Research material for assessment video 13/7/23

Research material for assessment video                                                                                                    13/7/23

Figure 1: FRAMES (2020) - Cutout Animated Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt_N7zPAedo

When I received my first batch of feedback for my assessment video, one of the crucial things that I missed from the preparation was the research into other artists who employed similar techniques that I could use to back up my implementation of VFX.  Honestly, I've been so focused on the development of my VFX shots that I kind of forgot this important aspect, but I can think of a few notable examples that could be useful.  I also need to reinforce the use of my equipment in the video with more elaborate descriptions of how the equipment was used, such as the DVX-200 being more suited for shots where picture quality was paramount whereas the DJI Osmo Pocket was more suited to shots that needed to be smoother and more mobile.

One such main example of influential colour correction and animation is going back to the original influence for my film, A Scanner Darkly (2006) directed by Richard Linklater.  Because of his documentarian approach to the majority of his filmography, his colour correction has tended to have a more organic life-like methodology, whilst still appropriately contributing to the mood in a scenario.  In a Scanner Darkly, the colours are meant to form part of the distilled, pseudo-realistic approach to the animation, the colours have an over-saturated hazy quality that indicates to the viewer that this is an alienating environment.  I replicate this methodology to an extent in Seoras with the flickering footage whose sketch filters are inspired by the animation style, but the cutout effects amplify the intended connotations of disconnections with the main figure as the point of focus.   The crafting process is also similar to my work, in that that I took the footage I filmed ahead of time and fed it through the filters in Photoshop to create the modified appearance, and then made it work in conjunction with the live-action footage.  The animators and live-action crew are credited in the film's opening sequence which indicates that they were both equally as crucial to creating A Scanner Darkly's mise-en-scene.  How the footage is lit has already contributed to how the animation and filtering reacts and appears.

Another example of simple animation that has contributed to my project crafting to an extent is the short film Frames (2020) created by the company "Nikles".  The main element of this film that has inspired me is the compositing of the animation and how it's constructed with a rustic paper cut-out effect that is very simple yet it accomplishes a wide range of expressions with what it does. The paper-like effects create a distinct feeling reminiscent of canvas, which is what the characters are made from, and makes  The film accomplished its visual imagery through a simple rustic method with very simple but effective shapes and proportions on its characters, allowing the viewer to recognise how characters are feeling without the need for audible dialogue.  This is influential to my work because of how it uses elements that are relatively simple (my cutouts are based around the proportions of the protagonist) and how it utilizes those elements to mainly stand out from the live-action footage.  Finally, the film inspires me because of how it accomplishes its intended meaning without the need for dialogue, and also the movement and emotion to tell the story, which is a technique I've drawn from.

An old inspiration for me in terms of colour correction and identification is the United Airlines commercial "A Life" directed by Michael Dudok de Wit and produced at Acme Filmworks.  The technique used is exemplary in making something stand out and connote the appeal of the brand.  Throughout the whole advert, the main figure we focus on is coloured blue whereas everything else in the shot apart from the planes are tinted red or autumnal, which makes them much more recognizable.  The red colouring indicates a sense of warmth and familiarity in almost every shot, which is in contrast to my use of colour where the blue mise-en-scene is meant to be more wintry.  The animation style is also a big influence for my film with it's simple, life-like movement and flow, which is an methodology that I have also utilized in my film.  It does not use squash-and-stretch and allows it to feel like normal life without having any exaggeration, which is also the intended effect I wanted to achieve.

Figure 2: United Airlines "A Life" commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0_g2Ur5Uhc

"We wanted the film to have a hand drawn look because one of the things that’s really beautiful and interesting about illustration is a freedom to draw what is most emotional and impactful without being constrained by realism or what is correct."

- Danny Dimian, VFX Supervisor, Into the Spider-Verse