The final piece of my Capstone Project puzzle is the online portfolio. Originally I had planned to create the online portfolio using a Dreamweaver template and my Shepherd University webspace, but after working on my project blog using Wordpress, I found that many people actually use their wordpress blogs as full on websites. After talking to some classmates and looking at some tutorials I've got a decent setup for my wordpress page. I still need to look up some tutorials to learn how to upload files to the page, which will allow me to put my resume as well as some of my creative works up on my site. I think using the wordpress site will be better in the long run, as it'll be easier to modify as I gain more creative works and post more. The bandwith possibilities are nearly limitless!
I'm looking forward to what I can do with this website now, and later on as I get more works under my belt.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Presentation Post Mordem
This past Monday I set up my presentation board, my laptop, and my portfolio binder in the student center and presented the details of my project to anyone who was interested. While I was there I got to walk around and look at other students' presentations. In the end my project did me proud, although there were some hiccups in the presentation process.
What worked the best was how much information my presentation could show to people. I had a lot of details and points I could make to people about quest design, and I feel like I answered all of their questions effectively.
What I think needed the most improvement was conveying what my project actually was. My laptop was running gameplay videos of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dead Island. I was running these videos to showcase games that used quest design extensively. The point was to provide something that would be entertaining and visually appealing and also to give context to what I was discussing. Sadly, most of the people that approached me ended up thinking I actually made those games for my project. As awesome as that would have been, I had to tell them I didn't, which actually caused some of them to just plain walk away. One man was more interested in the fact that I downloaded the videos off of Youtube than the fact that I was just using them to express a point. While people who asked questions first ended up seeing my project's worth and congratulated me for it, most people didn't quite grasp the core concept.
The presentation went well overall. I think if I had more time I could have worked together something more relevant for my laptop than just gameplay videos, but that's just part of the learning process for me.
What worked the best was how much information my presentation could show to people. I had a lot of details and points I could make to people about quest design, and I feel like I answered all of their questions effectively.
What I think needed the most improvement was conveying what my project actually was. My laptop was running gameplay videos of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dead Island. I was running these videos to showcase games that used quest design extensively. The point was to provide something that would be entertaining and visually appealing and also to give context to what I was discussing. Sadly, most of the people that approached me ended up thinking I actually made those games for my project. As awesome as that would have been, I had to tell them I didn't, which actually caused some of them to just plain walk away. One man was more interested in the fact that I downloaded the videos off of Youtube than the fact that I was just using them to express a point. While people who asked questions first ended up seeing my project's worth and congratulated me for it, most people didn't quite grasp the core concept.
The presentation went well overall. I think if I had more time I could have worked together something more relevant for my laptop than just gameplay videos, but that's just part of the learning process for me.
Senior Capstone Cultural Response: Silent Old Mountains
Last night I went to a concert at the Blue Moon Cafe in Shepherdstown to see a local band play. The band was called Silent Old Mountains, and they were a indie rock band. I'll briefly go over my experiences with them in this blog post.
The atmosphere of the Blue Moon was very welcoming and casual. I felt at ease laughing and talking fairly loudly, without worrying about annoying anyone, since everyone else was doing the same thing. The servers there were friendly, and the drinks were quick and well made.
The band itself was a fairly typical band in composition, including a singer, drummer, bass, guitar and keyboard player. Their sound was what made them stand out, however. They combined elements of rock, indie rock, and drum and bass in how they worked out rhythm and the beat. It resulted in a very enjoyable sound experience that was both relaxing and energizing.
My main complaint about the show was the volume. I couldn't hear the lyrics of any song because they were being drowned out by the loud guitars and the pulsating drums. On more than one occasion the drumming made my ears pound in pain. Apparently this wasn't really exclusive to this band, as many other Blue Moon patrons I talked to said the volume was a consistent problem with their live concerts.
All in all Silent Old Mountains gave me a look at how a indie band can still utilize contemporary influences in their music. I enjoyed my time there, and look forward to seeing what they do in the future.
The atmosphere of the Blue Moon was very welcoming and casual. I felt at ease laughing and talking fairly loudly, without worrying about annoying anyone, since everyone else was doing the same thing. The servers there were friendly, and the drinks were quick and well made.
The band itself was a fairly typical band in composition, including a singer, drummer, bass, guitar and keyboard player. Their sound was what made them stand out, however. They combined elements of rock, indie rock, and drum and bass in how they worked out rhythm and the beat. It resulted in a very enjoyable sound experience that was both relaxing and energizing.
My main complaint about the show was the volume. I couldn't hear the lyrics of any song because they were being drowned out by the loud guitars and the pulsating drums. On more than one occasion the drumming made my ears pound in pain. Apparently this wasn't really exclusive to this band, as many other Blue Moon patrons I talked to said the volume was a consistent problem with their live concerts.
All in all Silent Old Mountains gave me a look at how a indie band can still utilize contemporary influences in their music. I enjoyed my time there, and look forward to seeing what they do in the future.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Senior Capstone Cultural Response: Keigwin + Company
Tonight I witnessed a blending of old and new conventions in the dancing arts. This entertaining and vibrant performance was brought to me by the Keigwin + Company dancing group. In this blog I'll go over my experiences, albeit a little briefly.
There isn't a whole lot for me to say in terms of storyline or plot, the performance consisted of a series of dance numbers set to various songs meant to fit the mood. I didn't recognize any of the songs, but they fit the scenes well and the dancers did an admirable job choreographing their moves to it. Each sequence had it's own story, told by the music and the dancing, but it was more for the audience to interpret on their own.
I've never been much a fan of interpretive dance, but the group pulled it off in a way that left me smiling and laughing, in a good way that is. They combined elements of ballet, interpretive dance, break dancing, and other contemporary concepts to create a unique and elegant style. The result is a high energy high entertainment performance that kept the audience's attention very well. Many parts of the dances also included comedic elements, which I wasn't accustomed to in dance pieces.
The entire atmosphere of the show was very casual and energetic, we were encouraged from the start to laugh and share in the fun with the dancers as the show went on. I found myself surprised with some of the artistic choices, and laughing at some very humorous moments.
Overall, my experience with Keigwin + Company was a positive one. They combined the old and the new to create a unique performance that entertained and encouraged fun free thinking. I think art in general needs more of that these days, and I hope others follow Keigwin and Company's example.
