During the week, I had some difficulty converting blocking to spline. For example, I didn’t get the Settings right and the whole animation looked very strange after the conversion.
Settings for blocking:
Settings for spline:
In addition, I had another problem, when I wanted to pace the animation, I selected all the controllers and they were all keyframed, but when I moved the animation was broken. I don’t know why it happened, but the whole body looked twitching and it seemed like some keyframes got mixed up as they moved.
This week is more about reflection and polishing, because my homework needs to be redone. But for the sake of documenting the process, I’ll put it down below
Side view:
As you can see in the video below, the whole movement is stiff and looks like a robot just learning to walk, and this week I still don’t know how to deal with the wobbling of my knees. That’s why the knees are shaking up and down.
Front view:
When I reflected on it, I realized that it was a strange walk, because the knees were turned inward, and ordinary people don’t walk so strangely.
My reference is from the learning materials in this week’s powerpoint. This picture clearly shows the decomposition of walking posture.
What needs attention is the key frame of each foot’s contact with the ground and departure, as well as the position of the legs and the distortion of the knees. And pay attention to the movements of the ball of the foot and the heel at different times.
In addition, the movement of the center of gravity of cog is also very important. Similar to the principle of the movement of a small ball, the motion tail of cog should be undulating from the side, and the shape of an infinity sign from the front.
Blocking of walk cycle:
Side view
Front view
Feedback from teacher:
For side view: Be careful not to step under the ground when the foot touches the ground, and the knee needs to be more bent, for example, when the center of gravity is lowest, the knee should be more bent. Notice how the ball of the foot connects between each pose.
For front view: Notice that the shape of the changing center of gravity is not the shape of a heart, but the shape of infinity.
Task 2: Polishing of Weight Shift and Pose
Feedback from teacher: Make the cog movement curve smooth and adjust the pose when foot contact floor.
POSES in Maya showing Silhouette and line of action
Plan and animate a weight shift
Task 1. POSES in Maya showing Silhouette:
Draft and pose in Maya showing silhouette and line of action:
Feedback of sihouette:
My refelction: The whole dynamic posture needs to consider the expression of the animation, for example, the movements of the hand cannot be blocked by the body, otherwise the silhouette will lose information, so the posture of the hand should be adjusted appropriately. The Angle of view of the entire camera is a bit too lateral, requiring 3/4 of the side to correspond to the Angle of reference. On the left foot, consider standing on your heels for better balance.
So I adjust the pose according to the feedback:
Task 2. Blocking of weight shift:
My plan and draft:
animation plan
For example, when a person takes a step to the side, the weight will remain on the foot in contact with the ground, and until the other foot contacts the ground, the weight will begin to shift. The curve of the whole cog is a radian, not a straight line. For example, in my sketch, the center of gravity will first shift to the bottom left, and then after reaching the lowest point, the center of gravity will slowly rise. translate
1. Takeoff Phase – Anticipation: When the squirrel prepares to jump, its tail slightly swings downward or backward while the body crouches to gather strength, helping generate forward or upward thrust.
2. Aerial Phase: At the highest point of the jump or during the aerial phase, the tail remains extended and slightly tilts upward or downward to maintain balance.
3. Landing Phase: The tail quickly swings downward or backward to stabilize the centre of gravity.
The tail is a secondary motion part of the body. Its movements follow the primary actions of the body (such as jumping, turning, or running) and are expressed through inertia and delayed effects, which can be achieved through offsetting.
The tail’s motion should lag behind the primary actions of the body. When the body makes a quick turn, the tail will initially remain in its original direction and then follow with delayed movement due to inertia. When the character stops moving, the tail will exhibit slight oscillations (overshoot or settling) to reflect inertia.
Therefore, on the animation timeline, the keyframes for the tail should be offset slightly behind the keyframes for the body’s actions.
Moreover, the segmentation of the tail shares similarities with a pendulum. The tail’s root, middle section, and tip have different levels of movement. The root moves slightly earlier, the middle section follows later, and the tip moves last.
