ZOMG!

Final product looks AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Great work everyone!!!!!!

Finished! Huzzzam!

Okay, we're finished, its live, and its done...

Go here :D

Finale

Okey well we had our cash course of finishing stuff last friday. Now I've just completed the ending and sent it to steven, who will load it onto the web.

Fingers crossed

Updateness

This week, we have finished pictures! (WoOt~!)

No all we need to do is bring everything together in Director and make happyness :D

(Sarahs still gotta draw a few more of her own.... and we still gotta do images and story for conclusion)

Once we've brought everything together we will have then apply for a grant to go on vacation and sip martini's :D!!!

Update from Sarah's end ;D

Kay, so i've almost finished drawing, levelling, scanning and lassooing all Steve's images :D I also got boarders and some speech bubbles :D :D

I still gotta do intor images and draw a few more of the things for my scene and i gotta crop them all too - just another 10 hours work :P

Also, i jsut remembered this clip which is also simular to the style of our stuffs :D Its like the 8th ending from the Bleach anime (its not like I was watching anime when I should've been drawing :P) anyway, check it out:



I figure it'll be more conventional at the moment just to transfer files during our group meeting this week - Sticking them online may only irritate and annoy as there are many images....

Other than that - happy collab-ing! :D

Done for this week

Sequenced my images
Finished characteriture thingies.

Heads up that for any background images, a single Accented Edges filter in Photoshop does the trick perfectly, with a little but of clone stamp cleaning for any ugly details, which can be done at your own discretion.

Remember, final resolution will be 660x400, so don't go nuts with detail which we won't see at the end of the day.

Homework Week Stuff

Anthea: I need to complete my "New Walls Scenario" images and have them ready for DirectorMX for Steven. I need to complete images for the Intro - along with roll over images of 'thinking avatars'

Sarah: Finish her drawings of her scenario and start on steven's scenario

Steven: Needs to finish caricatures of photographs and email them to Anthea, and order the background images for his scenario. Sarah could do this too

Visual Style Stuff

hey guys, been having a look around at some stuff Re: Visual Style.

The film "A Scanner Darkly" is a good reference point visually.

Not so much the characters, but the backgrounds are at about the level of detail which I'd imagine we'd be shooting for and stuff, if that makes sense.

I've been flat out this week doing stuff for my exhibition work, and haven't had much time to stop or think about what we are doing exactly for this :)

Another example is the film "Renaissance" which has a similar, minimalistic visual style.







And thats about it in terms of stuff I have to add at this stage.

Play Play Play ANimate

Had a bit of a play around for a basic idea. This is half of the "New Walls" episode.

firs things first

DSCF1135 this picture is AWESOME of the elevator :P


Okey I definately like the poster edged and the cutout effects on the test images. Possibley combine the two? Next we'll need to play with monotones etc. I might do that today.

Photographic References May 18 2007

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/holoz0r/?start=all

Photographic images captured today are here.

Preliminary Photographics

Anthea! Sarah and I played a round very brefly with some camera stuff and simplyfying the pictures using a few techniques.
We're currently leaning towards 660x400 Resolution for the "finished Thing"

And without any more babble; huzzam:

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/holoz0r/?action=view¤t=Outside.jpg
Outside Poster Edges

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/holoz0r/?action=view¤t=Elevator.jpg
Elevator original

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/holoz0r/?action=view¤t=ElevatorAlter.jpg
Elevator Done

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/holoz0r/?action=view¤t=Orig.jpg
Original ´stablishing Uni Shot

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s219/holoz0r/?action=view¤t=Cutout.jpg
Edited establishing shot

geep not gonna be in class

Sorry guys. I missed the train.

I've posted my storyboard. I'm gonna do the intro as well.

Generate some feedback about what you guys thing over all about how the storyboards are coming, then go out and get as many images as u can.

Keep me posted :P

Storyboard "new walls"

Hmmm I guess I should upload mine. Be it a miricale that I can work the image upload....

And steven? though i may be a drawer :P doesnt mean i draw good storyboards - only enough that i understand whats going on lol.

Sarah's Storyboard/Druken-scribbles

Yeah, My explanations ain't as sa-fist-ta-ma-ca-ted as Steve's. I'll add typed explanations when I'm more awake-ish...

