Story

A. The theme of my piece is to show the molecular level of ideas spread through our mind as a virus infecting our eye. It starts out with a landscape of a cell zooming out to see it is a nerve cell being attacked by viral organisms. The organisms stab through the outer wall killing smaller cells within the structure. Pieces of structure pour out of the end of the virus into the cell and assemble into smaller sharper edged beings. They attack other cells making them create more of themselves as the original cell explodes. zooming out we see the mitochondria powering the cell except the invaders have attached themselves to it and are using it to power an electrical barrier. we keep zooming out to see the rest of the cell completely taken by the organisms only to zoom out further and further seeing the tattered landscape forming into an pupil than an iris.

B. Characters - Virus 1- Giant virus initially invading (acts as mother ships)
Virus 2- smaller parts that move about the interior of the cell.
Civilian Cells (Cells that act sort of human like with a few interacting and talking or caressing)

Outline:

1st scene. Pretty simple just starts showing medium angle then distant shot of overall attack

Second scene back to medium angle as they get gouged and matter is poured into the cavity.

3rd is where matter assembles and attacks another cell.

4th is the mitochondria being made into a foreign power center.

5th scene is the outward zoom away from the cell to show the eye in the end.

Storyboarrrd:

Proj5 Revise and Proposal

A. I took the advice of using the shape of the house more in the piece and added it over the popcorn shaker instead of the brain. I added another Mask of red liquid flowing over the whole piece to show a negative feeling of doom. The original doctor shooting a laser with the cat face was moved earlier to not be in the way of the popcorn movement. i also added an unmasking of the word "eat" as if it was drawn on the screen quickly. I thought the word on itself would play a double meaning to obviously eat the popcorn but also a greater purpose of being forced to consume what you are seeing.

B. Proposal - Since i've been dealing with consumerism and advertising I feel like i will take the first project i did with the mosquito and continue on with that image to further delve into our minds on a visual scale. The mosquito gouging the eye is step one. After infiltration the advertising is injected into our eye and overtakes the organic matter that is there. I wanted to take inspiration from the way a virus invades a cell to show an organic landscape with mechanical beings "rewriting" the cells to create more bioengineered cells that will spread the goal of the advertisement. From there the battle pushes forward to the mind as Machines of war go on a full assault of the senses. Blimps fly and rockets are fired at onto a small city where the people fall one by one as the destruction only causes them to rise again, only under the control of another entity. Mindless zombies attacking the rest of the city until not one self motivated individual remains.

McManson's from wreckandsalvage on Vimeo.

Aesthetic Inspiration

Kadavre Exquis-Vassili from Kadavre Exquis on Vimeo.

Hermanos Inglesos feat. MeMe - Wanderland from Kristof Luyckx on Vimeo.

Animation Tag Attack Episode 8 from Scott Benson on Vimeo.

REsearch

thanks to a stroll through the library i came across a few books that i otherwise would not have found dealing with primitive culture and the ways in which it is formed along with the civilization that that created it. I now have more solid information to back up previously held ideas on the use of advertising to use culture as a way in which to control consumers. We use culture as a way to define ourselves as a society, by creating this culture using products from a certain company then it becomes stitched into the fabric of our minds. To help illustrate this I also checked out a book on the structure of the retina to use many of the organic forms as a battleground of information from various media sources.

Below is a list of hard copy books that i have checked out and am resourcing for information:

The structure of the Retina, Ramon Y Cajal
Man Culture and Society, Shapiro
Robots are Among us, Strehl
Evolution and Culture, Sahlins and Service
The Science Century, Magnus Pyke
The Essential Foucalt, Paul Rabinow
Magic Science and Religion, Malinowski
Objects of Desire, Adrian Forty

My play with masking was somewhat amateurish i know but i liked messing with old advertising and imagery that will grab attention. I have in my head an image of mechanisms across an organic landscape trapping or ensnaring various organic forms symbolizing the entrapment of our own gaze.