There isn't a whole lot for me to say in terms of storyline or plot, the performance consisted of a series of dance numbers set to various songs meant to fit the mood. I didn't recognize any of the songs, but they fit the scenes well and the dancers did an admirable job choreographing their moves to it. Each sequence had it's own story, told by the music and the dancing, but it was more for the audience to interpret on their own.
I've never been much a fan of interpretive dance, but the group pulled it off in a way that left me smiling and laughing, in a good way that is. They combined elements of ballet, interpretive dance, break dancing, and other contemporary concepts to create a unique and elegant style. The result is a high energy high entertainment performance that kept the audience's attention very well. Many parts of the dances also included comedic elements, which I wasn't accustomed to in dance pieces.
The entire atmosphere of the show was very casual and energetic, we were encouraged from the start to laugh and share in the fun with the dancers as the show went on. I found myself surprised with some of the artistic choices, and laughing at some very humorous moments.
Overall, my experience with Keigwin + Company was a positive one. They combined the old and the new to create a unique performance that entertained and encouraged fun free thinking. I think art in general needs more of that these days, and I hope others follow Keigwin and Company's example.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Senior Capstone Cultural Response: Holy Harlots
Well part of going to different culturally relevant events is I'll see some good ones and some bad ones. Sadly tonight was of the latter variety.
Tonight I went to see the Rude Mechanicals' production of what they called the Holy Harlots. It consisted of two short pieces, one called The Fall and Redemption of Mary, by Hrothsvitha, a 10th century German nun, and Mary Magdalene, by an anonymous 15th century English playwright. Both dealt with the exact same issue of a woman named Mary (in the first play, she had no real significance, she was just named Mary) falling into sin then redeeming herself after being taught the error of her ways. There was really no need for both pieces since they handled the same plot and elements. Seriously, both followed the exact same story arc, just with different circumstances. Granted Magdalene was at least an interpretation of biblical history, which would have made Mary irrelevant.
Moving on, I'd like to go over why I didn't like the play. I've been to several Rudes' shows now and I can't really say I'm surprised by the acting at this point. I'm sorry to say that the skill of the actors in these shows has never really compared to other works I've seen at Shepherd. It's always stuck around a high school level.
The acting aside what really stood out to me was the set, or rather, the lack of one. An ambiguous backdrop painted multiple shades of gray with a curtain in the middle served as the background for every scene in the two plays. A couple of painted boxes added more context to the scenes, but it didn't do enough to really pull me into the action. Lighting changes were considered set changes, where the lights focusing on RED meant that we were in Hell, and lights focusing on WHITE meant we were in Heaven. Done with some more finesse and maybe something else to sell the point, this could have been very interesting and artistic, but relying on it entirely only made it seem cheap and lazy.
Now to my biggest issue with this play. As far as I can tell the objective of the Rude Mechanicals is to bring forth medieval era plays and make them relevant to contemporary audiences. This can prove to be a daunting task I'm sure, but with the right people behind it, this endeavor could easily be accomplished. What I saw tonight was a butchery and frankenstein-like mash-up of contemporary humor, college humor, and classical work. Admittedly, the first piece had little of this, but instead involved a sickening amount of repetition in dialogue and long monologues where the actors just stood there doing nothing. It was incredibly boring, but I'll give it points for being consistent throughout.
Magdalene on the other hand started throwing me off at the beginning by introducing rhyming lines and a rhythmic method of speaking only to toss it out on the next couple of lines. Going back and forth between the two methods severely broke my illusions and kept me out of the play. The shoehorning of a choreographed dance sequence and a short rap full of foul language would have made much more sense in a modern play, but in something like this it seemed desperate and ridiculous. One of the characters, played by one of the only entertaining actors in the group, adopted a southern plantation owner style accent while heading a temple of Jupiter. There was no seamless transition to make things work on my level, it was just a dumbing down that ended up killing the whole experience. The complete lack of consistency did nothing to help with the poor acting, bad set design, and boring dialogue.
I personally know a handful of the members of the Rudes, and as I've said I've seen their other work. I know they're better than what I saw tonight. I hope that other people echo my concerns so that they can learn and improve on what they have.
Tonight I went to see the Rude Mechanicals' production of what they called the Holy Harlots. It consisted of two short pieces, one called The Fall and Redemption of Mary, by Hrothsvitha, a 10th century German nun, and Mary Magdalene, by an anonymous 15th century English playwright. Both dealt with the exact same issue of a woman named Mary (in the first play, she had no real significance, she was just named Mary) falling into sin then redeeming herself after being taught the error of her ways. There was really no need for both pieces since they handled the same plot and elements. Seriously, both followed the exact same story arc, just with different circumstances. Granted Magdalene was at least an interpretation of biblical history, which would have made Mary irrelevant.
Moving on, I'd like to go over why I didn't like the play. I've been to several Rudes' shows now and I can't really say I'm surprised by the acting at this point. I'm sorry to say that the skill of the actors in these shows has never really compared to other works I've seen at Shepherd. It's always stuck around a high school level.
The acting aside what really stood out to me was the set, or rather, the lack of one. An ambiguous backdrop painted multiple shades of gray with a curtain in the middle served as the background for every scene in the two plays. A couple of painted boxes added more context to the scenes, but it didn't do enough to really pull me into the action. Lighting changes were considered set changes, where the lights focusing on RED meant that we were in Hell, and lights focusing on WHITE meant we were in Heaven. Done with some more finesse and maybe something else to sell the point, this could have been very interesting and artistic, but relying on it entirely only made it seem cheap and lazy.
Now to my biggest issue with this play. As far as I can tell the objective of the Rude Mechanicals is to bring forth medieval era plays and make them relevant to contemporary audiences. This can prove to be a daunting task I'm sure, but with the right people behind it, this endeavor could easily be accomplished. What I saw tonight was a butchery and frankenstein-like mash-up of contemporary humor, college humor, and classical work. Admittedly, the first piece had little of this, but instead involved a sickening amount of repetition in dialogue and long monologues where the actors just stood there doing nothing. It was incredibly boring, but I'll give it points for being consistent throughout.
Magdalene on the other hand started throwing me off at the beginning by introducing rhyming lines and a rhythmic method of speaking only to toss it out on the next couple of lines. Going back and forth between the two methods severely broke my illusions and kept me out of the play. The shoehorning of a choreographed dance sequence and a short rap full of foul language would have made much more sense in a modern play, but in something like this it seemed desperate and ridiculous. One of the characters, played by one of the only entertaining actors in the group, adopted a southern plantation owner style accent while heading a temple of Jupiter. There was no seamless transition to make things work on my level, it was just a dumbing down that ended up killing the whole experience. The complete lack of consistency did nothing to help with the poor acting, bad set design, and boring dialogue.
