Life Drawing 12/11/15

Life Drawing 12/11/15

Introduction

This is another life drawing session where we challenge ourselves as animators and artists to capture the models action, emotion and gesture accurately and clearly. Within the session we created a series of drawings focusing on movement and observing the models movements rather than recreating the form of the model. This is a great challenge to portray movement in a series of static lines because movement is fluid and full of energy whereas lines cannot accurately portray this unless done correctly. 

Session 

Gesture Drawings

 We started with quick gesture drawings to warm up for the session. We only had about 30 seconds to draw these poses; therefore we would have to capture the models pose very quickly and couldn't focus on detail. [Pencil and Charcoal]

(1) Gesture drawings of model in a series of poses. I believe I took too long trying to accurately draw the proportions of the model and the perspective; therefore the drawings are incomplete. 

Competitive Drawing

 These next drawings are 'competitive drawings' where we had to draw the model in the same pose on the same page five times. (I only have four drawings because I left large gaps and drew too large). 

This was done to demonstrate that our drawing ability would be progressing as we drew the same lines and try to capture the models accurately and quickly. [Charcoal]

(2) Competitive drawing: I would draw closer together and smaller to fit all of the drawings on the page. I would also try to capture all of the model first before focusing on details. This is because these drawings are incomplete. 

Walking Piece: Motion Drawing 1

This piece is of the model walking in a circle around the space in the centre of the studio, we would then have to capture that movement on the page. We have done this before in the previous session, but Andy felt that we should do this task again as it is a challenging one that make us observe the model effectively. This task we had to capture the movement of the model as she moved around he room all on the same page. This didn't mean we would have to draw the model accurately because we were focusing on the motion and movement rather than the shape and form of the model. [Charcoal]

(3) Walking Piece: I felt that I was trying to capture the shape of the model more than the motion and this is why there could have been more motion on the page. I found this task difficult and the only way I can think of improving is continuing to repeat this same task until I improve. 

Coloured Walking Piece: Motion Drawing 2

This piece is of a similar task as the previous one where we had to capture the motion of the model as she walked around the space in the studio. However, this time we had to use colour to draw specific parts of the model's body. In my piece I used: blue for the torso and head, red for the left arm and left leg, and green for the right leg and right arm. again we would have to draw all of these drawings on the same page all together to create a composition of movement. [Sharpies]

(4) Coloured Walking Piece: I felt that I was again spending too much time trying to capture the shapes of the model rather tan the motion. This is frustrating because when i tried to capture the motion it would only be lines that I did not believe captured the motion of the model. With this I feel that i need further practice with the model in motion to improve both my skills and understanding of capturing motion. 

Flipbook: Model Walking Animation

These next drawings are of the final task where we would have a few minutes to capture the model in different poses representing the stages of a walk. We did eight drawings which we would then put together to be played as a video which would then create the illusion of movement. 

These poses included: The extended pose, passing position, anticipation, and contact position. 

(5.1) Extended Position_1: where the model is at one of the most extended position where the legs and arms are furthest apart. The only other position as extended is the mirrored version where the arms and legs are in the opposite places. 

 (5.2) Low Position_1: where the model is transferring the weight from her back leg to the front leg.

(5.3) Passing Position_1: where the model is passing her back leg back to the front of her body supporting her weight on the other leg. 

 (5.4) Anticipation Position_1: where the model was in a pose anticipating the contact of the foot touching the ground. 

 (5.5) Extended Position_2

 (5.6) Low Position_2

 (5.7) Passing Position_2

 (5.8) Anticipation Position_2

Videos

Playback frames on twos.

Playback frames on ones.

I feel that the arm closes to the 'camera' moves too much and swings too far forward and this makes the am movement feel unnatural and forced. i would also improve the motion of the model's head because it is moving backwards harshly when it should be 'bobbing' forwards and gently as a secondary action. 

Conclusion

In conclusion with this session I feel that I need to practice my observing and capture of motion because I found the tasks where the model is walking very difficult and my work is showing this. I will improve this by attending future life drawing sessions as well as research into how other artists capture motion in their creations. 

Stop Motion Workshops: 3 Week Rotation

Stop Motion Workshops: 3 Week Rotation

Introduction

Within this rotation we created a series of stop motion test videos to develop our understanding of stop motion animation. We had an external tutor who has worked in the stop motion industry on numerous projects. These session have also been compacted due to problems; we had only two extended sessions within a week whereas other groups have had three weeks to complete their tests. Despite the limited time, we have to create all of the tests before the final deadline in December. This is the space we worked in:

We would have the Mac book connected with a DSLR which would then take images of what is on the 'stage'. We would move the object an image at a time which would then be played together as a video; creating the illusion of movement.

Session 1: 6/11/15

This session was primarily the introductory session where we had the task of demonstrating a basic understanding of some animation principles and demonstrate them through the tests of animating a simple block. Each of the tests we were assigned, we had to create another which ran on twos; we would have one test that ran on 'ones' and another which ran on 'twos'. this would allow us to see the difference between the tests and establish preferences.

These tests included:

Block

-Moving a block evenly along a line with equally spaced intervals.

