMPRESSIONISTIC VISION OF RISING STAR KHALIL JOSEPH IS DISPLAYED IN THIS SHORT, DREAMLIKE TRIP THROUGH A LOS ANGELES PROJECT. A SUNDANCE 2013 SHORT FILM.''
http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/01/07/until-the-quiet-comes/
accessed saturday, jan, 15:36pm, 2013
Watching this film was beautiful. Khalil Joseph is the director of this and the scenes are captivating. The opening scenes starts with a boy being shot but then goes through a flashback of the little boy playing with friends and enjoying being a kid then his older friend gets shot but comes back to life in a dreamlike state and dances his way into a car that drives off in a slant. It is all very dreamlike. The way he portrayed the hip-hop and urban life from the negative side yet made it look atheistically pleasing was very nice. I chose to put this on my blog because it is related to film, which I am interested in and it touches on situations that arise in bad neighbourhoods. Though also the camera and angle shots are done well to help communicate the idea or story. The environment in which this is set helps to convey to the viewer what type of situations these characters in the video face. I am inspired by this short film.

So far how my 3D Digital Modelling project is going.....

 This is my toy that I have chosen. It is from the group of other Gyro Botz products. Below are the other toy characters that have been created. When it comes to creating another character to interact with the one above I shall be taking inspiration from the toys below, like seeing how the different colours can influence the appearance of the other character.

As you can see the toy is a rigid plastic toy, I have started modelling it, so far I have done the main body and the top. The rest of the body shouldn't take long but I have only just started using Autodesk Maya 3D so it will take me time to understand it more and get comfortable.

Draft X vs Y

First storyboard but with no variety of camera angles or shots. Below is images of the storyboard re done again.

Final Storyboard X vs Y

I have added camera angles and tried to put more detail in the storyline.

Final Storyboard X vs Y

Aritficial Paradise- 3D Animation

http://vimeo.com/6132324

Director/Editor: Jean-Paul Frenay

Main 3D Artist: Sandro Paoli

Sound Design: Seal Phuric ft. Neptunian8

3D artists : Sylvain Jorget & Sébastien Desmet

Additional 3D operators : Otto Heinen & Okke Voerman

Awards & Recognitions

• Second Place of the Non Narrative Category @ Cutout Festival, EM
• Honorable mention for Artificial Paradise, Inc @ Fargo Film Festival 2010, USA
• Nominated for Best technical Realisation @ Animago Award 2010, DE

Interview on Artificial Paradise, Inc made for Canal+ France : vimeo.com/25642156

ARTIFICIAL PARADISE

''Artificial Paradise, Inc is an experimental film anticipating a future where a major corporation has developed an unique software, based on organic virtual reality, which holds all the lost memories of humankind. A user connects to this database of the forgotten…what is he searching for?''

I clicked on this animation because it sounded interesting, so I think the title works well with it.
The animation carries you through someone or something carrying out a search on this virtual reality creation,  which is so interesting. I would say what really makes this animation is the sound, the malfunction of a channel trying to find a signal or that screeching sound you hear on your phone when the service is down. I think that helped enhance the atmosphere of this. I generally just enjoyed it, the appearance of the environment of this virtual reality I think had a lot of thought put into it. The white, slightly grey background helped a lot to communicate that idea of the reality being mainly a machine that holds these human's memories in it.




Below is a screenshot and link to the interview the artists did and why he did it. I am posting this because the way he shot his interview is different, he created a facial replica of his face. I thought it added to the whole idea of 'virtual reality'. Very nicely done. I think I shall be keeping an eye out for what this company because I like their work.

http://vimeo.com/25642156

Choosing a Figure

 X vs Y

This new module that I am starting is based on 3D Modelling & Animation. We shall be using the software Autodesk Maya.

Below are examples or choices of what toys or objects I am going to use as a reference to model from. 

I think i shall choose the Gyro Bots set from the star wars because I get an assortment of colours and it will give me a variety to work from. However if i choose the star wars toy it could help give me ideas for my narrative.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9088171.htm

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9077687.htm

Remon Samry- 3D Maya Artist

I am looking at other 3D Maya Animations to see how others have carried out their animations and also to learn see if there are any principles that these artists have used to convey their ideas. This is 7 second 3D Maya Animation that has been done by Samry, I think the animation get's to the point in the short time it has.

