Final Project

I feel that there was a lot of content I didn't get to.  The shots are all too fast, particularly the establishing shot.  The biggest cause for this was my scheduling I got behind on.  For a project like this I should aim for finished a day or two before it's due.

Demo Reel

Demo Reel Paper Edit

Demo Reel focusing on believable movement and conveying character.

·      A Shirt Story

o   A_shirt_story_clip01: Stopmotion animation and editing.

o   A_shirt_story_clip02: Character interactions and conveying emotion.

·      Amoeba

o   Amoeba_clip01: Traditional hand-drawn squash and stretch. Creating weight and momentum.

·      Bad Sign

o   Bad_sign_clip01: Traditional hand-drawn suggesting depth believable movement through environment. Morphing and transformation.

·      Pianos of Legends

o   Pianos_of_legend_clip01: Frame by frame complex action while expressing character personality. 

·      Paper Subway

o   Paper_subway_clip01:  Establishing a mood within a highly stylized environment.

o   Paper_subway_clip02: Expressing deep emotions with simple animation.

·      Aries Dance

o   Aries_dance_clip01: Performing complicated motions and exchanging multiple rigs to create organic movement.

·      In the Company of Stars

o   In_the_company_of_stars_clip01: Fluidity in stopmotion cutout replacements.

·      Stepping in Ancient Times

o   Stepping_in_ancient_times_clip01: Compositing multiple animation types, lighting and hand-drawn dancing.

·      Haunted Playboy Mansion

o   Haunted_playboy_mansion_clip01: Lip syncing, Character design, facial expressions.

·      Aries Run Cycle

o   Aries_run_cycle_clip01: Fully developed run cycle for rigged human character.

·      Aries Walk Cycle

o   Aries_walk_cycle_clip01: Fully developed walk cycle for rigged human character.

·      Wings of Paper

o   Wings_of_paper_clip01: Recreating a physical pop-up aesthetic in a digital space.

Work Schedule

17th
Divide shots to be worked on into three manageable deadlines.
All Assets due.
1/3 of shots due.
Demo Reel outline and draft due.

24th
2/3 of shots due.
Demo Reel revision due.
DVD/digital portfolio due.

1st
Final Project Due
Revisions of past projects due.

Demo Reel Research

Headless Studios

  This demo reel keeps things moving very quickly.  It starts by showing clips from all their works meshed together but later moves into specific works in a trailer like fashion.  The reel doesn't slow down and shows a strong variety of visual style and types of movement.  The music choice accents but doesn't distract from the animation.  Sets, styles and visuals seem to be the biggest emphasis of the clips chosen.

Tinman Creative Studios

This reel has an appealing title animation that tells the title and starts on a strong foot.  This reel has a lot of various styles to it which at one point uses a 3-way split screen.  Although I think this wouldn't work for most reels, this reel pulls it off though the starkly different mediums in each of the 3 simultaneous shots.  The music is a little overwhelming and the cuts seem very reliant on the song for pacing.  Unlike the Headless Studios reel, this one has longer shot to give more attention to detail in the movements of the pieces.  It's 1 1/2 minutes and doesn't seem to drag its pace or lose visual interest.

Demo Reel of Keisha Ray

This reel needs some work.  The song (which was very identifiable) was an instant distraction and didn't add anything to the reel.  From my research I've found that although songs aren't necessary in demo reels they do help add a pace and sense of unity to the reel.  The song was repetitive, distracting, and ended abruptly.  The work was also distracting in the choice clips.  Many of the clips featured figures and images from already copywrited characters.  Seeing characters like the  "Little Big Planet" man hobbling around as  opposed to something I've never seen makes the clip look like an amateur experiment rather than a polished piece.  Many of the clips cut way too quickly giving the viewer no time to grasp what they are looking at.  The quality of the clip themselves are well below an 8 level.

Revised Final Concept

Instead of lecturing the ethics of piracy, I thought of a narrative idea that could be a lot of fun using some of the same ideas.

-  A computer falls in love with a pop-up ad while visiting a pirating site.  When the user forces his computer to close the add down the stage is set for tragic romance.

It opens on a computer accessing the internet.  The window to a pirating website is open.  Panning around to the backside of the window (the unseen 3rd dimension of the computer) we see Mac who is ripping files and throwing them in a nearby Finder window.  He is obliging his user, but by his expression Mac doesn't like what he's doing.  Suddenly a pop up window of a pretty girl shows up next to him.  Mac is in love and pulls her out of her window to join him.  They cuddle behind the browser window.  The impatient user (personified by the mouse) starts looking around for Mac.  The mouse discovers the two are mingling and tries to separate them.  Mac and the pop up try to stay together which makes the mouse get angry.  The mouse grabs Mac's hand and makes him force quit the pop up.  While force quitting the pop up, Mac is infected with a virus that causes the computer to crash.  Mac is rebooted.  He has forgotten the pop up but realizes something is missing.

I decided to use paper textures for this because it makes a warm and appealing new look to the very cold familiar digital world.