PPP2 - Who Am I Now?

Identify 5 things you have learned so far on the programme:
- Thorough understanding and learning of animation software such as Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere: with the overarching inductions as well as my continued use of these programs (learning through trial-and-error), I have developed a flexible use of these programs
- Effective time-management: assorting a day to day rhythmic routine of how much work needs to be done in order to get around deadlines with ease and no stress.
- Use of animation conventions of pre-production and their necessity: priorhand I had been utilizing a "straight ahead" technique that posed a lot of problems and complications without thorough planning and organization of animatics, storyboards, considerations, etc.
- Organization in working and research: how to critically assess what needs to be done and how through speculation and research. Furthermore, with research becoming a part of my practice, I have learned how to eliminate mistakes before they even appear.
- 2D Animation drawing skills: I have colossally improved my drawing skills through the adaptation of digital drawing as well as traditional drawing, where I have learned how to create more dynamic characters through the use of primitive shapes as foundations.

Identify 5 things that you want to know more about:
- The creative industry: how the animation industry functions with all its fragments of specialized teams that work on a set of specific tasks.
- Stop-motion armatures: how stop-motion armatures are made, how the sets are composited, the materials used in said process of production.
- Audit animation and networking: I want to know more about the initial and intermediate steps in forming networks and establishing teams of animation based on audit animation.
- 2D rigging: how to rig more complex characters and improve the movement of said characters - to create appealing 2D rigging movements.
- Cinematography: the art of storytelling through camera angles and exposure shots - how characters are laid out on the scene and how they fit within a scene (a hidden but descriptive form of narrative).

Identify 5 skills that you think are your strengths:
- Eclectic resourcefulness: capable of tackling problems through trial-and-error based on the understanding of software interfaces as well as the intertwining of spontaneous ideas through attempts of speculation.
- Stop-motion conventions: the understanding and comprehension of proper lighting techniques, set making, camera angles - eliminating light flicker and frequent problems of stop-motion through years of practice
- Openness to collaboration: amenable to synthesizing ideas with other practitioners and reaching compromises for the sake of the animation.
- Comprehension of 2D animation software and techniques: I fully triangulate between the many softwares that are used in animation and can easily solve a problem with hindsight and trial-and-error as well as animating through different manners.
- Creation of soundscapes: designing soundtracks and compositing (and creating) sound effects based on an animation - helping the animation reach its optimal expression through auditory cues of narration.

Identify 5 things that you want to improve:
- 3D Animation: the creation of CGI sets as well as the rigging of simple characters (mostly interested in low poly), although I am not that into 3D, it is an effective skill.
- 2D Animation: improve drawing skills even further in order to effectively capture a character's pose and perspective through solid drawing
- Creation of armatures: since most of my stop-motion has revolved around Legos and clay figures, I'd like to improve in creating armatures and more complex stop-motion puppets by using household items and tools.
- Motion graphics in AE: to fully understand all the effects prepacked with After Effects in order to fully utilize their power in creating visuals as well as flexible and appealing animation.
- Patience: I need to improve my patience when learning some animation technique through step-by-step, as well as acquiring an even more overarching motivation cue whilst animating.

Identify 5 practitioners that demonstrate your interest in animation:
- Jan Svankmajer: surrealism in stop-motion with a heavy emphasis on symbolism - the creation of frivolous models and characters from everyday household items.
- Terry Gilliam: the flimsiness and whimsicality of cut-out animation, reminiscent of Dada art - an epoch which ties to my aesthetic.
- Gil Alkabetz: the art of subtle narrative - the actions of characters and how they define the circumstances of the "invisible" environment through visual suggestibility.
- David Firth: eeriness and ambiguity in animation through visual cues - introducing a sense of bleakness in context through the use of desaturated colors.
- Don Hertzfeldt: simplicity in the portrayal of gore - using simple lines and flow in movement as well as carbon textures (watercolor).

Identify 5 websites/online resources that demonstrate your areas of interest within the creative industries:- http://www.lynxanimation.com/ - a Macedonian animation studio that I am heavily considering working for once I graduate
- http://animationresources.org/ - an over-encompassing and brilliant site that provides resources about animation from all perspectives, be it paintings, poses, illustration, reference to live action, etc.
- www.aardman.com - the stop-motion domain that provides me with a visual research on the smoothness possibility of stop-motion animation
- http://www.skwigly.co.uk/ - an online animation magazine that gives me insight on techniques of animation and inspiration based on the films I watch there
- http://everyframeapainting.tumblr.com/ - demonstrating the effective use of cinematography and angles within film that assist me in the composition and effect that different shots have

