Just thought I'd add a final entry about how the presentation went.
I was nervous about presenting our film to our peers as well as Hugh from PRA, and lecturers/tutors Josh and Lisa but at the same time I was really excited to see how it would be received.
I was worried that the quality of our finished film would be terrible compared to other groups because we started animating so close to the due date and ran out of time. But I was surprised to see that our presentation and our film were of a higher standard than some of the other groups, not to say they weren't good and a couple were outstanding. However, I think I expected more from other groups after seeing their work in progress presentations for assignment 3 and how much better they had been than our own.
I think our presentation went smoothly and all three of us are fairly confident and relaxed when it comes to public speaking so that definately helped and suited the laid back and comedic style of Nice Pear Studios.
Histoires Petite Pomme was received really well, we got a lot of laughs through out the film and even into the presentation, so we consider our job done.
I know that if we had started animating sooner the level of polish would be much higher and the film probably could have flowed better but lesson learnt.
I can't believe how fast this semester has gone! Feels like only yesterday we were learning to make a stick figure wave and I wrote my first post. DMIII was a great experience and I am really looking forward to working with some of my peers in the future whether in class or in our own time.
Cam.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
More from the cut wedding scene
I spent a lot of time on the other POV shot of the church interior for the wedding scene only for to realise that we didn't need that scene as the newspaper article sums up the scene and seeing as we were running out of time it was a good decision to cut the shot.
Originally Dr. Cue created by Jonno, I turned him into a priest for the wedding shot at the alter.
And of course Mr Pomme who needed to be dressed for the occasion!
Originally Dr. Cue created by Jonno, I turned him into a priest for the wedding shot at the alter.
And of course Mr Pomme who needed to be dressed for the occasion!
Digital Media III
Digital Media III is coming to a close with only our final film presentations and this blog to go.
Media lecturer Rob Cover suggested for me to do this course and I'd always wanted to learn how to animate so I decided to take the challange. It was certainly that. The amount I have learnt in this course has been huge, for some one who barely knew how to use Photoshop let alone Flash or Premiere it was a huge learning curve. I managed to pick up most the skills and thanks to the help of Lisa and Josh and their patience with me constantly asking questions I was able to improve on my very basic and nonexistent skills.
I was surprised at how quickly I picked up the basic Flash folio skills which will be useful in the future. I also found that I picked up using a Wacom tablet in Flash and the short cuts quickly. Once I actually began animating I became faster and was able to churn out several scenes in only a few days. Over all I am really happy with what I have learnt and proud of what I have achieved in this course, especially considering my lack of skills and knowledge in digital media at the beginning. I like a challange and would much rather be challanged than bored in a course.
However, it's not just the skills and knowledge tht I'll be taking away from this course but the networks and new friendships that I have made. The architecture school has a real sense of community which I feel Media as a course is really lacking. At the start of this course I knew one person in the class but he dropped out before assignment one was due. This was the first course that I have ever had group work in and although we had our differences and difficulties in getting started the members of Nice Pear Studios have become quite close and I hope to keep these connections after the course.
I have also made friends with members of other groups who I hope to work with in the future.
DM III has taken my love for art to a new level and I am even considering studying Digital media next semester. I'm still thinking about this though because we would be using 3DS Max for 3D animation and I know nothing about that. But if I can learn basic Flash skills in as little as a week and if I work with the right group then I'm sure I can achieve it.
I really like the lay out of DM III with the different assignments designed to meet certain dead lines and learning to work in a group.This is much more relevant to any industry than working alone, as was reinforced in the lectures creating something takes many individuals working together for example pre-production, production and post production levels and all the individual roles with in these such as sound, editing, mixing, animating, directing, producing and the list goes on. A project won't work with out communication and collaboration.
On the topic of the lectures, I really enjoyed the People's Republic of Animation lectures and their knowledge and experience as well as their contacts with people in the industry. The examples that we were shown in lectures were daunting but inspiring.
