Introduction

Within a collaborative team you will work towards agreed designs and goals. Each individual will design their own response to the brief before the team embark on negotiation towards creating a consistency in design and animation style

THE CHALLENGE: The Sword in the Stone. As a starting point you will design a character who will attempt to pull the sword from the stone. Based on the classic Arthurian legend the challenge will form the ideal starting point from which to create characterisation and dynamic performance options for discussion and negotiation between the collaborative team. From here the team may choose to redesign characters wholesale, or adapt initial concepts to create a consistent design style. You may play with the format, with the sword and stone and it’s implied setting being open for adaptation. The final outcome will be a compilation of each individual's animated sequence edited together.

 Through experimentation you will build on existing character design skills, addressing semiotic issues of communication including shape language, proportion, silhouette and colour. You will be responsible for you own 6-10 second clip of animation. Each individual’s film must consist of 1 wide, 1 medium and 1 close up shot in whichever order you choose. The performance is required to address classic animation principles appropriate to your film. The sharing of assets such as background and props is essential to the success of the project. Clear and consistent communication between team members will be the responsibility of the whole group. The film is to include opening titles, end credits and sound design from first animatic through to delivery version. Early versions can have temporary designs for title and sound design. The animatic is to be finished in digital form, using black and white, with tonal shades of grey optional. Each individual's animatic should clearly communicate the intended action, with solid drawing and strong posing adhering to good use of line of action. The animation process will be produced through an iterative process, tailored to your group’s animation technique.

I MUST HAVE: 

• Character Designs (PDF or Jpeg) to include model turnarounds (front, back, side, three quarter view) and dynamic posing and in the agreed style of the film.
• Designs Any extra designs you have worked on, including iterations of the character and set design. 
• Experimentation and Progression Reel a collection of personal moving image work showing your personal participation to the team's final outcomes. 
• Final Outcomes the groups film edited together. Quicktime, Pro Res, 1920x1080, audio uncompressed. 
• Research Portfolio a link to your blog demonstrating sustained engagement with research, development towards the successful outcome team’s goals, including a weekly summary.
• Reflective Journal a PDF extracted from your research blog containing all weekly summaries and a final critical evaluation of the project, with a suggested word count of 250 words.

Evaluation

For my groups presentation we decided to focus on the animation company Laika, and it’s stages of production. Before we even chose Laika we already had some preconceived ideas of what they were like, for example they’re the forefront of technology, they blend physical stop motion and digital CGI. They’re also artistically driven with story focus. We spilt the presentation into different sections, they were storyboarding, model making, post-production and animation. My job was to focus on model making.

Laika is an American stop-motion animation studio specialising in feature films, commercial content for all media, music videos and short films. They’re best known for films such as Coraline, Paranorman and Boxtrolls. All highly successful. I looked into the model making for all of these films and was blown away by the process, to put it simply. It all starts off with a 2D design that the model makers then have to turn into a 3D model.

During my research process I was able to get in touch with the model maker ‘Helen Duckworth’, we’d previously talked to her about her job. Because of this I felt inspired to learn more about model making, she explained “I was inspired to follow a career in CG when I did work experience at Aardman animations in Bristol when I was 14. As a child, I loved to make things from nothing, I had a keen interest in art but also was very interested in computers. CG was a perfect marriage of both these things. ”

The process continues with an amature being made, along with a mould. The model is painted and dressed. But the process that fascinated me the most is ‘Rapid prototyping’, the process of 3D modelling the puppets faces that has rapidly improved through the years due to Laika’s innovative nature. During Coraline they were able to produce multiple 3D heads by 3D modelling them and using a 3D printer. Laika have made leaps and bounds in rapid prototyping, by being able to colour print faces of their puppets. Coraline’s face had to be carefully hand painted, resulting in the model makers not having such creative freedom to the design of the puppet. Since they couldn't get every face identical, it would make the animation look noisy.

Angry Aggie, a character from Paranorman was another puppet that was fascinating. She was an innocent little girl accused of witchcraft. She was a very complicated looking character, she needed to be constantly rigged as she was able to fly. Her face needed to look like it was tearing and stretching. As if she’s being torn between two realms of existence. It was very tempting to make her CGI, so the animators could play with her. But they wanted to make sure she looked traditional. Although there were parts of her that was impossible to animate. Rapid Prototyping, VFX, puppets, costume, art department all worked on it together.

