Blue
Sky Studios
·
The first studio I am looking at is the well
known and popular Blue Sky studio. Blue Sky has been in production since 1986,
when it was funded by six friends. This
studio works with 3D computer generated software to produce it’s high quality
mainstream films.
·
Blue Sky Studios are responsible for a number of
very popular, great animated films, including the Ice Age films, Rio and Rio 2.
·
Outside of the studio they use marketing in a
very creative way, a small group of four concept artists paint murals at commissioned
locations around New York City.
·
Before pitching large scale ideas and plans for
feature films, they create animated shorts
through their specialised shorts program. These animations are used to
highlight the talent available and the overall look and appearance desired of
the pitched feature film.
·
This same shorts program presents an unusual
opportunity for the entire studio, every employee gets the chance to take part
in ‘Pitchfest’. Where everyone gets the chance to pitch a plan to the panel of ‘creatives’.
This unique system has resulted in some very successful short animations,
including ‘Umbrellacorn’.
Information obtained from: http://blueskystudios.com/ 24/01/2014
Spider
Eye
·
My second researched studio is quite a bit
smaller than the first, but is equally capable of producing great animations.
·
Spider Eye is a UK based animation studio that
deals with 2D traditional, digital, and CGI animation mediums. They creat a
wide array of pieces, such as tv series, short films, features films, specials,
commercials and VFX.
·
They have worked on the popular show, ‘Horrid
Henry’ and the feature film ‘Moshi Monsters – The Move!’. For moshi monsters,
they produced a lot of the production work, focussing on the character
building, character animation, environments and compositing.
·
They worked on the short film ‘Father and
Daughter’ for Micheal Dudok de Wit. They were responcible for all of the
scanning, colouring and compositing for the film, The work
they completed helped to perfect the unique appearance of the hand drawn
textures. The film was very successful, managing to win a Bafta, an Oscar, a
BAA, an Anecy and the Cartoon D’or.
Information obtained from: http://www.spider-eye.com/ 26/01/2014
Ryan
Woodward
·
For my last peice of research on this task, I thought
that I would look at an independent, freelance artist instead of a studio.
·
Woodward is an artist with a variety of talents,
and he likes to use them all. Through out his career, he has held several
different positions, with different roles and requirements. He has worked as a
traditional and digital EFX animator, traditional character designer and animator,
animatic artist, storyboard artist, concept designer and animator, and a
compositor.
·
Through these roles, he has worked with a number
of quality studios, the likes of which are: Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures,
Cartoon Network, Marvel Entertainment, Universal Studios, Dreamworks Pictures
and on Warner Brothers Feature Animation.
·
His most successful independent film, was a
short 2D animation named ‘Thought Of You’. From this piece, he gained several
commisions, including a title sequence for TV Globo in Brazil.
·
His work is so inspirational, he manages to
capture such a depth of emotion through relativly simple lines on flash. His
website is a great example of a well presented, personal portrayal of work. You
understand his style, his talent and his passion as soon as find his page.
Information obtained from: http://ryanwoodwardart.com/ 20/02/2014
Task 2 - Studio Role
I was originally interested in finding a role in the publicity side of marketing, narrowing this down, I found that there are three main components: Unit Publicist, Unit stills photographer and EPK director (electronic press kits).
Unit Publicist -
http://www.media-match.com/usa/jobtypes/unit-publicist-jobs-402807.php
Unit stills photographer -
http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/publicity/article_4773_1.asp
EPK Director -
http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/publicity/article_4774_1.asp
All of the roles within the publicity section require a close working proximity with the studios' distributor, sales agent and producers.
The distributor role entails -
http://www.media-match.com/usa/jobtypes/distributor-jobs-420631.php
The Unit stills photographer has the important role of taking photographs of the team as they work on a project. The photographs they take are used in ‘making of’ documentaries, magazines, articles and interviews.
This is a role that appealed to me, I have always enjoyed photography and have been placed in similar roles before, such as during a dance performance at school, I was tasked with taking the backstage photographs, capturing the atmosphere as the dancers warmed up and rehearsed.
During the Lightstream event, at Animated Exeter was when I brought the studio role into practice. I was in charge of capturing our projection when it was played onto the building. Unfortunately I only had my IPhone, because I was worried about the security with my camera, so I didn’t bring it. I took a lot of photographs of out projection, trying to capture it at different stages, as well as a video of the entire thing. I also took photographs of the other uni’s work, although unfortunately I didn’t get everybody’s, but some of the ones I missed, Chloe from the 1st year managed to capture.
