Final Animation

Final Progress Checkpoint and Rough Artist Statement

Artist Statement Rough

The animation [title] was inspired by stories told by a woman who used to work for a city morgue. She was responsible for bagging corpses and transporting them to the freezers. Her brief employment provided her with many sad, gruesome and disgusting stories, one of which provided the inspiration for this animation. A dog won't always be your best friend, especially when food is scarce.

The dog and the doughnut were solely animated in Flash and every thing else was animated with the magic of Aftereffects. Raster and vector based images were chosen for their dynamic appearance when combined, as well as to make the characters more pronounced against the busy environment.

Character and Set Design

This is my character and background design. The background is still in a working state. More elements will be added to it later and animated in Aftereffects.

Final Project Script and Storyboard

*Script edited Sunday 3/30.

Working title: Doughnut à la carte

Characters:
Medium-sized dog
A large anamorphic doughnut

Setting:
Candyland-esque environment.

Scenes:

1: (Full shot) A dog is sitting outside, his tail twitches up and down, eyes blink one after the other. Bugs fly around him. Opening title.

2: The dogs ears and eyes perk up and his tail wags frantically. He stands up onto his hind legs.

3: (Medium shot) The dog is standing and a hand enters the frame from the right and pats the dog on the head twice.

4: (Full shot) The full scene by the dog house. Doughnut is standing to the right of the dog, his arm moving back to his side after petting him. Doughnut's facial expression changes to give the impression that he is remembering something (like an "O" face).

5: (Medium shot) Doughnut is digging in his left "pocket," his tongue resting on his upper lip. Doughnut stops digging in his "pocket" and makes a facial expression of awe (another "O" face).

6: (Close up) Doughnut's hand holding a dog biscuit thrusts into the frame from the bottom right.

7: (Medium shot) Dog rises onto his hind legs. His tail is wagging frantically, his mouth is agape and he is drooling.

8: (Full shot) The full scene by the dog house. The dog puts his paws up onto Doughnut, eager to eat the biscuit. Doughnut begins to lose his balance and takes a step back with his left foot, teeters, and falls backwards onto the ground. The biscut falls onto the ground next to Doughnut. The dog sits near his feet and stares at him (mouth closed). After a brief pause, Doughnut flails his arms and legs in the air and raises his upper half off the ground in an attempt to get up. He gives up, dropping his arms and legs, and lies still. The biscuit lies next to him.

9: (Medium shot) Doughnut is lying still with the dog staring at him. The dog licks Doughnut's cheek.

10: (Close up, 3/4 view) The dogs eyes gradually widen. His mouth is slightly open and a single drop of spittle slides off his tongue.

11: (Medium shot, high angle) The dog licks Doughnut's face frantically. Doughnut is laughing and flailing his arms and legs in the air excitedly. The dog opens his mouth and lunges his head forward. Doughnut is still laughing and moving his arms and legs.

12: (Close up, 3/4 view) Doughnut's facial expression is one of shock and horror.

13: (Close up, 3/4 view) The dog chews briefly, swallow and licks his chops. He looks down (at Doughnut) and moves his head towards the bottom right of the frame, opening his mouth as he does so.

Fade out.

14: (Full shot) The dog is sitting outside with flies buzzing around him. Crumbs remain where Doughnut was lying. End credits.

Final Project Progress Calendar

*Edited 4/4

Estimated Length of Animation: 2 to 3 minutes.

Working Title: Doughnut à la carte

Technique(s) used: Flash and Aftereffects


Week of:

Mar 10 - 16
Final script and storyboard completed.
Character and "set" design completed (in Flash and PhotoShop).
Think about audio.

Mar 17 - 23
Learn how to animate in Flash and begin first steps of animation.
Revise storyboard (if necessary).
15 - 25% (scenes 1 - 6) of animation done in Flash by end of the week.
Think about audio.

Mar 24 - 30
40% - 50% (scenes 1 - 12) of animation done in Flash by end of the week.
Think about audio.

Mar 30 - Apr 6
75% (scenes 1 - 18) of animation done in Flash by the end of the week.
Research, select, and record additional audio.

Apr 7 - Apr 13
100% (scenes 1 - 24) of animation done in Flash by end of the week.
Finish recording and editing audio by end of the week.

Apr 14 - Apr 20
Final adjustments to animation in Flash.
Begin animating in Aftereffects.
Begin adding audio in Aftereffects.

Apr 21 - Apr 27
Final adjustments to animation and audio.
Prepare animation for final turn-in.

Apr 28
Totally done.

Characters

Final Project Brainstorm

I'm interested in using clay, puppets, paper, illustration, or using a combination of those for a final animation. I have a wooden dollhouse I'm considering to use as a set.

Whatever medium I choose the animation will most likely be predominantly black and white and/or dark muted colors.

Concept ideas are still developing.


Puppet Animation

"Toki"



Claymation

"Final Surgery" by Conradin Plüss



Paper Animation



"Sameness"




Hand Drawn Animation

"Death Defying" by Grickle

Presentation: Børge Ring

Run of the Mill (1999)
Anna & Bella (1984)
Oh My Darling (1978)

P3: Pixelation

An Inconvenient Truth could have done without Gore's sentimental personal monologues. The manner in which Gore debates is a necessary evil, one that downplays the significance of the subject but is effective at tugging at the heart strings of most American's. The article in Time Magazine, however, was informative and direct and without emotional manipulation. Emotional persuasion puts the topic at risk of prompting higher skepticism from the audience. The evidence supporting the theory of global warming has enough strength to speak for itself.

10 CRITICAL ISSUES

1. Melting of permafrost leading to the release of toxic gases.
2. Higher temperatures.
3. Drought.
4. Less food due to drought.
5. Rise of intensity of hurricanes and tropical storms.
6. Extinction of plants and animals.
7. Spread of disease.
8. Less usable fresh water.
9. Rise of the sea level and more land erosion.
10. Overcrowding due to displacement and overpopulation.

10 SOLUTIONS

1. Walk, ride a bike, or use public transportation when driving a car is unnecessary.
2. Carpool.
3. Convert to solar power and other energy efficient mechanisms.
4. Reuse things when possible.
5. Buy domestic products.
6. Buy organic meat.
7. Don't eat food that contains oligosaccharides (cause of flatulence).
8. Don't start forest fires.
9. Pray to your god(s).
10. Wrap it up. Less people, less pollution.


My video is going to focus on appeasing god as a solution to global warming.

P1: METAMORPHOSIS ANIMATION

Since I drew two animals I wanted an interaction to occur between them, which is why I'm leaning towards one of these two ideas:

1. The elephant sucks the bird into its trunk and powerfully snorts it out towards the left. The bird travels rapidly through the air in a ball of mucus, landing near the outer circle of Stonehenge and becomes one of the two rocks on the far left.

2. The bird rapidly flutters around the elephant, landing several times on various areas of his body to peck on him. When the bird pecks the elephant, debris flies in the air and parts of the elephant fall off around him becoming some of the rocks that will form Stonehenge. The bird perches itself on top of the elephant, now cracked and cratered, who gradually falls apart and forms Stonehenge. As the elephant falls apart the bird tumbles with the debris and becomes one of the two rocks on the far left.

Other ideas I was considering were either the elephant melts in the hot sun or is pushed through a grate, and pieces of him drop to form Stonehenge.