I definitely found not having my own lap top, the Adobe suite and at times even the internet at home a disadvantage as getting a computer in the school with the programs required was very difficult at times. However, over all DM III has been a fantastic, though stressful experience and I am really glad that I chose to study this course.
Media lecturer Rob Cover suggested for me to do this course and I'd always wanted to learn how to animate so I decided to take the challange. It was certainly that. The amount I have learnt in this course has been huge, for some one who barely knew how to use Photoshop let alone Flash or Premiere it was a huge learning curve. I managed to pick up most the skills and thanks to the help of Lisa and Josh and their patience with me constantly asking questions I was able to improve on my very basic and nonexistent skills.
I was surprised at how quickly I picked up the basic Flash folio skills which will be useful in the future. I also found that I picked up using a Wacom tablet in Flash and the short cuts quickly. Once I actually began animating I became faster and was able to churn out several scenes in only a few days. Over all I am really happy with what I have learnt and proud of what I have achieved in this course, especially considering my lack of skills and knowledge in digital media at the beginning. I like a challange and would much rather be challanged than bored in a course.
However, it's not just the skills and knowledge tht I'll be taking away from this course but the networks and new friendships that I have made. The architecture school has a real sense of community which I feel Media as a course is really lacking. At the start of this course I knew one person in the class but he dropped out before assignment one was due. This was the first course that I have ever had group work in and although we had our differences and difficulties in getting started the members of Nice Pear Studios have become quite close and I hope to keep these connections after the course.
I have also made friends with members of other groups who I hope to work with in the future.
DM III has taken my love for art to a new level and I am even considering studying Digital media next semester. I'm still thinking about this though because we would be using 3DS Max for 3D animation and I know nothing about that. But if I can learn basic Flash skills in as little as a week and if I work with the right group then I'm sure I can achieve it.
I really like the lay out of DM III with the different assignments designed to meet certain dead lines and learning to work in a group.This is much more relevant to any industry than working alone, as was reinforced in the lectures creating something takes many individuals working together for example pre-production, production and post production levels and all the individual roles with in these such as sound, editing, mixing, animating, directing, producing and the list goes on. A project won't work with out communication and collaboration.
On the topic of the lectures, I really enjoyed the People's Republic of Animation lectures and their knowledge and experience as well as their contacts with people in the industry. The examples that we were shown in lectures were daunting but inspiring.
I definitely found not having my own lap top, the Adobe suite and at times even the internet at home a disadvantage as getting a computer in the school with the programs required was very difficult at times. However, over all DM III has been a fantastic, though stressful experience and I am really glad that I chose to study this course.
Original Pitch Concept for Assignment 1
My original pitch concept for Assignment 1 was called "The Lighter Side" and was a story about a little girl (pictured) who's pet bug died.
Synopsis:
She is sitting alone on the kerb looking sad when a boy slightly older than her approaches her to play. When she doesn't respond the boy pokes her with a stick and she holds up the match box with her dead bug in it. He then drags her off the screen and the next shot is of them standing by a grave which they have just made for the bug. The boy puts his arm on the girl's shoulder but then pushes over, on to the ground. Instead of crying she jumps up and chases him off the screen because they are just two little kids with uncomplicated lives.
Concept:
I based this idea around my own feelings and thoughts on the themes of love, loss and friendship and the idea that good friends really can get you through the worst times in your life.
I still really like this idea and I think with a bit more practise, I might still bring this idea to life further down the track as my own side project.
Slap Chop!
DJ Steve Porter featuring Vince Offer - "Slap Chop Rap"
The guys in 508 must have been so sick of this being played over and over! All three of us found it hilarious and it was one of things that kept us going in the early hours of the mornings we spent in the architecture school.
We wanted to take part of this video and put it at the end of our film's credits with the woman at the end who says "chop chop chop" chopping our fruity characters. Would have been fantastic but unfortunately we ran out of time. Jonno did however make a quick film in flash of Monsieur Banane being chopped by a slap chop which is still to come!