Narrative Freedom in Abstraction: breaking through narrative structure in mainstream media
Symbolism and Association: Symbolism conveys abstract ideas through concrete imagery, allowing viewers to interpret the work from multiple perspectives. Association places different images side by side, encouraging viewers to connect or contrast them, which sparks new thoughts. These methods allow creators to express the themes of animation metaphorically while inviting viewers to engage with the content through their personal interpretations, making their insights and feelings part of the experience.
Metropolis special effects
Background Panning Technique: In this film, due to the limited conditions and equipment of the time, the camera could not perform panning movements. Instead, the creators moved the background images in front of the camera to achieve the effect.
Real-Time Projection Method: In the film, when capturing a phone call scene where another person’s real-time reaction appears on the phone screen, two cameras were connected. This setup allowed the image of the person on the other end of the line to be projected in real time onto the center of the phone screen.
Cardboard Model: The scene was built using a cardboard model, with lighting changes captured frame by frame. They photographed 24 images per second to achieve smooth animation.
the scraped area
Mirror trick method: A mirror was placed at a 45-degree angle to the camera, with a portion of its surface scraped away. This scraped section allowed the camera to capture the image of the people behind the mirror, while the remaining reflective portion displayed the miniature model of the background. As a result, the mirror could reflect the stationary background model, while the scraped area revealed the moving figures behind it.
Multi exposure – shoot in the camera on the same reel
Non-Dialogued Films
Charlie Chaplin – Flower Girl Sequence – City Lights
He encounter a flower girl.
The blind flower girl hands him the flowers, but they fall to the ground.
He picks up the flowers.
The blind girl doesn’t realize he has picked up the flowers and begins to crouch down to feel around on the ground.
Since the blind girl can’t find the flowers, she asks, “Did you pick it up, sir?”
He gave the money to the girl.
The blind girl senses his position through touch and pins the flowers to his cloth.
At that moment, someone drives away, and the blind girl hears the sound, mistakenly believing that the protagonist has left.
The blind girl wanted to give changes back to the protagonist.
The blind girl wanted to give changes back to the protagonist.
The protagonist looked at the car that driven away.
In this week, I plan to research more information and academic references about my topic and write a small draft.
Next week I developed topic with Jibaro, and this week I choose my main topic as:
The visual design and symbolic analysis in the short film Jibaro
The reason I choose the topic:
“The visual design and symbolic analysis in the short film Jibaro.”
As a short animation without dialogue, Jibaro has unique and impressive design aesthetics and animation aesthetics. I personally feel that the missing information in the dialogue, such as the culture background of the story, and all the narrative is presented in the visual language, which puts a high demand on the director and animator, who need to use design, camera movemnet and charactor actions to show the plot, rather than relying on narration or dialogue to explain what happened.
Therefore, as a dialogue-free short film, Jibaro’s visual design and metaphor are worthy of further study. My topic would like to study how the director presents the theme and symbolism of the whole story through visual elements.
Netflix’s official interview with Alberto Mielgo, director of Jibaro
I also like another work of the director, that he combines 2d strokes with 3d model, and use film style to shot the animation.
Oscar Winner Animated Short Film 2022 | The Windshield Wiper by Alberto Mielgo
At the beginning of the research, I need to search the historical background of Jibaro, with the historical background, it is easy to distinguish the forces and characters in the position and motivation, and how they use visual language to express these.
Culture background – Latin America was colonized by the Spanish period of great maritime history
Three main forces/characters:
1.The Siren – Naturally, native Latin Americans with wealth and rich resources
There is only one Siren in the story, but various metaphors point to her representing a native Latin American or a mountain spirit.
Outsiders would hear her singing and dance and walk into the middle of the lake to drown
2.Spanish knights, who come to Latin America to conquer and colonize, are shown in the film coveting the Sirens’ jewels and eventually drowning.
There are gold armor and silver armor knights in the film, this indicate that they have a strict hierarchies. Their bodies are decorated with tattoos.
