FMP production
Producing a FMP aint no easy task
All my stuff to do with my FMP shall be going here from start to finish, my processes of animation, the hows and why. The end results, and challenges I ran into. yada yada yada. You get it Just watch my FMP please. I've got so little in this world.
Animation tests with and without guides
So these are my animation tests I made before starting my FMP animation and going towards my FMP animation. So I'll start with the first one I made since that is the one I actually completed in full with detail and all. The first one being the one depicting the “Anglerphin” I it made during the christmas break as my tutor Dan wanted to see something, almost as if needing to give a visual of my FMP pitch to really sell him on it. I made what you see here. It's just a simple shot of the “Anglerphin” swimming up from the depths presumably to eat its next victim rather like a shark I’d say. Dan really liked it when I showed it to him and it gave him confidence in my pitch going forward. As you can see I added a glow, bubbles and I got the timing down and basically got everything I wanted from it done. The second one is the exact same, but you can see the guide I made just to help me with drawing in perspective. One additional note about this animation test is that this was actually the first ever animation I ever made in Clip Studio Paint. So this animation besides making a visual for my pitch was also for me to test out the program. On the whole that first test was surprisingly easy to make for it being my first time using this new programme which I am still learning all its intiracys. This test mainly helped me learn alot about the programme less about animating the “Anglerphin” but certainly it helped in that regard also.
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Onto the second (incomplete test) this time. This one here is much more down to earth, but maybe that was why I found it harder to make? So this one is simply a basic fish test of it swimming to help me now how to animate a majority of the fish within my animatic. While I didn’t complete this I certainly feel it helped inform my practice going throughout the FMP. I got a reference of a goldfish which you would have seen in my R&D page. This while not complete has certainly helped me in the animating of my other basic fish. They have nowhere near as much detail as this fish. primarily it helped in terms of how a fishes body moves to swim. With the fins doing the work. The tail area moving side to side for thrust and the front fins for direction. The timing I feel I got nearly spot on. I realise though looking at it now it changes proportion while swimming which if I were to redo it, that is certainly something I would alter. Then again I didn't finish it in the first place due to it taking up to much time, and me wanting to get on with the actual FMP and not the tests. Again the second vid is with the guide I used for the perspective. Keep in mind all the perspective shots in the FMP used these guide that I came up with during these tests so in terms of how these tests have impacted my practice not just for my FMP but going forward in general it has given me my own process for perspective shots. Now not saying that all my shots in my FMP are perspective based shot but the ones that are use the guide technique. Of course in the final thing you won't be seeing them but just so you know that they have been used and that’s why I thought it best to show you here. So just keep that in mind for perspective shots they are made using this technique.
Animatics
So this here is my animatic for my FMP. Now to start when I made this due to the rest of pre production taking longer then I would of liked it to I decided to merge the blocking stage with the animatic doing both at the same time. Which I’d say I accomplished and to a good degree of competency. On the whole I’d say it saved me 5-7 days of extra work then If I did them separately. That is why this animatic is slightly more animated than a standard animatic. When I made this I was 90% settled on the timing of shots and things within them but not completely so even when this was finished things were still subject to change and change they did. Additionally some shots in this where outwrite removed entirely due to time constraints. But you will at least still be able to get a vague idea of what was missed by watching this. I realise that there isn't any sound whatsoever not even folley. That is due to the fact that I couldn't find and sound students willing to help. Not that I didn't try but when I made this none had responded. So that is why it is without music and folley. At this stage I wasn't even sure if I wanted folley or if it needed folley. In the end I decided to go without folly.
The colours for the lines are as they are for simply my own convenience. The fish are coloured that way to represent what colour they will actually be in the complete version it's also to help make them stand out from each other in the blocking/animatic stage. The Fisherman obviously not being red, but for my main characters I have always used red when doing the animatic/blocking and even the rough in betweens before I go over it in a fine line. Additionally within this context it really helped me seperate them from the dark black ocean background. Speaking of backgrounds all the backgrounds you see here where done by me as a basic mock of what I wanted them to look like, I got them done by a collaborator that being said for the final FMP, Arkin I'll speak more on him in my collaboration page. So other than the lack of sound, the timing being kinda there but not fully at this point and the merging of two stages and the removal of some shots I don't really know what else to say on the animatic. You'll also be able to see all the guides I used for perspective in this. Just as a reference for how I did them in the final cut.
