Dialogue

Here's my spline animation for a dialogue shot, with limited facial controls - work in progress.

Blocked Dialogue

Here's my blocked animation for a dialogue shot.

Class 3- Animation Mentor

Here's my blocked animation for a 2 beat acting shot.

Progress Reel

Here is my Progress Reel from Class 2

Dive

Here's my splined animation for the Dive.

Dive

Here's my blocked animation for a Dive.

Jump

Here's my splined animation for the pole Jump.

Jump Block

Here's my blocking animation for the pole Jump.

Ballie 180 degree turn

Here's my polished animation for the 180 turn.

Animation Mentor Class 2

Well, I started back up AM two weeks ago. Here's my first blocked animation for the 180 turn.

Wall•e

I saw wall•e at the midnight showing. It was incredible. Wall•e is totally an ET meets Johnny 5. The movie was superb; the animation was incredible especially since the main characters don’t speak much. I definitely give it two thumbs up, go see it. Don’t forget to see Kung Fu Panda too, another great film this summer. I think it’s one of Dreamworks best films.

Thesis Defense

Well, I passed my defense. It was so nerve racking. There are still a few things I would like to fix.
Here are the suggestions of the panel:
The credits - do a dissolve. Scrolling text has bugs in after effects.
Fix the lights
Bring the animation to that polished level (more movement)
Watch the cuts- on the one the guy’s arm should be in the shot

Thesis Due

I handed in my project about hour ago. I had so much trouble burning my dvd. Idvd keep taking the sound from the previous projects. It's finally in and done

Update

I got most of my shots rendered yesterday except for two and I still want to redo the occlusion pass. I want to tweak the animation on shot 4-20 a bit today. I’m also going to do the 2-d skeleton, tweak the color and fix the glow effect. The book is pretty much done; I’ll get it bound tomorrow, and burn the two disks than as well.

What I still need to work on

Three days left and I still need to:
Fix the animation for Shots 3-20 and 4-20
Re-render out the shots with new render layers
Composite and fix colors
Motion Blur
2-D skeleton
Fix the Book
Burn the DVD and Data CD

Update

My first shot has been taken 12 hours just for the beauty pass. The others seem to be ok. As I was compositing, I realized I set up my render layers wrong. For example I had the dog on a separate layer than the table, I thought that would work for the motion blur. Now the dogs hand is under the table. My lights need tweaking too. At least I should have a sample to show Mike tomorrow. I’m going to have to start re-rendering everything tomorrow and fix my layers and lights. I also want to fix the animation on two shots yet. My plan is to start re-rendering tomorrow on one computer. To fix the animation on another as well as fix the 2d skeleton for the electrocution shot. Rendering tomorrow night as well as I’ll have to fix my book. Hopefully I can work on compositing, and the motion blur on Tuesday any maybe burn my DVD on Tuesday night

Render Update

Well, my renders were quick. Now that the characters are smoothed out, the renders are taking much longer. My first shot has been rendering since 10:30 this morning and is still going. Luckily the lab is quite so I look over two more computers, one to render with and one to animate with. I got two more shots rendered and set another for tonight.

Animation Update

Well I'm still fixing four shots. My goal is to have everything ready for Monday to have Mike look at it and let me know what last minutes fixes I should make.

Things I need to do

Well it’s less than a week left, and I still have a big to do list.
Notes to self:
My shots I have to fix are two, five, ten and eleven
Shot one- tweak animation if time and render
Shot two- tweak animation and render
Shot three- tweak animation if time and render
Shot four- tweak animation if time and render
Shot five- tweak animation and render
Shot six- tweak animation if time and render
Shot seven- done :)
Shot eight- tweak animation if time and render and fix the 2-d effects
Shot nine- done
Shot ten- tweak animation and render
Shot eleven- tweak animation and render
Credit- make sure audio ends ok
Let not forget the book and DVD

Meet with Patricia

I meet with Patricia today, here's what I need to work on:
-More facial overall
-Shot two effects on his hand, blur, and add to the dog. Too stiff. Maybe tap fingers.
- Both characters to stiff
- When the light bulb goes out- more reaction from the dog, thinking, tilt of head
- Add to the frame when man in reacting with light bulb, have dog go out of that frame.
- When the man gets the light bulb, have him move bit more at the end, and facial look up, eyes. In the next shot, stiff all the animation keys
-Have action move from one to the next in cuts
-During electrocution, dogs are is to stiff. Shake the lamp
- Facial most at end, especially in dog, he's pissed- strain in ears and eyelids
-End Shot, bit more tilt on old man - grin
More emotion

Motion Blur Test

I used reel smart motion blur on the dog, here's the first shot.

Sound and Storm Update

Well here is the updated animatic with the edited sound and storm effects for the first shot. I'm still fixing the animation; I hope to be done with it on Sunday.