3.The missionaries, they viewed the native peoples as souls to be saved, but in reality, many of these efforts resulted in the suppression of native beliefs and societal structures.
In the short film, they pay the price for their greed and drown in the lake.
As aristocrats, they often lost their teeth due to sugar intake, which showed their indulgence and greed.
In-class notes:
Critical Report Structure
Title: Subtitle
Acknowledgements – Optional
Abstract – is really important
Key Words
Contents Page
Introduction
Literature Review – critical part – how these book comment, categorize these ideas and support my report – a critical and analytical approach
Main Body of Text
Conclusion
Bibliography
Image List
Eassy draft
(I used the outline of essay structure and paragraph tips uploaded by the teacher in ual moodle):
main topic: The visual design and symbolic analysis in the short film Jibaro
1.Introduction, statement on the Issue, topic to be investigated and purpose of report (200 words)
Introduction the main topic: The visual design and symbolic analysis in the short film Jibaro. And the reason chose this theme: has an impressive artistic style and is very metaphorical
2.Critical Review a of literature or gathering of evidence. Critical appraisal of research undertaken and how you used your sources to investigate the topic and achieve objectives or answer the question (250 words)
History of Spanish Colonization
Origin of the Word “Jíbaro
Analysis of Visual and Symbolic Meanings in Jibaro
Official Interview with Director Alberto Mielgo
Different Perspectives on Jibaro’s Visual Design
3.Investigation of options based on evidence. Main discussion and findings with citations. Sub- headings are recommended (800 words)
In-class notes, initial topic and research for 1500 words essay
In-class notes:
Reserch blog: write 1 blog per week, total 12 blogs, demonstrate research process, group works and individual exercises, how the topic and research developed.
Critical report: This is an academic study of one specific topic that demonstrate research, analysis, critical thinking, evaluation, reference and citation skills. It is important to analyze statements and ideas from other people with different perspectives, and critic their thoughts.
Research presentation: shot a video presentation with visual contents. It can be presented in a more visual way. Instead of reading the content of the report directly, I can add pictures and videos to the powerpoint.
Tips in researching topics:
Primary or original resources. Like a poem, a photograph, the records of an insititution, a dress, a interview…
Secondary or interpretative sources. Like papers, articlaes,books,text….
Choose authors in different standpoints and critic their ideas, do not blindly agree with all people’s opinions, as some ideas have limitations of time, environment, gender, and occupation.
Critical Report Structure
Title: Subtitle
Acknowledgements-Optional
Abstract
Key Words
Contents Page
Introduction
Literature Review
Main Body of Text
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendices
Initial research:
Since I really like the short film “Jibaro” in Love, Death and Robot, I wanted to research the information related to this short film, and I used Pureref to summarize and organize my information.
Auteur Theory – a film demonstrate the director’s personal creative version
Auteur theory originated with French critics of Cahiers du Cinema, who believed that the director is the “author” of a film. It focused on how a director’s personal vision shapes the final product. The director plays an important role in film, even in collaborative media like film industry. Their choices in style, theme, and character development give the film its authorship.
Film can be very personal and artistic, not just entertaining.
Alfred Hitchcock – Famous British Film Director
Film can be very personal and artistic, not just entertaining.
The Iconic Shower Scene | Psycho (1960) – by Alfred Hitchcock:
Serious, suspenseful, tense, coherent shots.
Then another close-up of the shower shot, the water and showerhead connect the whole shot. Later, the camera turned to the ground, the lady was bleeding into the drain, the camera gradually zooms down the water mouth. Finally, it switches to her eye, which is long shot connected by circular elements.
A strong visual style is created from the showerhead to the water to the eyes. These elements smoothly transition from calm – shower to violence – assault. The water flows down the drain, followed by a close-up of the eyes. The camera pulls in close to her lifeless eyes, shows that her life like the water, has run out. The showerhead is a metaphor for her vulnerable situation. She is enclosed in the shower and the circular elements around her trap her in this vulnerable state. Hitchcock’s camera focuses on the circular shower head and moves downward toward her.