I don't actually have to explain anything else for this animatic bar a couple sentences. During the production of the FMP itself after previs and all that I realised that due to time constraints I wasn't gonna get all the shots done. So as advised by my tutors I made a list of shots that I could remove and then, thusly did so. The shots themselves I could remove as they were mostly just filler not adding to the actual narrative itself. They were just shots to show of animation, colours, foreshadowing and to give breaks between the action. But once I decided to remove them I was also told best to update my animatic to no longer have those shots, so that is what is here the same animatic in every way just with certain shots cut.
FMP shots
Onto the first shot of my FMP. So I thought best to show the individual shots themselves, to show you just the shots unedited. In the context of this shot at least it allows you to see the shot in its entirety. while angina within this context you won't be seeing any detail, due to the dimensions of the shot itself, you needn't worry as within the shot there is purposefully no detail. Only the background and the aimation of the boat gently rocking on the water's surface. The backgrounds are done by first year animation student Arkin. I'll talk about him more in my collaboration page. The moon is done by me as is the animation of the boat itself. The reason I asked arkin to not do the moon, stars and moonbeams is I originally wanted to do them myself as to have them with some very basic animation. Due to time constraints I only managed to do the line work itself, I got the timing done though so I only needed to add the colors. In terms of smaller details which aren't there. I don’t think it detracts from the shot due to the fact that they are missing, again due to time constraints, is the basic animation of the stars and moon beams in the background. I would of aimed to have them match the style of the background and not be cartoony to make them not stand out and just blend and enhance the background. But besides that I got this shot about 80% complete. I don't think I would've changed anything about this shot looking at it beside try complete it. But I still am glad I didn't focus on the extra details because it allowed me time to focus on the animation of the boat and other main focuses in other shots. It was quite deliberate that I didn't add the stars and extra details as they aren't the focus of the shot, basically I just prioritised the main bit of animation itself.
This is my second shot for my FMP. This shot here is simple in nature the most complicated part about it is that it is a shifting perspective shot. But I have already elaborated on how I do those so nothing more to say on that front. Criticisms I have for this shot is that I feel the glow that is under the water could be smoother it's a little janky at times but on the whole I do feel it moves at a consistent enough arc to work and still look good. The fin poking out of the water I love how smooth it is for a shifting/tracking perspective shot. This is my first time actually animating a moving perspective shot, and looking at this shot at least I feel I kinda got it pretty accurate. The colour I love again I do think an atmosphere is created not as much as the latter shots in the animation but it starts here and would've grown as the piece goes on creating a narrative of atmosphere alone I guess? The background when I received it from arkin. I aimated that simply by rescaling and shifting it using the 3D plane function that clip studio has. It was simple but still tedious. Funnily enough one of the backgrounds that arking sent me that was actually off in the dimensions ended up getting used here as it was slightly easier for the purposes of this shot. So there you go even mistakes can come in handy in ways you would never expect them to. This shot I actually got completed to like 95% only leaving out small details for time reasons such as stars and some ripples in the water. But they were removed cause I had to prioritise the main animation. Like I said in the last shot. So no real changes to be made other then complete it to its entirety and slightly adjust the arc of the glow.
This is the third and fifth shot of the FMP. I merged these shots together as they were technically in the same shot just at different times in the animation. It also just made it practically easier to animate as I wouldn't need to copy what I had already made and move it to a new shot entirely, plus it would allow me to have better continuity between the two shots by making them rolled into the same file as it would be easier to go back and make things accurate. Anyway the shot itself is in a similar state to the first shot at about 80% complete only really needing the colours themselves and some minor extra details. animation wise it's a very simple shot just a medium shot of the fisherman with his net set up on the boat rocking back and forth. While in the background you can see the same fin in shot as you see in shot 2. Animation wise I'm quite happy with how it turned out the boat rocking back and forth along with the fisherman looks smooth and realistic in the shifting of the proportions due to the shifting distance between them and the camera, the fifth shot in particular where the fisherman gets knocked of the boat, I'm rather pleased with, it’s quick yet effective and it's clear that the boat has been shaken to which it has thrown him into the water. The timing I got down for that shot likewise I also feel the fisherman himself is rather well animated there. The only thing I think I would change would be the animation of the boat itself. it's a little slow for my liking considering it should have enough energy to throw him off, I don't see it, well slightly I do but not to the degree I would have liked. Other than that it's a pretty simple shot in terms of composition. Nothing to fancy but it does the job it needs to. The fin in the background also looks good and smooth. The art of the shot that has some slight perspective along with the fisherman himself. If I had the time I would have added some stars and other small details in the background. Some ripples in the ocean and around the fin. Of course the colours obviously. Still though with what I completed I'm happy.
