References

http://www.thomas-nielsen.com/funstuff/blog/ss1.jpg

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http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/Stalingrad-movie-still.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRiSiSoTTtMkYntc7aYZ32Pigj2n1KTw9vUANEaqz2Xq-SlXFXyU6-rwjBlVR1Lvtk5flpQwZWLzaQGX6wXaYFoNLM4bzv8LHvS_0j4PuMMK2Nnk6qMADwFHhx7-__39Tw7xBqKFH9wE/s1600/BHDCommandoSuppressed-2.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5EVcEPmSXT7VfGFm9Gp_4EGcf1LcrCDLJrQ_olfgFJGiZj9LcJCeqnsxcyTj-gxSW5UHhK_SaMqzd4WJIQOXE9uUcs6s9EoZxZGulLNoFfbmcQz0IXh_P-1lwM-VdLq5c60h8qC0gKE/s1600/SPRMiller1911A1.jpg

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https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZvfOJPoRi5in7-B4GMwwx-DaH2y09seLyryYt4QFsG2TfABVPnlGX3gE8v7V_hD22Eh4JkpAMnZPcOrtqvr-rh9_kWTed2xl3xpCN5fT5hsI6yvU1v3nsrRutTHLg5yJRpORV2ZfuBE2/s1600/zero-dark-thirty-2012-pic05.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMDbFI3-On9eBlTFAxEjQe4qdHeEW5DXUt1lQdGhbM-4WGIEXwbR-9TjJRdYExQC2gRGnFa3WwD6ezNT1I0WGecjVUdX2SOTr-KbPHbNFchpnywTC6bD8oRwYlHbUJhIDLAq5JUN3-rU/s1600/black-hawk-down-bluray.jpg

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https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=war+movies&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0bNaU-ToA4rA7Aaw0oDwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1280&bih=933#q=tanks+on+fire&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=J5LOCBunn7JsjM%3A%3Bl9eIxU33NShmzM%3BJ5LOCBunn7JsjM%3A&imgrc=J5LOCBunn7JsjM%253A%3B72pKC0zupGtM5M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnewsimg.bbc.co.uk%252Fmedia%252Fimages%252F46756000%252Fjpg%252F_46756985_yementankhouthi226i.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.bbc.co.uk%252F2%252Fhi%252F8368442.stm%3B226%3B170

http://img.jeuxvideo.fr/photo/0231013B05084836-photo-jeuxvideo-1-gameplay-1-gameplay-maison-sur-la-preview-247476-410906-854x480-5-jpg.jpg

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=war+movies&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0bNaU-ToA4rA7Aaw0oDwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1280&bih=933#q=sniper+vantage+point&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=tchUKAyGRJWo8M%253A%3BC-UhqboBlIQFyM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.gameseyeview.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2010%252F11%252Fdinky_sniper.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.gameseyeview.com%252F2010%252F11%252F17%252Ffallout-new-vegas-review%252F%3B864%3B540

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/13/article-0-01FFE7830000044D-604_634x439.jpg

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=war+movies&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0bNaU-ToA4rA7Aaw0oDwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1280&bih=933#q=war+ravaged+towns&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=MpR6RZRp8QYsvM%253A%3BHgYKYpfl1FdW1M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffourinthemorning.ca%252Fsites%252Fdefault%252Ffiles%252Fu3%252F2010-04%252F59_LastPart2_101_web.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffourinthemorning.ca%252Ftags%252Fww-ii%3B700%3B475

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UocF4ycBnYE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpvOwO6tyaM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbc--9ODVkc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n2YF7mfP5s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_C79HadggE

http://animation.about.com/od/otherusefultutorials/a/How-To-Create-An-Animation-Flip-Book.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Flipbook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6zbY8i4_8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEoseZw_tok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbLpTgTZGsg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Ue1AXSzyw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpWM0FNPZSs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArJYvaCCB3c

http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/20/how-the-lego-movie-was-made-animation-video/

http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/why-aardman-shot-its-latest-movie-on-canon-dslrs-1077371

http://emol.org/film/archives/wallacegromit/production.html

http://www.stormthecastle.com/stop-motion-animation/

http://www.animationinabox.co.uk/kids-stop-motion-animation-tutorials/

http://www.filmstreet.co.uk/flashapps/stopframeanimator/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0dD7a6y4iw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJMemIVjLa0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppDAOxoMsLY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACHVwA1D8fE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Qksqlj4dc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZKKoy4US0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbLbye9qTH8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiywTmsCAIg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To0Cnm2kriE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bx7iWRyRs0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgN6UEP_6l4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD-g6uWSWTo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2U7Dh56CIw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsK7wPC1QW8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr2Y3DKHiJg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTNMkA-syNY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxCBzXmMm4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7szu5XK475s

Final Evaluation

Over the course of the past few months, it has been bit of a roller-coaster ride on researching, developing, creating and finalising the product. Along the way there have been decisions and choices that have been made, some have been to alleviate the work load whereas others were made for creative reasons and to ensure that a finalised product had been created.

In the initial research process I would have dearly liked to have visited the Imperial War museum in London to gather more information and inspiration for what it would have been like for the soldiers fighting in the war at that time. Unfortunately, the museum was closed to the public for refurbishment meaning that the resources I sought were almost found entirely using internet resources. When I initially started the research I used images to inspire me. I found this to be fairly effective but what this lacked was real depth into understanding the attitudes of the soldiers that were fighting in the war. In hindsight I should have delved further and researched into books written either by or about soldiers so that I could further engage this within my story structure.