PPP2 - Engaging With Visualizations

Still from visualization - before the culminating point

Recently, I've been interested in creating visuals for bands to be displayed whilst performances are conducted much more than I have been in the past. Although I have made such a visual on one instance for a friend's ambient project, I wish to venture further into the realm of abstract and atmospheric visuals that grasp and envelop a band's/performer's music genre and tone. I got inspired during Leeds Light Night where I saw auditory sensitive visuals (made by Level 6 student Oscar Barany) controlled through Resolume (an interactive visual effects program) and an APC Mini (hardware device that controls music connected visuals) and will be aiming towards understanding this form of art and actively practicing it once I get the opportunity to buy the necessary equipment. However, with my initial one (one I made last year) being quite noisy and ambiguous, I aimed for this one to be much more organized and annotated to the peak amplitude of the music. Progressively, I contacted the Macedonian recently-formed band "Spectrum" (whose members I personally know) and offered to synthesize a visual for their newest teaser song, to which they agreed. Although I did not ask for monetary remuneration for this, I will for when I make a music video once they release their debut album, which is something I already discussed with them. Since they were not specific about the details of the visuals, I attempted at trying to express their tone more prominently through the visuals, for which I used an asset initially made for my Character & Narrative animation which had a dark and ambiguous demeanor. Thus, once I imported that in Premiere, along with the image they supplied me with (their current cover), I started experimenting with the myriad of effects on Premiere and thus annotated the initial flow based on the rising points of the song (where I chipped off separate frames and tinkered with their position and exposure to give it a "glitch" effect). As for the background, I reverse looped the stop-motion and changed the tint during the reversed sequence to complement the dichotomy presented by the name of the song (context, nevertheless). All in all, both I and the band consider the visuals to be highly satisfying as this paves the positive way for the further development of this technique. Moreover, I am considering spreading the word around in Macedonia (as well as here) advocating my creation of music videos and visuals.

"Spectrum - Empathy" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3StQO6RaHA

PPP2 Presentation - Who are you? Why are you here?

Interconnecting with Responsive's role of developing a standard practice and making connections with the creative industry, today's PPP presentation brought forth some quite metaphysical, but very engagingly pensive questions. The main gist of the presentations was revolving around subjectivity and the stirring of our inquisitive minds. With questions such as "what do I want to achieve?" following up the introductory title, I found myself questioning the very basis of my practice - why am I doing it. Attempting to grasp this notion within and after the presentation, I started answering the main question posed during the lecture in my mind and notebook. I believe that answering these questions structures my path more effectively and induces motivation and confidence within my practice.

Who am I? - I am a animator in training that is aiming to achieve engagement with the industries in order to professionalize my creative practice.

Why are you here? - I am here to understand how the creative industry functions, to develop my animation practice through experimentation and proliferation of work, and to synthesize it with the theory and context of the art form.

Going forward into a simulating practice, the emphasis for developing our personal professional practice was placed on collaborations within this year, where we are expected to micromanage creative networks through the opportunities given to us (MAF, Lectures and Talks, Contests, and Collaborative Briefs). Rejoice, it is the ideal time for synergy and establishing contacts, and so will be done through dedication, a functional practice schematic, and confidence!

Expecting to establish direct contacts and networks, as well as analyze techniques of animations (and its conventions) here.

PPP2: Research into Form - Gil Alkabetz

Scrolling through a book I checked out called "Animation 2D and Beyond" by Jayne Pilling, I stumbled upon Gil Alkabetz's work and focus on the general form of animation. Alkabetz claims that "if you have a particular style, you create a particular world whose rules you know, so you can play with breaking them". However, he also proclaims that "by not being committed to any one style, you somehow have to reinvent the wheel every time", which subscribes to the notion of the style fitting the narrative, and not the other way around. I've always been interested in narrative oriented animation hence I believe that as an animator one must experiment and explore the different and plentiful conventions of the art form and not just stick to one's comfortable style - nothing is learned in that manner. Thus, I shall start utilizing this schematic of animation where the story is created first (be it absurd and defiant to reality or not) by using a phantasmagoric idea, developing the plot, and then choosing the form of animation which will carry the flow of the story through naturally (in order to perpetuate experimentation). Considering this, I was flabbergasted by his film "Swamp" hence it explored the many narrative levels of animation instigated by color, movement, and flow. The film portrays the absurdity of war, however, it does so in a really abstract and minimalist manner, relying on the suggestibility relayed by action and not by visuals. In other words, the film creates tension between the characters and the environment and uses that tension to drive the unique story along. The swamp that sinks the soldiers is never shown, yet we comprehend its existence solely because of the story's descriptive progression - it introduces us to the environment by having the characters interact with the invisible surroundings. This form of storytelling is imperative to the full exploitation of animation as an art form since it's breaking through the film frame of reality. Afterwards, I went on watching more of his films, giving me an inspiration to do an animation that uses watercolor as the main medium hence I really love the aesthetic of the texture.

