Post for the Video Upload

I don't plan to post the video on the internet until after the 5th of June, for the purposes that I do not wish for anyone outside of the animation team to see it before it's 'premiered'. So this post will be changed at a later date with the video on it.

Here is the video upload for anyone interested in watching the final film. The link leads to my Sound Designer's YT channel, as I haven't had the time to upload it myself, but here it is, the final masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvGzmrAFrIA

An Original Story?

I recently came across some interesting information about River Spirit folklore. I find that these variably reflect what I have developed, although there are some great differences. The ones that are relevant to my project are the Scandinavian folklores.

Here is the link to the page about them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_(water_spirit)

File Exporting Part 2

So it turns out that exporting via .swf files isn't such a good idea as the coloured layers kept getting shifted. So instead, I exported the Flash files to Quicktime, only I changed the settings slightly so that all the frames were collected. The only one I couldn't do like this is shot 18, that I did have to export as a .swf file because it still left out some of the frames. Other than this, all the frames work well in AE so the rendering should be alright too.

File Exporting

I have found that while Quicktime exports from Flash are high quality, they have a habit of skipping frames, so I found a way to export the shots without skipping frames, and is compatible with After Effects. I shall export them as .swf files, as the vector exports don't lose any of the quality, and they run at the same speed as the original file.

How I Made the Reflection Shot (Shot 29)

Ok, here's a little guide to how I created the reflection shot below. I'm sorry for the terrible quality, I'm not very technical and no one else in this household knows how to export it.

Here's the finished shot:

Step by step:

1. First I outlined the rough movements in skeletal form to get the motion of the character moving. These were smoothed with in between animation and the outline of the character's features (hair, eyes, coat etc) were lined in black. I repeated the face to make it look as smooth as possible. I then proceeded to outline the other frames. I left the scarf until later because the movements were different to that of the movements of the character.

2. Once I did this, I made a rough line animation for the scarf's movements then added the shape onto the already made character animation.

3. I duplicated the layer to create a copy, which would be used to help aid the reflection in Photoshop. I then used the 'Edit Multiple Layers' option and stretched the bar to the whole layer. Then I clicked on the layer (this is important or else not all the frames are edited) and dragged it down so that the lines were 'mirroring' the ones above.

4. I exported the file in Quicktime and imported it into Photoshop. Mutltiplying the layers, I coloured underneath the separate frames. Behind these, I added the background. Using the same technique, I 'mirrored' the coloured frames removed the lines from the multiplied Flash frame layer. I then added a filter to the reflection colours to make it look like ripples.

The reflection of the background was done in the same manner. I then added a group for the effects on top. One of these was the blue hue over the reflection which was multiplied and the opacity lowered.  

5. I then exported the individual frames out of Photoshop as PNG files, and took them back to the original Flash file.

6. I finally added a few moving leaves on top of the reflection to give the impression of the water moving, since I couldn't make the water reflection in After Effects as it wasn't a single still image.

And that is how I made this short but technical shot. :)

Backgrounds

Here are all the backgrounds I used for my shots. They were scaled up to fit the framing if it was necessary. I used a blur technique to give the impression of camera focus in close up shots. These were all done in Photoshop then added to the Flash animations.

Some of the BG's are at different angles or have different blur effects or lighting.

Background Example

Here's an example of the background standard to expect for my film. I'm not a background artist, and I have had to do the backgrounds myself. These are done in Photoshop using layers, with colours from the colour palette post. The landscape has been changed so that the surrounding areas don't all look alike, and so that the audience can identify which way the layout is facing in each shot.

The colouring will be either be altered when it is taken into After Effects or while it's in PS. (Watch this space).

After Effects Water Ripple Tutorial Video

I have found a brilliant way of creating rippling water in After Effects for my film

I think this will be a better way of making the river, particularly when the camera is up close to it, and it will give me a chance to use After Effects for my film.

Other than this, far away river shots will only have a basic reflection as the focus will be blurred.

Tom and Lora Tomb Raider

Here is an update on the short animation I have done for Tom and Lora's film.

Here is an updated image of the character's body drawn in. The net animation is still in place at this point:

An updated version of the net animation:

Updated screenshot:

Final Animation:

The Photograph

Here is the finished photograph I want to use in the film. I altered the other man's appearance slightly, but it is still a contrast to AJ.

More References

Here are a few more videos and photos to aid me in my animating where certain poses and movements cause some difficulty.

River:

AJ character actions: