Maya Animation 24/10/16

Here is the animation we made during class on monday, i could not upload it until now due to the file corrupting.

La Belle et La Bête review

(Figure1) La Belle et la Bête [Poster]

La Belle et La Bête(see fig1) or in english: Beauty and the Beast, was produced in 1946, directed by Jean Cocteau, it tells the story of a man who picks a rose from a beasts(see fig2) garden, the beast gives him the choice of either dying or giving the beast one of the mans daughters, "Belle" the youngest daughter takes the mans place but the beast falls in love with her, as the story progresses she slowly falls for the beast who transforms into the handsome prince he once was.

The film uses visuals to tell the story more than it's dialogue which is far more life-like in acting, the characters natures are always coherent and really feels like something said characters would do in the situations they are placed in, from Ludovic (Belle's brother) teasing his sisters to how Avenant (Ludovics friend) attempted to slay the beast to win Belle's heart.

(Figure2) The Beast [Still]

Visually the film stuns it's audience with it's deep, dark shadows(see fig 3) and contrasting bright lighting that really puts emphasis on what is going on rather than having the set pieces take precedence over the actors.
A lot of the movie is filmed at "Raray" a commune in northern France, praised for being a beautiful place: 'many of the exteriors having been filmed for rare architectural vignettes at Raray, one of the most beautiful palaces and parks in all France' - Bosley Crowther (1947) 

(Figure3) The beasts dining hall [Still]

Upon release the film received critical acclaim, Bosley Crowther (mentioned above) was a critic in New York City at the time and reviewed the film: 'priceless fabric of subtle images,...a fabric of gorgeous visual metaphors, of undulating movements and rhythmic pace, of hypnotic sounds and music, of casually congealing ideas' Crowther obviously really enjoyed the film, praising it in all aspects but mostly focusing on how it was pieced together: 'fabric of subtle images,...a fabric of gorgeous visual metaphors' the fabric of the film that holds it all together that according to his statement was the visual side of the film.

Crowther was not the only reviewer of course, in 1999 Roger Ebert said: 'one of the most magical of all films" and "fantasy alive with trick shots and astonishing effects, giving us a Beast who is lonely like a man and misunderstood like an animal.' Evidently the film reaches deep into the human psyche and pulls fourth emotion and understanding, it's designed to make you care for a monster which at the time was not common at all.

 Bibliography:

• La Belle et la Bête (1946) Directed by Jean Cocteau [Film] France: André Paulvé
• Bosley Crowther (1947) Review of La Belle et la Bête: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/bosley-crowther/ (Accessed 27/10/16)
• Roger Ebert (1999) Review of Beauty and the Beast: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-beauty-and-the-beast-1946 (Accessed 27/10/16)

Illustrations:

• Figure 1 La Belle et la Bête [Poster]
• Figure 2 The Beast [Still]
• Figure 3 The Beasts dining hall [Still]

Contextual Studies Presentation (WIP)

Some ideas and information I have put into a scribd document to reference while in my contextual studies class.

It's still very rough but some constructive criticism would still be helpful.
There's currently no quotes, no bibliography and no real structure.
I also fear I may be pushing my biased opinions upon the reader, i'm trying not to.

This is for our essay that is due to be handed in on December.

Why a Modern Movie by Servare on Scribd

Franz Kline Artist Study

This is my Artist study of Franz Kline and his work.
I have been set a task to research Mr Kline, study his work and create a city based on said work.

Kline was born in Pennsylvania in 1910, initially he worked figuratively by painting real world scenery such as landscapes and cityscapes but then started to find his own style, in the late 1940's Kline abandoned figurative drawings and painted in Lines that share similarities to that of Cubism.

Kline is recorded to have worked with "fluid, and dynamic" lines that were "non-representative" of what he was painting, he also gained the nickname "The black and white man" after his first one-man show in 1950 at the Egan Gallery.

