PPP2 - Life's A Pitch Preparation and Presentation

We have formed our collective of 6, consisting of me, Tess, Luke, Alex, Bash, and Brenda, all wittily acronymed Blob TV. I designed the logo for the collective which would serve as the starting point upon which we are going to build up, possibly changing the logo in the future to better reflect our style once it has been properly synthesized. We gathered all the work into this presentation since we believe that the art-book idea would be our foundation for a potential commercial future. It will be structured similarly like "Animation Sketchbooks" by Laura Heit, which was our main inspiration for this collective idea. We want to take it slowly, identify the potential, and expand based on the possible gradual success we shall experience or not experience. Furthermore, in terms of pricings we are going down the path of modesty, costing us a total of 20 pounds to print off the book where our individual and collective contacts will be alongside our most plausible works. Furthermore, we will create social media in the future, perhaps a Facebook page or something similar to showcase our work and attract people who like our styles. Our multi-faceted nature would cater to all audiences whereas I believe I would be able to work for logo and album art design, atop animation which is the main point of mutual interest and fusion.

POST-PRESENTATION:
Based on the feedback we received, we are to consider having both a digital and traditional platform, where our name Blob TV needs to live up to the expectation it is construing. Suggested by our tutors, we are going to make a collective Vimeo page with a conjoined showreel that should be another point of establishing networks and recognition by other artists in hopes of doing interdisciplinary work with other creatives as well as getting commissioned. After this presentation I feel we need to more coherently articulate our set goals - are we keen on solely enthusiastic work for recognition or commissioning? For the time being we will focus on expanding our point of content and contact such as the social media and the art book for the exhibition, from where we expect to begin our expansion.

PPP2 - Poster Designs

Inspirational poster from Faith No More gig

Lucky enough, I got contacted by a friend and event organizer alike for the recurring underground Macedonian band concert that occurs annually for the third year in a row. I had been commissioned to design the poster as well as some of the band logos last year and due to the satisfaction of my client I was spontaneously called for the same job yet again several days ago. Anything music or performance related instantly catches my eye since it is a broader collaborative aspect that always hails quality. With the only mandatory prerequisite being using the preexisting signature logo in the poster, I wanted this year's poster to reflect the event's whimsical and multifaceted nature. The concert promotes different types of bands that have not yet quite seen the light of the stage properly, and because of this I wanted the poster to give off that free-spirited rock and roll vibe. Initially, I had a design on the top of my head inspired by a myriad of festival posters I've seen throughout the years along with the DIY minimalist punk-rock posters of the 70s and 80s. This design was something I did as an intended suggestion since the client asked for an engaging poster with no concrete preferences and it hinged on the duo-chromatic style of thresholds in images being drawn over to adapt a cartoon style. Instantly, right after I sent him the style suggestion he IMMEDIATELY liked it and told me to go that direction and provide him with a draft of what I think might be a good final version of the poster. Honestly, I was amazed at this level of candor and trust he had with my artistic style, something which I found flattering. Nevertheless, I kept working on it and have constructed several designs for it after he told me that I am to use an actual picture of the venue for this year in order to shift the style. I don't know why but the aesthetic of posters always grabbed my eye along since it gave me a general feel of how the atmosphere at the event is going to be. Based on this most recent draft of the design, I believe that every color duo-chromatic has a different effect and it either repels the eye or captures it.

