Ratty's Running Cycle

By referencing from various run cycles on Google, I took my character Ratty and drew him into each of these positions. I ended up drawing his legs 12 times, although drew the body, head and arms once, and adjusted them via Photoshop. 

I firstly sketched out the position of the legs and then scanned them into Photoshop, then I added the body, making it move ever so slightly each time the leg position changed. Once this was done, I drew the arms, and rotated them depending on what position they needed to be in, added the head, and lastly coloured each frame. 

Here is the sketched version:

Here is the cycle:

Here is the cycle in the shot:

Oscars Walk Cycle

Here is the walk cycle I produced today for Oscar the dog. I First sketched the dog out, then traced over the legs moving them ever so slightly each time (referencing from other walk cycles on the internet). I only drew the head once, but drew the legs 11 times in different positions and Photoshoped the same head on later. I then coloured each of the frames, and shaded them. Once I was done, I brought the 11 frames into After Effects, created the moving walk cycle, and then took the composition into another project, adding the background.

Walk Cycles:

Finished Shot

Risk Assesment

Initial Planning

1) Form - I am planning on making a short film with a duration of 3 minutes aimed at all ages, preferably families. It has a simplistic, -easy to follow- plot, so young audiences will be able to understand it, and the colours and topics it's based around can also relate to an older audience. 

2) Animation type - It will be a 2D  hand-drawn cell animation, but there will also be shots which require less movement, which will be computer generated on Adobe After Effects. The reason for my choice is because I have experimented with  other animation types, and have found they were not for me. Rotoscoping was not the style I intended for, as I wanted to design and exaggerate my characters, and wanted the animation to look smooth. I didn't want to use Flash, as I preferred and am more familiar with the work space in After Effects for computer generated animation.

The reason I am doing hand drawn cell animation, is because it gives me more freedom with the movement of my animation, as not all shots can be done computer generated (proportions changing drasticly, and objects completely changing shape and form etc..) 

The reason I am also doing computer generated on After Effects, is because with the time I have to create my animation, I wont get it finished, so to save time, will do the more simplistic and shots with less movement on After Effects. 

- It shouldn't be too noticeable flicking between the two different animation styles,  as the background for the cell animation will remain the same (not changing each frame) so the shots have the smoothness a computer generated shot would have.

3) Selection of genre or style - The short film fits into the categories Drama, and Crime most, and has a few comedic elements, although not enough to be placed into that genre.

The Crime is due to the subtle use of drugs the character Ratty is on, the theft (Ratty steals the mysterious briefcase - arguably off Owen or the unknown owner), and the involvement of the police when they catch Ratty, and accuse him of stealing the money. 

It also involves a bit of Drama between the two characters Owen and Ratty. Although they do not speak, they don't get along, and fight over the briefcase, and Owen and Oscar aren't so sorry for Ratty when he gets captured. 

4) Narrative and Character Development

Plot Summary/Treatment

The short film is centred on a old homeless man, his dog and their neighbour. The film begins when the old man wakes up to find a mysterious brief case nearby. He checks it out of curiosity, and finds it is full with an extremely large amount of cash. Exited as the old man is, he goes round the corner (leaving the dog with the money) to check if anyone is looking for it. When he returns, he bumps into his neighbour, who is holding the briefcase. They both freeze, and then the neighbour makes a run for it, but the old man trips him up, and they begin fighting over the case. Eventually the neighbour gets away with the case, and the old man ends up shoved in a bin.

Later on, when the old man and the dog are looking for a busking spot, they see two police men and a police car. One of the police is holding the brief case, and the other is pushing the neighbour into the car. The old man and the dog look at each other, and take a smile of relief/smirk. They eventually find the perfect busking location in the busy town centre, and the old man starts to play his guitar, although they are receiving no luck with money. The dog then takes out a wad of money (which he had previously taken from the case) and places it into the old man’s busking tray. The old man smiles, and pats the dog on the head.

Character Development

The protagonist Owen, and his dog Oscar  are the only characters who develop throughout the narrative. Ratty, the selfish, rude and aggressive neighbour, stays exactly the same through out the film. Even when Ratty is being shoved into the police car, he shows no remorse or regret for the situation, drug use or crimes he has done. Bill and Clive also have no character development, as they are only show for a brief moment in a scene, and catching a criminal is just their daily job. 