-Moving a block along a line demonstrating acceleration and declaration.

-Swinging a block along a curved path demonstrating acceleration and declaration.

-The block dropping from a height displaying the properties of a tennis ball.

-The block dropping from a height displaying the properties of a cannon ball.

Puppet

-The puppet throwing a ball demonstrating: staging, exaggeration, anticipation and over-lapping action

-The puppet striking a ball with a bat demonstrating: staging, exaggeration, anticipation and over-lapping action

-The puppet lifting a heavy object demonstrating: staging, exaggeration, anticipation, secondary action and weight.

Blocks

Even Movement Test

These next tests are of the block moving along the X axis in a straight line with even spacing on both 'ones' and 'twos' respectively.

Ones

As you can see in the video, the black box moves up and down in the Y axis as if it is 'bobbing' along the line (X axis). I did not want this result however because I wanted the box remain level. Therefore I would next time ensure that the box/ object is level throughout the tests by utilising the tools of the software or using more practical measuring and levelling methods e.g. using a ruler.

Twos

with this test I had used the 'onion skinning' tool on the Dragonframe software which allows the user to see both the current and previous frame at the same time; therefore I had a better understanding of where the block had just come from and to keep the block level. Despite my efforts I find the path is still not perfectly level; because the block again 'bobs' up and down the X axis.

Comparison

I feel that I prefer the 'ones' test because of the smooth movement despite the 'bobbing'. I feel this because the 'twos' test was created incorrectly and that I had spaced incorrectly so that the movement felt staggered.

Acceleration/ Deceleration Test

These next tests are of the block accelerating and decelerating along the x-axis to show the principle of momentum and acceleration/ deceleration.

Ones

I feel pleased with this test because it does demonstrate acceleration and deceleration; however I still notice a dip in the x-axis during the movement. I feel that I have demonstrated the principles of acceleration and deceleration; however I would improve the final video by ensuring the object was level.

Twos

I feel that this test was lacking because it did not have a great enough contrast between the extreme movements within the center of the line and then the tiny movements at the beginning and end of the line. If I had done this, this test would be far more effective.

Comparison

I feel that comparing these two tests isn't completely fair due to the ineffective spacing within the second test on 'twos'. Despite this I feel that the 'ones' test is far more effective due to the smooth movement.

Swing Test

These next tests are of the block swinging on a rope much like a newton's cradle without the other weights on strings. This is again to show our understanding of animation principles such as the concept of gravity, mass, energy and acceleration/deceleration.

Ones

I would improve this test by reducing the frames on the second swing because they are not even and it feels that the swing almost 'freezes' in the air and hangs fro a frame or two before swinging again. This is only a minor mistake that has made a big impact. I am pleased however with the decaying effect that energy is exerted during the swing and finally comes to  complete stop.

Twos

I would improve this swing by the spacing of the block to make the swing smoother and to reduce the number of frames at the first swing because as it is about to transfer to the second swing, (in my opinion) the block is in the air too long and feels un-natural.

Comparison
Out of these two tests I believe the 'ones' were better because the video is both longer and better quality of animation despite the improvements needed.

Tennis Ball Test

These next tests are of dropping the block and replicating the mass of: a tennis ball in the block. therefore the block would be light and bouncy and we must show this through the animation.

Ones

I would improve this by reducing the number of frames during the falls because I feel that they are a little slow. This makes the fall not seem natural and not as effective as I had hoped it would be during the production.

Twos

I would improve this by increasing the height of the second bounce to clearly show the decay of energy per bounce. I would also reduce the number of frames much like the previous test because again it looks too slow and looks un-natural.

Comparison

Despite the needed improvements I feel that the ones test was smoother for the animation for the ball falling.

Cannon Ball Test

These next tests are much like the previous ones. However this time we must express the mass of the block being a: cannon ball. Therefore there would be very little bounce and must show that the block is very heavy.

Ones

To exaggerate the mass of the cannon ball I moved the camera as well as the block hoping it would enhance the test. I was inspired by other cartoons and films where an object with create mass would hit the ground and the ground would move around the object to exaggerate the mass. However I feel that this has ruined the test and has made more of a distraction that enhancement. I would therefore do this test again without the camera moving to express the mass of the block.

Twos

Again I would improve this test by removing the camera movement.  would also reduce the number of frames for the fall and reduce the bounce to further exaggerate the mass of the block.

Comparison

Despite the mentioned improvements needed for both tests, I prefer the ones test because of the smoothness and spacing of the animation.

Puppet

Throwing Ball Test

This next test is the puppet; known as Tim throwing a ball. Tim didn't have any props; therefore we had to stage and exaggerate Tim's movements to mime his actions.

Block

I am pleased with the block test because it clearly shows both the actions of Tim and how the movement progresses.

Full

I am pleased with the result of this test because during production I intended to focus on the anticipation, over-lapping action and staging of Tim. I would improve this test however by reducing the movement of the paper which was accidental as I moved the puppet. I would also increase the number of frames during the slower movements to make them smoother which would contrast further with the very quick movements; exaggerating the faster movements further.

Striking Ball Test

This next test is of Tim miming swinging a bat to hit a ball.

