Development Approaches
To begin my scene creation I first took all of the models I gathered from Sketchfab into Maya. I started by adding a cube to the scene to create the perimeter and the floor for the scene. I then added the items I collected into the file and started to duplicate the trees to make a path and suggest the presence of a forest. I then added the table and the bottle/cake. I had to edit the cake to be more simplistic to fit the rest of the scene and how I wanted to look. Once I had all of the pieces in place I then added textures to them. I opted for simplistic textures within my piece as I liked the style it gave my piece and made it also a lot easier to change them between scenes for different effects. I then added a simple sky dome light to the scene to add lighting. After I had the basis of the scene all set up I got to work creating the camera. I would be having my scenes follow simple paths through the worlds so I set the camera going through the clearing within the 30 second scene. As I had planned to have my world I created loop through the scenes with different routes this meant that once scene 1 was made the rest of the modelling was relatively easy to complete as all the assets were already present.
For scene 2 I first began by copying my first file and removing the textures from the assets. Once I had done this I was able to move the pieces around as I needed for scene 2. I was following my storyboard for a lot of this but wanted to create the forests as I went to have them have a more natural and organic look to them. Once I had the path to the left planned out I then added in a new item, the card that I also collected off Sketchfab. After everything was in place within the scene I added the textures which can be seen in scene 2 and changed up the colours to be something more strange and unusual. After this I added a sky dome light and an Arnold spotlight ,which I set to a bright pink colour to draw user attention. Scene 2 was also the first scene that I added more animation to, I added some keyframes to the card in the scene to make it look like it was magically floating up and down. I then finally added the camera going a similar path to scene 1 but skewed to the left and the scene was complete and ready to render.
To create scene 3 I followed a similar pattern to the creation of scene 2. I knew the textures and colours within this scene had to be the same as scene 2 so I began by duplicating this file to have the objects already set up with the desired textures. From here I then assembled the scene with the path to the right and added a new object, the balloon, to the end of the new path. I then added some animations to this object to make the balloon appear as if it was floating as the user approached. This item was also lit with a pink spotlight to draw the users eye and attention to the area of the scene they are being walked to, which is the newly created path in the scene to the right.
The final scene was a bit different than the last 2 as it involved more lights within the scene and a darker atmosphere. I wanted it to feel like the user’s final chance to pick a route, the central one. I added some intense spotlights though the dark scene to be a guide of the direction and I think its really atmospheric. Once I had this scene created I rendered each 600 frame scene individually at 1080p quality and then assembled them together in premiere pro to create my video. I then took this video, added the fade to white/black transitions to the appropriate areas between scenes and finally added my chosen soundtrack to the completed video. Once I had done the simple assembly process I uploaded the scene to YouTube and checked through it to make sure it was all correct with no issues. I did not have really any technical issues within this project and was able to complete the video smoothly and think my concept worked out ideally. Some elements from my storyboard I did not add as I didn’t want to overwhelm the scene (such as the orb of light guiding the user and instead opted for interesting coloured lights as a guide on where to look) but I think the final outcome is still true to the original idea I had and that I executed it to the best of my ability.
Model & Audio References
Models:
Aurora., 2020. Trees and foliage [online]. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/trees-and-foliage-c3423a86515444a2b323d422ac16e710 [Accessed 1 Dec 2021].
Jochon., 2016. Table [online]. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/table-08b62c750b414ea3b7fb6e2979ebb676 [Accessed 1 Dec 2021].
Sakthivel G., 2021. Birthday Cake [online]. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/birthday-cake-29eb6a4e7bf8403fb05cc2495bfc2dd9 [Accessed 1 Dec 2021].
berzerkey., 2020. Stupid Simple Health Potion Bottle [online]. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/stupid-simple-health-potion-bottle-24142fd436804991905b9b4788dc62bf [Accessed 1 Dec 2021].
Flynn, T., 2020. gezinkte Spielkarte KM-O.811 [online]. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/gezinkte-spielkarte-km-o811-986967509d8d4774b87c6f4acc53a5ab#download [Accessed 1 Dec 2021].
Audio:
The Mind Orchestra., 2021. Bruwynn [online]. Available at: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Mind_Orchestra/The_Mind_Orchestra_-_Singles_1084/bruwynn [Accessed 29 Dec 2021].