opp and alike

alike:
dust, ash, cinders, powder, snow, sift, spray, float, fire, flame, granules, grit, soot, soil, dust bunny, lint, sand, fiber, thread, hair, grass, beard, bristle, light, soft, scratchy, strand, lock, mane, unappreciated, unnoticed, small, looked over, forgotten, ignored, drift, reject, deaf ear, helpless, null, void

opposite:
dense, sparse, lush, barren, fertile, sterile, productive, negative, positive, unsure, secure, unstable, steady, broken, mend, destroy, restore, hurt, healthy, fragile, tough, vulnerable, protected, attack, surrender, clash, agree, discord, harmony, threatening, laid-back, hostile, peaceful, barbaric, calm, primitive, modern, ancient, young, mature, immature, wise, foolish

PArenting Project

Just got done with my parenting project. I didn't have any trouble with the parenting itself. I did however find it difficult to use the puppet tool effectively with it. I got it to looks somewhat dynamic, however it would seem that walk cycles are a bit easier in toon boom. I used a null object and a wiggle to create a shaky camera feel to the entire piece as well as a loopOut expression on the fire behind the building and the slide cycle of the character. i had fun tho this idea could go into a Racist animation for my bfa. Many people are creating a bad image of islamic people and not looking into them as individuals. Which is what my little 15 sec piece deals with. Obviously misguided stereotyping to the point where i'm being sarcastic.

http://www.motionserved.com/Gallery/Cross-The-Line/307483

http://www.motionserved.com/Gallery/Star-of-Bethlehem/314008

http://www.motionserved.com/Gallery/The-Experiment/80939

http://www.motionserved.com/Gallery/Blue-Coldesack/171398

Proj2

Put two short comps together each with at least 7 layers. the first had more layers in the background and scene and on the second i redrew the main fly to consist of independent parts that i parented to one another to have him move and stick the guy in the eye. Each had a noise layer to possibly tie in an older aesthetic i want later in this semester that would also incorporate the compositing. Just need a light box and i'll start collecting materials.

I had a better idea of course once i got done that i should've composited the fly extremely large in the beginning and kept him on his own comp. Then i could have an independently moving character that could be looped to actually be flying instead of gliding. Not only this but he'd be extremely hi res after reducing his size. Both positives. Yayy knowledge!

Relax and let it out

I've been mulling over idea after idea for this project. i know that i want to incorporate live video once i'm done after i'm done with the video an incorporate it into my BFA for I was already dealing with consumer culture and the idea of fantasy to unveil a greater truth. It's in the power of fiction to tell a story that although it isn't "real". The symbols and the meaning within the piece instill a feeling within the viewer that relates on a deeper level of understanding. This is the same thing as serious play to me. the creativity of making light of serious issues by showing it through a magical reality can inspire from within because of it is easier to trust. It isn't pushed in our faces and at the same time, removes us from social stigma. This being said I have finally come to a fairly solid basis for my animation. It will gradually, piece by piece, work to a complete story.





This "complete story" is what i shall pitch with a teaser. And for the first assignment i will animate the intro sequence. Or at least put a full effort into it. I included a video of the credits for Sherlock Holmes for the usage of compositing real footage of ink splattering as a mask to drawn images and text. This antiqued style and mystical quality is an aesthetic i wish to push as well. The Image at the end is not my own yet this same ink compositing can be layered and directed to create a moving haze for the animation. There are many techniques i wish to experiment with and that is what i wish to accomplish with the projects in this class.




Main character reveals:

The time is now, for that is always the truth of the matter. Time is and will always be the present to you. Perhaps you wish to understand in your own terms from when my message comes. All I can to tell you is that it is nearly 5 Baktun since the last rebirth. The prophet Joseph opened the eyes of many long ago and by now that same message of awakening has been twisted for the gains of those who would seek to control us. PRESENTLY we are taught about the past, of how organized crime died, and the world was saved from evil nations attempting to control us. The truth is that evil is never fully destroyed. As evil needs us to manipulate for power we need it for the strength found in the struggle to survive. This is the cycle, the cosmic hamster wheel that powers our existence. Each time evil evolves into smarter practices: now organizing under the guise of corporations and shrouding itself with protection from the state. Forces of manipulation feed off innocent victims while they blindly go about their lives pretending not to notice. There is a whole world hidden from view only because the mass majority is too afraid to look up for once and see the highly evolved organism sucking them dry, replacing the energy taken with false information designed to keep its victim complacent. The problem is that certain forces have been in power too long, and the next cycle is coming. All the world is waiting on a spark. This is my purpose.