Block

I would improve the block test by staging the puppet more effectively by making it clear that Tim is swinging a bat. Because I feel that the staging could be clearer.

Full

I would improve this test by (again) staging Tim effectively so that he is clearly swinging a bat. in addition to make the animation effective further I would add Tim looking in the distance to see where the ball has gone. This would make the animation flow better towards the end and to give Tim a sense of character and life.

Lifting Object Test

This next test is Tim trying to lift a very heavy box off the floor.

Block

I chose to add a small walk at the start because I wanted to keep Tim's position both consistent with the other tests and to express Tim's character before the lift. I chose I very exaggerated and 'tough' walk because it anticipates the situation to the audience.  I am pleased with this block because it clearly shows how the animation should turn out.

Full

I am pleased with the result of this test because I feel that I have both expressed the weight of the box and the character who is trying to lift said box. I chose this because I believed it would be more effective to express the mass of the block through the character rather than the block itself. I would however improve the first step of Tim because it appears he slides under his own foot and doesn't look like he is walking naturally.

Session 2: 12/11/15

Within this session we continued work on the puppet as we had demonstrated the basics with the block tests. We then discussed further about blocking and straight ahead animation, where we would plan the movements of the puppet and then create the final animation. This is an effective way to plan the movements of the puppet and how the animation would look before dedicating too much time or effort to the test.

This session we were assigned to create a test:
Puppet

-The puppet walking from one corner to another

-The puppet running/ sprinting from one corner to the other 

Puppet

Walking Test

This next test is of Tim walking from one corner to another.

Block

Again I wanted to express an emotion/mood through Tim's walk and I chose an extremely exaggerated angry walk.

Full

I would improve this test by reducing the number of frames where his feet are close to the floor because this makes it look difficult for Tim to walk. In this test it makes it look like Tim is walking through custard and he is not happy about it. I also believe the over exaggeration made Tim arch his back too much which makes the pose look even more uncomfortable and unnatural.

 next time I couldn't exaggerate the puppet as much but still try to express the mood the most effective way I can. I found this walk cycle extremely difficult because it was very complex to exaggerate correctly and for the model to stay in those extreme positions.

Running Test

This next test is of a block test for Tim to run.

Block

This block test is very short because I found that the puppet couldn't maintain these extreme positions and chose not to create the running sequence. Despite this I am pleased with the staging of the run because the poses are clearly staged and exaggerated.

Link to video of Stop Motion collection 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPS6_7ayIcA

Conclusion

Throughout these sessions I have learnt a lot about stop motion and the time and patience needed to create an effective animation. I have enjoyed applying the animation principles to real objects and how they turn out in a different medium. These are clearly shown in the puppet tests featuring Tim. I have enjoyed working with stop motion and I have learnt a lot from it; despite this I feel that stop motion is not 'right' for me but wouldn't turn away from it in future projects because the results are unique and special. I didn't particularly enjoy the limitations of the puppet or the set-up required before shooting a test, however these are different requirements for a different medium. on the other hand, I really enjoyed viewing the tests at the end of a shoot because I real life object suddenly comes to life and has a special quality and style to its movements.

Contextualizing Practice 1 - Framing the Visible

Contextualizing Practice 1 - Framing the Visible

Introduction

This is the first assignment as part of our contextualizing practice. This will help us gain a better understanding of both others and our own work and to look see deeper into others works. 

Assignment

What we have to do is create a ten minute presentation on our chosen field about a medium we have also chosen. This can be: film, television series, animated short etc. We decided to call our group: "The MEME Team" and within the team there is: Myself, Daniel Nield, William Ballou, Siobhan Gilmore and Chloe Johnson. 

So far we have decided to present and research the theme of Ideology as a group we feel that we have the best understanding compared to the other themes. Despite this we understand that is a lot more to learn and research about Ideology. 

We then had to decide what we would medium we would apply the them of ideology to. As we were unsure we all decided to create a list where each of us had to watch what was on the list, take notes and then share our thoughts the next week when everyone is together again. From there we could decide as a team how to progress. We chose to create a list because not everyone in the group had seen the same films, TV series etc; therefore we shared our individual preferences and now everyone can see each others best ideas. 

The list we created was; 

-Don Hertzfeldt (An artist/Animator) chosen by: William Ballou

-Big Hero 6 (Film created by Disney) chosen by: Siobhan Gilmore

-Disney (An American Multimedia and Entertainment Empire) chosen by: Myself because this allows the freedom to explore all of the companies movies ranging from the 40s to today. I felt it would be best to explore how ideology has changed over the past century and how this is shown through Disney films. 

-Studio Gibley (Japanese Animation Film Studio) chosen by: Chloe Johnson

-Samurai Champloo (Anime) chosen by: Daniel Nield

Don Hertzfeldt

I started with Don Hertzfeld by watching some of his videos which included: 'Rejected' 'Wisdom teeth' and 'Billy's Balloon'. 