I personally know a handful of the members of the Rudes, and as I've said I've seen their other work. I know they're better than what I saw tonight. I hope that other people echo my concerns so that they can learn and improve on what they have.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Posterboard Creation
With the completion of my Capstone Project, my next step includes making a physical and online portfolio and working on a presentation that showcases my project. As part of that presentation, I need a posterboard with a compelling and eye-catching centerpiece. For this post I'd like to talk about my process for it.
My project centered on quest design, the aspect within game design that formulates story and structure for many role-playing games. I needed a way to capture this essence of adventure and design within a single picture. For a time I thought of making a collage of some sort. By combining different heroes from noted quest-based stories and games, I could really drive home the point of quests. This idea presented the challenge of bringing in the design aspect, however, and was ultimately put aside.
My next idea was to use a fictional map of some sort and edit in a plotting system, to make the map look like it was a work in progress. I thought this idea was closer to the mark, but didn't have the eye-catching appeal I needed. So again, I threw the idea out.
Recently, if you read my earlier stuff, I experienced some trouble with the program DAZ 3D. I recalled that DAZ had different viewing options for the models and scenery, one of which included shaded wire-frame view. This gave the look of an unfinished but still sizable project. As I thought about the uses of this function, an idea began to form. Originally my plan was to find 3D modeled scenery that was still in a similar format, then find the same scenery after the textures and everything else was complete, then merge the two pictures, creating a transition from the work in progress to the finished idea. Sadly finding pictures that fit my criteria proved much more difficult than I had intended, and I began to lose hope on this idea.
I decided to work in DAZ as a last resort, not really liking my past experience with it. Creating a scene was easy, although I was sad to say it wasn't a fantasy scene, originally it was a dystopian city scene, since I didn't know that I had anything else. The concept worked well enough, using Photoshop to create an effective transition effect. Again, however, the lack of a real eye-catching element, combined with the fact that it wasn't a fantasy scene, really kept the concept from reaching its full potential.
Finally it dawned on me. After searching through the pre-made items provided with DAZ, I found a full fantasy action scene, that had action poses for a hero, a dragon, and a fantasy scene for them to fight in. After setting everything up, I quickly took screen grabs of the wire-frame view and the normal view, faded them together, and added appropriate text. The end result was this:
The action scene and the bright colors really pop out, while the detail within the picture really combine elements of design and adventure. Designing Adventure could not have had a better poster. With this poster, my presentation will be all the more impressive, and I look forward to how the whole thing will turn out.
My project centered on quest design, the aspect within game design that formulates story and structure for many role-playing games. I needed a way to capture this essence of adventure and design within a single picture. For a time I thought of making a collage of some sort. By combining different heroes from noted quest-based stories and games, I could really drive home the point of quests. This idea presented the challenge of bringing in the design aspect, however, and was ultimately put aside.
My next idea was to use a fictional map of some sort and edit in a plotting system, to make the map look like it was a work in progress. I thought this idea was closer to the mark, but didn't have the eye-catching appeal I needed. So again, I threw the idea out.
Recently, if you read my earlier stuff, I experienced some trouble with the program DAZ 3D. I recalled that DAZ had different viewing options for the models and scenery, one of which included shaded wire-frame view. This gave the look of an unfinished but still sizable project. As I thought about the uses of this function, an idea began to form. Originally my plan was to find 3D modeled scenery that was still in a similar format, then find the same scenery after the textures and everything else was complete, then merge the two pictures, creating a transition from the work in progress to the finished idea. Sadly finding pictures that fit my criteria proved much more difficult than I had intended, and I began to lose hope on this idea.
I decided to work in DAZ as a last resort, not really liking my past experience with it. Creating a scene was easy, although I was sad to say it wasn't a fantasy scene, originally it was a dystopian city scene, since I didn't know that I had anything else. The concept worked well enough, using Photoshop to create an effective transition effect. Again, however, the lack of a real eye-catching element, combined with the fact that it wasn't a fantasy scene, really kept the concept from reaching its full potential.
Finally it dawned on me. After searching through the pre-made items provided with DAZ, I found a full fantasy action scene, that had action poses for a hero, a dragon, and a fantasy scene for them to fight in. After setting everything up, I quickly took screen grabs of the wire-frame view and the normal view, faded them together, and added appropriate text. The end result was this:
Friday, March 9, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Take My Word for it
So in my last blog about the project I talked about issues I had with my original project. Issues that ultimately resulted in me scrapping the whole thing and moving on to a different project. My current project, the blogs about quest design, is underway and working out quite fine. I've been blogging once daily using WordPress.com. The website proved to be very user-friendly and simple.
Check out the blog here. I'll continue to post daily blogs, discussing different aspects of quest design, how it differs between different games and genres, and my own experiences with different quests.
Suffice to say that this project is going much more smoothly than the last one. My thanks to my director and the Capstone Professor for helping me reach this point.
Check out the blog here. I'll continue to post daily blogs, discussing different aspects of quest design, how it differs between different games and genres, and my own experiences with different quests.
Suffice to say that this project is going much more smoothly than the last one. My thanks to my director and the Capstone Professor for helping me reach this point.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Senior Capstone Cultural Response: Cashore Marionettes
Tonight I witnessed a magic and wonderment I haven't experienced since I was a child. A time when the joy of the stage transported the mind to a place where anything could happen and the world itself ran on dreams. It sounds fanciful but I'm not exaggerating. The show I was able to see tonight was just that good.
The show I'm talking about is the Cashore Marionette show. It is a puppet show done by professional puppeteer Joseph Cashore, who has been working with this medium for many years.
What makes Joseph's approach different from other marionette shows is his emphasis on realism and fluid motion. By capturing the smallest details in our most subtle movements, he succeeded in creating puppets that truly fooled the eye, if even for a moment, into believe that it was alive. I watched a mother carry a fussy baby to a rocking chair and slowly rock it to sleep before laying it in a crib. I saw a boy play with a new kite only to be carried off by it. I witnessed a little girl ignore her homework in favor of playing with her toys. Mundane activities all, but what made them special was the movement of the characters. They embodied the souls of actual people, real humans who had gone through the same events. At one point even an elephant, trudging through the Amazon, came onto the stage, and just like the others, this one truly carried the spirit of the animal it mimicked.