Kline is reported as being "the most important artist of the Abstract Expressionist movement" according to art critics but his work is so abstract that critics cannot tell what some of his art represents and Kline would often refuse to give explanations or meanings to his work.

Perhaps i should try and come up with my own interpretations of his work, or at least look at what the critics agree on.

Abstractism is not an art stye i am accustomed to, nor one i practice in my spare time but i refuse to believe that this will hinder me or my work during this project, Kline worked with large fluids strokes which means i will have to adapt that into a city design.

Franz Kline with thumbnails

Franz Kline is my new "Collaboration" buddy in this project, taking his work and style and turning it into a city that is inspired by his work, I will be doing a write up on the artist soon but for now here's a quick summary:

Born in Pennsylvania in 1910, Franz Kline took part in the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s, as such his paintings are Abstract in style, looking at some of his work I made some quick designs.
Franz Work:

My current thumbnails:

24/10/16 photoshop class

In class we were given one object and one animal and tasked with combining the two in as many ways as we can think of, this is what i came up with:

1, 2 and 3 point perspective drawing

Here are some 1, 2 and 3 point  perspective drawings:

Alien film review

(Figure 1) ALIEN movie poster [Poster]

Released in 1979 ALIEN (see fig 1) Directed by Ridley Scott(see fig2) scared thousands of viewers by placing them aboard the 'Starship Nostromo', a commercial ship on it's way back to earth, the crew intersects a distress signal which is where things turn sour, every crew member ends up being killed by an alien and the female protagonist escapes with her life... and a cat.

The film uses long sequences and close-ups to convey a sense of realism and terror, having the camera focus on a door or hallway that at first has nothing in it worries the audience, it adds suspense as the audience wonders "why? what's going to happen? where's the monster?", the shot will linger just enough to make some people lean forward wondering what it is they are missing in this shot before throwing a jump-scare at them.

(Figure 2) Ridley Scott [Photograph]

Speaking of jump-scares, they are used to good effect in this film, while in this day and age they may seem telegraphed and obvious we need to remember that at the time of filming it was not the norm, you can thank Scott for making it more mainstream in the medium. "No film I have seen in the last year or so, excluding perhaps The Deer Hunter, emanates so strong a whiff of palpable, nerve-straining shock." (Dareck Malcolm, 1979) this quote from 1979 shows the reaction the film had at the time with the audience.

It is common knowledge that H.R Giger worked with Scott to create the art for the film, everything from the alien to the derelict ship was designed by Giger, at the time many considered Giger's work to be too much for the general public but Scott insisted on bringing Giger on and eventually won the argument.
The alien is based on Gigers work "Necronom IV"(see fig 3)

(Figure 3) Necronom IV [Painting]

It is not the first Survival Horror film however, as Roger Ebert put it: "At its most fundamental level, 'Alien' is a movie about things that can jump out of the dark and kill you. It shares a kinship with the shark in 'Jaws,' (1975) Michael Myers in 'Halloween,' (1979) and assorted spiders, snakes, tarantulas and stalkers. Its most obvious influence is Howard Hawks' 'The Thing' (1951), which was also about a team in an isolated outpost who discover a long-dormant alien, bring it inside, and are picked off one by one as it haunts the corridors. Look at that movie, and you see 'Alien' in embryo." (2003) Ebert compares the film to others such as Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), John Carpenter's Halloween (1979) and Howards Hawks' The Thing (1951) to help readers get a better understanding of the antagonist and where Ridley Scott may have gotten inspiration from.

The film is a must watch for anyone who loves a good, well paced survival horror.
And remember: "In space, no one can hear you scream" (Ridley Scott 1979)

Bibliography:

• Alien (1979) [Film] Ridley Scott.
• Alien Movie Review, Rodger Ebert (2003) [Website] http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979 [Accessed 22/10/16]
• Audio Commentary on the making of Alien (2012) [Blue-ray Special feature] Ridley Scott & Crew.
• Darek Malcolm's Alien review from 1979 (2009) [Website archive] https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/13/derek-malcolm-alien-review [Accessed 22/10/16]
• Halloween (1979) [Film] John Carpenter.
• H.R Giger's Website [Website] http://www.hrgiger.com/ [Acessed 22/10/16]
• Jaws (1975) [Film] Steven Spielberg.
• The Thing (1951) [Film] Howard Hawks.