These are a series of short films created by Don Hertzfeld which in my opinion are rather odd. While watching these shorts i took notes and felt this artist challenges ideology. This is because Don Hertzfeld challenges expectations within these shorts be it through the events that happen or the long pauses. Without realising I found that I had expectations and that is why I believe I found the video odd because they challenged those unknown expectations. These ideologies of film such as narrative and progression or even conclusion are all challenged though these shorts. I will take the example of "Rejected" to state its referential meaning and its symptomatic meaning. Rejected is a series of short films created by Don Hertzfeldt that were rejected by companies that were created to be adverts for those companies. The symptomatic meaning could be that these films are accepted as rejections as seen and judged by social convention and are ahead other time. 

Big Hero 6

Next, I watched Big Hero 6 created by Walt Disney Animation Studios. While I was watching I found that there were a lot of different themes throughout the film which could be seen as ideologies.one such example is that technology is major theme in the film which is portrayed as a positive and that it should be encouraged with education. This can be contrasted with a film such as 'terminator' where machines and technology are viewed negatively. This can be seen as an ideological message in the film that Disney is promoting technology and the advancement of it.  Another theme within the film was crime, punishment and justice, this is shown through the super-hero theme of the movie and the morals that face the characters. With the loss of his brother, Hiro feels that the culprit must be apprehended and punished, however in the film it is shown that are limits to being a vigilante. this is shown when the scene where Hiro orders Baymax to kill the culprit, this is shown negatively and can be seen as the film sending the ideological message that killing/murder is wrong. Another ideological message within the film is "brain over brawn". This is shown as a major part of the film that the characters are faced with a series of challenges that they must think around rather than fight against head on. This can be seen as an ideological message that Disney believes it is positive to be knowledgeable which links back to the original theme of technology and that is also a positive message through the film.  The referential meaning could be that a young boy and his friends join to gather and defeat a super villain. The symptomatic meaning could be a young boy is lead by the ghost of his brother to face hi depression after his loss.

Sleeping Beauty

After that, I watched the Disney film: Sleeping Beauty. This ilm is based within the 14th century; therefore it presents ideologies and themes from both the 14th century and the 1940s when the film was made. I found that the entire film had few but consistent themes of authority, good vs evil and true love. These are shown through the kingdoms and royalty that are the families that are portrayed with a lot of power and responsibility over their respective people and are concerned with the future of their kingdoms. The good vs evil theme is shown throughout the film through the good fairy characters against the very clear and evil maleficent character. This good vs evil theme portrays the ideologies of disney through the messages that they send through the film. An example of this could be that the good fairy characters sate that they cannot use their magic for "bad" and only to bring happiness. This can be seen as a way that Disney have imprinted their ideologies onto the audience, even if they are positive and accepted as socially standard. I.e. its bad to kill people.

The true love theme is consistent through the film as the characters always long for each other despite their very short time together and their arranged marriage. This can be seen as Disney further implying that their ideology of love is 'love at first sight' and that love is 'perfect'. This is ridiculous concept but yet an ideal and accepted one within these films i.e. they're accepted as ridiculous in reality but most people wish and hope to find their 'true love'. The referential meaning within this film could be that a curse is cast upon a princess and a prince saves the princess. The symptomatic meaning could be that in a world where woman are seen as a lesser citizen and that mean are superior must care for and provide for the woman through life and that they will both be happy.

Initial

After watching these films, we have decided to proceed with the project: Disney as a company as our subject and to investigate: how ideology has changed over the years and how these are shown through the films of Disney. 

This is because we decided as a group that we would work best if we work with material we are familiar with, therefore we can build and produce from this and be effective during the presentation. We understand that everyone in the group did not watch all of the films we decided to watch but this is because of the time this project is set (during other project deadlines) and other circumstances. Despite this we have progressed as a group and have decided on the final theme of the project and will work together to meet the deadline.

In addition we have decided to progress with this theme for a project because Disney has nearly a century as being a film company and that provided a wide range films from the late 1930s to present day that not many (if any) other companies have. This is a wide enough span of time which can show many different themes and ideologies that are not present now and an effective way to compare the ideologies of the past to present day. 

Therefore as a group we have chosen two different films to compare ideologies. Preferably two films with a significant time gap between them. Because this would make it easier to compare the ideologies of the different times at which the films were made.  Therefore the two films I have chosen to research are: "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Princess and the Frog".  These two films were produced by Disney, are both 2D hand drawn animation about princesses; despite their similarities they are completely different by the times in which they were created.
We have also gained an additional member to our team: Tom Baines , because there were a few people who had missed the session when the groups were created; Tom was one of them and is now part of the MEME Team.
As the group is now, we have decided our films which we are going to research:
Myself: "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Princess and the Frog"
Siobhan Gilmore: "The Lion King" and "Big Hero 6"
William Ballou: "The Little Mermaid" and "Tangled"
Chloe Johnson:
Daniel Nield:
Tom Baines: 

I then watched and analysed the two Disney films: "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Princess and the Frog" for their ideologies of relationships.  