By far my favorite scene was a hard rocker who simply jammed out heavy rock tunes on his guitar. As he danced around the stage, his amp began to smoke. He noticed it and with some kicking "fixed" the problem. Much to our (the audience's) amusement, as he went back to playing, the amp caught again before finally blowing to end the scene. The movements of the guitarist coupled with the music and overall atmosphere of the piece screamed lightheartedness at the audience and the response was a non-stop roar of happy laughter.
The show ended with...well I won't ruin it, but it was called the Quest, and it lasted about 3 or 4 minutes. Suffice to say it was one of the best finales to any stage piece I've ever seen. It summed up Joseph's mission and his passion while giving the audience a spectacle they could appreciate, all the while keeping with the lighthearted tune of the whole show.
In the span of about an hour and 45 minutes, I was brought through happiness and joy, sadness and despair, and through it all I realized that my emotions were being manipulated by the animation of these fake people. I believed the characters to be real, and I became sympathetic to their needs, their wants, and their lives. In this light I hope Cashore considers his performance a success tonight, because I certainly would.
The show I'm talking about is the Cashore Marionette show. It is a puppet show done by professional puppeteer Joseph Cashore, who has been working with this medium for many years.
What makes Joseph's approach different from other marionette shows is his emphasis on realism and fluid motion. By capturing the smallest details in our most subtle movements, he succeeded in creating puppets that truly fooled the eye, if even for a moment, into believe that it was alive. I watched a mother carry a fussy baby to a rocking chair and slowly rock it to sleep before laying it in a crib. I saw a boy play with a new kite only to be carried off by it. I witnessed a little girl ignore her homework in favor of playing with her toys. Mundane activities all, but what made them special was the movement of the characters. They embodied the souls of actual people, real humans who had gone through the same events. At one point even an elephant, trudging through the Amazon, came onto the stage, and just like the others, this one truly carried the spirit of the animal it mimicked.
By far my favorite scene was a hard rocker who simply jammed out heavy rock tunes on his guitar. As he danced around the stage, his amp began to smoke. He noticed it and with some kicking "fixed" the problem. Much to our (the audience's) amusement, as he went back to playing, the amp caught again before finally blowing to end the scene. The movements of the guitarist coupled with the music and overall atmosphere of the piece screamed lightheartedness at the audience and the response was a non-stop roar of happy laughter.
The show ended with...well I won't ruin it, but it was called the Quest, and it lasted about 3 or 4 minutes. Suffice to say it was one of the best finales to any stage piece I've ever seen. It summed up Joseph's mission and his passion while giving the audience a spectacle they could appreciate, all the while keeping with the lighthearted tune of the whole show.
In the span of about an hour and 45 minutes, I was brought through happiness and joy, sadness and despair, and through it all I realized that my emotions were being manipulated by the animation of these fake people. I believed the characters to be real, and I became sympathetic to their needs, their wants, and their lives. In this light I hope Cashore considers his performance a success tonight, because I certainly would.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Senior Capstone Project: Starting Anew
Well as of yesterday my project shifted gears and is now heading in a completely new direction. Instead of creating an animated work, I'll be writing a paper that is part research paper, part discussion, and part creative writing, based on the idea of Quest Design in video game development. How did I get from point A to point B? Well here's an explanation.
The problem originated when I set out to work with DAZ Studio. The computers in the MAC labs in Knutti have the program, but they don't run optimally, and their libraries were....mixed up, so when I loaded the models I had bought, I couldn't find them. Add in the fact that my city environment was made for DAZ Studio 4 and the MAC's had DAZ Studio 3, and it was clear I wasn't going to be able to get my work done in the COMM labs. My other option was a high performance gaming PC that my father and I built and he had ordered for me as a christmas/graduation present. The problem there was the shipping was taking forever and I couldn't rely on a computer that literally wasn't here yet.
My next step was to see if my laptop could at least run the software. I figured if anything else, maybe I could get poses down and do a storyboard while waiting for the PC. The software installed and after some playtime with it and some panicking about finding my models, I got everything to work, albeit very slowly. The laptop ran the software in a very choppy fashion, making it impossible to get any real detailed work done. So I crossed off that option, still waiting for the PC.
My roommate was gracious enough to let me try his laptop with the software. Being a higher end computer, it ran everything more smoothly, until I worked in the lighting, at which point everything ran slower than my laptop did. Again realizing this option wasn't going to happen, I scratched it off the list.
Finally, my PC came in, and I immediately installed DAZ Studio 4 and began installing models. I was shocked, however, when I brought in all the characters and realized that the software ran just as choppy as on the past two systems. I brought this fact to the attention of my director, who asked me to check the RAM/CPU usage. My PC has a 8-core processor and 16GB of RAM, I figured it could handle the software no problem. As it turns out, however, the software didn't know how to allocate everything correctly (and there wasn't a way to fix that). My roommate, being fairly tech savvy, and I ran some tests and found that the CPU usage spiked whenever I tried to do anything in DAZ, while the RAM usage didn't change at all.
As a last resort option I figured that the earlier version of DAZ, DAZ 3, may have all the compatibility issues worked out and might be better at using my desktop's resources. I tried installing it, but it required a serial number, and the one DAZ provided me didn't work, not even the one my director gave me worked. Defeated at this point, I brought these issues to the attention of my director and we worked out a new plan.
The job I'm going to be attempting to get when I graduate is called a Quest Designer. There's an opening at Bethesda Softworks for the position. A Quest Designer (QD) works with the game designers, level designers, etc to create the plot points and missions that the player will complete in order to progress in the game. Not every game needs a QD (Sports games or Shooters, for example), but story-driven games and RPG's almost always have one. My project now is to write about QD's, what they do, why it's important, and also show some examples of Quest Design in popular games. Finally I'll be writing some quests of my own, in narrative form, which I can also submit with my application for the actual job.
This project requires less production work, but it will require more research and reference. The biggest advantage of this project for me is that it will be easily applied to my ideal line of work, allowing me to hopefully achieve my goal of working for Bethesda right out of graduation.
