Heres a compilation of my bits from Swing Heil. I've broken them down so that you can see the rough animation first, then the completed thing. These are my bits alone, not placed in the scenes. When the film goes live on t'internet i'll post up the completed bits in the scene. Enjoy!
Edit - Here it is!
Swing Heil Part One - Rough Cut from Swing Heil on Vimeo.
"Keep doing what you want to do and you'll get there in the end"
"Keep doing what you want to do and you'll get there in the end."
Whether that's Quentin Tarantino, working in a video rental shop writing scripts for True Romance & Reservoir Dogs on the side, or the thousands of garage bands with something real to say. I think we can all agree that hunger & desire are the key ingredients, its always the same story, just with different plot points (ta Olly).
I think the internet is an amazing realization of this philosophy. It crops up in much more bizarre ways than simply a movie director or a garage band, and here is one perfect example of that. This guy made this (fairly odd, but brilliant) video of a remix of Disney's Alice in Wonderland clips. He posted it up on the net, and eventually it got him doing the same thing, officially - for Pixar. I think that's true testament to the above quote.
Here's the Alice vid:
And here's the UP one:
Snazzy ey?
EDIT - Another note on the power the internet has for change - This past year it has quite comprehensibly revolutionized journalism : the whole WikiLeaks scandal, Ryan Giggs being revealed on the internet, & Twitter as a means of communication between celebrities and the public - missing the middleman - the publisher.
Whether that's Quentin Tarantino, working in a video rental shop writing scripts for True Romance & Reservoir Dogs on the side, or the thousands of garage bands with something real to say. I think we can all agree that hunger & desire are the key ingredients, its always the same story, just with different plot points (ta Olly).
I think the internet is an amazing realization of this philosophy. It crops up in much more bizarre ways than simply a movie director or a garage band, and here is one perfect example of that. This guy made this (fairly odd, but brilliant) video of a remix of Disney's Alice in Wonderland clips. He posted it up on the net, and eventually it got him doing the same thing, officially - for Pixar. I think that's true testament to the above quote.
Here's the Alice vid:
And here's the UP one:
Snazzy ey?
EDIT - Another note on the power the internet has for change - This past year it has quite comprehensibly revolutionized journalism : the whole WikiLeaks scandal, Ryan Giggs being revealed on the internet, & Twitter as a means of communication between celebrities and the public - missing the middleman - the publisher.
Tangled up in Blue
"And everyone of them words rang true, and glowed like burning coals - pouring off of every page, like it was written in my soul - from me to you... Tangled up in blue."
Happy birthday Bobby D
Happy birthday Bobby D
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Swing Heil - post hand in
I figured I wouldn't post about Swing Heil until it was handed in, I didnt want to let the cat outta the bag so to speak. But it's done now, well atleast a version of it is done. Work will probably continue over the summer.
For now however, from my point of view, I think it looks really brilliant visually. Cats colouring style really beefed up Gaz's brilliant street drawings, my animation beds in nicely to the opening pan down (fantastically constructed by Alan), and when we arrive at the club the style erupts into Miguels fun dance sequence. I really like the differentiation at this point, it has a sort of '70's vibe to it, perhaps in the colours/silhouettes, i'm not sure but I really dig it.
Not to forget those who I worked less closely with - Grethe, Insa, Jake, Andy, Darrien & Holly all beefing up the animation in their own way.
You realise a funny thing working in a group - anything that you make alone, you unquestionably hate. Without real reason, except over-indulgence I spose. But working in a group, your bits are outshone by the fantastic work of everyone else. Hatred (of your own stuff) becomes a mild distaste, if anything atall, because you are too busy soaking in the admiration elsewhere.
Here's some stills:
For now however, from my point of view, I think it looks really brilliant visually. Cats colouring style really beefed up Gaz's brilliant street drawings, my animation beds in nicely to the opening pan down (fantastically constructed by Alan), and when we arrive at the club the style erupts into Miguels fun dance sequence. I really like the differentiation at this point, it has a sort of '70's vibe to it, perhaps in the colours/silhouettes, i'm not sure but I really dig it.
Not to forget those who I worked less closely with - Grethe, Insa, Jake, Andy, Darrien & Holly all beefing up the animation in their own way.
You realise a funny thing working in a group - anything that you make alone, you unquestionably hate. Without real reason, except over-indulgence I spose. But working in a group, your bits are outshone by the fantastic work of everyone else. Hatred (of your own stuff) becomes a mild distaste, if anything atall, because you are too busy soaking in the admiration elsewhere.
Here's some stills:
cheeky bit of animation
A test for the Royal wedding animation:
Am diggin the look of this. Think it looks a little like a fashion illustration
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Just found this, so will be attempting a watercolour effect shot for the next one.
