IOL Week 4

SOUNDED MOTION

Option A

After going through the sounds provided from BBC Sound
Archives I chose 014–Sound-1 and made a list to describe the sound bite.

•  Twanging
•  Two tones (or pitchs)
•  Reverberating
•  High and low• 2 x 2
•  Sharp stop
•  Cadence up and down in each tone/strike
•  Second reverberation echoes first

EXPERIMENT I: work with simple lines/scribbles only

AIM Use frame by frame drawing to animate a still line jumping into a movement that reflects the chosen sound (014–Sound 1).

RATIONALE  As this is my first time working with a sound connected to movement, I am more confident drawing than managing motion paths etc.

METHOD Plan drawing (loosely) in Psd, import and make a layer for each of the two phrases/notes in the sound.

PROCESS DIARY

•  The first pass worked as frame by frame except that I drifted away from the original line position so it won’t make a complete loop.

•  For the second line I pre planned the starting and ending with straight line.

•  I found that I can’t select those lines (keyframes?). I am unsure why and have deleted all frames and started again with the second line/quiver.

OUTCOME

Interestingly, I like the more chaotic what-am-I-doing (almost straight ahead) first line better but the second line in which I pre planned the beginning and end frames has worked more neatly as a cycle. I think this is the most successful of the three.

IOL_Week4_Sound1_V1
https://vimeo.com/448812283

What would you follow up, cease or improve upon?

No more rough outs in PSD as this can be done just as well in Harmony.

EXPERIMENT II: work with simple shapes only.

AIM  Using the same sound work with a circle and motion paths to reflect the sound

RATIONALE  Build understanding of Harmony as I am
experimenting with using this program for Home (cfr TVPaint).

METHOD  Do planning sketches in Harmony. Set up a circle (shape) and move it down the sketched out path.

PROCESS DIARY

•  After setting this version up with circles on separate frames (as I would have in TVPaint?) I realised it could be done more efficiently with (separate) motion paths.

•  I manually adjusted the Position and Scale (in layer properties) to align the second keyframe with the first (because it had moved too soon down the path.) When played it looks terrible. Add ease in/ease out.

• No better and the paths (with added ease) distorted when I manually repositioned the keyframes. Start new path.

• Now I have frames along the path that keep changing size and I don’t know why as I  haven’t set them as keyframes. As I can’t find a solution I have used properties to resized each one.

OUTCOME

The movement is very unsatisfactory and I am not sure if this is due to the original plan or lack of fluency with the program. Come back if time.
Of interest, I am noticing that the picture can dominate the sound so that intermediate or accidental images (positions I haven’t resolved) start to say something different about the sound.

https://vimeo.com/448823585 

 EXPERIMENT III: work with a combination of lines and shapes.

AIM  Using the same sound work with a combination of a circle and line, frame by frame to reflect the sound

RATIONALE  I am running out of time (work is busy) and
moving very slowly with the paths. I would also look a little
more at Harmony’s potential to work as a drawing tool.

METHOD  Do planning sketches in Harmony.

PROCESS DIARY

Plan A                                       Plan B

•  Learnt that I could not delete marks because some were on a Colour layer and some on a Line layer!

•  Neither version of Plan A is working with the sound, (straight or curved connecting line). It needs a new plan (B). I have cut this short as again it wasn’t working and I was losing my shapes with the constant reworkings. With time running out I found a last quick way to complete the movement for the second component of the sound (keeping the first altered half). I’m still using straight ahead which feels like a bad habit.

IOL_Week4_Sound1_Ex3
https://vimeo.com/449914980