The problem originated when I set out to work with DAZ Studio. The computers in the MAC labs in Knutti have the program, but they don't run optimally, and their libraries were....mixed up, so when I loaded the models I had bought, I couldn't find them. Add in the fact that my city environment was made for DAZ Studio 4 and the MAC's had DAZ Studio 3, and it was clear I wasn't going to be able to get my work done in the COMM labs. My other option was a high performance gaming PC that my father and I built and he had ordered for me as a christmas/graduation present. The problem there was the shipping was taking forever and I couldn't rely on a computer that literally wasn't here yet.
My next step was to see if my laptop could at least run the software. I figured if anything else, maybe I could get poses down and do a storyboard while waiting for the PC. The software installed and after some playtime with it and some panicking about finding my models, I got everything to work, albeit very slowly. The laptop ran the software in a very choppy fashion, making it impossible to get any real detailed work done. So I crossed off that option, still waiting for the PC.
My roommate was gracious enough to let me try his laptop with the software. Being a higher end computer, it ran everything more smoothly, until I worked in the lighting, at which point everything ran slower than my laptop did. Again realizing this option wasn't going to happen, I scratched it off the list.
Finally, my PC came in, and I immediately installed DAZ Studio 4 and began installing models. I was shocked, however, when I brought in all the characters and realized that the software ran just as choppy as on the past two systems. I brought this fact to the attention of my director, who asked me to check the RAM/CPU usage. My PC has a 8-core processor and 16GB of RAM, I figured it could handle the software no problem. As it turns out, however, the software didn't know how to allocate everything correctly (and there wasn't a way to fix that). My roommate, being fairly tech savvy, and I ran some tests and found that the CPU usage spiked whenever I tried to do anything in DAZ, while the RAM usage didn't change at all.
As a last resort option I figured that the earlier version of DAZ, DAZ 3, may have all the compatibility issues worked out and might be better at using my desktop's resources. I tried installing it, but it required a serial number, and the one DAZ provided me didn't work, not even the one my director gave me worked. Defeated at this point, I brought these issues to the attention of my director and we worked out a new plan.
The job I'm going to be attempting to get when I graduate is called a Quest Designer. There's an opening at Bethesda Softworks for the position. A Quest Designer (QD) works with the game designers, level designers, etc to create the plot points and missions that the player will complete in order to progress in the game. Not every game needs a QD (Sports games or Shooters, for example), but story-driven games and RPG's almost always have one. My project now is to write about QD's, what they do, why it's important, and also show some examples of Quest Design in popular games. Finally I'll be writing some quests of my own, in narrative form, which I can also submit with my application for the actual job.
This project requires less production work, but it will require more research and reference. The biggest advantage of this project for me is that it will be easily applied to my ideal line of work, allowing me to hopefully achieve my goal of working for Bethesda right out of graduation.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Research Pt. 2
Due to my limited skill as an animator, I need to be able to imply a lot of the action that's going on in the short. This isn't a new idea in animation, or movie making at all. In fact, some famous directors were notorious for using clever editing to get the effects they wanted. Alfred Hitchcock for example, often would show an event, then cut to a completely different taping of an actor reacting to the event. For him, though, it was more about controlling the different aspects of his movies. What I'm looking at is using minimal actual action to convey the message.
Japanese animation, particularly older works, is the best example of using implied action. Many of the staples of the industry were actually money saving methods to cut down on production costs. Action sequences were reduced to only a few frames of animation, but the way the shots were edited and combined together made it seem like something had actually happened. Take a look at this video here, it's from the series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, although sound effects from the game Super Smash Brothers was put in over the actual sounds:
At about the 00:26 mark, watch the punch that happens. First the blonde guy gets hit, but he only moves back about a foot, then there's a cut to a full body shot of both characters, he's still moving kinda slowly. About until he reaches the edge of the screen, then finally both characters recoil realistically, when it would take very little effort to do so. The punch itself wasn't animated, but the aftermath was, and furthermore, it was exaggerated. By putting in the beginning of the event and drawing out the end, we fill in the blanks of everything else that happened.
Another great example can be found in the series DURARARA! Take a look:
There's a good bit of build up, but pay attention at the 1:02 mark. The fist and the guy's face make contact and instantly the camera cuts to the back of the crowd as the guy flies (comically losing everything but his socks and underwear) into the street. We get extremely little followthrough on the blonde guy's part, since the action is focused on the target's flight. As the target lands, look back at the crowd, there's no movement at all, they're frozen in time. It's because the animators want you as a viewer to be only paying attention to the guy who just got punched out of his clothes. This isn't a bad thing, since it saves the animators time and therefore their employers money. I'm only pointing out how a lot of effort is put into not putting effort into animated works, since it's easy to imply action.
I intend to use these, as well as many other examples, when working on my project. By implying action, I can cut down on the work I have to do without compromising the quality of the final work itself.
Japanese animation, particularly older works, is the best example of using implied action. Many of the staples of the industry were actually money saving methods to cut down on production costs. Action sequences were reduced to only a few frames of animation, but the way the shots were edited and combined together made it seem like something had actually happened. Take a look at this video here, it's from the series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, although sound effects from the game Super Smash Brothers was put in over the actual sounds:
At about the 00:26 mark, watch the punch that happens. First the blonde guy gets hit, but he only moves back about a foot, then there's a cut to a full body shot of both characters, he's still moving kinda slowly. About until he reaches the edge of the screen, then finally both characters recoil realistically, when it would take very little effort to do so. The punch itself wasn't animated, but the aftermath was, and furthermore, it was exaggerated. By putting in the beginning of the event and drawing out the end, we fill in the blanks of everything else that happened.
Another great example can be found in the series DURARARA! Take a look:
There's a good bit of build up, but pay attention at the 1:02 mark. The fist and the guy's face make contact and instantly the camera cuts to the back of the crowd as the guy flies (comically losing everything but his socks and underwear) into the street. We get extremely little followthrough on the blonde guy's part, since the action is focused on the target's flight. As the target lands, look back at the crowd, there's no movement at all, they're frozen in time. It's because the animators want you as a viewer to be only paying attention to the guy who just got punched out of his clothes. This isn't a bad thing, since it saves the animators time and therefore their employers money. I'm only pointing out how a lot of effort is put into not putting effort into animated works, since it's easy to imply action.
I intend to use these, as well as many other examples, when working on my project. By implying action, I can cut down on the work I have to do without compromising the quality of the final work itself.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Pre-Production (cont.)
