4.10.2022 - 11.12.2022 (Week 6 - Week 15)
Chung Yi Ki / 0345014 / BDCM
Film
Studies & Cinematography
Project 2 : Producing the short
animation pitch bible
Lecture
Week 5 / Layout design and animation pitch bible part 1
Layout design
The mise en scene in animation layout involves composition, staging, colour
and lighting
Staging
Dyanamism is important to be created as it will give "life" to the layout.
Body or facial expression of the characters, exaggeration and perspective
should be considered to create a dynamic layout.
Composition
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Fig 1.1 Curving line of action Source: Lecture slides |
The layout needs to be balanced, avoid having more weight on one side than
the other. Also make use of line of action to create dynamism and a strong
focal point. Curving the line of action is a good method to try out as well
as it gives a more organic feeling to the layout.
Colour and lighting
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Fig 1.2 Using fog to create clear contrast between characters and
background Source: Lecture slides |
Create contrast in the composition using colours, such as warm vs cool
colours. But remember to avoid overlapping of elements, and blending of
colours. Though, if overlapping elements need to be included, the problem
can be solved by clear creating contrast between the more important element
and the less important ones.
Animation pitch bible
The objectives for an animation pitch bible is to develop the protagonist,
build a believable world and construct a compelling plot. Remember to find
your voice and fight writer's block.
Format of contents
1. Cover page with title and image (one page)
2. Table of contents (one page)
3. Concept statement
4. Log line
5. Target audience
6. Synopsis (from final draft story spine / 3 act structure)
7. Production methods and/or value
8. character design drawings
9. character description in paragraph form
10. setting/ environment concept art
11. script
12. storyboard
13. contact info
Concept statement
A concept is the main idea that underlies the story. It captures the
"essence" of the story, especially its uniqueness. It can start with a
quote, definition or comparison, and then elaborated. Sells the tension of
the story.
Log line
Log line is a brief summary of the story with only one sentence. Formula of
log line: inciting incident + protagonist + action + antagonist
Week 6 / Animation pitch bible part 2 and shot composition
Character design
Design characters using shapes, think of shapes first. The character needs
to be identifiable just by looking at its silhouette.
First, think of a short description which contains 3 internal
(psychological) and 3 external (physical) features (e.g: she is a very shy
girl who is more mature than her classmates). Then, start to sketch out
the character.
Setting/environment concept
Choose from the selected scenes from the script. It should shows the world
with a good cinematography which engages the audience. In a pitch bible,
there should be at least 2 different concept art where one needs to have
the character in it.
Scriptwriting format
- Scene heading: (interior or exterior) (place) - (time)
- e.g: INT JOJO'S HOUSE - MORNING
- Name have to be in all caps in first mention
- Important information (objects, scenes etc.) needs to be in all caps
- If the dialogue id very long, should be break into two half (like put a deep breath or something in between the dialogue)
- Parenthesis used to describe the attitude, verbal direction, or action direction in dialogues to direct the actor. Shouldn't be long, just use keywords.
Montage is a part in a film when it shows multiple scenes in a dedicated
timestamp. It's often used as a device to pass time. Should be written in
point forms as it's not very detailed.
Flashback and dreams needs to be mentioned in caps before the heading and
after the scene ends.
Shot composition
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Fig 2.1 Using low angles in shot composition Source: Lecture slides |
Compose the shot in an interesting angle with the characters. Contrast
with tall and short, near and far, lit and shaded etc. Create
interesting angles, try to make use of low angles shot, and avoid too
much clutter in the background.
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Fig 2.2 Avoid cutting off heads in over the shoulder shots Source: Lecture slides |
Avoid cutting off heads in framings, make the characters noticeable even
if it's an over the shoulder shot. That is, show the full form of the
character in over the shoulder shot. Other than that, also empahsise the
character's action, with the use of different line of action.
Week 7 / Perspective in animation
Adding perspective in a layout design give a an illusion that the 2D
characters are in a 3D space.