Initial template design whose style the client liked

Second design, needs a bit of polishing up

PPP2: Reg Isaac's Insight into the Industry

Although I don't much envision myself to be a fully-functioning part of the industry, the future foretells no definite destiny so one is to learn about every aspects regarding their practice from different perspectives, just in case. Reg Isaac solidified this claim with his story as to how he became an animator as well as how he tackled the parameters of the animation industry. I was flabbergasted to find out that he initially wanted to do photography but because of a small quirkish problem (there not being any more space in the photography department where he studied) he became an animator. It just goes to show that life is as flexible and unexpected as is the nature of the nomad. What I found personally applicable was Reg Issac's life drawing holiday on which he managed to improve his drawing skills - which is what his first goal since becoming an animator was. Furthermore, I empathized with his necessity to improve his drawing and gain confidence in his lines, which is why I found his tactic of using only pen without an opportunity to undo any movement very invigorating. I believe that I am to use the same tactic for drastically improving my line seeing as I am interested solely in 2D animation and the flow and form of character designs. Alongside this, the insight into how the roles in the animation industry are split really belabored the importance of details as he had been hired as an inbetweener several times where he only worked on completing the movement of the characters. Another one of his jobs consisted of him fixing the line details of every character's frame to perfection, which informed me of the specialization that is instilled in the workflow of the studio. I believe that understanding how the synchronized workflow of a studio work will both destroy any expectations I have as well as giving me experience for a future such endeavor.

PPP2: Animation Studio Research - Post-Presentation

Finishing up with the ordeal of analyzing a studio and delivering the presentation to my peers and tutors, the main thing I realized was the omission of several points one can make under pressure and a thorough time limit. In particular, I believe that I delivered the presentation in a manner that met all requirements, however, managed to miss several points out due to a bit of stage fright (generated by the significance and importance placed on the task itself) and a not-so-coherent line of notes which were hard to follow during presentations. Moreover, I mentioned the key people within the studio however I did not mention the contacts I acquired of Lynx's peripheral team of animators and creative practitioners from an international scope. Furhtermore, I could have aligned them with the notable works they participated in such as Daniele Rudoni being the creative art director of Nincow. Nevertheless, I managed to successfully outline and divide the presentation in coherent points which I then went into detail consecutively. I am satisfied overall although I believe I need to reevaluate my presentation skills if I am to assert myself as a professional speaker, which will go hand in hand with the future possibility of delivering pitches to studios.

PPP2: Fraser Maclean: Insight Into the World of Animation

I firmly believe that this talk was the most invigorating one so far hence Fraser Maclean turned out to be quite a facetiously witty animator that not only knew his practice but the parameters that orbit around it from a commercial point of view. I was flabbergasted at the rhetorical analysis he gave of the art of painting and how it synthesizes with the storytelling aspect of animation. Furthermore, he uncovered the commercial reality behind animation by giving examples of practitioners that survive off doing advertisements and such, not necessarily sustaining themselves through the whole-hearted preference of work. Nonetheless, the main points he drew were three such points revolving around animation - what we shall be working between: art and creativity, technology, and money, with the latter being divided into "dirty and clean money". I perceived this as the broken model of the visual industry where the actual practitioners work solely according to a temporary contract. Fraser Maclean belabored the point of openness to collaboration since the whole industry is such a practice no matter how much one tries to avoid this. With examples of the processes of how traditional animation was made where people were divided into very specific departments (with Maclean doing just the cartoon character shadows of Space Jam, for example) he was able to portray the intricate, well-oiled machine that is the animation industry. Furthermore, character animators are only a small puzzle piece in the assemblage as the same importance lies behind concept artists, background artists, layouters, although the mass perception places emphasis on only character animators. With a bit of personal insight, Maclean showed us how animation and the demand for different media of animation has evolved throughout the years. Finally, out of the plentiful points of advice he brought up, I reveled at the notion of "what does not benefit the flow of the story is redundant" no matter how much it makes the scene look better - unnecessary bits need not be considered. Through his life story and progression of profession the concept that Responsive brought upon us - an animator does not have to do just animation - was fortified. For example, Fraser Maclean worked for Sands Films as a sound organizer through the initial wish of being a filmmaker, whereas he then spread to animation for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Space Jam. I found his entire life endeavor very exuberant as it showed the flexible path of not an animator, but a creative practitioner that is amenable to work with a team and cooperate fully to make a vision a reality all through the concluding piece of wisdom he shared - be nice!

