This segment is to do with making a short clip intended to act as a teaser/trailer for an upcoming game. i will be using After Effects, Mudbox, and Foley. I am excited to do this assessment as I am someone who has a strong spot for things to do with audio. I am looking forward to creating and tinkering sounds to use in the short clip, as well as creating an interesting set of visuals to compliment it. how ever, I am partially worried about making a unique character, because I am considerably picky with character design. However, I also am excited to design the character as they have to be an alien.
context
narrative codes: character types, linear/non linear
audio codes: music, SFX, dialogue
visual codes: Lighting+colour, setting+props, costume+hair/makeup, performance
technical code: mechanics, rendering
visual codes: One of the protagonists is tasked with defusing a hostage/suicide situation, with an antagonist pointing a gun at a child (performance). Antagonist is wearing shabby clothing, reflecting the dark/negative situation he has started, where as the protagonist is wearing clean and formal clothing, reflecting his current position acting as the one attempting to diffuse the situation as a professional. (costume) characters are on top of a high building with low light levels and a view of the city in the background, as well as the antagonists gun, showing the sense of tension/danger taking place in the still image (setting+props).
UI is also seen onscreen, presenting the choices for how the protagonist approaches the situation. The UI is a physical entity in-game, rendered alongside the characters and environment (props/mechanics). Also, the game presents choices, making the game non-linear (narrative codes).
​
visual codes: The protagonist is defending/attacking an area, and is shooting at enemies with an assault rifles. (performance) the enemies are wearing a sleek, roguish looking set of armour, and are of a nimble and fast physique. (costume) The characters are fighting on a mountainous planet with dense fog in the background and a fairly dull sky. there are ships flying and battling in the sky also. (setting and props) UI is seen onscreen in the form of a heads up display (HUD). The HUD features a ammo counter for the currently equipped weapon, number of grenades, health and shield levels, and a mini map showing enemy movement (props/mechanics)
The protagonist is attacking an enemy with his sword, and is about to amputate their arm. (performance). The enemy is wearing bulky clothing, and has a large armoured vest with pouches and sturdy looking leg armour. The protagonist is a cyborg, as is mostly metal and a leather like material. He also has a mask and a sheath for his sword on his back (costume). The characters are fighting in a dull, abandoned looking building with low lighting (setting+props). The screen also has a blue kind of vignette that clearly is indicating something happening in-game (UI/mechanics)
research
Halo 3 ODST
COD MW2
these are my analysis of a loading screen from Halo 3 ODST and a cutscene from COD MW2. my analysis of the two contains my observations on how they were put together and their contents, as well as any inspiration I may take from them when creating my animated sequence.
practical skills
this is my first attempt at creating something in Mudbox. i went for a strange ski mask/helmet with a sort of re-breather. I used a lot of the wax, bulge, foamy, and sculpt tools on a mirror along the X axis to create this
this is the first drawing i made using a graphics tablet. I personally find it difficult to use the tablets, so much so that I can't really make anything at all without tracing it. Because of this I much prefer to use the mouse. I do however understand and agree with the positives and benefits of using the tablets, as they felt more accurate and more detailed while drawing. Despite this, I still prefer the mouse as I am generally very fidgety and cant stay comfortable while using one
This is an outline i created of my first mudbox creation. I used the graphics tablet, and doing this has helped me become more confident with using it.
This is my first experiment in using the pain tools in Mudbox. By selecting paint tools, I created a new layer which I used to paint on. Using this layer, I coloured the teeth of this monster white, with red on the tips. I also coloured the 'lips' a dark burgundy colour, and the inside a dark red. Furthermore, I coloured the whole head a more pale, sickly colour, compared to the previous brown colour
This is the front view of my character. Her armour and over all shape from this view is supposed to meet the description of sleek, strong, evasive, mysterious, and deadly. Drawing her from the front had me realise she is reminiscent of the Hunter class from Destiny.
these are some sketches i did in pen to experiment with what i wanted to draw on SketchBook, of which only one was used. That one being the sketch on the bottom in the middle.