Horizon line
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Fig 3.1 Different horizon line at different eye level Source: https://www.caiyou123.tk/products.aspx?cname=drawing+perspective+people&cid=34 |
The first thing to decide when creating perspective is the position of the
horizon line. At eye level, the characters' heads should all cross the
middle of the horizon line, assuming all the characters are about the same
height. The same goes if the characters are placed at the waist line on the
horizon. Though, this becomes flexible when drawing character and layout at
different angles.
Vanishing points
Vanishing points are the points where the lines in the layout converge at.
In one-point perspective, the lines from all the side planes will converge
at a single point. In two-point perspective, the horizontal lines in the
layout converge at two points singularly. Two point perspective is more
suitable for parallax shots. In three-point perspective, three vanishing
points are used where two point are on the horizon line and one point is at
the vertical line. Three point perspective is suitable for extreme angles,
it is often used for drawing the view at a low or high eye-level
angle.
Fish eye effects
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Fig 3.3 Fish eye perspective drawing Source: http://www.poradora.com/5-point-perspective-drawing-or-curvilinear-perspective/ |
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Fig 3.4 Example of fish eye in storybaording Source: Lecture slides |
Fish eye effects can be made by curving the lines of the ground and sky to
mimic the effect of the lens.
Curved ground
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Fig 3.5 Using curved lines in drawing nature landscape Source: Lecture slides |
Drawing the ground in curves is important in drawing landscapes, as nature
isn't flat.
Scale in layout
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Fig 3.6 Different levels of details in a background layout Source: Lecture slides |
Objects that are far away appear smaller and less detailed, while objects that are closer appear larger and more detailed.
Cinematography
Parallax scrolling
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Fig 3.7 Example of parallax scrolling effect Source: https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/10-examples-of-parallax-scrolling/ |
Parallax scrolling is when the background moves slower than the
foreground.
Week 9 / Colour script
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Fig 4.1 Greyscale colour script Source: Lecture slides |
Colour script is created after the colour concepts, character designs,
animatic and layouts are finished. But before deciding on colours, it's
important to decide on the lighting values using greyscale colours
first.
In making colour script, it's easier to first focus on the most dramatic
scenes in the story, and then move to more neutral scenes.
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Fig 4.2 Colour script example Source: Lecture slides |
Colour design is about creating the mood of the scene (directing what the
audience should feel when watching the scene), setting the time of the
scene, drawing viewer's attention and to represent realism or to make an
emotional statement.
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Fig 4.3 Different values between foreground, midground and
background Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/766315692821568175/ |
Colours should also be used to differentiate the distance between each
objects (foreground/midground/background). Foreground objects could have
the darkest colour values, mid ground would have middle values and distant
ground would have the lightest colour values.
It can be also used to differentiate between different scenes such as
flashbacks vs present time.
The viewer's eye is usually drawn to the area with the highest contrast.
So put the character in the most light or dark area. Though, if your
character is lightly coloured then put them in a darker backdrop and vice
versa.
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Fig 4.4 Example of sky lit scene Source: Lecture slides |
In a sky-lit scenes, vertical objects tend to have a darker value in their
colours while horizontal objects will appear to be lighter.
Instructions
For this project, we are tasked to create a pitch bible from the story
ideation we planned out in Project 1. We also need to choose certain scenes
that show good cinematography from the story and plan those scenes out to be
animated for our Animation Fundamentals module project.
Storyboard sketches
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| Fig 1.1 Storyboard version 1 |
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| Fig 1.2 Storyboard version 2 - Part 1 |
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| Fig 1.3 Storyboard version 2 - Part 2 |
We started this project by first deciding on the scenes that we wanted to
animate in conjunction with our Animation Fundamentals project. Based on
the story that I've written in Project 1, I picked two scenes which is the
first plot point scene where the girl is being chased by the person who
she stole money from, and the second plot point scene where the girl is
confronted with the food cart vendor and is getting badly hurt. I drew
thumbnail storyboards for each of these scenes and estimated the timing
for each panels. The black background shots are planned to be flickering
cuts from the normal shots.
