Lorry Test - Zoe

After successfully animating a bus earlier on After effects I have decided to try and animate a lorry travelling behind Zoe.
Various vehicles will travel in front of and behind Zoe during the Croydon scene of my short film.

I divided the wheels, cab and trailer up onto separate layers. By doing this the wheels could be rotated as well as the trailer bouncing about its pivot point!
The 'hole' in the trailer will be filled with my own design! Zoe likes the 'Lion King', 'Fantastic Mr.Fox'. Perhaps an image of this could be placed on the side   of the trailer?!

After Effect Test - Zoe

Over the weekend I have been experimenting with After Effects to see if my proposed storyboard is feasible. One scene I have storyboarded is a bus acting as a wipe transition.
As 'Zoe' walks through Croydon various vehicles will drive back and forth in the foreground and background. This will emphasise the noise and atmosphere of her hometown, Croydon.

The film must contain at least 5 cuts. One of these cuts will be created using a vehicle (bus) driving in front of Zoe. As the bus rapidly passes in front of Zoe the scene wipes away revealing a slightly closer version of her upper body.

After Fridays tutorial regarding a quad bike, I have used the same principle to make my bus drive by!

During the real scene the Zoe puppet will be animated properly with arm swings and walk (bounce)
The background will be made out of images of Croydon - layered creating 3D effect! Lighting effects will also be added. Also when the bus drives by, I may animate Zoe to pull back - to exaggerate the wind effect as the bus speeds away!

It needs an extensive amount of work but here is the first test:

The bus in the background wobbles too much - however, could this exaggeration work in the film?!

After Effects Lesson 02

Yesterday, we learnt the principles behind motion paths and key framing in After effects.
We made a quad bike drive by. We were already given the quad bike image divided up into suitable layers. This enabled us to animated each section separately. e.g the wheels. By Parenting all the layers I could then keyframe the quad bike to run across the shot - as well as do a wheelie!
This is an example of how some internet advertisements are made.

A little more After Effect testing..

A large portion of the film about Zoe will be set in the forest as well as the streets of Croydon.
I have experimented using layers and effects to create a working forest test layout. By using images off google and compositing them together I have created a quick example of what the autumnal forest scene may look like:

For a first try I'm really pleased! To get the light ray effect I played around with the animation preset known as 'curtains'. I have blurred the tree trunk in the foreground to create an artificial depth of focus. This test was achieved using only 3 layers-  tree trunk, Zoe and the background. When I come to do the real thing i will have several layers in the background as well as foliage/leaves in the foreground. In a 3D atmosphere this will create wonderful imagery - I hope!
Note: Zoe character will be much neater with puppet body during real film.

Possible Title - Zoe

To help me with my research/generation of ideas I have been experimenting with After Effects. This will allow me to see if my ideas are feasible.
Zoe really likes a full moon 'glistening' in the night sky. Perhaps I could incorporate this theme with some typography.

Above, I used a few layers and a few images off google. The glistening effect of the moon was achieved using 'light bursts'. I'm pretty pleased with the result and I hope to possibly use something like this in the real film. However, I would like the 'Z' and the 'E' to ease in.

Zoe - Research

I've been very busy storyboarding ideas and researching Zoe for my Digital Skills 1 assessment.
Here is part of a mood board I created using the skills I had learnt on 'Photoshop'!

This gives a great visual representation of Zoe!

Door Sign

For one of our first tutorials we learnt the basics of 'Photoshop'. This included manipulating layers, basic filters and brush tools. We all created individual door signs using layouts provided:

Party! After Effects Tutorial 01

Last week we learnt the relationship between After Effects and Photoshop. To do this we created a small DJ clip using different layers, effects and animation presets.
Here is my completed short!
Here I have used lots of effects - I was really experimenting and enjoying myself!

- Possibly went over the top, but i have learnt so much from this experiment!

Film - Zoe

As part of my digital skills module for animation I have to create a 20-40 second film about 'Zoe'.
The film must convey certain facts such as her favourite colour, place etc.

All theses ideas can be linked together to form the basis of a short narrative.

The film is required to have:

A Title page,
minimum of 5 cuts,
word or phrase,
favourite pastime,
soundtrack/music.

I have been busy asking Zoe various questions to help me with my research.

Firstly, I found out that she really likes foxes and that her favourite place is the woods. She likes English wildlife and woodland. She also likes the full moon and the sound of the wind rustling through trees.

Zoe is  a huge fan of fantastic Mr Fox and The Lion King.
She lives in Croydon, which she states is very busy and urbanized! - she likes to go to the woods for peace and quiet - huge contrast between Croydon and the peaceful woods.

Also is a fan of Michael Jackson?!!

Favourite colours include purple and red - likes bluebells growing on forest floor.

Favourite number is 13.

Likes roller coasters.

These were my initial findings - time to get sketching and storyboarding!!