Book Maclean suggested for young aspiring animators

PPP2: Animation Studio Research - Methods of Research

Contacting the studio formally through The Micho (the practitioner I contacted for A Creative Presence), I was able to get an exclusive tour around the studio to quickly report on their workflow, methods, infrastructure, along with seeing pre-production assets from several of their projects. Thus, my presentation is based on both primary and secondary research. Firstly I sat down with the general creative director of the studio and had a chat with him about how the departments are divided along with the multitude of projects they have had or have underway. What I was mostly interested in was their peripheral team which consists of a myriad of international animators from all over the globe. The Italian illustrator Danielle Rudoni was the art director for Nincow - one of the studio's first ever projects along with a range of other practitioners. Writing down all the information I was given during the tour, I then went on to do secondary research through their highly immersive Facebook page where I looked at picture-framed time stamps of when and how their projects were conducted. I'm quite happy that I managed to make connections with the studio as well as some of the practitioners personally as it establishes a small network that I will utilize once I'm done with college to excel in animation and establish a possible opportunity for work.

PPP2: Creative Presence Interaction

Like stated, for the Creative Presence brief I contacted the versatile Macedonian illustrator The Micho (Тхе Мичо) in hopes of interviewing him. I did so through Facebook since I have been told by several of my friends that he is very responsive to any queries. To my surprise, he was extremely colloquial and cordial in conversation, and the moment I informed him of my college background he immediately gave me a personal contact number of the main creative director of Lynx Animation Studio. With his help I contacted Lynx Animation Studio and got an exclusive inter tour of their studio and all the specialized departments. Nevertheless, The Micho candidly told me to expose myself as an artist in the UK in order to form networks and connections, and even so gladly accepted to do an interview. I was first planning on having it in person, however, given the multitude of unexpected family and social problems I have been experiencing, I wasn't able to get to Bitola (his home city). Thus, he gladly accepted the interview through Skype or Email, which is how I plan on conducting it. As of this stage, I feel that he has already been of a colossal assistance for the contact he gave me with the studio I plan on working in after graduation for a bit. I've already started compiling the questions I plan on asking him, picking out which ones are necessary and which ones are redundant with a little help of internet sources.

The Micho (Тхе Мичо) - https://www.facebook.com/%D0%A2%D1%85%D0%B5-%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BE-198918470118215/?fref=ts

PPP2: Personal SWOT Analysis

Since college, I've noticed that I've become much more self-critical as well as open to other people's criticism towards my work, my style, or my techniques, hence I judge it all to be constructive with varying intensity. This SWOT Analysis session is the first one of the kind for me as I overheard a plethora of my peers having done at least one before. Although it was quite alien for me, I found this form quite insightful as I got to gather and structure my overarching and scattered thoughts on my SWOTs, as well as getting the same from one of my close peers - Jay. I figured since we had been working on Character & Narrative together he would have the most precise approximation of my SWOTs than anyone else, thus, would give a thorough account of what he believes my SWOTs are - all being constructive. As I did the first form, and Jay the second, I noticed that there were some discrepancies which emphasized my mild self-righteousness of ego along with some different viewpoints on considerations. As an example for the latter, Jay listed my musical capabilities as technical opportunities, whereas I pointed out small animation courses in Macedonia that I have considered undergoing once I finish college, showing that I had a fix idea on animation while doing the form instead of a broad overall consideration of every creative factor. Another example would be Jay interpreting my weak currency as a personal opportunity (which is, although economically so) whereas I pointed out the animation course that would land me a degree. This small ordeal made me comprehend the vastness of the SWOT Analysis which encompasses a plethora of factors, central or peripheral, that might influence my personal development in even the most miniscule to colossal ways. Casting this aside, the main accent of this form was Jay's comment that I am difficult to compromise with, whereas I noted the EXACT opposite. I believe that this shows not my overconfident demeanor but my mild narcissistic behavior that does not obfuscate my ability to collaborate but hinders it. Another comment was about my aversion towards 3D, which does pertain a limit in itself that I must eradicate with these upcoming years since I believe firmly that it is the best time to do so due to the constructive mindset instigated by constant college tasks. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to an SWOT in years time again so that I may compare my progression as I now am adapting to different tactics not only in animation, but in all of my strengths, with the gradient of diminishing my weaknesses.

