LauraCapillo : Prototype

What am I doing? :My major project will be an animated music video. I have chosen to do an animated music video to best reflect my abilities and because I have a keen interest in the use of animation within the music industry. I have researched into the use of animation in music videos and have found that it is scarce to say the least. It is primarily seen within the rock/metal genre. Where as an abundance of special effects are used within pop/rnb music videos. The use of sole animation for an entire video was first seen in the 80s with the likes of A-has Take on Me (Strom, 2007), (Screenshot from video right).

The reasons, I believe, that music videos use animation is to be able to portray subject matter that otherwise would be seen as a taboo in filmed footage, such as drugs, sex, violence and death. An example of this can be seen in the animated music video for Gorrillaz Melancholy Hill. The first scene shows an animated character is awoken. From here we can see the character withdraw a case and remove a gun from said case. The character then walks through a corridor with the gun (below) and comes up onto a deck, they are on a ship, here the character begins to shoot down plans and kill pilots. (Bottom right).

I have chosen to create my own animated music video that portrays the themes of death and regret. I will be taking inspiration from A-has Take on me music video in terms of a stylistic approach.

My Project in detail :There are four steps that I will be using in order to complete my animated music in the specific A-ha style. The style used is a frame-by-frame lap to create an illusion of movement. It is typical in animation from the 80s. This is quite similar to what stop motion anima-tion would be. The 4-step process I will be using begins with filming the footage. I will be using my storyboard as seen below.

Continued...This storyboard out lines the lyrics of the song I will be using. The song will be Bad Luck By Club Loco. I have full permission from the band to use this song. The Lyrics are:

Verse: I hear a crash and I heard a scream, horrific visions of a ter-rible dream. The screech of tires, the crimson pool, and all thats left is this poor old fool.He reached out. He called out to me.I couldnt help, but I couldnt leave. I hurried over, and asked him his nameWhat had happened? And who was to blame?

Chorus: I cant feel, and I cant seeAll I hear, is chaos around me,My broken back, and my crushed bones, Cant support my lungs groans.Id like to tell you but Im too weak, And in this position my jaw cant speak.Id like to tell you but Im too weak, And in this position my jaw cant speak.(Club Loco :2011)

The second process after filming the footage will be to take this footage and export all the frames of this footage a single images. This can be done easily within Final Cut Pro. The third step is to then take each single image into software called ArtRage. ArtRage is similar to PhotoShop in that you are able to use brushes, trace, paint and edit. The image to the right shows the next step screen shot mid process. In ArtRage, I trace over the image using a range of brushes to create my chosen style.To the right right is the original drawing done on paper, this is just a test to outline the step by step process. Lastly I export all completed frames from ArtRage and take them into Aftereffects. Here I can do last minute editing and sequence the images to create the animation!

What about the style? :I have been experimentally tirelessly on what actual painting/ drawing style I should use for the final product. As I am taking influence from the likes of A-ha and Gorrillaz, I would mot definitely like to stick to a drawn animated style. This will then equate to the animation being under the Experimental Animation type. I have been trying out different styles including, pencil detail, comic style, manga, psychedelic art, pen detail and line art.

Below is the pencil detail, I liked the detail and the influence from A-ha that can be noted, particular the true to detail drawing.

To the right is my attempt at looking into a manga style, much like Gorrillaz animation stylings as noted previously.

Below is my experiment in detail pen drawing. This is one of my favorite styles as its so graph-ics and takes influence from both my inspira-tions.

Style :These other images show my other experiments. On the right is comic style. To the right of that is a psychedelic style full of many characters, al-though very difficult to animate. Below is a line style, this would look fantastic to animate, as the lines would give a flashy effect creating an even greater illusion of movement.I believe that doing all of these experiments in style was vital in helping me establish exactly how I want my animation to look. I want it to reflect the song, reflect my abilities and of course look fantastic. I was people to be impressed, won-der how I have done this and enjoy what they see.

In action... :The style in action can be seen below. Here I have taken some footage of myself fairly still, done with a webcam. I then took the footage and followed the four steps and to produce the outcome on the right there.

