Back in black (and white)

Its been a long time since i actually sat down and thought, i feel like i should blog something. This isnt because i have had a lack of exciting things delight my cortex's, it is rather that i have forgotten and almost abandoned my blog for a hard copy of research as it was more interesting to me. The use of pictures on paper allow me to adapt the images, expand them over the edges of the cut out and onto the pages of my sketchbook. It is this that got me back into sketchbooks so, why stop now.

The reason why i have begun blogging again is that i am in the mood to blog, so here it is.

This image, taken from Star Trek (2009), shows something called Red Matter. This globule is particularly interesting as it is practically a red version of what i want to create. The use of reflection and how it bends the image is something which i am interested in. The glossy material is the object makes the object believable amongst the scene whilst also retaining the science fiction genre look that it was aiming for.

In contrast, the image below shows a similar object with a hand-made feeling about it. This is because the aim of this globule was not supposed to be ultra realistic but instead, characteristic and crafted.

The above image is from 'Matter Fisher' by David Prosser. The hand crafter approach to this piece is something which looks and feels amazing. Whilst watching this piece, you get a real feeling that a lot of work went into the visual aesthetics and how they will directly affect the audience. The result being a piece which draws the audience in, makes you wonder how the globule would feel and react to your own presence. 

The style of this piece is something which i would like to play with one day as it seems like it would both be a challenge as well as a new approach to my work, one which would take me back to my illustration roots whilst also allowing me to play with contrast.

realflow test

I know, it been an absolute age since i last posted something but, after this weekend, i will be regularly posting again. I do have a back catalogue of things to blog about, so its that first and then, if your lucky, some new things.

The excitement is too much... i know, but it will happen.

Here is a realflow test to wet your whistle

Studio AKA- feedback

Thankyou for your swift reply, even during this busy christmas period.

I feel that the responses given will help me in refining these pieces in order to make a better, more professional portfolio.

Considering your input for the smile for london (silent version), i had already changed the interior to make the environment less muted when creating the version with

music added. I also rendered out a silent version of this piece but felt that i could still show the changes just by adding the music version. In regards to the music, how, may i ask, do you

suggest i make it less over-powering?

Much appreciated, 

Rory Snaddon

---

Subject: Rory Snaddon 2nd Year Moving Image Student @Stockport College
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:02:27 +0000
From: ren@studioaka.co.uk
To: rory_snaddon@hotmail.com

Hello Rory,

I have checked out your 5 videos and these are my comments and personal responses.

I do not know the briefs and time scale of all your work at college so just take on board what is useful to you.

Post Apocalypse Project. Intriguing imagery and a project worth doing and developing further. Good compositors are always sought after in post production companies.

Smile Competition. Clyde and Friends Version. I liked the volume increasing as the doors open but found the actual music overpowered the animation.

Smile Competition. Silent version. I liked the final character taking over full screen in the train doors. The London underground train is a good device to reveal the animated story. Felt there was not much depth to the interior landscape and a very muted colour palette – was this by design?

Ident /Sky 1.

Collaboration Project. Well documented and looked like great fun. Moments when peripheral information crept in added interest to the film – chairs, projector light, people sitting. Abrupt ending to me?

Hope these comments are of some help and the rest of your course at Stockport goes well.

Best regards,  Ren

Renato Pesci/Production Coordinator

From: Rory Snaddon [mailto:rory_snaddon@hotmail.com] 
Sent: 20 December 2010 13:24
To: Ren Pesci
Subject: Online content

Sorry for the late reply, i was busy sorting out my current project and lost track of emails.

If its still ok for yourself to give me some feedback on my work, then here is the link

to my vimeo account,

http://vimeo.com/user5168414/videos

Yours Sincerely

Rory Snaddon

These are the emails, sent back and forth between myself and Ren Pesci as part of my Studio AKA feedback. Within this email, i found that alot of the feedback has helped me to see where my skills are dipped. With this feedback, i will hopefully be able to take this into my stead and adapt the work already done as well as apply it to my Final Major Project.

Online Critique

As i was unable to get my final Portfolio visit, due to cancellations and massive work loads from companies, i instead decided that i would send out some e-mails with links to my Vimeo account. This way, i would be able to get feedback on my work without taking up mass amounts of time for the companies.

This type of feedback was offered to me by 2 companies, both of which i applied for visits to however, they weren't able to oblige. These were Man Vs Machine and Studio AKA.

http://www.manvsmachine.co.uk/

This company produces a wide range of work, mainly idents and short animations for events. It is, however, in these snippets, that we can see the full potential of this company. Lets hope that the feedback that i get off of them will be helpful.