PPP2 Presentation - Ideas, Generation, and How To Protect Them

With another presentation inbound, I furthered my reflective manner of professionalization, where this one tethered to the protection of intellectual property - ideas. The lecture enveloped the many factors surrounding idea generation along with a bit of history to strengthen the argument. With people using different types of stimulants throughout the ages to aid them with idea generation, discussion, and collaboration, it has been established that ideas function like a network in a rudimentary sense. Having this in mind, it is quite safe to say that through exchange of concepts, the best ideas in history have been concocted. With the concept of fordism hindering on the notion of specialization, a great example was given at the presentation: the complexity of a computer mouse. It consists of a plethora of different parts made from different materials originating from different regions, and for its generation amongst thousands of people have collaborated serving as a synthesis of different ideas. It was at this point that the lecture became quite relevant since it covered the basis of Copyright, refreshing the knowledge we already have about it from last year's PPP sessions. Paper is what can protect one's ideas since it dissolves their intangibility, validation is what can maintain them from becoming stolen, scrutinized, or plagiarized, as the creative industries do have murky departments in terms of sharing work. I believe that no work with a commercial purpose should be adhered to the concept of trust - evidence must be had. This lecture reminded me of the hardships one may go through without asserting copyright for many people search through the loopholes of this not-so-fortified system, and one must do what's best to protect their work. What I believe that they failed to mention - something quite quintessential to alternatives - is Creative Commons which has more flexible parameters that govern the distribution or recreation of one's work, giving people more choices for consideration.

PPP2: Creative Presence - Considerations

As a new brief came to being out of the blue, I was amazed at the level of interactivity with the industry this module has assumed. Much like The Thinker, I immediately began ruminating upon a range of creative practitioners that I would be more than elated to interview and get insight for the development and professionalization of my practice. By making a small mindmap where I jotted down every single animator or otherwise I am interested in, I was able to piece together my thoughts and deny any ideas flying away. I wrote down Jan Svankmajer, but was later told that he is a very laconic man that gives blunt answers to questions, plus he does NOT speak English - something I did not know. It is quite graceful that we have tutors that assist us in this journey henceforth without them, I would have contacted Svankmajer on my own and to some extent made a fool of myself. Moving on, since this was assigned before Manchester Animation Festival, there were a couple of practitioners at the panels that I could interview, but none too profoundly relevant to my future visualization of my practice. I figured, since I have to leave the UK once I graduate from my course, I should establish initial connections here but solidify them in Macedonia. Thus, I found a 2D animation studio based in Skopje (my capital city) called Lynx Animation Studio, and discovered that one of my favorite childhood illustrators The Micho (Тхе Мичо) is networked with them. So, logically, I settled down on contacting him since I believe he'll give me the most substantial advice and insight about the Macedonian animation industry, plus I do not doubt that he will decline an interview from a Macedonian animation student. I will begin developing my approach soon, when the time comes for me to approach The Micho in a formal, yet colloquial manner, to siphon the fullest of his friendliness and openness to information dissemination.

PPP2: Manchester Animation Festival Highlights of Study

As Manchester Animation Festival marked its 2nd year of existence, I managed to enhance bits and pieces of my knowledge through the versatile and vivacious panels that featured animations, talks, masterclasses, and films. Every animation that I watched had relevance in context of technique, but also of idea, as I pensively analyzed every animation I liked in order to self-didactically discover the technique and generate an idea. Luckily, I came back from the festival full of inspiration but also confidence hence I differentiated between the student and commissioned animations and compared them to my current skill. Nevertheless, since I am much more immersed in the world of animation, every panel provided a segment of knowledge relevant to my practice - something that I had not known before.

