Paradise - Research & Development by cosmicstories

Research & experimentation book animated shorts & video games 2-D composited environments hand-drawn animation art & sound direction

Covergence/Divergence - Level 5 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Paradise: Part 1â&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Daniel French

is the title of the animated short I have produced for the Level 5 Convergence/ Divergence unit. Specifically, the animation I have submitted for this unit is Part 1 of a prospective series of shorts collectively titled Paradise, which I intend to continue to produce as I move forward with my studies and personal professional development. This book covers the research and experimentation stages of my studies for the Convergence/Divergence unit, including extensive evaluation of external media and the process of creating my first animatic.

Introduction Looking back over the production of my Convergence/Divergence animation - and this process book - I am confident in the quality of my submission, in spite of the number of issues that I encountered which I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t covered here. The concept for my animation was based on a series of illustrations I produced last year collectively titled Paradise, submitted then as the conceptualisation of a potential storybook for the final unit of Level 4. The story behind Paradise was rooted in the imagination and grief of a young girl named Anna, who, after the death of her mother, drew up a fantastical, Narnia-like world where she might live on, having adventures with flying mechanical whales in cities that float in the sky. One night, Anna was whisked away to what appeared to be her drawings made real - and set off on an adventure to reunite with her mother.

This page: still from my animated short Paradise: Part 1.

Though a relatively simple story, due to its nature as a fairytale of sorts, the connotations of grief and escapism were what drew me to the concept. Upon brainstorming ideas for this unit, I kept coming back to the themes and ideas I never got to fully explore in Paradise, and so I decided to revisit them a second time, this time with a mind for identifying the converging/diverging elements and building upon that foundation. Although I ultimately did not reach the point in the final animation where my themes would take full form - causing me to identify my submission as Part 1 of a potential series of animated shorts - it became clear to me that Annaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divide between fantasy and reality were at the core of my story: the point of convergence/ divergence.

Contents Introduction

...2

Learning Agreement

...4-7

Action Plan

. . . 8 -9

Paradise Storybook

. . . 10 -11

Contextual research . . . 12 hand-drawn animation graduate & professional 2-D composited environments art & sound direction Paperman

. . . 14 - 17

Vagabond

. . . 20 - 25

We Were Monkeys

. . . 26 - 31

Contextual research . . . 32 video games indie/platforming 2-D composited environments art & sound direction Bioshock Infinite

. . . 34 - 37

Bioshock . . . 38 - 39 Child of Light

. . . 40 - 45

LIMBO . . . 46 - 51 Rayman Origins

. . . 52 - 55

Rayman Legends

. . . 56 - 57

Research & experimentation . . . 58

after effects & flash digital compositing preliminary animatic audition

After Effects

. . . 62 - 67, 70 - 73

Flash

. . . 68 - 69

Audition

. . . 74 - 75 This page: still from my animated short Paradise: Part 1.

Learning Agreement Name: Daniel French Course: Ba (Hons) Illustration Level: 5 Unit: Convergence/ Divergence Ref. number:

ILL552

Credit points:

Weighting:

4.0

Duration:

10 weeks

Study hours:

400 hours

Commences: 2015

18 February

Deadline:

11 May 2015

Unit Leader:

Sharon Beeden

Tutor(s):

Paul Roberts

Synopsis of Study For my ‘Convergence/Divergence’ unit I will produce an original animated narrative in a visual style similar to that of a storybook or fairytale. Taking on board the knowledge and experience I have gained studying narrative theory and the visualisation of text-based media, I aim to produce a 2-D animation based upon a series of narrative illustrations I created for the final open brief project of Level 4.

This page: still from my animated short Paradise: Part 1.

The narrative begins in early 1900s England, shortly after the death of young protagonist Anna’s mother. An imaginative introvert, and in mourning, she makes drawings of another world where she imagines her mother has gone, where cities fly on clouds and animals are made of metal. Despite its vastness, there

are no people in this world – save for her mother, who lives in a castle on the highest cloud protected by an enormous mechanical owl modelled on Anna’s toy owl. The story begins when Anna is visited in the night by a mechanical insect that reveals to her a mysterious door in her room, which leads to what appears to be her imaginary world made real. From here on, Anna embarks on an adventure through this world with her toy owl companion. Beginning in a forest below the flying city above, she resolves to reach the highest cloud and find her mother. As the animation will not have dialogue or text, the narrative is driven forward from the offset by the notion of reaching the clouds above. Anna achieves this by climbing a mountain and then the ladder of a passing airship, which she navigates through a storm before being attacked by a mysterious creature. Rescued by a herd of flying metal whales, she realises that the creature was the giant bird she imagined to protect her mother – a realisation that will be made clear to the audience by her having some of her drawings with her; subsequently we see one of the castle her mother is in, revealing her wish to go there. Anna finds the castle, but is again confronted by the giant bird Siren. Siren attacks by singing the whales to sleep mid-flight with a lullaby Anna’s mother sang to her before she died (the lullaby will be a motif that first appears at the very beginning of the animation, when drawings are shown of her mother when she was still alive). Anna saves herself by quickly drawing Siren, Anna and her mother together inside. The lullaby ends, and she is allowed inside the castle. Inside, she meets her mother again, the two embracing before Siren greets them at a balcony. Anna doesn’t want to leave her, so her mother makes her a drawing and gives it to her folded (we assume she is meant to look at it once she is home). Anna says her goodbyes and climbs atop Siren himself, who flies into the night as she falls asleep. The final scene shows Anna waking up in bed back in her home, with the new drawing nowhere to be found. We then see a close-up of her wall, which is covered in drawings, focusing on one in particular, with a crease down the middle: Anna closing the door on her imaginary world. The primary theme of the story is Anna’s struggle to choose reality and move on from her mother’s death over the amazing fantasy she has created for herself to hide in. Grief, escapism and isolation are also important, with the latter explored in the fact that though Anna imagines up an entire city and world, the only person who lives there is her mother. The ending is purposefully ambiguous, suggesting that the story itself was also imagined, but the point is that Anna manages to overcome her grief and isolation regardless of this. This ambiguity also serves to negate the notion that escapism is a bad thing, as the chance to return to her other world – and her grief – may still be there. I will realise this narrative in a relatively stripped-back approach to my usually hyper-detailed rendering style in pen. I aim to produce layered visual landscapes where different elements, such as the sky, clouds, buildings, trees, and characters are all able to be moved independently in image and video editing software. For this purpose, I aim to produce large spaces where perspective can be played with and which the main character can traverse. For this project, I will undertake practical research into video-editing and animation software including Adobe After-Effects and Flash. Primarily, I want to scan in hand-drawn illustrations and have them move across backgrounds digitally, as opposed to re-drawing elements due to time constraints, playing with distance, blur and silhouettes to create perspective. Some independent aspects of drawings will move, such as the tail of a mechanical whale or the young girl’s hair in the wind, for example. One scene I have in mind is of Siren, with its wings unfolding and cogs spinning. I was inspired to approach animation in this manner by the work of animation duo We Were Monkeys, who are known for creating music videos for bands such as Of Monsters and Men. For the soundtrack, I have looked into copyright-free orchestral and piano music which fits the fairytale-like atmosphere of the narrative. I will also use sound effects for certain elements such as doors opening, howling wind and the mechanical elements of the creatures in the story.