The second company which i emailed is Studio AKA. The link to the website as well as a link to the previous Blog post i have already done.

http://www.studioaka.co.uk/


http://rorysnaddonmi.blogspot.com/2010/09/studio-aka.html

Have a gander : )

Animation Eyes

These are 2 examples of how an eye blinks, within different mediums. Hopefully they will help me with my bunny waking up.

Revisiting and Refining

This is about the work which i have been doing over the past couple of days, leading up to the deadline on Monday.

As my competition deadline was on Wednesday, it meant that as we had the group crit on the monday, i had the rest of the day as well as the tuesday to finish my piece. I did, surprisingly, and enjoyed every second of doing it, other than the uploading of the video. Since then, i have shown the piece to Rick and have decided on a few things within the piece that we can change.

Its all about the Easing.

I have changed elements to both the Maya part of the piece, as well as the AE composite for the imaginary world within the train. As there are 3 separate layers within my piece, Back - Mid- Fore Ground, i have had to tweak each of the layers in order of the whole thing to be in keeping with each other.

This has meant that my workings out have also been developed within my sketchbook, with new sections revisiting old things in order to make the best of the time i have.

Alongside this, i have also revisited my Post-apocalyptic piece, in order to tweak a few areas which will hopefully mean that the piece will feel better as its being viewed. The tweaks have been suggestions which myself, tutors and Companies (Portfolio visits) have suggested. I hope that this will make the piece look more aesthetically pleasing. I have also gone back over the research and storyboards and annotated them so that the viewer has a better understanding what they are seeing,

Visiting Lecturer

This is the second attempt at writing a blog post about this guy. Jonathon Barnbrook, a graphic designer that came to to the Lecture theatre and talked about his work as well as the Industry. The reason this is my second attempt at writing this is not due to technical fault or accidentally pressing CMD + A and then the delete button, this is instead my second attempt because i was trying to write about his work in the first one, however, you can only really talk about work at length if you like the work that you are seeing. I, did not.
I wrote three pages of notes and none of it is useful.

I did like the David Bowie story though

The End

Group Crit feedback

This image is a page from my sketch book and, you guessed it, this page is about the group crit that we had. The feedback which i got is in the bottom right corner of the page and is various feedback from the entire group. I initial dismissed some of the ideas however, made sure that others were thought about, decided upon and then executed.

This then helped develop my piece in order to make it look better and more accessible to an audience. The entry that i  made into the competition used all of the points above (not the ones crossed out though) and now, i am developing the piece further for the final hand in.

The Neighbourhood Studio Visit

The other week, myself and 2 others took a visit to The Neighbourhood for a Portfolio visit. This was the second studio that i had visited this year, and it was also only he second studio in which i had visited in Manchester.

The Neighbourhood had recently moved to a new Studio, after spending many years in the same Studio as Love Creative. This new studio worked for them as it allowed them to show their ideas and imagination within the studio environment. This was seen via the table made out of books and the old style chairs, both in the waiting area and the presentation room. This was then mixed with the modern style of open space, clean lines and exposed pipes. This style allowed us to feel more comfortable as we were talking about the environment and joking about the gnome within the waiting area.

The Portfolio visit was within the main presentation room and was taken by Sarah the Project Manager, Jon the creative Director and Stewart who is the main animator and a huge enthusiast for everything 3D. Although there were 3 of them, this wasnt daunting as the environment and atmosphere was quite relaxed. Whilst there, they were asking us many questions to do with our futures, what and where we want to be once we graduate. We were also asked what area of Moving Image we work in and want to work in. Once we explained our working environment and that we were able to explore our imaginations with Stop Frame, compositing, flash, 3D and even Matchmoving, they were surprised by what mediums we were able to work with.

After having a chat and many drinks offered to us, we eventually got down to showing our work. As the first to show my work, i wanted to show them a wide range of work that i can produce, that i dont just work in a single program. I also didnt want to take up mass amounts of the time we had there and so decided to show a maximum of three pieces. The first was the colaboration piece which we created in the second year. The reason for showing this as it allowed them to see both a working method and the fact that i can illustrate and draw out my ideas. As the piece was rather long in length, i was explaining the idea behind the project and the delivery method that we chose for the exhibition. They all seemed to like the idea and the style of the piece. the next piece that i showed was the Sky 1 Ident that i created. This is a short piece and shows how an idea can start off small and grow to a final piece. Again, i explained the idea and the brief for the project, as well how i wanted to incorporate the different programs shown on Sky 1 into the Ident. Again they seemed to like this and the fact that they kept on replaying the piece to have another look at it, seemed to give me hope.

