Arnold Part 9: Sky Dome Light

Sky Dome Light 

Arnold Part 8: HDR Images

HDR Image

Arnold Part 7: Stylised Internal Lighting

Kitchen - Final Rendered Image

Arnold Part 6: Light Filters

Gobo - Forest Texture

Barndoor and Light Decay - Blinds Texture

Light Blocker (blocks light within a scene)

Infographics - Final Animation (By Jennifer and Ruth)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Title Credit Animation by myself and Ruth.

Arnold Part 5: Maya Lights

Maya Area Light

Maya Directional Light

Maya Point Light

Maya Spot Light

Arnold Area Light

Interim Crit - The Call

The Call - Crit Presentation by Jennifer Ball on Scribd

Part 2: Body & Exporting Maps

Part 2: Body & Exporting Maps

Updated Thumbnail

Thumbnail - The Mountain King Approaches the Hall

Life Drawing - Lesson 16

1 -3 Minute Poses - Black Biro

1 - 3 Minute Poses - Red Pen

20 Minutes - Pen and Biro

15 Mins - Pen an Biro

Arnold Part 3: Ray Depth

Arnold Part 3: Ray Depth

Environment Thumbnail

Thumbnail - The Mountain King Approaches the Hall

The Hall of the Mountain King - Premise Story

The Mountain King lay dying. In his stately, cave chamber, his empty eyes dart around the room, as if, for one last time. They stop, transfixed on his gnarled and worn walking stick and a wry smile creeps across his tired face.  He walks across the room towards his trusty friend and together they process through the windings of the palace corridors. Collecting a lighted flame to guide his way, he moves slowly and painfully towards the sound,  as a shadow of his former self dances across the walls.

Discarded instruments that once belonged to friends and comrades,  lay dusty and disused along the misshapen walls.

The music builds as he approaches the Great Hall doors and he reaches for the key.  A sight reminiscent of days gone by,  brings tears to the old King's  eyes as here, in  'The hall of the Mountain King, he joins in  the final stanza before he bids farewell to his trusty friend.

A notice placed on the Palace Gates read: Today - our much loved Mountain King, passed peacefully in his sleep.

Critical Perspectives - Dissertation Proposal OGR

Dissertation Presentation - Final by Jennifer Ball on Scribd

Arnold Part 2: Sampling and Noise Reduction

Arnold Part 2: Sampling and Nose Reduction

The Cone of Cogency

The Cone of Cogency

Life Drawing - Lesson 15

1 - 5 Minute Poses - Promarker Pens

20 Minute Pose - Water Colour Pencils

20 Minute Pose - Water Colour Pencils

Hall of the Mountain King - by Edvard Grieg

The Hall of the Mountain King by Jennifer Ball on Scribd

The Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLp_Hh6DKWc


Animations that have already been done:

1. https://vimeo.com/103831919

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIz3klPET3o

Belleville Rendez - Vous (2003) - Film Review

Fig 1. Film Poster

The Belleville Rendez - Vous (2003) or translated as 'The Triplets of Belleville',was written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. Chomet is a French Animator, who showcased his film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2003. The animation is in 2D and traditionally hand drawn. Chomet is also know for directing the film 'The Illustionist' in 2010, which is similar in its style but much more toned down. The Belleville Rendez - Vous is set from 1900's to the 1930's. The animated feature tells the story of a Grandma who raises her own grandson and will do anything to make him happy. Even if that means helping him achieve his dreams as a Tour De France cyclist.