Masterclass: Phantom Boy (Folimage)
During this masterclass the narrative importance of sound was highlighted. In other words, it emphasized the workload of narrative sound can minimize if done effectively, hence it can tell what needs not to be animated in order to drive the diegesis. Furthermore, I got an insight in the dynamic of the sound and how it can insinuate the location of actions within the animation, how close they are happening to the POV, and how big of a driving force they are.

Masterclass: Studio AKA
Although I wasn't interested at first, this masterclass gave a thorough perspective on commercial animation conducted by professional studios that specialize in crafting short animations that fit advertisement briefs. I believe that being able to tactically work within given parameters is an effective skill for an animator since it improves the chances of working flexibly within studios. I was amazed at the polished and smooth embrace of both 2D and 3D animation by this studio, as well as the colloquial straightforwardness of the speaker

Fellowship Award: Aardman
Most important idea I pulled out of this was: "have a crack at something, see where it goes". Other than that, I was profusely inspired by the old stop-motion animations that Aardman have done, specifically the ones that intertwined pixilation - I love that aesthetic because it is more reminiscent of the art of film than any other technique, along with the olden "noise" of quality and the effect it brings.

PPP2: Interpreting and Responding to Commercial Briefs

"Simon the Cat" - example of successful crowdfunding

With professionalism being the main key revolving point of PPP, this lecture set us on the right path in terms of identifying our opportunities and advising us to make the most of them. Furthermore, it gave insight on how to avoid drastic and fatal mistakes within the "toxic system" of the creative practice through organized points and examples. I believe that this lecture had been one of the few where the emphasis was placed on us as individuals and the value of our work (indirectly, focusing on how WE need to value our own skills). Moreover, it stressed out the three situations where a practitioner might work for free - a practice that in itself demeans the value of the individual set of skills an animator, illustrator, or graphic designer has that differentiate him/her from the rest. With charity being a noble cause, one must research the circumstances - is the organization or someone from the organization getting paid? Exposure is promising, however, it is a passive notion that comes on its own, especially to us now as we are in college and have opportunities to get our names out. Finally, the biggest slippery slope of them all: the promise of future work if the work now is done for free. Considering there is no legal binding contract, who's to say that the "work promiser" is not to find someone else and use the same ploy on him/her? With the perfect example that John gave where he jumped into deciding his price for a job without estimating the job cost or doing background research to find out the set standard (or to base it on a personal guideline for a monthly division of income), he got underpaid. This example kind of frightened me and gave me chills because one thing I am afraid of is undercompensation - I have the right to receive the optimum for my work, lest I overwork myself for nothing. The main point being: estimate vs. quotation of price - always go for an estimate and never jump to any conclusions without conducting research priorhand. Everything comes back to research in the end, for being knowledgeable means being in control!

PPP2: The Creative Industries

All these PPP presentations evoke a notion of pensiveness in me every single time, making me more and more inquisitive about my whole practice as well as the industry that surrounds it. This latest talk began with a direct connection to the previous one where the evolutionary phenomenon of creativity was elaborated upon: creativity has been prevalent from the chronicles of man up until this day, only changing in the accessible technologies that have shaped historic and modern cultures. For example, in archaic eras cave paintings and Da Vinci's schematics for war machines signified the creativity of man through paragons, whereas now the same practice can be evidenced in graffiti and blueprint designs of products and war machines, as well. Nevertheless, the most important questions asked in this presentations were, as follows: what is meant by industries? where do I fit in? how do I develop networks? All these questions were asked during last week's presentation as well, however, regurgitating them evoked in me a more concrete, thorough answer - I fit in wherever I can and want, I develop networks for collaborative and interdisciplinary work that fuels my professionality as well as my interest. I believe that the second part of this presentation was much more effective since it introduced a bit of history around the formation of the school of arts, around which an ongoing debate circles about the principles the schools of art adapt in relation to the industry. The presentaton was informative in so that it provided the evolution of the school of art and how it became aligned with the capitalist methodologies of the 21st century from the Atelier System in the 19th century that emphasized the adaptable technique that students assumed. However, I too believe that there should be a symbiosis between the studies and post-bachelor professional practices in such a way that both style and technique are embraced in order to drive students towards focusing on using their specialities for attaining a job. As a closer, we were told to assume cunning and witty strategies in order to pitch and/or make connections, hence the entirety of being a practitioner does not reside behind one's practical skill, but also behind one's social skill to form networks.