The guys in 508 must have been so sick of this being played over and over! All three of us found it hilarious and it was one of things that kept us going in the early hours of the mornings we spent in the architecture school.
We wanted to take part of this video and put it at the end of our film's credits with the woman at the end who says "chop chop chop" chopping our fruity characters. Would have been fantastic but unfortunately we ran out of time. Jonno did however make a quick film in flash of Monsieur Banane being chopped by a slap chop which is still to come!
Facebook Group updates
Hey guys don't forget to check out the Nice Pear Studios Facebook group page for the latest updates on our animated film Hisoires Petite Pomme! Our presentation and premiere of our film is tomorrow so stay tuned to see the finished product :D
Film completion and release!!! Exciting stuff
Well it's done! Histoires Petite Pomme is complete as of the early hours of Tuesday morning. Simon Kong has completed the Flash folio and Jonno and I are working on completing the promotional package and presentation ready for tomorrow afternoon.
It was a hard slog of several late nights and then 40 hours straight in the computer room but we did it. I am happy with our final film but if we had started earlier we definitely could have improved several scenes and the overall quality of the film. Jonno did a great job editing the final cut and the song "I think I like you too" goes perfectly with the action and really helps create an up beat mood and fast pace.
Our class presentation and film premiere are tomorrow at 1pm an Fenji Lecture theatre so if you're free please come along and support Nice Pear Studios in our first film release.
Cheers,
Cam.
It was a hard slog of several late nights and then 40 hours straight in the computer room but we did it. I am happy with our final film but if we had started earlier we definitely could have improved several scenes and the overall quality of the film. Jonno did a great job editing the final cut and the song "I think I like you too" goes perfectly with the action and really helps create an up beat mood and fast pace.
Our class presentation and film premiere are tomorrow at 1pm an Fenji Lecture theatre so if you're free please come along and support Nice Pear Studios in our first film release.
Cheers,
Cam.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Changes!
Well the shot from the wedding (3 posts down) is now not in the film...just slightly annoyed considering I spent ages making new characters and dressing Mr Apple... *sigh* oh well... It is being replaced by the newspaper article, maybe if we'd had more sleep we would have thought of this earlier. On the positive side it means I don't have to do as much animating. yay?
Actually having a great time despite the stress, lack of sleep etc.
Actually having a great time despite the stress, lack of sleep etc.
NEWS!!! New Character and edit progress
He's awesome! Made him at some ridiculous hour this morning. I know I said there were other things to do but at the same time you have to have fun with it.
Well all-nighter it is. Jonno is currently working on the edit and I'm about to start on my final shot, the all important Monsieur Banane CU reaction shot after the reveal of Baby Banane. Simon is working on the first shot of the hospital scene. the end of the animating is in sight... BUT we still haven't started our Flash folio or begun editing our promotional package so not sure if we will have time and have to forfit the marks for that...hope not.
We've done amazingly well so far considering we only started last week but still much more work to do. Looking forward to sleep and a shower!
Better get back to work.
Mr and Ms Pomme's happy day.
If time I will add more wedding guests to the right hand side of the shot and animate Mr Pomme to kiss Ms Pomme but we still have more important shots to do and scenes to finish so they come first as this shot already tells a story and wont look so static with a zoom.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wedding Scene progress
Well Nice Pear Studios staff are practically living at university at the moment, many late nights. We have made great progress and things are coming along well. I've had several problems with Flash in the last 24-48 hours where files some how became 'read-only' and I wasn't able to export them as Quick Time files so I may have to copy and paste all the layers and frames into a new Flash file...very frustrating. Any way this is the Church Int. shot 1 but the background is about to change and it is not tweened yet so it's fairly rough but I'm sure you'll get the idea. We will continue editing tonight adding the music and SFX that Jonno and I have been gathering. I'm glad I have done editing before and had access to the media mac labs for the SFX library. I'm hoping to at least get a rough cut of the completed and semi completed scenes tonight. Better get back to work and fingers crossed that Flash doesn't crash on me again. If it does the whole of 508 will know about it! Cam :)
Ps. Ignore the first 4 second of the video, due to Flash crashing while I was saving I had to use an older version and haven't edited that yet. Left it in to show the shadow as Ms. Pomme will fade in.