Fig 1.4 Revised storyboard sketches
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| Fig 1.5 Thumbnail storyboard progression of sketches - Part 1 |
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| Fig 1.6 Thumbnail storyboard progression of sketches - Part 2 |
After receiving feedbacks from Mr. Martin, I decided to choose the second
scene chosen last week to progress further and choose 3 more scenes to sketch
out. I tried to use more dramatic angles in the scene shots such as high and
low angles. I then also timed out the scenes roughly and drew out a rough
thumbnail storyboards to show the progression.
Further revised storyboard sketches
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| Fig 1.7 Extended layout of the establish shot of scene 1 |
Fig 1.8 Scene 1 parallax layout test
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| Fig 1.9 Scene 2 - Chasing scene |
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| Fig 1.10 Scene 3 - Confrontation scene (vertical panning) |
Fig 1.11 Scene 3 confrontation sequence test version 1
Fig 1.12 Scene 3 confrontation sequence test version 2
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| Fig 1.13 Scene 4 - Girl fighting back |
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| Fig 1.14 Scene 4 lighting test |
After receiving feedbacks from Mr. Martin, I then further revise the
storyboard sketches of the chosen scenes. I also added one more scene which is
scene 4 based on the POV shot sketch done for scene 3 last week. A quick
lighting test using grey tones is also done on scene 4 to test out the
concept. Other than that, I extended the layout for scene 1 and created a test
video of a parallax shot, and for scene 2, I changed it to a back angle so it
would be easier to only animate a constant back angle running cycle. For scene
3, I changed to a vertical panning shot which contains some slight character
angle turns and tried out 2 versions of how the punch plays out.
Fig 1.15 Animatic with version 1 of scene 3
Fig 1.16 Animatic with version 2 of scene 3
Later on, I created the animatic based on the scenes tryouts and sketches. I
also roughly added the music and sound effects for the scenes to explain the
action and the mood. The revised animatic can be found in Project 3 blog post.
Pitch bible content
Script
Fig 2.1 Script - version 1
I wrote my script according to the story structure written in Project 1. I
used a software called Scenarist to write my script and made sure the thing I
wrote are "actionable" sentences, in other words, they are showing and not
telling.
Fig 2.2 Revised script
After receiving feedbacks from Mr. Martin, I edited some format in the writing
as some important aspects aren't capitalised and some sentences are telling
instead of showing. I also changed some parts in the story to make it flow
better. Instead of having the girl just bump into the vendor, I made her crash
into his cart which justifies his boiling anger towards her.
Thumbnail storyboards
Fig 3.1 Thumbnail storyboards
After that, I drew the thumbnail storyboards according to the final script.
Some panels are reused from the storyboarding process for the animation teaser
for Project 3 as they are still applicable for the script. I tried to add some
dynamic angles in the panels where suitable. Some action, vfx and sfx notes
are written down below the panel to make those certain panels clearer.
Pitch bible cover
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| Fig 4.1 Front cover |
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| Fig 4.2 Back cover |
Then, I drew the front and back cover based on the story and mood of my teaser animation. I went with a "half side" concept where one half shows a normal looking colour and the other half is the red, sketchy strokes that represent the girl's inner world.
Written content
Back in week 5, I brainstormed with Mr. Martin on the concept statement,
logline, and target audience of my story, which I then further edited when
formatting the pitch bible:
Concept statement:
Set in a gritty world, THE CURSE is a story about a forced-to-be-destructive
homeless young girl who is fighting with herself, and fighting to survive in a
cold-hearted world.
Logline:
After discovering an unexpected power, a homeless young girl struggles to
fight off her growing destructive urges.