Illustrations:

• (Figure 1) ALIEN movie poster [Poster] (1979)
• (Figure 3) Necronom IV [Painting] (1976)
• (Figure 2) Ridley Scott [Photograph] (Date unknown)

Invisible Cities Reflective Statement

Upon taking on this project I was not expecting to have quite so much to do, having to juggle multiple classes and their respective homework is never easy but like diving into deep water you either learn to swim or end up drowning, I like to think I have learned to swim, for the most part that is.
While much of the project was relearning basics there are a few things I have gained from this project in particular, the work on concept art has given me a better understanding of work ethic and how projects start in the business world.

I have also learned quite a few new things about photoshop, while I have been using it for some time I have never delved into the colour editing side of things or masks for that matter, this will definitely be something I can learn more of and would like to.

The work has left me with mixed feelings, I feel proud that I could even remotely keep up with such large amounts of work but at the same time the work I have made is not up to my personal standards, juggling quantity over quality is a difficult thing to master as amazing detail is not always what is required, sometimes you need to just let a piece be fluid and maybe a bit abstract.

What will I be taking away from this as a lesson? Well I would say that the biggest lesson here is to speed up, I have been far too slow in my work but it's not due to laziness, I have a hurdle I need to cross involving learning disabilities, I cannot let something like that control my life or my work. Excuses won't cut it in the real world.

Art of Sophronia

My art of.

Art of Invisible Cities by Servare on Scribd

i have spent 2 hours trying to get Scribd to work correctly, whenever i upload any piece of work it jumped the words around and messes with their sizes and positions, i have created 5 different Scribd presentations with various settings and they always do the same thing, i have even tried positioning the text on the far left but it always gets pushed to the right or clip out of bounds.

At this point i cannot waste any more time trying to fix it.

Invisible Cities Crit

My presentation for my crit on 21/10/16

Invisible Cities Citation by Servare on Scribd

Final Influence map

My final influence map for this project is as seen bellow:

Interior and exterior shots.

Sophronia City Gifs

Here are 3 animated gifs of my final pictures:

2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) Review

(Figure 1) 2001: A Space Odyssey opening sequence [Still]

A review of the movie '2001 A Space Odyssey'(1968) (see fig1)

Produced by Stanley Kubrick(See fig2) in 1968 the film follows a man named "Dave" as he battles the AI aboard his ship, his crew dies and his mission is unclear, then the film becomes extremely avant-garde with twisted, colourful visuals reminiscent of a drug trip.

(Figure 2) Stanley Kubrick [Photograph]

Kubrick stood by his explanation of the film as being something everyone must interpret for themselves, nobody aside from Kubrick has the correct answer but that doesn't stop viewers from preaching their point of view.
Some even came away from the film thinking it was about homosexual relations, stating that HAL 9000(see fig3) was gay, Kubrick has addressed this statement saying that, in his mind "HAL was a 'Straight' Computer" but did not dismiss the idea.

(Figure 3) Hal 9000 [Image]

The simple fact that hundreds of fans are arguing over the sexuality of a computer within a movie speaks volumes for what the movie means to people, what it represents and the amount of weight it holds within the film industry.

Grossing approximately $190 million worldwide at the time of writing and $8.5 million on release, winning 9 awards including 3 Bafta's, the film is loved world-wide.

A sequel was created but fell short of expectations and thus only the original is mentioned when talking about Kubricks greatest movies.