The character is trying to lift a pair of weights that are obviously heavier than him, here I think Samry has considered the character's appearance well because the character is tall and skinny with little attractive appearance to him. The facial expression's the character presents helps to add to the story too with the expression of struggling and panting. Overall the idea has been nicely executed.

However, I would say that with added sound the animation would be even better just so there is another way to communicate the story.

This animation is really short so it does not explore other camera angles and shots which is neither good nor bad.

http://vimeo.com/37892179

Truck Model

4 quad view

top view

side view

Rendered image of truck model using 'mental ray'

Today, we applied the basic skills we learned in Autodesk Maya software and created a model of a truck. I followed the instructions that was given in a pdf. file, I found it hard to follow the instructions because it wasn't in video format so I could only tell if I was using the functions in the software correctly by the screenshots given in the file. Though as the truck started to form, I found it easier to do certain actions. Next, I am going to try other tutorials that I can find online and see if I can complete them just so I can get used to understanding the software.
What I feel makes it difficult is the vast amount of functions that it has and also how combining the functions can perform an action that you weren't expecting.

I've listed a few sites below that I shall be using to get comfortable with this software.

Also, the image of the truck is an updated version because I have rendered the scene out, using mental ray with shading textures, lambert and blinn. I did this to just show that I understood the shading skills.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/100-maya-3d-tutorials-beginners-intermediate-advanced-users/

http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/index.php

http://www.3dtutorialzone.com/

TV Show: Breaking Bad

BREAKING BAD

The storyline is about a chemistry school teacher that is diagnosed with cancer and decides to find a way to provide for his family by dealing meth. I was recommended this tv series by a friend. Once you start to watch it, it starts off slow and each episode is approx. 50mins long and trust me the writers build suspense in each episode and one storyline can last two episodes, but still the genius of the writing is amazing. The storyline is captivating, the character’s traits are all built and as the series progress you get to see different sides of each character and how they shift their morals when tough situations occur. It is described as a dramedy because it has some humor but also dramatic situations occurring.

Lastly, the scene shots are amazing, the locations are interesting and help the story progress such as the amazing shots of the desert and the surbuban houses. 

Radio times article on the tv series breaking bad

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-06/why-you-should-be-watching-breaking-bad

Validation by Kurt Kuenne

‘’A PARKING ATTENDENT SERVES UP FREE COMPLIMENTS TO A WORLD IN NEED OF A LITTLE GRATITUDE AND UNDERSTANDING’’

I watched this short film like 3 months ago; it starts off slow but picks up as it progresses. The director of this film is Kurt Kuenne. The title ‘Validation’ does not give away the real storyline in this film. I personally took another message from it because, people should smile and enjoy life which was it message I think. It is also comedic because the main character’s traits, played by TJ Thyne, are exaggerated.

  http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2009/12/21/validation/

Creative England

Who They Are?

Creative England, based in various areas around England such as Salford, Birmingham, Leeds & Nottingham, is a national agency that supports ideas, businesses and talent that work with film, digital media, TV & games.

Why They Do It?

They help new businesses understand how to thrive in the economy and industry.

They can help under-skilled businesses organise finance, new ideas, mentoring and infrastructure.

Listed below are a few names to contact in the company.

The Team

Caroline Norbury: CEO

She has had experience in the media industry as a producer, director and commissioning executive.

tara.stewart@creativeengland.co.uk

FILM CULTURE

Jay Arnold: Head of Film Culture 

He is in charge of the team that deals with the film culture to benefit the variety of audience in the English regions.

jay.arnold@creativeengland.co.uk

TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Chris Moll: Head of Talent Development

He is in charge of leading the talent development section that supports the filmmaking talent in English regions.

chris.moll@creativeengland.co.uk

This information is to give a highlight to this company that is very much involved in the media industry.

The website:  http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/index.php/about-us/our-team/