Last Session michael showed us a new way to create a Background that looks 3D in photoshop, for our animation film.

For this you just have to pick a color you want to use in your Background. You should start with the color in a darker tone and draw the first Layer like a mountain wall. After that you brighten the color a little bit up and draw the second layer, so it looks like it is a behind the first one. You can do this as often as you want, it is just important that you always brighten the color a little bit up. In the end you can include kind of things like a moon or a sun and you are done.

Also, we should start to animate our short film in storyboard and put a few sounds on it. If I am honest, I almost had forgotten how you can animate overall, but after a few tries I was able to do it again.

For the sounds I just stay to the basics. Because I have a comic style animation, I tried to find sounds that fits in this style. But in the end, it wasn´t that hard, except a few, which I had to record on my own.

Last session we get the opportunity to learn how to use the cameras, we are able to use on our project. At first, we tried the Blackmagic, but I have to say I wasn´t really impressed by it, because the possibilities on this cameras wasn´t that much as you can get from the Sony F3. With the Sony F3, which we tried after the Blackmagic, we were all more interest in, because in our opinion it was the much better camera than the Blackmagic one. We also tested the follow focus, two statives and a few lenses.

On this week we had to finish our pitch bibles as well. So Jesko and me worked more on the pitch bible, like setting pages, moodboard and visual examples. Konstantin and lars finished the storyboard so that Jesko and I could adapt it to the VFX storyboard. Then we printed it out and voila our VFX Pitch Bible was done. Sadly, we couldn’t get more effort in the bible, like we will in our project, because we all really believe in the short film.  

We also planed our first shooting day, which will be on Saturday. We talked with the actors, tested a few shots and rehearsed the scene. Because the scene is a party scene asked a few people if they want to be in this scene, and as soon we found a few we briefed them. So, the shooting can start.  

After we learned something about background design, I started to create a background for my animation film.

At first, I had to find some colors which are fitting in my story and to my character. Because I have a very comic style project, I did some researches and decided to take very dazzling colors and simple structures for it. So that the sky is more turquoise than blue, and the grass is a very bright green. Very simple but it fits and looks good.

Because my character is a worm, I first draw the big landscape, with a tree and clouds, after that I zoomed in and draw smaller details like the grass or the earth. So now I can always zoom in and out and can always use the same background for one scene.

For the grass I drew 4 different version and then copied and pasted them so it does look more like a whole lawn. My last thing I did was put in the worm and see if he fits, and he did. That means mission background successful completed.

At our last Session we start with basic photoshop. For this we had to take a picture with a person and cut him out of the background, with different tools. After that we should put a person on a different background. That was not that hard, but it was good to remember a few basic photoshop tools.

After our class Lars and Konstantin get together and worked a little bit on our Storyboard for our VFX project “Last Touch”.

Meanwhile the rest of our team (Jesko and me) drive around and searched for a perfect Bridge for the video. After we found some interesting ones, we take a few pictures for the cover and then decided which one could be the best. We are not sure jet about the perfect bridge but after we exclude some have a top list.

Last session another extern lecture visited us (Rob Sarkies) and told us a little bit about filmmaking.

1.Find a story

At first you have to find something you wanted to tell, but you shouldn’t write the story first, you should find a topic first, like loneliness or community. After you think about a topic you can create a story around it.

2. Define your Emotions about every scene

Before you do a storyboard, you should think about the emotions you have with this scene. This is just for yourself so you have a better understanding with this scene and can symbolize your imagination with pictures or paintings.

With my new knowledge I listen to all the tracks again and thought about what Rob Sarkies said today, that we can choose our topic first and then find a song which fit to it.

So, I thought about a topic I want to make a film about and now I just have to find a track which fit to it.

Topics:

• Homesickness
• Anxiety
• Forgivness

In the last session we learned how even easy character designs can look awesome.

Our first step to create a perfect character for our story was an exercise. We had to draw a power puff girl and a minimoose. At first it was a little bit hard for me, because of my drawing skills, but then Michael shows me how I can draw them with objects, like circles, and then it was very easy to draw them. In the end i could live with my characters, means they were not that bad.

After that I try to create my own character for my story and decided to make a comic style worm. What I have to watch out that this easy character looks interesting, so I decided to make a cute worm with big facial expressions. Michael told me that I should use big eyes, so it looks sweeter. I should also use extreme emotions, so it looks more interesting.

After I made some researches, I finally could create the prefect character for my story. So, I can finally finish my storyboard next time.

At home I created a little backstory and some characteristics for my character so he came to life for me.

Last session we saw a video about compositing, which helps me to remember a few rules like the rule of third or the golden rule. Which helps the video or picture creator to make a good-looking picture. But at the end it is less important than the story itself.

After that Jesko and me started to write the treatment for our project and Konstantin started to draw our storyboard, together with Lars.

Our Treatment to our Project “Last Touch”:

Last Touch

Treatment 27.07.2019

By

Konstantin Mayer, Lars Brinkmann, Jesko Friederichs, Maxi Schlapps

Alex (23)
just finished his university in applied science and now wants to move in a different country, because of a job offer. He had a girlfriend a beloved family and very good friends, but now he has to leave all of them behind, because he wants to start his own life.

Julie (50)
Alex mother. She loves his son more than herself. She has a well-paid job a lovely husband and

Simon (24)
is best friends with Alex, they know each other for 15 years and never had a fight.

Lea (21)
is Alex girlfriend, not finished with her university yet but planned to throw her own plans away, to live with Alex together in the future.

You can see a sticker printed with “Last Touch”. Then we zoom out and you can see the sticker on the suitcase from Alex. He walks forward the street to a bridge.

