2D animated short: LAG by Maggie Chan
What I want to achieve at the end of this project:
-Master a new software to broaden my knowledge in the animation industry
-Revamp my workflow
-Assess my level by using what I learned throughout my time in uni
-Create a 2D short that is entirely credited to me (of course with a bit of help/support/ feedback from others)
-Become independent
-To leave the audience thinking after watching the short film (arouse an emotive impact)
CONTENT: (in order with purple headings)
-Development
-Plan
-Script
-Storyboard
-Animatic
-Sound
-Lighting
-Concept art & colour
-Workflow
Note: feedback is in blue
DEVELOPMENT
Research and ideas (For more info. on the development read: Project Pitch)
Link to Project pitch: https://magchankei.wixsite.com/website/post/project-pitch
Tutors Feedback: Project pitch
The idea was well-received, everyone was interested in the concept which was a great sign. Having this agreement assures me that I'm going in the right direction. The only critic was for me to develop it more and try to include more imaginative ideas. Nonetheless, they encouraged me to just be free and continue to do what I am doing.
Some suggestions to look into:
HOME- produced by Ulster University Rhea Hanlon and Méabh Gilheany
Akane Malbeni- https://www.instagram.com/malbeniakane/?hl=en
PLAN
This is my 3rd year of Ulster University. At first, I planned to do the placement year however due to this covid situation there were complications in terms of what will be affected and I don't see much chance of getting a placement place, therefore, I decided to move forward. The decision was actually made late so I only started to think about my final year project.
The initial idea was to create something simple but expressive focusing on the visual aspect of storytelling. The more simple it is the more experimental I can be with the project was what I am going for initially. Originally I wanted to do something close to my culture yet I couldn't think of any story that is interesting to motivate me throughout the year so it's better to leave that idea for the future and starting branching out of ideas I could do for my project.
After narrowing down my ideas, I was most intrigued with the concept of depicting a normal day of a person with unhealthy habits coming into the realisation that they are wasting their life away. Rather than having a strong narrative, again to emphasise this; my focus is more on visual storytelling of the emotion of regret and dread by experimenting with the colours and shapes; is what I plan to deliver.
As mentioned in my project pitch, this idea was very inspired by one of my most favourite short films called, 'Memo'- GOBELINS. Where story focuses on one character who is going through the struggles of dementia. The way the animators expressed it through the use of art in this animation was very beautiful and inspiring on what animation could do.
Important slides of my project pitch:
Extra notes:
The meaning behind the title, 'LAG':
The title I went with was the word 'Lag'. For example, when there's a lag in a film or game there is a time skip which leads you wondering what in-between just like how the character sees the time flying by so rapidly.
Name of character:
To make things easier to design I named the character 'Carly', (meaning: free woman). This helps me to regard the character as a person making it easier to come to life.
SCRIPT
Below is a pdf of my script/ screenplay: Since this script was done early this is subject to changes in the future.
I also looked back into one lesson of the hero's journey (monomyth) popularized by Joseph Campbell’s, 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces' (1949) and how might my story works with that.
Rather than a hero, the character is quite the opposite which I think still works well. Instead of winning the ordeal, she loses and comes back with nothing.
-The ordinary world: the hero needs to change
-Call to adventure: laptop (work)
-Enters into the special world where she is confronted by her anxiety.
-Refusal of the call: Tries to fight it off with a distraction (cake)
-As the ordeal heightens she is awoken from the special world by the screech of the fork.
-Return to the ordinary world
-no reward
-no happy ending,
-faces consequences: the loss of sleeping time
STORYBOARD
Emotive intention:
Calm and relax in the beginning then goes downhill towards the end, 'the realisation' then eventually regret and dread.
Rough Storyboard:
I started off by sketching out my idea as roughly and loose as it flows. I tried to refrain from thinking too much so it comes out more fluidly then finally I started reordering and testing different structures until I was satisfied. On the side, I noted some key points to remind me what I'm trying to express through the storyboard. As I develop it further, whenever a new idea comes to mind I'll make sure to take a note of it on the side and consider incorporating it into the short.