Target audience:
13-25 years old
Production method/value:
Juxtaposing with the simple stylised design of the characters
and the story world, it subverts the audience’s expectations on the darkness
this story harbours. The girl’s inner thoughts will be visually represented in
a messy sketchy style. Think of a kid chaotically scribbling on a storybook.
Anything can happen.
Publication format
Fig 5.1 Pitch bible publication
After that I formatted the contents according to the format discussed in the
lecture and used graphics from my teaser animation progress and from Project 1
in the pitch bible. For the concept art section, I took some frames from my
final teaser animation to use as concept art.
Final short animation pitch bible
E-book link: https://online.fliphtml5.com/oohqu/oqpj/
Fig 6.1 Final short animation pitch bible
Feedbacks
Week 6
For the first idea choice, it is ok but compared to the second choice, the
second choice is more interesting and impactful, better to go for the second
choice. Think of a more interesting choice of angles, use dynamic angles and
make the scene less flat. Make use of low angles to show the danger of the
antagonist. The flickering cut shots are interesting, but use different
angles for each punch, make each proceeding punch more intense than the
other. Can take out some panels from the thumbnail storyboard and add more
scenes to the animatic. First scene (maybe 5-8 secs) of a shot(s) slowing
the look of the city. Second scene shows the main character running from the
antagonist (food stall owner), and then the final scene (maybe 7 secs) is
the confrontation + attacking shots. Total 3 scenes.
Week 7
For scene 1, don't use the first panel as it's less dynamic compared to the
other two as it's in eye level. The part where the girl bumps into the guy
can be all shown in just one layout. Maybe the 3rd panel of scene 1
will be a parallax shot from up to down, the girl is running out while the
camera is about to finish panning. When the girl is running, the camera
pulls back until it shows just the leg of the guy and the girl bumps into
the guy while falling down.
Then it cuts to scene 2. the panel drawn in scene 2 can be used, but also
consider putting the camera at the back of the characters so that the
characters can just do a run cycle while the background is applied motion
lines, this would save time in animating.
In scene 3, the action line is at about 90 degrees, so try putting the
action line at about 45 or 30 degrees, that is, moving the camera more
behind the character. The start of scene 3 can show the girl hiding with
something personal of hers (because of apartment), and then show the guy
breaking in and coming towards the girl, while the camera pans up slightly
to show the guy's massiveness. (Do all the above in one layout). The
punching sequence can be all put in one layout in the 2nd panel of scene 3
as well. Though the camera in the 2nd panel would need to be more behind the
character, the camera can move from left slowly behind the character until
the final punch lands on the camera (producing cracks maybe).
Add one more scene as the ending, take the scene in the ending of the story
written. The close-up
shot of the girl in scene 3 can be used for this scene, but make it wider to
show the girl
pointing the gun at the camera.
Week 9
The first scene does not really count as a parallax shot but rather a
panning down shot, since there is not enough background vs foreground
element. The 2nd sketch of the scene would work better as a parallax shot.
But a panning down shot works as well, up to you to decide which one to go
with. The last scene seems to be too wide, would need to push the camera in
more (and make the start of the shot tighter as well). Also, since that shot
looks like it is shot using a wide angle lens and the guy's hand is also
wider when closer to the camera, so the gun barrel should be wider at the
front and narrower as it goes nearer to the girl. In the first version of
the 3rd scene, the camera has to push in closer to the guy as the guy
is
punching as well to create the impact. But between the two versions, the 2nd
version seems to be more interesting as it shows the girl being hit in more
gruesome ways, so go with the 2nd version to use for the final.
Reflection
Although this project is a kind of "side project" from Project 1 and Project 3, it still kind of gave me some pressure as I needed to complete Project 3 in time for this project, and the thumbnail storyboards and publication layout took me some time to get them done. It's still great to be able to learn how to write and format a pitch bible, which could be useful in the future, but combined together with Project 3 the workload is not little. Still, I'm glad that I'm able to get it done in time, and am also glad that I was able to find a way to use what I have produced from my Project 1 and 3 into this project.
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