Cranky Merchandise

Today I started thinking about what merchandise would suit my film if it were being promoted. T-shirts were my first thought, and I had a go at introducing Cranky into a design. I started considering other ideas, such as badges, stationery, posters and postcards. I posed the question on my Facebook page, and received a fantastic response of suggestions including mugs, bags, duvet covers, soft toys, playing cards and cushions. I hope to spend the final 4 weeks of my course designing products and merchandise, and a collection of fabrics inspired by the film. Thermochromic dyes (dyes which react to heat and change colour) could be an effective method of storytelling within these fabrics, relating elements of the narrative depicted in the project.

After Effects, Episode 3

This film was again created using the basics I have been learning in Adobe After Effects. This time, I experimented in using the text tools, parent layers and altering anchor points.

I decided to animate the poster-like image I drew in the second semester, so I could select simple elements to manipulate. I used Photoshop to extract the waves, clouds, ship, monster head and monster jaw from the design, and saved each of these as single files with transparent backgrounds. I also erased the text from the design so that I could animate it instead. I saved the design with all of these empty spaces, ready for the elements to be re-inserted, and selected a textured background to use from a photograph I took of a weatherworn boat.

I used the original design, with the empty gaps, as a 'parent layer.' This enabled me to attach the other elements to it, meaning they would animate in the same manner. As the parent layer travels up, so do the other layers attached to it. This also means that the 'child' layers can be animated independently, for example - the clouds travel up with the design, but can also travel left on their own path. Finally, I added the ship, and altered its anchor point to attach it to the crest of a wave. I could then rotate the ship, giving it a bobbing motion on the waves.

Although these are still very basic animation techniques, I am beginning to better understand the concepts and can start adapting and developing them towards the final sequence I intend to create.

Captain Mo in 3D

I have finally completed all of the online Adobe After Effects tutorials and my brain is full of knowledge. Below is the original movie posted last week, but this time I added additional camera angles and transformed my layers into 3D. Still a bit jerky and awkward... but I'm gradually finding my way around using the programme. Captain Mo's epic adventures are slowly taking shape...

Steampunking in York

This weekend I visited the National Railway Museum in York. It was a spectacular source for inspiration, and the Warehouse's collection of archive treasures was fascinating. I took dozens of photos of weatherworn textures, mechanical workings and recovered artifacts from a bygone era.

I loved the colour palettes- gleaming coppers, beaten metals, worn leathers, faded patterned textile interiors, dynamic paintwork and the dull rusting bolts holding it all together. Not only was this an incredible find for Steampunk references, but it also had a nostalgic resonance which drew the visitor deeper into the narrative behind the exhibits.

Captain Mo Meets Adobe (And they get along nicely)

This week, my challenge was to begin learning Adobe After Effects. I have no experience in this software and so I've started at the very beginning. These online tutorials are amazing:

http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=69

I have slowly started working my way through the tutorials and attempted some of my own experiments. I hope to complete this training over the next week or so, and will update my blog with my progress. To begin- my very first After Effects sequence. Captain Mo has set sail.... and the final project begins!!

Laser Cutting with Mo, Episode 2

The latest subjects for a laser cut makeover are some photographs I took in the first semester of the project. I decided to experiment in creating silhouettes from textures, in the hope that they could create effective shadows or set pieces for the final film. I selected some weatherworn brickwork and a gently rolling sea to use as test pieces. By altering the brightness and contrast of the images in Photoshop, I was able to extract enough of the texture to create a design which would be suitable for laser cutting. Shown below is the original photograph, and the final laser cut piece. The detail is incredible, and with some effective manipulation of the lighting I think they can become a valuable element of the final film.

Laser Cutting with Mo

At last - my mechanical sea beast, or 'Cranky' as I like to call him, is taking form. Here are some photos of the laser cutter in action, and the final results. The next step is to work out the best method of animating this using stop motion, perhaps by removing some elements so they can be manipulated individually, or else laser-cutting several variations of the design which can be photographed separately and run together.