Owen and Oscar, on the other had, do develop their characters. We see Owen begin as a hopeless man, with barely any expression on his face, but his eyes and longing glare show us he's disappointment with life. When Owen first sees the briefcase, no hope or excitement comes to him, just curiosity, as in all the years he has been homeless on the streets, the least thing he expects is to see a case full of thousands of pounds.

The first development in character we see, is in Owen when he opens up the case too find the money. He has hope for the first time in many years, and feels special and overjoyed. This hope gives him motivation to later, try and defend the case he has found, although, at the end of the fight with Ratty, the old man looses all hope again, and returns back to his original stage. 

When Owen passes Ratty being pushed into the car, his hope inst returned, but he feels lucky it wasn't him, and quite relieved Ratty has seen justice. This places him in a slightly better mood.

The film then ends with Ratty gaining some of that hope back, but not all of it. At the end when Oscar takes out a wad of money to give to him, he is happy to  receive this, (as it's better then nothing) and is more pleased with the loyalty and love received from his dog Owen, then his money. When Owen pats Oscar on the back, we see a hint of that hope returning. 

Loot Script

Animation Pitch Presentation

Character Pitch Document

Practise Shot

I chose to animate this shot first as it is a key shot in the short film. It also looked like a challenge, as it was difficult getting the proportions right for the upper lid of the case. I did it by using a pencil, paper, Photoshop and Premiere Pro.

I firstly drew out the background onto paper, (the wall, ground, and bottom half of the brief case with the money. Then, on 14 separate pieces of paper, drew the top lid and hands in different positions, so that when it is put together, it gives the illusion it is opening up.

I then scanned each image into the computer, and on Photoshop, took the 14 different sketches of the lid, and added the background to them. Before colouring it, I tested the animation on Photoshop, to see if it looked convincing before I coloured each frame. From that I realized I needed to neaten up some lines, and re-adjust the proportions, and also smoothed it up, as it had a very sketchy effect on the top lid, and I didn't want this.

Here is the sketched shot (not done): 

Lastly, when everything looked okay, I coloured each frame exactly the same, and brought it into Premiere Pro, as I found tweaking the duration of each frame was easier on this software. (I could also colour correct it on here, but decided not too). 

Here is the finished shot: 

As there are certain things that are difficult/you can't do digitally on After Effects, (such as this shot, as each frame changes quite evidently) it works out best to stick to drawing each frame, as manipulating shots like this on After Effects would be quite complicated with only one drawing of the full brief case. 

I plan to draw each shot out frame by frame, although for certain simplistic shots with not much movement, use After Effects to save time. 

Animation Planning Notes

1) Inspiration - Existing media it shares similarities with?

The short film is based on two characters who have a close relationship similar to Wallace and Gromit, it is about an Old man and his dog, and the dog has the same, if not more intelligence as the man. 

2) How are you going to do this?

I plan to do it traditionally, so 2D,  hand drawn and frame by frame, although once I have drawn each frame on paper, I will scan each frame into the computer and colour them on Photoshop. 

What I need to make this, is a lot of A4 paper, pencils, a rubber, sharpener, Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere Pro. This is all equipment I can acquire at home or college. 

3) Who with?

I plan to work on my own, as it will be practically easier, as I can stick to my own style (it would look odd if the animation changed style every other frame) And I feel with the time we have to great the animation I should be able to get it done in time, on my own. 

4) What is it going to look like?

The style is going to be quite sketchy, and very textured. The backgrounds will have quite a bit of detail, and the characters less detailed. The colours are going to be neutral and very earthy, (greens, browns, blues). I plan to make the characters extremely exaggerated. 

5) Whats the structure?

Scene 1

- It will begin by introducing the three characters (the old man, Ratty, and the dog) on the streets 

- The old man wakes up from a police car going by

- He sees a brief case, and is confused as to why its there

- He walks up to the case, examines it, and opens it, inside is lots money

- He walks round the corner, to check if anyone is around and if they're looking for the money

- Ratty wakes up and sees the money

-The old man turns around to see Ratty with the money, they stand still in shock and stair at each other

-Ratty makes a run for it, but the old man trips him up with his walking stick

- They fight over the brief case 

- Ratty gets away with it, and the old man is pushed into a bin

Scene 2

- The old man and the dog are walking in town to find a good busking spot, and see a police car and two police men

- One police man is pushing Ratty into a police car, and the other is holding the brief case

- The old man looks at the dog, and they both smile to each other

Scene 3

- The old man and the dog find a busking spot, and the old man starts playing his guitar

- The dog then leans forward, and places one wad of the money into the old mans busking box

- The old man smiles, and pats the dog on the head