New Website!

Now that this project has finished, I have moved to a new website and blog. Please have a look at:

www.rakdesigns.co.uk

Commotion in the Ocean

Commotion in the Ocean from Rachel Dunning on Vimeo.

Book's Arrived!!

The book which comes as an interactive piece to read whilst the film is playing has arrived. I'm really pleased with the final result. The quality of the print looks great and hopefully there isn't any spelling mistakes!

By Rak

Almost Finished

So the film is just about finished, with sound and visuals all in place. The book has been ordered. I now have a few loose ends to sort out before finishing this proect

- Update production schedules
- Update production charts
- Update sketchbook
- Write Evaluation
- Print off disc covers
- Organize production bible, etc.

Business Cards Arrived!!

Latest Screenshots

Making some Changes

After having a tutorial, I realised that I am over complicating my methods. I have been working creatively by making the sea out of tin foil and taking photographs, and then over digitalizing the film in after effects. This is completely unnecessary and is not giving me the childlike effect that I was initially after. I have decided to make some changes.


1. Instead of using photographs, I am now going back to my initial plan of hand drawing the backgrounds.
2. Hand drawn sea, simple movements made using after effects (up and down)
3. Add shadows to make the film have a layered effect.
4. Use original houses!

Harbour

Sea

Boat

Clouds

Edit So Far

Test Screening from Rak on Vimeo.

The early stages of the edit. I am about a third of the way through but the character is not in all of the shots, and there are no frills as of yet. I am working on getting the essential clips put together and then I will work on the finer details later on.

After Effects Screen Shots

Making the Character

I have decided to change the look of the character as I felt the old one no longer fit with the style of the film. The character is made by taking photographs of a real person and then editing him in photoshop.

By Rak

Making the Sea

I have tried several methods to make the sea but eventually I decided to use tin foil and stop motion. I then edited each individual image in photoshop. The colour was initially going to be white but I decided that a bright blue see really lifted the look of the film and was much more child friendly.

By Rak

Making the Extra's

FISH:

By Rak

These will be jumping in and out of the water in the harbour. They were hand drawn and then edited in photoshop. 

Making the Boats

Origami's making a come back!

These are the boats I have made. They will be lined up in front of the harbour, apart from the main boat which will be taken out to see. The shots below show examples of how this could look.

By Rak

Boat Design

With the harbour designed and ready to put into the film, I have decided that I want to boat to look 3d instead of drawn. I think it will add more depth to the film. 

I found this online and LOVE it!

I could add a mast and sails to this style of boat. It would also fit perfectly with the cutout style of the film, along with being easy to make and very cost effective. Really excited to get making these!!

Making the Harbour

METHOD ONE:

- Hand drawn

- Edited in photoshop

- Use of materials such as wallpaper to add texture

By Rak

I'm really pleased with this. It makes me want to include more pattern and details into other aspects of the film. I want to have a careful think about the techniques I use to make my boat, especially as this is such an important part of the film. I may try making a scene look like this from an actual photograph so that i can get the perspectives right when I look at different angles...

METHOD TWO:

Made using a photograph which was then edited in photoshop with similar methods to the previous design. 

By Rak

Method two is the harbour I will be using for my final film. This style works better with the sky, sea and boat styles which I will be using. 

Production

Final dissertation is all done and dusted!

 I am ready to get working on some more enjoyable stuff. 

Time for production!

HI

HI from Rak on Vimeo.

One Sheet

Final Locked Animatic

Final Locked Animatic - Commotion in the Ocean from Rak on Vimeo.

Final Rhyme

In the harbour, where he lay,

A man thought it was, the perfect day.

The sun was shining, the birds were out,

It gave him reason, not to doubt,

That there wasn’t any, huge commotion, 

Going on, in the middle, of the ocean.

He thought it was, a good idea,

To find a boat, to commandeer,

And sail it to, his lady’s home,

Who lived far away, and all alone.

So off he went to find a boat,

Something small, strong, and likely to float.

Of course in this harbour, it took no time,

To come across, what he wanted to find.

A lovely little boat, with a wooden mast,

And a big white sail, to make it go fast.

He knew his lady, would love the surprise,

But foolishly he rushed, not checking the skies.

He jumped on board, and got ready to leave,

Pulling at the ropes, he gave a great heave,

The boat drifted out, away from the side,

And floated down the river, along with the tide.

