Understanding of Green Screening: Model Turn-Around

Finished turn-around

The final activity our Visual Language model's got to experience was today's Dragonframe induction. This one was one of the most interesting inductions I've ever had as we composed stop-motion along with greenscreening, attempting the main technique that is used in feature-length stop-motion films as well as post-productive editing in modern movies. I have never done greenscreening before and have always wanted to learn the conventions of being able to do it, even if it is just on an individual level for personal progression and practice. Seeing as I am slowly getting to understand After Effects, we were taught the power of using mask layers, which perfectly align with my understanding of how keyframes, effects, and filters function in After Effects (compliments to the past inductions). Initially, we went through the conventions of lighting and how it affects the reduction of light flicker and the removal of shadows, something crucial to greenscreening. When it came to Dragonframe, everything that we were taught I already knew, however, solely because I've been "specializing" in stop-motion for years. Making a valiant use of the cinematography window is essential in achieving the desired exposure in the frame, something that all photographers know to be fundamental. The most informative part for me was the process of greenscreening and how the asset Keylight 1.2 has the power to automatically filter uniform colors which stick out at the background. Furthermore, learning how to fully manipulate masking will open a range of possible alterations in digital animation. Just in case I do not forget the process, I took picture notes of the procedure so that I may use this technique in my future animations. With this induction, I feel that I'm one step closer to becoming a multifaceted animator with a semi-professional background, as I have broken yet another barrier of non-understanding. Stop-motion just got a whole lot more flexible.

Techniques of Stop-Motion Analysis: Crooked Rot

Stop-motion's appeal to realism possesses the power to utilize firm visual imagery in order to portray a concept that is interrelated with existence. However, stop-motion also gives the opportunity to use manual effects which can introduce a more hyperbolized level of realism: surrealism. "Crooked Rot" is a stop-motion animation created by David Firth in 2008, and is one of my favorite dark-atmospheric animations. Unsettling and mesmerizing, the animation is an ambiental-surrealist masterpiece in my own opinion due to the intricate use of lighting to hint the atmosphere along with the eerie soundtrack in the background that caters to every action within the animation. What is most interesting about the animation is that it's 100% pure stop-motion with no digital effects, which proves that the authenticity of manually generating graphic effects during production (and not post-production) can outweigh the digital rendering because they seem more natural, ultimately giving the animation a bigger appeal. In this situation, the animation's intention is to be bizarre in a way that it uses psychological conventions to create a horror tone giving the audience an unsettling feel. For example, the scene where one of the severed heads is wearing a mask and screaming incoherently uses the natural human fear of masks (because without facial expressions, our mind cannot differentiate emotion) along with the fear of ambiguous noises which cannot be subconsciously explained. All in all, I was compelled to try to analyze the techniques used in "Crooked Rot", as I too stick to natural effects when animating in stop-motion (for example, cigarette smoke in "LSDuck"). The hovering lights which are made with a slow shutter speed responding to quick circular movements of a synthetic light in contrast with the darkness make for a unnatural luminosity that beguiles the human mind, releasing feelings of awe. During the scene where the pig head protrudes through the wall the rapid and quick animation of his hands (on the computer and at the camera) are presented in a chaotic manner which instigate a series of shock scares because of the difference in every frame. The most important factor in what makes this animation particularly scary is the pre-production - all the props together make the imagery aesthetically frightful, something I personally try to incorporate in my stop-motion animations.

"Crooked Rot" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjny4qNy24

Animation Analysis: Take This Pill

David Firth, also known for being the creator of the eerie animated series "Salad Fingers" is a profuse animator whose style is similar to mine, or to be more accurate, the other way around. I had forgotten about his work for a while up until a fellow peer pointed out that my last animation (The Other Side) reminded him of Firth's style, something I do not negate although it might be a subconscious inspiration. Among the many animations that he has, I adore his "Take This Pill" where he depicts the big Pharma through a vile visual anecdote, a satire if you will. One of the main reasons why I love this animation is the vernacular language used to point out the miserable cycle of individuals' dependency on pharmaceuticals to treat only the symptoms of a condition whilst promoting extended use (which has been speculated to strike heavy addictions and hormonal imbalances). The animation also portrays the notion that these pills become a part of our identity, where people develop fears of not taking their daily meds (anxiety issues, as well), one example being the scene where pain is personified as a "chap", and then revered by humans which inadvertently assist the pharmaceutical industry. However, another reason why I love this animation is the style in which it is created, as I pointed out prior. David Firth's use of de-saturated colors and grayscale patterns adds to the eerie and freakish feeling one receives when watching his animations, along with his character design for this animation in particular where the characters resemble bugs (body composition and appearance as anthropods). Brushing up on such works by David Firth gave me the incentive to analyze and appropriate his style to mine, pick up a few tips to improve my 2D animation, such as the simplicity of animating mouth movement to sync up with sentences. Truly, an inspiring and eclectic animator, even with stop-motion works, something to analyze later on!

"Take This Pill" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfAul2isPfo

PPP Seminar: Internet Use and Copyright

This week was amongst the most important of all PPP presentations regarding how one can protect his/her own content from being stolen as an intellectual property or how one goes around the possible violations of the same concept. Personally, this is the most useful PPP presentation so far hence `i have never quite fully understood the parameters of copyright and have seen countless European and American cases where such infringements have been punitively assessed, most of which where about music or art. Luckily, in the UK any content produced is automatically copyrighted, which eliminates the necessity to register one's content for fear of plagiarism.

Subjected to Copyright:
An author or individual should not adapt, distribute, publicly transmit or perform, rent, or even lend content without consulting the respective copyright laws to said piece of work/content. As for who owns copyright, from the presentation I understood that it is the author or the company/agency that publishes the piece. Luckily, for educational purposes copyright applies without permission (given that the educational establishment is in compliance with some form of legal document/contract, like one needed for a library). I had been afraid of violating copyright in any shape or form for my next COP animation which shall feature names of brands, a super copyright double-whammy.

Alternatives to Copyright:
I had never heard of any alternatives to copyright prior, and was always thinking that every individual, like it or not (especially in the UK) is subjected to copyright in some way for his/her own personal content.

Copyleft - A form of licensing that gives a right to redistribute, adapt, or reproduce a piece of work. The main concept of Copyleft had been described by Richard Stallman in his "GNU Manifesto", where he had said that "GNU is the public domain". Upon further research of this notion, I found out that Copyleft has several lawfully identified levels of licensing that all differ in the magnitude of the restriction, ranging from Freedom 0 to Freedom 3:

Freedom 0 - Piece of work can be used
Freedom 1 - Piece of work can be studied
Freedom 2 - Piece of work can be shared with others
Freedom 3 - Piece of work can be modified and distribute altered such versions

Creative Commons - a versatile and liberating license of intellectual property and content that provides simplicity and standardization. Founded by Lawrence Lessig as a non-profit organization, Creative Commons is a more established set of licensing which has an official website which assists aspiring creators in licensing their work under their free regulations and allows them to expand their creative works. As does Copyleft, so does Creative Commons carry levels of licensing which give the artist a choice of how he/she wishes to disseminate hers/his work, all written down on their official website (link at bottom of blog entry). As my research continued, I found that artists such as Nine Inch Nails use delineations of Creative Commons so that they may sell their music without having to compete with others selling copies of the same work. Thus, for my personal animations (non-educational) I will be using Creative Commons as it appeals to me the most in both freedom and liability.

Sources:
"What is Copyleft? - GNU Project" - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html
"Creative Commons" - https://creativecommons.org