Flash drive page 1
Flash drive page 2
Flash drive page 3
Flash drive page 4
Flash drive page 5

YouToob page 1
YouToob page 2

Elevator Portal Story Board.

Disclaimer: I suck a lot at drawing, and I mean a lot. :P

Script:
1. In Class Room
Sarah: "So what are we going to do for this assignment?"
Anthea: "I don't know.. maybe we could."
Sarah: "Is anyone else hungry?"
2. In Class Room.
Steven: "Okay, We'll go get food!"
3. Outside Class Room View of Elevator
Anthea: "This project should be pretty easy.."
Sarah: "Yeah.."
Steven: "If we can be bothered doing it..."
4. Elevator Doors
View of elevator doors.. no dialogue.
5. Elevator Doors closing, view of characters inside elevator.
Elevator Closes.
6. Cut to canteen, characters sitting with food.
Few frames of us eating and talking gibberish.
7. Back to elevator
Shot of elevator again, characters approaching.
8. ECU of Button pushing in elevator.
Short animation of a finger pushing the elevator button.
9. Interior view of elevator characters, front.
Anthea: "We should just get the assignment over with."
Steven: "Yeah.."
Sarah: "Its easy.. in principle.."
10. Interior view of elevator, back of characters..
Elevator doors open to reveal a city street.
Question marks linger over each of the characters heads.
11. ECU of Characters Faces.
Sarah's is :O "it doesn't usally do this.."
Mine is :| "what, how is this possible..?"
Anthea's is :? "huh.. what are you on about.. oh..what.."
12. City Street
Anthea: "We should probably get back to uni now.."
Sarah: "yeah.."
Steven: "But we have to walk all that way! :|"
13. Back at uni, long shot of buildings, with characters in foreground
Steven: "We made it.. finally.."
Sarah: "The walk did us some good.."
Anthea: "But we wasted all that time..."
14. Elevator doors.
All: "maybe we shouldn't"
15. Outside of class room.
Andy: "Where have you three been, you've been gone four hours!"

Okey Homework _ STORY BOARD TIME

Anthea Again:
We have decided on two scenarios each. Over the next week we will each storyboard at lease one of our two scenario and have it in class next week.

Anthea: New Walls (will provide description later)

Anthea: Mouse Traps (will provide description later)

Sarah :Unresearchable research! You Tube

Sarah: But I know where my flash drive is!*

Steven: The Power Failure

Steven: The elevator portal

Other storyboard required is the INTRO.

END scenario with discovery of the troll or not....maybe. Will be descided on completion of INTRO and SIX episodes.

Just some more points on how our site will be constructed

This is Anthea (Briar) stealing Steven's (holo) log in again

I just want to make a comment on this section of steven's last summary post :

"Sort of setting up a narrative world, and then creating narratives which will revolve around the troll doing something to our work to make it seem kind of a pointless endevaour so effectively we end up "back where we started" at the end of each conlusion. Sort of like an episodic narrative but which lacks enough continuity so that each episode can function on its own"

Now that we've got a script for our introduction I think that our keyframe for all our episode should be the "So....what are we going to do." frame. and having each of the three heroes ready to present an idea. We could have this interactive in that the viewer clicks on one of the heros which starts a new 'episode'. And by the end of each, we come back to this frame.

Simple and beauitful :P How many scenarios shall we have?

(!) Visual Concepts

CONCEPT NOTES


- Three heroes (and maybe any other 'people' that appear. eg. andyE ) in sketch form throughout the video. (possibely sarah's job as she's so awesome :P) simple chibi style

- Two tone backgrounds which are simplified photos. Black and white and/or orange and blue.

- Detective comic / conspiracy theory type movie background with text overlays.
Xfiles are an example. Dective style comics {look for references)

- Choose set of scenarios and each person storyboards their own scenario.

Collobrative Blog Post, AKA Fighting Over the Keyboard.

Here is a fairly loose "script" for our introductory sequence.

E-stablishing Shot: University
Flash Up charactitures of starring members.
Overlay of text:
Instution...
Our heroes are trapped once more within the morbid walls of the computer room.
Fade to black
The morbid. ORANGE walls. ORGANGE.
Flash from black to orange several times.

Internal: Computer Room
Three people, ala us.

