Friday 30 September 2016

Flash exercise - coin/ball and pendulum motion


Second flash session focusing on the speed and motion of objects. The first exercise looks into two types of motion. The blue ball is moving at a constant speed while the red is accelerating and decelerating.


The next exercise looks at the motion of pendulum. The blue ball is swing on an axis, the red ball consistently swinging and the blue and red ball is accelerating and decelerating. 


Thursday 29 September 2016

First set of Maya tasks

The 3 Maya tasks involved creating 4 egg cups and a ray gun. The 4 egg cups below represent the different types of modelling.


The next task which required the creation of a ray gun was far more lengthy but the added complexity made the task more rewarding. Despite the colour scheme not being the best I feel that it would be used by Santa Claus.




This is a bigger step up from my previous 3D modelling software, Solid Works with more challenges to overcome.



Ray Carbine



Wednesday 28 September 2016

Life Drawing 2

Second lesson of life drawing, while I find putting the image together I find that there is an issue with my pacing. Despite this I found the exercises enjoyable.


The bottom right drawing was the result of an exercising in which the model took 2 minute poses 8 times resulting in a multitude of images being placed all over the page.


The final drawing consists of a Posca pen against the black page. Once again I was unable to finish the drawing but I feel like the image is far more striking then the rest.


Film Review - Metropolis

Metropolis – Film Review

Directed by Fritz Lang, ‘Metropolis’ is a 1927 silent film, said to have major influence on the science-fiction genre of film. Alongside influencing the science-fiction genre of film, ‘Metropolis’ also features the use of camera shots that are reminiscent of modern film making.
The story follows the character of Freder Fredersen, son of the master of metropolis, who spots a woman while enjoying his excessive and ignorant life style. It is from this point that he discovers the other side of the city in which people suffer on mass. It becomes apparent to Fredersen that there is another side to the city and becomes determined to help the people below the ground.

“The story tells of a great city whose two halves--the pampered citizens of the surface and the slaves of the depths--are ignorant of one another.” (Roger Ebert, March 28, 1998)

‘Metropolis’ creates a clear divide between the people forming two social classes, the workers and those who live above. Those fortunate live above and are gifted with a free life in which they intoxicate themselves and give into temptation.
This is witnessed in multiple scenes one such being when Maria’s imitator presents herself while she dances in front of men who eventually give into temptation and climb towards her, trying to reach out. Even those from below who have seen the harsh nature of the city are not immune. One of the liberated workers is tempted by the city’s entertainment district and ignores the duty that he was charged with from his saviour, Fredersen. 
Ebert stated that the two do not take too much notice in each other and this is blatantly obvious during the beginning scenes. As the children dressed in rags enter the upper levels the guards are unsure of how to react while Fredersen himself is mesmerised by the group. This suggests that there is a lack of both knowledge and understanding between the two creating clear boundaries.

“Workers straining to move heavy dial hands back and forth” (Roger Ebert, March 28, 1998)


On the contrary the workers lead a hard life completing minimal tasks without truly knowing why. Only in death does the worker stop as they feed the machine presenting striking imagery as Fredersen sees a machine explode for the first time, suddenly transforming into a beast. Workers give up their bodies to satisfy it walking to their deaths. Everything from motion to clothing make the workers appear as drones. In comparison to those above who have varying clothing and move individually those below move in rigid squares and all wear the same dark, plain clothes.


“Its moral is that the brains and the hands fail when the heart (love) does not work with them” (Mordaunt Hall, March 7, 1927)

Another theme expressed by the film is the importance of speaking the same language and fully understanding one another. In the film itself the importance is expressed through the ‘The Tower of Babel’. As Maria tells the story with an ancient setting it raises thought questioning if man will be able to cooperate with each other. Even with all the technology of the metropolis this has not yet been realised and even today in our own society.
The film opens with a shot of the city in all its glory with search lights scanning the buildings. While acknowledged for its establishment in the science-fiction genre there is use of advance shots. This scene is an example of this. The camera is set from a lower angle looking upwards towards the multiple skyscrapers giving a sense of scale and grandeur. In addition the use of lights furthers the depth as the light changes in scale to the distance of the buildings giving an illusion of space. 


In addition to the stunning still shots there are some more modern innovations that are often seen in today’s cinema. One notable shot is when the camera observes Maria’s scarf at a standstill before jumping towards it with Fredersen’s hand, turning into a point of view shot. This makes the audience feel as if they are there enhancing the experience.   


“Some idea of the prodigious work in this production can be imagined when it is said that about 37,000 extras were engaged in some of the episodes” (Mordaunt Hall, March 7, 1927)

The acting style chosen has the actors being far more dramatic, over expressing themselves making their actions far more clear. While the acting style has not advanced far from Robert Wiene’s ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ (1920) the sheer size of the sets and extras overwhelms the audience. In combination with the extravagant sets ‘Metropolis’ leaves both a moral question and stunning visuals in the audiences mind. This results in presumably one of the most influential films in history.

“Before you congratulate 1982's "Blade Runner" for anticipating the Times Square of today, see how eerily accurate "Metropolis" was” (Jami Bernard, Friday, July 12, 2002)

Bibliography

Monday 26 September 2016

Basic flash animation

My first animation created at UCA involving the use of Adobe Flash (now know as Animate). The task given was to create a short animation which started from a portrait that transformed into a food and then an animal.

Invisible city thumb nails 15 - 42












Influence map and more thumb nails

The influence map consists of concept of several fiction cities either from video games or film, most of which follow a more futuristic and desolate setting.  


Thumbnail no. 7 
Despira


Thumbnail no. 8, 11 
Leonia


Thumbnail no. 9, 10
Argia


Thumbnail no. 13
Anastasia


thumbnail no. 14 
Argia


Thumbnail no. 18, 19
Diomira


Thumbnail no. 20, 21, 22
Esmeralda


Digital thumbnail sketches
Baucis

Esmeralda


Sunday 25 September 2016

Designing a monster

For the lesson the class was asked to pick random attributes to create a character for the film 'Monster's Inc'. For me the attributes chosen included 3 arms, 1 leg, 1 eye and was a member of the chess club. To quickly gather ideas a shape was chosen before legs and arms were added to create a  silhouette giving a vague idea of the form.


The final choice of monster from the silhouettes was number 15. This design was taken further forming bare body of the monster. Further detail such as head wear, accessories or clothing are to be added later.

After a few lessons with Adobe Illustrator the bare monster has been created.


Monday 19 September 2016

Photoshop practice

Warming up for the lesson

The exercise completed below proved difficult but provided great insight of the potential of Photoshop in combination with a graphics tablet.  

The second exercise introduced color in conjunction with tone increasing the difficulty despite being too green the additional factor makes the painting more interesting.


1-6 city thumb nails

Thumb nail sketches for Calvino's Invisible Cities. The first 2 are based around his city named Armilla. This environment is constructed of pipes which led me to 2 ideas including one of a underground maze and another being a central hub much like the London underground with high speed networks of pipes for the inhabitants. 


Cities of eyes, Baucis


Trading cities, Ersilia