This is the back view of my character. Her armour, although similar to the front, was designed with more emphasis on the strength aspect. With the placement of the main armour pieces, I took inspiration from Halos Mjolnir armour, but less bulky and more sleek. By the end, the main armour piece covering the shoulders looks similar to the Viper armour set from Halo 5
This is the side view of my character. With this perspective, i opted out of including the arms due to difficulties in drawing them to a correct scale. From this view, I was able to clearly determine the correct proportions for the armour pieces in order to appear sturdy while still being sleek looking. Like the back view, i took some inspiration from Halos Mjolnir armour. This is evident from the protrusion coming from the back armour piece.
additional information about this character
Colour scheme: Dark greys with small purple accents
patterns/themes: simple, angular shapes that combined together make the armour look elegant and dangerous.
​
Inspirations: Aspects of Halos armour
​
difficulties I faced: settling on a figure for the character, drawing a whole upper body, first proper digital drawing.
​
Music listened to while making: mostly Electronic music and rock.
When I started to try and build my character in Mudbox, i quickly realised a problem. The hood. Using mudbox to create a hood for a character is difficult and doesn't feel possible (at least within the boundaries of my skill level). Because of this, I made the shape of the character and her mask, and will user 3DS Max to create the hood (and some armour)
After multiple attempts at using 3DS max to create the hood, I decided to go back to Mudbox and try and sculpt the hood one final time. Luckily, I managed to make the hood (albeit, it looked a little bit strange). However, the program crashed before i could save it or even screenshot it. Because of this, I decided to return to a different design I made a while back. I was much more satisfied with this design and decided to stick with it.
The video starts with a turnaround of the character I designed, shown within a set of rotating circles accompanied by text saying that it is confirming the characters identity. There is also a particle system to give this part some unique ambience.
The concept art for the model I used in the end
The character and all other objects/particles then disappear, and a loading screen appears. The words 'Loading complete' gradually come on screen in a glitched typing movement.
With the loading scene complete, lines fly across the screen to highlight the canister referenced in the objective, and to also be a point where the text is coming form, with the text itself falling into place in a style similar to the matrix.
Still on the same part, we can see the canister I made for the video using 3DS Max. The lines flow into place to highlight it and make it blend into place better.
And at the very end, the screen fades to black, with the message 'don't mess it up' scrolling into view, before disappearing along with the line that accompanied it.
evaluation/reflection
Audio
When recording the audio to go along with my video, I had to think about how it would compliment the videos visuals and the effect it would have on the player. Instead of composing a full track, I instead settled on creating a set of sound effects I made and a soft droning sound. I feel that this was a good choice on my behalf.
I created the audio at home using my microphone and some props. I also experimented with existing sounds in the Ableton Live 9 library. I tinkered with every sound I got, making it completely unrecognisable. For example, the frequent typing/glitching sounds you can hear I made by dropping pennies on my desk at home, which made a ringing sounds that I added reverb and pitch changes to via my preferred software, Ableton Live. Personally, I believe that my sound design for my video works very well, as the ambient sound creates a sense of mystery and may make a player question what might happen in the mission. The other various technical sounds also match the visuals and represent the theme of the over all video. When I was making and implementing the audio, I faced a few issues. My biggest problem was deciding what sounds I wanted and where to put them. I originally wanted to make a full track to go with it, but I struggled with it. Eventually, I found that the sounds worked well as a set of effects alongside ambient sound. I overcame not being able to make it work by watching my video repeatedly and recording me putting the clips together while watching it, so I could actively compose the piece in line with the video. In future projects, I wouldn’t change much in how I went about recording and putting together the audio as it worked very well. However, I would like to explore more options of creating the sound effects and how I lay out the audio.
This is the equipment I used in order to create the audio for my video. For recording sounds I used a One Concept Mic 700 alongside a M-track to supply it power and have active control over gain. The microphone is good quality and helped greatly with achieving the end result of my production. I feel like if I didn’t use this, I would have spent longer finding sounds on the internet instead of attempting to make some myself.
This is what I used to trigger the sounds and play them together to create what I have in the completed video. It is a Midi Fighter 3D and is a 200 pound piece of music production kit that I use for personal hobbies. I thought it would be of good use and decided to use it for the audio section of the work
This is the program I used to edit the sounds I recorded, as well as assign them to my Midi fighter in order to play the sounds in order to create the track I wanted for the video. The program is Ableton Live 9 Intro edition, and is high quality with a really intuitive design and high functionality. A plethora of musicians use Ableton Live for these reasons.
