The Bridge Camera Test

The following video is a look at the bridge with the camera in motion. This really shows off the 3D space and gives a first look at the use of 3D objects with the banister  in the middle of the bridge.



The Bridge Camera Test from Lee Waller on Vimeo.

The Bridge

Using After Effects I have taken the artwork Al created in Flash for the bridge of the ship and constructed a 3D environment. Using this 3D version of the bridge we will be able to ad life to the animations. This gives us the opportunity to do camera moves, special lighting, and some cinematic flare using depth of field. The screens will be able to have video in them and the doors will actually open and close. I am working with Zaxwerks Invigorator Pro to make the banister in the back into an actual 3D object instead of using the flat 2D pieces in there now. There is still more to do and hopefully soon we can test with some actual characters in the room but at this point I think it is looking good. Lee Waller.

Preproduction Process: Rough Animatic

In the previous post I showed some examples of the first three steps after the initial brainstorming and research phase. They included the script then thumbnails and then storyboards. Next we put together a rough soundtrack and then create a rough animatic from that. 

This animatic was created in Adobe Flash using the same parameters that will be used in the final animation.

The next step will be to look at the animatic for timing and other aspects. Does the dialogue work? What is missing? After initial views I'm pretty sure we'll be working on a score along with sound effects. The voice track is rough and we'll be re-voicing some of the parts. An animatic is a very good way to get a sense of what is working and what isn't before you get into too much work.

Preproduction Process: Script, Thumbnails, Storyboards

Here's a brief rundown of the preproduction process that I use in creating my animated shorts. Let me first say I've skipped talking about the research and brainstorming part. I may do a little about that in a later post. But after that part is done I write a script. This is page one of a two page script. It's a short about how a planet in our solar system was actually named Herschel for awhile. The highlights are there to help in the voice recording process. The handwritten notes and numbering are for the thumbnails and storyboards. 

 

From there I start thinking more about layout and animation by doing some rough thumbnails of the short or scene - if it is part of a longer animation. I begin with pages of these small frames and start drawing the thumbnails. If something is wrong I don't usually start with a new page, I just mark through the thumbnail I don't like and move on - as you can see with my very first thumbnail.  The short two-page script for this one took five and a half pages of thumbnails to layout the whole thing. 

 

Next I do rough storyboards. They are aobut 4 inches high by 7 inches wide. While the drawings for the storyboards are more detailed than the thumbnails they are still not what I'll use for the animatic. The numbers in the storyboards correspond to the ones in the thumbnails and on the script.  

 

I hope to have the animatic up within a couple of days or so. We are finishing up the rough soundtrack. The drawings are done mostly in Adobe Flash and  will be even more detailed than these storyboards. 

Animatic for SSSNAPPE #1

Here's a rough animatic for another SSSNAPPE segment. This one is entitled "Earth's Greatest Army Conquered by Half-Naked Snowboarders." There is a little issue with the soundtrack but we'll have that corrected shortly. 

Animatic for SSSNAPPE Intro

Here's an animatic for the SSSNAPPE introduction. SSSNAPPEs will be shorts hosted by the UG3 characters. It will give us a chance to test out voices, timing and how the chemistry between characters are working. The main host, Thunderstone, will be stop-motion animation while the others will be done in Flash, although the round monitors that they appear in will be stop motion also.

Here's a mock-up of the chair that Thunderstone is sitting in. The green domes are the monitors that rise up around him and hold the images of the other hosts.

Initial observations include: we need to up the acting with some of the voices, possibly add a music bed and tighten the timing.

We should have another rough animatic for the Half-Naked Snowboarders SSSNAPPE up soon.

Gaul Warrior - Turn Around and Head Shots

According to a reliable historian the Roman army faced an invasion from the Gauls in 390 BC (I think, I need to check my research). Anyway the Gauls came over the Snow covered Alps. In order to throw the usually calm, cool and collected Romans off their game the Gauls played the berserkers and in high style. They were either naked or half-naked (since this is a kid's show you can guess which version I'm going with), they shaved half their head and dyed the remaining hair white and painted their faces blue. Then to top it off they rode their shields down the slopes, into battle, waving their swords over their heads and screaming wildly. The Gauls won the battle and went on to sack the city of Rome - one of the few times in history the actual city was taken. 

So here is the preliminary turnaround of these guys. In the previous post I have a pencil test of one jumping onto his shield and shushing downhill. Next I'll take the character design and convert it to a broken apart symbol library in Flash and use the pencil test as a template for his animation. I'll post that when I get some of it done. 

Here's a close up detail of the heads.