Below is a slideshow to a 'clean' version of my storyboard:
(note: click the arrow to see the next slide)
Feedback- the storyboard reads well
Thoughts behind some particular shots in the storyboard:
Slide 1
I knew I wanted the film to somewhat feel more local/personal to where I live so I wanted to incorporate some Northern Ireland element to it. For this reason, I plan to use a Belfast landscape for shot no.2.
Shot 7- 9.1 where Carly sees the alarm one min from ringing then throws her slipper to turn it off. This shows that this is not new, she's been like this before, she knew it coming ( the alarm going off) but nevertheless, she avoids acknowledge it by facing down on her pillow and avoiding getting up even though she has work to be done.
Slide 2
For shot 16.1 -16.2 where the character pushes the work away and replace it with the cake. My intention for this shot is to show that she prioritises the cake over her work. I will explain this more later on but the 'cake' is a metaphor of the unhealthy state of mind. It's the treat before the hard work.
Slide 2- 3
In order to express the anxiety, the character is going through I included a lot of close-ups, odd extreme angles to show discomfort and a tactile feeling of touch through hands fidgeting to show nervousness.
Shot influence/ reference:
Although it's not very noticeable some of the angles shot in slide 3 were inspired by Wong Kar Wai films who is one of my favourite filmmakers. In addition to that as shown on the slide, I have some other references I really like in the way they use the camera. I aim to achieve those odd angle as mention previous through the effect of wide angles like those reference I displayed.
Although I had this time skip sofa scene in mind way before I found this video by a tv series called, 'Insecure' (2016) when I was searching for references. I thought it was great to use it as a guide on how I might tackle this effect.
Timestamp starts at 0:15 to 0:53
Frame:
For the fridge scene, I came across this amazing video of a montage of films using this open fridge shot and this was amazingly compiled by Roma Holiday. I plan on using this as a guide when I complete my animatic.
The ending shot was influenced by a short film called, "The Neighbors' Window' by Marshall Curry". The intention is to show contrast to her being in light doing work while the other side is dark and everyone is off to bed. I thought this ties well with the opening scene where it pans from the bright morning to the room where Carly is asleep. She is behind time: hence the tile LAG.
Timestamp for the frame at 19:10
Frame:
ANIMATIC
Timing:
The animatic was longer than I intended but it wasn't that far off so I kept most scenes as I really feel like it helps moves the story along, of course, this could be changed when I actually start animating. Another reason for this is because there's isn't there was a specific time limit or else I would've definitely cut out some scenes or rethink some of the shots.
After creating my animatic I continue thinking of new creative ideas and solutions to convey the story visually. That's when I came across an extremely helpful site called How to Draw for Storyboarding (floobynooby.com) where they have shot 5 mins clips mentioning line, shape, space, tone, movement and colour. This helped me rethink and apply emphasis to the ideas I had thought about.
Draft animatic (scene 1):
Changes after some feedback:
I was advised by Henry (tutor) after feedback was to rethink the opening shot. I decided to take out the first shot as it seems unnecessary and it helps shorten the film even if it's by a little bit.
One of the great lessons I learnt when creating shots is that every frame should tell some detail about the story or at least helps move the story along. If it don't it shouldn't be there.
Final animatic:
Feedback:
Sarah: for the ending scene make it more clear to which window the character belongs. Later on, this is fix by lowering the main room to the eye line of the frame near the middle.
SOUND
As for the sound for the beginning of the film and end of the film, I planned on depending solely on ambience sound (diegetic sound). This will help us to feel more connected to her surrounding. It is when she starts facing her anxiety is when I will start to add non-diegetic sound to build up the tension in different stages of her mentality.
Henry (tutor):
Think about the use of sound and silence
Think about the contrast between silence and sound/music (ambient)
Start building a list of sounds that you might need
Below as recommended I created a list of sounds I need to obtain:
LIGHTING:
This short film start from the morning to the night therefore expressing the passage of time is important. A great way to do that is through lighting.
References:
Recommended by Daryl (tutor) :
Disneys short 'Feast'
How the light and dark help the narrative to distinguish the dog likes. This is really high quality which is quite far from my level at right now but how, when and where they use it was interesting to analyse.