The final thing i showed, i decided instead of showing the post apocalyptic piece i had just made, i would instead show my current sketchbook for the Smile For London brief. The reason i chose to do this is because i had already gotten constructive criticism from Mainframe for this piece and felt that i would just be given the same advise. Luckily for me, Jon was a huge fan of sketchbooks and sat there quietly, flipping through the pages as the rest of us had a chat about various things. Although i didnt get any advise for my sketchbook, i feel that by showing it, it allowed them to see that i was competent in writing down ideas, developing them, and then sketching them out to help in the creation of my final piece.

At the end of all of us showing our work, we were treated to a view of some of Stewarts work. He had just been using Studio 3D, post production, in order to change a pop up book he created so that it worked on their 3D TV. This was a good experience as it was an insight into the current direction of the industry and that The Neighbourhood is ahead of the commercial industry in what they are doing.

This company is somewhere in which i would be interested in working, or aiming for after graduation. They are a distinguished company in which i would be able to see a project from start to finish, which is something that i want. They are passionate about their work and this was especially clear in Stewart who, when talking about 3D, gets increasingly excited and would happily talk for hours about the subject. It is this level of enthusiasm, after many years in the industry, which i want to have and at a company like the Neighbourhood, this would be possible

Toyota Auris Hybrid- GLUE- projection

I came across this piece whilst searching for different uses of moving image and their applications. One that i thought of was projection mapping and i think the best example that i have seen of this, is this car advert. Projection mapping is usually on buildings and flat objects which is why this piece is so impressive. The car and everything are real and they used a total of 7 projectors in order to fully complete their task.



In order to show how this is made, i have included the 'making of' film as they are able to fully describe the process as well as the problems that they had to solve in order to create the final piece.

Passion Pictures- The South Bank Show

http://www.passion-pictures.com/flash.html

I wanted to find a video to put up here however, i wasnt able to find a decent quality version so here instead, is a link to the work in which i will be commenting on.

This introduction for 'The South Bank Show' created by SSSR at Passion-Pictures is the initial inspiration for a background. Within this, the use of a stage helps to frame the action on screen, allowing the viewer to imagine the setting of the piece. I also like the reveal at the end, that all these separate sets are stacked on top of each other, creating a connection and a nice aesthetic about the end frame.

One of the ideas for the background was the use of a theatre stage as the idea of having the objects held up by string or other materials reminds me of flats which you find in a theatre. This, and the fact that i created a mock up of the scene within a framed environment, reminded me of the theatre as well. I will play around with the idea, as well as the use of colour within this idea, in order to see what will work.

Spring Valley Ad

After looking at the past pose, i decided to update myself with Psyop and the things that they have been doing since our visit last year. This is another of their creations, one which i particularly like due to the idea. They have decided that they would fit all the animation, however big or small into the shape of the bottle. Although you cant physically see the bottle till the end, you get the idea as the water and the world react to the edges. The transition between the world above and below the land feels smooth and natural.

My aim, from seeing the smooth transitions of this piece, as well as the transitions of other pieces, is to make my own feel more natural. The first i need to change is my Post-Apocalyptic piece.

Something Lurking

Whilst i was having a play with some abandoned items at Uni the other day (in order to create my animated world), i decided that it would be good to find other pieces of work which use objects to tell a story. Although its on a bit of a tangent, this idea was to use toy characters to tell a story and pass on a message. This is what they created.

Created by Psyop for LG

The reason why this piece is so interesting for me, is that they are using techniques which i would like to become more familiar with. The use of us compositing in order to create something which is aesthetically pleasing is a technique which i would like to get better at as i feel it will help me in  becoming more accessible to companies. Although this is probably Matchmoving, i feel that the style can be applied to other mediums and is something i will play with in this project, as well as other ones, maybe even the Final Major project.

Le Cafe

Although i cant understand what the music is referring to, i am able to understand from the story and the animation. This is a good thing to look at when thinking about myself having to create an animation without sound (requirements of the brief).

The use of animation is nice and feels good, especially with the 2.5D compositing style.

Michael McIntyre london tube

One of my ideas was to parody the commuters of the London Underground in order to show themselves what they do. With this, they can see themselves in a new light. When i was thinking about this, i thought about the comedy sketch by Michael McIntyre. Watch the clip above, it will make you smile.

