404 #9 - Looking Back

A final look back on the entire module.

I partially regret the angle I took for the final film project. If I were to go back, I think I would have gone with non-human characters, perhaps an actual hawk and maybe a mouse or rodent as the protagonist. I have never been spectacular with art of people, animation even less so, so I would have found it easier and it would have looked better I feel.

Throughout the module we also had to cater some inductions to relate to the 404 module, such as the 3D workshops, which I only found frustrating and irritating, as I did not enjoy doing any of the 3D work and it only made me resent the characters. We also had to try some various methods to assist us in the early parts of production, which I also did not like as I have my own methods to production that I like to use.

During the entirety of the 404 module, I have found which parts of productions I like most and which I don’t. I very much enjoy the writing and storyboarding parts of pre-production, especially first drafts as it’s the most open minded aspect of creation. I usually also like character design, but I found while making this film that I do not like designing human characters. Humans have a much bigger area of uncanny valley and same-face syndrome in their design and I have not had as much experience in studying the anatomy. I realised this pretty early on in the design stage, so I ended up designing The Hawk’s mask (who at the time did not have a name) to be like the raptor, which later influenced it’s name. The design of the mask ended up being a mix of low poly and masquerade ball type masks.

Animation-wise, I love doing the sketch layer of animation, both keys and in-betweens, as I find it to be the most raw, pure form of animation where everything is up for grabs in a way. Comparatively, I completely loathed doing the line work and colouring to a degree that majority of production delays were caused from procrastinating this section of the animation process. I very much found it to be like the difference between being the first to discover a new land versus a tourist.

I did actually like doing the editing, it’s something I find enjoyable, especially when I did the trailer for fun.

404 #8 - Finally Finishing

I completely finished all the editing and went over final touches on 18/05. It was so satisfying to finally be finished the film completely.

While re-watching the film for any mistakes, I did notice some light inconsistencies in regards to the shadows cast by the characters. In the first shot, Erin's running casts a shadow on the grass, but later shots do not aside from the one where she opens the gate. I noticed this only after re-watching after finishing the editing, and since it would take too much time to fix, I simply had to note it down for the evaluation and continue on with the other last bits of work.

Overall, I have some liking for the final product but most of it I don't like so much. I very much like the shots with The Hawk, his movements are much more subtle, so it was easier to make his shots smooth.

404 #7 - Editing

I began editing the final film before I'd even completed the last three sections of the film (out of ten). I partially completed what I had, placing in sfx and lining it up properly, but not placing in the completely constant sounds, like the cicadas or wind. I later added in the next two sections and the needed sfx, as well as the constant sounds I had decided to hold off on for the time being.

After finishing the animation on the final part, it was quite late at night (probably around 11pm) and I had no desire to finish the editing at that time, but out of my tired boredom, I began to edit an overly dramatic trailer instead. I finished it up by around 1am and I feel it shows.

The next morning I added in the last section and cobbled together the credit sequence as well.

404 #6 - Finishing all the Pieces

I finally finished all the animation for the short film. I cut down the animatic into individual parts to work on separately with a view to re-editing all the sounds and timings in post and slowly working through the animation.

I would spend about half a day, every day (from around midday to 9/10pm), animating from the time I was forced to move back home early due to the pandemic and the submission date. I ended up having to cut one shot simply because my predicted work time would mean I wouldn't be able to finish it all, but thankfully on the 18/05, I completely finished all the animated pieces.

404 Study Task #6 - Clay Modelling

To induct us into the 3D Workshops we had to create plasticine models of one of the characters from our short film. I created one of the antagonist, who had a final design at the time rather than the protagonist, although I didn't fully finish it on account of the error I made early on. When I put the first layer on, I completely covered it in the 'skin' layer rather than 'clothing' layer, so it prevented it from being able to be used in animation, although this was a common enough problem.

I quickly learned while doing this that I have absolutely no love of claymation or any form of stop motion animation. I found it increasingly frustrating and had extreme difficultly staying on task and motivated. I doubt I will return to this type of animation in the future.

404 #5 - Escape the Hawk Pitch Bible 2

Link here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzPS2B7U-6Q

402 #18 - Sparkshorts: Purl (2019)

Purl is a Pixar Sparkshort released in 2019 that is 3D animated. The plot centres around a ball of yarn joining a completely male human office and having to change herself to fit in, but then understanding that she should still be herself. Although the base message is a very repeated one of 'being yourself' the short is also clearly metaphorical for male dominated workplaces and the difficulty women can have being able to use those workplaces.

I quite liked the models in the short because of their detail. Purl and the other balls of yarn have those bits of fluff real material has, which I found really impressive, especially for a model intended for expressive animation.

Something I didn't like much about this short that I have some issue with in some other Pixar films is the backgrounds are more realistic and nice looking while the character models are overly cartoony in proportion and movement, which doesn't blend all that well. The humans models in this short fit in well enough since the proportions aren't too exaggerated, but Purl and the other yarn characters stick out style-wise too much.

I do very much like the animation motion of the yarn characters, as the humans all have weight and more restricted movement (like real life) but the yarn don't have bone structure or heavy weight, so the yarn characters have little weight, their limbs can get tied up, and the rest of their yarn can move if the string limbs are pulled or moved too much.

402 #17 - Sparkshorts: Kitbull

Kitbull is a 2D animated short created by Pixar for their Sparkshort program. The story centres on a black kitten who meets a pitbull used in dog fighting and their subsequent escape and adoption.

I love the art style of the animation, which uses lineless colour with a chalk type look to the backgrounds, giving the world a wonderfully relaxing look. The colours used as well are very vibrant that fully utilises the urban areas of a city with colourful graffiti and the more softer pastels of a main shopping street.

I have a very deep love of the character design in this short. The black kitten is incredibly expressive despite not having a visible mouth, it's all done through the eyes and the body language. Having grown up around a cat myself, I adored how the kitten plays and moves, since it's so accurate to how real life kittens will play and adds some humour to the silent character.

The design of the dog is quite parallel with the kitten, as he's much bigger, chunkier, and their colours and personalities are very contrasting, which gives him a more down-to-earth, relaxed feel to the character. In addition, his exaggerated happy expression really brings out the huggable side of dogs.

402 #16 - Sparkshorts: Float

Float is a Pixar Sparkshort released in 2019. The short focuses on a father after he discovers his son can float at will and his attempts at hiding him from everyone.

I love the animation of the kid floating, as understanding the physics of floating (such as in water) can be extremely difficult to pull off correctly. This is done especially well when the father attempts to force the kid to stay on the ground with weights and when the kid begins drifting around the house and pushing himself off various furniture. I also loved the attention to detail of the hair reacting to the kid's floating ability while the clothes only react to his actual motion.

The lighting within the house was rather underlit, perhaps intending to be visually metaphorical, but it actually ended up being too dark to really see, which was rather irritating.