Recently I've been looking into DaZ tutorials to get myself acquainted with the interface of the software. I downloaded the newest version of DaZ studio and began toying with the features. Looking back I'm glad I decided to try it out first. The new interface is very different from the one used in Kevin's Animation class. Thankfully, the necessities are relatively the same in both versions.
In looking for tutorials, I found that one skill I was completely lacking in was lighting. We covered it very minimally in the class, and never really got to put the ideas into practice. Knowing I'll be doing lighting in my work, I looked into it and found a very in-depth tutorial on the basics of lighting along with some handy tricks to make the process easier. You can check out the tutorial here.
I've also been busy finding different sound effects to use in the short. Finding specific sounds (like combat armor scraping on concrete) has been very difficult, but I've still got some ideas as to where I can find suitable sounds. Most of my sound effects are being pulled from either FreeSound.org or from the GarageBand sound library. I'll also have to record some very minor voice work and work with it in either GarageBand or Soundtrack Pro to filter it correctly.
In looking for tutorials, I found that one skill I was completely lacking in was lighting. We covered it very minimally in the class, and never really got to put the ideas into practice. Knowing I'll be doing lighting in my work, I looked into it and found a very in-depth tutorial on the basics of lighting along with some handy tricks to make the process easier. You can check out the tutorial here.
I've also been busy finding different sound effects to use in the short. Finding specific sounds (like combat armor scraping on concrete) has been very difficult, but I've still got some ideas as to where I can find suitable sounds. Most of my sound effects are being pulled from either FreeSound.org or from the GarageBand sound library. I'll also have to record some very minor voice work and work with it in either GarageBand or Soundtrack Pro to filter it correctly.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Senior Capstone Cultural Response: Sweeney Todd
This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to be among the crowd at the first showing of Shepherd's Musical Deparment's rendition of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In this post I'll go over my experience.
First I'll go over the visual aspects. Visually the play wasn't particularly striking, but the costumes and set design all worked well in conveying the atmosphere. Many of the set pieces were used for multiple settings, which broke the immersion for me at different points. The pieces were very large however, so it made sense that they'd be hard to move around, or fit other pieces off stage to bring in. The costumes used color vividly, and communicated the idea of life itself, as was demonstrated in the second act as many of the townspeople wore clothes with little or no color. As Sweeney and Mrs Lovett came into their fortunes and their lives took off, the rest of the townsfolk seemed to have their lives drained from them. The makeup for Sweeney's sunken in features as well as the dirt on many of the poorer folk did an excellent job in adding depth and realism to their looks. The actors all looked their parts very well, being cast into roles that really complimented each performers' traits. All in all the visuals were well put together and they added a nice level of dreariness to the play.
The sound of the play, being a musical/operatic sort of production is easily the most important factor. For the most part the sung pieces and music all came through clearly, and the instruments worked with the voices to create a unique sound that often left me with chills. The use of an exceptionally loud train whistle at various points to emphasize moments of insanity in the play was disorienting and it made me jump every time. My only real complaint was the chorus voices. When the chorus would sing, I had trouble understanding what the lyrics were. Only when key members sung on their own did the words become clear, but otherwise it all got muddled. I'm not sure if it was because of the sound equipment or if it was due to the combination of the pitches, tones, and volumes, but either way it made a couple of the smaller plot points a little harder to understand.
I didn't want to spend time going over the story, because unless the director decides to make significant changes to it (in this case they did not) the story will not change. Sweeney Todd is Sweeney Todd. I had actually never seen the play (or the movie) before. I had a wonderful time, though, and thoroughly enjoyed the production. I'd encourage anyone who enjoys theater, musical theater, or dark humor to look into this show. But be ready for that train whistle.
First I'll go over the visual aspects. Visually the play wasn't particularly striking, but the costumes and set design all worked well in conveying the atmosphere. Many of the set pieces were used for multiple settings, which broke the immersion for me at different points. The pieces were very large however, so it made sense that they'd be hard to move around, or fit other pieces off stage to bring in. The costumes used color vividly, and communicated the idea of life itself, as was demonstrated in the second act as many of the townspeople wore clothes with little or no color. As Sweeney and Mrs Lovett came into their fortunes and their lives took off, the rest of the townsfolk seemed to have their lives drained from them. The makeup for Sweeney's sunken in features as well as the dirt on many of the poorer folk did an excellent job in adding depth and realism to their looks. The actors all looked their parts very well, being cast into roles that really complimented each performers' traits. All in all the visuals were well put together and they added a nice level of dreariness to the play.
The sound of the play, being a musical/operatic sort of production is easily the most important factor. For the most part the sung pieces and music all came through clearly, and the instruments worked with the voices to create a unique sound that often left me with chills. The use of an exceptionally loud train whistle at various points to emphasize moments of insanity in the play was disorienting and it made me jump every time. My only real complaint was the chorus voices. When the chorus would sing, I had trouble understanding what the lyrics were. Only when key members sung on their own did the words become clear, but otherwise it all got muddled. I'm not sure if it was because of the sound equipment or if it was due to the combination of the pitches, tones, and volumes, but either way it made a couple of the smaller plot points a little harder to understand.
I didn't want to spend time going over the story, because unless the director decides to make significant changes to it (in this case they did not) the story will not change. Sweeney Todd is Sweeney Todd. I had actually never seen the play (or the movie) before. I had a wonderful time, though, and thoroughly enjoyed the production. I'd encourage anyone who enjoys theater, musical theater, or dark humor to look into this show. But be ready for that train whistle.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Pre-Production
I finally came around to buying the models and props that I needed for my animation project. In this blog, I'll go over my items and why I chose them.
To begin with, some explanation of what I'm doing. Gist Echno: Sector 1 is the title of my animation. It takes place in the city the title is named for. The city housed the headquarters of a advanced weapons technology firm called Aegis Technologies. In trying to develop AI-based robotic infantry, the company instead unleashed a mechanical army whose primary target is humanity. Several years have passed since the initial fighting, and the city is barren. A few pockets of humans still struggle to survive, and the short will tell a quick story of one man.
To summarize, the animation involves advanced weaponry, a dystopian city, a post-apocalyptic setting, and robots. To accomplish these parameters, I did a considerable amount of research, budgeting, and planning. Sadly some of that went out the window when it came time to buy, but I think the decisions I made on the fly will inevitably keep the project going and allow for more creativity later on.
