Rocky Soil Test Sequence

Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  This past summer was rather difficult because I had to balance house chores, projects, and work.  It has definitely not been uneventful.  Anyway, I finally finished the test sequence for the rocky soil.

I'm rather proud how I can convey his emotions.  I really like the eye brows.  I also like the texture of the character.  Unfortunately, the puppet itself was a little difficult to animate.  Not my best built, but it did last for the entirety of the shoot.  The character was a little top heavy, so I couldn't have him walk too much.  A heavier gauge wire may have to be used in his legs.

In this test, I also wanted to see how the ground would look.  I used the same stage as I did with the Wayside Soil test where all the holes were pre-drilled.  When I wanted the character to step his foot in a specific location, I poked through the hole in the stage and the layer of clay.  I then cleaned out the area around the hole and put the screw through to tighten into the tee nut that is in the foot.  When the foot lifts off, I take some clay to cover the hole back up.  This will be barely noticeble.  At worst, it'll be seen as a minor foot print.

The sequence itself does seem a little long, so I'll definitely have to strip it down to the bare essentials for the story.  My goal is to give each soil no more than two minutes.  Most likely the shots of pebble stacking will have to go.  It may also be to difficult to set up and animate.

I made the rain using my 3Doodler pen and some clear blue pla plastic.  The effect appears to work with each drop having a two frame exposure.  For the final product, I plan to draw the mid air drops and have them scanned into the computer.  They can be animated digitally, and still match with the drops hitting the ground.

The bird will appear to each soil in the film even though he is only mentioned for the wayside soil in the parable.  I think It'll be a good way to show how everyone struggles with an encounter with the devil.  As I work on the soil test animation, I do plan to make the bird puppet more sophisticated.  Hopefully he'll turn out to be a little creepy and scary since he is suppose to represent the devil.

I'm going to stick to my guns and have no dialogue or voice over.  There are too many preachy religious films out there.  I want my film to start a conversation, and not be a conversation.  I may use a bible verse to open up the film as well as one to close it, like bookends.

In the last post, I mentioned a film festival I thought about entering.  However, I did the math and realized the idea was too complicated to complete on time.  I still may make the film someday because I think it's a good idea.  I did however, go to the festival as an audience member which was fun in its own right.  I met new people who had similar interests, and I was able to see what was being made by others in my own area.  I have come to realize I don't have much of a social life, so I went on this little adventure.

Speaking of adventures, I'm going on another one in the middle of West Virginia.  My film Halloween Treasure was completed last year for a friendly competition on the animate clay website (now called stop motion magic).  Just for giggles, I entered it into a couple of film festivals.  It made it into the WV FILMmakers fest, so I'll be going there this coming weekend to meet more filmmakers.

This is also the time of year to update my animation reel.  I didn't want to put it together until I completed the test above.  So here it is...

In other news, I have started studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.  I don't remember everything, but I do recognize most of the material I'm reading.  I guess that's a good start.  Sometimes I feel torn between being an engineer and an artist, but I got to do what I can to reach my full potential.  Thanks for reading and may God bless you!

Too Much?

So, in the last post I was hoping to have the Star Wars video done and uploaded by the end of January.  Naturally, I was wrong.  But it is finished now...

The project was more than what I anticipated.  For a fun fact, everything was improvised and animated in chronological order (for the most part).  There were no storyboards or anything.  The characters and story literally came to life as I worked on this project.  There was a point where I got so sick working on this.  I even asked myself if the trouble was worth it.  After sharing it on facebook, I found out it was.  It at least entertained my coworkers for five minutes and made them laugh.

However, I do think I spent a little too much time on something that was "just for fun."  Despite its faults (there are plenty because I didn't take this project that seriously), I am proud of the results.  The title says it all.  I wanted to see how I could animate these stormtroopers and the speeder bike in an exciting way.  Now that I know I can make something half decent with these figures, I think I have a more complex fun story in the works for a more polished short.

Anyway, I started feeling guilty for not making as much progress on Soil, so I started some material animation tests for the rocky soil sequence.

There were three mixtures I used.  The first guy in the video is made of clay and kinetic rock, the second is mixture of clay and orb molecules, and the last is clay simply covered with orb molecules.  I'm going to stick with my initial decision and go with the first mixture.  I can get a variety of bumpiness and texture for the character.  I might use the second, or third options for the good soil.

This test was also an experimentation in cinematography.  I recently designed and built a rig for my camera that allows for smooth tracking shots (there are at least three instances in the video of the camera moving forward and backward).  I'm actually very proud of the results.  Below are photos that help show how I built it.

First a mold of the camera mount for the tripod was made using silicone puddy I bought from Michael's.

After the resin cured in the mold, it was shaved down by a razor blade until it fit perfectly into the tripod.  It was then screwed to a drawer rack.

Using oven baked clay, I made a new part that can hold the original tripod camera mount.

Another rubber mold is made using the puddy again,

When resin is cured, the part is removed from mold and screwed onto the very end of the drawer rack.  A metal part is bolted on.  When the camera with the mount is placed in position, the metal strip swings over and is bolted on the other side.  It's basically a seat belt for the camera.

There is just enough friction at the bearings to hold the camera in position for a frame.

The cardboard box is on the other end to hold counter weights to balance the camera and tripod overall.  The weight is calculated using the torque equation.

Equation:

Camera Weight x Camera Distance from Tripod = Counter Weight x Distance from Tripod

I actually used blocks of clay as counter weight since the characteristic is clearly labeled on the packaging.  Note how the camera distance from the tripod would change as it moves toward or away from a subject.  Adding or reducing weight as I go would disturb the camera too much in the shot, so I calculated an average of three pounds (three blocks of clay) to keep the camera balanced.

Despite the rig itself being very ghetto, I'm happy with the results.  However, it is mostly limited for straight ahead shots.  Because of the weight distribution, tracking with a steep camera angle (high or low) is near impossible.  With some modifications, this rig could potentially be also used for panning shots.  I may have to stretch my engineering abilities further, so I can continue to deliver quality shots in a variety of styles.

In other news, I'm thinking of entering a local festival to get my name out there.  Unfortunately, it's theme specific, so I have a create a brand new film especially for this event.  However, I think I have a nice short and simple story idea that can work for the time frame I have.  The early bird deadline is 6/20, regular is 7/20, and late is 8/10.  The theme is moon.  If it be God's will, I can get something of quality done on time.

Right now I'm also working on a test sequence for the rocky soil.  My next post will probably feature both videos.  At some point, I may slow down on animation in general because I'm thinking of pursuing an engineering license to further my career.  I'll see what God has in store!  Thanks for reading and may God bless you!