Zoetrope show - Penguin

Unfortunately the drawing was too light to come through properly, but a fun experience nonetheless!

Unit 2: Secret Lairs Final Crit

Secret Lair Final Crit 13.12.13

Secret Lairs: Avian Dictator Final Render

Secret Lairs: Definitive Influence Map

Secret Lairs: Illustrated Character Biography

Illustrated Character Biography: Avian Dictator

Secret Lair: Hero Prop & Scene Final Concept Art

Hero Prop final concept: Statue Head



Scene final concept: Temple

Production Designer Profile: Patrick Hanenberger

Production Designer Profile

Mise-en-scène Film Review: The Shining

The Shining is a 1980 British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, though there are significant changes.

In the film, a writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Soon after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence; he descends into madness and attempts to murder his wife and son.

Fig.1 The Shining (1980)

This film creates an intensely claustrophobic atmosphere and a suffocating sense of personality disintegration despite the huge hotel in which they are staying in. The expert use of the camera and interior decor has been able to amplify the feeling of a prison to the audience.

The mix of long tracking shots and the musical score builds up a terrifying amount of dread. Especially when the camera is following young Danny on his tricycle along the corridors of the empty hotel. Lowering the camera to handlebar-level and exaggerating the sound of the wheels rolling across evenly-spaced rugs on a wooden floor. With it being drawn out for so long you just know something is going to happen. 

Fig. 2 The Shining (1980)

This is also apparent in the chase scene in the snow filled maze as the camera follows Danny try to escape from his father. It's an excellent tool used perfectly by a master film maker. James Berardinelli notes that; "By the end of the film, every inch of the hotel hints at something sinister and every frame is infused with a sense of the macabre." (Berardinelli, 2009)

The interior of the hotel is to be taken into account as well. Janet Maslin notes; "[The Shining] is so richly textured that it improves immeasurably upon second viewing, once an audience moves beyond worrying about a story line or taking the facts at face value." (Maslin, 1980). A strikingly powerful, and memorable, is the hexagonal carpet which Danny is sitting on, it looks like a maze, somewhat foreshadowing the events to happen at the end of the film, but it also represents the family being trapped within the hotel. 

 Fig.3 The Shining (1980)

Bibliography list:

Quotes:

Beraedinelli, James (2009) The Shining Film Review 

At: http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=1482 (Accessed on 30.11.13)

Maslin, Janet (1980) "Flaws Don't Dim 'The Shining'" 

At: http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/060880kubrick-shining.html (Accessed on 30.11.13)

Images:

Fig.1 The Shining (1980) [Poster] 

At: http://www.impawards.com/1980/shining_ver1.html (Accessed on 31.11.13)

Fig.2 The Shining (1980) Directed by: Stanley Kubrick, United States [Film Still] 

At: http://www.tested.com/art/movies/457145-shining-and-steadicam/ (Accessed on 31.11.13)

Fig.3 The Shining (1980) Directed by: Stanley Kubrick, United States [Film Still] 

At: http://planetivy.com/uknews/uknews-uknews/11216/deciphering-the-shining/ (Accessed on 31.11.13)

Avian Dictator Secret Lair Progress

Progress on my Temple scene, originally went for a boxed area but found this limited my space too much.

I modeled the beams to be more curved which opened up more space for me. I also removed some of the pillars as it felt too cluttered. Modeled the statue head and added it into the scene. The bird skulls are currently being modeled on the side whilst I UV map and get the textures down.

Secret Lair: Orthographic Views [Thumbnails 32-41]

Decided to make the Statue Head the Hero Prop for my scene. This is currently getting modeled, although I'm not entirely sure how well this is going to work.

I also decided to make orthographic views for other props in my scene to help me model.

Secret Lair: Avian Dictator development

To be perfectly honest, I've slightly been dreading this. Mainly because I've been worried how on earth I'll be able to incorporate dictatorship without being ridiculously generic.

Where dictatorship is involved you tend to see very strict, open halls with banners sprawled everywhere with the emblem of the nation - a trope I nearly fell into before I spoke to Jordan this Monday. 

We discussed that I would need to incorporate these ideas without getting caught up in the typicalities of the trope - and also involve the avian aspect as well. 