Sleeping Beauty

What

Sleeping Beauty is a fairy-tale story originally collected by The Grimm Brothers in their book: “Grimms’ Fairy Tales” [http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Grimm-Brothers.html] and the story has adapted over the years. The story can be seen as a classic where a handsome prince rescues a beautiful princess and they both live happily ever after. Within this report I will be discussing the Disney version of the Sleeping Beauty story. Sleeping Beauty is an animated film produced by Disney Company in 1959 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053285/]. Within the Disney’s version of the story a prince breaks the curse with ‘true loves kiss’, they marry and live happily ever after.

Referential meaning

The referential meaning of sleeping beauty could be: after a curse is placed upon a princess a prince comes to the rescue and they both live happily ever after.

Symptomatic meaning

The symptomatic meaning could be Disney’s symbolic views on how woman are helpless and that men must be the ones to ‘come to the rescue’.

How relationship is shown?

Within this story a prince and princess both fall in love and live happily ever after. Despite how perfect this sounds, it is rather forced and almost feels un-natural to watch now. This is because the film opens with the princess being born and a young prince is shown his future wife which is the new born baby. In the context of the film, this is normal as these are royal families that wish to join their nations together by marrying their children. However the story develops to the point where the prince and princess meet for the first time and do not know who each other are. They begin to dance and briefly talk which may have lasted a few minutes and then the princess runs away as she knows not to talk to anyone else for her own safety. Despite this very brief encounter, both characters are convinced that they have fallen in love and they will be married. Both characters do not see each other again until the prince kisses the princess and breaks the curse, shortly after that they are married and live happily ever after.

What does it mean?

In my opinion, I believe this shows that the Disney Company believes in love at first sight and that couples can live happily ever after. This is a very optimistic view as this is a fairy-tale perspective of relationships as they do not always turn out as perfect as that. Moreover, it is very convenient that the prince fell in love with the princess even if their marriage was planned anyway since the princess’ birth. This is because most planned marriages do not turn out as successful or as ‘happily’ as the one portrayed in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.  In addition, this could also be seen as Disney’s opinion on planned marriages as they are portrayed positively through the Sleeping Beauty films whereas other films have portrayed these marriages as controlling and negative. 

The Princess and the Frog

What

The Prince and the Frog is a fairy-tale collected by Brothers Grimm in their book “Grimms’ Fairy Tales” [http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Grimm-Brothers.html] and is about how a princess kisses a frog to break a spell which turns the frog into a handsome prince and they both live happily ever after. In this report I will be discussing Disney’s adaptation of the Frog Prince story; “The Princess and the Frog”. The film does take a very different approach to the story of the Frog Prince and shows a very different ideology of relationships. The Disney film was released in 2009 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780521/].

Referential meaning

The referential meaning of “The Princess and the Frog” could be: that after a prince and woman are turned into frogs, they embark on an adventure to turn them human again and live happily ever after.

Symptomatic meaning

The symptomatic meaning could be: a representation of inequality with an optimistic end for the characters whereas reality would have a very bleak ending.

How relationship is shown?

Throughout the film the characters develop their feelings for each other, and it is only the ending they are truly happy together and live happily ever after. This can be seen as a more reliable and accurate representation of a relationship through the development of the characters. This is shown by the characters first interacting with each other badly with arguments and insults, and as the film progresses the characters discover each other and begin the develop a relationship. By the end of the film the characters are married and live happily ever after.

What does it mean?

This can be seen as Disney’s developed ideology of relationships. This is shown through the characters developed relationship and even within the film they humour the ‘old ways’ of relationships. This is shown through the secondary characters one of which is a spoilt rich daughter of a wealthy father who can be seen to represent the cliché princess. This is shown by the character “Charlotte La Bouff” having everything such as money, power and beauty who also wishes upon a star for her desires which at the start of the film works. Therefore the main character, Tiana challenges this throughout the film and has to discover her ‘true love’ rather than just stumble upon him because Tiana’s motivation through the film is not love or dependence on a husband (prince) but rather achieve her own life goals which makes her forget the ‘importance’ of a relationship. Moreover, the initial motivations of the prince to marry was to gain the money from the wealthy parents of his bride, much like an arranged marriage rather than him trying to find his ‘true love’. This can all be seen as Disney’s ideology of a ‘modern’ relationship as this film was released in 2009, and throughout the film Disney acknowledges their ‘old ways’ and almost pokes fun at these conservative and dated ideologies.

Conclusion

Compare the two relationships ideologies

Sleeping beauty can be seen to have a very optimistic and perfect outlook on relationships through the characters limited time together and lack of development between them. This is because it is already planned and is shown to be ‘true love’. Whereas in The Princess and the Frog, the characters have to develop their relationship throughout the entire film and finally at the end they marry and live happily ever after. This can be seen as an accurate representation of a relationship because partners in reality must know each other and learn to like each other first rather than marry the first person you see which is very unlikely.

These ideologies of relationships are very different from another and this can be shown through both the setting of the film and the dates when these films were created. Firstly Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959, and the film is based within the 14^th century. Within the film the prince and princess have an arranged marriage to unite two different nations as this was common during the time. This is portrayed in a positive way through the characters having fallen in love with each other very quickly and they both live happily ever after. In the 1950s woman weren’t treated as equally as men and were seen as house wives or dependant on men.