"Swamp" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWQ5led8BA0

PPP2: Research Into 3D Scene Building - "The Animation Book" and Inspiration

Stop-Motion in Courage

CGI in Courage's "Perfect"

Doing peripheral research about techniques of animation is the most crucial step towards developing an understanding of the conventions of a specific practice. In other words, research is key! Having a brief that explores character narratives and choosing to intertwine several techniques of animation into one final piece (practicing multimedia, as it is the most prevalent notion in the animation industry) purges one into doing research that envelops all of the techniques. I recently checked out several books from the library, one being "The Animation Book" by Kit Laybourne which contains a myriad of introductory and intermediate techniques on all fields of animation. I was interested in 3D atmosphere and scene building hence my Character and Narrative animation shall revolve around a blend of a 3D space with 2D animation, as well as for the sake of personal development where I would like to be able to create masterful scenes in 3D to complement the atmosphere that defines my style (macabre, dark, ambiental atmosphere). Furthermore, I would like to thoroughly get into a mutlimedia technique of hybrid animations where I have an understanding of 3 main techniques - 2D, Stop-Motion, 3D (this being the one I know the least due to my previous aversion). Having said this, I need to mention that I also got inspired by my childhood cartoon "Courage the Cowardly Dog" which blends 2D, 3D, and Stop-Motion in a perfect concoction of animation that instills fear and shocking awe into the viewer as well as a substantial sense of mystery revolving the environment Courage is in. In my research of Courage the Cowardly Dog, I noticed that the cartoon impeccably uses juxtaposition of techniques to drastically change an atmosphere and give the viewer a feeling of uncertainty and perplexity when deducing the context of the scene. One such example would be the episode "Perfect" where Courage goes through a string of disconnected dreams that dwell on his insecurity of imperfection, the dreamscapes being crafted in CGI and paper-style animation. Straying away from this, in my research of "The Animation Book" I found that there is a delicate process of 2D texturing in 3D for scenes. Importing a premade 2D texture (usually through photoshop) onto an object through defining the surface attributes to reflect light IMMENSELY induces atmosphere. It's safe to say that light is the key factor in 3D scene design. Going through, there are 3 stages to building a scene - composition, camera setup, and lighting. With digital lighting (3 types being parallel light, radial light, and spotlight) one can induce an atmosphere and emphasis of something on the scene. However, for this to be mastered only comes "with practice and repeated test renderings", as it is stated within the book. I will apply and continue research as my journey goes on to test out these conventions with the hopes of creating test shots and atmospheric backgrounds.

Prime reference from "The Animation Book"

PPP2: Iterations of Future Animation Ideas and Experimentation

With the first PPP brief emphasizing the reflection on a body of investigative research through which an individual may strengthen his or her practice and develop it throughout the venture of this college year, I was swept with inspiration and motivation to fully and wholeheartedly engage as a creative practitioner. Thus, I firmly believe that analysis and research is fueled by a keen sense and tendency to experiment with different techniques and ideas in order to solidify one's practice. On the other side, when it comes to professionality, one must develop networks and an awareness of the surrounding opportunities, be they other collaborative practitioners or communicators which can engage us in our exposure to the crowd. Nevertheless, as the briefing presentation was being carried out, I immediately was washed over with a myriad of ideas for personal exploration of animation techniques which I jotted down and shall proceed on carrying out. One such idea was the research into 2D rigging, which is something I have not properly explored before. Alongside me wanting to use and using this technique for my Character Narrative, I will research the conventionalities of this method to further supply my knowledge of animation especially for my collaborative animation. 3D being another technique I want to analyze and research in terms of background compositioning as I really find the juxtaposition of 2D animation in a 3D space (similar to The Amazing World of Gumball in methodology) aesthetically invigorating due to its visual richness. Finally, I thought about heavy ink on paper being scanned in to create a texture-enriched animation with the aesthetic of the traditional aspect still present, although this would be quite difficult to execute. However, the Character Narrative is the perfect opportunity for me to apply new techniques and engage in research thoroughly - all relevant to the ideas I conjured up during the presentation.

The Introduction to Personal Professional Practice 2

The most practical of all modules has emerged from the depths, and this year's overall structure of the module PPP has swept me away in a creative frenzy of motivation. Initially, Personal Professional Practice is about the professionalization of my practice by evoking research that informs the decisions I make. Furthermore, it was presented that this module is to engage us with the creative industries by instilling an interest in collaboration and personal style development and critically reflecting on how it may fit in the animation industry. With the organized structure of this module, all three briefs succumb to our personal growth as creative practitioners by fueling our openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them. I am still finding out and exploring the horizon of my creative practice, as more and more I try to be an eclectic animator that strays away from the narrow-minded path of only applying ONE technique (as I did so at the beginning of my first college year - stop-motion). Quite on the contrary, seeing as how the past year's module shed light on my development as a versatile practitioner, I strongly subscribe to the notion that this year's PPP module will effervescently augment my professionality as well as my openness to concepts, collaborations, and techniques. All quite concisely put - Adapt or Die!

By thoroughly going through the modules at the presentation and the one module presented on eStudio, I feel confident enough and do not fear the outcome of this module for I have shifted my interest towards the core essence of the college's aims: personal development instead of grades. Moreover, I believe that by calmly working through this academic year the grades will righteously reflect my practice at its fullest!

With LCA's "Life After College" program inbound, I believe that I will be able to receive a variety of tips and tricks about the issues of professional development I am mostly insecure of: skills regarding the presentation of my ideas. Luckily, the "Life After College" offers a presentation on this topic which I will be attending and hoping it will instill inspiration for my practice.