Bibliography:12 Facts about 2001: A Space Odyssey (2016) [Website article] http://mentalfloss.com/article/78437/12-out-world-facts-about-2001-space-odyssey [Accessed 17/10/16]2001: A Space Odyssey awards [Website Archive] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/awards [Accessed 17/10/16]
Stanley Kubrick Explains 2001: A Space Odyssey (2010) [Website article] http://kottke.org/10/11/kubrick-explains-2001 [Accessed 17/10/16]
Straight, Gay or Binary. [Website article] http://io9.gizmodo.com/5899656/straight-gay-or-binary-hal-comes-out-of-the-cybernetic-closet [Accessed 17/10/16]

Illustrations:
(Figure1) 2001: A Spacey Odyssey opening sequence [Still]
(Figure2) Stanely Kubrick [Photograph]
(Figure3) Hal 9000 [Image]

Animator Review Bill Plympton

Born on the 30th of April in Oregon, United States, Bill Plympton(see fig1) served in the National Guard from 1967 to 1972 and during his time in the National guard he moved to New York and studied at the School of Visual Arts, from here he spent 15 years as an illustrator and cartoonist designing the following magazines:

Cineaste, Filmakers Newsletter, and Film Society Review.

Plympton also had his illustrations in the New York Times, Vogue, House Beautiful, The village voice, Screw and Vanity Fair.

(Figure1) Bill Plympton [Photograph]

In 1975 Plympton started a cartoon strip called "Plympton" in The Soho Weekly News, it was a political comic and by 1981 it was syndicated in over 20 papers by Universal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal.

Loving animation from a very early age Plympton sent his drawings to Disney as an attempt to be hired, however considering he was 14 they politely refused his offer, however he would later be offered a place as Director and Animator for the film "Boomtown"(1985) by Valeria Wasilewski of the Android Sisters.
The film was about Ronald Raegans administration and how his spending on defense was causing fear and speculation in america.

After "Boomtown" Plympton created two films, one of these was called "Your Face"(see fig 2) which won an Oscar in 1988 which began his career in commercial animation, working with the likes of "Taco Bell", "Trivial pursuit", "Nike" and "Mercedes Bens".
Eventually Plympton had the chance to create a feature length film "The Tune" which consisted of over 30,000 hand drawn cels was a hit and won Houston WorldFest Gold Jury Special Award as well as a Spirit Award nomination for Best Film Score.

(Figure 2) Your Face [Still]

Plympton has created many films since he first started, currently he is working on Hitler's Folly a mock-umentary about Hitlers love of animation and a film called Revengeance which is being partially funded by a Kickstarter.

Bibliography:

Bill Plymptons biography [Website] http://www.plymptoons.com/about/[Accessed 17/10/16]

Boomtown (1985)[Animated Musical] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088839/ [Accessed 17/10/16]

Cineaste Magazine [Website] http://www.cineaste.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]

Filmakers Newsletter (1967-1970) [Magazine] Suncraft international, New york

Film Society Review (1963-1965) [Magazine] The Federation, New york
House Beautiful [Magazine and Website] http://www.housebeautiful.co.uk/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
New York Times [Newspaper and Website] http://www.nytimes.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
Screw (1968 - 2003) [Magazine] Al Goldstein, USA
Soho Weekly News [Magazine and Website] http://www.sohoweeklynews.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
The Tune (1992) [Animated film] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105654/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
The village voice [Magazine and Website] http://www.villagevoice.com/ [ Accessed 17/10/16]
Vanity Fair [Magazine and Website] http://www.vanityfair.com/ [Accessed 17/10/16]
Vogue [Magazine and Website] http://www.vogue.co.uk/ [ Accessed 17/10/16]
Your Face (1987) [Animated Musical] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094364/ [Accessed 17/10/16]

Illustrations:
(Figure 1) Bill Plympton [Photograph]
(Figure 2) Your Face [Still]

Sophronia excercise

Some images for an exercise which includes creating concept pieces for our chosen city in:

• An exterior establishing shot.
• An Interior establishing shot.
• A Low/High angle shot.
  