Andrew Sarris’ Three Circles of Auteurism Modle in 1962
– influenced by Auteur Theory
Technique: The technical skill that director shows in the film.
Personal Style: A director’s recurrent themes and visual style, and the specific thinking ways across different films.
Interior Meaning: The core, deeper, symbolic things behind the film.
Sarris argued that a true auteur must align with all three areas. While a director might be technically skilled, they may lack a personal style or deeper meaning. The combination of these 3 elements creates an auteur.
These three circles are interrelated. Directors must have technical skills (outer circle) in order to successfully express their personal style (middle circle) and through that personal style convey deeper inner meanings (inner circle).
Pauline Kael’s Critique of Auteur Theory
Pauline Kael criticizes Sarris’s interpretation of the theory of authorship in her essay Circles and Squares. She argues that focusing too much on a director’s personal style tends to overlook other key aspects of filmmaking.
She argues that technical skill and originality should be given over a director’s recurring style.
Her critique is in opposition to Sarris’, focusing on the importance of continuous innovation. She argues that a director’s growth and evolution is more important than simply repeating his or her personal style.
Paul Wells’ Auteurism in Animation
Paul Wells challenged the director-cantered theory of Auteur Theory. He applied these ideas to animation production, demonstrating that even in large-scale collaborative productions, like Disney, autochthony can still emerge through strong creative leadership.
Studio Auteurism:
In some cases, a studio itself can be seen as the auteur, especially when it has a strong creative identity that shapes its output.Studios such as Studio Ghibli, Disney, and Pixar have unique aesthetics, recurring themes, and narrative approaches that extend beyond individual films or directors. Welles’ ideas about collective homemaking resonate with the idea that these studios operate like self-made individuals, even though there are many individual contributions to each project.
In – class question: what is that makes Hayao Miyazai an auteur?
I prefer to discuss this question with the film: The Boy and the Heron (2023).
This movie is in view of a young boy who has lost his mother, and tells the story of his strange adventure in his mother’s old house during the war. This was Hayao Miyazaki’s last work and explores the growth and choices young people make.
Grief and Healing: The protagonist, Mahito, is a young boy who loses his mother in a fire.
A few years later, his father marries his mother’s sister and her stepmother was pregnant. He feels deeply saddened because everyone else was moving forward, and his father won’t staying in the past due to his mother’s death.
As a result of the war, they move to his mother’s former house, Being from a wealthy family, his appearance was different from the other children in the village, making it difficult for him to fit into the new group. He faces the dilemmas that everyone faces when growing up.
And by chance, he discovers a heron and magical towers. In that fantastical world, Mahito is forced to confront the issues he has been avoiding, such as deciding what kind of person he wants to become, accepting his stepmother and her child, coming to terms with the loss of his mother, and repairing the relationship between himself and his father.
Style and characters:
His movie style is still 2D, although the main characters in the films are usually teenagers or young girls, they have more sincere feelings and delicate hearts than adults, and they grow up during the adventures.
And the roles of adults in movies are usually very stereotypical or even fixed. They are just a collection of some key words that plays in specific roles in plot.
For example. The parents in Spirited Away turn into pigs because they are greedy and eat the food of the gods. The protagonist, on the other hand, is wary and advises the parents to leave quickly.
Children, as natural individuals, possess more sensitivity and are more malleable than adults. This is also why the protagonists in Hayao Miyazaki’s films are almost always boys and girls.
Moreover, he has a unique style of dedicating extensive scenes to seemingly insignificant actions. One scene that left a deep impression on me is when Mahito, completely exhausted, lies down on a soft bed. Every movement, including the bed’s deformation, is drawn in detail. Typically, other directors might skip these details to save time, using a near-static shot to convey the moment. However, this sequence of actions plays an important role. Mahito has just arrived at his stepmother’s house, so he is being cautious in every aspect, feeling like he doesn’t belong. Even when lying down, he keeps his body half-curled, rather than stretching out fully and relaxing. These detailed actions portray the protagonist as a sensitive and introspective person, conveying more powerfully than an internal monologue could.