Working with Toyin and Glenn, a selection of these photographs, both mine and Chloe’s, were then published to the Animated Exeter Pinterest page, which can be found at http://gb.pinterest.com/animatede/lightstream/
To improve on my role in the studio, I would have liked to have taken photographs of the work whilst it was still in production. It would have been great to have photographic evidence of the meetings, informal discussions, the work as it was being produced on screens, and the direction by the producer and director.
I think this is a role that I would be interested in pursuing further, perhaps I could use this role next time we have a studio project.
Task 3 - Animated Exeter Projection Project
Lightstream was an event that took place at this years
Animated Exeter festival. It consisted of Exeter’s Fore Street being lit up by
a string of projections along the front of buildings. The projections were
created through a collaboration of several creative university course, with the
‘star attraction’ being a projection by artist Tal Rosner.
The theme of this years lightstream was for the projections
to play homage to the work of Norman Mclaren. The brief was to create a 30s –
1m looped film or animation that represented the style of Mclaren’s work.
In the projects first meeting, we had a two day workshop in which we had the
opportunity to think up some ideas for the projections. Although our team was
disappointedly lacking quite a few members at this stage, those of us who were
present worked well together when sharing our thoughts and creating the ideas,
we all listened to one another and politely but effectively accessed the
practicality of the suggestions, eventually coming up with a short list of
certain ideas for particular buildings.
The next day we had the opportunity to talk through out
ideas with Tal Rosner, followed by the festival technicians, and then the
festival producer. We had lost another two members of our group by this point,
so our numbers were severely lacking. This made our task even more difficult,
if we had more heads on the project, we would have had a better chance of
thinking up ideas that suited the talents of all participants. Our team got the first time slot of the day,
talking to Tal first. I didn’t think that this talk necessarily went that well,
he was very sceptical about our presented ideas and not overly excited about
them. He gave us a few suggestions for possible avenues to pursue and then
moved on to talk to another team, leaving us (or at least me) feeling a little
disappointed in our efforts.
We had a little time before the technicians came to speak to
us so we had another brainstorm for ideas. This was when I presented an idea
that I had just thought of whilst we spoke to Tal, an idea that involved bright
green/teal vines growing from the windows of Tuckers hall and continuing to
grow whilst winding around one another until they covered the front of the
building entirely. We decided that this plan had potential and as the previous
ideas were relatively unsuccessful, we would run with this one until we/if we
thought of something better. The following talks with the technicians and then
the producer were relatively unsuccessful, the techis’ mainly wanted to no what
equipment would be needed, what software would be used and if they needed to
supply and materials. I stayed relatively silent during this discussion because
I had no knowledge what so ever in projection and equipment processes and
requirements etc. For self development, this is something I really need to work
on.
The producer was very keen on our idea, she said that the
vines tied into the pattern work and history of the building. She seemed very
excited by our idea, but I’m not sure if that was because she liked the
prospect, or just because she was a very excitable and happy person, but either
way I was pleased that an idea of mine was being considered.
The next couple weeks after the lightstream original meeting
was quite uneventful in terms of the production. At this time, we were working
full out on the ident project and as that deadline was a lot nearer, that
project took priority. Towards the end of the ident, a few people were
instructed by our producer to begin the lightstream work, as the jobs were limited in this stage of the ident.
Those people worked on gathering concepts and history, and preparing our pitch.
Our producers did a very good job at this stage of keeping both projects on
track, even though the ident was taking up all of our time, they still managed
to allocate the lightstream jobs, and keep the pace flowing.
After we had finished the ident, the lightstream became our
prioritised studio project although not many people put in a lot of effort in
the beginning stages. Those people who were absent at the original meeting took
a lot of work to be caught up with the project, and even then they did not
fully engage with the studio. They missed the majority of our talks and later
when questioned about there absence, their reply would simply be ‘I didn’t know
that was happening’. I think that if the entire team had fully engaged with the
pre-production stages then the production would have moved a lot swifter and we
could have produced a finished piece that was too a much higher standard.
We had a lot of other modules on go during our production
time slot, which meant that the concentration of the team was divided. Everyone
had their own role and the producer had set up a very good production line for
us to work with, meaning that if this had been followed people would have had
times where they worked fully on one lightstream job for a couple of hours,
before they could return to their own work until the next lightstream job was
available for them to work on. In theory this worked really well and
effectively.