  This is what I currently have as concept pieces:
  
  Exterior low angle shot:

Exterior establishing shot:

The last one has been reused from an older concept piece but because it encompasses a lot of what I imagine I do believe that it will be a valuable piece, even if it needs editing or to be completely redrawn

Maya Homework

4 pieces of Maya homework completed:

1. Materials & Textures in 3D Software.
2. UV Layout.
3. Lighting and Rendering in 3D Software.
4.  Batch Rendering.
   
   
   1 and 3 were "Lecture only (No exercise)" So a simple viewing with a cup of coffee making some notes for future use got me through those.
   
   2 was an exercise in creating UV Maps by cutting and stitching UV's, putting them into photoshop and adding texture.
   Here is the result:
   
   4 was rather simple, a short tutorial on how to Batch render an animation, once it was rendered I converted it to create a GIF animation:
   

Animator Review - Lotte Reiniger

Born on the 2nd of June in Charlottenburg, Germany, The young animator started playing with silhouettes while still in school to entertain her classmates with recreations of Shakespeare plays out of shadows.

Innitially Lotte Reiniger (See fig 1) wanted to be an actress and studied with Max Rheinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin until in 1910 where Reiniger turned her focus to animation, creating more than 60 animation between the years of 1910 and the late 1970's, out of the initial 60 only around 40 have survived the years.

(Figure 1) Lotte Reiniger [Photograph]

Often drawing ideas from fairy tales and european folklore Reiniger's only full length feature film was titled "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" (See fig2) which took 3 years to create and was released in 1926, often being credited as cinemas first ever full-length animation.

In the 1930's Reiniger left Germany because in her own words: "I didn't like this whole Hitler thing and because I had many Jewish friends whom I was no longer allowed to call friends", she settled in England with her husband Carl Koch and together created the company "Primrose Productions" through which she produced several animations for the BBC.

(Figure 2) The Adventures of Price Achmed [Poster]

Reiniger stopped animating for 10 years after the death of her husband Koch died, once the decade passed she created two animations "Aucassin and Nicolette" (1975) and "The Rose and The Ringin" (1979)
Reiniger passed away on the 19th of June 1981 at the age of 82.

Bibliography:
(figure 1) Lotte Reiniger [Photograph]
(figure 2) The Adventures of Prince Achmed [Poster]

Max Rheinhardt - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reinhardt [Accessed 15/10/16]
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015532/ [Accessed 15/10/16]
Lotte Reiniger -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/06/01/lotte-reiniger-the-pioneering-film-maker-whose-shadow-puppets-in/ [Accessed 15/10/16]

14/10/16 Maya class.

In class we were shown how to use lighting effectively, I have compiled an animated gif that shows the various steps we took to create a unique scene in maya as well as how decay works.

The working behind it was pretty simple, add a camera so you can keep the same position for comparing renders, add various light sources whether that be Ambient, Area, Spot or whatever your choosing, change the settings in the attribute editor such as the decay, the intensity and various other settings, add shadows or leave them shadowless, keep changing settings until you find what matches your vision.

14/10/16 Animation class

In class today we were tasked with creating a bouncing ball and then turning it into some kind of creature by adding body parts, whether that be a tail, ears or whatever comes to mind.
We were to make 3 different creatures.

I can say right now that i should not have tried to add legs to one as constantly correcting them took up too much time and i missed the deadline, in the future i must remember my limits and not be so ambitious... at least they look pretty good now though.

As mentioned before i missed the deadline and only made 2 creatures, I must make this up when i get home or after class hours by creating the final creature.

Here is what i have made so far, i will either edit in or make a new post with the final creature.

The first creature was designed after a fox:

The second creature was designed after a bunny rabbit, I may add ears or tail when i'm home:

Robo Shaders

The homework was to create multiple shaders using the provided robot model.
This is how mine turned out:

Original with no editing:


Ceramic shader:


Plastic shader:


Silver shader:


Chrome shader:


Gold shader:


Glass shader:


Glow with object shader:


Glow without object shader: