Final Project Pitch: Mr Deadal

Final Project Pitch: Mr Deadal

Figure 1:Galaxy perspective: https://www.spaceanswers.com/deep-space/new-image-release-hubbles-weird-perspective-of-a-spiral-galaxy/

The main idea for my final film at this point is a partly-animated film told from the perspective of an alien who has come to Dundee and can see various views of abstract life in inanimate objects such as walls and other still matter.   The film will primarily feature a mixture of 2D animation and 3D animation, and the mood and colour scheme will be very much dependant on what the mood of a scene is and how it will represent the character's state of mind.  The genre of the film will primarily be science-fiction, as well as filmic art, with the intention of the film to showcase perspectives.  The semantic elements featured in the film will include an alien landing on earth, as well as supernatural abilities unique to that individual.  The syntactic elements of the film will include certain traces of nature vs artiface, as well as nature vs culture and finally the concept of an individual against a community.  These themes are relevant to me because of my position within the group as someone who is more inexperienced with animation than my colleagues, and I want to expand upon this in the film.

 

 Figure 2: Berlin wall film projections: https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2020/may/07/windowflick-berlin-screenings-in-pictures

One of the main visual ideas I have for the film at present is the utilisation of a 3D motion tracker to screen the animations on the walls.  Having practised this animation type before in After Effects, I can confirm that the incorporation of the footage into live action will be considerably easier than creating the animations themselves.   This influence was chosen because of how the buildings can act like windows that offer glimpses into other things can appear to certain people.  The projections will be somewhat reliant on the flat walls to project themselves clearly and smoothly.  It will connect to the theme of alienation considering the character is the only one in the film who can see the animation.  This kind of animation will be hand-drawn in order to fit the reflective textures, as well as to give a feeling of nostalgia.

 

Figure 3: United Airlines "A Life" Advert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0_g2Ur5Uhc

Another visual idea I have for the representation of tranquility is a reflection of someone working peacefully on a train as it traverses a tranquil green area.  This is relevant to me because of the work that I used to do over the summer on my computing course and the sense of joy it brought, as I was working whilst the world was passing by.  This will be a representation of content calmness in the character and the joy of productivity.  The animation will be reminiscent of studying music animations that are traditionally set to calming music which allows the mind to focus and achieve a state of positivity, which is the kind of environmental feedback I wish to connote.

 

Figure 4: Animated still of student at work: https://www.whathifi.com/features/8-best-study-playlists-for-work-concentration-and-focus

This animation is used as a reference because of how it shows the figure in a state of tranquility at work, and this is the kind of atmosphere I want to achieve in my particular animation.

One of my favourite animated films that I want to draw from in terms of connotation and style-resemblance is Logorama.  The film depicts a recreation and interpretation of Los Angeles as an environment recreated entirely in corporate logos, with over 2000 logos featured in total throughout the whole film.  This invokes an immediate aura of surreality and societal commentary.  The logos and characters are featured in controversial combinations, such as the main antagonist of Ronald Mcdonald being a metaphor for American capitalism confronting communism.  Maya was used to render the animations in the film, and the crew filmed footage of themselves to build the characters on top of.  This footage would then have a skeleton placed on top to guide the animators.

 

Figure 5: Logorama in English

Finally, a major influence for my film will be the music video for Coldplay's Up and Up.  The video is a surreal juxtaposition of images of nature stitched together with modern life, with shots featuring a turtle flying through a train station, and a butterfly perched upon an oil rig.  The underlying political message of the video is that man, beast and planet should live together more harmoniously. The video was directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia and won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects.  This has influenced my project because of the juxtaposition of the normally completed unrelated objects leading to the theme of surreality, which is something I want to highlight in my film.

 

Figure 6: "Up and Up" music video

 Tools to use 

 

Figure 7: Animation sample of Blue Whale:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThfcIv4Ffj8

For the current idea I have for a money shot (a shot used as the main attention grabber to be used in a trailer to attract a mass audience), there will be a blue whale slowly emerging from the River Tay and spouting.  This is meant to be a kind of goof given the dimensions of a blue whale would most surely clash with the depth of the river as well as the distance between the pillars on the Tay Road Bridge, which would provide insufficient room for the whale to move around in reality.  This is also intended to be a reference to Dundee's history, as Scott of the Antartic voyaged from Dundee and the RSS Discovery is still ported by the V and A on the riverside.  This would need to be done using a 3D modelling software, and I have evidence that people have created a similar looking model in Maya, and added textures and fine details in Zbrush.  I realise that I will need to produce the footage entirely from scratch.

I also have some ideas of 3D animations that will interact with the environment that I will shoot in.  At this point, the main idea I have for this is some small penguins who are wandering nonchalantly around the environment.  This is another reference to Scott of the Antarctic and I have some reference to base this on due to the penguin statues that are situated outside the Overgate centre.  3D animators have created several penguin animations in the past using Maya and other 3D software, as demonstrated in the references below. 

 

Figure 8: Maya animation of penguins on iceberg

  

Figure 9: Footage of penguin being crafted in Maya

 

Figure 10: Happy Feet (2006) teaser trailer

 

For the 2D animated segments, I intend to utilise and train on a 2D-animation software such as TVPaint, Toon Boom, Photoshop and After Effects.  I am aware that I will have to pay for an essentials license for Toon Boom since it is currently unavailable at the college, but I am aware of how much it is utilised by most major animated projects these days.  I have had some 2D-animation experience previously using Photoshop and After Effects but I want to try to make some more elaborate animations using other software in order to have a better grasp of the animation process. 

List of animated shots

At present, this is the list of shots that I intend to include in the film that will contain animated elements.  These shots will require some considerable training, but I should have some assessment-video-worthy test footage by using accredited tutorials.    

• Whale emerging from the Tay (3D model)
• Penguins walking along the street (3D model)
• Animation of person working on train (2D animation)
• Animation of person cycling (2D animation)
• View from Bridge Memorial (filter and 2D footage placed on live-action footage)
• Lava flow at Dundee Law (2D/3D animation)
• Black and white, old-age filter (2D animation)
• Over-saturated street (2D animation)
• Jute growing on the Stack (2D animation) 
• Child with "Beano" style t-shirt (2D animation)
• Flipbook animation (2D animation)       
• Red squirrel and butterfly animation (2D animation)

Filming locations (as indicated on Google Maps)

Here are the filming locations around Dundee I have outlined in my script.  These locations were chosen for their significance within the city's presence, and their visual appeal which will add to the animations that will be projected onto them.  I will need to take photos of them with a DSLR for full references.

Test shots

These are some of the test shots I produced on Element 3D in After Effects.  They are for what will likely be the most labour-intensive shot of the final film: the scene of the whale coming out of the Tay.  The shots are done with premade whale models but with enough persistence, I can make a model similar to those shown, and use it in my final film.