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