Laika is a growing company, and if they continue to improve on this old art style which is popular. They seem to be going in the right direction.

Presentation

 Here are just the slides that I contributed to the presentation, but below is the PDF file of the entire Presentation.

file:///C:/Users/Taechel/Downloads/Studio%20Laika%20Presentation%20MK1%20(1).pdf

(PDF  FORMAT OF THE PRESENTATION)

Summer Internships

https://www.velvetjobs.com/job-posting/2016-summer-model-shop-internship-381611

I tried to find examples of the contracts they have in Laika, and how long people stay there. But it was pretty hard to find, apart from Helen Duckworth who mentioned contracts can be unpredictable. But I found a few websites for summer internships.

Job At Laika

http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/jobs/laika-recruiting-soft-goods-model-maker/

I found an example of the traits of a model maker and this is just at Laika.

Presenting Our Presentation

Our group has set up a online presentation that each of us can add too whenever we wish. It also automatically saves, it's been incredibly useful.

Meeting with Helen

As a group we had a meeting with one of our tutors, we told her what we had and recommended what we could include. Examples..

• The production line: Do they keep to the same people all the time or is it long term
• Income?
• Why we decided to choose Laika

We took it all on board, and are working on the presentation. 

Key skills of being a Model Maker

http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/342_model_maker

https://app.hiive.co.uk/knowledge/job-roles/head-of-model-making-stop-motion-animation/34/

Key Skills include

• ability to function as part of the senior creative team
• ability to take creative decisions
• excellent communication and presentation skills
• ability to both take and give direction
• knowledge of the diverse craft and technical skills required by Model Makers
• ability to recruit and set up a team or department, including interviewing and assessing potential employees
• ability to support and manage a team of artists and technicians
• ability to manage a schedule and work to a budget
• ability to be flexible and problem solve
• knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures; including use of PPE (Personal Protective E
quipment) and COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations.

Qualifications/Experience

It is likely that a Head of Model of Making will have worked their way through the department. They will have acquired a thorough knowledge of all the craft skills and management procedures required for a production. It is probable that they have a design or sculpture background and have had the opportunity to gain leadership and organisational experience.
Heads of Model Making are likely to be hired on the basis of their talent, track record and reputation. The quality of their previous work will be of more value than academic qualifications. However, it is very likely that they will have gained an art or design-related degree before entering the industry.
If asked to show a portfolio, Producers and Directors will be looking for confirmation that the applicant has the appropriate range of skills required for their project. In such a relatively small industry, personal recommendations are also invaluable.

Response From Helen Duckworth

Helen Duckworth was nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions! Yay references!

 Hi Rachel,

It’s great to hear from you. I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to reply to you. My life got very hectic for a bit. I hope this doesn’t come to late!

1.What made you decide to be a model maker?

A:  I was inspired to follow a career in CG when I did work experience at Aardman animations in Bristol when I was 14. As a child, I loved to make things from nothing, I had a keen interest in art but also was very interested in computers. CG was a perfect marriage of both these things. 

2. Do you get art tests within the interview for a model maker or is it all portfolio work?

A The majority of companies base their decision to hire you on your portfolio and interview. However, I have had to do model tests before as well. When I first went to Aardman I had to create a model of a puppet in a week. I have heard that Blizzard require a modelling test as well.

3. What do you like most about your job?

A I like the challenge of turning a 2D drawing of a character into a 3D sculpture that still captures the beauty and appeal of the original design. I also love seeing my characters animated , it feels like they have come to life.

4. What is your least favourite aspect of your job?

A The hours can be gruelling sometimes and the industry as a whole can be pretty unstable with contracts changing suddenly due to script changes or films being pulled. 

Best of luck in your career Rachel. 

All the best,

Helen 

Directors talking about Boxtrolls

Here's a video of the two directors of boxtrolls explaining the behind the scenes of the film, including how the puppets are put together, They explain how the boxtrolls have completely removable faces and not just have a face like most do. One of the boxtrolls had about 1500 faces which allowed for 1.4 combinations for the face.

They put the Maya modelled face playblasts on top of the animatic to see if they have all the 3D faces they need to create the scenes they need.