Developing Independent Animation: Retreat

Noise becomes aesthetic, and vice versa. Animation skills are really flexible in producing more incoherent pieces of abstract motion just as equally as they are in creating a story to portray a message. In this case, it's more about connoting a tone, an atmosphere, rather than a story. A friend of mine has created an avant-garde ambient project for which he requires an animation to be projected in the background like a visualization that will help carry the atmosphere of the music - to simulate a post-modern ritual, in a way. As I've stated previously, I love the notion of philosophy and analysis behind animation; how even the most abstract does have something beneath its layers. For this project of his, I crafted a looped animation that is based on one of my stop-motion works - "Unexpected" in particular, which is animation that I made for the module Animation Skills. However, I fully tweaked it, experimented with my new-found skills in Premiere, expanded upon them, and by introducing my new taste in what I consider to be visually aesthetic designed an animation that complements the sound of the project. For example, I used Echo in order to give the animation a more ghastly and ethereal appeal to it, as every movement is mimicked. Another example would be the Bend I added that makes the animation seem distorted, alluding to a sense of ambiguity and dizziness, which I believe to go great with the music due to their obscure similarities. All in all, it has to do with post-production rather than with production, which is nonetheless a skill to be progressively developed for animation is NOT solely just about animation. One must have an eye for mise-en-scene, eliminating all possible "holes" in the scenography of the animation for it to seem solid, appealing, and not flat, which is the essence of this animation that I crafted. Generally, I believe that art-forms function in this manner where the raw can be distorted in a multitude of ways, producing an abundance of different outcomes through the raw - this is done in music with sampling and analogue effect pedals, for example. I am now generally interested in the incorporation of different elements within stop motion and seeing how far I can push that, as well as the experimentation of techniques in producing an arbitrary resolution (be it an animation or piece of design) and learning from its mistakes and strengths.

"Retreat - Immersion" - https://vimeo.com/165191484

"retreat" - https://soundcloud.com/retreat_music

Developing Personal Style: Assignments and Pieces of Work

Sheet from Visual Language - practice in depth & perspective

With all the other modules altogether, this academic year has been significant in the development of my initially "incoherent" style of drawing, where I had never placed such a huge emphasis due to my stop-motion orientation. Luckily, my horizons have been broadened and light upon traditional 2D animation has been shed, resolving in my distinct development of a drawing style inspired by my fellow peers, observation, and practice, all purged by all of the modules. And, with time and practice, I created a style that showed depth; a style that I became comfortable with and started implementing and gradually modifying - even as I write. Initially, before college, I had been drawing cartoon characters solely with pencil and never digressed from drawing flat and lifeless 2D faces, mostly 2/3 profiles. For example, if I were to draw something else, it would look highly unaesthetic with a lack of depth (not applicable to Solid Drawing, in other words) as I would draw with brisk pencil lines instead of firm and flowing lines. However, through the module Animation Process and Production, I started using other tools, such as the drawliner, which gave me the opportunity to draw coherent and accurately distinctive lines in thickness. Now, following the manner of some of my peers solely as inspiration, I only used pencil to create the template over which I drew the real deal, mainly the character, background, and element design for the 2D animation. With this, came my broken line style, where all lines I draw are generally shaky without definite curvatures. As I continued developing this, it reached its prime during the Visual Language module where we were to create our own character, which relied on this drawing style. Edrik showed depth and visual enrichment with the shaky lines, whereas if I were to draw him in a smooth manner he'd lose all of that appeal. And, thus, based on all of this, I gandered into doing side projects and assignments, one of which is for a future musical event back in Macedonia, for which I acquired to be the logo and poster designer through a commission. This is where my style of sub-realism kicks in where I reference real life objects and draw them in an emphasized manner, still keeping their key elements while altering their realistic aspect - for the event's logo I drew a gramophone with a conch for a horn, based on a picture I piled together of a conch and a real gramophone for reference. The broken lines that define the contour of the shape assumingly give it a perceived texture of ruggedness, whereas the inner incomplete lines give it that 1940 illustrator print feel. Another project is a possible album cover for a musical project which I am a part of inspired by the graininess of old prints. All in all, I am quite satisfied with this style I've adapted and look forward to its constant improvement with future practice endeavors. Thus, the final project I've been assigned is making logo designs for bands - 2 in particular - one of which is my own. In order to create these, I implemented two styles and fused them together: traditional, with which I draw the assets for the logo, and digital, where I scan those assets and tinker and modify them for the final digital outcome. For example, for the Visterija logo (displayed below) I drew the vines and the tree branch in my sketchbook and then scanned them in to give them the overlay effects, whereas the font is just a normal font manipulated with the liquify tool - solely digital.