Background Images

I finished the background images that go into the picture frames today.

Stormy Weather Effect

Well, I worked on the weather today for the first shot as the camera dollies through the window. It didn't come out bad.

Sound Update

Here's the new version of the sound with Michael's voice.

Things to do this week

1- Refine Animation, and start refining final shots – I’d like to have all the animation done by next Sunday, that will give me a few days to but everything together
2- Fix any last poses for the images.
3- Fix the effects
4- By Sunday – start compositing and fixing the book

Paperwork Update

Only 10 days left, the countdown begins. I have all the pre-vis stuff together and some of the thesis documents. I'm going to work on some paperwork today. I need to make sure this is all in order.
Final Deliverables

1. DVD, encoded
1.1 This DVD should contain your final thesis project and play on regular consumer DVD players.
Its primary purpose is to present your final piece in front of a panel/audience. This will be the DVD played during your presentation. Double check that it works and is labeled!!! A DVD handed in presentation day will not be accepted and viewed for presentation.

2. Printed Documentation of the Production Process
2.1 Thesis Statement and Thesis Synopsis (Updated if different from PreViz)
2.2 Faculty Critique Report and copies of Evaluation Criteria Forms
3.3 Industry Critique Report and copies of Evaluation Criteria Forms
2.4 Additional research materials including images and text references
2.5 Additional or changed production design elements, modified visual script
2.6 Post Thesis Self Critique
2.7 Acknowledgements, Production Credits and Clearances
2.8 Bibliography & appendices as it applies

3. Printed Documentation of Thesis Previsualization
3.1 One printed color copy of your un-edited pre-visualization booklet
This document will NOT be graded! It is an important part of your oral defense to the panelists.

4. Data DVD/CD
The data DVD is required for archiving purposes. It should contain all major components of your project such as:
4.1 Quicktime DV version of your thesis project
4.2 PDF data file of your complete Previz Thesis Documentation including text and images
4.3 PDF data file of your complete Execution Project Thesis Documentation including text and images
4.4 Showcase Catalog Image 720x540 or HD hero shots for promotional purposes (see spec sheet)
4.5 Additional stills at least 720 X 540 of your final project for promotional purposes
4.6 Important reference materials, additional pictures, text files and video clips etc.
4.7 Animatics
4.8 Additional Proof of Concept Tests, animations, models etc.
4.9 All digital elements of your previz submission: animatics, proof of concepts, reference

Animation Update

I worked on 4 shots this week, and I feel like I brought them up another level. One I consider done for now. I’m going to bring the other shots up to that same level this week. I also got some of the effects working. I’m leaving tonight with a test render of the motion blur.

Animation Reference - Speedy

The witch meets speedy. The witch actually has some nice touches like when she speeds off, her hairpins fall out. The short has some good reference for motion blur which I’m working with on the dog. It also has some nice samples of smoke which, I might add to Flash, if I have time.

A -Haunting We Will Go
A-Haunting We Will Go. Looney Tunes. Warner Bros. Pictures, Burbank, California. 16 April 1966
Director: Robert McKimson

Voice Over

I meet with Michael and Alistair last night to record the voice over. Michael did a great job; I can't wait to hear the final cut.

Sound Update

I got Michael Schultz to record/act out the voice of the old man and dog for me. So Michael, Alistair and myself will meet up on Friday Night and record the sound.

Animation Update

I have one shot left to spline, which I’ll work on today. I worked on the take yesterday. I think it looks ok. My goal is to get all the shots up to that level within the next two weeks. Then if I have time, go back and tweak them all again.

Animation Reference - Speedy and Slowpoke

Both shorts are great reference for the timing of my piece.

Mexican Boarders
Mexican Boarders. Looney Tunes. Warner Bros. Pictures, Burbank, California. 12 May 1962
Director: Friz Freleng

Mexicali Shmoes
Mexicali Shmoes. Looney Tunes. Warner Bros. Pictures, Burbank, California. 4 July 1959
Director: Friz Freleng

Animation Critiques

Notes:
Well we had an animation meeting today.
Squash dog more on jump off the stool
In the first Shot, keep the one foot and opposite hand at the same time
Electrocution – more/bigger glow, start in chest not at the lamp
Electrocution – tone actually body to the color of the glow
starting with the color than go to white, then the opposite color
Electrocution – make sure light come from lamp.
Don't change animation at this point

Lightning Shot 3_70 Test

Working on the lightning effect. In AFX it doesn't have that rough edge. Here is a test.
Lightning Test

Electrocution Shot 3_70

Here's a test, I think it's too fast.
Electrocution Test

first pass on sound

Well, we can hear that Alistair had fun

Actually he got it really close to the reference.
As a reminder, here’s my sample:
Quiet Please!

