503 #3 Rust Bucket's Design

When designing Rust Bucket, I looked at various robot designs for inspiration, gathering them together into a moodboard with some light notes.

I kept it to canine/feline-esque structures as they waere always intended to be a pet, then narrowed it down to junkyard aesthetics, using scrap for material and keeping everything bare bones as their character origin is a robotic companion/guardian built using what little their creators could find.

I went over some design ideas, since the base structure was canid in nature, that was the easiest part. Since the Peace-Keeper had a sharper, more rigid design, I changed the base silhouette to a smoother, more streamline design, using more rounded edges and circular structures. 

Personally, I find the head to be the most important part, as Rust Bucket can't talk or make expressions, the head and movement will be doing all the work, so I went over a few different ideas for the head shape. 

The back legs were the easier part, although I tried a few different ideas for the front legs.

Once I had the basic shape structure, I went on to creating a more detailed design. I kept the first round greyscale to make sure the colours didn't blend together too bad. I wanted the legs to be different lengths, since Rust Bucket is a robot built from salvaged scrap, it would be hard to find everything exactly right, although I may drop the idea when I model to save on rigging and animation headaches.

Once I had that, I added some better colour differentiators, blue for wires and red for rust, mostly just to help with the lining/colouring of the design later.

I lined and coloured the turnaround with the final colour palette.

Next I started on a model sheet to show the extent of Rust Bucket's movement. A jump to show the extend of the hind leg stretches and a play pose to show how they would express themself.

503 #2 Script

I took on the role as writer on the project. While writing the script, I described some camera shots and movements that I thought would look better, but I left many open to the storyboard artist for their creative input. Although I am the director, I want everyone to have their own creative input and ideas in the short.

FADE IN:

INT. LIZZIE'S ROOM (EARLY MORNING)

LIZZIE's room is small, barely fitting a bed and a desk of drawers. On top of the drawers is a framed photo of her parents holding out RUST BUCKET to a young LIZZIE, although the glass is cracked slightly. A small dirty window without curtains is the only source of light.

LIZZIE sits up, then gets out of bed, which wakes RUST BUCKET wake and stand up. She grabs a cloak and a bag and exits the room, RUST BUCKET close behind her, the door closes.

CUT TO:

EXT. INNER CITY STREET (MORNING)

The street is crumbling, very patchwork buildings and the street and pavement are full of potholes. There are quite a few people walking around, all looking tired and their clothing so filthy it's hard to tell the cloth from the skin and it's just as patchwork as the buildings. Propaganda posters are everywhere, one of which is brightly coloured picture saying "What will you do on our weekly day off?"

LIZZIE and RUST BUCKET walk down the street with much more energy than anyone else.

CUT TO:

EXT. INNER CITY INTERSECTION (MORNING)

LIZZIE and RUST BUCKET stop at an intersection and look at a street to one side. It's been blocked off by a metal wall with barbed wire and very big, very obvious 'Stay inside' signs. LIZZIE comes closer, trying to look through the gaps to see the other side, while RUST BUCKET is trying to pull her away, glancing nervously at around.

LIZZIE looks behind for anyone watching before pulling a sheet of looser metal open and slipping through, beckoning RUST BUCKET to follow her. They do, but looks very uneasy.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTER CITY INTERSECTION (MORNING)

We see LIZZIE and RUST BUCKET walk on through a security camera. Someone is watching them.

CUT TO:

INT. UNKNOWN STATION

A charging PEACEKEEPER, too close and in too much dark to see clearly, opens its eyes and growls a little.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTER CITY STREET B (AFTERNOON)

LIZZIE enters a half collapsed building, RUST BUCKET trying to drag her back initially, but when she gets through to the rubble RUST BUCKET hangs back, clearly not too crash hot about wading through rubble. They sit back, watching LIZZIE carefully.

A bit of rubble shakes and falls to the ground with a clatter. RUST BUCKET sees it and looks up the street. Something big is coming.

RUST BUCKET gets LIZZIE's attention, trying to signal for them to go. LIZZIE looks confused, but the sound of the PEACEKEEPER's roar makes them both freeze.

Instantly, the two of them are running down the street.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTER CITY STREET B END (AFTERNOON)

LIZZIE and RUST BUCKET make it to the end of the street, about to turn the corner when the PEACEKEEPER jumps out to block their way.