First we'll go over the setting, Gist Echno itself. The city's design is very modern, with a futuristic Japanese feel to it. It embodies the ideas of efficiency in the cities design over the visual appeal, but this in turn gives the city its own unique look. The product itself is linked here and here's a picture of what part of the city will look like:
Next I'll go over character models. A problem I was coming across was trying to find a way to get multiple characters in my project without going horribly over budget. Thankfully I found some items that gave me simple solutions. The way this project will work is there is a male model, we'll call him Bob for now. Now Bob is, for all intents and purposes, naked when you bring him into the software, so you need to give him clothes. In this case, I went with advanced combat armor. Linked here and shown here:
Now this armor is pretty impressive, and it comes with a few different color variants and helmet mods. Considering that I can bring in multiple Bob's and dress them up differently, I can have a lot of different characters all based off of Bob. So Bob can look like a couple of different guys, but none of it really looks very machine like. Thankfully, I found a variant made for this armor setup, linked here and shown below:
Bit of a difference with this one right? The pack also came with three other variants, so using just Bob as a base, I can make an entire robot army. I felt like among all of the models I'd have available, this one would be the easiest to write as a machine with the right sound effects and mannerisms.
There were other options for this project, but I think I picked the best ones not only for this project, but also for later projects, which is just as important in this case because I'm paying for the items!
By combining the futuristic setting with the advanced and machine-looking combat armors, I will achieve the feel and ambiance that I set out to with this project.
To begin with, some explanation of what I'm doing. Gist Echno: Sector 1 is the title of my animation. It takes place in the city the title is named for. The city housed the headquarters of a advanced weapons technology firm called Aegis Technologies. In trying to develop AI-based robotic infantry, the company instead unleashed a mechanical army whose primary target is humanity. Several years have passed since the initial fighting, and the city is barren. A few pockets of humans still struggle to survive, and the short will tell a quick story of one man.
To summarize, the animation involves advanced weaponry, a dystopian city, a post-apocalyptic setting, and robots. To accomplish these parameters, I did a considerable amount of research, budgeting, and planning. Sadly some of that went out the window when it came time to buy, but I think the decisions I made on the fly will inevitably keep the project going and allow for more creativity later on.
First we'll go over the setting, Gist Echno itself. The city's design is very modern, with a futuristic Japanese feel to it. It embodies the ideas of efficiency in the cities design over the visual appeal, but this in turn gives the city its own unique look. The product itself is linked here and here's a picture of what part of the city will look like:
Next I'll go over character models. A problem I was coming across was trying to find a way to get multiple characters in my project without going horribly over budget. Thankfully I found some items that gave me simple solutions. The way this project will work is there is a male model, we'll call him Bob for now. Now Bob is, for all intents and purposes, naked when you bring him into the software, so you need to give him clothes. In this case, I went with advanced combat armor. Linked here and shown here:
Now this armor is pretty impressive, and it comes with a few different color variants and helmet mods. Considering that I can bring in multiple Bob's and dress them up differently, I can have a lot of different characters all based off of Bob. So Bob can look like a couple of different guys, but none of it really looks very machine like. Thankfully, I found a variant made for this armor setup, linked here and shown below:
Bit of a difference with this one right? The pack also came with three other variants, so using just Bob as a base, I can make an entire robot army. I felt like among all of the models I'd have available, this one would be the easiest to write as a machine with the right sound effects and mannerisms.
There were other options for this project, but I think I picked the best ones not only for this project, but also for later projects, which is just as important in this case because I'm paying for the items!
By combining the futuristic setting with the advanced and machine-looking combat armors, I will achieve the feel and ambiance that I set out to with this project.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Expectations
With my Capstone project I'll be using skills pulled from various classes I've taken in the Communications Department here at Shepherd. However this project won't merely be a test of all I've learned. It will itself be a learning experience. Here is what my expectations are in that regard.
My skills as an animator will be put to the test, and in that regard, my skills as a film editor will also come into play. I'll need to improve both for this to be truly high quality, but what I've done in past classes will definitely help me.
I'll need to demonstrate a sound knowledge of, well, sound. Synching sound effects as well as finding ones that fit the action on screen will be something I've only done very little of, but what I did accomplish I felt confident in. I feel I will have no problem with this.
Finally my post production skills will be a deciding factor. My ability to use programs like Final Cut Pro and SoundTrack Pro in order to put the final work together will be a test of the skills I've learned through Music Video, TV News, and Sound Design.
From this project I hope to have a better understanding of how a full production comes together. I've done a full length audio drama in the past, as well as a full length music video, but they only incorporated a few of the aspects of a full production. By working with animation, video editing, and sound, I feel I'll be bringing all of it together in a way that will be both enlightening, and fun.
My skills as an animator will be put to the test, and in that regard, my skills as a film editor will also come into play. I'll need to improve both for this to be truly high quality, but what I've done in past classes will definitely help me.
I'll need to demonstrate a sound knowledge of, well, sound. Synching sound effects as well as finding ones that fit the action on screen will be something I've only done very little of, but what I did accomplish I felt confident in. I feel I will have no problem with this.
Finally my post production skills will be a deciding factor. My ability to use programs like Final Cut Pro and SoundTrack Pro in order to put the final work together will be a test of the skills I've learned through Music Video, TV News, and Sound Design.
From this project I hope to have a better understanding of how a full production comes together. I've done a full length audio drama in the past, as well as a full length music video, but they only incorporated a few of the aspects of a full production. By working with animation, video editing, and sound, I feel I'll be bringing all of it together in a way that will be both enlightening, and fun.
Senior Capstone Project Progress: Research
As I reach what I'm hoping is my final semester at Shepherd University, I am faced with a daunting final challenge: the Senior Capstone project. Some sort of combination project and presentation of my own choosing that I'll be working on throughout the semester. The project I've chosen is to create a short animated film, using the 3D animation program DaZ Studio. I'll also have to incorporate Final Cut, SoundTrack Pro, and possibly a few other programs in the final production. I'll be tracking my progress through weekly blogs, and with this first one I'll discuss some animated shorts I came upon for research and inspiration.
The first video I'll discuss is called "Pigeon: Impossible" and it is by Martell Animation. It's a funny little animation about a CIA agent who has some troubles from a pigeon. Check it out here:
This video is important to me on a couple of different levels. The first is how realistic the world is. Aside from the slightly cartoony appearance of the people, the entire world is fully realized in a way that is exceptionally similar to our own. One of my favorite examples is the interior of the CIA briefcase, with all the buttons and the full keyboard. Secondly, the way that the pigeon is animated. His face is fully capable of stretching and twisting like a human's, giving him the ability to smile or show surprise or fear. This humanizes him a little, and makes him more likeable and sympathetic. As I considered his characterization, I realized that if the pigeon were restricted to the expressions of an actual pigeon, a lot of his antics would seem more like a stupid bird flailing around in the briefcase as opposed to a curious character pressing different buttons.