Despite the fairytale genre, my intended audience is from the age of roughly 12 and upwards, due to the subtleties and story regarding more mature themes such as death and grief. This approach was informed by Guillermo Del Toro’s dark fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth, which was billed as ‘a fantasy for adults’, exploring the horrors of both fantasy and reality through the fairytale genre. I have chosen to revisit a previously existing project for various reasons, both in terms of visual realisation and conceptual themes. The genre is similar to that of my previous project in Level 5, though more modern and industrial, allowing me to develop on my personal style while bringing it to a form of media usually not associated with the genre. For the Convergence/ Divergence unit, I want to build upon that foundation, and I believe that this will also help me to create concept and final work more quickly as I have not worked with animation before, with the understanding that there will be a lot of work to undertake in order to successfully realise this prospect.

Aims A1 To provide me with awareness of how screen-based technologies are transforming the way that audiences are consuming information – how illustration can enhance my specific concept and affect my target audience. A2 To develop my creative solutions and skills in relation to the technology available to illustrators towards a screen-based presentation. A3 To develop my organisational skills to enable my independent learning, critical evaluation and selfmanagement. This spread: still from my animated short Paradise: Part 1.

Learning Outcomes LO1 Demonstrate my knowledge of new and evolving technologies for the illustrator in relation to my identified audience. LO2 Demonstrate my practical application of traditional and technology skills in the creation of my screen-based presentation. LO3 Demonstrate the application of my organisational skills and evidence of my independent learning, critical evaluation and self-management through the development of my project. Assessment Components Body of work to be identified through and in the negotiated Learning Agreement. (Tutor Assessed) 100%

References Moser, M. & Wilson, M. (n.d). Hello. [online]. Available from: http://wwm. productions/hello.php [Accessed 26/02/2015] Moser, M. & Wilson, M (n.d). Little Talks. [online]. Available from: http:// wwm.productions/vid_littletalks.php [Accessed 26/02/2015] Of Monsters and Men (02/02/2012). Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks [online]. Available from: h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I [Accessed 26/02/2015] Rotten Tomatoes (n.d). Panâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Labyrinth. [online]. Available from: http://www.rottentomatoes. com/m/pans_labyrinth/ [Accessed 15/03/2015]

Action Plan Week Mon 02 March – Fri 06th March nd

Objectives • Attend Jonny Clapham presentation • Watch After Effects tutorials on Lynda.com • Refine character design for Anna • Begin rough storyboarding • Create stock backgrounds and elements such as clouds etc.

Mon 09 March – Fri 13 March th

• Process book • Start first animatic for storyboard with rough characters, stock elements and sound effects • Attend Learning Agreement consultation • Attend overview of Narrative unit • Continue After Effects tutorials • Continue storyboarding • Continue creating stock elements • Research into sound effects and soundtrack

Mon 15 March – Fri 20 March th

• Add to process book • Start animation • Attend sound workshop • Refine sound effect experiments • Continue After Effects tutorials

Mon 23 March – Fri 27 March rd

• Add to process book • Attend idea generation workshop • Maybe attend partnered tutorial • Animation support with Jenni • Continue first animatic for storyboard • Continue with sound effect and soundtrack experimenting • Add to process book

Mon 30th March – Fri 10th April (HOLS)

• Continue working on project when able, sketching etc.

Mon 13 April – Fri 17 April

• Add to process book • Critique week

• Keep animating • Start working on finals Mon 20 April – Fri 24 April th

• Add to process book • Partnered tutorial with Paul • Animation support with Jonny • Pick Me Up in London • Keep animating on finals/2nd animatic • Work on sound • Add to process book

Mon 27 April – Fri 1 May th

• 2 WEEKS LEFT • Assessment guidelines tutorial/lecture • Student-led seminars • Tutorial with Sharon if needed • Animation support with Jenni if needed • Add to process book • Finish final animation

Mon 4 May – Fri 08 May th

• 1 WEEK LEFT • Tutorials with Sharon available • Tutorials with Paul available • All day print & animation days with Jenni • Finish off process book

Mon 11th May – Fri 15th May (END)

• DEADLINE TIME • Hand in everything Monday! • Assessment critiques all week

At the end of my Level 4 experience, I had the oppurtunity to create something entirely original and personal to me. The result was a series of storybook illustrations depicting key moments from a narrative inspired by various artistic and storytelling sources, such as the Bioshock video game series and the fairytale realm in general. Though my final submission lacked a detailed context for my illustrations, I maintain the opinion that the collection exists, if not at the forefront of, then certainly among my strongest visual work. Coming to the close of my Level 5 experience, and the prospect of my decisive Level 6 experience looming, I have made the decision to revisit Paradise with the intention of refining what made the concept so enticing for me in the first place. In terms of visual style, Paradise stands as a turning point in my artistic journey. I had previously experimented with rendering detailed illustrations in grayscale fineliner for one of my early Level 4 projects, but this project was the moment when I fully embraced the medium and realised its full potential. With the intention of harkening back to the traditional rendering styles of 19th/20th century book illustrators such as John Tenniel, who famously illustrated Charles Lutwidge Johnson’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, I invested effort in drawing up a fantastical world of similar wonder in a higher level of detail than previously attempted. The concept of Paradise itself was inspired by such ingenuous notions as C.S Lewis’s Narnia and Bioshock Infinite’s Columbia, a world I have researched in detail later in this book. The resulting visuals took influence from the steampunk general, early 20th century art nouveau as well as Japanese culture as evidenced in the paper fan-inspired design of the character Siren (seen opposite, bottom right).

This spread: still from my animated short Paradise: Part 1.

Aside from the visuals, however, the project gave me the oppurtunity to try my hand at crafting my own narrative and story, to fit within the genres which inspired me. Having since refined my ability to interpret text throughout the Level 5 experience, it is this narrative which I intend to focus on and bring to the forefront for my Convergence/ Divergence proposal. Due to the complexity and length of the original narrative of the storybook illustrations, I am aware that I will need to edit and trim down accordingly for my animation submission.

Opposite and above: excerpts from my original Paradise storybook illustrations.

Contextual research: hand-drawn animation graduate & professional 2-D composited environments art & sound direction

This spread: screenshots from various animations researched in this process book.

is a 2012 animted short produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Blending traditional hand-drawn animation with 3-D computer animation, the romantic comedy short makes use of a primarily grayscale palette to evoke its romantic atmosphere. Directed by John Kars, Paperman was the first animated short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios to win an Academy Award since Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tough to Be a Bird in 1970.