Recommended by Sarah D (tutor): workflow
-Coloring & Lighting a 2D Animated Character - Super easy! by Somnium Animation Studios
-KLAUS | How to paint a 'Klaus' style Background by The SPA Studios
Although these clips are not Toon Boom base (the software I'm planning to learn and use for this film) however the method still stays the same. It a great insight into how the lighting could be done.
A great example of how I would do the lighting specifically in Toon Boom is the Spring Herald by Curie Lu. Which I will explain further in the workflow section.
Research:
Some resources and notes I've gathered to help me with the lighting.
I find this site to be very useful and straightforward on how shadows change throughout the day:
CONCEPT DESIGN
Art style
The art style is more gear towards realistic rather than abstract as people tend to relate more to what resembles them. If I go too abstract it might take away from the deeper elements I want to convey which is arguable. Probably in the future, I would want to try a more abstract style but not for this film.
Inspirations
The shorts InBetween- Gobelins and Afternoon Class by Seoro Oh are my main inspiration and examples for the line art and style I want to achieve. Also want to mention the Shen Yi gif of an exaggeration to facial expressions is an element I want to try out.
Character: Carly
Moodboard:
Pinterest: style/ character references
An extremely helpful video on character design I refer to when creating my designs:
Head:
I tend to work visually so when I create a story, I like to picture it in my head as I write it. For that reason, I already had some key elements I want in my character such as a female in her mid-20s, with a fringe (covering her insecurities/ not seeing things straight), relatable and fit to aim at teen-adult audience range.
I also took into consideration of time efficiency when animating this as it's a solo project so I made her hair length short. Originally I wanted it to be even shorter but then I realised how it was unintentionally starting to clash with the character in In-Between (Gobelins). Finding the style of the character was exciting; I end up with the one I most enjoyed drawing and closest to my style while possessing all the criteria. It will definitely make the process much more manageable. Also, I want to mention I made her east-Asian (no particular ethnicity) as you can tell for her features out of preference due to the fact that it doesn't affect the story much and this is NOT based on me or anyone I know (to make it clear).
Head turnaround:
The final design has a consistent silhouette shape from the back and front. Also subtly displays many triangles shape such combination of normal and inverted to show tension in the character.
Expression sheet:
I created this expression sheet as part of the progress of designing this character. It's not definite that I'll be using all these expressions but of course, this will be my guide if unsure or struggling during the production process.
For reference, I didn't look at one particular image so I can't name one specifically. I looked at a lot of animator expression sheets on google images and use that as I guide as well as my own originality of how the character might act if I were in her shoes.
Body:
Pinterest: references for clothing
For the body, I have played around with the distortion tool to obtain some unique proportions. I've then tested different clothing to see which matches the best with the story and character. Eventually, I decided to go with the oversized t-shirt look as it provokes a very comfy relaxed vibe which reflects her unmotivated and lazy trait of hers. Other people also support this choice during my feedback tutorials. Another reason was that I feel like I can play with folds and wrinkles on the clothing when creating my animation which will be interesting to experiment with.
In terms of shape language, the overall design consist of a combination of square and triangles. Square of the body to convey the stubbornness of her procrastination. Triangle to emphasise unbalance in life.
Full Body turnaround:
Update:
During last, final week feedback there was a misconception on why the legs of the table and sofa as well as character leg don't connect the reason is:
I just want to point out that this is 'intentional' as you can see throughout the designs and later on in the film that they don't touch. It's part of the design that I wanted.
Click to play turnaround:
Setting/ Mise-en-Scene
Important assets:
Sofa:
I aimed for a comfy sofa that looks cosy enough to be slept on. Nothing too striking that takes away from the story and from a scene in my storyboard, it is essential that the sofa has armrests. After drawing some sofa designs that caught my attention while researching I end up mix-matching details that I feel suited well. The bottom sofa is the final design.
Fridge-
For the fridge, I tested many different shapes and designs. The fridge is a safe area for the character to reach for. It's a distraction so it clear for me to go for a style that screams for you. For that reason, I went with a rounder softer look with additional details as it provokes a more welcoming vibe also keeping in mind its an apartment so nothing too fancy and the frame size in the camera shot where the arm is seen opening the fridge.
