Stray short

Stray short film from iAnimate on Vimeo.

Nice little short. I think the timing of the end is wrong, i think the audience should of found out about the dog after the character and not before. However, the reason for posting this is because he shrugs twice, and this has been a piece of trivia within my own practice. At 2.17 he does a very subtle one that is also masked with a sighing subtext, and then again at 4.04. This latter action is more significant because it shows the thought process (Confusion!) followed by a choice. 

From 2.27 the walk he does is almost identical to what i was trying to achieve in that he walks and goes down to knee level to take a closer look. However, his use of rhythm in easing into the object is evident where as mine isn't, and it is this slowing down in rhythm that i want to achieve. From the steps to the floor there is 4 steps in about a second, and from the bottom of the steps there is 7 steps in about 5 seconds which ease out. Something i am going to have to consider in amending my next artefact.

Artefact 06 & 07

Artefact06 from Adam Weaver on Vimeo.

Artefact 07 from Adam Weaver on Vimeo.

Artefact 06 was another test using the animal characteristic method which is a result from the feedback from artefact 04 and the reference material. They feedback was that they wanted it to be slower. Artefact 07 was focused specifically on gesture and not trying to create a personality. It's purpose was to create the sense of being stuck through a singular action (which has been cycled). This worked well and although this isn't directly linked to performance in character terms, it applies itself to the rhythmic and narrative corners of the project.

The revised pieces (Artefact 05) still had issues which may be addressed if time permits but as they are smaller elements of a piece i want to produce for the PGC stage, they could also be addressed directly within the piece. The feedback was that the red ball that shrugs should remove the 't-shirt' (ball of the each shoulder) and focus on performance rather than shape. This asks an interesting question about at what point does an object stop being one and start to become another, and it seems to be that features that are not present in the primary form should either be their permanently or avoided full stop. 

My next step basically involves me drawing back all the information i have researched and experimented with in this initial stage and synthesis this into a piece of animation expressing confusion through performance, which will have a strong rhythm influence which will express character through abstract and non-abstract elements, whilst providing linear and cyclical narrative forms. This is quite a large experiment, but i hope to uncover the limitations of working relationships with all of these elements, and to see if both external and internal ideas can work together to improve storytelling.

MA Artefact 01

So here is the second pass at the scene i have been working from. As an artefact, this has been built up using the pipeline that is taught at animation mentor. The idea of this first artefact was use reference footage to improve timing and spacing of my animation. The feedback was that the resulting action spaced out effectively but was very pantomime in the gestures. There is quite a bit of over-action and not enough refinement or internal monologue coming from the character. Looking back over the other elements of the artefact highlighted issues with the character design and the reference material. The design of the character did not take into consideration both the aesthetic and movement required. This will no doubt be a result of the character being designed without a specific goal and prior to the narrative I had conceived. There were several issues i had during the generation of the two passes, mainly caused by the size of the hands. The pointing finger dominated much of the scene, which I think is why there is such feeling of over action, which isn't aided by the slight walks in each direction; the latter is a result of the reference footage shot. The footsteps timing was used as the foundation for the performances pacing. A positive offset of this was that the weighting felt much stronger than i have previously done. What was interesting was driving all of this was my own internal monologue; from character design and reference footage of myself.

The other issue i came across was the characters break for the thought process. I noticed while animating that it was far too quick but thought I’d run with it as it kept with the rhythm of the piece. This was noticed by my supervisors, which prompted a discussion regarding my interests. In truth i was waiting for the issue (of the thinking time) to be raised. At the time i knew it was wrong, but my own stimulation from watching it flow overrode (and it represents a good limitation of live-action reference). However, as discussed at the very start of the project that sounds influence on timing and spacing was my primary interest, and after revising it towards my longer-term aspirations, that of character performance, we established that it could actually could be the primary focus of the research, and the others - performance, timing and confusion as secondary purposes that ultimately feed the project. I feel it is good to have made this distinction because it helps build the context and direction towards what I am trying to achieve.

The narrative of the piece was a play on the virtual puppet being given constant (Rhythmic) instructions. Upon meeting the crossroads (A Glitch in the system) he suddenly has to think for himself, which creates the confusion. One question asked was, is the performance right for the story? By this, was the consistent rhythm right? To pull this back to the internal monologue, surely the reaction would be more reserved and frozen up upon reaching the glitch, which is true, I feel it would have been better in that regard also. To conclude, this artefact shows why reference material should be suitable for the narrative. It also signifies the importance of designing and producing a character fit for purpose. It has also highlighted that on some subconscious level I am stimulated and engaged through rhythm through other purposes than just storytelling in a large studio process.

Next step: I am going to produce some really short pieces of a character showing confusion. To increase productivity and to start thinking about how rhythm can be expressed with narrative.