This spread: still from the animated short Paperman.

is a short animated film directed by John Kars and produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, originally attached to the feature-length computer-animated film Wreck-It Ralph as part of a long-running campaign of animated shorts created by the studio. A romantic comedy, the short blends traditional hand-drawn animation with computer animation to create a unique visual style that captures the romantic nature of traditional techniques , while making use of contemporary breakthroughs in visual effects such as realistic lighting and depth of field. The narrative of the short follows one man’s determination to catch the attention of a woman he meets briefly at the beginning of the story on a train platform in 1940s New York, by means of attempting to send paper airplanes across the city’s high-rise buildings. Lacking dialogue, the short relies on body language to carry its emotional journey, while the primarily black-and-white palette evokes the romantic atmosphere and 20th century setting. Due to its short length, its paper airplane concept stands as a narrative thread which embodies the central character’s struggle, initially spurred by the two’s first encounter wherein the man’s paperwork hits the woman in the face, leaving a lipstick print behind - the woman’s lipstick is the only use of colour in the animation, which serves to set her character apart from the rest of the animation and elevate her to a heightened sense of beauty and importance. The pioneering animation technology created for Paperman, known as Meander, allows for greater control and influence over the final product as everything is created within the same department; hair and clothing are rendered together, as opposed to being separated and altered independantly as with CGI. The flatness of line, contrasted with the rough pen texture of details such as hair and skin creates a heightened sense of depth and definition compared to traditional hand-drawn animation. Meanwhile, the strong lighting casts strong contrast between blacks and white, an unusual sight in handdrawn animations which gives Paperman its extra something - the characters have more tangibilty against their backgrounds, which also make use of blur and depth of field. This page: still from Paperman.

Above: stills from the animated short Paperman by the Walt Disney Animation Studios.

also shines in terms of its use of narrative devices and progression. Due to its nature as an animated short, the story itself is relatively simple: boy meets girl, boy tries to get girl back, boy and girl meet again. The story is essentially what happens between two meetings - one at the beginning, which sets up the narrative, and one at the end, which closes it. The narrative thread - the storytelling device that brings the audience and the characters from point A to point B in this case is the paper airplane. The concept of paper as a narrative device is first introduced as the means by which the two characters initially interact, when one of the man’s business papers is caught in a gust of wind at the train station and hits the woman in the face, leaving a lipstick print on it (her lipstick is the only use of colour in the animation). The interaction creates a moment of humour between the two strangers, a connection that remains with them - and the audience - thus giving credence to the man’s desire to meet her again. The paper airplane concept is instigated by the man’s inability to catch her attention across two high-rise buildings, inspiring him to use up all of his business papers as unsuccessful paper airplanes, until the only remaining one is the one with the lipstick print on. At this point, the narrative reminds the audience of the woman’s impression. Another, less obvious narrative device is the apparent sentience or influence of wind in a city environment; the first gust of wind instigates the narrative, another drives it forward when the man loses his last airplane, and later, an entire ‘flock’ of airplanes that were previously unsuccessful join together and attach themselves to the man, forcing him onto a train where he will again meet the woman; meanwhile, the single airplane with the woman’s lipstick print guides her to another train and to him.

This page: still from Paperman.

This use of seemingly inanimate objects as a driving force for a stripped-back narrative works incredibly effectively, particularly as the paper airplane concept allows for lively and unpredictable movements and turn of events. It is also effective as a means of accentuating the ‘paper’ and hand-drawn aesthetic of the animaton itself; the blank white texture of the paper airplanes also contrasts particuluarly well with the grayscale environment, lending itself to one scene at the end of the animation where the ‘flock’ flies away in slow-motion before the woman’s eyes.

Personally, Paperman stands as one of my favourite animations - feature-length or short - for its exceptional beauty and storytelling finesse. Its considered utilisation of blending hand-drawn and 3D animation together to tell a humourous, heartfelt story with a unique narrative thread in spite of a lack of any dialogue or usual means of storytelling devices makes for a truly unique entry to the romantic comedy genre. Due to my personal favour for grayscale rendering, Paperman has influenced the visual style of my animation in terms of its unique and realistic use of lighting in a hand-drawn aesthetic. I also want to include a narrative thread similar to the paper airplane concept; at this point, I am inclined to feature a mechanical dragonfly that will guide my character, Anna, through the story in some form, creating a link between the fantasy and reality.

Above: stills from the animated short Paperman.

is the graduation film from The Animation Workshop/ VIA UC. Following his dogâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kidnapper through a relentlessly moving city, the warmhearted vagabond Dio discovers how far society has gone to keep up its pace.

This spread: still from the animated film Vagabond.

is the graduation work of director Pedro Ivo Carvalho and The Animation Studio from Denmark. In a dark, polluted and frantically paced city, we follow one citizen as he desparately chases after his dog when he is accidentally picked up by the city’s aerial garbage collection. As Dio races to save his companion, we are given a surprising and insightful view on society and the sake of its supposed progress. Visually, the animation features 2-D compositing and hand-drawn techniques rendered in a contemporary approach and aesthetic. Elements such as the city itself are composed of various flat layers, with dynamic lighting and blur techniques utilised to create depth and a sense of consant motion in the city. Various camera angles are used to offer a 3-dimensional look at the environment, and characters are rendered in a style reminiscent of paper cut-outs against the digitally painted backgrounds. Some elements are rendered in flat colour with no discernable detail so as to allow for 3-D movement, such as the claw that picks up garbage and the dog in the story. In terms of the narrative, the animation offers a view on modern (or near-future) city life from the perspective of the ‘lower-class’ citizens, specifically a homeless man named Dio. In this world, the city is constantly moving and heavily polluted, with enormous clouds of pollution sweeping through periodically. When Dio’s dog is accidentally picked up by an aerial garbage collection system, he begins a journey through the city to save him, bringing him into the more futuristic, technology-based part of the city and to the street-art scene of the back-streets, which operates under the cover of the dirtstorms. Ultimately, Dio makes it into the enormous furnace garbage disposal (with the help of a couple of street-artists) and manages to pull a lever that brings the entire city to a halt in time to save his dog. Consequently, Dio and his dog climb out of the furnace to find themselves atop the city, which is revealed to be an enormous machine which has been ploughing obliviously through a green world. Out in the open, the pair take a deep breath of the fresh air, watching a flock of birds flying through the open air.

This page: still from the graduate animation Vagabond by the Animation Studio.

With a lack of text or speech, the animation relies on actions, body language and a muffled gibberish language for communication. Generally, the narrative and setting are

Above: stills from the graduate animation Vagabond by the Animation Studio.

explored through establishing shots and the journey itself, which sees Dio experiencing and navigating the environment as the audience does. In this way, Dio acts as an audience surrogate - a technique used in television and film where one character is introduced to an established narrative setup or environment, and the viewer learns information through them. In this way, the themes and concepts of Vagabond are kept to a basic level, though given more exposition through a unique view-point. The most obvious concept of the animation regards the sake of progress for progress, as the city is seen to be polluting itself despite being in direct contact with an oasis, just out of sight and reach. This is then turned on its head, however, by the oblivious and purely loving action of one incidental man as he tries to save his dog; an entire city is affected by the actions of a homeless man, who is only interested in the sake of one other. Vagabond achieves the demonstration of these themes and ideas by stripping back its narrative and distracting elements, such as dialogue, and providing the viewer with a clear understanding of the events that are taking place; though we are technically following two characters in their journey, we come to notice an entire world around and through them. That being said, the animation itself is successful in its own right, offering a contemporary serving of 2-D animation in a time when CGI has become predominant. Though much of the technique is somewhat basic, the attention to detail and the extent to which compositions are layered and considered breathes life into its environment. Film techniques are utilised as in much of modern CGI; for instance, in the still seen to the left, we focus on the dog when it is in frame, but once he moves out of frame, the focus is put on the background, rendering the foreground elements in blur as the camera pans down and the dog appears again at the bottom-most level. Also, whereas the environment and animation is rendered smoothly, characters such as the dog and people are flat and move as though in a handdrawn manner, setting them apart from the backgrounds.