Navigation/ Audio Considerations
Within the piece that I am creating I will of course be considering the navigation of the user around the scene within my work. I will be making sure that any possible disorientation that the user could experience will be reduced within my piece. To do this I will be first having the distinction between scenes and resetting the placement in the scene of the user be done with fade in / outs. I will be making sure that in the transitions between my 4 scenes there will be fade to black or white transitions between them to reduce any disorientation between the changing environment and the large distance the user would be transported back to the beginning. The scene fading to either black or white will have meaning within my storyline too to make it more of an integrated part of my piece, black being the wrong path being taken through the scene and white being the transition to wonderland and the correct final choice being made. Within the piece I also will be having the user be walked through the scenes. The distance won’t be very far just from one end to the other in a path and will be at a relatively slow pace spanning 30 seconds each time. Not only is a slow pace good for allowing the user to look around the world that I have created but it is integral to helping to reduce any motion sickness the user could experience and allows the piece to have smooth motions and visuals throughout.
For the audio within my piece, I will be considering carefully what I want to do with this element as it can be a really important aspect of an immersive experience. I want anything I incorporate to add to the atmosphere of my piece, this being slightly eerie and creepy yet overall quite wonderful. I will be making use of audio libraries to find some free use content to incorporate into my piece. I want to mainly add just music to my creation as I think the strange silence and absence of expected sounds such as walking or environmental sounds will add to the atmosphere that I want to create. I want to find a piece of music which will start at the beginning of scene 2 once Wonderland is entered. I think that having no sound within the first 30 seconds through the first scene in the normal world will be really strange and almost creepy and add the desired effect to my piece. I will then start the music as some quite background music within the scenes after this to add to the mysterious Wonderland vibes of the world around the user. I will be adding this audio to the piece when creating my video in Premiere Pro and making use of fade in/ fade out transitions to match these transitions present in the visuals and add smooth change between the elements in the scene.
Digital Affordance
Within my piece I will be using mainly colour and lighting changes to show the user where to look within the space I am creating. I will be incorporating this into my story and using strange lighting and mysteriously lit up objects as a magical element to the piece to tie in with the Alice in Wonderland themed world. I will be using these effects on the objects on the table in scene 1 and on the mysterious objects down the paths in the 2nd and 3rd scenes in particular so that they know that they are going to be taken in that direction and that they will be moved towards the key objects.
When the scene changes to something more fantastical the colours within the world will skew and be different from the norm which will make the user want to look around the space to see all of the changes and the different things within the world. Colour will be important to make the user want to look around and explore the world and add some interest to the piece. Brighter colours to the objects on the table in front of the user will also help to make sure that they know where to look within the piece and the contrast between other items in the scene will make it really apparent that they are important aspects of the piece. The world between scenes 1 and 2 will change from normal expected colours to something more strange and weird such as having yellow grass, green surroundings and pink/red trees. This will create some distinction between the ‘real’ world and the fantastical wonderland world as part of the story progression of my piece. It is important in my eyes to have a clear distinction here so that the user is more aware of what is happening and is able to look at the world around them and instantly know that they have then been transported to a different version of the world, Wonderland.
For audio within the piece I think that I will add some mysterious music that I can find which will start as background music 30 seconds in once the 2nd scene is reached. I think that having strange and wonderful music playing in the background once you get to Wonderland will add an interesting immersive effect to the piece and allow the user to really feel like they have been taken to a different world. I will be using royalty free music in my piece and searching for the perfect background music that I think fits the wonderful yet slightly eerie tone I am trying to put across to the viewer of the piece.
Development Storyboard
For this project, I felt it was important to create a storyboard with each element of the experience within it to help me in planning and creating my piece. I have created the below storyboard on the iPad app, Procreate. I am hoping to follow the storyboard closely when creating my project though some parts may change due to logistic difficulties when creating the actual piece.
Each sequence within the experience will be around 30 seconds long, the total time amounting to the required 2 minutes as there are 4 sequences. The first of these sequences is set in the regular world and will look really dull and boring. The user will first see a black screen that fades into the start of the scene. Sequence 1 consists of a forest scene with a light in the middle leading to a clearing. The user will then be walked forward into the clearing towards a table in the middle. This table will have the eat me drink me items on top of it and the camera viewpoint will pan down towards this table and turn to white as if the user has decided to consume these items. This will last around 30 seconds.