Visual work
When generating my visual assets, I used a system/method that I developed throughout the course. For example, with the character model in the video, I experimented with different head shapes and found one I liked, then took to my sketch book to develop those ideas in the form of concept art. I made one design that I settled on quickly due to how good it would look in a turnaround.
During this process, I developed my ability to draw concept art both on pencil and with a graphics tablet. I also improved somewhat at using Mudbox. During the visual side of the work, I quickly learned that my Mudbox work could be improved, as I haven’t found my truly creative side with it yet. I had my fair share of difficulties while creating this work. Namely on the character design. I spent a considerable amount of time developing a character through drawn art, building up the character, but when I went to make her in Mudbox, I ran into lots of issues regarding the Hood and armour. Also, it crashed, causing me to lose my work. Because of this, I fell back to an old design, the one seen in the video. In the future, I will likely consider the possible difficulties of my choices before going through with them.
Production
I learned a lot from the production of my video. Most of my learning experience was to do with Adobe After Effects, as making the video required that I be able to use it. I learned how to use it in lots of ways and spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with it to find what I would like to use in the final video. I am confident the quality of my production is at a good level for my first ever full video made with After Effects, however, I feel as if the first section could be improved upon.
One example of the problem I am referring to is the border around my character, and how it could have been animated in a more smooth or interesting way. Furthermore, I feel I could have expanded on the particle system I used in the video, instead of using it for only 8 seconds. In the next project, I hope to expand on my knowledge and creativity within After Effects, as well as my ability to work on and improve projects on the go.
I used Sketchbook to do the concept art for my character
Post-production
I learned a fair amount from the post production state of my video. I can clearly see the skills I have developed during the production, as well as the rise in quality of the video. The quality of the video, over all, is good for what it is and is definitely a good first production. It clearly represents where I wanted it to go and is artistically at a good level. A good example of this is how I explored how to go about displaying text and transitioning it into and out of view. However, I felt that some of the animated segments could have been improved and made smoother/easier on the eyes. In the future I hope to improve the quality of my productions in all aspects.
Problem solving
During the production of my character cutscene animation, I encountered a few problems that I had to solve in order to progress with the work. My first major problem was using After Effects. At first, I had to idea how to use it and fell behind my peers as I couldn’t wrap my head around how it worked at all. Midway through the term, however, its quickly fell into place and I understood how to use it by experimenting with it during lunch and break periods. Because of this problem, solving it meant I became a little bit more independent and also improved my abilities to use the programs we will use throughout the entire course. Another problem I faced was time management. Before this term, I got a referral for part of my work, and also had done next to no work on my Independent Self Study tasks and had to complete them alongside this terms work. This links to the first problem I mentioned, as it is one of the reasons I fell behind. I dealt with this by splitting up how I spent my time on work by spending time at home focusing on the Independent self study work, and the current term work at college. This worked, however, I faced the personal issue of being susceptible to procrastinating as the PC I use at home to do college work is a gaming PC, meaning I had games distracting me. I did, however, manage to overcome this and complete the previous terms work.
The last problem I will mention is related to my website. Throughout the term, I frequently forgot to document my work and due to this, there are gaps in what is documented and what isn’t. I attempted to overcome this issue by always having wix open in an effort to remind myself to record my work. Overall, I feel like the problems that I faced during this term I was able to deal with and did so independently.
whole thing
At the start of the term, I was considerably far behind. I had a referral for my work from the previous term, as well as lots of independent self study tasks to complete alongside my work. In short, my start was pretty rough. The further into this term I got, however, the more I started to complete my work. About half way, I had completed around ninety percent of the directed self study tasks, and was able to lighten the load that was on my shoulders. After completing the directed self study work, I quickly managed to finish my referral work and began to work on improving my skills revolving around conceptualising my character and also using Adobe After Effects. Towards the end of the term, I had completed the video, and started working on the audio for the video. I produced and added the audio to the video within one evening, making the entire thing complete and ready to move on. At this point in time, I am up to date with all the work that is expected of me and am at a point where I am satisfied with the skills I have gained or developed as a result of doing this terms work. Moving forwards, I would like to develop my skills revolving around After Effects, managing my time in a more efficient way to prevent creating a pile up of work, remember to document my work and make sure I don’t leave any gaps in the development of my projects.