Update

I plan on working more on my book today, and maybe some 2-D things I need to finish. I need a break from Maya.

I got some good suggestions this week. I had Chris a first year look at my piece for a fresh eye. He gave me some suggestion that could be quick fixes for the animation. John a graduated student also game me some easy fixes. One was to have two glows, and have them switch into each other, maybe even two different colors.

My Plan for next week:
Spline/Fix/Refine Animation
Play with Render Occlusion Passes
Work more on the Effects- Glow (Transfer of Powers) Rain/Thunder, Skeleton (Electrocution)
More Images for the Wall
Fix Paper/ Book Updated

Progress

Well this week I wanted to spline all my shots. I didn’t block them out as well as I would have liked to, but I know from experience that every time I go from blocked animation to spline my timing changes. I felt that I would spline this week and than fix the splined animation. This week I got to spline most of my shots excepts the last 4, put I had blocked them some more in the beginning of the week, so at least every shot was worked on this week. I spoke with Alistair this weekend; he’s going to start working on my sound.
Here’s my updated animatic:

More Problems

Well I was working with the constraints again today. I was having so many problems. It might be because I’m just so tired that I can’t focus. I’m going to try Michael’s suggestion again on Monday. But for today, I animated the object and the model. I just feel as though I can’t progress forward, since I keep falling into problems.

Picking and choosing my battles

I find that at this point in production. I’m picking and choosing my battles. I’ve been working though my shots again this week. I left the lab Thursday night and set some renders and everything was fine. I walked in this morning all my textures and animation on the guy were all messed up. I wound up having to revert back to an older rig with less facial controls. It was either that or redo the animation on everyone of my shots. Today I’m playing with constrains. I need to constrain the light bulb to the characters hand. The problem is that the control on the hand when it moves, separates from the wrist, and with constrains the object follows the controller. I’ve tried a few different ways; I’ve even tried parenting it to the bone. Another animation student, Michael gave me one-way by working with parent and orient constrains and animating the constraint controls. I’ll give it a try again.

Greg's comments

Well I had emailed Greg Rizzi one of the industry members from the animation panelist. Since I had trouble with my rigs I didn’t really have any animation to show them. He wrote back to me today, He found some of the story unclear.
1) There are a few things that are unclear. I am not sure why the flipping of the light switch and the changing of the bulb switched the two characters' powers. Is it because the man tries to put the new bulb in the socket before the dog turns off the light switch?
2) Perhaps you should think of a better way to show the two characters being electrocuted. Maybe have a close-up of the man's hand going into the light socket.
3) Also, a close-up of the blown bulb right after it blows might help clear that up.
4) If the dog turns off the light switch, why does he still get electrocuted?
5) Perhaps, simplifying the idea even more is best. Maybe the piece should simply be about the two characters playing checkers where the dog is really fast, but the man is slow and more thoughtful about how he plays. The dog is so quick to move his piece that he doesn't realize he's made the wrong move. The man realizes it and makes one final agonizingly slow move to finish off the impatient dog.
6) These are all things to think about. They are not concrete things that you must do in order to complete your piece. It's all about keeping your ideas simple, and most importantly, clear to your audience. You may ask several different people and get several different ideas of what to change and how. Part of becoming an animator is realizing what you can do and what you have time for. It can be difficult to sort through critiques, but I hope these things help you along. Lots of luck. I'd love to see it when it's further along.
So I decided in the shot were the man is screwing in the light bulb, to not have his arm go up as high, I think this might read better. I hope once I add my 2-D effects for the electrocution scene, It will read a lot better. I feel I have to work on the dogs slide better too, to help it read.

Meeting with Patricia

Well I meet with Patricia today.
Her comments were:
to get the secondary animation in. (especially the wheelchair)
Let the dog’s body move more.
Make sure the dog is in frame for the action shots.
Transfer of power is not clear yet.
Exaggerate the guy even more, and make sure his personality comes across, plush the slow factor
Also detail the end a bit more

Flexman Rig

Well I go the final Flexman Rig, with all his facial controls. So I’m on my way.

List of things to do this week

Another pass of Animation – I wrote Nick, Mark and Greg for feedback on what I have so far. I’m hoping this will help
Play with Render Occlusion Passes again
Effects- Glow (Transfer of Powers), Skeleton (Electrocution), Fix Rain (lighten)
More Images for the Wall
Fix Paper/ Book Updated

Animatic Update

Well, I almost got through all the shots again this week. I have to fix the last 24 frames on the electrocution shot and than go through them all again.

Animation Update

Well, I'm working on my second pass of blocking the animation. I hope to get through all my shots by Saturday. My plans are to go each shot again next week. We have less than a month; I know I should leave a week to render and composite. Although I got somewhat caught up, I still feel behind.

Rain Effect

I found a rain plug in for after effects. It works quite well.