Everyone knew what they were doing at all times, and no one
could be lazy and just use the excuse ‘I didn’t know what to work on’ like they did on the ident. Although it did
cause a slight error for some roles. For instance, the producer was working
non-stop the entire time, giving jobs, assessing quality, keeping schedule and
keeping everyone up to speed. Whereas, even though they did a great job, the
director had a more relaxed input to the project, they could quite happily get
on with all their other work, all day with just a quick look and assessment of
work when they were called to see it.
The same problem arose for the animators, of which there
were two. One of the animators had three colourists to go over his flowers and
neaten them up, take away the scratchy appearance. The other animator however,
had to do the colour work herself because their designated colourist wasn’t
present. This meant that one person in particular had a more substantial work
load than the others working on the project. Although the work for other
modules was also very important to them, they didn’t get a great deal of time
to work on them because of the extra work load and reliability needed for the
lightstream. This put quite a bit of strain on this individual, as they were at
the time also feeling a lot of emotional stress, caused my family health
complications and a difficult relationship.
Despite all of this, they still managed to put a great deal
of effort into the Lightstream animation, ending up with a piece that they
could actually say they were reasonably happy with, but that’s not surprising
if you think about it, I mean, everything looks amazing when its on the side of
a building!
Despite a few teething problems with the team, I was happy
with my contribution to the project. Although it was a lot of work, and more
pressure, I enjoyed the fact that I had a large contribution to the final look
of the piece. It’s a nice feeling to think “that film wouldn’t look like that
if I hadn’t designed and animated that section as I did”. Its pretty awesome to
know that the audience is only seeing the film as it is because of your
contribution.
Task 4 - Green Lit Project
Polar Bare – Directed by Lucinda
Gabriel
Near the beginning of the third years projects, when they
were in the planning and scripting stages, I approached Lucinda and offered to
write her script for her. I did this because I want as much practice as
possible when it comes to scriptwriting, as it something that I enjoy immensely
and I always want to improve on my skills. She was happy for me to write this first
draft, so we had a discussion where she talked me through the plan, the
storyboard and the animatic, during this process I was making sure that I knew
exactly what she wanted to portray, so that I could get the right emotion
across through my writing. When I had finished the script later that same
night, I emailed it to her and she seemed to be delighted with it, which helped
my confidence quite a lot.
I have included this script in my task 4 hand in folder in
case it is wanted for assessment. Titled, ‘Polar Bare Script 1’.
After this first draft, I didn’t do anymore work on
Lucinda’s script for her, I think this was because she had been told to revise
it so much, she wanted to keep close control over its direction.
I was approached my Lucinda at a later date with another job
proposal. She had apparently seen some of the work that I was testing for
Lauren’s project, liked it style and therefore wanted me to paint the textures
and shading onto her 3D landscape. This was quite a scary idea to be honest, as
I have little to non knowledge of any 3D related, but as it was to be painted
through Photoshop, I thought that I would give it a go, it’s always good to try
something new anyhow. I was given a
plain black and white mesh, which I had to somehow work out where the ridges
and hollows were. and where the light and shade fell, it was actually a very
difficult task, but after hours of perseverance and experimentation I ended up
with an image that I actually really liked. Please find image below.
I was however, quite disappointed that after sending this to
Lucinda, all the reply I got was “We’ll discuss it tomorrow”. I don’t think it
would have been unreasonable for her to at least say what her first reaction
was. That’s just how it works in a studio though I guess.
After the 3D workshop that Lucinda took part in, she then
decided or worked out that the landscapes needed to be textured another way, so
there wasn’t any more involvement required from me. I didn’t mind that there
wasn’t any more to do, as 3D isn’t my field and I felt that my skills would be
better put to use on a more 2D project. I would still say that it was a worthwhile
engagement, the project helped my confidence and introduced a new skill.
Paracosm – Directed by Lauren Jones
Following the original green light presentations, I was very
keen to be able to get a role on Laurens project. I loved her whole dream
sequence idea and the artwork was so beautiful.
With Jordan working as her producer I thought that I would
get a better chance to communicate with her, to ask about joining her project,
but after the pitch, I dint actually see her again till later on. If I had been
mindful, I would have emailed her asking for involvement, but I was quite preoccupied
with other projects, so unfortunately I didn’t actually think of it.
Somehow though, Jordan managed to make contact with Lauren
and arranged with her that I could be a possible background artist, if I could
master her style. At this stage she actually left me some instructions on how
to use various brushes and layer effects to get an image in her style. I used
all of these tips on a street drawing composition, testing out my skills as
a copy artist. Although I didn’t like
the subject or composition of my drawing, I did like the colours that were
employed through her techniques. Jordan then sent this image to Lauren, to try
and obtain some feedback.
