Theme: Play and Object
Context: The topic of the week for CPS was tinkering and I had found a website called exploratorium.edu which has a bunch of activities that can be done using tinkering and the one that appealed to me most is 2 frame animation using household items which reminded me of the first video games to come out such as Super Mario Bros. They had very simple animation loops for the characters but they still got the message across to the viewer. I thought that the two topics were similar and could fit together.
Method: I started looking around me for items I could use but also emulate a real life creature, object etc. I decided on a frilly zipper from an old bag and a pair of pliers and went with an under the sea theme. The first object reminded me of an octopus and the second of a crocodile.
Response: I noticed that doing two frame animation required a lot of thinking ahead to ensure that there was an actual loop occurring, which worked with one but not with the other. This one was also more challenging because it was completed during class time, and I generally find myself taking a longer time to come up with ideas.
In response to the theme time, I illustrated three scenarios where if products were in their original form instead of being turned into the objects we know using machinery, carpentry, etc. By creating these images I've shown how things would look if they were created in reverse, paper reconstructed into trees which are used to send mail, shoes into cows that are real "leather" shoes and fuel into dinosaurs where cars ride on their backs and are "fueled" by them. I was inspired by The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button and how he's born an old man and ages in reverse.
Context: this week’s theme was body, and like last week I gave myself a set time limit to come up with an idea and execute it. My response is inspired by Philip Worthington’s Shadow Monsters where you move in front of the light box and your movements are then captured and input into a computer then transformed into monster body shapes and projected (https://youtu.be/XNHv6VryB8o) which we viewed in class and the game Pictionary. I also managed to relate it to my practice as an animator, since silhouettes are very important to keep in mind as they make your work stronger, so why not turn that into a game?
Method: I wrote down some prompts (emotions; angry, sad, excited, satisfied, etc.) on pieces of paper which the player picks out of a bowl and then proceeds to create a silhouette conveying that emotion which the other players have to guess. I used the flashlight from an iPhone and an empty wall.
Response: I play tested the game with my sister and because of space restraints, the player guessing could see the other player’s face while they tried to create a silhouette which made guessing somewhat easier. It would be better to play in a bigger space where the silhouette would be the focus. It was also a challenge to remember that we weren’t playing charades and had to exaggerate the pose so that it could be conveyed in shadow.
Play test video: https://youtu.be/vUyw7TpzpSM
Context: This weeks theme was sound, and it got me thinking of Tarek Atoui’s unconventional instruments series, Reverse Sessions (https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/special-event/new-tate-modern-opening-weekend/tarek-atoui), a series of musical instruments created from different objects where he then invited different artists to create music.
I also wanted to use the method Helen mentioned in class which was creating my response in a short period of time.
Method: I wanted to create a digital musical instrument, but the sound would be from an unconventional source, like my taekwondo kicking pads. I recorded myself kicking a small target pad and a bigger shield pad, hoping that different kicks (roundhouse, axe, back kick) would create slightly different sounds, which wasn’t really the case. I wasn’t able to create an actual instrument that I could use digitally so I tried another approach which was programming buttons in html then clicking on them and recording that.
Response: I didn’t manage to come out with a result that I liked, and I haven’t written a code in such a long time and I discovered that I didn’t miss it either, however it was something different to attempt. I did find that forcing myself to create within a short time period helped a lot with filtering out ideas quickly and increased productivity.
Process and result: https://youtu.be/q5vOpYmPidU
Rationale:
During class, Max mentioned vingettes and it had slipped my mind entirely. I thought doing a series of vingettes would be a more suitable outcome than just doing animation tests. The vingettes will be in relation to my character's double life, and showcase the contrast between the two. He also suggested making it so that the shots were created organically as opposed to storyboarding the whole thing from the start.
Context:
- Shudo by To-Anh Bach, Charles Badiller and Hugo Weiss (https://youtu.be/bVw68FKLEzQ). The way the contrast is shown between love and fight and how the scenes transition between the two.
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Method:
I will be using Adobe Animate and Rough Animator.
Outcome:
An animated series of vignettes complied into one video.