Horror Animation Update: Feedback

The general public and multimedia creatives viewed the animation produced for the live client brief and were requested to give positive and negative feedback. People who viewed and commented on the animation include: multimedia students, friends & family, work colleagues and regular customers at the bar I work at.

Feedback:
• I found the animation very creepy.
• Very scary.
• It made me laugh at the end when the girl got pulled into the air vent.
• There was no sound on the girl which could have been beneficial to the animation, especially when she tried to open the door.
• The original story board would have been more entertaining and should be made.
• The animation was really well done, very impressive.
• The lighting on the first version had too much contrast and was over lit. The second had a much more sinister feel.
• Slight improvements could have been made to the skinning.
• Good job mate, well impressed.
• Good student piece.
• Is very good………..
• Could have done with a little more secondary animation.
• I think the character was a little plain.
• Loved the animation.
• I like the way you had a good opening, a peek and a solid ending.
• Interesting how a 3D cartoon is made into a horror.
• Scary mate.
• I think it could have been a little longer with added suspense.
• I think the girl’s clothes could have been a little more interesting.
• I like it, where’s my credit?

Animation Short - The Presence by Dan Norbury

Animation Short - The Presence from Daniel Norbury on Vimeo.

Horror Animation Update: DVD Cover

I've produced a DVD cover for the animation and holds two discs, one DVD for the animation and one CD for the extras such as test renders, storyboards etc.

Horror Animation Update: Rendering

I've been in contact with Hotknife Digital Media Studio to have my animation rendered useding their render farm. Two separate passes were rendered, one for the girl and one for the scene. This covered two issues within the post production process, the first being to shorten rendering time and the second is to create more flexibility when compositing the animation.

A rendered still after effects have been applied in After Effects.

Horror Animation Update: Intro for Animation

I've looked at other short animations and allot of the good ones have an animated title at the beginning. I've learnt a bit of After Effects and covered a tutorial to come up with this intro.

Horror Animation Update: Test Renders

Facial animation timing test render:



Run cycle test render:



Book page flip test render:
I found a great script to create pages in a book. This is my edited version with a book spine for the animation.



Flex test render for the hat movement:

Horror Animation Update: Creating the Scene

This an ambient occlusion test render for the scene created for the animation. This is to get a clear idea of how the ambient occlusion will sit on the scene after I apply the textures.




This is the final textured and lit scene ready for export with the character to MotionBuilder to create the animation.

Horror Animation Update: Examples of Abandoned Rooms

I've looked at existing photos and artwork to get inspiration for what I want to create for the scene.

Horror Animation Update: Creating Morph Targets

I've created some generic morph targets for the facial animation and here are a few previews:

Horror Animation Update: Applying texture & Skinning

I've spent this week painting the skin in Photoshop and skinning the character to a skeleton.




This is the final texturing:

Horror Animation Update: Unwrapping the UVW's

I've unwrapped the UVW's on the girl and applied a checker map to see how the texture will fit. Not too much attention has been given to the clothing as this will be a standard texture, where as the skin will be painted in Photoshop.

Horror Animation Update: Modeling Progress

I've changed the character and given her a hat, this is so the need for a hair modifier is required and saves rendering time.

Modeling Progress:

Horror Animation Update: Modifications to Characters and Story

I've made some modification to the brief and animation story.

Modification 1: Only one character will be used in the animation.
Modification 2: Only one scene will be used in the animation.
Modification 3: The length of the animation can range from 1 minutes to 4 minutes.

These changes have been made due to the short time scale of the project and other projects that need completion in conjunction to this one.

Modeling progress:

How to Storyboard

This video shows the entire story boarding process for Resident Evil 5. This is a great reference for how the games industry create their animation sequences.

Horror Animation Update: Storyboard & Drawings

Horror Animation Update: D&AD Customised Brief

I've created a personal brief for the project to outline the elements I want to cover. It gives a clear description on personal deadlines, who the animation is aimed at and what the final media will be.

Winners of 2009 D&AD Stundent Awards

Here is an example of a winner from 2009:

Horror Animation Update: Time Management

30/01/10 – 26/03/10 (8 weeks)

Week 1 – Build Characters
Week 2 – Build Scene
Week 3 – Animate
Week 4 – Animate
Week 5 – Animate
Week 6 – Animate & Add effects
Week 7 – Render & Find Sounds
Week 8 – Composite & Edit

Overview of Animation Concept

Concept:

Two children find and abandoned room used for satanic worship, one explores the place in to much depth. She finds herself falling into a dream like state after breathing in the strange air and reading from a strange book. In her dreams a strange figure taunts her and eventually pulls her into its grasp where she is taken and disfigured horrifically. The scene the changes back to the room where she dies with her friend trying to wake her, he then runs out screaming.

Story:

Two children find an old abandoned room amongst some boarded up shops in a rough part of town while kicking their football around the street. They manage to pull off the wooden boards blocking the door into the room and walk in to find a dusty room with a strange smell and the remnants of satanic worship. The room has satanic symbols and strange objects scattered around. The children, not aware of what this place was used for, begin looking around. The girl picks up a few things to look at and notices a chest with debris on it in the corner of the room. She walks over, clears the debris and opens the chest to find a dusty book with a pentagram on the cover. The girl starts reading the some of the book and starts to feel dizzy and passes out.

She wakes up in the room but things are a little different and her friend is no where to be seen. She walks out through the door into a beautiful garden. She’s curious and slowly starts walking around smelling the flowers and looking at things. A shadow moves between the trees in a jerky motion and calls a strange sound to the girl. The girl being curious moves in closer to see what this thing is. It keeps moving away and making the weird sound. The figure appears behind her and pulls her up a tree. The girl screams in terror as the being secures her to a tree branch with its extending limbs. All leaves fall off the tree and every thing dies as the girls skin is pulled off her bones.

The scene change’s back to the abandoned room where the girl is unconscious and convulsing, while her friend is kneeling over her trying to wake her. The convulsing stops as she dies. The boy runs out screaming and the door slams behind him.


Characters:

• Girl
• Boy
• Evil Being

Special Effects:

• Fairy dust blowing around the garden.
• Ambient glow in the dream state.
• Trees morphing and leaves falling to the ground.
• Dark character dripping black ooze.
• Skin being pulled off the girl with blood effects.
• Dust in the abandoned room (on items and in air).

Sounds:

• Boy voice (no words)
• Girl voice (no words)
• Strange creature sound
• Ambient noise in street
• Ambient noise in abandoned room
• Ambient garden sounds
• Inanimate object sound (foot steps, wooden boards, squeaky hinges etc.)

Concepts for Horror Animation

Real Life:
War - Chemical Warfare, Afghanistan Caves
Animals – Dogs, Spiders
Mechanical
Drugs - Hallucinations
Technology
Psycho – Psycho Children, Psycho Killers

Mythological:
Vampire – Black and White, Modern
Monsters – Under the Bed, In the Dark
Goblins – Destroying people’s lives
Witches

Sci-Fi:
Aliens – In Horror Scenarios
Space – Haunted Space Ships
Earth – Aliens Taking Over the World

Supernatural:
Possession – Children, Animals, Town
Evil – Doll, Painting
Poltergeist – House, Hotel, Train
Satanism – Abandoned house, Party

Season:
Easter – Killer Bunny
Winter – Killer Winter Weather
Christmas – Psycho Santa