Negotiated Brief - bit of inspiration part 2
Have been looking into rotoscoped animation, looking at different ways of using the technique. I think its fair to say that rotoscoping is quite widely regarded as having a bit of a dull look. But when done properly, it can look really good & stylish. For example, Mario Cavalli's Soho Square (ta Derrick). The style here justifies the use of rotoscope. It's like everything : It works when its in the right place at the right time.
This is still probably the best example of what we'd like to do, but coupled with simple backgrounds/block colour like Cavalli's film, will probably be the key.
This animation also has a nice rotoscope style, although I think it's probably too 'full' and not loose enough for what we're doing.
And speaking of being too full, here's another example of rotoscoped perfection.
I think its clear that there are two paths you can go down with rotoscoping. Either the highly realistic line, or the more loose style that uses the technique for a more abstract representation. The 'realistic' route can offer up some amazing graphics, but it always begs the question: What was the point? That's a thin line we'll have to traipse along, letting the style speak of its own justification by being aesthetically pretty enough.
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Here's a little bit of concept art:
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This is still probably the best example of what we'd like to do, but coupled with simple backgrounds/block colour like Cavalli's film, will probably be the key.
This animation also has a nice rotoscope style, although I think it's probably too 'full' and not loose enough for what we're doing.
And speaking of being too full, here's another example of rotoscoped perfection.
I think its clear that there are two paths you can go down with rotoscoping. Either the highly realistic line, or the more loose style that uses the technique for a more abstract representation. The 'realistic' route can offer up some amazing graphics, but it always begs the question: What was the point? That's a thin line we'll have to traipse along, letting the style speak of its own justification by being aesthetically pretty enough.
-----------------
Here's a little bit of concept art:
I think the colours need to be bolder, so I need to turn the opacity up a bit. But I quite like the look, and the second one - I think as a shot would really work - just got to silhouette the people behind.
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Also, have always loved the style of these images of Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol. Could be fun to imitate the look of them:
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Here's a short test i've done :
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Negotiated Brief - bit of inspiration
Here's just a bit of inspiration for the negotiated brief.
This is Flex by Chris Cunningham. I saw this a while ago when I was in college and it stuck with me since. The inspiration lies more in the slow moving parts - where you see muscles moving around slowly beneath the skin. And also with the sparseness of the music.
The other main bit of inspiration being these football animations I posted up the other week. The sketchyness of them - but also the way the brush strokes make them so beautiful still - is what I like from this.
So, somewere between the two, based around a core of life drawing, is what i'm thinking. Am going to keep focused on this today and see what I get.
--
UPDATE - Also, just been thinking about the Royal Wedding side of it. This is a good example of the sort of rotoscoping style that i'd like to use for it, some of you may of seen this - the Johnny Cash project.
I've just been collecting footage of the ceremony, and have got some good ideas brewing for rotoscoping it.
This is Flex by Chris Cunningham. I saw this a while ago when I was in college and it stuck with me since. The inspiration lies more in the slow moving parts - where you see muscles moving around slowly beneath the skin. And also with the sparseness of the music.
The other main bit of inspiration being these football animations I posted up the other week. The sketchyness of them - but also the way the brush strokes make them so beautiful still - is what I like from this.
So, somewere between the two, based around a core of life drawing, is what i'm thinking. Am going to keep focused on this today and see what I get.
--
UPDATE - Also, just been thinking about the Royal Wedding side of it. This is a good example of the sort of rotoscoping style that i'd like to use for it, some of you may of seen this - the Johnny Cash project.
I've just been collecting footage of the ceremony, and have got some good ideas brewing for rotoscoping it.
Richard Morrison talk
What an interesting bloke! Very honored to get the chance to listen to what he had to say, especially because he spent so long talking about being in the mood, getting in the flow, & fear. What I realized listening to him is he seems someone who's enthusiasm for creativity lead's him to be on the ball 24/7. Was a very inspiring talk, suffice to say have spent the rest of the day drawing & animating, ta Richard!
Also, after just having another brief glimpse at his website, realized that I ripped him off in the past, when I was about 14. The music is lifted straight from his intro to Batman. Schwing!
http://www.richard-morrison.co.uk/work.html
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Am off to see Howard Mark's this weekend too, am building quite the rostrum of older legend's, in the last year have had the chance to see/meet : Peter Green, John Cooper Clarke, Joanna Quinn & now these two. Not to shabby.
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And finally, what a brilliant picture this is, two great men relaxing, back in the early days:
Also, after just having another brief glimpse at his website, realized that I ripped him off in the past, when I was about 14. The music is lifted straight from his intro to Batman. Schwing!
http://www.richard-morrison.co.uk/work.html
--
Am off to see Howard Mark's this weekend too, am building quite the rostrum of older legend's, in the last year have had the chance to see/meet : Peter Green, John Cooper Clarke, Joanna Quinn & now these two. Not to shabby.
--
And finally, what a brilliant picture this is, two great men relaxing, back in the early days:
Life drawing
Heres my life drawing pictures from yesterday.
I'm especially happy with the two ones drawn on black as I really like the look of them, very messy.
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