This page: still from the graduate animation Vagabond by the Animation Studio.

For my own animation, I want to include this contrast between detailed and immersive environments, and characters which are

of a similar but flattened aesthetic, albeit still visually arresting. As my animation has only one character (with a second potentially appearing later on in a small number of scenes), I want to spend much of my attention on animating her in such a way that she is visually interesting and able to be seen in detailed environments, as well as communicating emotion and actions clearly. Vagaband is a fine example of a short animation which communicates its message without being overt and which provides a light-hearted story contained within it. Its animation is simplistic yet effective, with its dark environment made lively with clever animation techniques and compelling yet mostly silent characters, allowing for its message to be read by anyone and everyone.

Above: stills from the graduate animation Vagabond by the Animation Studio.

We Were Monkeys is a writing, directing and producing duo comprised of Mihai Wilson and Marcella Moser. Together they have created numerous music videos, short films and commercial works that have been screened at film festivals and art exhibitions around the world. They have been nominated for three Juno Awards, an MTV Music Video Award for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Best Art Directionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and won Les Prix Phi Films for their debut short film, OVO.

This spread: still from lyric music video for Of Monsters And Men’s ‘Yellow Light’.

has greatly influenced my work for the Convergence/Divergence project. Their animation work for the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men has been particularly relevant, with a strong thematic tie to Nordic mythology and the genre of fantasy. The video production duo have created two full-length music videos and numerous animated lyric videos for the band’s debut studio album, ‘My Head Is An Animal’, which has a strong affiliation with folk and fairytale themes in its production and lyrics. Their music video for the single ‘Little Talks’ is a favourie of mine and was first thing that came to mind when brain-storming ideas for my own narrative animation. WWM explains the production process for the music video on their website. As with most of their videos, the duo used a combination of photography and video of Iceland itself, stitching together imaginary landscapes out of various elements using editing software including After Effects, Photoshop, Cinema4D and Maya. The statues, monoliths and ancient ruins seen in the video were created via digital matte-painting techniques - the monsters used the same process, but combined with 3D hair rendered in Cinema4D. For the characters, film of the band members’ heads was attached to digitally created bodies. The narrative of the music video itself concerns the journey of the band members across a fantastical land riddled with monsters and obstacles. The female lead singer, Nanna, poses as a magical being who fends off the monsters. The climax of the video sees the emergence of the most fearsome monster yet, who rather than casting away, Nanna joins with a triumphant smile, showing that it is not to be feared. In terms of visuals, the video is mostly two-dimensional, with characters traversing the landscape horizontally, though some scenes change the perspective.

This page: still from music video for Of Monsters and Men’s ‘Little Talks’.

For my animation, I want to have a similar dynamic where the main character traverses across a landscape - mostly by air - in a 2-D plane, but with various elements such as clouds and animals moving closer and further away to create layers of perspective, highlighting on important and key aspects in this way. Rather than using a combination of photography and film, my animation will be comprised of various drawings.

Above: screenshots of WWM’s post-production process for the music video ‘Little Talks’ from their website.

LITTLE TALKS is the debut single by Icelandic indie folk/ indie pop rock band Of Monsters and Men, and is the lead single from their debut album ‘My Head Is An Animal.’ A synopsis for the music video is offered on WWM’s website, which features details on the production process and the concepts behind their work: ‘Five sky-sailors discover a crystal meteor containing a lost mythical female creature. An epic journey through fantastical worlds ensues as the sailors struggle to return her to her people.’ The video is shot in almost entirely blackand-white, with only the ‘mythical creature’ (Nanna) appearing in colour. At the end of the video, a flock of similarly coloured birds swarm together and create an explosion, from which an enormous winged creature emerges (seen at the bottom of the following page). The colours used are vivid and stand out against the otherwise grayscale palette, creating flaming blues and oranges. This use of localised colour is something I might like to incorporate into my own animation; the illustrations on which my animation will be based are rendered in black-and-white in fineliners, a style I want to maintain, though I could use colour digitally through special effects in After Effects to achieve something similar to the ‘Little Talks’ video.

This page: still from lyric music video for Of Monsters And Men’s ‘Yellow Light’.

Conceptually, the journey seen in the video seems to reflect more on the image of the band and its Icelandic roots than the lyrical content of the song itself. On the other hand, the journey could possibly represent some of the themes of the lyrics, which act as a conversation between the two singers, where one is apparently tormented by confusion or loss, and the other is encouraging or comforting them; ‘And some days I can’t even dress myself / It’s killing me to see you this way’. By the chorus, the two sing together in unison, deciding that ‘though the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore’, in a more upbeat and exclamative manner. The journey seen in the video could serve as a physical interpretation of the emotional journey the lyrics concern, with the magical being protecting the others from the monsters they encounter, before joining with the biggest monster of all herself.

The story of my own narrative animation concerns a similar emotional journey, wherein Anna (the protagonist) is troubled by the loss of her mother, and in her grief, escapes on a fantastical adventure in another world. Like ‘Little Talks’, Anna encounters a fearsome monster (the giant mechanical owl Siren) who she comes to reconcile with (serving as something of a metaphor for coming to terms with her grief) by the end of the journey. The work of WWM reflects well on both the conceptual and visual devices I want to make use of for my own animation project, and has given me plenty of inspiration as I move forward.

Above: ending shot of the ‘Little Talks’ video. Nanna joins the enormous monster, whose wings unfold as the camera pans out and cuts to black. The vibrant colours contrast the grayscale.

Contextual research: video games indie/platforming 2-D composited environments art & sound direction

This spread: screenshots from various video games researched in this process book.

is the final title by acclaimed video game developer Irrational Games. With an expanded look at the compelling themes first introduced in the original Bioshock, Infinite offers an immersive and convincing alternate reality that more than stands up to the legacy of its predecessor. In a version of the early 1900s where American Exceptionalism produced the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest accomplishment, the floating city of Columbia offers a microcosm of society at its very highest - and, behind the beautiful facade, its very lowest.