In sequence 2 the player will continue with the white screen and it will pan back up and the world around will look different. The world will now be strange colours instead of the normal world. If my skills allow it there will be floating objects in the sky of the world that link to the Alice in Wonderland theme. The user will be directed to look towards the left path by an orb of light. This glowing light will lead them down a short path and they will see a red hearts playing card ahead of them. As they approach the view will fade to black as if the wrong path was chosen. In the third sequence within the piece a similar thing will happen and the player will walk down the path on the left following the orb. They will be lead towards a balloon and the view will similarly fade to black just as it did in the scene beforehand signifying the wrong path further into wonderland was chosen again and the user will be reset to the middle of the clearing yet again. Each of these sequences, the left path and the right path, will last 30 seconds each. This will allow the user enough time to look around the scene and walk slowly through the space to take it in.
For the final sequence within the piece, the user will be lead forward through the forest instead of to the left or right. It will lead forwards past the clearing until the scene fades to white as if the user has chosen the right path into the world. This sequence will again last a total of 30 seconds. The fade in and fade out sequences within the piece will be part of that timeframe and will be around 5 seconds each time.
I have decided that I would have some sections that repeated within the piece and that evolved into a chose your route (though only one will be correct) piece. I think this is interesting as every time will be different and it will allow the user a lot of time to look around the world as they are being reset every 30 or so seconds. I think it will also be helpful in allowing me to create the scenes easier with my minimal skill set in the Maya software. I will be attempting to make some of the more simple models whilst using pre made objects for the remainder of the assets.
Story Structure and Development Considerations
For this assignment we were tasked with creating an immersive experience based on the children’s story, Alice in Wonderland. Coming up with an idea for this project was difficult at first as I have little to no experience working creating this kind of piece and was limited by my pre-existing abilities and what I could learn in the lab sessions.
For my piece I want to create, I want to start out with being in a normal dark forest. Being surrounded with trees and bushes and no clear path to lead down. An orb of light then appears and the camera is seemingly being lead by a light through this forest. This will then lead to a table in a clearing with the eat me cookie and the drink me bottle which are an important part of the base story so I thought it was good to include them as a nod to the original. The camera will then dip down towards the table with the objects on and cut to white. The camera will then pan back up and bring the forest into view again, however now it will look different. The objects on the table will be gone from view as if they have been used up. The world around you will be more fantastical than it was before with strange and unusual colours and things flipped around and looking weird compared to the normal looking scene from before. There will also be floating playing cards visible in the sky and other elements to make it look like the world is falling apart and changing into wonderland. I imagine the sky will be pink and the grass and leaves in the forest will be blue to give a really surreal feel to the piece. The viewer will be able to look around this environment to see the world around them.
They then will be lead down a path to the left after seeing a card red hearts card in that direction, they then begin walking looking at the environment around them, eventually the screen will cut to black as if it is the wrong direction. They will then be taken back to the table and try the right path, the same thing will happen with a balloon, and you will be reset again to black then the clearing as if you are being forced to go back to the start. The orb of light will then appear again the final time you are back at the clearing and will lead you away from the table and deeper into the forest eventually cutting to white as if you picked the right option.
My idea is inspired by the video game Alice: Madness Returns, the 2011 sequel to American Mcgee’s Alice. Within this game the character of Alice Liddell goes on a journey to discover her memories. The aim of the game is to work through from the real world to wonderland. This game inspired my piece as the beginning of the game the world and the colours in the environment are all dull and normal and boring. The game is saturated with beige and brown colours showing how boring the real world is. As you progress through the game you enter wonderland and find places that mirror the real world areas except now they are brightly coloured and everything is vivid and vibrant. This contrast gives a really magical feel to wonderland within the game and really distinguishes the worlds.
Having this distinction in colour and tone within the world I think will give my piece an interesting feel and really make it clear to the person within the experience that they have been transported from the boring normal forest within my idea into a magical enchanted one that will take them on a journey. I will also be making use of transitions within my piece to teleport the viewer to different locations e.g back to the starting table to reduce any disorientation between locations. I will also be making use of some premade assets within my piece, such as the forest landscape, to improve the quality of the piece and allow me to focus more on the experience itself and how smoothly the animations run.
References:
Anon., 2021. Alice: Madness Returns [online]. Alice Wiki. Available at: https://alice.fandom.com/wiki/Alice:_Madness_Returns [Accessed 2 Nov 2021].
DesertBell., 2011. My Review of Alice: Madness Returns. Razorblade Sammich [online]. Available at: https://razorbladesammich.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/alice-madness-returns/ [Accessed 2 Nov 2021].
Timlah, A., 2017. Video Game Reivew – Alice: Madness Returns. GeekOut UK [online]. Available at: https://geekoutuk.com/2017/09/18/video-game-reivew-alice-madness-returns/ [Accessed 2 Nov 2021].