The films characters are far from the average design, each character's physic is profoundly exaggerated. This I feel adds more to their individual personalities. For example the 'happy waiter' is tall, flimsy and has a massive grin on his face. His whole body bends and flexes to his customers needs, making even his own body movements exaggerated too. (See Figure 2) 

Most of the taller characters have really long noses and stretched necks, where as the short characters are on the other end of the extreme with much smaller noises and stubbier bodies. 
"To call it weird would be a cowardly evasion. It is creepy, eccentric, eerie, flaky, freaky, funky, grotesque, inscrutable, kinky, kooky, magical, oddball, spooky, uncanny, uncouth and unearthly." (Ebert R, 2003)

You could say that the character's features are truly unusual. However, due to the lack of dialogue  this choice of design acts as the verbal communication through out the film. Like silent movies, the film focuses on others ways to tell a story through comedic movement and expression.
"The hand-drawn animation gives the primarily dialogue-free Belleville Rendez-Vous a deliberately antiquated visual style, and Chomet relishes caricaturing the body shapes of his characters - whether it's the overly muscular thighs and protuberant nose of Champion, or the grotesquely obese residents of Belleville." (Dawson, T 2003)

As well as exaggerating the characters features, the directer has enhanced and played upon the "French stereotypes." The Triplets of Belleville invite Madame Souza into their home as a place of rest and shelter until she finds her grandson. Souza is shocked when she discovers that all they eat is frogs. The director manages to poke fun at the french stereotypes that society makes, with out it being offensive. Almost pointing out at how ridiculous these stereotypes are and how these extreme persona's don't really exist.

The film is heavily influenced by the french culture. Audiences outside of this culture may not understand these differences: "There are certain references within The Triplets of Belleville that American audiences may not be receptive to because these references are intended for French audiences. The mania surrounding the Tour de France, for example, may not be ingrained in the American audience’s cultural encyclopedia." (Levine, S 2013)

Although the film seems strange at first it begins to grow on you as you start to understand the directors intentions. It goes from what you think is "weird" to humorous, different and fun. 


Bibliography
Ebert R, (2003) The Triplets of Belleville https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-triplets-of-belleville-2003
(Accessed 08.02.18)

The Scotsman (2010) Interview: Sylvain Chomet, Direcor of The Illusionist https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/interview-sylvain-chomet-director-of-the-illusionist-1-477687
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Dawson, T (2003) Belleville Rendez - Vous (2003) http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003 /08/06/belleville_rendezvous_2003_review.shtml
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Levine, S (2013) Intertextual Rendez-Vous: Viewing The Triplets of Belleville from an American Perspective

https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/cctp-748-spring2013/2013/03/13/intertextual-rendez-vous-viewing-the-triplets-of-belleville-from-an-american-perspective/
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Belleville Rendez - Vous (2003) Film


Illustration List
Figure 1. Film Poster http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/dvdboxart/32557/p32557_d_v8_aa.jpg
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Figure 2. Film Still https://theanimfilmcritic.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/triplets-of-belleville-french-waiter-youtube.jpg
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Figure 3. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/14/31/b8/1431b8e034a2eac498f5f76e6ac45823.jpg
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Figure 4. http://www.californiaherps.com/films/filmimages/tripletsofbelleville11.jpg
(Accessed 08.02.18)

Still Life Image (in progress)

Test Run 1

I am currently experimenting with the lighting. I want my scene to look candle lit, but I think it needs more light in certain areas.

Orange Turnaround

Orange Turnaround from Jennifer Ball on Vimeo.

UV Layout - Part 1: Head Details

UV Layout - Part 1: Head Details

Film Review - Waltz With Bashir (2008)

Fig 1. Film Poster 

Waltz With Bashir' was written, directed and produced by Ari Folman. The film's original language is Hebrew but it has English and French subtitles. The film is an animated war documentary which depicts the sad and horrific moments of the Lebanon War in 1982.

"The 1982 Lebanon War began on June 6, 1982, as what was supposed to be a short-term military operation - Operation Peace for Galilee. The operation was meant to destroy militant infrastructure on the Lebanese-Israeli border, which had been used by terrorists to attack IDF forces, as well as the Israeli communities abject to the border." Ynetnews, 2008) In the film a man named Ari is trying to uncover the memories from his past as a soldier from the Lebanon War. He has trouble remembering this period of his life, so decides to search for his fellow friends and comrades who explain their experiences of the war from their point of view.