It stares at LIZZIE's face for a moment, studying it, before roaring. LIZZIE and RUST BUCKET run down an alleyway, but too late they realise it ends on the Outer Wall.

The PEACEKEEPER stalks closer.

LIZZIE takes a step back and the ground collapses under her, leaving her in an abandoned, rusted pipe in a trench, with upward facing broken pipes close by. There are sounds of a fight overhead, until the PEACEKEEPER stands upright trying to shake RUST BUCKET loose, causing them both to fall right on the pipe-spikes.

The PEACEKEEPER 'dies' instantly, but RUST BUCKET is still alive, dying, but alive for now. LIZZIE reaches for them, but RUST BUCKET just motions for her to go on without them.

LIZZIE looks through the pipe she's in, seeing a light from the other side of the Outer Wall. She crawls through, emerging from the dark pipe to the Outer World. It's bright, and colourful, and vast. LIZZIE stares in awe at it, tearing up. With a glance back at the Inside World, she walks out into the Outer World.

The shot shifts to a camera, then zooms out to a monitor showing the camera feed. Someone switches off the monitor and pulls out a video tape with tape on it that reads FILE FOOTAGE: CITIZEN 202

:FADE TO BLACK

 

501 Animism #2

 

I added a sketchy background that relies more on volume to create a sense of life rather than solid line

501 Animism #1

As part of the research/experiment tasks of 501, I created an anthropomorphic character using a saber-toothed cat (Smilodon). Just a very simple, sketch animation of the character yawning.

Storyboard Pro Study Task

 Just to test out the Storyboard Pro software I created a short animatic looking at a mountain range inhabited by a dragon

501 #1 - Initial Ideas

3D Modelling in Games

Digital 3D is a very new medium. The first 3D models were created in the 1960's, only done by professionals in computer engineering and were purely mathematical rather than for entertainment. Sutherland's program Sketchpad was a revolutionary way to create 3D models and he later opened the first department of computer technologies in Utah, which has educated many professionals that have since developed the industry, such as the current head of Walt Disney Animation Studios; Edwin Catmull.

Battlezone was the first 3D game success released in 1980 that used vector graphics to create a sense of three dimensions. It was visually simplistic but so realistic at the time that the US Army used it for training purposes.

Games from this time were very simplistic because of the limited technology. 

By the early 90's, 3D was improving, but still faced limitations, triangular polygons, blocky animation, practically no lip-syncing, and abysmal textures.

With improved technologies, 3D modelling can push to hyper-realistic standards, with better textures and infamously hard to model and animate things like fire and water becoming better looking and the way they interact with character models much more realistic.

3D Animation in Games

In the 80's, video games were simplistic arcade games. Models were 8-bit and animations were essentially just basic keys to save on space. Although towards the end of the 80's games had some additional animations, like attacks and unique enemies.

The 90's saw advances in 3D, which forced animation to jump forward as well. Actions which previously would consist of a single pose now required continuous movement, like jumping, attacking, throwing, even standing still. It improved throughout the decade.

The 2000's was the decade of the Playstation 2, the Xbox, and later on, the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. Games like Tekken 5 had more unique attacks that had required more intricate animation, and others like Grand Theft Auto 3 had large open worlds that the player could interact with, meaning the old base animations of walking, running, jumping, and attacking were simply not enough anymore.

2010's and onwards saw more complex hardware that allowed for better rigs that gave animators much more control, as well as the use of motion capture to create better movement. Games like The Last of Us with complex animations even when the character stands idle or Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor with unique facial animations on every character in the game. 3D animation in games now means nothing is stationary.

Prus. I (2016) What Is 3d Modeling? Things You’ve Got To Know Nowadays. Available at: https://archicgi.com/product-cgi/3d-modeling-things-youve-got-know/#:~:text=History%20of%203D%20Modeling,Sutherland%2C%20the%20creator%20of%20Sketchpad. (Accessed: 05/10/2020)

PC Plus (2010) The evolution of 3D games. Available at: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/gaming/the-evolution-of-3d-games-700995/2 (Accessed: 05/10/2020)

Pluralsight (2014) Evolution of Animation in Video Games. Available at: https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/80s-now-evolution-animation-video-games (Accessed: 09/10/2020)

503 #1 - Treatment Document

File: Citizen 202 (Working Title)

Logline: 

A curious young girl and her mechanised companion explore the dystopian city past it’s limits, but that is strictly against the rules. The enforcement sends out their best and most dangerous peacekeeper to stop her before it’s too late.