Shot: Andy Assignment being hand outed.
YOU MUST WORK IN E-GROUPS. Please E-Stablish your E-meddiately.

Montage of shock/dissapoitment slice style split screen. Three frames for each frame.

Fade to black.

And so they embarked on their journey...

"So... what are we going to do?"
"..."

The troll lives

So here we are, week two of project.

Work done: zero, pretty much. Its all in the planning execution and actually making it won't take very long. Thats my impression at least. :)

We have some scenarios, we have some plans. We're considering doing the intro or a mock up of one of hte situations in order to see how it is going to work in terms of putting everything together.

The idea is building the final product within Director, with all art work prepared in a combination of Photoshop and traditional like media.

A rudimentary script is the next thing which we need to work on for the introductory bit, and some sort of way of having each scenario "flow" off of that seamlessely. Sort of setting up a narrative world, and then creating narratives which will revolve around the troll doing something to our work to make it seem kind of a pointless endevaour so effectively we end up "back where we started" at the end of each conlusion. Sort of like an episodic narrative but which lacks enough continuity so that each episode can function on its own.

Determining the "length" of each episode sho;d be another consideration, although I always consider myself a technical person and need to know numbers and such even though in essence they probably aren't that important.

I'm ranting now, and I know it, so I'll shut up ^_^.

wow I think those ideas are coming along awesomely. Sarah, I love your sketches.
The video you found on shinji is definately along the lines of what I was thinking we could do. But have it in comic book panelling.

I'll have to apologise for not having come up with any ideas yet but I'll write something down on the train tomorrow. Hurrah for being flat out. :D

More plot creating and imagination splurging...

Gahhh! These were really hard to think up! I’m more of a reader than a writer me thinks – If anyone’s got improvements for these plot ideas critique is more than welcome! (zomg, that’s why were in a group! (stupid Sarah!)). Anyway, if any of them are terribly horribly bad and someone has a better plot idea, feel more than free to take one of my spot because I think plot ideas isn’t one of my strong spots :P

Troll plot one: Unresearchable research!

All of us are in the computer room diligently working/discussing said assignment. Everyone’s having trouble coming up with an uber idea and it’s driving everyone crazy – we don’t know what to do! :O!!!

Then *ding* someone gets a light bulb switching above their head (an idea) which could be something like… “I know! We can make a random internet page viewer so that a totally different web page is presented every time someone click a button

Anyway, long story short – the troll owns the internet and has a cult following on every page across the internets making it impossible to show different web pages because they’re all the same! (i.e. they’re all packed with banners and .gifs proclaiming allegiance to the troll and what not…) O.O

*this idea can work off Steve’s Sarah YouTube research idea quite nicely me thinks =^.^=

Troll plot two: OMG! We finished the project!?

Someone: OMG! I have an idea! (about project)

*group discussion/huddle ensures*

*group agrees on idea (or similar to idea) and goes off to work to finish it*

-- 6 weeks later –

Someone: Finally! We finished the project!

Someone #2 : now to hand it up…

*camera/scene does a close up on someone #2 who is clicking internet to upload project to send to Andy. Upon clicking the upload button there is a massive flash. Someone else #2 freaks*

Someone else #2: ZOMG! Where did the project go!?!?!?!

Someone: what project?

Someone #2: err, the one we just finished and I was uploading..?

Someone #3: err, we haven’t even started the project yet. We were only assigned it just today

Someone #2: but it was due today! June ##!

Someone: June##? Todays may 4 – check your computer moniter *points to date/time*

Someone #2: Dammit! The troll opened an earth paradox and sent me back in time! DAMMIT!

(Did any of this plot idea make sense??? I wanted to write this one in dodgy-script-mode for some reason… I think theres a better way this idea could be implemented too… meyh, let it sink into my brain a little more **SARAH needs feedback!**)

Troll plot three: But I know where my flash drive is! ^_^!

Group is handing up project to Andy…

Someone: Finally, we finished the project! We should go out and celebrate! :D

*Stressed group agrees and walks out of classroom for drinks (or something involving debreifing)*

Someone #2 (probably me :P): Oh wait guys, I forgot my flash drive ^.^! [based on true story]

*Sarah goes to retrieve her flash drive in classroom and walks past Andy*

Andy: Sarah! There you are, has your group finished your project?