He is obviously sad but looking forward to his new future. Infront of him appear three people, which are Julie, Simon and Lea. He slows down and his mother comes to him.

As soon he stops walking his mother is right in front of him. Julie hesitate but then wants to hug him. When she touches him, her arms start to glow in a green light. The green ligh slowly gets over her arms on her sons back and get brighter till everything is covered in green.

Alex cries and ran as a little boy to his mother, she gave him a hug and comfort him. She still hugs him but when he turns away, he wears graduation cloth. Alex is sitting at a table with his whole family and having a meal. Everyone seems to be happy and laugh. Then they sit at the same table and playing some card games.

Julie stops hugging Alex and go back in the row. Then Simon is walking to him and give him a bro hug. His Arms starts glowing yellow and spread over to Alex hands too. The light is going brighter till everything is covered in yellow.

Alex and Simon are sitting in the school and fool around. They laugh together on their way home, where there starts to play some computer games and eat chips. Then a few more people came in and they have a big party.

Simon is turning away from Alex and get back in the row. Lea comes up to him, also hesitate for a few second and look Alex deep in his eyes. Then she starts kissing him. Her lips start to glow pink/red which spreads over his whole body.

Lea is joining a party and looking throw the whole room and catches the view from Alex. Both hesitate and starts smiling. A little bit later at the Party, they dance and had a really good time. Another day they cook together and have a meal, at the end of this evening they share a goodnight kiss. At the next day he brings her roses and they kiss each other again. Then the go in a room where is a sock on the doorknob.

Lea stop kissing Alex and go away. Alex is very sad about that he has to leave her. When she goes back in the row, all three are vanishing. Behind them he can see himself. Alex starts to go in his own direction and look himself in the eyes. Then he looks back for one last time and remember all good memories and is ready to make new ones. So, when he looks back to himself its only him who is left on the bridge. So the way is free now and he can go over the bridge.

Last session we get visited by an extern lecturer, who told us a little bit about story telling.

At first, we played a game. We had to ask questions and with his answers we had to guess the story he created. The twist was that he created the story during the time we asked the questions.

After our break we had to create our own story, but it must be inspired by the tory of the Game, also a game about an eel, who has to find his father.

In my story the eel was adopted by some seahorses and never really get to know his parents. After a message he learned something about his parents and started his journey. On his journey he must fight against humanity, an evil eel and in the end against his father, who is in a twist an evil eel too.

In our second lesson with the extern lecture he tell us two true stories and on lie and we had to find out which ones were the true ones, and which was the lie. Then we make groups and do the same thing.

After our lunch break, he told us something about our emotions and how those emotion can influence our stories and that we should write our stories with real emotion we had in the past

Then we should write one true story with a strong emotion we had and a fake one which is inspired by either this emotion or this setting.

My story was about a girl I once loved or maybe always will and how I couldn’t make the first step, so I lost her.

In the end we read them in front of the whole class and talk about it.

Those two sessions were really interesting and will help me to write my own stories in the future.

It’s not always easy to find the perfect video idea to a song. But sometimes there is the artist get it.

And so, one of my favortit music videos of all time is: I need a face by Alligatoha

Concept/Narrative

The concept of this music video is simple, but still gets the ton of the music.

We only see a German comedian, who makes different funny faces, and sometimes we get a little look inside his head what is going on there. It’s a man riding a bull.

Very simple but so are the lyrics. In the Song the artist sings about different faces like: “Ein Gesicht für Social Media” (a face for social media). And the comedian just does a face for every face he describes in the song

Cinematography

Everything in this Video is tried to be simple so we have a better look what the actor does. To see it better we have a shoulder close up so we can concentrate on the face.

Alligatoah change his Cinematography in many videos, so it fits with the lyrics and that’s why its hard to say, I could tell just because of the video, if it’s a video from him or not. (Except, you can see him in a view scenes)

Production Design

The Production Design changes a little bit through the Video, at first its dark and just a little light is on the face of the actor. But when we look in his head it´s very colorful with a high color dynamic.

The Artist always have very colorful videos with many dazzling colors. Just the Dark video ton is not very his type.

Performance

It is performed by a German Comedian and so is the style of the Performance. Mostly overacted and funny. Like the Artist himself.

Alligatoahs Lyrics, music style and his appearance are always funny and sometimes a little bit weird, but his lyrics a most of the time pretty deep but always told with a wink.

Editing/Post-Production.

Most of the Time the video is a one-shot. Just with a few visual effects, like some people opens his head and change the movie roll.

The idea of making an own animation film, always scared me, because of two simple reasons.

1. I can’t draw very well
2. I don’t have the patience for that

But after the first few sessions in our animation class, at least one of the reasons vanished a little bit.

1.Reason

After we watched some example from the last years, was at first very scary, it all looks so amazing. The creators of those animation short films were very talented in storytelling and especially in animate characters and even whole environment. And at this moment I looked down on my own little and thought a very bad word. But than there was my silver lining. A little story about two snowflakes give me new hope. The animation was solid but more like something, I can maybe create two. And then we learned a very important lesson: Its not just the animation style, its more about the story behind the animation we create. My first thought was: “Well I can live with that”.

So of course, it should look good in the end, but when the story supports the weird looking characters or the poor environment it is not as bad as I thought.

2.Reason

Of course, my weak patience is not very helpful when it comes to animation, because it needs very much of it to create all the details and make the movie more interesting. But after the first few frustrations (Because I couldn’t handle the animation program), it getting to make fun. It makes fun to create crazy characters, to draw a few funny details and invent whole new places. So maybe if I get so in to my characters and the story, my weak patience get stronger. 00000000