Wednesday
Mine and Adam's Film
I Finished animating the countdown which took me a long time,I did it in photoshop,i did 33 frames for each number which I had to do individually.The process was very repetative,Im not sure the finished article looks as good as I wanted it to and some of the numbers jump about which would be o.k if it was intentional and the rest of the frame jumped about.
I guess I did these animations to have videos and films and moving images to go with other members of our collaboration who work in that way.Upon reflection I could view this as a compromise of making the most of the skills and approach I already have with trying out new things as I havent previously done any films or animations and I wanted to see if it appealed to me as a way of working.
Here is a short film I made featuring the finished countdown and some of adam's animated posters.
I guess I did these animations to have videos and films and moving images to go with other members of our collaboration who work in that way.Upon reflection I could view this as a compromise of making the most of the skills and approach I already have with trying out new things as I havent previously done any films or animations and I wanted to see if it appealed to me as a way of working.
Here is a short film I made featuring the finished countdown and some of adam's animated posters.
Studio A.K.A Review
Forgot to post earlier:/
Studio Aka is a multi bafta winning animation company based in Berswick Street London, known internationally for their idiosyncratic and innovative work. I recently had the opportunity to meet with one of the studio’s producer’s and visit the studio whilst on a research trip into London and we had the opportunity to view the studio’s showreel and ask a few questions.
The talk started with a brief introduction to the studio and its successes within the commercial world and the organisational structure within the company itself.He explained how it was the directors who were usually responsible for the overall design of the work,while the producers usually were the ones who liased with the agencies for the companies the work was being produced for.The talk was given by the producer Ren Pesci who himself worked on animations for playhouse Disney.The advert for playhouse Disney,a huge name in the film and entertainment industry, reflects the innovative approach to animation the company is internationally recognised for,and is made almost entirely in a low tech manner quite different from the cgi generated rendered animations for adverts such as the popular Lloyds TSB commercials or the recent BBC winter Olympics commercials.
These commercials are mainly the work of the director Mark Craste who has designed and created many award winning shorts at studio aka,including memorable work for Guiness,the big win and orange.Mark also directed three short films that went on to be the inspiration for his twelve minute short film JoJo in the stars which won a bafta in 2004 for best animation short.His most recent work is a 30 minute short film called Varmints based on the book by childrens author Helen Ward and illustrated by Mark.It features the same megalithic,powerful characters seen characteristic and indiosyncratic of the style of work he has become known for, personally I thought the black and white high contrast style combined with heavily stylised ,exaggerated characters as seen in the guiness and winter Olympics adverts were engaging and dynamic,while at the same time gracefully simple in their idea and execution,yet also moving and serene in JoJo in the Stars,this is juxtaposed with mutated,dark and menacing connotations.
The success of studio Aka is set to continue,with a number of big productions underway and the continuing success of their ongoing campaigns,with the release of Lost and Found based on the award winning childrens book by Oliver Jeffers winning the bafta for best childrens animation,a great credit to the studio and the director Phillip Hunt.
Studio Aka is a multi bafta winning animation company based in Berswick Street London, known internationally for their idiosyncratic and innovative work. I recently had the opportunity to meet with one of the studio’s producer’s and visit the studio whilst on a research trip into London and we had the opportunity to view the studio’s showreel and ask a few questions.
The talk started with a brief introduction to the studio and its successes within the commercial world and the organisational structure within the company itself.He explained how it was the directors who were usually responsible for the overall design of the work,while the producers usually were the ones who liased with the agencies for the companies the work was being produced for.The talk was given by the producer Ren Pesci who himself worked on animations for playhouse Disney.The advert for playhouse Disney,a huge name in the film and entertainment industry, reflects the innovative approach to animation the company is internationally recognised for,and is made almost entirely in a low tech manner quite different from the cgi generated rendered animations for adverts such as the popular Lloyds TSB commercials or the recent BBC winter Olympics commercials.
These commercials are mainly the work of the director Mark Craste who has designed and created many award winning shorts at studio aka,including memorable work for Guiness,the big win and orange.Mark also directed three short films that went on to be the inspiration for his twelve minute short film JoJo in the stars which won a bafta in 2004 for best animation short.His most recent work is a 30 minute short film called Varmints based on the book by childrens author Helen Ward and illustrated by Mark.It features the same megalithic,powerful characters seen characteristic and indiosyncratic of the style of work he has become known for, personally I thought the black and white high contrast style combined with heavily stylised ,exaggerated characters as seen in the guiness and winter Olympics adverts were engaging and dynamic,while at the same time gracefully simple in their idea and execution,yet also moving and serene in JoJo in the Stars,this is juxtaposed with mutated,dark and menacing connotations.
The success of studio Aka is set to continue,with a number of big productions underway and the continuing success of their ongoing campaigns,with the release of Lost and Found based on the award winning childrens book by Oliver Jeffers winning the bafta for best childrens animation,a great credit to the studio and the director Phillip Hunt.
Drawn Letters
I got the idea for doing a countdown in a few different styles so I could make the most of my drawing and experimental processes to go towards a film for the group so we could put it at the start of films and animations we make together.
