Category: Visual Effects

I will be using 3 pieces of software for this piece. I will be using Adobe After Effects for the majority of the assembly. I will be creating my backgrounds in Photoshop and I will be hand drawing my characters within the app Procreate.

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For my storyboard I have allotted around 5 seconds per scene on as I have 12 panels within it and will be using it as a guide on how to create my piece. I will be using it as a structure and working from it to create the scenes with added lighting and particle effects

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For the characters, I will be spending time drawing them within the piece to use within the final outcome. I will be creating 4 characters and each one will have a front and side view to it. I will be creating them on the iPad app, Procreate.

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For the backgrounds of my piece, I will be using stock images that I have gathered from pixabay.com as free use images. I will be using my skills in Photoshop to combine these images together to create the background scenes that I want in my piece.

References:
Images

Antranias, 2016. Forest, Forest Path, Nature [online]. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/path-forest-forest-path-nature-1548326/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2021].

bertvthul, 2015. Avenue Trees Path [online]. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/avenue-trees-path-sunbeams-sunrays-815297/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2021]

Dlee, 2015. Sandcastle, Beach, Summer, Sand [online]. Available at: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/sandcastle-beach-summer-sand-766949/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2021].

FelixMittermeier, 2017. Path, Spring, Forest, Nature, Trees [online]. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/path-spring-forest-nature-trees-2291385/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2021].

OpenClipart-Vectors, 2015. Free Image on Pixabay – Tree, Trunk, Leaves, Branches [online]. Available at: https://pixabay.com/vectors/tree-trunk-leaves-branches-nature-576847/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2021].

Valiphotos, 2015. Forest, Trees, Sun Rays, Sunlight [online]. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/forest-trees-sun-rays-sunlight-fog-1072828/ [Accessed 17 Nov 2021].

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Audio

Quadrado.S , 2021. Serge Quadrado – Good Evening Loop [online]. Available at: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/serge-quadrado/kids-tv/good-evening-loop-1 [Accessed 17 Nov 2021].

Within my piece, to take into account the sessions we have had in the labs, I will be using a few of the elements and techniques that we have learned here.

In terms of lighting I will be using this to add different effects to my backgrounds of the piece, making the lighting conditions change and adding a more interesting look to them. All of my scenes are outdoor based so I thought that adding some lighting into them would aIn terms of lighting I will be using this to add different effects to my backgrounds of the piece, making the lighting conditions change and adding a more interesting look to them. All of my scenes are outdoor based so I thought that adding some lighting into them would add to the atmosphere and ambiance of the piece and make it believable that it takes place outdoors. I will be making use of ambient light to add in some lighting to my first scene in particular. This scene will be the sun rising over the kingdom and I will be using this ambient lighting to create the colour changes that you would usually see within a sunrise, from deep night, to orange to blue daytime sky. I will also be using the lighting within my forest scenes. Within these scenes I will be using ambient lighting again to create the illusion of clouds passing overhead and trees blocking the sun in places with the sky dimming and brightening. I think this will be really atmospheric and add to the feel of being in a tree covered forest.

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We also had some lab sessions on particles. I knew that I wanted to do something similar to this when I first came up with my idea. On the character introduction sequences (where there will be 2 characters per scene) I wanted to have them have particle effects in the background of these scenes to add some personality to the characters. These effects will be layered over the background with the characters acting as foreground elements. I will be using what knowledge I acquired within the lab sessions on particles and applying them to shape layers which fit the areas behind the character. The particle effects will rain down behind the characters to add some interest and dimension to the piece itself. I may also use some particle effects in the end sequence with the title of the show on it to maybe mimic some explosions or such behind the text and in front of the blurred background within the scene. I think this will add some interest and personality.

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Within this post is the animatic that I have created to show how the full opening sequence will look in an animated form. I created 60 frames for this so that the animatic would be around a minute long, true to the final form the project will take, to show how each part of my storyboard will work together. I wanted to create an animatic so I had a clear plan of how the opening sequence would look and to make sure that my storyboard would work and would flow correctly. I used my storyboard as a template for some of the frames of this animatic and then added in the frames in between to show some animation between the scenes. I also tried to show the camera angles and such that I wish to use and the zoom and slide transitions between the scenes to see how they would work together.

I created this animatic and the storyboard in the programme Procreate so that I could sketch out the frames on my iPad. I think that this, although time consuming to create, was a useful exercise to do as it helped me to solidify my ideas and meant that I had a plan and know that my storyboard will work when I create the final piece. It also helped me realise which layers should be separated and such to be able to animate them effectively in the future.

Below is the storyboard that I have created for my opening sequence for this project. I have created 12 panels showing scenes that I intend to create. I wanted my piece to focus more on the characters themselves and establishing the world that they are adventuring in, rather than making something that was overwhelming with plot as the piece is only 60 seconds long. Most of the panels that I have drawn will be around 5 seconds long on average in the final opening sequence, some being longer and some being shorter but all roughly being 5 seconds.

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My storyboard opens up with an establishing shot of the setting of the show, a fantasy kingdom. It starts out at night time and the sun slowly rises to reveal daytime and sets the happy and light tone for the opening. Once the sun as risen, the camera then zooms down into the forest within the image and the zoom changes to a shot of the forest. This is a wide angle shot encompassing the background and the main character, walking through said forest happily. The camera then changes to a mid shot of the main character from a front view still walking along the forest path. It then zooms in for a close up of the character who waves at the camera/ audience as an introduction.

The next panel in the storyboard depicts the camera zooming back out and showing a different location in the setting of the show within the kingdom. The foreground of the shot shows the main character and the 3 side characters together. The initial zoom out is from the main character to this shot to make a smooth transition of location. The 4 characters are then seen to happily wave at the camera again as the main character did to get across the friendly personalities that each of the characters have. This scene then slide transitions into the character introductions.

For the character introduction scenes I want to be able to show off a part of the character’s personalities to make them seem unique and likeable to the audience. I want each character here to have a different animation and the background of each half of the scene to relate to the character and use the particle system in After Effects to add some character elements to the background. Once the characters have been introduced and their names have been shown on screen the scene then transitions to the characters all walking together on the same path seen near the beginning of the sequence. This is meant to show them working together and how they are friends, as they are walking on the same road the main character was earlier seen alone on. The final panel of my storyboard shows the title of the show fading onto the top of this walking group scene as an ending, finally introducing the title of the show.

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For this project, the piece I want to create is a 60 second opening sequence for a TV show. I want to create something for a fictional show that’s target audience is children. This opening piece will be 2D and include graphic work produced by me as well as manipulated stock images for the background layers. I will be drawing the characters and foreground elements myself and using stock for background as this will make it easier to create high quality character graphics and such. I want the show to be a child’s adventure animation with a light friendly tone to it. As it will be an intro sequence, and the target audience will primarily be children, the sequence will mainly focus on establishing the world and introducing the 4 main characters that I intend to include. It will also of course feature a title card at the end of the sequence to introduce the show.

Below are some existing children’s show openings that I found interesting when looking into existing intro sequences. In the second clip below, from the show Gravity Falls, I particularly enjoy the named character introductions which effectively name the characters and I will most likely be including something similar to this.