Lecture on The Making of The Dolls in Boxtrolls

• Use exacto blade to move the eyes after removing the face
• Wires in all of the hairs
• They work out with the animators how much of the puppet they need to move
• Faces attach with magnets
• Lazer cut leather for the shoes

Questions

1. What made you decide to be a model maker?

2. Do you get art tests within the interview for a model maker or is it all portfolio work?

3. What do you like most about your job?

4. What is your least favourite aspect of your job?

I had to think of a few questions to ask model makers, I decided to stick to 4 questions as a know most model makers are busy. I also kept them pretty simple so it wouldn't take too much out of their day to answer them, there would be a better chance of a response.

Behind the Scenes of Laika

The People Of Laika

http://laika.com/people

Notes with Helen Duckworth

We were lucky enough to be able to talk to Helen Duckworth via skype, she's a model maker that lives in america. She'd previously worked for Aardman, Sony and Laika.She talked us through her hectic daily life, she said about how she would get to work and have a list of tasks she would need to have done in that day. They might all be from different films. Be it fix the clothing on a model or the face of another.

Introduction to out idea

As a group we have decided to research into the animation company Laika, I will be covering model making.

Job Roles Form

We had to pick what genre of job we wanted to research, my first choise being stop motion, 3D modelling for games and concept art.

Our Tim Burton Presentation Summary

How did Tim get into his career?

Tim Burton was hired by Disney in America after recognizing his production, of his short film The Stalk of the Celery Monster. They said “If we don’t hire him someone else will”. This was the beginning of Tim Burton’s career.
He worked on films such as The Black Cauldron and Fox and the Hound, However throughout his time working for Disney he did not enjoy the making of producing these characters as they lacked his creative flow and imagination. After Disney recognized where his talents really lied, they allowed him to work on his own productions of Vincent and the original Frankenweenie before realizing that his talents weren’t suited to the Disney house style and let him go. He then continued his career to make his other major productions such as Pee-Wee’s big adventure and Beetlejuice that later got him recognized as a creative genius before then going back to Disney to work on The Nightmare before Christmas, a stop motion production written and designed by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick that was worked on from 1991-93. 

Character Design is completed during pre-production and is a vital part of bringing the narrative and story alive. When designing a character, the most vital part is to allow the character to be relatable and connectible to the audience, as well as being able to express their traits, emotions and personality. A good character designer must have a firm grasp of semiotics and understanding of what parts of a character can be exaggerated to create an interesting design. A character designer (and the design they create) must hold strong from the first design until the credits of the movie, so the designer must be well versed in technical proficiencies that are generally split between several fields.

The characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas were heavily influenced by Tim Burton’s original drawings as well as the ones he created when making the film. Even Danny Elfman used the drawings that Tim made of the characters in order to better visualize the songs and lyrics. Tim’s unique design of characters didn’t sit well with Disney however as they insisted Tim should give the main protagonist eyes instead of empty sockets as it would allow the character to connect better with the audience. Ultimately, Burton proved them wrong and the design choice was perfect for the role.

Introduction to Media Roles and Practices

This project focuses upon the contemporary animation and moving image industries, and the professional roles and practices within them. You will identify and research existing industry roles, structures, and practices, exploring their future development. The unit also considers increased convergence and co-operation across media industries. You will research roles and practices within animation industries, addressing the increasingly blurred demarcations between producer and consumer, independent and mainstream, art and commercial.

 Examining how commercial considerations and new technology affect creative output and distribution, you will analyse the contemporary sector and attempt to identify future developments and trends. You will identify roles in the industry that have particular relevance to your areas of interest in animation, and subsequently begin to locate your creative practice within wider contexts in the industry. Working individually you will produce an online Research Blog that evidences self-directed research and coherent contextualization of a relevant study or particular role/practice.

You will conduct primary and secondary research of academic and industry sources using both analogue (books, journals, magazines, corporate literature) and digital (websites, e-journals, academic blogs) sources. You will be expected to historically and culturally contextualize your example.

• A Research Blog - which must contain audio/visual assets and utilize the medium’s interactivity by adding links to relevant resources. 
• A 10 minute group presentation
• Your verbal presentation should be accompanied by a digital visual aid (PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi etc) utilizing images, short video clips, and supporting text. This must be submitted after the presentation.
• A 500 word statement - that summarizes your research findings.