Animating the scene and characters

After completing the environments and all the assets for the scene. I began animating it, using my storyboard as a guide on where cameras should go and what movements need to be done by the characters. I also imported the sound file given by the competition into 3Ds Max which gave me a soundwave on the timeline to look at. This was very helpful with matching up the voice acting with lipsyncing that I did later and also for timing the movements correctly so that they moved at a realistic speed.

The first thing I started animating was the movements of the character's body. I found this easy as the rig I was given has simple to manipulate body parts and sections. After completing this part of the animating I moved onto creating the facial expressions of the two characters, which I found to be easier now since I could time them with the body movements more effectively. However, for the eyebrows I had to replace them with my own eyebrows I created for the character as the ones that were on the premade rig seemed broken as I couldn't move them with the dummy on the control panel.

The final thing I animated was the lipsyncing, which was interesting to do as ive never tried matching animation up to a soundclip before so accurately. I found it relatively simple however, as the premade rig, with all its controllers, made it easy to move the mouth into the different shapes that the audio clip required.

 I split the animation up this way as it let me focus on different aspects of the animation properly and organize my keyframes in such a way that I knew what movements they performed at a quick glance.

After I had finished I converted the scene into a VRay scene ready to be rendered and added lighting to the scene. I changed and modified the render settings, camera properties and lighting in the scene until I achieved a dark, shadowy room in the render, which was suitable as it was supposed to take place inside of the basement lab.

After the render was completed, I imported the images into premier as an image sequence and made sure the settings allowed for high quality while still keeping the file size low. I also had to match up the audio again, as of course the images will not have retained the sound. After rendering it in premier I imported it into a program called 'Handbrake' which, by using a preset given by the competition, allowed me to convert it into a size, file type and file size that could be uploaded onto the site.

I have now uploaded the clip and am awaiting feedback from the viewers on the site and will write a conclusion based on that feedback and my own opinion of the project.

Character Clothes - Ghostbusters Jumpsuit

I began work on the clothes that will be used for both the characters in the animation. The planned design was to be the jumpsuit that they use in the film, complete with logo on the arm of the suit, since it is instantly recognizable and well known. I attempted to use skin wrap in order to attach it to the premade rig that I downloaded from the site. This will make it move and deform with any movements the characters do in the scene.

However, I encountered many bugs while doing this that have hindered my progress. While applying skin wrap and attaching the model to it, the clothes seem to deform to a good standard when moving the rig, with some minor geometry glitches in some places. While this could be fixed potentially quickly, another bug was found, where rending the model with it  moved would cause the clothes to snap back to its original place, and then undoing the action would cause the geometry to deform violently. 

This was a major glitch that could take a long time to find what the problem is and find a solution, and, given the time I have remaining for the project is just over a week, I decided it would be best to leave the clothes out and focus more on the animating, since that is the main focus of the project.

Character Clothing Modelling - Goggles

After the environment, I began work on the gear and clothing that the characters would use. This is important since it's one of the main things that will relate it to the Ghostbusters. I just started with box modelling the various different parts of the goggles separately  and then attached them to each other later. It was difficult to find the right texture for the lens, but in the end, I think the one ive selected suits the retro feel of the goggles and looks good with reflections applied to it. Overall im happy with this model as it's very similar to the goggles from the film and will suit its purpose nicely, without adding too much render time to the scene. The strap around the head will be added later when its imported into the main scene.

Environment Development - Lab

In preparation for the animation part of the project, I have started to work on the environment. I decided to keep to a lab/science theme to suit the context of the animation, since the Ghostbusters use a lab in the basement for the various tools and equipment they use before heading out. Although instead of modelling the complicated and dirty machines they have in the actual film, I went for a cleaner, simplier look since it will be faster and easier to animate. The environment is not the focus of the project, so it should be fine if it is not detailed. Also, I only modelled a specific section of the room, since that will be the only area that the camera will see so it would be unnecessary to  waste development time on other parts of the room.

Ghostbusters - Asset Research

Since my animation will focus mainly on the actual Ghostbusters, I have researched into the looks and style of the clothing and tools they use in the film. Since they are so iconic and memorable, it is important to get these elements right and accurate, as doing so will greatly improve the quality of the animation when it’s submitted and avoid any backlash and negative feedback from fans of the series viewing the work.

The first item I looked at is said to be the most iconic of the series, the goggles. It has a very strange shape, its lenses being very thin and long, and also the base of it is very boxlike in its looks. This is good for my project as it will be fairly simple to model and will save me a lot of time during production. Also the polygon count will be low, which is good for animation as there will be many frames in the animation and it saves on a ton of rendering time. Creating this tool will be a fairly quick process and shouldn’t cause too many problems.

As for the clothing and suit they use, it is similar to the goggles in that it is fairly simple and there’s not a lot of detail in the suit. All that’s required is a cloth jacket with a nametag, belt and Ghostbusters symbol on the side. This also will be fairly quick to model, and I could reuse clothes from my other project to save on time and effort.

