Before my induction with Laura i didn't really know anything about rayograms or what they were for that matter, so i decided to see what other artists had produced to give me a feel for the task.
Define Rayogram- 'A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light. '
I particularly liked these two designs, i love the idea of using the film as you can see all the twists and turns. I am going to think of using something similar on my own rayograms.
While looking through Youtube i came across the two videos shown below. The first one is a short 10 second animation made from paper, the finished animation looks very effective but i imagine it wasn't easy to do! It is something i am willing to try if it is fitting with my initial ideas. The second video is a chalkboard animation, for this particular animation it works very well, but i think if your drawing was to detailed, the excess chalk would end up making your animation looking very messy and unclear.
After researching into different type of animals i definitely think birds is most fitting to my chosen piece of music. One of the main things that i was attracted too while researching into Brazil was the birds. I think this could be a good place to start for my character generation. Here are some examples of tropical birds i could use within my animation.
Toucan
Parrot
Although this bird isn't from Brazil i really like the idea of using a peacock...
I then went on to think of examples of animation in which i have seen the use of birds.
For The Birds
Tweety Pie
Rio
I came across a new film Rio, which only came out this year. It used the 2 main birds i had in mind for my own animation. I plan to go see the film in hope it will help me with my own animation ideas!
I have thought over and over about possible characters or animals i could use for my animation. The idea of animals came to mind as i think it is a good basis to start, characterizing something that normally doesn't show much expression or obvious characteristics. Well not as obvious as humans do anyway... I definitely get a tropical, exotic feel while listening to my music. Here are some examples i found which i could use for my final animation.
As a guideline for are animation we were asked to come up with 3 descriptive words, in which we would base are animation around. I decided to come up with 3 different mood boards for my chosen words CELEBRATION, DANCING and HAPPINESS. I thought of a lot of words earlier on in the project, but i feel these 3 were the ones that were most fitting to my chosen music.
Celebration- When i think of celebration i think of balloons, parties, cakes, fireworks, alcohol, dancing, bright colours and happy faces.
Dancing- When i think of dancing i think of carnivals, festivals, parties, music, confidence, skill.
Happiness- When i think of happiness i think of achievement, celebration, joy, things going well, people, smiles, friendly faces.
After researching into different types of animation i then started to think about my own final piece. I first of all started by putting my chosen music onto my ipod, this way i could get a feel for the song whenever i wanted. I feel this was very helpful as it meant i could listen to the song in a range of different situations and environments, therefore coming up with a range of different ideas and outcomes.
Below are a few pages from my sketchbook, in which i created after listening to my chosen music in different environments, situations and moods.
After writing down my initial thoughts into my sketchbook, i now have to start my idea generation, in which i have to pick 3 words to base my 20-30 second animation around. While listening to the music i was reminded of being on holiday or somewhere in the sun. I think this piece of music most reminds me of Brazil or Africa and would quite like to use this as one of my main focus points for my animation.
Research on Brazil
I decided to get some background knowledge on Brazil as i found this was the best way to start my research process, doing this has helped me generate more ideas towards my final piece. I especially love all the bright colours used within Brazil and the factor of celebration.
Starting to get a feel for the project... I have never done animation before so i decided it was a good idea to get some research of different types of animation to help me with my own animation series.
Here are a range of different animated techniques i could use for my final piece.
Stop Motion
After looking through the internet & youtube for different stop motion videos, i came across this one by Christophe Collette. An award winning cinematographer, created entirely in stop motion. Although the video appears quite morbid throughout due to the settings and colours used, it is impossible not to watch the whole animation through. Amazing!
Hand Drawn
I came across this video on youtube while watching hand drawn animation videos by Donato Sansone, his videos are weird and a little bit twisted but follow a very similar theme. I cant find the artist behind this bit of work, but i assume they were inspired by Donato Sansone. I love the effect behind this, it gives a whole different feel to hand drawn animation and is definitely one i want to look into more.
Computer Animation
Of course when people think of computer animation they immediately think of Disney Pixar. I came across the original video of 'For the Birds', i remember this video from a few years back. I quite like the ideas of using birds in my final piece as i think you can use them in a range of different situations and with a range of personalities.
Thaumatrope
This is a very simple form of animation, it is basically a circular piece of card with a piece of string attached to both sides and a drawing on the front and back of the piece of card. The card is then twirled backward and forwards, creating an illusion, very simple! I may have a go of creating one of these myself as part of my research.