Sarah: uhhh, yeah, we gave it to you?

Andy: no, I only just got here.

Sarah: then who was..? *sarah has flashback of handing up project to Andy and realizes it was the troll in very dodgey disguise of Andy* ZOMG Troll!!!

Andy: that wasn’t the only copy of your project was it..?

Sarah: oh no, that’s okay, I left another copy on my flash dri---

*Sarah looks for flash drive and can’t find it, but found a post-it note in its place saying *troll waz here*

Sarah: *dies*

Other research/inspirations:

And would you believe it? I friggin found that video I was scouring YooToob for! *some random part of my brain reminded me about the title sometime on Monday. Here is sought after link/video…

It has some basic tweening principals in it we may/may not use. I think we’ll prolly be keeping it simpler than this example with only 2 layers per scene maximum (and of course, not as many frames in animation (I’ll try make up a sample sometime soon)).

Here’s that other video i should you guys for reference/research/look-Andy-we’re-all-working-really-hard sake…

Catch me if can (futher tween research) --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASi5hyf2pp8

And The Simpson’s version: =^.^= --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo0U0pCyyK4

And finally, I saw this movie last week and thought it was a good example of how were collaborating so far - which is wonderfully :D!!!
We’re making clouds fly! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

So... about that conspiracy ey...

In Short - Just for myself to get up to speed in terms of where I am, what I'm doing etc.

Our project, In effect, is about doing our project :)

Currently of indeterminate length, we begin at University. The three of us are discussing our work, what we are doing etc.

We agree on something, and commence work. Something goes wrong.
We blame (something that goes wrong) on "The Troll".

So here is where I begin coming up with my ideas :)

001:
The Encrypted Keyboard Thing (complex way of saying mixed up words)
"Okay great lets do it!"
Everyone goes back to their computers to have keyboards which type the incorrect letters - sort of an alternate keyboard layout, except we don't realize. Within our own naivety (and own personal self proclaimed extreme competence with computers) don't notice that it is happening :)

Until we have to show what we've done. The computers have died. It was the troll. Something was changed which we didn't notice. For instance a wire on a close up of a keyboard being displaced or evidently unplugged or something. A strong visual cue to show to the viewer that things "are not right" but which we ourselves don't notice.

All work produced is in an encrypted mess which we can't decode. We've just wasted our time.

002:
The Power Failure
Again, another "brainstorming" session within the group. We go away to commmence work, when the power fails. Example of shots for this would be initial brainstorming, possibly with a little icon resembling power in the corner (symbology as to what could happen) (which will) :P

Next image would be ready to begin work on the computer, (again bright) then suddenly (while retaining the impression of work about to be done on the character, darkness ensuing.) Bitter disappointment then rage.

We however try to solve it by using a laptop. Laptop works for a short time, then battery fails.

Irony and much frustration and anger then ensues. No work is done.

003:
We're never gonna get this done guys...

So we decide to work "overtime". Coming into the University at some other time which isn't class time. Our swipe cards disallow us access to the room. We have lots and lots of ideas and.. no way to document them.

We waste time by not being able to get into the room at all.


004:
Youtube
Sorry Sarah, but I'm just going nuts with every possible reason thing :P

"I'll find us the reference" The thing that we can base our project on! "I'll look for it on You Tube its something something" "Search along the lines of {thing} We all go away and end up wasting time looking at random distracting things.

No Work is done.


005:
Steven.. away from the games!
"hey guys I have a brilliant idea, we can use this thing I saw in a game once" Defcon ensues. Thermonuclear War "erupts" outside and in true comic style we are Oblivious.

Everything returns to normal afterhand though, (suggestion that the nuclear bombs in the game were actually "real" bombs in the real world)


006:
The elevator portal

The elevator opens to find us in a city street, or a beach or a road somewhere. ... "The elevator doesn't usually do this" :\

We explore the "world" and end up having no work done.

This is all I'm posting for now, as I need to eat :\

So What is the Troll?

Welcome to the Troll Collabarative. This blog is inplace to detail the thought process, dsicussion and ideas of the three
collabarators.

Anthea, Sarah and Steven.

We'll be posting up soon some stuff to let you know where are our ideas are going with this project.