The backpack however, is another story. It is littered with complex details everywhere that would require multiple extrusions in 3D or by using separate objects entirely. Texturing it will also be an issue, as there are many labels, cables and scratch marks all over the backpack. This process would take a long time, and for the effort, you wouldn’t see the backpack too often for that amount of time to be justified. The timespan I have been given would not allow for such a complex object as this and so I’ve decided to not use this one in my project, as the other two tools will be enough to demonstrate that the two people are Ghostbusters.

Competition Previous Entries Analysis – 11 Second Club

February 1^st place – Talented Scientist

http://www.11secondclub.com/competitions/february14/winner

The animation style for this winning entry is very exaggerated, especially with hand gestures and movements. Its facial expressions are also exaggerated, his eyes and eyebrows doing most of the work. It uses very quick motions (most likely to make up for the short video time) and has few camera cuts.

It uses a cartoony style which helps the exaggerated motions and also the humour that’s used in the video, since it’s quirky and a little slapstick (close to the end). The whole idea of the submission is quite simple, it just being a crazy looking inventor that seems to be making mistakes with his work.

With my own piece, I could also take the cartoony approach as I think it really helps with creating quick, exaggerated motions that will fit in the 11 seconds well. Also the idea behind my project really doesn’t have to be too complicated and outside of the box, (based on this submission being selected as the winner it just has to display a good use of animation and motion overall, and match up to the audio file effectively.

February 2^nd place – A night guard watches football during work

http://www.11secondclub.com/competitions/february14/entry/IaDGN9

Similar to the first place entry, its movements are also exaggerated, but not as cartoony and wild. It seems to focus on the environment moreso than the winning entry and has better lighting and textures for the objects around the room. This may be because the story is more focused on the environment than the other piece.

The first person that talks in the clip is hidden out of view, which could be used in my project to save time if need be, and save me from modelling two separate characters. Its humour is also slapstick, with the character being clumsy with the remote.

Project Brief

Employment Brief

11 Second Club – Short 3D Animation

Alex Webster

The project involves creating a 3D or 2D animation that is around 11 seconds long, and then upload it to the site. I will be given a 11 second sound clip that is pre-made by the competition owners and is taken from a famous film or TV show or some other kind of media. The animation can use any of my own models or environments, but I can also use a pre-made rig that can be downloaded on the site.

The rules of the competition are that I must use the sound clip provided, and no other sounds are to be added to the clip, although I may add silence to fill space at the beginning and end if necessary. Also, the file size must be under 10MB, as the site will automatically reject it if it’s any higher. My name and contact info are not allowed to be on the animation or anywhere in the video, as to make the voting fair. In addition, copyrighted characters, rigs or environments, unless I have the rights to use them, are especially not allowed. Finally, offensive images such as excessive gore, crude sexual humour or intolerance towards any culture, religion, gender, etc are strictly forbidden. Also political statements inside the animations will cause it to be disqualified also.

The animation has to be completed and submitted by the end of the month for each competition. The one I will be doing will end on March 31^st 2014. It is critical that it is handed in before this date, as entries will not be accepted after the deadline, and the submitted entries will be taken in and rated by the community. It must be of high quality by this date, with smooth animation, decent looking environments and it match up with the sound file effectively.

Throughout the project, I will be performing ‘review dates’ in which I will show my work, and check with my tutor that the project meets acceptable standards for the timeframe. Ill also use these dates to gather feedback from my peers by posting my work publicly and having them comment with feedback via Facebook or other medium.  In addition to this, the dates will server a second purpose, as they will be good milestones and guidelines for when certain sections of the project should be completed for, and help with time management throughout the project.

The budget for the project will be very low or cost nothing at all, since I most likely won’t need any external help from other designers, or purchase software I don’t already own. Since no money will be spent, the project will not have much risk, and therefore it may be less motivating to complete it to a high standard, but I will put as much effort in regardless, and attempt to complete it to a more than acceptable standard by the end of the project.

This project will be marketed towards people in the same work area as I am, which include a wide range of animators, from the students just learning the software and styles, to the professional animators in work and companies already. This means that the age range will be quite wide, but will be teenagers and above. They will be very critical of the work I submit, pointing out even the smallest details, such as the way the sounds match up to the animation or the timing of the animations themselves and the camera angles. This will be really helpful for my project as the feedback given when I have finished will be very constructive and informative, which will be put into my conclusion when I review the project as a whole.

Copyright may affect my project, since collecting textures for the project may be difficult in places, for example any food items or products will have to be fake, in or to not break any copyright laws. In the rules it specifically states that you are not allowed to have copyright material in the animation, so this is very important to avoid.

The purpose of this animation will be to entertain the viewer, most of this will be done through humour, using the characters expressions or actions to achieve this. It will also be done by thinking outside the box with ideas for what will fit the audio clip provided, and not just creating what would be obvious to the listener.

The various milestones in the project will involve creating the storyboard for the animation, creating the characters with clothing, creating the environment, animating the scene and then adding the sound to it. At each of these milestones, I will ask my peers and tutors to review and give feedback on them, so they can suggest improvements and I can judge the quality of the assets.

To determine whether the project was a success or not, when the animation is submitted, it will be rated by the community and commented and critiqued on. Since this is my main audience, I will use the feedback and ratings on the site as a measure of its success, and compare it to the other entries in the competition.