This spread: promotional artwork for the game Bioshock Infinite.

is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. The third and most recent installment in the Bioshock franchise, the game is a breakthrough in art, story and sound direction for the medium, featuring a compelling and immersive fictional environment with a strong historical and political commentary. Set in 1912, protagonist Booker DeWitt is sent to the floating city of Columbia to find a young woman, Elizabeth, who has been held captive there for most of her life. Caught in a civil war concerning the widespread segregation and discrimination abound the supposedly utopian society, the pair discover dark secrets relating to Elizabethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s otherworldly abilties and Bookerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s connection to the history of Columbia. Arguably its most striking element, the art direction of the game is incredibly unique and considered, presenting a steampunk world inspired by extensive research into the existent aesthetic and culture of early 1900s America. Partnered with a sciencefiction leaning toward alternate realities and supernatural powers, the colourful steampunk environment provides the player with a convincing and unique experience that not only looks incredible, but has equally refined music and story to boot. Bioshock Infinite has greatly inspired and influenced the visual and storytelling elements of my narrative. The project my animation will be based upon, a series of storybook illustrations collectively titled Paradise, was largely inspired by the game, though with a stronger narrative and rendering leaning toward the fairytale genre over the highly Western and political connotations of the Bioshock universe.

This page: conceptual art for the game Bioshock Infinite, featuring the airborne city of Columbia.

Bioshock Infinite proposes a reality where the radicalisation of American Exceptionalism was accelerated by an unprecedented breakthrough in fringe sciences in the early 1900s, allowing for the realisation of a revolutionaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largerly religious and anarchist view of utopia to come to fruition. Fuelled by propaganda pertaining to such sociological ideals as white supremacy and sovereign independence, Columbia becomes a flagship for the horrors of man hidden behind a facade of beauty and freedom.

Above: screenshots from various stages of the game Bioshock Infinite, featuring the airborne city of Columbia and the mechanical creation Songbird.

IRRATIONAL G A M E S was an acclaimed video game developer behind such franchises as Bioshock and Freedom Force. Known for its exceptional presentation of art, story and sound direction, Irrational Games set a precedent for the calibre and originality of the otherwise formulaic first-person shooter genre in 2007 with their breakthrough title Bioshock. The predecessor to Bioshock Infinite, the original title saw the player traversing the perilous underwater city of Rapture. Unlike Infinite, Bioshock presents the horror of its premise much more frankly, with a stronger view on the radical sciences and creative freedom of man that inspired the city’s fall. Whereas Infinite features wide open spaces and a colourful world design, Bioshock puts the player in a claustrophic environment that has already begun to fall apart. Set in the 1950s, the underwater city of Rapture is heavily inspired by art deco, having been built several years prior to the beginning of the game when the city has since fallen into chaos. Coupled with a steampunk aesthetic, Bioshock features a submarine take on the art genre, with one of its most prominent visual staples being the Big Daddy - a semi-mechanical man in a submarine suit, with an enormous drill for an arm. While the Big Daddies are not inherently viscious, they are highly protective of their ‘Little Sisters’, young girls who have been genetically altered and mentally conditioned to reclaim the substance ADAM from the corpses around Rapture. Story-wise, Bioshock deals with themes such as mental conditioning and the perils brought about by the creative freedom of maniacal scientists in a utopia built for the independence of man. The unique visuals serve the story well, excacerbating the theme of creative descent and providing the player with an experience unlike any other firstperson shooter at the time of its release.

This page: promotional art for the game Bioshock, featuring the underwater city of Rapture.

For the purposes of my final animation, researching the Bioshock franchise has given me a mind for both a specific visual style and the contextual connotations of this decision.

In the following years, Irrational Games returned twice to Rapture - first for the direct sequel Bioshock 2 (above) and second for the DLC sequel to Infinite, Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea (below). Personally, I find the latter experience much more interesting, as the return to the original gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s setting with characters from Infinite is purposeful and puts a new angle on the themes and events presented in Bioshock. The visuals are also refined, with a mindfulness for the gameplay and visual style of Infinite integrated into the more restrictive environment design. Ultimately, the Bioshock franchise has been incredibly inspirational to me personally and for the purposes of the Convergence/Divergence unit, in terms of narrative, art style and the use of music and sound effects. Moving forward, I aim to refine my research into specific 2-D composited design in video games for my final animation.

Above: promotional art for the game Bioshock 2 and screenshot from the game Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea - Episode One.

is a platforming role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. The game makes use of traditional art in the form of watercolour paintings for backgrounds and environments, as well as animated elements and characters.

This spread: promotional artwork for the game Child of Light.

is a beautiful example of what is essentially a multi-sensory form of interactive art. As a side-scrolling platforming role-playing game, Child of Light offers a reinvention of the video game genre that has largely been abandoned since the 90’s, as well as re-purposing a traditional art form for a contemporary audience. The game explores a fairytale world where a young princess, Aurora, is taken from her Austrian home in the 1890s and delivered to the mythical land of Lemuria. Bestowed with various tropes of the fairytale genre, including wings, a sword and magical abilties, Aurora is accompanied by the firefly Igniculus on a quest to bring back the sun, the moon and the stars held captive by the mysterious Queen of the Night. Aesthetically, the game makes use of traditional watercolour paintings for backgrounds and environments, as well as digitally animated characters in a similar style. Powered by UbiArt Framework, which was previously used for the video games Rayman Origins and its sequel, Rayman Legends, Child of Light is a rare culmination of traditional and contemporary approaches to genre, platform, animation, artwork and storytelling. The game’s style and gameplay were also inspired by the Japanese film and game industry, including Studio Ghibli, Japanese RPGs and the art of Yoshitaka Amano. The game’s layered watercolour environments are fully interactive and responsive, with the player controlling both Aurora and Igniculus to navigate the multi-platform world. In contrast to the environments, the characters and interactive aspects are rendered in 3-D, though ‘flattened’ to fit in with the 2-D world; Aurora’s hair is driven by fluid simulation, which is designed to look as though it is floating underwater. The gameplay also makes use of dynamic lighting, with interactive shadows used to solve puzzles and progress forward.

This page: promotional artwork for the game Child of Light.

Child of Light demonstrates a unique contextualisation of art, which allows for an interactive experience beyond its already immersive and beautiful visuals. Similar in approach to the animation and video work of WWM, the game strips back its components even further to allow its audience to take control of the journey and explore for itself.

Above: screenshots from various stages of the game Child of Light and promotional art showcasing the watercolour painting aesthetic.

U B I A R T FRAMEWORK has become well-known for its contemporary servings of quality and artful platforming adventures. In Child of Light, the player is free to explore a dynamic and detailed fairytale world rendered in stunning watercolour visuals - but the game also puts the emphasis on atmosphere, with a lack of speech allowing for an immersive and meticulously crafted soundtrack to take center stage. For my own narrative animation, the soundtrack and sound effects are a prime consideration along with the visuals itself. Like Child of Light, my animation exists within the breadth of the fairytale genre, though with a stronger leaning to the industrial and man-made. Despite this, I have a mind to pertain to the orchestral or classical sound that the genre is often associated with. The soundtrack to Child of Light, scored by CĹ&#x201C;ur de Pirate, reflects perfectly on its immersive and layered world with a soundscape comprised of emotional piano melodies and epic orchestral sequences. With the understanding that for my animation I will not have the luxury of having my own orchestra to provide as much of an epic or emotionally responsive score, I would like to have a relatively stripped back piano piece similar to those found on the Child of Light soundtrack to accompany my visuals. Like the game, my narrative will not have speech for its characters, but might make use of text instead - due to this, the music will have to reflect on the emotions and actions of the story on its own. I am currently searching copyright-free websites for an appropriate piano or similar melody that can convey this as the score for Child of Light excels at doing.