So, I think the emphasis on actions over monologues and dialogue is an important style in Miyazaki’s films.
Themes and ideology:
Growth: Like many of Hayao Miyazaki’s films, this one tells the story of a protagonist on the verge of maturity, grappling with the challenges of growing up. In fact, I personally think the Japanese and Chinese translations of the film’s title better reflect the theme: “What kind of life do you want to live?” This question, posed by the uncle to the protagonist in the film, is also a question for us. Everyone must navigate the troubles brought by family, relationships, and the social environment during their growth. In the film, each door represents a different time and space, corresponding to a different choice. In the fantasy world, Mahito encounters his mother, who is still a young girl. Even though she knows that becoming Mahito’s mother will lead to her death in the fire, she still chooses that path.
Themes and ideology:
Growth:
Like many of Hayao Miyazaki’s films, this one tells the story of a protagonist on the verge of maturity, grappling with the challenges of growing up.
In fact, I personally think the Japanese and Chinese translations of the film’s title better reflect the theme:
“What kind of life do you want to live?”
This question, posed by the uncle to the protagonist in the film, is also a question for us.
Everyone must navigate the troubles brought by family, relationships, and the social environment during their growth.
In the film, each door represents a different time and space, corresponding to a different choice.
In the fantasy world, Mahito encounters his mother, who is still a young girl. Even though she knows that becoming Mahito’s mother will lead to her death in the fire, she still chooses that path.
The door on the left stands with his stepmother, representing the present family issues he is facing.
The door in the middle is his mother, symbolizing the pain of the past.
The door on the right leads to the creator of the magical world, who is also the one posing the question, representing future challenges. It asks, “What kind of person do you want to become in the future?”
This week, I’m going to refine my idea and put it into practice.
Storyboard
In the storyboard, I determine the duration of each shot, the action of the protagonist, the layout of the scene, the overall atmosphere, and the sound effects. This is not final plan, there will be some adjustments when I operate in ue5. But the story revolves around outsiders breaking into caves and encountering the spirit of nature.
The story is divided into three main stages.
Stage 1: The protagonist walks slowly on the cliff. He walks down the road. It is said that the cave contains the spirit of nature. He needs its power to save his starving homeland. However, the road had not been used for a long time, and the rocks loosened and cracked, and he fell.
Stage 2: He awoke at the bottom of the cave and found himself at what seemed to be the entrance to the cave. He rose from the ground and went deeper.
Stage 3: He went into the depths and found an open space where the spirit of nature was sitting there. The Spirit of nature stands up slowly.
Stage 1: The protagonist walks slowly on the cliff. He walks down the road. It is said that the cave contains the spirit of nature. He needs its power to save his starving homeland. However, the road had not been used for a long time, and the rocks loosened and cracked, and he fell.
Stage 2: He awoke at the bottom of the cave and found himself at what seemed to be the entrance to the cave. He rose from the ground and went deeper.
Stage 3: He went into the depths and found an open space where the spirit of nature was sitting there. The Spirit of nature stands up slowly.
Model
To get everything on the scheduel and well preperared, I made a semester plan:
In the third week, I need a preliminary model for the sculpture in the scene,and craft a mid-model for the boss model.
The stone sculpture in the scene I have a reference, it is China’s Tang Dynasty bronze sitting dragon, which was unearthed from the Tang Shi Siming tomb in 1966. Its shape is very unique.
I uploaded my video on YouTube, this is just my progress for this week, I will continue to update my progress in next weeks.
And I also made basic model of dragon boss. To quickly master the large shapes, I started with the human and dog models that contained by Zbrush. The first step is to determine the proportion of the limbs. And then I started carving the muscle. Because the design of everything is based on muscle, such as the decoration behind, the vine, the trend of the branches is built on the correct muscle structures, this part is quite boring, because I have to make sure that all the structure is correct, but not too much carving details.
