Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Another One Bites the Dust!


Chief: Final Shot 09-10 from Haley Monson on Vimeo.

Hello All! Last week we finished another scene! We have decided to try to get two shots done a week and Chris drew up a pretty nifty production calendar that I'm not sure I fully understand but it's all about learning right?

In this scene we are introduced to the chief of Kepuhi. I really wanted to complete the scene this week because it is short and Mee and I did not have a lot of time this weekend.


As I was staring at this storyboard, I realized I had no idea how we were going to make the sand dissipate. In post production, a cross fade would have sufficed but that's really not the point of this exploration. I tried to make lines come off of the chief but nothing was really working for me so I just tried to run my fingers through the sand which proved equally disastrous. 

While Mee Choe was animating the final cut of his staff raised I realized we were approaching shot 10 in timing and I asked her what she thought of us blowing on the sand. We tried to find a way to test it but were already in on the shot so we decided to wing it! I do not advise this as mentioned in my last post, if you screw up a frame in one scene you've ruined your entire sand shot. But Mee was game so I was too! And the blowing on the sand effect came out really fabulous! We just had to be careful about not laughing at each other because it looks really ridiculous blowing sand around on a light table...


-Haley


Sunday, February 22, 2015

Animation from Object Animation class



This is work done last year in Object Animation class. The current effort will be new and improved, benefitting from things we learned the first time around.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Trial and Error

Hi there! There was a ridiculous amount of snow today in Philadelphia so I thought sand animation would be a good way to get out of the winter rut. Unfortunately, the shot I was working on was just not fitting the aesthetic which leads us to the title... trial and error.

Sand animation is pretty interesting in that you animate straight ahead with little planning and then your shot is done! It's time consuming to make but once it's done, it's done. Traditional animation consists of keyframes, inbetweens, and then inking and coloring. If one of your frames gets messed up you can always redraw it and pop it in to the animation but if you mess up in sand the whole shot can be ruined. This has led to me doing a lot of "test shots" and then bringing in Mee Choe to discuss. She is really great to work with because I can't always execute what I want to happen but she sure can! Today was a little rough and although it didn't result in progress, at least I have more practice.

Last week I was doing a test of the eel shot to see how the composition would work and how I wanted the seaweed would move. The one above has more of a serpentine motion (to which someone asked- are those his little eel friends? No.) as opposed to a flowing motion. I did not realize how SLOWLY I would have to animate the weeds to make them flow- they have to BARELY change in each shot. Also I took out the bubbles. You can see how different the two turned out and the importance of testing and practice! 


stay warm! 
-Haley


Friday, February 20, 2015

Everybody's Working For The Weekend

Eel still by Mee Choe

Here's some preview and behind the scenes images from the film we worked on over the weekend!

-Haley

Friday, February 6, 2015

short motion test

Christopher Magee, animator

Hello!

I teach animation at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, PA. My classes include technical and content-oriented foci, and, as the child of a mixed race couple, I have a keen interest in using animation as a vehicle for exploring cultural difference and cultural assumption.

Having grown up in Hawai'i on the islands of O'ahu and Maui, I would like to use my skills to investigate Hawaiian culture through visual and audio representation. Hawai'i is a beautiful place, and one realizes this even more when one leaves it after having grown up there. My aim is to provide workshop participants the opportunity to dig beneath the surface, still often trivialized, of indigenous culture, its values, aesthetic, and traditions. In addition to visual research into Hawaiian imagery, we will be seeking local musicians and cultural representatives in an effort to create a short film that is authentically informed, and the scope of which goes beyond mere entertainment.

Christopher Magee

Haley Monson, animator

Introducing Haley Monson, one of two student artists working on "The Village of Kepuhi" sand animation. Haley is a third-year Animation major at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

When I began to research for a fuller understanding of the story "The Village of Kepuhi," I first looked at Ellie Crowe's and Elan Penn's wonderful book Hawaii: A Pictorial Celebration. I immediately fell in love with the landscapes and wanted to learn more of the history. While researching costumes for the Kahuna, I was particularly struck by the gourd masks. I tried to incorporate their designs into the sand as best as I could, which is another aspect I love about this project - the sand. The initial challenge of using sand is slowly becoming an easier (or harder, depending on how the day is going) task. I find it really interesting how the medium relates to the cultural context of our subject, and also how it represents a great exploration into new forms of storytelling. I am looking forward to learning more of Hawai'i's beautiful culture and exploring this very tactile form of visual storytelling.

Haley Monson

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! Currently, two students (Mee Choe and Haley Monson) and myself are working on a revision of "The Village of Kepuhi," a Hawaiian legend we are animating in sand that we hope will serve as an example of the possibilities using animation as a tool for cultural education. Please read the "About" page for more information, and stay tuned to this blog as update it with posts of our work process.

~ Chris