Creature Comforts

As i decided i might use claymation to animate an alien in my piece i looked at The 'creature comfort' series. They use real voices over clay animals which gives a great, comic effect. I will hopefully use the childrens voices from my mums school over the alien to create a similar effect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAffJiYDpnM

peace x

D and AD Student Awards

For the D&AD Student Awards im entering a animation for the Science Museum brief. We are being asked to produce a short animation aimed at ages 8-14 using the blackhole as a starting point. I started by asking myself what i thought children would think a blackhole was but realised that i couldn't put myself in that mindset. Therefore, as my mum teaches year 6 at Primary school, i got her to ask her class to write down what they thought a blackhole is. As expected a few of them actually knew but alot used their imaginations. It is this that the science museum is trying to encourage.

So, for my final animation ive decided to make an animation using various techniques, stopmotion,claymation and various animations made using after effects to explore the childrens ideas of a blackhole. I am currently making a solar system and spacescape using photoshop and im layerying it in after effects. I am then going to make it look like a camera is zooming through space with the kids voice overs saying what they think a blackhole is. At this point the audience don't actually know what they are talking about. Eventually the camera will zoom into a spaceship where i will animate a clay alien to explain what a blackhole actually is. My aim is to make this sound more exciting than what the children said, in order to make science sound fun!

Today i will continue to make a solar system using photoshop....

Peace x

Design For Interactivity

Bonjour,
Haven't written on here for a while so thought i would write a quick update for the current project. I am trying to make an interactive Horror game. Basically it will work much like the 'choose your own adventure' books from the 1970s where you choose your own path for the protagonist but with live action elements. I have finished all the filming for the project now and i am current;y just pieceing it together and finishing up my sketchbooks.

My design will be on DVD and will be controlled using the DVD Remote. The story will work by having a a few compentents. Firstly, there will be narration to explain to the user the storyline and the current situation. Then the user will have to decide a path from the main character to take. Some paths will result in the story progressing, others will result in the characters death. These scenarios will be played out with live action film. I have decided on making the story in house and your character has to escape a spirit much like that of the one in the film 'The Ring'. For those that haven't seen 'The Ring' here is a small clip of what the jist of it is. Also, below is an early edit of one of the scenes from my design.







I will post again soon,

Peace xxx

Dissertation

After a group discussion this morning about possible topics for our dissertations i have an idea of what i may pursue. I was thinking i would like to explore the media of film, as it is the industry i would like to get in to after the course, specifically looking at Genre and how they can evolve. I looked at this in the first year, focusing mainly on the horror genre and how even though the codes and conventions have changed over the years we still recognise the genre.

Codes and Conventions are what makes a genre and if they are changed how is it that it is still the same genre?

These are only initial thoughts and knowing me this idea will completly change! However i think i will probably look into film, one way or another.

xxx

Not Long Left! ....

Not long to go now until the first project of the year has to be handed in, and as i haven't posted anything in a while i thought i would update you with 'where im at'.
After making a huge dent in my sketchbook with idea generation etc... i thought of my solid idea. I layed out a plan of action (which i have stuck to) as to what i need to do to complete this project succesfully. I think previously my attention had been veered towards how i could present my idea rather than the idea itself. Now i have the idea and have worked on it i realised that the presentation is almost doing it self!

I have been in class for the last two days solid working on after effects, Premiere, and photoshop to put together a small video which i will present to show the functions of my product and how it will work. The videos are pretty much done, all they need now is a bit of 'tweaking' in premiere and im as good as done!

Now all i have to decide is whether to pre record a voice over for the video, or 'do it on the night'!!?!

xxx

Updated thoughts

When thinking about my current ideas i have been looking into pop ups and pop under ads as my idea would work on a similar principle. I however, have also come to the conclusion that pop ups are extremely annoying, and pop unders are too subtle, probably going unnoticed. This has lead me to think about my product being a flashing style pop up in the corner of your screen or a flashing box in your utility bar, so that you are aware that it is there, but don't have to act upon it if you wish.

xxx

Research Ideas

After chatting to the tutor i have seriously reconsidered my idea. I think that although my current idea is a solid product, we have the technology to make it now, therefore it isnt a future design. I have now thought about combining this idea with advertising and the future. Websites like amazon and play have 'suggestions' as to what you might like based on previous purchases. This gave me the idea about maybe producing a concept rather than a product itself. The concept is an advertising agency that works closely online companies (originally with big companies) that would get a cut of the sale by recommending purchases. It would work much like the Amazon suggestions concept, by monitoring your online purchases, sites vistited etc... but it would also work along site social networking sites. For instance, I want to go to the cinema i would change my facebook( or equivalent) status to 'would like to go to the cinema'. The agency would recognise these keys words and then try and find one of my contacts that has the same status, look through our common film tastes and produce a link or pop up to a local cinema with a film that it thinks we would like to see. It would ask us if we would like to book it now, At a reduced price.

This concept would also apply to buying presents. If i had a friend whose birthday was coming up and i didnt know what to buy them i would possibly visit a site like amazon for inspiration. I could end up just mindlessly searching the site without any direction. However with my product in place i would just have to add my contacts email address to the site, it would then give me suggestions for purchases based on there last transactions, last tracks listened to on itunes, facebook interests etc...

This idea would need research in to data mining and also ethics as people i assume would feel this could be too intrusive.

xxx