Cake- (comfort food)
The cake is basically a 'comfort food'. Although it's not healthy it makes the person feel better. The reason for it to be a cake is that cakes are usually for celebration, the end of hard work, a treat, the dessert after the main so when Carly eats it as her first meal after she has woken up from the sofa before anything else. It is to show she is enjoying the fun before the hardship. The idea of leisure before work. She procrastinates and the cake is a metaphor that sums up everything such as playing games, watching tv, having fun and going out.
The cake (comfort food) is a temporary distraction to the stress and anxiety of avoiding work. She also disposes of the fruits (toppings) which are the only healthy nutrients part of the dessert to show she fails to realise she's wasting her life away.
The important thing for this design is that at first glance the audience should recognise it as a cake in 1-2 secs and it should look appetizing. I did try out other desserts but I went for the classic style. I thought it might be too straightforward but then again that's what I want.
Room (interior)
Indeteremine to whether go for a messy, neglected room (where the character avoids putting effort) or an extremely polished room (where the character procrastinates by prioritising other unnecessary chores/work). I finally came to the conclusion, to go for the super clean idea as people typically overuse messiness for the association with procrastination so I think it will be more entertaining for the other way round which is not that uncommon thing that people do. I achieve this by leaving as much empty space and neatly stack assets.
Plants:
To push further the room design I wanted it to be full of unnecessary stuff but in a tidy way. Emphasising the character spending her time on useless stuff and avoiding work. This is where I introduce, 'plants'. Plants are usually regarded as a relaxing/defence mechanism used by a stressed individual. Which is what my character is experiencing. Rather than just adding any plants I researched into many plant symbolism that suited my story. As shown below these are a few of the plants which I plan on using around my room design:
COLOUR
Colour palette:
During the tutorials, Henry (tutor) suggests using the colours in the films that inspired my film as a guide. As shown below he helped to pixel my reference as an example. I already knew I want the room dull and to contrast that for the anxiety scene would be more loud and bright. When he showed me these pixelated colours from my reference it already really goes well with my idea which was great.
The gif. by shen yi
InBetween- Gobelins
For the colour palette, I used, 'Coolers' (a colour generator tool) to easily modify and adjust colour schemes to my concept idea.
Understanding colour symbolism
Below is a link to a site I especially relied on the most for colour meanings while creating designating colours in my film design:
Setting:
After playing around with the colour palettes I created a specific palette above for the main room, these were the two which worked well in my eyes. Although I like the top one however it looked too lively and soft for what I was intending for. As for the one below the colour, placement seems to work better together and more consistent. I also asked some people around me to see which one they are geared towards to and all seem to like the bottom one because it's easier on the eye. The colours are also chosen with meaning/thoughts the sofa is in warm orange as well as yellow fridge as they are her safety space while the surrounding is dull and cool as well the cold blue sticky note reminding her to do work.
I also tried to bring the focus to the kitchen (because the character goes into the kitchen in one of the scenes) by using the flower pots as line of direction as shown below:
The apartment view
While searching for the apartment view. I knew I wanted it to situated in Belfast so looked up a lot of photos from apartment height view and I came across this image on this site which I linked below:
Link to image:
This will be eventually my main inspiration while designing my background for the apartment view.
Pinterest: apartment view
Design:
Polish background for the apartment view:
Character:
The characteristic of the character is as listed; mid-20s female, unmotivated, stress, neat, lifeless and oblivious to her own feelings. Therefore I decided there's no duller colour than no colour so I went for a very cool monotone palette to emphasise the lack of colour in her life. also to bring it further it will heighten the contrast between her in her grey world and the uneasily vibrant inner mind.
Below is the colour palette for the character, 'Carly':
Dominant colour: grey
Supporting colour: skin tone & black
A tip I learnt is that a good character design is to be able to still recognise the character even to its simplest colour blocks which I think I achieve this well as you can still tell that it's Carly.
Great resource:
(mention this before from above, however I wanted to mention it again since this colour block idea was a tip from this video)
WORKFLOW:
From the start, I knew I wanted to do something similar to how the artist created this film below. The use of Toomboom and using different software for the backgrounds. It is simple and easily achievable. This the best example I could give that is my main guide to create my film in Toon Boom.