Date night at the movies

So we had date night at the DCA and saw the Assassin http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3508840/

Very slow and not much assassination - however, it was stunning and the theme of self restraint and an emotional journey of change was cleverly done.
I particularly enjoyed the sequence, that this still shot comes from.
The Assassin is watching her target from behind gauze curtains. We see her prey from her point of view and they are on screen for about 3 - 5 mins sometimes clearly on view and sometimes very obscured by the gauze. After some time i thought that the gauze curtains were a good metaphor for the Assassin's internal thoughts....
When her victims were clearly on view, the Assassin felt confident - and when they were obscured she was doubtful about her role of killer.

Stunning use of reds, golds, blues and greens too.

First ever lip sync!

Whoop! My first ever lip sync. What a great lesson and I managed to keep up!!
A bit like driving a car, I'm finding that some of commands I am making in Maya are becoming more 'automatic', which is allowing more brain space to actually create...

We created the phonemes shapes AI, O, E, U, L, WQ, MBP, FV, REST AND etc
The audio is taken from a clip from the Matrix...

                 

Storyboarding and mock up set

Productive brainstorming day today, running through our shot set up and storyboards for Axis Going Live project. Our group is working well together, with everyone contributing.
When we got confused with our storyboard and shot list we set out an improvised layout of the set, grabbing whatever was to hand...folders, toys, gloves, paper etc - so we could clearly see what our shots were, whether or not we were in danger of crossing the line and how to be effective and avoid any unnecessary modelling.

So the robot is the lie detector??? Sonic is He-Man and Gonzo is a Sylvanian Family Rabbit??!!

Rough fag-packet sketch of the set. 

 Rough storyboards

 The glove is a piggy bank, stuck in a dolls house.

Are we crossing the line?

 Yes. Back to the storyboard.

Mr Motivator becomes a troll doll. Gonzo and his chocolate rabbit siblings defend their innocence. He-Man (Sonic) is not impressed. The Robot delivers 'the truth!'

He-Man reaction shots.

A baffled audience (video cassette) looks on.

Our scribbled sofa

 
Our mock up set

Rough storyboard.

Bigger picture inspiration - Colonel Chris Hadfield

Reflective practice and conscious observation.... and another tidbit of inspiration, that has caught my attention today....

I was an avid follower of Col. Chris Hadfield, when he commanded the International Space Station. He made space very accessible for me....
He provided brilliant descriptions of being on a space walk. To the left the blackest black. To his right a fast moving kaleidoscope of colour.....it caught his attention as it swept past. It was Africa.

Here's his quote on facebook today. He's inspirational. As is his mother.

Col. Chris Hadfield

18 hrs · Toronto, Ontario · 

Today my 79-yr-old Mom got her ears pierced, to be able to wear the big new green earrings my 81-yr-old Dad bought for her. I love them

Reflective practice - Chemical Brothers reference

So as part of engaging in the new idea of reflective practice, I am going to make a conscious effort to include the references that catch my eye, make me ponder, and provoke day dreams, ideas and inspiration.

Thanks to Stathis on the course, we've all discovered this VFX footage. Totally bemused as to how it was created. Maybe a greenscreen suit?

Well the 'making of' has also been released. Brilliant use of software, motion capture and VFX. Inspiring.

Love the simplicity of the environment - no frills, which is a pefect backdrop for simple movement, allowing the real VFX feature to stand out. 

The making of:
https://vimeo.com/154038415

Concept sketch visuals, using Photoshop and Intuos Pro graphics tablet

Some sketch visual ideas for our Going Live project, using Photoshop and my new graphics tablet!

Run cycle in Maya

My first ever run cycle!
Animated in Maya...really enjoyed animating the arms and hands, to show the fingers loose and clenched, as he ran. Looking forward to practicing!
This model was provided, including a free rig.

                                                                                                                                                                                        

Graph editors.