This page: promotional artwork for the game Child of Light.

My reasoning for using classical music over other genres despite my animation containing a more industrial visual style is to emphasise on the fairytale tropes and emotional aspects present in the story. I find that piano melodies, in particular, have the ability to convey emotional journeys without distracting from the events that are taking place. I also want to make use of certain sound effects, so it is important that these will not be lost in the music.

Child of Light is in my opinion a beautiful and fresh imagining of a fairytale. The visual style, interactive approach, fluid animation, artistic storytelling devices and immersive soundtrack all contribute not just towards a cohesive and exceptional video game, but a wholly unique narrative experience. With an understanding of the various visual, audio and animation techniques utilised in the production of the game, I am excited to both expand upon and reign in my own ideas for my Convergence/Divergence unit.

Above: conceptual artwork for the game Child of Light, showcasing the fairytale visuals through a traditional watercolour aesthetic.

is the debut puzzle-platform indie video game by independent Danish game developer Playdead. A 2D sidescroller, the game makes use of considered minimalist story, art and music direction to create a mysterious and sinister world with an aesthetic comparable to film noir and German Expressionism.

This spread: promotional artwork for the game LIMBO.

is a unique interactive experience that breaks many video game and narrative conventions, while introducing an entirely fresh perspective on the contemporary gaming landscape. While pertaining to the core traditional tropes of puzzle and platforming games, LIMBO offers a dynamic and immersive environment with considered art direction that contributes towards both its haunting atmosphere and the player’s interaction with the world they are placed in. Arguably its most important aspect, the game’s unique aesthetic influences and limits purposefully the other elements of the player’s experience of the game. Placed in control of a nameless young boy, the player navigates a dark, grayscale world where interactive objects and threats are disguised by the obscure visual style. Contributing toward the sinister and otherworldly feel of the game is the ambient soundtrack, as well as sound effects pertaining to harsh and brutal environmental hazards, particularly evident in the industrial settings towards the latter part of the game. Unlike other platforming games, LIMBO offers little explanation to the player in regards to both the story and the abilities of their character. As previously mentioned, hazards such as bear traps are hidden by the obscure visual style, as are potentially moveable objects. With the focus placed on atmosphere, the player’s investment in the gameplay is heightened, as they have to figure out the abilities and limitations of the character and the evironment on their own in moments of pressure, and solve puzzles while being exposed to dangers such as giant spiders and moving environments.

This page: promotional artwork for the game LIMBO.

The game’s art direction and visual style is incredibly considered; with a strong use of contrast and darkness, silhouettes and spotlights are used to create clarity where needed and provide the visuals with a muchneeded stylisation and sophistication. The game’s various visual elements comprise blurred backgrounds suggestive of a forest or crumbling city, with dense, silhouetted foregrounds providing the shapes of fallen tree trunks, giant cogs and pools of water. Shafts of ambient light filter through wooded areas; sparks of electricity shower over the character from damaged neon hotel signs, suggesting a dystopian context for a world where little to no explanation is provided.

Above: screenshots from various stages of the game LIMBO, and promotional artwork showcasing the silhouetted aesthetic.

PLAYDEAD G A M E S LIMBO is known to many as an example of video games as an art form. Praised for its dark presentation, the game is a fine example of purposeful and atmospheric minimalism, contexualised for an appropriate audience. However, the open-ended nature of the story has polarised critics and audiences, with some believing that the lack of a significant plot and the abrupt ending detract from the game. With only the curt summary ‘Uncertain of his sister’s fate, one boy enters LIMBO’, it is clear that the developers designed the game around its mood and atmosphere over its story content. That being said, I am of the opinion that the stripped-back story lends itself perfectly to the game as a whole. With each of its components - story, visuals, audio and gameplay - kept to a cumulative minimalist palette, the result is that of a cohesive and engaging experience. The lack of story detail also heightens the sense of mystery and eeriness evident in the visual and audio production; without knowing the circumstances of the sister’s dissapearance, the presence of danger - in the form of giant spiders, violent strangers and mechanical contraptions - is made that much more tangible and threatening. Similarly, the environment is used to suggest a context for a potential story, rather than detailing its exact nature or any hard facts. Whereas the game begins in a dark forest setting, it later moves to a dystopian city setting with enormous mechanical contraptions such as cogs and crushing devices presenting navigational challenges. One particular section is often seen as a staple of the game: that of a large damaged neon hotel sign, which the player has to navigate without being electrocuted. The environments serve not only to progress the player forward, but to provide the player with an idea of the history and story of the world they are in.

This page: screenshot from the game LIMBO.

Hostile characters appear later in the game, presenting another layer of context; young children dressed in almost tribal attire attack the player, solidifying the dystopian concept.

For the purposes of gathering a rich and varied pool of knowledge and concepts for my Convergence/Divergence unit, LIMBO offers a fine example of an appropriate and inventive use of a particular medium of animation. From research into and the descontruction of its varying components, I have gained a better understanding of the use of minimalism in animation and how the aesthetic of a narrative can be expanded upon in the approach to storytelling. The 2-D landscape presented in LIMBO is incredibly well-constructed and makes use of strong character and environment design to create a sense of depth and sophistication where detail, texture and shading is purposefully sidelined, allowing for a unique and surprisingly realistic perspective in 2-D compositing.

Above: screenshot from the game LIMBO and promotional artwork showcasing the silhouetted aesthetic.

is a platform game developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft. Built with the 2.5D video game engine UbiArt Framework, the game and its sequel, Rayman Legends, make use of dynamic digital compositing featuring both 2D and 3D elements.

This spread: promotional artwork for the game Rayman Origins.

and its sequel, Rayman Legends, serve as a reboot to the original side-scrolling platformer video game Rayman. Pertaining to the 2-D composited aesthetic of the original game, the two titles offer energetic gameplay housed in colourful and immersive environments rendered in a digital painting style. The forerunner to Child of Light, Rayman Origins was built using the video game engine UbiArt Framework, which allows users to insert custom-made layers including environments and character animations for automatic visual effects rendering and compositing. This system allows the user to focus on the artwork and visual style, rather than concentrating on compositing the layers individually. All games created using this engine thus far have been made using tablet media as opposed to traditional computerbased software, allowing for intuitive and imaginative usage. Due to the gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fast-paced and energetic gameplay, the environments and animation are both clear and colourful, allowing the player(s) to traverse the landscape without too much distraction. Likewise, character design is strong, with mostly flat colour allowing for a more detailed and shaded environment. Generally speaking, level design is limited to a primary foreground, with backgrounds serving as decoration however, some actions cause the player to traverse in a 3-dimensional manner from one level to another, usually bringing the characters to a new environment in the foreground. This depth of field is achieved through visual effects such as blurring for distance and close-up elements such as fauna, giving the otherwise flat environment a greater sense of layering.

This page: screenshot from the game Rayman Origins.

