Pre-Production - Planning out my investigation

Planning out the 2D/3D animation investigation

By Christopher Sutton (NZ animation student)

The animation I want to create for this experiment is both a techniques experiment and a story/ character test. I want to do a scene similar to the 12 years later scene, but based on my character Maria and the world she inhabits. The point of the scene in the story is similar to that of the scene that inspires it in treasure planet, to introduce the character. I also hope to add elements that bring depths to Maria's home by showing details of the farmland as she soars past on her glider. This scene is only a extract from a larger story, so this is a good chance to test out the story and gives me an excuse to develop the story in class time as well as my own time. This is a story I would like to develop beyond the confines of SIT, so this is a good chance to develop the work.

2D drawing style

Looking at:
- treasure planet/ Disney.
- Iron giant, Prince of Egypt.
- Avatar Legend of Korra.

3D texturing

Avatar, Treasure planet,...

Genre

Action/adventure/Steampunk

Medium and Software

2D and 3D animation

3D = Maya

2D = Adobe Flash, Toon Boon Harmony

Techniques Recap

The blending 2D and 3D animation.
3D objects will include large environmental objects, steampunk robots and Maria's glider.
2D objects will include Maria, general environment, other human characters (should I decide to include any) and any other ideas.

Test and experiments planned

Blending 3D and 2D using programs I have (Maya, Toonboom, Adobe CC)

The next step (work for the week and the break)

• Treatment
• Storyboards
• Character design
• Environment and object design
• Investigate how to blend 3D and 2D

Week 17

Bob Sabiston

-Developed an animation program called Rotoshop, a rotoscoping program for painting over live action.
- He createda award winning short film called Snack and drink.
- Teamed up with Richard Linklater in 2001 to make Waking life
-Linklater went on to make "A Scanner Darkly"

Michel Gondry

-Notable for his innovative and creative use of non-digital animation effects such as pixillation
-Made music videos for Bjork, Rolling stones and white stripes.

Chris Shepherd

- Created "Dad's Dead" and "Who I am and What I want"

Chris Landreth

-Created "Ryan" and animated documentary about Landreth's hero, Ryan Larkin.

White Stripes music video review

Interesting way of animating, but I feel like that not much is done with it. The video never evolves past the band members snaking through environments, leaving instruments in their wake. Overall an interesting concept that I don't feel reached its full potential. Some people clearly liked it though as the Simpsons parodied the video in an episode.

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run

Year: 1998
Country: Germany
Director: Tom Tykwer

"Run Lola Run" was nominated for 48 awards including one BAFTA and won 28 of those awards.

I felt like most of the techniques used in the film served the story well. The animation was a bit low quality and felt repetitive.

Some recurring motifs are the dripavite caused by money, struggling relationships and the butterfly effect.

I would recommend this film to other people studying film and animation but maybe not to a general film going audience.

Portugal 1995

Pedro Serrazina - Tale about the Cat and the moon

- Animated fairy tale

Japan 1995

Ghost in the shell

USA 1995

Henry Selick directed James and the Giant Peach

Starts as a live action and changes to a stop motion animation

Beavis and Butthead

King of the hill

Bill Plympton made "I married a strange person" (1997)

South park (1997)