Ps. Ignore the first 4 second of the video, due to Flash crashing while I was saving I had to use an older version and haven't edited that yet. Left it in to show the shadow as Ms. Pomme will fade in.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Premiere file and Flash work
Today I began work on the open page shot and tree scene in Photoshop and Flash so they are coming along well and will link up to Simon's work on the book opening and Jonno's work after Mr and Ms Apple meet.
I also opened an Adobe Premiere file and began to import the Flash .swf files that I had made so far including the pages of the book, the establishing shot of the tree and the two text shots.
In Premiere I learnt how to zoom in on clips, which is a lot quicker and easier than on Flash. However I will still need to do some of the zooms in Flash as I don't think you can zoom and pan at the same time on Premiere.
I also opened an Adobe Premiere file and began to import the Flash .swf files that I had made so far including the pages of the book, the establishing shot of the tree and the two text shots.
In Premiere I learnt how to zoom in on clips, which is a lot quicker and easier than on Flash. However I will still need to do some of the zooms in Flash as I don't think you can zoom and pan at the same time on Premiere.
Update
During the studio session today I continued work on the facial expressions, which I am also currently working on.
The last lecture was on film audio and the different ways of putting a soundtrack to a film and the different components of narration/vocal, SFX and music.
Our film will use SFX and music but will instead have subtitles rather than voice actors. We have so much work to do in a week and it's all so time consuming.
I am going to go to the media Mac labs to source some sound effects from the Apple Library that I used for a film in one of my media courses last year. I filmed and edited my 3 min film on my own and it took me a long time. I know I can edit a 1-2 min animated film but don't see where I/we can find the time to do that if we haven't even got a whole scene animated.
Currently I am working on the close up facial expressions of Mr Apple and Monsieur Banane, finding SFX and working out rough subtitles and credits for the film, Simon is working on animating the first scene of the page turning and Jonno is working on the Flash folio and promotional package as well as animating the environments.
Fingers crossed it all starts to come together.
I have set aside all of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to work on the film, this meant cancelling shifts that I was finally rostered on for at work which I badly need.
If I was to do a course like DMIII in future I would definately opt to work on my own or in a pair because having a group of three makes communication far more difficult.
I know that it will come together OK in the end but I would have liked to do better than just OK. Plus leaving things til the last minute means I miss out on other things like work and a friend's 21st this Saturday. Oh well.
The last lecture was on film audio and the different ways of putting a soundtrack to a film and the different components of narration/vocal, SFX and music.
Our film will use SFX and music but will instead have subtitles rather than voice actors. We have so much work to do in a week and it's all so time consuming.
I am going to go to the media Mac labs to source some sound effects from the Apple Library that I used for a film in one of my media courses last year. I filmed and edited my 3 min film on my own and it took me a long time. I know I can edit a 1-2 min animated film but don't see where I/we can find the time to do that if we haven't even got a whole scene animated.
Currently I am working on the close up facial expressions of Mr Apple and Monsieur Banane, finding SFX and working out rough subtitles and credits for the film, Simon is working on animating the first scene of the page turning and Jonno is working on the Flash folio and promotional package as well as animating the environments.
Fingers crossed it all starts to come together.
I have set aside all of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to work on the film, this meant cancelling shifts that I was finally rostered on for at work which I badly need.
If I was to do a course like DMIII in future I would definately opt to work on my own or in a pair because having a group of three makes communication far more difficult.
I know that it will come together OK in the end but I would have liked to do better than just OK. Plus leaving things til the last minute means I miss out on other things like work and a friend's 21st this Saturday. Oh well.
Monday, May 31, 2010
STRESSING!!!