A week later we got a reply that she quite liked the image,
and I could go ahead and knock up some more test images, but this time use her
composed backgrounds from her Paracosm storyboard.
I completed two background images from her storyboard, but
didn’t get to do any more because we lost contact with her again. Please find
Frame 2 and Frame 9 below.
The next time Lauren was in college, Barry had a quick
meeting with the both of us to discuss my involvement in the project and what I
needed to do for the backgrounds. It was decided that Lauren would stick as the
artist, drawing the images in her (stunning) style, where I would then re-compose
the images on After Effects, adding in 3D layers and playing with the
perspective, before animating the camera to move around in the background.
I really do hope that I could get some form of proper involvement
in this project, as I do really love the idea and it would be a great piece to
have my name connected with.
Revenge is Sweet –
Directed by Jodie Morrison and Alex Stewart
Even though this project is no longer in production, I
thought it was best if I still included the work that I completed for it.
My first job was a small amount of model making. I was
allowed to help shape the original plastercine model of the character Gracie.
Even though I was only lightly involved in the project, I
was a bit concerned about the rate of production. Every time that would check
in to offer my help, there wasn’t really any work being done. I didn’t feel like
they quite realised how tight the time frame was.
Even though it is the job of a producer, I thought that they
could really benefit from a more detailed schedule, that they could attempt to
stick to, I thought it might give them a bit more direction. They both
confessed that they hadn’t really made a detailed one, and that they would struggle to do so, so even though it was
something I hadn’t tried before I offered to make them a production schedule.
It took
me a while to figure out how exactly to format it and include all the right
details and sections, but after a lot more perseverance, I manage to make
something that at least slightly resembled a production schedule. Please find
below.
Task 5 - Evaluation
As a whole, I really quite enjoyed this studio practice
module. I found that the projects involved were different to previous ones,
they gave you the chance to stretch your skills in a more professional manner.
All the traveling up to and back from Exeter was enjoyable, made me feel like
we developed a close group that worked really well together to overcome some
tricky situations.
The ident was a really great project. We managed to produce
a short but seemingly professional ident in a relatively strict timeframe, on
top of other work. We really pulled together as a group and worked hard to
accomplish what needed to be done.
Some people were definitely a bit slacker than others when
it came to class contributions, and some people put in a lot more time than
others. At the end of the project, literslly the very last day, there were only
three of us remaining. And us three didn’t leave until 9pm on the last day of
the project, just because we were waiting to check emails after sending the
revised versions of the product to the client. Only three out of a class of 9
is pretty bad, you would have thought that more people would have been eager to
see it through till the last second.
Animated Exeter – Ident
Exeter and Festival Background Research
·
Founded in 1999 by Exeter city council
·
Went independent as a private company in 2009
·
“Inspiring the animators of the future…”
·
They run a schools week before the festival. Providing
a ‘sneak peak’ of the workshops and screenings
·
The children workshops aim to enhance interest in
higher education animation
1.
Celebrating the beautifully diverse world of
animation.
2.
Focuses on showcasing both local and
international talent, alongside having a strong educational remit
3.
All ages and abilities catered for
4.
“The main aim of our festival is to be as
inclusive as possible, and this includes showcasing animation in it absolute broadest
sense.”
5.
“I believe the idea behind a project is by far
the most important thing and working to hone ideas is the first step to any
production”
6.
“We’re providing an opportunity for students and
yound people to learn about animation and also providing inspiration for those
looking to start a career in the field.
7.
1.
“it is a gratifying experience to pass animation
skills onto a new generation of creative minds.”
2.
“a festival for the public, bringing animation
to an unsuspecting public”
3.
“The thing that really excited me about animated
Exeter, is that we know there have been young people who have come to our
workshops, and have gone on to study animation at college and now actually are
working at animation studios around the country, if animated Exeter can be
known for that, and if people can come here to learn about animation and how
animation works, how to get a career, a future in animation, then we would be
very happy.”
·
2013 animated Exeter ident – Production details
and final: http://alexwatkinsanimation.wordpress.com/category/exeter-ident/
·
2012 animated Exeter ident –
a.
first stage: http://elliotcrutchleysanimationblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/animated-exeter-2012-ident-pitch-rough.html
b.
concepts: http://elliotcrutchleysanimationblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/animated-exeter-2012-ident-pitch-colour.html
c.
final: http://elliotcrutchleysanimationblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/animated-exeter-2012-ident.html