This is therefore challenged in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog because the main character Tiana challenges these ideologies within the film’s context and setting. Tiana is a young black woman which is an extremely challenging position where the film is based: New Orleans in the 1920s. This is because the southern states of America were prejudice and racist against African Americans during this time as well as the inequality of woman. This is shown through the film by how other characters see her and tell her that she cannot achieve her dreams because of these prejudices. Therefore throughout the film Tiana challenges these ideologies and is rewarded at the end of the film with her ‘true love’ and ‘happily ever after’. This can be seen as Disney’s modern ideology of relationships because they have updated how the characters develop through the narrative of the films and also acknowledge their dated ideologies of love at first sight and royalty. 

I have recorded my references in my bibliography, which is a separate document. 

I then went onto creating an initial layout of the presentation on PowerPoint. This was to plan what the presentation may look like and for the group to decide together what the presentation should look like and how it will be presented. Therefore the layout has no content and just displays a basic structure of how the presentation may be presented.

I then uploaded this to Google Drive for the rest of the group to download and edit their sections into it. We also planned to have sessions where we rehearsed the presentation; that we are prepared as a group when it comes to the deadline when we have to present.

I then added more information to the report and started to research the reasons WHY the films have these ideologies of relationships and I found this is linked to gender roles and the context of the time when the films were created:

Ideologies of 1950s relationships

Because Sleeping Beauty as released in 1959, it can said that it was made during the 1950s and the ideologies were very different compared to modern ones. We will focus on the ideologies of relationships and how they were in the 1950s. This is a time shortly after the Second World War and a time of change where conventional ideologies clashed with new ones. Relationships ideologies mainly stayed traditional and these ideologies of relationships included: the men must always provide and that the wife stays at home and maintains the house. This links to gender roles and stereotypes which were apparent during the 1950s and these roles are very different. In conclusion the ideologies of relationships in the 1950s would be that the man would ask and provide for the woman whereas the woman stays at home and is seen almost as the ‘property’ of the man. [http://www.psychologyofmen.org/male-gender-role/] [http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15910/1/List-of-Gender-Stereotypes.html]

Ideologies of modern relationships

The ideologies of relationships today are very different from the past. They have changed with the advancement of technology including online dating and social networks. This has had a significant impact on the way people meet and talk to each other because some people can even maintain long distance relationships with communication via telephone or email. Modern relationships are very diverse with different people because people have become more expressive over the years as society has become more accepting, therefore no two relationships are the same and are accepted as not being perfect. In addition, with events including the rise of woman’s rights gender roles have changed and now relationships do not have specific expectations or standards. Despite this people still maintain the traditional ideologies from the past, relationships continue to change and even surprise people. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/technology-changing-relationships_n_5884042.html]

Comparison

There are a number of differences that can be pointed out between traditional relationships compared to modern ones. The most significant in this case are gender roles within a relationship and how these have radically changed over the years. These gender roles are no longer seen as the norm or even necessary in modern relationships compared to the 1950s where they were the norm. The man was always seen as the provider for the family and was the dominant half in the relationship whereas now this can be very blurred in dominant roles and even looked down upon if one partner is dominating another.

Conclusion

After researching these fields I have found that the ideologies of relationships have been shown through Disney’s films. These films have clearly shown elements of the ideologies of gender roles and how these have drastically changed over the past century. Whereas the male was always dominant in traditional relationships, as shown in Sleeping Beauty where the prince is the one who saves the princess. Compared to the Princess and the Frog where there is a balance on the character’s strengths and weaknesses and they build off each other to develop a relationship. In conclusion I believe that these films clearly show that Disney as a company have adapted with the times and show their developed ideologies of relationships through these two films effectively. 

 These different sections of the report are compiled together on the one Word document.

 

Life Drawing 5/11/15

Life Drawing 5/11/15

Introduction

This session we continued to work on capturing the essence of the pose through the line of action; more than capturing the form or detail of the model. We also experimented with over exaggeration and deformed proportions later in the session. In addition we came back to negative space to test us to capture the shapes of the model. 

Session

Firstly, we began with very quick 30 second poses because the model had not arrived yet; therefore we had to draw another student while we waited. Despite this the principles were all the same with observation and trying the capture the essential lines and shapes to portray the pose effectively.

(1) As these sketches are really rough and incomplete, there is clear signs for improvement however I feel that i would need o improve the poses and proportions of the model to effectively capture the pose, even if it is not detailed. I would do this by observing distinctive shapes and lines that define the pose and/or action and build off of those. 

 This next page shows drawings I created with my weaker hand (left hand). This task was for the class to draw the model using their weaker and whilst sticking to the same principles we have learnt so far about the line of action and shapes. This was done because this made us look at the model more to make us observe and draw the model rather than us draw what we thought we saw. 

(2) These drawings are with my weaker and and I am surprised I managed to even create these drawings but there are clear improvements needed. This includes proportion and line of action; this is because I forgot to create the line of action for the first two drawings (left to right) because I was too busy observing the model. However I do feel that this exercise made me observe the model more than I usually do and from this I have found that observing is one of the most important things to do in life drawing (if not the most important.). 