Ok I'm seriously going to start pulling my hair out soon. I really hope that the boys have something to show me tomorrow when they show up...
Great I've just been told by Simon that they both want to change the ending...the film is due in a week...Anybody else see something wrong with this?
I think to change the ending (apart from being near impossible time wise) distracts from the punch line of the joke which is the whole storyline of our film. I can not wait until this is over.
Great I've just been told by Simon that they both want to change the ending...the film is due in a week...Anybody else see something wrong with this?
I think to change the ending (apart from being near impossible time wise) distracts from the punch line of the joke which is the whole storyline of our film. I can not wait until this is over.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Assignment 4 Results
I got a Credit for my Promotional Package, Assignment 4 and I was happy with this. I spent a lot of time on Assignment 4, especially after I realised that a lot of my previously made Photophop files were low resolution (thanks to being misinformed on previous assignments). There wasn't enough time to fix everything though, which meant one of my posters looked pretty terrible and I wasn't happy with it. But I was fairly happy with the assignment in general.
I also learnt more bits and pieces in Photoshop for example how to dress up text by putting in drop shadows and other basics that I should really know already. So generally a good learning curve.
I was really happy with my third poster (pictured), the back of my DVD cover and fairly happy with my production stills.
Progress...?
Well there's only about two weeks left of the semester and it's certainly crunch time...oh dear.
Over the last week or so I have completed the facial expressions for Monsuier Banane. I gathered reference material and looked at my own facial expressions in a mirror before drawing them by hand. I then used these sketches as a reference to draw the expressions into flash using a Wacom tablet. This is only the second time I have used one of these tablets.
Yesterday I made the text scenes "A Short Time Later..." and "Nine Months Later..." for our film Histoires Petite Pomme. These Were quick and easy and it felt good to at least start something on our film. We are having a Nice Pear Studios meeting with Josh today to sort a few things out regarding our film, mainly who is doing what and actually starting the thing.
I am still worried about the level (or lack) of my skills and the ability to get our film done on time.
I'm looking forward to opening our Adobe Premier file and beginning to piece it together but of course this means actually having something to piece together.
I have been sick for at least two weeks straight and like every other student have several major assignments due all at one...I know I know excuses, excuses but it's still extremely stressful. I always aim higher than just passing a subject but I really hope that I do pass Digital Media III.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Nice Pear Studios - Facebook Group
Nice Pear Studios - Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=102916273080199&view=user#!/group.php?gid=102916273080199
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=102916273080199&view=user#!/group.php?gid=102916273080199
Working on Assignment 4
First in a series of three posters for a Histoires Petite Pomme promotion package.
Camilla Kilbane 2010,
Nice Pear Studios.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Week 5: Flames
My Flame Test week 5
Open flame file from MyUni in Flash
Create shape tween
Click on frame 1
modify-> shape->add shape hint (short cut ctrl+shift+H)
move the red shape hint letter symbol 'a' to first point (start at bottom left hand corner and work clockwise is a good idea).
Repeat for all points on flames (letter symbols will become green when done correctly)
Stretch frame 5 to 10
Copy frames 1-10 and Paste in frames 10-20
Create Shape Tween (by repeating 'add shape hint' process above for frames 10-20)
OPEN flame texture (saved on desktop from MyUni)
New Layer
File->Import->Import to stage->
Drag flame texture layer below flame layer
Mask flames with flame texture
Below is my finished product:
Open flame file from MyUni in Flash
Create shape tween
Click on frame 1
modify-> shape->add shape hint (short cut ctrl+shift+H)
move the red shape hint letter symbol 'a' to first point (start at bottom left hand corner and work clockwise is a good idea).
Repeat for all points on flames (letter symbols will become green when done correctly)
Stretch frame 5 to 10
Copy frames 1-10 and Paste in frames 10-20
Create Shape Tween (by repeating 'add shape hint' process above for frames 10-20)
OPEN flame texture (saved on desktop from MyUni)
New Layer
File->Import->Import to stage->
Drag flame texture layer below flame layer
Mask flames with flame texture
Below is my finished product:
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Apples go bananas
It's nearing the end of the second week of the mid-semester break and we are fast running out of time to work on Assignment 3, our 'work-in-progress'.