I started drawing them in pencil referencing the hand drawn typography I have found mainly in books,in paticular old ornamental typefaces, and I have applied the same typographic treatments to a range of numbers to become an animated countdown sequence
From Swindle Magazine " Mike Giant’s career is the result of genuine curiosity and decades of drawing for five hours a day. He’s been—and remains—a world-class graffiti writer, tattooist and illustrator with his REBEL8 line. He’s made zines, skateboard designs, animations, prints, collages and stacks of interesting artist and company collaborations. He travels all over the world, rides his bikes, practices mindfulness and is a fully tattooed goofball that one can bring to dinner parties." Link to full interview: http://swindlemagazine.com/issue19/mike-giant/
Mike Giants Blog:
http://www.rebel8.com/blog/author/mike-giant
My wad of Letrasets,many years of scratchy fun to be had with .Aquired from an abandoned (presumably) design place of some kind judging by the remaining detritus.Amongst said detritus were boxes of these gems.I went for quantity,my freind was more discerning and found some really nice old english,ornate capital sets,and many more such as some casual handletterd style ones.
My large drawing which was influenced in some way by pictograms and heiro glyphs along with a stone head statue from easter island,Some plaster casts of mayan pictoglyphs and a mayan stelae and an ancient egyptian papyrus at the british museum in London,some of the many great artifacts I saw that day,and unfortunately we didnt get enough time to go back.I remember enjoying reading about ancient cultures since a fairly young age and it has been an interesting subject to learn about.
I started drawing them in pencil referencing the hand drawn typography I have found mainly in books,in paticular old ornamental typefaces, and I have applied the same typographic treatments to a range of numbers to become an animated countdown sequence
.
Reference film
I made this fim as a way of getting used to windows movie maker as I have not used it very much before and also to show the artists and work I had been looking at when I was producing the thaumotropes, as well as some of the work I have produced as part of the collaborative project.It also contains a small amount of old work such as the short dust to dust skull animation and the snowboarder which I didnt get round to animating till now,which I put in mainly to fill out the film as the outro music went on for ages but I didnt want to crop the music too much as the film would of been short and I enjoy the sense of build up the music produces.I have since added the intro countdown timer which I think goes quite well with the rest of it.
Movie Countdown Test
As part of the work I have been producing for our groups collaborative project I have been making an animated countdown sequence so I can produce a range of work that allows me to develop my drawing skills and also experiment with various forms and processes for producing animation and film making/moving image and also so that it forms a part of a piece of work that can be used by our collective in a direct collaborarative way. I have experimented with various different ways of making the countdown.My first attempt was to put letrasets onto super-8 film reel and it did work to some degree Ill post the results later.My second was a stop-frame using photoshop which took an inordinate length of time to complete just one number.I have recently tried using a projector and acetate and it has been quite a sucessful test,my collaborative team member Izzy helped in the making of it.The numbers are hand drawn as is the frame and rest of it so I am in the process of experimenting with a number of different typographic treatments and ways of pushing the work further.
Sunday
zoetropes
Been thinking about doing a zoetrope for some time,and Eve has pointed me to these well executed examples
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYUxaV-wdkc&feature=player_embedded
more at http://www.jimlefevre.com/?page_id=200
http://www.retchy.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYUxaV-wdkc&feature=player_embedded
more at http://www.jimlefevre.com/?page_id=200
http://www.retchy.com/
Saturday
Thaumotropes
Part of the work I have been doing as part of the collaboration project at college. I have been influenced mainly by Mike Giant in the style of these designs and given them an automated twist by turning them into motorised thaumotropes. Collaborative theme was moving image,so thaumoptropes are a type of moving image and the people I have used are dead movie stars. 
Betty Grable 
Marilyn Monroe 
Brittany Murphy 
Audrey Hepburn
Betty Grable 
Marilyn Monroe 
Brittany Murphy 
Audrey Hepburn
Mike Giant
From Swindle Magazine " Mike Giant’s career is the result of genuine curiosity and decades of drawing for five hours a day. He’s been—and remains—a world-class graffiti writer, tattooist and illustrator with his REBEL8 line. He’s made zines, skateboard designs, animations, prints, collages and stacks of interesting artist and company collaborations. He travels all over the world, rides his bikes, practices mindfulness and is a fully tattooed goofball that one can bring to dinner parties." Link to full interview: http://swindlemagazine.com/issue19/mike-giant/ Mike Giants Blog:
http://www.rebel8.com/blog/author/mike-giant
Wednesday
My wad of Letrasets,many years of scratchy fun to be had with .Aquired from an abandoned (presumably) design place of some kind judging by the remaining detritus.Amongst said detritus were boxes of these gems.I went for quantity,my freind was more discerning and found some really nice old english,ornate capital sets,and many more such as some casual handletterd style ones.
My large drawing which was influenced in some way by pictograms and heiro glyphs along with a stone head statue from easter island,Some plaster casts of mayan pictoglyphs and a mayan stelae and an ancient egyptian papyrus at the british museum in London,some of the many great artifacts I saw that day,and unfortunately we didnt get enough time to go back.I remember enjoying reading about ancient cultures since a fairly young age and it has been an interesting subject to learn about.
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