Next, we had to capture the shape of the model through negative space. Therefore rather than drawing the shape of the model, we had to fill in the shapes around the model which would then form the models shape. I used charcoal for this task because I felt it was the most appropriate medium to fill in space around the model because of how bold it is and the effect it has to create atmosphere on the page. 

(3) I fin that I had made the model too large in this drawing due to the perspective I was observing the model. The model had her hands on her hips and from the angle I was at, there was no gap for one of the arms for me to fill, therefore the body feels that it has extruded. Next time I will try to fill in the negative quicker and rougher to try and accurately capture proportions and perspective first, to then spend the rest of the session altering and improving. 

 After that we had the task to capture motion within the model as she walked around the space in a circle for 10 minutes. We had to draw the model multiple times on our page and try to portray movement in these drawings. this was the first time we had done anything like this because the model had never moved before at the same time we are drawing. 

(4) I used charcoal in these drawings as i felt it to be the most effective in quickly capturing shapes of the model and portraying organic shapes as well as movement. 

I used a lot of curved lines to portray the fluid movements of the model as well as the key poses she was in when she reached certain points in the cycle. I started with clock positions i.e. twelve, three, six and nine o'clock positions, and then added drawings between. 

I found this difficult because you had no choice but to add a couple of lines to a drawing at a time because the model wasn't going to stay in that exact position, but would return to it later. Therefore I had to adapt to the situation and worked very differently from I usually worked. Next time I would try to capture more drawings at once with less lines at a time, therefore the drawings should be consistent rather than their scale increasing/ decreasing. 

 Finally these next two drawings are of the task where we had to extrude the shapes and lines of the model to the point of deformity and even abstract proportions. This made us observe and identity distinctive shapes and lines of the model to then distort and exaggerate them. 

(5.1) This was the first drawing I did using charcoal again for the same reasons as before. The model was in a slouched position over a chair resting her arm over the back of the chair. I chose the exaggerate: the shoulder, ribs, hips, arm, head/neck, and foot. This is because I focused on the curves and changing shapes of the model to then exaggerate those. An example of this is the extruding shoulder, then the dip between the ribs and shoulder,back to a high point of the ribs.I also elongated the arm of the model to the point where it is folded on the floor, almost melted. 

I would improve this drawing by further exaggerating those points such as the shoulders and ribs as well as the arm being in further stretched around the floor. 

(5.2) This the second drawing I did of the model in a different position with even more of an abstracted look. I again exaggerated the: ribs, shoulders, hips, hair, breast and leg. This is because i focused on the distinctive shapes and lines of the model and deformed them and really tried to stretch the exaggeration. I would improve this drawing by increasing the volume of the hips, as they seem too small. 

Conclusion

Within this session we tried a couple of different takes as well as revisiting old ones and I feel that I have learnt important ideas from this session. I have learnt how to observe the model further to capture the shapes and lines of the model rather than drawing what i think is correct. I have also learnt to quickly capture the model through observation, and then improve the drawing if I have time,. because detail is not as important as proportion or perspective. 

Experimental Animation Evaluation

Experimental Animation Evaluation

Introduction

This document contains the evaluation of the experimental animation project. Within this document I will be evaluating both my work process and the final product. The project began on the 30th September 2015 and have had one and a half months to complete this project. This involved creating a thirty second experiential animation and a ten second E4 sting linked to the experimental animation we created.

Body

I started with initial research and ideas by watching other experimental artist's work and experimented in my own ways.  Initially I had no clear idea what I wanted to do; therefore I produced a number of stop motion tests to generate ideas. This is because I wasn't clear on the medium of my experimental animation or what it would be about.

From this I began to focus on a particular area with the help of a particular artist:

From this artist I started to research the human body in motion and try to capture that motion in just a few lines or simple shapes. To make it an experimental piece I would make each frame appear abstract but once the images played in sequence it would clearly show a person dancing.

I started by creating rough tests of people dancing in loops such as a ballet dancer and tried to capture their movements in a few lines. However, during the testing I felt this was both: too similar to the original artist's work and that it didn't feel experimental enough. Therefore I continued to generate other ideas through mind maps and rough tests.

I wanted to stick to the idea of capturing motion in a few lines or basic shapes because I felt that this had the most potential and I didn't want to spend too long on generating an idea. Therefore I thought of the idea of capturing motion in animals as the animal kingdom have a wide range of diverse movements that define and identity individual animals.

 

From this I started to mind map and plan the different animals that would be within the video, I had to ensure that the animals were diverse enough to make them each unique within the video. what I mean by this is that I didn't want all the animals to be land animals or for all of them to be flying. To have a wide variety of animals such as land, sea and airborne animals allows me to express the diversity of the animal kingdom through their unique movements. Therefore I chose these animals to be within my experimental animation: a Bird (pigeon/dove), spider monkey, Gorilla, Frog, Elephant and cheetah. This I because I believe that each of these animals have their own unique movements that make them identifiable and the range is diverse enough to not be generic or repetitive.

 

I then researched the movements of animals by watching reference videos of their movements and trying to capture their key poses in my drawings. I found to look deeper into an animals movement and how their own bodies were designed for their unique movements.