Initial drawing, rough lining, textured feel

Digital rendering of poster template

Possible draft of an album cover, digitalized ink drawing

Analyzing Animation Techniques: Little Talks

Multimedia animation is at the heat of the industry currently, and as time is progressing more and more emphasis is being placed on a fusion of different animation techniques as separate elements that perfectly create an aesthetic for a vigorous animation. However, one thing I've noticed is that the most versatile of techniques are used in the making of animated music videos that strike the media, most of which possess a brilliant opportunity for young animators such as myself to learn, analyze, and attempt, for the sake of eclecticism. The animated music video of Of Monsters And Men's "Little Talks" served as a perfect paragon of this notion, as well as a brilliant opportunity of inspiration. Considering that I'm in the middle of working on my animation for the module Applied Animation by blending stop-motion with post-rotoscoping 2D, I found this animation particularly interesting and bewildering as I can identify some techniques I have yet to try, but believe I have the knowledge to attempt. Initially, the animation reminded me of the vivacious Pythonesque technique of puppet animation where segments of images are bound together to be controlled and animated without re-drawing every consecutive frame - a technique I'm really keen on. However, this animation incorporated the technique digitally as to juxtapose it with the live-action heads of the characters which are stuck (through green screening) to the puppets. Furthermore, the animation reminded me of Kiszkiloszki, an animator that incorporates this style through the revival of old baroque art, but makes the movement of his characters much more flexible by adding motion blur. Nonetheless, in "Little Talks" this technique is perfectly blended with realistic green screened effects of sparks, explosions, and smoke that add color to the animation - perfectly juxtaposing the mise-en-scene elements in the shot. The FX go well with the animation since practically most of the elements are modified segments of fabricated live-action scenery (the trees, the gargoyle head, the monster) where they look like they are vested in reality due to their detail, but actually are not (except for the faces). To account for this, I researched that many animators had produced this animation, all of which had animated the separate and different techniques in the final output, once again, proving that different styles plus teamwork account for brilliant interdisciplinary art.

Kiszkiloszki's style as shown in a gif image

Animation and Technique Analysis: Right in Two

"Right in Two" is a song by the progressive rock band Tool which has an accompanying animated music video, something unique of which likes I've never seen before. The most flabbergasting part about the animation is the technique used, or need I say, techniques. In other words, the animation is a perfect assemblage of stop-motion, 2D animation, 3D animation, greenscreening, and live-action film elements - a real fusion of the art of the moving image. Every element of animation is used to define an aspect of the animation's characters, backgrounds, or miscellaneous effects, in a way that it juxtaposes all of them but also blends them to emphasize the power of their differentiation. The main character of the animation is a stop-motion animated puppet, whose eyes are segments of the live-action filmed eyes of a real person, whereas everything that happens upon the little lump of clay that transforms into a cartoonish paragon of our world is 2D with individual frame drawing and bold and repeating contour lines. In order to place an accent on the theme of the animation - the destructive degradation of society - the style in which the animation is drawn has a sense of chaos within it due to the line inconsistency of every drawn frame, as well as the shading (which is done with non-technical parallel lines). Constantly switching dynamics, the way the characters are drawn allows them to easily be transformed and distorted with every consequent frame without the movement seeming choppy, unnatural, and sudden (something similar to the style in which Pink Floyd's "The Wall" is animated). However, in my own opinion, I believe that the background is the primary element that adds all the techniques together in a perfect blend due to its slow but smooth tempo (the greenscreened animated clouds). So, we are presented with a fast-paced 2D animation, a mid-paced stop-motion figure, and a slow-paced background, all distinguishing the foreground, midground, and background ever so effectively that it makes the whole film aesthetic eye candy along with the pale colors that help us focus on detail (because our eyes are more sensitive to strong colors, making it difficult to "zoom in" on detail). Tool's well known for having animated music videos in different styles, which makes their video material a real analytical journey - even more so with their visceral yet harmonious tone.

Tool - "Right in Two" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj-10lIrboM

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

Analyzing Animation Tools: DLSR Camera and Lighting Induction

Photograph with a zoom-in effect/low shutter speed

Considering I mainly want to focus on stop-motion, it is essential that I learn the settings of a DSLR camera intricately, because they can call for all kinds of alterations on scenes, be they about lighting, depth, saturation, or perspective. During the last week, our Animation class had gone through a Photography and Lighting induction, which helped me profusely grasp the possibilities of a camera in compliance to stop-motion. We were taught about depth of field, something I had already been using in my stop-motion animations to emphasize the focus placed on a character or background, however, prior to this induction I did not understand that the depth of field is measured according to a system, which calls for precise adjustment. As some people know, in stop-motion, EVERYTHING must be carefully executed; one small push of a camera, one slight misadjustment of the lens, one shift in lights can destroy the entire scene up to that point. Furthermore, we learned about the low-key, mid-key, and high-hey adjustment of lighting and how its reflection or absorption by the color of the backgrounds varies on the exposure significantly. For example, for the elimination of shadows, two lights are to be used, while if a shadowed exposure for the sake of 3D realism is needed, only one is to be used. All in all, this induction really assisted me in understanding how cameras work, something essential for stop-motion.

