Hannah McIntyre. Convergence Divergence Level 5 BA Illustration 2012 http://hannah-mc-research.tumblr.com/
Synopsis of Study. For the upcoming unit I want to investigate the idea of the journey. Looking at the emotional and visual responses we have when we journey from one place to another. To support this I intend to look into literature and theory that surround the ‘human journey’ such as ‘The Art of Travel’ by Alain De Botton. Aswell as looking at the theoretical fundamentals of journeying I am also going to undertake lots of interviews with people from all different ages and ask them about journeys they have, do or hope to make. As shown in the previous narrative unit I have a real interest in looking at the people, places and objects we see along the way on each journey we make and the relationships we have with them. I want to focus on a subject matter that is accessible and that I can use entirely primary research for; such as going out taking photographs, drawing from observation and recording conversations. I therefore hope to set my animation and narrative in Bournemouth. From the research I collect in terms of theory and first hand primary research I hope to build a narrative or collage together the research and knowledge I learn in relation to emotional journeys and experiences. It is important for me to collect lots of observational research and so I hope to go on journeys such as bus rides, walks, car travel, and doing this at different times of day and in different areas. I propose however that my research need to be accessible and therefore I will start to take research and observations from in and around Bournemouth. It will be interesting and challenging to take a more naïve and simple approach to drawing and painting and making than I have used in previous projects and implementing them into this screen-based medium. One of the illustrators and animators I have already been inspired by is Michael Aubtin. His animations are really beautifully made with a delicate hand drawn style and intensely personal and emotive storylines. He uses techniques such as drawing, watercolour and collage to create an effective link between his visual imagery and the narrative.
Aims. - Improve my pace of drawing and also the skills that are required to make screen based animations and illustrations. - Think in more depth how to reach out to a different audience through this alternate medium and how I can make my narrative connect with people that may be watching online with no prior knowledge of how I work illustratively. - To gain a greater understanding of the programmes and systems used to transform a flat single illustration into a moving image. - To work hard in terms of time-management and awareness of scheduling myself in relation to the time that is given to me.
Learning Outcomes. LO1: Demonstrate my Knowledge of new and evolving technologies for the illustrator and the possible effectiveness for the client and other audience contexts. LO2: Demonstrate my practical application of traditional and technological skills in the creation of screen based presentation to peer group. LO3: Apply visual expression, intellectual enquiry and communication within the digital context. LO4: Critically reflect on my approach to the project and the final design solution.
Development Sketches.
Interviews and Primary Research.
‘‘What does the word journey mean to you?’’ ‘It means getting from home to the place I’d like to go to, or to work. It’s just getting from one place to another. Lifes a journey, you just move through your life and thats a journey.’ ‘Journeying can be physical or it can not, a jounery for me is a collection of things like when you go from one place to another its the sights and smells, the feeling, what you see, what you experience be it metaphrical or real’ ‘Basically for me it means just getting from A to B. What you see, do, travel by, all become part of leaving one place and going to another.’ ‘It’s what i do when I go to work which is boring, but its also what I do when I go on holiday which is more interesting.’ ‘Well it means two things to me one is the journey to work and on holiday and the other is the journey people go on on strictly come dancing. Jounrneys can be a time I use to think about different things in my life, time alone with my thoughts.’ ‘If I think a journey I have taken in the past the memories i keep with me are the sights, smell, feeling I had at the time, the music that was playing, stuff like that.’
Willis Earl Beal. Evening Kiss.
This animation by Beal really inspired the animating approach I took. The hand-drawn style gives the animation a emotive feel that reflects the narrative effectively. The use of shadow to highlight the focus of each frame is something that i wanted to take forward into my own animating as to apply detail to every part would be hugely time-consuming and visually over-complex.
click here to watch video
Aaron Wendell. Dwellings.
This animation by Wendell really inspired me when creating my own work. The animation promotes the sensory experience. The sounds coupled with the flowing visuals build a story that resonates with the viewer. The simplicity of the movement of shape, flow, growth, dark and light creates and energetic feel to the animation. For my own animation I want to represent the experience of moving from a busy, noisy, hectic train station to a being on the train. I want to take the viewer on a journey through appealing to their sense of sound, sight and memory. click her to watch video
For research I began to look at the sights, sounds and feelings I have when on a journey, through London, on the tube. I filmed, drew and sound recorded the business of the train station; from the scratching of the coin on the machine, to the bustle of faces, and the adverts on the escalators moving too fast to read etc. The journey then changes once on the train, from the blurry hectic journey of the ticket station to the lethargic, calm and mundane part of being on the train with other people who have places to be. The difference, within the travel, in terms of our senses changes drastically. The initial video and sketches I did showed a distinct change in pace, shapes, sounds, intensity, colour, movement from the start to the end. This is what I want to represent in my animation, the convergence of different time displayed through different techniques that reflect a journey with changing pace and how that is understood through our senses.
The Process To create the animation I used hand-drawn techniques and scanned them in. Each drawing had a development or change from the previous one to show a visual movement when converted to animation in photoshop. Each mini animation clip was drawn and rendered differently using different frame rates as there are parts of the animation that were quicker and slower than others. After scanning in the images i cropped, editied and converted the drawing in photoshop. I then used adobe after effects to manipulate and edit the mini animation clips and put them into sequential order.
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere
Final Stills.
Final Animation Video
drawn. animated. written. recorded. photographed. by Hannah McIntyre