Concept:

Far in the future, the majority of the population are suppressed by an authoritarian oligarchy, forcing the working class into poverty and dilapidated living conditions, terrifying them with military power that destroyed half the city to fight their scapegoats. Unbeknownst to them, there is much freedom outside their walls, which the ruling class want hidden at any cost.

One young girl is the child of two mechanical engineers who crafted her a robotic companion to accompany and protect her, which is rather necessary given her intense curiosity about the world beyond. Using her skills at navigating the city, she comes across a way through to the outside, finding luscious greenery overgrowing around the decaying ruins of what was once her people’s home.

However, she is being watched by cameras and soon a powerful and dangerous Peacekeeper is tracking her. It finds her, intent to kill, but her companion sacrifices itself so she can escape. Now outcast from the city and grieving the loss of her companion and possibly her family, she disappears into the outside world.

Key Characters:

Protagonist: Young Girl (Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’)

• Citizen 202

Lizzy is a curious, brave but reckless young girl of approx. 10 years old, marked by the enforcement as ‘Citizen 202’. She begins happily moving outside from her house with her companion, she is an orphan with her parents' picture shattered on the floor as she traverses outside. 

As she explores, she comes across the border to the Outer City and crosses over in her curiosity. She continues her Journey towards the edge of the outer city as the Peacekeeper appears behind them, she slowly moves back as the hollow ground collapses to the touch. As the companion and the Peacekeeper fight, she traverses the trench on rusty old pipes still connected to the outside world.

She looks back to see her companion fall into the trench with the peacekeeper, saddened but knowing there is no way back she continues towards the unknown outside world to begin a new adventure. Character development of moving on from unfortunate circumstances and becoming independent from others such as her companion who forces this upon her to continue into the new world.

Side Character: Companion

• Rust ‘Rusty’ Buket 

Energetic, bouncy, very dog-like, and rather cowardly, he is quite scrappy, having been crafted from spare parts recycled from junkyard. He was created as a companion, pet and protector for Lizzy. Throughout the short, it attempts to stop Lizzy from hurting herself, and if she ever gets in trouble, he is quick to follow and help her, finally sacrificing his life to keep the Peacekeeper from hurting her. 

Through the short, we see Rusty being rather cowardly, wanting to avoid anything dangerous, even if it’s fun, but by the end, he sacrifices himself to protect Lizzy. At the end of the short, he pushes her to leave the city entirely, letting her go in his trust that she will be fine without him.

Secondary Antagonist: Peacekeeper

• P3^C3-K33PR

Loyal, aggressive, short fuse, rigid and mechanical in movement, sharper, sleeker design, Cerberus-type structure. It’s very fast, can climb vertical walls, has high stamina, sensitive sight and hearing, and is very strong.

Initially passive-aggressive but quickly becomes more aggressive as orders are ignored.

Primary Antagonist: The Enforcement

Not shown in the short

Acts:

Act 1 / Beginning - Inner City

Lizzy and Rusty explore the city coming across the border to the outer city.

Act 2 / Middle - Outer City / Ruins

Filled with curiosity they cross over, being caught on CCTV by Enforcement

Act 3 / Chase - Both pursued by Peacekeeper through ruins. Rusty sacrifices themself distracting the peacekeeper allowing for Lizzy to escape.

Act 4 / End - Outside, greenery

Lizzy falls through ground into a trench, crawls into a pipe, leading to outside the city.

Epilogue:

Throughout the story including the working title of the film it is shown to be a surveillance camera video of an incident that occurred with Citizen 202. After the defeat of the peacekeeper and the girl’s escape it gives a cliffhanger on what possibly could happen next as the enforcement are aware that she has escaped. 

The girl developed her own independence as a sort of coming of age style ending with the saddened loss of her companion. The ending is widely open to the audience's imagination. An example of this is that they will increase the standards of their security to prevent such an incident happening again leaving a more somber and dark moment for everyone else within the city.

Roles:

Nadia Mackenzie:

Director, Scriptwriter, 3D Animator, 3D Modeller, Sound Designer, Renderer

Thomas Sibson:

3D Animator, 3D Modeller, Editor, Rigging, Texturing, Renderer

Pippa Croft:

Background Artist, 2D Animator, Storyboard Artist