Low ISO, high shutter speed

Lighting studio

Animation Analysis: Adventures of Mark Twain - The Mysterious Stranger

As I've pointed out profusely, I simply adore stop-motion. Among the plentiful films that have been created, there is one that I truly adore: "Adventures of Mark Twain - The Mysterious Stranger". What strikes me about the movie is not only the development of the plot, but also the individual characters and background which are mostly crafted out of a plasticine-base. Seeing as I have mainly animated stop-motion with plasticine, I found the film to be utterly inspiring in terms of scenery and visuals, as 99% of the debris is made of clay. For an example, during the scene where the main characters encounter Satan (40:05), the mask Satan uses as his face constantly changes appearance and molds to match the emotion he is relaying and the eeriness that his existence brings. While Satan has been depicted as a horned, goat-like devil, this sequence re-establishes the ambiguity of his figure (and what he presents, for some view Satan from an optimistic point-of-view, particulary Laveyan Satanists) and insinuates that the devil can morph, that the devil can appear in many forms, that the devil is omnipotent. By the end of the scene, his face turns to resemble a skull, depicting the death he may bring. All of this done with technical ingenuity with clay-morphing, the most useful skill a stop-motion animator may have. However, what I like the most about the film are the colors which are used, which are dominantly cold-colors that persist in the background. This adds a firm level of contrast between the foreground and the background, making it visually more appealing.

"Adventures of Mark Twain" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJb3Gady7Vc

Manchester Animation Festival Research: Song of the Sea - Character Sheets and Mood Boards

One thing I haven't been utilizing in my developmental process of animation prior to this course are mood boards. Mood boards are assemblages of images which portray a certain style of approach for a future animation, and I had NEVER even heard of them before. Luckily, Manchester Animation Festival provided panels which shed light on this part of the developmental process, particularly with Tom Moore and the making of "Song of the Sea". The backgrounds used for this feature-length animation amazed me with their style, as they were accurately compatible with the mood board which was presented. Furthermore, the backgrounds retained their "organic" essence of pure watercolor (hence they were drawn traditionally), as they were edited afterwards digitally.

I was intricately interested in the character sheets of the main character Ben, for there were many of them on display. Every single necessary key-frame of character position, perspective, and emotion was drawn, accurately providing the studio animators (and us) with a concise overview of how the character is to be animated. Honestly, I was interested in the character sheets because I still haven't reached that point where this skill is properly honed, as I am still practicing on perspective drawing (not realistic, of course, cartoon wise!). The lines are simple, yet elaborate, and I am astonished at how simply the character is designed, but with the soul and feel of a real person, a real boy.

Manchester Animation Festival Research: Contrast in the Re-Making of Danger Mouse

Danger Mouse's re-design

Among the plentiful panels and screenings on the festival was the Re-Making of Danger Mouse: a lovely endeavour where the productive process of the new series is being shed some light for all us aspiring animators out there. Although I have not watched the classic Danger Mouse profusely as a child, I was intricately interested in how the cartoon had now evolved from the vintage essence it brought as a traditional animation. One of the panel guests stated that the aim of the new Danger Mouse was to appeal to a new audience while still satiating the expectations of the old and classic audience that had loved the series during its classic era. In terms design, all of the characters had been redesigned while still keeping the old vigour of the original designs. For example, although the new Danger Mouse  possesses a more elegant and detailed design (with his body proportion being slightly elongated and slimmed) it still carries the same sense of familiarity which appeals with the classical audience while giving a sense of a vigorous change (for the sake of breaking monotony). Another sense of lividity had been added to the re-make of the series with the blending of 3D photographic backgrounds and 2D digital design. With the use of this technique, I believe that the animators effectively redefined the environment, combining it with the more resonant style of character animation. When a re-make is being done, if the characters are drawn in the same manner and animated with the same style, the effect of the re-make would be purely quantitative and not qualitative - something that animators are to never embrace. Now, the movement of the characters are more flexible and smooth, a bigger sense of action and character frivolousness is introduced to compare with the more static one of the original series. In terms of story development and plot, I was bewilder by the manner in which the studio created fresh new stories which were not rearrangements of the original ones: different types of writers congregate to create a blend of wit, plot, and character (for some are good at making jokes, others at creating descriptive and interesting stories, while yet others at defining characters through communication). All of this meticulous processes constitute the new Danger Mouse, which in my opinion is not a reboot, but a new vibrant experience that merits from the masterpieces of classical animation.