He traveled out slowly, with the warm ocean breeze,

Moving closer and closer, towards the seas. 

As the sailor tacked, out of the river

He felt a huge gust, which made him shiver.

The waves started to swell, making the boat rock,

He knew he should turn, back into the dock.

But the man didn’t care, he was feeling bold,

Even as the boat swayed, rocked and rolled.

The boat was crashing, against the tide,

And the sailor leaned out, over the side.

His destination, was still far in the distance,

But convinced he could make it, with a little persistence.

Then with one huge wave, hurling onto the boat,

There wasn't long, for him to stay afloat.

He looked into the bottom, and noticed a crack.

Yes, now was the time, he had to go back.

He travelled fast, whilst he was still assail,

The boat would soon sink, in this horrible gale.

He had little time, to get back to the land,

The water so high, he had to stand.

The harbour was near, there wasn’t far to go,

But there was little left, of the boat to show.

The sailor jumped off, when they reached the side,

With a sigh of relief, he ran off to hide.

He knew he’d done wrong, he was scared to be seen,

The little boat was now sinking, deep into the green.

The owner would soon, arrive at the dock, 

His boats disappearance, would be a terrible shock.

But the sailor was selfish, he just didn’t care

He had no desire to tell, show or share,

What had happened to the boat, on this unusual day 

Sadly he cared, only for the fact, that he was Ok.

Walking in the Harbour

Here is a rough example of what the harbour clip will look like. This is zoomed in and he is walking to find a boat. I like the appearance of the clip but I feel he could be bolder and more predominant against the buildings. Also, I may need to improve his walk slightly. This is the first time I have animated character movement and it is defiantly something I will also need some technical help with, during the production process!  

Walking in Harbour Test from Rak on Vimeo.

New Waves

Using a shiny silver thin plastic wrapping material, I re-tried making the waves. This looks so much better than the paper! The light reflections on the give it a more realistic water appearance. I have also used the reflection of the water against a white background as the new sky. I still feel I could get the motion smooth, but this wil be something I can get help with from the tutors when I am back at uni.

Waves Test 3 from Rak on Vimeo.

BOAT ON THE WATER:


Here I have done a quick test to see how the boat would appear on smooth water. I really like this and feel that my visuals are starting to come together. 

Boat Sailing on Smooth Water from Rak on Vimeo.

The Boat

 This is the style of the boat. Colour decisions could change but this will be done whilst i'm making the scenes to make sure all the colours are suited with each other.

I am at a stage now where a lot of my style decisions have been made and feel that I should start thinking about making a few scenes, even if they are just experiments.

By Rak

New Character Design

 First Drawings

Harbour Test

Harbour Test from Rak on Vimeo.

Scenery and Boats

I really like the little boats in these pictures along with the buildings and colours. I can imagine these in the harbour shots against the white background.

Like this Style

I really like the delicate but carefree approach of his, along with the colour against a plain background in this image. 

I'm wondering if a combination of my cut out style paper sea with a drawn boat and character with splashes of colour might work quite well

Paper Sea?

By Rak

This is much better!

Paper Sea Test 1 from Rak on Vimeo.

Even though I made this very quickly, I really like the way this is working! I love working with white acrylic and paper and this is a combination of both. Also, I can make this move easily in front of the camera creating a stop motion wave scene. The only real problem is shadows, but I may have to be patient and crop out the sky in photoshop and replace it with a block colour (green screen). I could then replace the background using keylight in after effects. 

Paper Sea Test 2 from Rak on Vimeo.

In this video, I used a green screen and edited in After effects with keylight. I really like this technique and think it is something that could really be improved with more consistent sea movement.

Cut-out Sea?

Cut Out Test from Rak on Vimeo.

I made this using paper and an art knife. I'm not keen on how this is looking and can't see it working for this project.

Commotion in the Ocean Animatic

Commotion in the Ocean Animatic from Rak on Vimeo.

Storyboard

By Rak

Storyboard - First Draft

This storyboard was made very roughly on scrap pieces of paper. I found this a really useful way of working as I could switch the places of my scenes, and scrap what I didn't like and save what I did like. Now that I'm happy with this order, I can start working on a more accurate storyboard ready to make my animatic. 

 By Rak

Scenery?

These images are incredible. Trying to find ideas to help me with my cut out back grounds but still want them to have a 'mood'. 

www.colerise.com