The song is called Bad Luck, I have had written consent from the band Club Loco. The band are currently recorded a compressed version of the song for the purposes of making a music video. They have noted that if they are happy with the outcome of the animated music video that I will be making to their song, that they may indeed decide to use it for their own purposes. This is such a fantastic opportunity for my self and coincides with my future as what I hope to be an animator/motion graphics designer. Due to the fact that I do not yet have a compressed version of the song, I have been given a similar one by Club Loco also; this will have the same tempo and can give an idea as to the speed and tempo of the song. It can give an indication of the pace of the animation. It will be flashy and fast similar to the pace of the Take on me music video by A-ha. Below is the song what youre looking for. The purpose of listening to this is just for the melody, pace and tempo. Not the lyrics. The lyrics I will be animating to will be:

Verse: I hear a crash and I heard a scream, horrific visions of a terrible dream. The screech of tires, the crimson pool, and all thats left is this poor old fool.He reached out. He called out to me.I couldnt help, but I couldnt leave. I hurried over, and asked him his nameWhat had happened? And who was to blame?

Chorus: I cant feel, and I cant seeAll I hear, is chaos around me,My broken back, and my crushed bones, Cant support my lungs groans.Id like to tell you but Im too weak, And in this position my jaw cant speak.Id like to tell you but Im too weak, And in this position my jaw cant speak.(Club Loco :2011)

(click diamond to play song)

The song :

Research Paper, etc:For my research paper, I am looking into the ways in which animated music vid-eos, in the rock genre, use animation to breaks the rules, and portray ideas/ideals that couldnt otherwise be outlined with just plan footage and special effects. This theoretical research coincides with my major project, and allows me to use the models that have been shown to make up an animated music video. It will allow me to professional develop my own idea and ultimately create my own animated music video.In regards to who my target audience will be, I have concluded that it will be anyone that listens to rock/metal/ska and have an interest in art and animation. I presume this to be from the ages 16-30 but cannot generalize specifically.

The research I have conducted into making an animated music video coincides with that I have done for my research paper. I have researched many music videos including:

A-ha Take on meGorrillaz Melancholy HillPeter Gabriel SledgehammerRadiohead Paranoid AndroidRed Hot Chilli Peppers Love RollercoasterThe Beatles Eleanor RigbyPearl Jam Do the EvolutionDire Straits Money for Nothing

(http://www.pastemagazine.com/ 2011)

Through this study of animated music videos, I have learnt about the use of nar-rative within the context. Most have a narrative, however it is not usually a linear narrative. By this I mean that the storyline goes along fairly in line with the lyrics, with the story, but then breaks off with a creative explosion showcasing tech-nique, colour an experimental style. I believe this is does to help the viewer snap out of the experience, to have a creative zap so to speak, and to prevent ultimate boredom. For my own project, I will be inducing flashes of red blood, the only col-our aside from black and white to be used, this will urge a sense of curiosity, make the viewer look twice, and hopefully notice something that they hadnt previously seen before.

Here are a few screen shots as an example of this sudden change in direction in animated music videos:

Normal linear story, sudden blur, then dreamlike animation(Youtube 2011)

Graduation show :For the Graduation show I have decided to project the animation onto a wall, along side this animation will be a large image showcasing all the frames I had to draw to create the animation. It will show the frames in still form whilst the animated form sits beside. I want to do this in order to show the viewer the amount of thought and of course the process in which such an animation would need to go through to become what they ultimately see in front of them. I want to also have a seat in front of the projection. This will allow the viewer to relax and fully immerse them selves with the anima-tion. I will have a set of headphones hooked onto the chair so that it can become a personal experience for them, as it would be if they were to be at home watching a music video on the television or on the computer. I think it is important to showcase my animated music video in such a way so that the viewer is as relaxed as they possibly can be, I want it to be as natural a possible and to get the truest reaction. I believe that this setting will also make an impact, and gain some sort of respect. A lot of work goes into mak-ing an animated music video and this is one thing I definitely want to put across.

projected animated music video here

frame by frame still image

viewers seat

Conclusion: To conclude this research portfolio, I will like to add that I have a total of 3473 images to draw digitally to make up 3.5 minutes of animation. The technique I have decided to use allows me to work quickly so I believe that I can do this in the allocated time span given. I really would like to produce an animation of high quality and something that will make the viewer think: How did she do that? And hopefully they will directly see the influence I have used and maybe I could even influence them.

Biblography :Gunner Strom, 2007http://journal.animationstudies.org/2008/02/06/gunnar-strm-the-two-golden-ages-of-animated-music-video/#more-41Visited :24/12/2011

The Best animated Music videoshttp://www.pastemagazine.com/ Accessed : 12/2011

Radiohead Paranoid Android http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPLEbAVjiLA&ob=av2n 2watch?v=sPLEbAVjiLA&ob=av2n 12/2011