So instead of creating an environment for humans with an bird-like touch, I went opposite. 

Below I painted the environment I suspect my avian dictator to live in (the location of the lair being in an underground cavern in which the giant tree's roots created/made a path to...which is currently being developed)

I tried to incorporate uniformality in the form of the identical birdhouses, and the source of power/leadership being focused at the tree in the center. 

No.1 is the original without any colour filters and messing around with the hue and saturation like in 2&3. 

After deciding on the type of environment my character will possibly be based in, I was able to design him a bit easier:

Seeing as their living in a woodland I decided on a more tribal/elder-look for my character. 

I will have thumbnails of the secret lair and hero prop ready for later. I would love to hear your views on this take of my avian dictator!

Secret Lair Thumbnails 5-31

Collection of thumbnails from pre-OGR and after.

These I messed around with the hue and saturation for different highlights, however this design has had lots of changes since.

CG Artists Toolkit Drawing: Master studies

I decided it would be worth to do a couple of master studies in between my work for the project. It was challenging but definitely useful. Will definitely do some more at another time.

Joaquin Ramirez 

Albert Bierstadt

CG Artists Toolkit Animation: Zoetrope animation test

Here's my test all done, which I'm very happy with. This is my first time animating a character so it was a lot of fun. There's a few in between frames I need to tweak after discussing it with Meg. Overall I think it was a decent first attempt!

Secret Lair: Temple block out

I had a quick play around in Maya today to try and get to grips with how I want things placed. Will probably work with the placement of the outer pillars more. I also collected a few screenshots of different perspectives to do some overlays to get more of an idea of how I want this shot as well as the lighting.

Secret Lair: Pillar base model

Animation Lesson 2

Mise-en-scène Film Review: Black Narcissus

Black Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British writer-producer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden. It is a psychological drama about the emotional tensions within a convent of nuns in an isolated valley in the Himalayas. 

Fig.1 Black Narcissus 1947

The film was shot mostly on British studio sets and the backgrounds and vanishing perspectives were matte-paintings. The grandeur of the palace perched on the mountain side is still managed to look dwarfed in comparison to the snow-capped mountains. This came together beautifully in Technicolor. Thomas. M. Pryor, writing at the time of the film's release praises the excellent use of lighting to compliment the scenery; "...the whole chromatic scheme of the picture is marvellous to behold, and the russet hues of sunset streaking through the dilapidated Palace of Mopu, where once wine flowed and harem ladies cavorted, is a brilliant achievement in color composition." (Pryor, 1947)

Fig.2 Black Narcissus 1947

Not only was the lighting used particularly well for the scenery but also for symbolism. As the film progressed, a red tone will subtly filter in until it's become too late. We can see this happening with Sister Ruth in Fig.2. Keith Uhlich from Time Out describes the atmosphere created by the lighting; "You can fully sense the pervasive loneliness that entraps Sister Clodagh in distracting pangs of lost-love reminiscence, as well as the oppressive, sexually charged ambience that wreaks mental and metaphysical havoc on the frenzied Sister Ruth" (Uhlich, 2012)

Fig.3 Black Narcissus 1947

Review Bibliography:

Quotes:

Pryor, Thomas. M (1947) "The New York Times: Black Narcissus Film Review" 

At: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173CE261BC4C52DFBE66838C659EDE (Accessed on 16.11.13)

Uhlich, Keith (2012) "Time Out Says: Black Narcissus" 

At: http://www.timeout.com/us/film/black-narcissus-3 (Accessed on 16.11.13)

Illustration List:

Fig.1 Black Narcissus (1947) [Poster] 

At: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1187756288/tt0039192?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_pos_18

(Accessed on 16.11.13)

Fig.2 Black Narcissus (1947) Directed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, United Kingdom [Film Still]

At: http://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com/2011/10/classic-throwback-black-narcissus.html (Accessed on 16.11.13)

Fig.3 Black Narcissus (1947) Directed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, United Kingdom [Film Still]

At: http://videokrypt.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/black-narcissus-nuns-in-heat-in-glorious-technicolour (Accessed on 16.11.13)

CG Artists Toolkit Drawing: Male Model 1

This week was to use the space around the model as well.

Animation Lesson 1: Morph