Another aspect of the pigeon that struck me was the limited amount of humanization he was given. Unlike other bird characters in other works, which may be able to use their wings like hands, this bird was only given the facial expressions (and the ability to pilot what is essentially a fighter, but that's besides the point) and pressed buttons and moved objects using his beak. I think this limitation keeps the viewer from rooting for the bird as much as the agent, and I need to keep that in mind when using non-human characters in my own animation. Should I give them no humanization, they will be more like objects, not gaining any sympathy from the viewer or at most very little. If I give them too much humanization, the viewer may lose the direction I want to take them in.
The next animation I wanted to discuss was called Fallen Art, by Tomek Baginski. You can view it here:
What struck me about this animation, especially in contrast to the others I'll be listing here, was how much detail went into the faces and skin of the various characters. They aren't smooth spheres and shapes like in the others. They actually have wrinkles, dirt, texture. This adds a level of depth and grotesqueness to their appearances, but I believe that was the point. The entire film seems a satire of military operations and the minds of people in power, and the strange appearances of the characters fits that very well. Paying special attention to texture detail gives this world a stark believability and I realize that I need to make a design choice with my animation: do I want to work on this level of detail (or rather a comparable level given my time constraints) or should I look for other ways to make the world believable?
The next animation we'll look at is my favorite of the four, from an animation standpoint. It's called ALARM, by Team Mesai. Check it out here:
What I like most about this animation is the extreme level of detail that went into realizing this world as a physical space. While watching it pay close attention to how the curtains sway, and how their swaying changes the lighting in the room, and how the protagonist's pajamas sway and move with him. They flow realistically, the items he carries, throws, or otherwise interacts with seem to have mass and weight, even in just their appearance. What this tells me in analysis is that even with non-realistic looking characters, little, subtle actions during production can make the world all the more believable.
The final animation I'd like to talk about is called Cat's Meow, by Jorge Garcia. Check it out here:
In a huge contrast to the last two animations, this one goes for a very simple, but very effective, visual style that depends more on classic exaggeration of movement and comedic effect and less on detail or physical realism. What I gain from this animation is that both styles are completely valid, and if I can work my animation to be visually appealing (like this one) it doesn't have to be very realistic at all. The full humanization of the cat and the classic cartoon antics it and its owner get into provide a fun and believable environment that was a joy to watch.
I feel that these videos, plus a few others I watched, gave me a good understanding of what people of both professional and collegiate experience go for in their animations. While I haven't quite decided on the theme of my own, I think these videos were a good starting point for figuring out how I should approach my project. I'm looking forward to getting a good work out there that could possibly be comparable to some of these.
The first video I'll discuss is called "Pigeon: Impossible" and it is by Martell Animation. It's a funny little animation about a CIA agent who has some troubles from a pigeon. Check it out here:
This video is important to me on a couple of different levels. The first is how realistic the world is. Aside from the slightly cartoony appearance of the people, the entire world is fully realized in a way that is exceptionally similar to our own. One of my favorite examples is the interior of the CIA briefcase, with all the buttons and the full keyboard. Secondly, the way that the pigeon is animated. His face is fully capable of stretching and twisting like a human's, giving him the ability to smile or show surprise or fear. This humanizes him a little, and makes him more likeable and sympathetic. As I considered his characterization, I realized that if the pigeon were restricted to the expressions of an actual pigeon, a lot of his antics would seem more like a stupid bird flailing around in the briefcase as opposed to a curious character pressing different buttons.
Another aspect of the pigeon that struck me was the limited amount of humanization he was given. Unlike other bird characters in other works, which may be able to use their wings like hands, this bird was only given the facial expressions (and the ability to pilot what is essentially a fighter, but that's besides the point) and pressed buttons and moved objects using his beak. I think this limitation keeps the viewer from rooting for the bird as much as the agent, and I need to keep that in mind when using non-human characters in my own animation. Should I give them no humanization, they will be more like objects, not gaining any sympathy from the viewer or at most very little. If I give them too much humanization, the viewer may lose the direction I want to take them in.
The next animation I wanted to discuss was called Fallen Art, by Tomek Baginski. You can view it here:
What struck me about this animation, especially in contrast to the others I'll be listing here, was how much detail went into the faces and skin of the various characters. They aren't smooth spheres and shapes like in the others. They actually have wrinkles, dirt, texture. This adds a level of depth and grotesqueness to their appearances, but I believe that was the point. The entire film seems a satire of military operations and the minds of people in power, and the strange appearances of the characters fits that very well. Paying special attention to texture detail gives this world a stark believability and I realize that I need to make a design choice with my animation: do I want to work on this level of detail (or rather a comparable level given my time constraints) or should I look for other ways to make the world believable?
The next animation we'll look at is my favorite of the four, from an animation standpoint. It's called ALARM, by Team Mesai. Check it out here:
What I like most about this animation is the extreme level of detail that went into realizing this world as a physical space. While watching it pay close attention to how the curtains sway, and how their swaying changes the lighting in the room, and how the protagonist's pajamas sway and move with him. They flow realistically, the items he carries, throws, or otherwise interacts with seem to have mass and weight, even in just their appearance. What this tells me in analysis is that even with non-realistic looking characters, little, subtle actions during production can make the world all the more believable.
The final animation I'd like to talk about is called Cat's Meow, by Jorge Garcia. Check it out here:
In a huge contrast to the last two animations, this one goes for a very simple, but very effective, visual style that depends more on classic exaggeration of movement and comedic effect and less on detail or physical realism. What I gain from this animation is that both styles are completely valid, and if I can work my animation to be visually appealing (like this one) it doesn't have to be very realistic at all. The full humanization of the cat and the classic cartoon antics it and its owner get into provide a fun and believable environment that was a joy to watch.
I feel that these videos, plus a few others I watched, gave me a good understanding of what people of both professional and collegiate experience go for in their animations. While I haven't quite decided on the theme of my own, I think these videos were a good starting point for figuring out how I should approach my project. I'm looking forward to getting a good work out there that could possibly be comparable to some of these.
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