As opposed to the fluid animation of the environment and camera tracking, character animations are purposefully much more jerky and dramatic. This effect is exemplified in transition animations between levels, where the character (still in control of the player) is seen in silhouette. Animations for punching and running are reminiscent of cartoons and can feature a fist tripling in size once extended in a small number of frames, making the action more dramatic and comical. This use of humour compliments the colourful nature of the game, despite standing in contrast to the almost traditional environment designs.

Above: screenshots from various stages of the game Rayman Origins, showcasing the colourful digital painting aesthetic.

takes the unique and striking design and animation aesthetics of its predecessor and pushes the boundaries even further, implementing more complex layers of compositing and a more varied environment stylisation across its interactive world. As well as utilising the dynamic traversing gameplay, the sequel makes use of dramatic lighting and more tactical approaches to navigating 2.5-D composited environments in this way. Personally, I find the colourful visuals and striking animation to be incredibly well combined and designed; as my own intention is to craft highly detailed and immersive environments for my character to traverse, I now want to look into featuring a more flat and dynamic animation style for my character in leiu of the Rayman gamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; approach. Character animation is something I have been struggling to make a decision regarding due to the detailed nature of my hand-drawn style. Featuring a simplistic character with a more dramatic and less fluid animation style might contrast the busy environment well, and make her more of a focal point in this manner. Ideally, I would like for my character - Anna - to be 2-dimensional, but with the ability to move in a 3-dimensional manner across her frame; as previously mentioned in my research into Child of Light, I would also like for her hair and dress to move in a fluid manner - in particular her hair would move as if in a breeze at all times, but also react to environmental conditions such as strong winds when high up in the clouds, for example. This fluidity could be achieved by animating her hair independantly in Flash, and attaching it to her head as a separate layer - to achieve texture, I might have a static layer behind the hair while the linework creates motion separately.

This page: screenshot from the game Rayman Legends.

Researchng into the Rayman titles and Child of Light in particular have also caused me to consider implementing colour into my animation. In particular, Raymanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use of bold and bright world design is very appealing to me, and compliments its humourous and bashful characters perfectly. While the narrative of my animation is less humourous, using colour in some elements might give it more life and depth. At this stage, I am considering using colour for the characters (due to their flat nature) and perhaps also for the end of the animation, when the tone of

the story is much lighter and less mournful. In this manner, Anna might become more colourful as the narrative progresses and her grief is lifted, as might the environment itself. I also want to make use of silhouettes in a similar manner to LIMBO in some parts of the animation, to contrast against the detailed environments as the flat character design is intended to, and to represent emotions where text or speech will not be present for. Researching Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends has given me a much-needed focus on character and animation in regards to context of genre and issues such as humour and lack thereof, while still presenting a visually rich source of inspiration for environment design and compositing 2-D and 3-D elements in a cohesive manner.

Above: screenshot from Rayman Legends and promotional artwork for the game.

Practical research and experimentation: after effects flash digital compositing preliminary animatic

This spread: still from my second experiment with animating in Adobe After Effects.

Experimentation and practical research into various Adobe software, including After Effects, Audition and Flash.

This spread: screenshot of my experimentation with animating in Adobe After Effects.

Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application developed by Adobe Systems and used in the post-production process of filmmaking and television production. Among other things, After Effects can be used for keying, tracking, rotoscoping, compositing and animation. It also functions as a very basic non-linear editor, audio editor and media transcoder. For the purposes of my Convergence/ Divergence unit, I aim to learn and utilise the capabilities offered by After Effects to produce my own primarily 2-D animation, mindful of the varied research I have previously undertaken in regards to visual style, animation techniques and compositing within this process book. To begin, I looked to Lynda.com for its extensive tutorials and resources for software including After Effects. Having only previously worked to a competent level with animation and video editing software such as Adobe Flash and Windows Movie Maker, I have a basic understanding of the general set-up and the tools available to me. At this early stage in the project, I have not produced any illustration work for the uses of experimentation with After Effects, so I decided to work with some previous work from the project my animation will be based upon. Firstly, I used Adobe Photoshop to separate drawings of clouds from their original illustrations and converted them into PNG files. I then imported these files into After Effects and, after basic research into the software set-up, placed them individually onto a HD composition, editing their scale accordingly. The purpose of this experiment was to grasp the fundamentals of animating a few different layers of images across a 2D plane, with a mindfulness for the context of my prospective illustrations. Animating the layers was a matter of drawing paths for them to follow using the Pen tool, respectively, as seen in the screenshots on the following page. To get the layer to follow the path, I selected Mask - Mask path and then Cut from the Edit options, before selecting Transform - Position and then Paste from the Edit options. I then dragged the respective icons for the motion path on the timeline to edit their duration, as well as arranging the layers in order of proximity to the camera. I then pressed enter to review the animation.

Having minimal experience with animating and visual editing software, I am eager to begin my learning of the After Effects software as early as possible so that I can achieve the level of animation quality that I have in mind. Ultimately, I aim to produce an animation that features a detailed and layered 2D landscape akin to those found in my research pages. This will include visual effects such as having certain background and foreground elements blurred, as seen in the video games Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, as well as potentially fluid animation for my character (for the hair and dress) as seen in Child of Light.

This spread: screenshots of my experimentation with animating in Adobe After Effects.

Moving forward with my experimentation, I began to implement the visual effects I previously mentioned wanting to use in my final animation. Firstly, I added a background layer for the sky, and then added a lens flare effect for the sun. I also blurred the background so that the foreground elements stand out more, adding realism to the composition. I achieved these effects by right-clicking on the layer and selecting the desired effects, and then going to the Effect Controls to tweak them appropriately, as seen to the left. I also added a strong Camera Lens Blur to the farthest cloud layer, so that when the closest layer crosses in front of it (as seen below) the differing perspectives are much more evident. For my inital render test, I gave the static background layer a ripple effect to give it a sense of subtle motion. This effect slowed rendering time down considerably and appeared unsatisfactory in the final render, so I subsequently decided to remove it. Moving forward, I would like to look into more visual effects that give a static backdrop a sense of motion, though I am mindful of the strain that such effects have on rendering time and the production process. The next step for building a convincing composited landscape was to add other elements such as mountains, as seen on the spread overleaf.

This page: screenshots of my experimentation with animating in Adobe After Effects.

At this point I decided to export the animation to video format, both for review and to learn the process. To export the file, I went to File - Export - Add to Render Queue (as seen to the left). I then opened the Render Queue (seen below left) and selected the appropriate settings (AVI, Best Settings, Lossless). For a 10 second long clip, the file size of 2GB was exceptionally large, so I used Adobe Media Encoder to export the AVI file to a more manageable size and format (RGB, MP4, 720p, 10MB). Media Encoder offers a vast range of exportation formats, with media-specific file formats and pixel quality available for use in video websites such as YouTube and Vimeo. Moving foward with my animation however, I aimed to refine it further and experiment more with layer effects and rendering particular simulations such as snowfall etc, to heighten the sophistication of the final animatic.

This page: screenshots of the exporting a composition to AVI process in Adobe After Effects.