I am working with Simon Kong and Jonathon Hyde-Neary on our short animated film about a love affair between an apple and a banana.
Our animation company is called Nice Pear Studios and you can follow us on Facebook. Click here to become a member:
After a fairly major set back on Assignment 2 due to collaboration via email and Facebook due to Simon being in Malaysia, I feel we have made good head way on Assignment 3 despite the late start.
So far we have given our film a title, it is no longer known as 'the film about apples and bananas' but 'Histoires Petite Pomme' which is french for Little Apple Stories. The three of us decided on this title and the french theme as it really suited our romantic fairy tale with a naughty sexy twist.
This week we have been madly working on our back grounds and finalising our characters which we will use to put the story board and animatic together.
Our visual style is a mix of textures including paper I have scaned into Photoshop, photos that have been texturised and other effects and drawings. This style adds to our 'children's story book gone wrong theme'.
I have been designing Mr Banana who is now 'Monsieur Banane', I will upload a jpeg file of my work in progress.
Today I found some music on Creativecommons.org that I think will be perfect for the credits and to use for our animatic. While on audio, I think we are aiming for french voice overs with english subtitles or a silent film with music and english subtitles. You can listen to the song here:
The song is called 'Marie-Claire' by french group Elfes.
We'll better get back to working on Monsieur Banane and final touches on two of my backgrounds.
Cam.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I unfortunately managed to miss the entire two hour tutorial yesterday but managed to catch up fairly well today animating our fat kaiser character thanks to Lisa and her very detailed hand out.
I came up with a few ideas for my pitch a while ago but as of last week have decided to go with a light hearted approach on my themes of life, loss and friendship.
The style will be a blend of children's drawings, stick figures, anime and Disney. Now all I have to do is get the images from my head to the page and some days are better than others for this.
I started my story board at the end of last week and I already know what my main shots will be so it's on to developing my characters.
I came up with a few ideas for my pitch a while ago but as of last week have decided to go with a light hearted approach on my themes of life, loss and friendship.
The style will be a blend of children's drawings, stick figures, anime and Disney. Now all I have to do is get the images from my head to the page and some days are better than others for this.
I started my story board at the end of last week and I already know what my main shots will be so it's on to developing my characters.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Week 1: New and Scary
Well where do I begin? At the start I suppose. We have just finished our second tutorial of the first week. This is the first time I have actually created anything in Flash and I have to say I was scared about starting this course. I thought that every one else would know what they were doing and I wouldn't but after today's studio session I am begining to feel more confident.
In Tuesday's tutorial we learnt how to make a basic stick figure wave and then I attempted to make a second 'evil' figure kick, which was amusing. It wasn't brilliant but it was fun and I learnt a lot, for example the short cuts which I am already using for everything so I'm trying to take as many notes as I can during classes.
In today's tutorial we animated a ball, making it bounce across the screen. Below is my animation from class. I even managed to make the ball more relaistic by squashing it as it lands and stretching it in the frame just after it bounces, quite proud of my self.
In Tuesday's tutorial we learnt how to make a basic stick figure wave and then I attempted to make a second 'evil' figure kick, which was amusing. It wasn't brilliant but it was fun and I learnt a lot, for example the short cuts which I am already using for everything so I'm trying to take as many notes as I can during classes.
In today's tutorial we animated a ball, making it bounce across the screen. Below is my animation from class. I even managed to make the ball more relaistic by squashing it as it lands and stretching it in the frame just after it bounces, quite proud of my self.
Yesterday we had our first lecture for the course where guest speaker Brodie McCrossin Animation Director from People's Republic of Animation showed us several clips and short animated films. There was one clip that stood out to me, which was the Panda flying away. I thought it was amazingly well done and so effective for such a short clip.
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