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Friday, 30 September 2016

Narrative Project - Story idea

Just thought I'd pop this on here for posterity.

The conflict is "Man vs. Time"

The end sentence is "Nevertheless, they soon came to understand each other".

And the genre is "Spy".


We can hear the lapping of waves, a few random bits of birdsong, A stray dog/cat/squirrel is walking along a riverbank, it notices a young boy walking alone, holding a few items including a sandwich or some sort of food. Being a stray animal it immediately becomes interested and stalks the boy along on his walk (Spy element) the boy gets ahead of the animal and disappears until we hear some sobbing.

The animal presses on further to investigate and it is the boy, sitting down next to the water, holding a tennis ball and a dog collar, the boy is clearly upset, but the animal is still just interested in the food laying next to the boy. The animal sneaks up to the food and tries to get it but the boy notices and shoos him away, before throwing himself further to the floor crying some more. The animal nudges the boy with its nose, the boy moves and we can see his face, upset, in the grips of the grief of losing his dog (Time is personified as grief, and Man is the boy fretting over it). The animal and the boy share a moment as our end sentence either comes up on screen or is narrated.

“Nevertheless, they soon came to understand each other”

The boy and the animal sit and watch over the water, sharing the moment, a moment of stillness, where both of them are content in each others company.

We can hear the lapping of waves, and a few random bits of birdsong.

Fin.

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

2D Character Rigging - Progress.

I'm making progress through the 2D Character Rigging tutorial, the left side is fully complete and ready to be rigged once all of the other sides are complete. 




Monday, 26 September 2016

Kill Bill - Postmodernism research

On Phil's recommendation, I've looked into the Postmodernist aspects of Kill Bill.

If there's one thing I can say about the movie, as with all of Tarantino's attempts - and in particular his later ones post Kill Bill - it's that, this is a patchwork pastiche. Taking elements from things he enjoys, or is inspired by, and re-appropriating them, as seems to be the way in contemporary art. What's unusual for him, and indeed, what opened the floodgates for other creators, is his use of ephemera and influences not usually aligned with Cinema.

I've found an interesting presentation on the subject-



As well as some relevant quotes and blog posts.

"Taratino makes non-linear films, sometimes, which break away from "traditional" narratives to some extent. He also references other films and other media in his film-making, using chapter titles (Inglorious) and numerous cartoon and comic references (Kill Bill) both in dialogue and visually." Source

http://hitchikercinema.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/kill-bill.html

https://somefilmsandstuff.com/2014/01/28/kill-bill-volume-1/

http://leahmoriyama.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/final-paper-kill-bill-post-modern.html

And even a book with a few chapters dedicated to the subject. 




It definitely makes for interesting reading, if only to showcase how varied Tarantino's tastes are, and how effective he is at weaving them all together to form a cohesive 'whole' that is readily identifiable to the audience. Coupling this with Postmodernism makes absolute sense, as what Tarantino is effectively doing is fusing different cultures/arts together, reusing them, and making something new and paradoxically old at the same time.

Personally, I think he's gone off the rails a little bit as of late, but Kill Bill Vol.1 was my first exposure to his work, and remains my favorite of them.

Maya - Character Posing 02

I've been tinkering away with more character poses, ready for the next Maya class with Alan. I've tried to steer away from generic poses, and instead sought out ones that, although - hopefully - readily identifiable, are also distinct.

I particularly love the Flamenco dancer and the creeping pose, which, yes, is straight from Scooby Doo. 







I'm going to work on a few more, purely because it's been fun doing them.

Until next time. Ciao.

Thursday, 22 September 2016

Maya - Character Posing

I'm loathe to repeat the dreaded "Superhero Landing" but...I did. I really enjoyed posing this model, especially playing with the facial rig, which - I think I've evidenced - brings a bit more life to this pose. 


Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Narrative - Conflict, End Sentence & My roles at Sugar Cube.


Fresh off of yesterday's briefing - in which we selected our criteria for the project (see below) - our group (Sugar Cube. Studios) dished out roles/group responsibilities to one another. I think we handled the division of roles in a level headed manner, and smoothly; ultimately it was absolutely pleasing to watch this team come together and fill roles. Each of us had our immediate 'go to's' (mine was Screenwriting - which I was extremely happy to get).

I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into the meat of this project. 




The encompassing blog post from Sugar Cube. Studios can be found here