last of all - the first bit. The title.

And finally! Morph lifts the dumbells. Behind him is the allotment in full colour to represent his realised labour and dreams. You don't have to go to the gym to get fit...

By this time poor old Morph was coming to bits and I unashamedly used his background pic to prop him up. His dumbells had broken too, but I managed to stick them together for long enough to complete the sequence which is a bit shaky - but then so was he!

This is the bit where Morph daydreams. I did 3 simple drawings in photoshop, using the layers so that I could see where to draw for each movement, and looped them to get this simple repeat.

I'm not quite sure what happened here - Morph is supposed to close his eyes and drift off to daydreams, well, he does in the original

Next sequence, ...

Not quite in the right order yet but Morph has done daydreaming and is off to get his dumbells for his last sequence

The next sequence was done in photoshop cs4.

I made a background picture of sky, and background earth, then over that on a fresh layer I drew a foreground pile of earth.
Sandwiched between these are numerous layers with seed, shoot and flowers and roots at various stages, all of which were saved as 11 stills.
These were saved as jpegs and imported into premiere 5.
I then applied video effects to cross fade each into the next and set it to sequence, as an avi file again (h264 which I used for the mask line drawings was not powerful enough here)



I hoped that the roots would look as though they had flattened the earth. I think I was a little too vigorous with my eraser on that particular frame but it doesn't seem too bad and time is short. If I have time I will return to the appropriate still and correct it. I had wanted it to look as though the violet had started an avalanche (after a Tennessee Williams quote, "the violets in the mountains can move rocks" but the scale was difficult. So...

Another try at Morph. This time I could load the version I wanted to. It has a slower pace and shows facial expressions more, and when he falls over he stays down so that you can see it a bit more - more of a sense of giving up.

first try morph.

Morph is made from plasticine. It isn't very durable (it cracks easily if you bend it too far) and he kept falling over on to the dumbells breaking his nose, but it was fine for a short piece like this.
I had several different pairs of eyes ready to use for different expressions, so I didn't have to stop working for long when I needed them.
The dumbells are made from polymer clay, something I learned how to do from Alex's microteach.
Lighting is just available light, but the clouds seemed to pass over him when he was trying his hardest to no avail, which fits quite well with the feeling of it, so I left it as it was.
Behind and underneath are two college sketchbooks which give a nice plain background, he could be anywhere (but not anywhere particularly inspiring).

more ideas

I made some experimental background animations with the intention of using them as background trials. They didn't really work as there weren't enough of them and they weren't taken from exactly the same place, but they did give me ideas for doing stop motion background, or maybe use a model for the plant using this method.





So for next time I will try making a model/plant about 15 cm high? and pull it out of the ground about 50mm at a time, which 30 movements should make about 3 seconds. I would also like to try a similar thing with tissue paper on a lightbox if I get time and choose between the two.

trying a stop-motion idea

I tried some small backgrounds using photos of bulbs emerging in springtime. They didn't really work because they are not taken from exactly the same point and there were not enouigh of them but it gave me the idea for a stop motion attempt.

I am considering making an animation using the basic idea of a seed/blob growing into a character/person. Use mandrake shapes? seasonal? phases? As seed grows, it harbours all sorts of other creatures too, where place was bleak and barren before.

Research for plant animation ideas.

This one looks very simple to do. I like the use of a seed moving against a drawn background which looks simple to set up. I may use a model for the seed/person against an illuminated glass-based background.

The Seed from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

this one has a sense of humour :)
by miniman809 on youtube






With this one I can imagine using tissue paper and/or watercolour/ink for background on glass box. Or maybe for a model.
'skagology' on youtube.

zero to hero final version

This is the final version for that item. I went the 'cheesy' route using the effects control tab in Adobe Premiere 1.5 as follows -

fast blur into establishing shot (001)

cross dissolve > frame 002

flip over > frame 003

mosaic out/in >frame 004

cube rotate > frame 005

solarize in, turn up to 100% & dip to black (for disco effect to thought/inside head) > frame 006

PiP 25% and scale up to full and zoom in > frame 007 to go 'inside' head

zoom in (out) > frame 008

random invert (enhance bullets breaking up effect) >frame 009

straight to frame 010

peel (set direction like new page in book to indicate 'clean sheet' out of jail > frame 011

cross dissolve to end shot > dip to black.

then don't forget to render it (sequence - render work area) so it compresses and saves.

milo mask

Today I tried making a short headshake using cross fade with photos.

zero to hero 1st try on premiere pro

1st try animatic zero to hero

storyboard

For my first storyboard I chose "The Mask" and called it "From Zero to Hero".
I prepared 12 drawings with the help of IMDB for remembering quotes to use. This helped with simplifying the plot as well


Unhappy clerk on edge of big city bridge with mask in foreground (establishing shot) - no job, no girlfriend, no hope.

cut to river bank - he doesn't jump, instead he's picked up the mask. He walks away (tracking shot) - dissolve scenery to inside, home.At home, tries on the mask. Feels superhuman (tornado effect). 'Sssssssmokin!' Dog watches closely, amazed.

Cut to park. Birds sing. Woos girl. 'Our love is like a red red rose And I am very thorny'

Cut to disco. Accent light on each as they dance, he sweeps her off her feet? Music 'In the mood'.

Close-up - realisation - I can be a superhero! (and impress the lady!) Thought bubble becomes frame for next scene.

Defeats bank robbers. Bullet whistles past? Gunsmoke wavers.

Zoom in to close-up on head which turns.' Did ya miss me? No, I guess not' - blood drips/sprays from bullet holes

Cut to mid-shot of policeman on his trail - 'There can't be two idiots with pyjamas like these' (his frown gets deeper)

Cut to close-up locked in jail - mock tears - 'Tell Scarlett I do give a damn' - 'Tell Tiny Tim I won't be home this Christmas'

Cut to distance park shot, girl got him out. Hearts throb - she still loves him

Tracking shot as they return to bridge and zoom/dissolve out to establishing shot, but with DOG WITH mask in foreground - he says to her 'Are you sure you won't miss this that thing?'













The end.

In the beginning 22/02/10

Make a storyboard for 30 seconds with 9 to 18 sketches. I love this style.





Plot -