The film presents itself in a graphic, novel style. All the scenes are beautifully illustrated with matching colour schemes. Many of the scenes have thick, black, sharp lines and shadows, giving it a 2D, cartoon effect. However, this contrasts with the use of bold colours to create light, making the characters and buildings less flat and more 3D. "Planes and surfaces stir and throb with colours harder, sharper, brighter than before. It looks like one long hallucination, and therefore perfect for the trauma of Folman's recovered memories." (Bradshaw P, 2008)

Fig 2. Film Still

The film was originally a 90 minute, real life video, with 90 pages worth of script. "From there 2,300 original illustrations were drawn based on the storyboard, which together formed the actual film scenes using Flash animation, classic animation, and 3D technologies” (Zumberg, 2008).
This made critiques question  how the movement of characters were done so well? The director had even been accused by some, of using the method of Rotoscoping: "When using this technique, animators trace over live action film movement on each frame to use in an animated film." (Tech FAQ) 

The Director denies using this method: "It’s important for me to make clear that by all means this film was not made by rotoscope animation, meaning that we did not illustrate and paint over the real video. We drew it again from scratch with the great talent of art director David Polonsky and his three assistants." (Folman)

Some may say that it is unusual to use animation for something as formal as a documentary. Most animations resemble family friendly topics but this film was solely adult themed. Using animation to tell his story,  worked to the Directors advantage because there are less limitations when it comes to  animating. Animation provides the opportunity to flit between tenses, exploring the past, present and future in any one scene more easily.

Foleman had originally done documentaries without the use of animation, he explains why he made it this way: "A middleaged man being interviewed against a black background, telling stories that happened 25 years ago, without any archival footage to support them. That would have been SO BORING! Then I figured out it could be done only in animation with fantastic drawings. War is so surreal, and memory is so tricky that I thought I’d better go all along the memory journey with the help of very fine illustrators." (Folman)

At the very end of the film the animation takes a turn to real life footage from the chaotic, horrifying and tragic scenes from the Lebanon War "...there is a bold shift from animation to TV news footage. I am not sure quite what to make of this shift, and have an uncomfortable feeling that it is an aesthetic error..." (Bradshaw P, 2008) This part I found took us back to the harsh reality of war. It reminds the viewer that although this is an animation, it is not fictional. The events depicted in the film were once real nightmares for those experiencing the Lebanon War.

Fig 3. Film Still

Illustration List
Figure 1. Film Poster https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Waltz_with_Bashir_Poster.jpg
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Figure 2. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh042rus4anIR2CFircRHSm2haGSIme4QcSEASqZY8G_5F80jpsZBvZm5Q1cfRF5EsFQGgdcL976eFEQ-RLq377Fsxju_EzhaXJuMLh4N_7DcN63i5tXpZlDYQ9Gs68Bdr349Sn_v7Dclzo/s1600/2.jpg
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Figure 3. http://3ipycv2ugat81cqgps20hwke-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/waltz-with-bashir-1024x576.jpg
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Bibliography 
Bradshaw P, (2008) Waltz With Bashir https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/21/waltz-with-bashir-folman
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Waltz With Bashir (2009) Film

(Tech FAQ) What is Rotoscoping? http://www.tech-faq.com/rotoscoping.html
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Ynetnews, (2008) The Lebanon, (1982) War https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3631005,00.html
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Zumberg, J (2008). Israeli filmmakers head to Cannes with animated documentary
http:// www.israel21c.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2026&catid=59:culture&Itemid=109
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Lorman, R Waltz With Bashi, An Ari Folman Film
http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/fao-year-2-interview-with-ari-folman.html
(Accessed 06.02.18)

Part 6 - Hands and the Final Model

Part 6 - Hands and the Final Model

Plum Turnaround

Plum Turnaround Final from Jennifer Ball on Vimeo.

I really struggled creating this fruit's shape but I am happy with what I've managed to achieve.

Skull Animation - Test Run

Skull Animation - Test Run from Jennifer Ball on Vimeo.

New Wheel Design

Scroll Design

I have designed my own scroll to go inside the wheel. For inspiration, I looked at the intricate patterns within the pirate props and costumes from Stranger Tides. I think it makes the wheel look more interesting to look at.