From Script to Screen - Reflective Statement

The project has definitely been an interesting one - but it has also been tough and opened my eyes to tight deadlines and truck loads of work that need to get done, whether you're ready for it or not. I am happy with the work I've done, but I still think that I'd like to do more if I ever got the chance. I feel like there is a lack of environment concept art/production art: the reason being I found it too time consuming, as well as the fact that environments are the least attractive subject to me, especially compared to character design. In future I'd like to try and divide my attention evenly between all aspects of the project.

I also struggled the timings for my storyboard, animatic and pre-viz. They have all ended up being different times - the stoyboard is around 2:30, the animatic is just under 2 minutes, and the pre-viz is just over. I don't like this inconsistency, and next time I'd like to try and concentrate all of my storyboard/animation lengths so they're all the same in the end.

One more aspect I'm not too happy with is the sound. As I said before, time was tight and there was so much to do in a short space of time - so sound was definitely on the back burner until the last minute. Originally, because I like to write my own music, I planned to make my own soundtrack, but that didn't quite work out, so I had to find a royalty-free on online instead. Also, in future I'd like to try and add in some diegetic sounds as my animation currently has none.

What I am proud of in this project is my character design. It may not seem like much, but I practically never draw men, and if I do they're very simple and bland. However in this project I've managed to create two male characters who have their own personalities that have been reflected in their designs. I'm quite happy with this and can't wait to push it further in the future.

Overall, I do see a lot of flaws in my project, but I see a few small successes too. This unit has been a big learning curve, and it's left me with a lot of questions that I now need to explore. I'm a little wary but also curious to see what lies ahead - hopefully I'll be able to examine the trajectory I'm on and adjust it accordingly.

From Script to Screen - Art Of

From Script to Screen - Animatic

From Script to Screen - Maya Pre-Viz

From Script to Screen - Prop Production Designs

From Script to Screen - Character Production Designs

From Script to Screen - Character Biographies

From Script to Screen - Character Concept Art

From Script to Screen - Final Storyboard

My storyboard still shows that my animation will be a minute too long - however I think I haven't been too accurate with timing and I'm confident whilst making the animatic I'll be able to condense some scenes down a bit. If this doesn't work, I'll make one short version that fits the brief and another extended one.

From Script to Screen - Final Script

From Script to Screen - Environment Thumbnails

From Script to Screen - Character Thumbnails

Life Drawing

Toolkit - Maya Long Jump Animation

In Simon's class today we had to pick an action and animate it using a pre-existing rig. I based my animation off of a long jump. Here is the playblast for what I did in the lesson:

From Script to Screen - Online Greenlight Review 2

From Script to Screen - Prop Concept Art

From Script to Screen - Character Concept Art

From Script to Screen - Influence Maps

Influence Maps by Chloe on Scribd

From Script to Screen - Storyboard

From Script to Screen - Script

Script by Chloe on Scribd

Life Drawing

Today's life drawing.

Character Design - Fourth Lesson

In our last character design class we looked at designing animals. After researching the different anatomies of various animals, we worked on combining all of these traits to make a completely new animal.

Character Design - Third Lesson

In our third character design lesson we looked at creating designs for inanimate objects. I decided to make a weapon for the character Ralph from Wreck-it-Ralph.

After this exercise we looked at anthropomorphism. We had to make characters from different objects from a certain room, and I was given utility room:

Character Design - Second Lesson

In our second character design lesson we looked at how form follows function and the difference between creating female and male characters, as well as the basic proportions that a design should follow. Here are the notes and drawings I made for that lesson:

Toolkit - Film Scores & Mixing Audio

In Kat's last lesson we looked at film scores and mixed audio from an existing song to make a new one. Here is my audio from the class:

Toolkit - Maya Walk Cycle

In Simon's class today we worked on making a walk cycle animation. This is the playblast of the work I did in the lesson:

Film Review - Psycho

Psycho is a 1960 horror-thriller hybrid directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The story start off by following the 'heroine', Marion Crane, who steals some money and runs with it, planning to reunite with her boyfriend in another town. However, Marion never makes it to her destination as she is murdered in a hotel room, and the rest of the movie is spent trying to figure out where Marion is and who murdered her.

Fig. 1

One of the most interesting features of Psycho is that "Hitchcock's care with the scenes and dialog persuades us that Norman and Marion will be players for the rest of the film." (Ebert, 1998). However, 45 minutes into the film, our protagonist is killed off, leaving the viewer disorientated and confused. After following the story of this woman for nearly an hour, the direction that the film is going in drastically changes, which is what Hitchcock planned all along.

Fig. 2

Hitchcock's tactic for this film seems to be "slow buildups to sudden shocks" (Crowther, 1960), which works effectively, and is assisted by the use of camera shots. There are some masterful shots hidden in Psycho, like one particular scene where a private investigator is questioning Norman, and the camera focuses in on his neck. Using this shot really shows Norman's vulnerability and nervousness at being questioned because he is hiding the truth from the investigator. Hitchcock really focuses on where the camera is pointing and why, and this really pays off throughout the film.

Fig. 3

Not only are the camera shots something to focus on in Psycho, the music is celebrated also. The "stabbing string score" (Monahan, 2015) in the shower scene where Marion is killed unsettles the viewer and frightens them, even though there aren't actually any real signs of violence: the knife never makes contact with Marion's body, there isn't much blood, and there is never any sign of real wounds. This scene is iconic in the way it portrays the murder with no real violence, but terrifying music that leaves the audience on the edge of their seats.

Fig. 4

In conclusion, the making of Psycho has obviously been thought out very thoroughly, from the story, to the camera, and to the music. Hitchcock has made a stunning adaptation of Robert Bloch's original book that has been celebrated over the years.

Bibliography

Crowther, B (1960). "Psycho" in The New York Times [online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173DE273BC4F52DFB066838B679EDE

Ebert, R (1998) "Psycho" in Roger Ebert [online]. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-psycho-1960

Monahan, M (2015) "Psycho, review" in The Telegraph [online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11025424/Psycho-review.html

Illustration List

Fig. 1 - https://johneaves.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/psycho-theatrical-release-poster-1960.jpg

Fig. 2 - http://www.coolimba.com/engine/static/articles/48-huge-mistakes-no-one-ever-noticed-in-major-movies-ge-bho/images/police_officer_marion_driving.jpg

Fig. 3 - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9sahprCcFLRhBr3mCR02PfV4VQ7BSWk2qBMwI-HM4hkpPyf1BnubTEurdeFs-ucLj6Y9xYs1aIwcOhO-OYPWT-J2gVQJf7TbvlWdZQkgcVCLi3mMr-WC9YUehDRnSM0rmCtvyqFE6mvb/s1600/Psycho+7+Jaw.jpg

Fig. 4 - https://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/20171104_BKP509.jpg