Next, I began to refine my animatic by adding more environmental layers and, subsequently, an improved sense of depth and perspective within the composition. Firstly, I changed the background layer to a larger and improved image, and then imported a mountain range PNG behind the cloud layers. To improve depth of field, I blurred the background layer and the other layers meant to appear as though in the distance. I also included a second mountain range positioned behind the first, blurred further and flipped horizontally, in the same manner. Rather than drawing a motion path for the mountain ranges like for the clouds (which are animated so as to appear to be floating along), I had them move at different paces along a straight horizontal path (the closer the layer, the higher the speed) by selecting Transform - Position and selecting the Stopwatch icon at the beginning of the timeline, and then the diamond icon beside this at the end, before moving the layers to their desired position across a horizontal path at the end of the animation. Dragging the diamond icons in the Position tab along the timeline changes the speed at which these layers will move from one position to another. After blurring the mountain range layer to the back (as seen at the top of the next page), I realised that the background layer would have to be at the same level of blur or more to create a more realistic depth of field. I decided to add a third mountain range layer to this end, making its details hardly discernable in contrast to the sharply defined foreground layer in front of it. In contrast to the other layers, this one moves horizontally incredibly slowly, as it would in real life.

This page: screenshot of my experimentation with animating in Adobe After Effects.

Re-positioning the order of layers and tweaking with blur effects here helped me to gain a better understanding of perspective and depth of field in a 2-D composited animation. For this process, I looked to my research into the composition of layers and perspective in video games such as Child of Light and Rayman Origins, where the focal foreground sits between background layers and blurred, close-up layers that move across the field of view much more quickly so as not to distract the viewer, and to improve the realism of the composition.

To this end, I want to include a layer that moves across the front of the composition quickly, and which feautures a secondary level of animation to its movement along a motion path drawn on After Effects. For this purpose, I will look into the tools offered in Adobe Flash, which is a progamme more suited to keyframe-orientated animation and editing.

This page: screenshots of my experimentation with arranging layers and animating in After Effects.

Adobe Flash is a multimedia and software platform used for creating vector graphics, animation, games and rich Internet applications (RIAs) that can be viewed, played and executed in Adobe Flash Player. Flash is frequently used to serve streaming media, advertisement and interactive multimedia content on web pages and Flashenabled software. For the purposes of my initial experimentation with Adobe animation and video editing software, I created a short and simple animation using one of my own illustrations (that of a zeppelin) for use within After Effects, where I incorporated it into a 2-D composited animation with various contributing layers moving along personally designed motion paths with added visual effects. To do this, I simply created four different versions of the same illustration, edited in Photoshop so that the propellors are turned slightly in each frame (for the back propellor, I simply removed the motion lines every two frames to simulate the motion), and then imported these as individual keyframes in Flash (as seen below). I then copied the frames and repeated to create an animation of the propellors moving that lasted the duration of the animation I would place them in. To export the animation I selected File - Export, and then exported it is a PNG sequence (preserving alpha channel, so that the background remains transparent).

This page: screenshots of the exporting a Flash animation to PNG sequence for After Effects process.

The next step was to import the PNG sequence to After Effects, which was achieved by importing the first PNG file in the sequence and selecting Interpret as Footage. I subsequently right-clicked on the layer before adding it to the composition, selecting Interpret Footage - Main and making sure that the frame rate matches the frame rate of the PNG sequence I had imported from Flash. (seen above), as the default is usually higher at 30fps.

Once I had imported the PNG sequence into my After Effects composition, I was able to animate and manipulate it in the same manner as a single layer. In this way, I used the Position Stopwatch to make the zeppelin move across the foreground of the composition in under the space of a second, creating a sense of it being much closer to the camera than other layers. I then used Gaussian Blur and the Motion Blur option in the Layers Panel to emphasise on this and complete the desired effect. For further depth, I decided to introduce simulated snow into the composition. This was achieved by creating a new Adjustment Layer and right-clicking on it, selecting Effect - Simulation - CC

Snow Fall. In the Effect Controls, I was able to adjust the amount of snowflakes, opacity and speed, among other options. To improve realism, I had one layer of snow appear further back in the composition with a higher density, and then another appear at the foreground with larger flakes; the contrast between the two layers helped to bring the snow into the composition, instead of just laying on top. I also introduced a new background layer on top of the previous one, that of a photograph of clouds, so that the sky appears to be less flat. The use of a photograph here - albeit obscured lends itself to the use of clouds in the foreground, creating a more cohesive composition.

After finishing off my first experiment with animating and compositing in After Effects and Flash, I decided to utilise my newfound knowledge and skills to produce a more refined second animatic. Whereas my first animatic did not feature a focal point, and was more of an experiment in animating separate layers along motion paths, I decided to include a focal layer for my second animatic: the zeppelin PNG sequence. I also included music this time around to get more of a feel for the overall composition of my final animation. Like my first animatic, this one features clouds and a zeppelin moving across the sky above mountain ranges - one in the far background, and the other closer to the foreground. As I was using a focal point this time, I was able to keep this in focus the whole time, with a better grasp on which layers should be blurred for distance and which should not. I also included a static layer that moves across the camera lens - a mountain peak, largely blurred, so as to give the mountainous environment more depth. Clouds move across and around the zeppelin, which moves in frame to the centre of the composition from the bottom left and then rocks up and down in the wind. Again, I included snowfall, although this time the snow becomes heavier as the animation moves on and more clouds move in, creating a more dynamic environment with consideration for weather and the potential transition of a scene. This change in the environment was achieved not just by introducing more cloud layers which move faster as the animation draws towards its end - and an increase in the amount of snowfall, but also by introducing a gradual change in opacity of these layers. I also used shape layers; a light grey one in front of the background layers, which increases in opacity as the snow increases, heightening its sense of density - and a white one, which fills the entire composition in the closing seconds, as the zeppelin dissapears behind the clouds and snow. For music, I used the beginning of the track ‘Patches of Sky’ from Coeur de Pirate’s OST for the game Child of Light. Though I won’t be able to use copyrighted music later on, the track successfully captures the mood of the animatic, helping me to find the right sound.

Above: stills from my second animatic experiment, demonstrating the change in environment,

Adobe Audition is a digital audio workstation featuring both a multitrack, non-destructive mix.edit environment and a destructiveapproach waveform editing view. As I have access to Adobe Creative Cloud from both home and university I will be using primarily - if not exclusively - Adobe programmes to construct my animation; after initial personal experimentation and later the sound workshop with Chris Reed, I have decided to use Audition as my sound and music editing software for the Convergence/ Divergence unit. On the page opposite are screenshots from my initial experimentation with the software, demonstrating a basic ability to import sound effects and music. To begin, I created a New Multitrack and then imported my files by right-clicking on the respective waveform slots available to me. So as to edit my mix to the animatic I had previously created, I imported a Video Reference by selecting Multitrack - Track - Insert Video Track, which imported the animation as separated files for audio and video. I then dragged the video file into the Multitrack session to create my Video Reference, a visual for which appears in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen (seen opposite).

This spread: screenshots of my experimentation with arranging layers and animating in After Effects.

An orphan draws up a world all of her own of forests and cities that fly on the clouds, home to none but her... and, perhaps, another.

One night, a mysterious dragonfly comes to take Anna away.