PPP2: The Wisdom of Mike Mignola

As I youngster I was infatuated by the immersive realms that comics brought forth to my creative mind as I had a tendency to avoid reality and enshrine myself in fantasy. This phenomenon that I experienced as a kid vested in me the now eternal interest in animation and narratives as I maintained that childlike sense of awe and wonder. Having said this, yesterday Mike Mignola, the eclectic creator of Hellboy along with a myriad of other inked spectacles held a talk at Leeds College of Art - a talk that I found quite invigorating and helpful to my personal practice and development of thereof. He gave insight into his personal growth and experience as an illustrator, pointing out that he had been bad at comics when he had initially started, providing him with the motivation necessary to engage in practice. Furthermore, with his openness to the arts, he went on to try to taste all different ranges of art, not only comics - something that has been time and time again emphasized during our PPP lectures. In other words, just because I study animation does not mean I have to specialize and pursue solely animation - I am a creative practitioner that has the capability of experimenting with interdisciplinary endeavors as art is a whole. Carrying on, one of the most important insights he gave was about the loss of confidence he experienced for 6 years where he got off comics. I say most important because it explored the problem of individual indecisiveness - something that impacts a consecutive and rhytmic practical habit that every practitioner should have - draw every day! Moreover, he showed that personal interest is the absolute best driving force towards developing a solid career: he had made a comic solely for money once, and that turned out not to sell properly. The most important part of this talk was the Q&A session which encompassed around 70% of the whole event - something I was really happy about since he got to answer fellow students' questions as well as one of my own. One thing I really adored about Mike Mignola was his colloquial and straightforward approach to every question where he answered from the heart and did not assume a pretentious proffessionality, but instead came across as a rigorous and honest artist (where he even stated that his design for Mr. Freeze was practically a rendition of an older drawing someone had made for the DC Universe). My question to him in a simplified demeanor was: how do you generate ideas? He stated that he did not pull out ideas from his dreams (as I do) but instead did so from observation of everything around him - bits and pieces. Nevertheless, the most important factor for him was his interest in folklore, demonology, and cultural theology as he is in possession of a library full of books on ancient cultures, from which he not only derives ideas but acquires names for character as he disdains fabricating names (Hellboy being one of the only two he has ever conjured up). Finally, he concluded with his scripting tactic which revolves around him creating the beginning and the end, and then working everything in between. All in all, this was one of the most lovely talks I've been to and it helped me understand the conventions of an individual's practice that reflects my own profusely.