This then made me think about overcrowding, especially the extreme cases that you find in japan.

This photo shows the Japanese Train Pushers 'helping' people travel.

TV Viral

I was watching Rude Tube over the past week and the final viral was a foreign Aides awareness Viral which uses character animation in a different sense. I was intending to put the video up however, after much deliberation, i decided that it was a tab indecent to put the whole video up so instead, here are some screen shots of the video.

These frames show the journey in which the character takes and that it is only desirable with protection. This viral was there to promote safe sex and the idea is something which is fun to see. The location of the viral is something which has been thought out as casual sex as well as graffiti are both present/ performed in these areas. The use of white tiles also acts as a blank canvas for the animation. 

From this, i thought of an idea in which i could use the tiles/ walls of the underground in order to show my idea however, the practicality of this idea is slim as, i wasn't allowed to film in the underground and the crowds were very hectic and so it hard to stand in the middle of the tunnels.

Battle: Los Angeles

This film, although not original, looks quite good in the sense that, within the trailer, the tension is built up so that you don't see actual ships until part way through the trailer. This isn't the reason i put it on my blog though, it was instead the use of music that they have decided upon.

This 'experimental techno(esqe)' styled piece seems out of the norm for a trailer like this which is why the film gives me hope. With this trailer, i would usually expect explosions and Loud noises to match the fireballs from the sky, but instead, the music builds the tension and allows you to notice the emotion of the characters.

Land Rover Clay Nation

I was introduced to this piece after a quick chat with my tutor about the current project. He then directed me to this 'clay nation' advert which uses clay models which morph in order to change the landscape. They  have also used a 3D printer in order to build a scale model of the Land Rover.



The fluid transformations of buildings and models seems computer generated however, after seeing the making of video for this piece, you can see the design process with your own eyes.

MAKING OF VIDEO

http://hornetworkshop.com/site/landrover_makingof.html

I couldn't find a decent copy so here is the link to the making of video which is on the website. Since this was created and released, Hornet, the company who created the video, opened up their own 'hand-made' section of the company called Workshop.

Why wasn't it on here sooner?

Thats the only question to really ask about this next entry. I have been raving about it for months and months and is one of the only ways in which i can ESCAPE from the real world (in the sanest way possible). I Love this game and all that comes with it : )



The above video is the trailer for the first game. This game allowed millions to relive an almost childhood time, allowing you (by this i mean me) to let go of the world and create little characters and place stickers everywhere, without having to  deal with consequences. This was something different for the video gaming generation, taking many gamers away from hyper real battlefields and into a world created using thoughts and dreams. The fact that Stephen Fry narrates it as well, may just be the cherry on the cake.



With the utter joy that i express for the first one, who knows what ill be like with this sequel. Although it is no longer "original", who cares...No one is the answer. This video, as well as the music, excites me in ways which cant be described. I haven't been more excited for a game to be released than this one.

Now that you know how i feel about this, lets get down to the official side of it.

With my current brief (Smile for London) being about escapism, especially as, according to the brief, commuters in London are dull and gloomy after the festive period and need a smidge, then what helps me escape could be relevant to them as well. The style of these games excites me as a designer. The use of simple shapes and pattern, along with simple design, allows for the complexities of the Little Big Planet world to shine through. Within the adverts, they describe it as a handmade adventure. The idea of handmade is something which definitely sounds like fun. This is also a good way to see whether the style will work before the production. Within the second trailer, they also use the words 'Digital Puppetry'. Although this seems to have been done recently as well within the CS5 launch trailer, the use of puppet elements would be something fun and interesting to play with.

Puppets? Strings? Are they practical within a 3 week period?

New Blog followed

I kept on getting updates on my facebook from one of the people i went to college (foundation year) with. This blog was something which interested me,  not because of the content, but because of the idea, a blog post each day. 365 days, 365 posts. I wonder if he managed it/ will manage to keep it going till the end of the year.

Jamie was very talented with his ideas and illustrations, especially when using photoshop. This was something which i thought he would keep up with, however, when he came to visit Jane Richardson from illustration, he informed me that he had pretty much given up with photoshop and had adopted a more traditional approach. At first i thought this was a rash decision, however, after looking at his recent work, i think that he doesn't need it, and that his talent will keep him going.

Winner of the student award for Cheltenham Illustration Award

http://jamiemilk365days.blogspot.com