3D/2D background sample

Manchester Animation Festival Research: Will Becher - Masterclass

The stage of a "Shaun the Sheep" scene

The Manchester Animation Festival just ended, and I'm still exhilarated that I managed to learn so much from different animators and practitioners. Not only that, but I had watched a variety of animations with  different styles and techniques which inspired me and added to my comprehension of styles. However, among my favorite events was the Masterclass by Will Becher, the creator of Shaun the Sheep. Although I hadn't seen Shaun the Sheep prior hand (although I was aware of the series), the Masterclass had a didactic essence to it as I got to learn much about the process of stop-motion - the style of animation I "specialize" in. Will Becher started with stop-motion in the same manner as I did: pursuing it purely as a hobby, which then enabled him to develop his skills and work with Aardman. However, what intrigued me the most about the masterclass was the elaborate process of the creation of Shaun the Sheep The Movie. Among the plentiful stages of development comes the creation of the characters, which turned out to be an extremely meticulous process with clay statues being built for the incentive real-time design of the characters, the mechanized armatures beneath the puppets for support, the molds created on the surface, and finally the creation of different mouth sets. Never have I ever perceived the art of puppet-making for stop-motion to be so elaborate and time-consuming, for my animations had been created with Lego mini figures - already pre-made armatured characters. The puppets of Shaun the Sheep are made with different materials - glycerin, foam latex, etc. Furthermore, what baffled me was that the animation team binds every singular position of a character's legs with strings in order to immobilize puppets with the soul purpose of preventing unwanted movement. Placing this frivolous process of creation aside, what truly bewildered me and built upon my skills as an animator was the pre-productive and post-productive techniques of stop-motion animation that Aardman utilized - one being the Live Action Videos serving the purpose of animatics, and the rigs which are used to suspend characters mid air which are later on digitally removed from sight. I considered this masterclass to be extremely informative, as I shall use the techniques utilized by the Aardman crew in future stop-motion animations, as with every day my skills improve more and more.

Mouth and face pieces

Animation Online Tools Research: Skwigly

Skwigly is a really nifty online animation magazine that provides aspiring young animators and audiences of all kinds with information about festivities regarding animation, as well as freshly created animations for enthusiasts. I was introduced to this website by my course leader Michael Smith, and ever since I've been using it as a tool for obtaining inspiration by watching different sorts of animations. Furthermore, the website provides useful information regarding any events near my vicinity, one being the Manchester Animation Festival (which I shall take part in). In addition to this, there is a plethora of tutorials for different aspects of animation available, whether one needs assistance with marketing their short films, or improving their styles - learning both directly and indirectly. With Skwigly, conducting research on techniques of animation is now much more accessible, and I highly recommend that all my peers use this website for the same purpose.

Animation Software Research: After Effects and Photoshop Induction

The modern ages have supplied us with animation technology: hardware and software tools that if properly utilized assert tremendous power in the hands of the animator, and by learning how to use them, broader perspectives open in terms of how to animate and what to use. During this busy week, I got to engage in a proper After Effects induction, as I had never used the program prior to that class. Although we were taught merely the basics, it was quite enough for one session as it introduced me to the working interface of the program and all the available tools within it. Similar to Adobe Flash (a program I actively use in animation), After Effects incorporates a vector-style approach for animating sequences, as I learned that by understanding that one can easily manipulate solid graphic objects within the program, making them stretch, elongate, move, rotate, and plenty more. In order to fully grasp how the key-frame panel and timeline function, we were given exercises where we examined the conventions of the utilities by animating simple motion using 2D squares. Some of my peers had already been using After Effects prior to the induction, or had a better understanding of arithmetic behind animation, and produced smoother sequences. I got to say, I'm not very good at this, and with time I hope to get better by fully comprehending the utilities of the program. Up until our next session.

The second induction (subsequent to many previous ones) was for Photoshop, where we were asked to animate a bouncing ball that applies to gravity and momentum by drawing the ball individually for every frame. This helped us practice the maintenance of volume when drawing shapes (as the Animation Skills flip-books did as well), and acquire a better understanding of the program. Furthermore, it helped us utilize planned-out schematics before animating by demanding that we draw the arc-path of the ball as well as the position of every independent frame. So far so good, learning more and more by the week.

Technique Research and Analysis: Movement in The Animator's Survival Kit

Excerpt from "The Animator's Survival Kit"

The motion of characters tells a lot about them. Even the slightest adjustments to a character's movement animation change the appeal of their attributes, as well as their demeanor. If all characters were to walk or run in the same manner, the principle of Appeal would not fluctuate among the animation, which introduces a level of stiffness that breaks the whimsicality and vivacity of a cartoon. While conducting research on the technique of movement, as I was consulting The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams, I had learned an abundance of ways in which a character can be drawn to "life", all of which differentiate in what kind of emotions are elicited in the audience according to the manner in which the characters move. For example, if a character were to drag his/her torso to the back, elongating his/her movements ever-so-tediously, he/she would appear peculiar, which is something we want to achieve when we are presenting a character's movement similar to Shaggy's (from Scooby Doo). I also noticed that shading of limbs applies a significant improvement to one's walking cycle, as it gives the character a bigger essence of perspective. Mainly, I focused on the two ways in which a walk can be planned out. The reference points of the different techniques revolve around the placement of the head, one placing the head in on a slightly parabolic pathway (Down Position Method), and the other on an oscillating one (Contact Method). I believe that these techniques are perfect for animating character motion, as they can be used as roughs upon which the actual characters with his/her details can be drawn. Disney's always got this down!

Using both methods in a combination - why not?

