THE IDENT!

Finally our 4 week long project of making idents for ChewTV is OVER!
2 weeks of modeling, 1 week of post production and a couple of days of stress, but now its finally finished.

The modeling bit went smooth. I like the process of modeling and designing my project, because this is where its all put into shape.
I was going for a "blossoming" kind of look where everything evolved from the center. But as i went along, i constantly needed to change the object´s placement. It worked out fine, though a little bit different from what i intended.

The idents were supposed to last no more than 5seconds + a 5second ChewTV logo.
Mine was originally 10 seconds long, which would bring te total to 15 seconds instead of the desired 10 seconds.
I managed to cramp it down to 8 seconds or so, which made the pase and music seem a little bit too fast.
This whole error was simply a mistake i made in maya. I forgot to set the framerate to 25 instead of 24.When i then added the video to Adobe After effects for editing, i ended up with a few seconds less and the rythm(pase) problem. It also made the music harder to fit on.

I made the music myself with a very cool software called Garageband and my electric guitar.
In the finished ident the music seem way too fast. And it is. This is also because of the problem with timing. But hey! ill never make THAT mistake again:P

STORYBOARD ARTIST

A storyboard artist is the person who interpret scripts and sketched ideas in order to create storyboards. They work closely with the Director and, possibly, with the Scriptwriter, Producer, Client or Storyboard Supervisor, to visualise and tell the story.

Storyboard Artists illustrate the narrative, plan shots, and draw panels to demonstrate action and maintain continuity between scenes.

Above all else, storyboard artists must be able to tell a good story. To achieve this, they must be film literate, with a good understanding of layout, composition, sequential drawing and editing. They need to be able to work either independently or as part of a team. They should be able to take direction, and also be prepared to make changes to their work.

For certain projects Storyboard Artists need excellent drawing skills and the ability to adapt to a wide range of styles. They must be able to follow established designs and produce consistent work, drawn on model.

Good communication and presentation skills are essential. Depending on the project, basic computer literacy and familiarity with relevant storyboard software may be required.

A storyboard artist may have film background including formal art and drawing training, or may have other experience as it relates to film-making and production. A good understanding of the terminology used in creating films as well as artistic talents are required for the job.


Common work activities include: Listening to the directors verbal description of the scene and then sketching what it would appear like in reality.
Creating new and interesting ideas to the storyboard art to capture both the activity and the emotion of the scene.
Organizing and managing timelines to ensure all completed and submitted on schedule.
Revising, editing and modifying sketches as indicated by the director or creative team.
Implementing various computer programs to enhance the visual presentation of ideas for the scene or for effectively capturing the director's ideas for the shot.


Sources: http://www.jobprofiles.org/artfilm4.htm, http://www.skillset.org/animation/careers/article_4165_1.asp


STEVE BEAUMONT is an example of a storyboard artist. He has worked with, amongst others, Universal Studios, BMW, Playstation and Warner Brothers. I like his work because of his dynamic drawings and ability to keep it simple but also make it look good!

I have also made a schedule of my work on the Ident animation.
Here it is:

My work for Live@5

Last monday it was my group(FRED)'s turn to do graphics for Live@5 which was going on air the same day, a few hours later.
We all sat in the studio and people from the Live@5 team came in and gave our producer (JESS), different tasks for her to hand out to us.
I got a paper explaining perfectly how to make the graphic.
I didnt get to see the work in action due to a dentist appointment, but i got a feeling we'll have to do it all again. Which i am honestly not looking to much forward to. Dont get me wrong, i love to help, but the work we do for them is really boring and simple, and stuff like that often prevents me from working on our proper projects.
But anyway, it was a good ecperience.
Here is a screenshot of the finidshed product:

Back after christmas break

Since i came back from my christmas holyday in Norway, we have been assigned several projects to work on. The first and most challenging one was to write an essay of 3500 words on a topic of (relative)choice. I wrote mine on Ideology in animated films and how the ideologies within them try to control our opinion.

After the essay was finised, we started doing small animations for Live@5, a local news thing.
The assignments sucked. they were so specific, it basicly didnt give any opportunity for experimenting, challenge or fun. But it wasnt all bad. we were split into four groups competing against each other. One won and the others had worked on theirs for nothing. My group didnt win.

After that, we were given a 3-part Background asignment. One exterior, one interior and one in 3d. It was fun figuring out what to draw/build. And since ive never used colors before, i found it quite challenging. I think the 3d one was easiest, though i found i hard to stay within the limitations. I always wanted to add more stuff!



Recently, everyone in our whole class has been asked by www.ChewTV.com to make ident animations that they can use on their webpage. it is currently ongoing and by far the most exciting project so far.
We have already pitched all the ideas to the "chew-crew", and they seem as anticipated as us to see the end results.
I decied to make my ident in 3d, in a style tht has every thing but the camera and center og image nimated. Hard to explain, but i think it will be cool. And since this is aimed at a 14-24year old group, my animation will consist of popular objects representing sports, music and media(skateboards, guitars etc..).
I like working on mine, and i hope i will meet my own anticipation as well as anyone else´s.