Overall the story in which I had initially wrote for this animation was, looking back, too vast as the time spent on learning software and building and texturing models meant that much of the story couldn’t be told or represented in the manner in which I would have preferred. Although I understand compromises must be met many times when creating a visual product I had to on numerous occasions strip down many aspects to the bare bones and in as many cases remove them altogether. This at times left me with disappointment that these changes had to be made, as in the final product, much of my initial idea has been left out.

After I had written the script I then concentrated on developing the storyboards. For this I used the programme FrameForge 3D. Although this is a powerful yet simple programme to use I had to cut some corners to ensure time was maximised in other areas, such as creating models, and because of this in an attempt to colour the soldiers in red (killed), green (collateral), blue (angels) to make the storyboard easier to understand I had in fact made them confusing to follow. From this I have learnt I should keep the storyboard relevant and make it positively clear to as what is going on in the shot. I did however offer numerous directions in the text boxes below the shot that would aid the reader of these storyboards. However, it appears that this may have been overlooked.

The first programme I attempted to use was Flash and as a beginner to animation I found this a simple but enjoyable programme. The Sunrise Animation I made, in which I followed an online tutorial, was basic and I feel that had I gone on to choose this method of creating my final product I would have been able so fairly competently. However, the characters I would have had to create would have to look a lot better than the one I created for during the tutorial. I enjoyed creating the animation and character in Flash and I can see the appeal in creating an animation in the programme – for those who aren’t animators, anyway.

After trialling Flash I moved onto a more advance piece of software – Maya by AutoDesk. I found the process of learning this software fairly straightforward and with my first attempts I was able to create a Spaceship, of sorts, and a chair (in which the file got corrupted). However, as I was quickly learning the time needed to model, texture and then animate was going to be a monumental task and with that I switched to 3DS Max.

The reason for the switch was for two reasons. On the one hand working with my collaborator, Simon Dormer, who had vastly more experience and knowledge than I have was able to facilitate when I was building models. I started off building basic models such as the shovel and the bollard. With these basic skills I was able to then put these into practice when I created the Lamp Post and the Metal Stairs. These initial models, in the most part, turned out well and I was happy with the final outcome of them. I came across some problems in which were mainly problems that would be met by anybody that is learning a programme for the first time.

This does bring me on to using the programme itself. Initially it took me a little while to learn the programme. There were numerous functions and options that I felt that I would never get my head around, but by sticking by it and taking it one step at a time I was finding that I was slowly becoming more comfortable with it. Some problems that I did face on occasions were at times the vertices were getting out of sync and this was because I wasn’t selecting the vertices I couldn’t see. The way I had to ensure that this didn’t happen was to continually rotate around the object I was building to ensure that all the vertices were in fact selected.

Another feature that I had problems with was when I was unwrapping the model for texturing. I often found that the co-ordinates were out of alignment and this caused the mapping to be distorted and twisted. I had to spend time to ensure that all the vertices and edges were aligned so when I went to texture the model this would have had limited effect on the final outcome and that the texture would be projected correctly.

Another programme I had to ensure that I learned was Photoshop. Although I used this programme on a couple of occasions I was using it for a process that was new to me. Initially I found this hard to get my head around and to ensure that I was able to texture more efficiently I created a basic guide to enable me to refer to so that I was

able to have more fluidity in my working procedure. This is evidenced in the blog that I wrote in about the trial using Photoshop.

Because of the time I spent building models, unwrapping and texturing, it had become apparent who monumental this task had become. Although I endeavoured to do as much as much as I could learning to create an animation from scratch was a task too big and this is a reason why, despite my initial intentions, was unable to try to use After Effects on the product.

Overall, considering I was working on an animation project, an area out of my expertise and skill set, I feel I have learnt a considerable amount in a short space of time. I would of course preferred if the initial idea had retained its original story but during the processes many things had to be changed to enable that, at the very least, a final product was created. There were choices made that despite the time and effort spent on developing the models they do not feature in the final product.

In relation to the final product, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I am disappointed that huge amounts of the original story are no longer part of the final product. I feel that this maybe the case, and the result of my initial fears, when at the start of the project it was suggested to add another element to it. It was during this that the attention went away from creating a World War Two animation and turned into an animation set in World War Two. I do acknowledge that things change and evolve but I feel the attention went away from the initial idea. Having said that, it is me that should have ensured that this was the case as the initial idea came from me. Having said that the final product does look amazing considering the time scale, the fact I was, and still am a novice to animation, and of course the copious amounts of work and effort that was contributed to by my collaborator.

At the start of this assignment it was suggested that we should consider creating a product that we are not familiar with. Being someone who is interested in making films I feel I have learned and developed a lot in an area that I had no interest or understanding of before. On the one hand I am happy with my contributions, but equally disappointed as the task that I set was far too ambitious for my skill set and many things I wanted to do and achieve were unfortunately not achieved.

Anyway, here is the link to the final product.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=7FE5E00F11A89F41!336&authkey=!ABaH6SFuVIfx39c&ithint=video%2c.mp4

Creating a DVD

Ideally, I would like to have used Adobe Encore to create the DVD for the final product. However, as the clock continues to tick ever faster towards the deadline I have had to use a basic programme and this is Windows DVD Maker.

To create the DVD I open the programme and I import the movie file I wish to burn onto the disc.

I then clicked next and from this menu I was able to select the menu which I chose ‘Push’ simply because I felt the style of it suited the final product.

I then edit the Name of the Disc title to Liberation Bridge before burning on a printable DVD.

While the animation was burning to disc I created a face. I used an image from the animation, added some basic text and then printed the disc.