Production - The Animation Process (Details)

Hello everyone :)

In this post I will be talking about the details of the animation process, through bullet points:

• I originally decided to create 6 drawings for every second of animation time, as in 'Final Cut Pro X' the time-line has 24 frames-per-second, therefore there would be a new drawing every 4 frames. I also chose 6 drawings as it gave a seemingly smooth animation and it seemed a manageable number of drawings to complete for all the animation that takes place during my music video.
• I create the drawings using A4 plain paper and a pencil (as used in the music video to create the original drawing).
• I place the previous drawing underneath a new A4 every time as it allows me to see the original drawing and create the new drawing. I use this technique since I am able to see where the drawing originally was and where it will be in the new drawing, allowing me to create animations such as movement and actions.
• I scan the drawing into the my main computer using my scanner, name the jpeg's, edit the drawing in 'Photoshop' to appear as they do in my storyboard (i.e. zooming in on the characters where necessary), transfer the files onto a USB and then insert the USB into the Mac and drag and drop the drawings onto the time-line where appropriate.
• I set each image to appear on the screen for 4 frames each and then double-check they are all placed one after the other (so when played they show the drawing moving, creating the animation) in the correct order.
• I finish by playing the section of the music video involving the drawings I have just placed within the time-line, to make sure everything runs smoothly and correctly (and where it doesn't I correct it and repeat this final step until everything is correct and runs smoothly).

Below is 1 second worth of animation, going from top to bottom (please note these are the drawings in their original form and not the edited drawings, meaning these are pre-Photoshop)

The reason behind the black pen in the top left corner of some drawings is that sometimes the scanner has troubling detecting the drawings otherwise, since they are drawn in pencil. The black pen allows it to detect something, thus allowing it to scan the drawing in. The reason behind some of the character not being completely drawn is that from looking at my storyboard, that character does not appear in much of the shot (just his arm) and therefore drawing the character completely wastes time and is unnecessary. I only draw what I need for reference to the previous drawing and for what will appear in the music video.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and now have a better idea of how I am doing the animation for my music video.

Until next time everyone :)

Production - Song Inserted

Hey everyone!

I'm happy to say that I have now inserted the song I am using ('Dream Catch Me' by Newton Faulkner) into my music video, as you can see below

(the green bar indicates the song, and below are the shots)

I have placed the song at the correct starting point and now, in terms of full audio/shot alignment, need to start cutting shots down to the correct lengths. Inserting the song was a simple process that involved moving the mp3 file from my main computer onto my USB, then inserting the USB into the Mac I am using for the creation of my music video, and clicking the file and dragging it over the time-line on 'Final Cut Pro X' to insert it (and simply adjusting the position to where my storyboard showed the song beginning). The only reason inserting the song to my music video took some time was due to an unfortunate incident where data on my main computer became corrupted, leading me to have to find my original album and burning the song to my main computer again. Once I had found the album again though, the process was easy as pie :)

I will soon be uploading more details about the animation process as I am busy work creating and uploading all of my drawings, as well as keeping track of which drawings need to be entered where in my music video, which is much easier thanks to my storyboard. I hope you all look forward to that post, which is sure to be up on my blog very soon :)

Anyway everyone that's all for now

Until next time :D

Production - Shots Chosen + Time-line Assembled

I have now chosen from my shots the ones I will be using from my music video (as I took multiple shots of the same shot, just in case and to give me a choice of the best). With these shots I have assembled them in the correct order (according to my storyboard) along a time-line on the editing software I will be using ('Final Cut Pro X').

Below you can see a picture of my time-line in 'Final Cut Pro X'.

The only reason this is not a screen-shot and was taken with a camera is I use a PC, and the editing software I am using is on my school's Mac's , which of course I am unfamiliar with, therefore resulting in me having to use a camera to take the picture. Although luckily my time-line is very visible and shows that I have assembled my chosen clips int heir correct order.

The next step involved with my music video production is applying my chosen song; "Dream Catch Me" by Newton Faulkner, to my time-line. Doing this will then allow me to accurately scale my shots to my music video giving the most accurate final product possible.

So as said, my next post will be when I have successfully applied my song to my time-line, so I'll see you all later :)

Production - Filming (All Finished! + The Problems I Faced)

As the title of this post states; all my filming for my music video is now finished, and I have to say shooting it was incredibly fun! Although there were some problems along the way.

On my storyboards I had drawn some shots that I thought would have been possible, unfortunately simply due to the space within my house and the way it is built; some shots actually weren't possible. Luckily these shots were NOT in great numbers and  I simply replaced the shots with different shots, that way (as I originally planned on my storyboard) the times assigned to the shots would still be in line, and it would make assembling the clips in order and attaching the song to them much easier. I was only not able to replace 4 shots, simply because of spacial requirements of the shots (where if I replaced the shots using the environment it would look too similar to the shots before/after it, and would not look good) and in one instance, because of the way I am animating the clips, could not actually be done. To compensate the timing for these shots I will extend some of my other shots. Besides this everything went perfect.

I was expecting to encounter troubles such as lighting and other common problems e.g. the actors within the music video showing up to the shooting late causing extra filming on further days, but everything went fluently. My lighting (upon first instance and after further reviewing) was how I wanted it and everyone involved in the music video took it very seriously (adhering to time restraints). All the equipment was within an area where it could stay on charge whilst filming, so battery power was no problem whereas it would have been if I had been shooting mainly outside, away from sources of power.

So overall,  I'm glad to say the filming went very smoothly :)

I will soon be assembling the shots onto a time-line in the correct order using 'Final Cut Pro X' and will upload an image of the completed time-line on a post ASAP :)

That wraps it up for now guys, I'll see you all next time :)

Production - Filming (The Beginning)

Hey everyone!

Across the Christmas break my filming began. Below you will see an uncut clip (the first of my filming), I hope you all enjoy.

(The clip below is the one of the shots depicted in my storyboards using the fireplace for lighting)

The reason behind this being the first part of the music video I shot is that filming could only begin on in the evening of the first day of shooting - therefore I chose to shoot evening scenes. The daytime scenes were shot on the day after the day the evening scenes were shot.

Be sure to look for more posts as I complete more production :)

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the first production post :) see you all soon!

Pre-Production - Permission Request Second Attempt

It has now been two weeks since I have sent off my permission request regarding the use of the song; "Dream Catch Me" by Newton Faulkner, for my music video.

I am now going to send off a second email in a further attempt to contact Sony Music Entertainment for permission to use my intended song.

The email I have written can be seen below:

The email is exactly the same as the previous one, as it has all the crucial information on it, the only difference is that I have said in the email how this is the second one I have sent. I would also like to mention that I have now sent this email and will update my blog if and when I obtain a reply regarding my request.

That's all for now everyone, until next time :)