Animation Analysis: Traditional Animation and Doom Doom Death

Recently, I developed an interest in traditional animation and the vintage-aesthetic taste it provides us with. As days have passed, as my peers all worked on their respective projects, I witnessed a profuse incorporation of traditional animation for our module projects, and got engrossed by how well people executed the technique. The main reason why I am interested in traditional animation is that it's indirectly linked with stop-motion (seeing as each frame is drawn on a piece of paper then captured with a camera or scanner), and was thinking about the intertwining of these two techniques: 2D and stop-motion presenting a new perspective of how playful animations can be. Thus, I researched and looked for such films, and stumbled upon a YouTube animation that completely matches my expectations. "Doom Doom Death" is a short animation created by MisterMulluc, which presents both a flip-book and a stop-motion style. The animation introduces a 4th dimension, as the traditional animation is 2D, stop-motion is 3D, and in a way the juxtaposition of those two worlds introduces the omnipotent 4th dimension that controls the flow of the traditional hand-drawn world that is presented. By far, this is one of my favorite animations on YouTube, because not only does it entertain, but it also makes us think "wow, this is a lot of work". In a way, this animation makes the audience appreciate the toll of the animator's life.

"Doom Doom Death" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFeVpF6S4IY

Game and Character Analysis: Krieg the Psycho

Among the plentiful games which are in possession of the accolade "Game of The Year" comes the ever-so-chaotic, hectic, ravenous, and massively tumultuous Sci-Fi, First Person Shooter game "Borderlands 2". Developed by Gearbox Software, the game profusely grasps the concept of fun-packed and vivacious action gaming, were one has the power to let loose all chaos around him by slaughtering bandits, disassembling automatons, raiding camps, and firing an array of projectiles, all in a whimsical manner. What makes Borderlands 2 so special, in terms of visual aesthetics, is the design of all characters and environmental debris and scenery, as well as all the weapons and interactive vehicles. For example, I'll take Krieg, the Psycho whose blood-thirst may not be satiated even with the entrails of his enemies dislocating from their mutilated bodies before his voracious gaze. Krieg is designed according to an overly-masculine proportion, slightly distorted in terms of realism, mimicking the incipient design of the abundant enemies a player will face throughout the game, called Psychos. Furthermore, like everything in the game, Krieg's physical appearance is emphasized with the overlaying indigo contour lines around his character. Thus, Borderlands 2 has created their own style of gaming graphics, inspired by the pop-art comic characters' appearance, which is both realistic and unfeasible. Even the coloring of Krieg complements the scenery of the wild and unpredictable desert matched with the engineering technology in the steam-punk style.

"Borderlands 2 - Krieg" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6chxuovrbCI

In this game-graphic animation produced by Gearbox Software, Krieg's character is introduced visually, and psychologically, which makes for brilliant story and plot development, as well as exquisite art in 3D environments.

Technique Analysis: Walking and The Deconstruction of Pop-Cultural Conventions

Original artwork of "Abbey Road"

Everybody knows several conventions that have presented pop-culture throughout the years in the form of a synecdoche: a part represents the whole. As these conventions have become symbols of a certain period within pop-culture, all kinds of artists have altered the original and created a modified, more aesthetic expression of the same convention. For example, I've taken the ever-so-popular The Beatles' album cover of "Abbey Road", which is an ultimate representation of the rampant 70s and even 80s, as rock was perceived as something majestic and godly which infused the masses with energy and vigor. Many artists have mimicked this image, developing a new essence upon it, however this animated version of The Beatles walking eternally down the pedestrian cross-walk has captured my interest and attention.


With this animated GIF image,

Animated re-edit of "Abbey Road"

the heroes of Abbey Road are brought to life from a motionless picture, achieving an even greater sense of vivacity. In a way, it elaborates upon the notion that conventions such as these are timeless, hence their never-ending walk. Furthermore, every member exhibits a different walking pattern (one nonchalant, the other head-down, etc...), which portrays how different walking movements of characters insinuates a different emotion or characteristic that defines them. They are all animated through a puppet-warp technique, where visual clips are manipulated through pivot points, making them more real. Conclusively, this animated GIF shows the progression of modern-day animation, the malleable deconstructive notion of pop-culture, and the rejuvenation of something that might have disappeared with age. Astounding.

Animation Analysis: 8-Bit Trip

I've always been interested in stop-motion, and as this course gradually settles in, I'm going to fully pursue the technique of bringing items to life! Also, alongside this comes my affection for the 8-bit era of gaming, for which I was but a puny little creature without the analytical capabilities of today. Thus, this brings me to Rymdreglage's "8-Bit Trip", a stop-motion/pixilation animation done mainly with Lego blocks that brings back the old retro essence of pixel-gaming. It's smooth, it's colorful, it's vivacious, the animation breaks the boundaries of stop-motion, as well as the plentiful uses of Lego. Although it's just a compilation of animation skits, it does it's job properly as it rejuvenates the style of the late 20th century video art. Plus, the animation is extremely interesting as all these movements are occurring, keeping our minds whimsically occupied with the beauty of stop-motion.

"Rymdreglage - 8-Bit Trip" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qsWFFuYZYI