I created my animation using mainly After Effects and Photoshop - some elements including the changing stills of the woman were the ones I created in Photoshop. I found learning After Effects very difficult at first as it isn't a program I had much experience with however this project really let me explore new techniques which I know I would never be able to achieve so simply in other software like Photoshop. Using a mixture of Lynda, Johns online tutorials and Youtube I learnt how to create this animation focusing mainly on shape and shape manipulation, I choose this method as I knew my skills were rather minimal in this software when starting out, however throughout I feel my technique and knowledge improved from practice which I believe is seen 50 seconds in, here I was able to use the more advanced tools such as the duplicate tool and experiment which the different transition options, I also used some typography towards the end to make the final statement in the spoken word more emphasised. All the materials used were created using the shape layer tool or in Photoshop and then imported into After Effects, I did find it easier to create the shapes in the original program as they do not appear missing when reloaded without compressing my assets, Luckily I learned how to compress and compile my files properly and now this will no longer be an issue. I will defiantly use After Effects more within my work where I use moving image and find this project has improved my confidence in the software.
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Below is my Animatic sequence showing a short mock up of what I want to happen in my final version. I have taken the layout from my storyboard and made a more descriptive animation to help me get an idea of how I want to create my idea focusing on geometrical 2D shapes. I am considering making some parts of the animation 3D though I feel this will happen during the creation process, I do think I am stronger in 2D animation as well as stop animation. I want to focus on using different software such as cinema 4D to experiment with shape animation and see what does and does not work. I wanted to look at some examples of animations which synced up with audio looking into popular videos such as music videos which have used shapes to improve the experience of the music. I find it satisfying seeing shape movement which moves seamlessly with it's audio and found these examples improved my relation to the song but focusing on pitch and the story behind the lyrics. I have been looking into the style of animation I want to use and have been focusing on shapes. Inspired from the 'Do I Wanna Know' music video directed by David Wilson this style has been one that caught a lot of attention including the company 'it's nice that' - https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/arctic-monkeys-1. I wanted to start looking into shape animation that was synchronised with music, below are three examples I have found. The bottom video 'Benga Baltimore Clap' was designed by Blinkink, the same production company who produced 'Do I Wanna Know' I can see they focus a lot on motion graphics using shapes to synchronise to a audio track. Blinkink are a production company who have a range of different styles of animation, the ones which focus on their website are mostly comedy and appeal to teenagers/young adults from their completely hilarious and hypnotic style. I have also included links below to examples I found on Vimeo of good geometrical animation- https://vimeo.com/79235153 https://vimeo.com/176765679 https://vimeo.com/168023672 Looking into relevent modern artists I focused on ones who have made massive social and political statements within their art form such as Beyonce, J Cole and Kendrick Lamar. All these artists have focused on race, politics and have stated their goals for a better more equal future within their lyrics. Specifically looking into Kendrick Lamar who released his album 'DAMN' in April 2017, his album fired an uproar in the hip hop/rap and urban youth community shedding new light on the future for the genre of music. His lyrics focus on the media coverage of the false effects of hip hop, the positivity of female empowerment and how one works hard to build a career. He quotes in Pride "I'll choose work over bitches, I'll make schools out of prison I'll take all the religions and put 'em all in one service" I feel Lamar used this album to make the world more aware of the importance of social and political issues such as self image and the pregudice against the black culture especially within aspects of the law and crime, this is shown in his very first track "Blood". Lamar has put a clip in 'Blood' from Fox News where they are discussing his lyrics in his song 'Alright' focusing on the verse "we hate the popo, wanna kill us dead in the street of' sho" the presenter-Kimberly Guilfoyle states "oh please, ugh, I don't like it". Lamar went on to tell TMZ "How can you take a dog that's about hope and turn it into hatred? The overall message is ‘we’re gonna be alright.’ It’s not the message of ‘I wanna kill people.'" Lamar has used his lyrics to take his anger out about all these topics and the suffering. I will be looking into Lamars spoken word piece "Blood", the lyrics tell a story of Lamar attempting to help a blind woman in the street to then only be shot by her. I feel this storyline relates to the promise of blind justice to be false or about the uncertantity of life. Blood has shown the reality of how black death unsettles people on tv and although many tv presenters are often quick to dismiss death, I believe rap and hip hop artists will continue to mention it to overcome the small coverage from the media about death in the black community.
I have created a storyboard using geometric shapes which will move, repeat, overlay and animate. Blood is a slow spoken word which focuses on social issues such as injustice and uses metaphors to allow the listener to think throughly about the issues Lamar is trying to promote. Below are the lyrics, I have mentioned in my storyboards when the objects will animate in reference to certain words.
Blood Is it wickedness? Is it weakness? You decide Are we gonna live or die? So I was takin' a walk the other day And I seen a woman, a blind woman Pacin' up and down the sidewalk She seemed to be a bit frustrated As if she had dropped somethin' and Havin' a hard time findin' it So after watchin' her struggle for a while I decide to go over and lend a helping hand, you know? "Hello, ma'am, can I be of any assistance? It seems to me that you have lost something I would like to help you find it" She replied "Oh yes, you have lost something, you've lost your life" Is it wickedness? Uh, Lamar stated his views Uh, Lamar stated his views Uh, Lamar stated his views Uh, Lamar stated his views Uh, Lamar stated his views on police brutality with that line in the song Quote "and we hate the popo, wanna kill us in the street fo' sho'" Oh please, ugh, I don't like it Looking into spoken word I have found numerous hip hop artists using this within their performance, it breaks down the statements made by hip hop artists and allows one to connect more with the meaning of the lyrics rather than just the beat of the music. More modern music such as trap focuses on the beat rather than the importance of the lyrics, but does it make one think? Many tracks have lost meaning and are very continuous with it's lyrics, however spoken word is used to regain the voice lost within modern music and state points that can get drowned out over the beat. I have found some artists who are well known in the hip hop world who focus on spoken word, one being Saul Williams. Williams is well known for his blend of alternative hip hop and poetry. He also is the lead role in the musical 'Holler if ya hear me' a story which features Tupac Shakur's music who is worldwide famous in the hip hop industry. Below (left) is Williams spoken word "The noise came from here" he uses spoken word at the beginning/during of the song- this allows people to see the views the lyrics are aiming to promote before they hear it as 'just a song'. I believe Williams being a fan of Tupac has taken a lot of inspiration from his work and his goals, from the Tupac video 'Hollar if you hear me' (right) he also uses spoken word of a similar topic which is raised in Williams video- the aggressiveness of police brutality. I feel these topics have been raised recently in Kendrick Lamar's new album 'Blood' as he discusses these topics and also use of spoken word. Creating a synchronised animation I will be using Lamar's music, as he is a modern positive rap artist I feel his music will allow me to create an animation focusing on social issues.
THE BRIEF: Create a complex narrative sequential animation using 2d after effects and 3d software, you may assemble your sequence using editing software. The sequence can mix live action and captured assets with moving typography and animated illustration, for example, you may use time-lapse or stop frame photography, live action, recorded sound etc.
You may select your own audio track or choose one of the suggestions provided. Use your chosen audio as a starting point and create 2d and 3d assets to illustrate the narrative. Animation and movement should be synchronous and sympathetic to the audio and narrative. You may enhance the audio track chosen by adding additional sound effects to support your animation. For the first deadline you will produce a storyboard and animatic for the sequence as well as research and investigation recorded in blog/sketchbook. For the second deadline you will produce a final completed animation plus a short report detailing the steps taken to create the sequence. |
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