A print that reflects Mignola's style - profuse contouring with ink

PPP2: Interdisciplinary Simulation

One of the more visceral slides from the speech

Although yesterday's session seemed quite unnecessary and bothersome at first, it proved to be quite an experience that enveloped the manner in which interdisciplinary creative practitioners work together towards a synthesized goal. In other words, the session gave me a taste of how the industry functions as well as introducing the solidarity within the atmosphere of professional, interdisciplinary studios. Structured in a well progressing way, first we wrote down (in quite a self-evaluative manner, I might add) our creative skills and experiences, as well as our interests in hopes of encompassing and solidifying what we felt comfortable in knowing. Then, we paired up and brainstormed ideas with our assigned partner on a pitch for a product and then proceeded to compete with the rest on which product and pitch would be the most efficient one to candidate against 3 others (comprised of the best idea on the table and all the creative practitioners on it). By forming a presentation about our product, we competed for the best idea that was going to go against 2 other groups of illustrators, graphic designers, and fellow animators alike in a commercial pitch. This was where the simulation of the industry's busy working day within a studio began, where we pragmatically divided ourselves into sections of craft, me doing the After Effects layout and vignette, another group doing the voices of the commercial, yet another animating annotations, and yet another creating logos and images. However, it was all brought down by a leader from the group that won the main pitch, which was something I found extremely effective and NOT patronizing or demeaning in any way. Quite on the contrary, this gave me effective insight on the necessity of a leader (not a boss, mind you) within a project, one that pertains the idea and disseminates it to the rest of the creatives in a intertwining spectacle of mixing individual skills and strong points for one unanimous resolution. With the division of the huge group, we were able to coherently produce a 30 second commercial for Dog Latex (the outcome being hilarious and lampooning, but the practice effervescent and articulate), which won at the end of the day when all 3 groups presented their products through different manners of pitching. I was amazed to see a full studio with busy heads, all working on separate minor tasks that formed the main effigy of our practice - some getting footage of dogs, others animating dogs, where I composited it all together as the final piece. Just as one of the tutors pointed this out during the concluding talk, at time of rush "you find out skills you didn't know you had", as did I with After Effects through trial and error - I even started sweating. Just as this exercise finished, Simon Harrison addressed the issues surrounding the disparity between design education and the "real world" where he confronted issues DNAD have been facilitating. Furthermore, although the award briefs are predominantly vague to enforce creative liberalism where students can best apply their skills to the brief that best suits their style and technique, judges still look primarily for eye-catching solutions that are based on separate biases. Although Simon presented a controversial perspective on this, I took his word and I agree with what he had to say, thus, am going to utilize the maximum feedback I can get from such organizations like DNAD.

PPP2: Character & Narrative Presentations - Synthesis Between Modules

During these past 2 weeks, we had presentations that informed us about the intertwining elements of film connected with animation. Two presentations in total, one about character and short story design, and the other about acting and reference - both containing and annotating important conventions that add finesse, professionalism, and effect in relation to the audience. In other words, the presentations tackled the multitude of notions that an animator is to consider when creating a full-fledged, visceral animation that has the power to relay any message across. During the first presentations the concept of narration was elaborated upon and it structured it all in a list of animation fragments - what can animation be: computer games, film, television. In order to coherently demonstrate the versatility of animation in relation to narrative, we looked at both machinima - machine cinema (Skyrim role-playing within role-playing) and 2D animation (Cordel Barker's "Runaway"). During the second presentation an emphasis was placed on acting and the use of reference, which is essential to development of practice and the capturing of the human essence within animation. Animation is the most free-form art in film where one must take advantage of it's visually descriptive power in relation to the reality that surrounds us - animation forges a vivacious world that broadens our perspective about the actual world before us. Having said that, I need not hesitate to mention the live-action references Disney have used throughout their existence where acting has solidified their character design and behaviour to the limit, which made me think about my own references. After both presentations were done, I started exploring different animations and films for references. Initially, I started using referential images for grasping perspective of scenes for my Character & Narrative animations, such as an overhead shot of the sea and a boat passing through it. However, I believed that watching actors perform would be a lot better for constructing references. Turning over to Jim Carrey, I watched his movies "Liar Liar" and "Ace Ventura" (again, I've seen them before) and started analyzing his acting and behaviour since it's really reminiscent of exaggerated animated character's movements. For example, the faces he makes are excellent reference for facial expressions in characters with taking the main elements from his face and hyperbolizing them (sort of like a caricature). I also tried drawing faces and expressions based on the Jim Carrey faces picture attached above. When it comes to narrative, I believe there can be two points within the spectrum of straightforward narratives and ambiguous narratives, the former being clearly evident actions that produce a story (for example, Charlie Chaplin's films, or ...) and the latter being symbolically phantasmagoric narratives that are quite amenable to interpretations or difficult to understand due to the subtle themes included (one such would be Jan Svankmajer's "Dimensions of Dialogue"). However, the different styles and techniques differentiate massively from creator to creator in order to assert a tone, atmosphere, and aesthetic to the main dispersion of the story, with a soul purpose for it to be both attention grasping and meaningful to the audience.

Attempt at using Jim Carrey's faces as reference.

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.