 

Next I created their draft outline, what they would look like as just lines and tested each of their movements. I did this by using pencil and charcoal and scanning each image into the computer to be put together using Photoshop. I chose to use charcoal because I believe it creates very organic and natural lines which I felt were most appropriate animating animals in motion. I then evaluated each of these tests and animatics and began production on the experimental animation.

 

I started with storyboards and plans on how the experimental animation would look and how long it would take to create. I always find it important to plan any production because it is easier to follow a plan or list and review your progress during production. therefore you can meet micro deadlines and ensure you are able to complete the task before the final deadline. I did this by splitting the experimental animation into sections for each animal and each significant movement. This made the work load easier for me and easier to manage my own progress. unlike these tests I did not tests these sections until I put all of them together because I felt that this would make the animation unpredictable and more experimental rather than planning very movement and managing every single aspect of the experimental animation as that would make the animation less experimental.

After that I scanned the frames into the computer to be finally put together using Adobe's Flash and Premiere.

 

I found however that the scans were not perfect and had been alerted, most of the scans had smudged with blue colour streaks across the page. Others had completely deformed as the scanner scanned the image incorrectly and some images weren't scanned at all because the scanner would scan two or more images at once.

Despite this I chose to still use these 'corrupted' scans because I believed it added something to each frame because not two scans were the same and added motion to the images. This made them more interesting to watch and made them even more experimental.

I then compiled the images together in Flash, and then added the soundtrack and title in Premiere.



Conclusion

Despite the number of issues I had with the final product I am happy with the overall result of the product and my work method. This is because I managed to produce the final piece before the deadline and that there were unexpected results. This is because I like the odd results of the scanner 'corrupting' the images and adding both colour and motion to each image within the animation. From this I found that I should expect the unexpected and to not always reject unexpected results as they may not always be a mistake and could be an improvement instead.

However I would still improve both my work and the process in a number of ways. Starting with the final product I would: change how each animal moves to exaggerate their unique movements further to make the animal more dynamic and interesting to look at rather than just observing how they move. Therefore I would observe and then improve through the drawings. an example of this could be; I would add squash to the elephant's walk to exaggerate and emphasise the elephants weight.

I would improve the work process by: testing each section after I had created them. this is because despite the unpredictable aspect as I mentioned before, it has hindered the quality of the overall animation. As I have mentioned in my blog and evaluated each section, I did not know the result of the animation until they were put together. Therefore I would test each section before I progressed to improve any aspects that were lacking. This would improve the overall animation and if it were experimental I would experiment in other aspects whilst maintaining the quality.

I conclusion I am pleased with the overall result and process, however there are some areas I would improve a number of aspects.

E4 Sting: Experimental Animation Project

E4 Sting: Experimental Animation Project

Introduction

This was another part of the experimental animation brief. We also had to create a ten second E4 'sting' which is short piece of video that is played between adverts to promote the channel. These are known to be odd and experimental at times. Therefore, from our experimental animation we also had to create an E4 Sting. This had to be related to our experimental animation in some way and couldn't be something completely different. We do also have the option to submit these to the E4 sting competition next year if we choose to. We were constrained by time and what we had; therefore this was a challenge. we were given the resources that we would need which were: the logo and a range of music that can be used but we could only select one of the music pieces they gave us. 

Production

Initial

Because the E4 sting had to be inspired by our experimental, I first created my experimental animation and then created the E4 Sting. From this i generated ideas and storyboarded them. Here are some storyboards I created:

As you can see this first storyboard was not related to my experimental in style but did have a monkey in it. However I knew this wouldn't be the one I would use because it wasn't directly related to my experimental. I mainly used this to get into the mood of creating a wacky scenario for the sting to take place.

This second storyboard was going in the right direction but felt too short or was missing something; therefore I created another storyboard that added something to it.

I added another aspect to the sting and felt that was the right one to go with as this was the most appropriate and best idea out of the three. 

Production

I started by drawing the extra frames I would need that were not already in the experimental which were the frog catching flies and catching the E4 logo. 

I then scanned those drawings and took the drawings of the frog jumping from the experimental and put them together in Flash to make the video. 

I then added the flies using the paint tool on flash. I also used Photoshop to create the purple splat at the end of the video where the E4 logo squashes the frog. 

Video

This is the final video with the chosen soundtrack:

Link to video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22_Lro2dEqw

Link to video on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/144816068

Conclusion

Being only a short ten second promotional video, I am pleased with the result. This is because I managed to complete the video within the time limit and have it feel like a E4 Sting. This is because I initially believed I would 'over think' the sting and make it too complex or unappealing. I like the simplicity of the charcoal and the limited colours being: purple, black and white therefore making the purple stand out.
If I were to create this video again and follow the same process, I would improve this by: making the frog more dynamic and adding a sense of character by adding 'qwerks' and other personality traits. This is because the frog within the video seems generic and doesn't really express any motivation besides eating flies. I would do this by making the frog seem excited or happy to see a fly, or to show that the frog is greedy by wanting more flies.
In conclusion I am pleased with the result of this video and process, however there are aspects that I would change if I were to do this project again.