Shot number four now. This shot is quick and simple as many of the shots from the first scene are. The most complicated part of this shot is that it is a perspective shot. Looking at the Fisherman and the boat from behind this time. Additionally this time the focus of the shot is of the fin approaching the boat. The background is again one of the backgrounds that I originally thought I wasn't gonna use but as you can see here I did end up getting some use out of it. All I had to do was warp it abit to give it somewhat of a fisheye lens curvature to it. The animation of the shot itself is again rather simple. The boat I’d say has the best animation. While the animation for the fin does most certainly have an arc. It is slightly janky at times. if I were to make revisions it would have to be to the fin. Again of course add colour and minor details here and there such as stars and ripples. Other than that, with what I had time to complete, that being roughly 80%, I'm happy.
Shot six now. Now this shot here while on paper and from first glance seems rather simple, was a lot more difficult than meets the eye. The animation of the Fisherman falling into the water is pretty basic and easy enough to do but rather the animation of the water itself and all the bubbles where the difficult part. I'll start with the fisherman. since he is the main focus of the shot. I like the timing and the energy of his plunging, in doing a little roll from the energy conveyed into him when thrown of the boat. He is also a cumbersome man so he would have a larger impact and dissipation of energy. He does a rather fast tumble forwards which then places him facing upwards to the surface. This again is just from the energy being lost when taking the plunge. Then as he begins to sink he slows down and has eventually lost all his energy as his legs and arms begin to relax as they too have lost their energy and begin to sink in kind along with his body. think of it almost as his body going first and then his limbs catching up. It's subtle but if you pay attention you should notice when looking at his limbs towards the end. One thing I would change would have to be the beard animation along with the necklace. It's a little too slow for me. I mean it's a very minor animation and small, not even really noticeable but I do believe given the time I could have made it better.
Onto the eye next the secondary focus. Now first off before I say anything else my plan for the eye was to have it be semi transparent so it blends with the background more but since I couldn't colour it in I had to leave it as it to allow you to actually see it better. the eye is very simple it just opens and then the pupil moves towards screen top. It’s slow as since the ocean god is a slow yet graceful being hence they eye is emblematic of that. I may change some of the timing but other then that I rather like it. Now onto the main topic of discussion. The water, I had to watch several tutorials to get this right. On my research page you can see the specific one that helped the most. Since I already talked about what I learnt from that there I won't cover it again. All I'll say is looking at it now I think it looks realistic and good but the timing for me is off. It's too slow at the beginning. Other then that small alteration I wouldn't change much else to the water, but for my first time animating fluid and its mechanics I’m quite pleased, certainly I have learned alot from this specific principle I had to animate, I also feel the basics for this can be applied to other things to. I mean during a previous term I animated fabric blowing in the wind in a wave motion so that kinda feed into this and likewise I feel this may and could feed into other things I may animate in the future. Bubbles wise I think the timing is good,I just notice that some bubbles go back and forth rather then float up. This was a mistake made by me due to there being a lot of them. I got confused as to where some were floating towards other than that, this shot I really do like.
This is shot seven. Now first of I apologise because of it being hard to see the arm lines due to how dark the background is. I would note that it isn't entirely invisible you just have to look closely. Anyway. Moving on from that the arms themselves have very simple animation. I mean it's only a pov of the Fisherman lowering his arms so not much to animate there really. Since he is now underwater his actions are slower and are nowhere near as choppy and abrupt. That's just the way things work underwater so I had to animate as such. To put it simply, animating someone underwater just means more frames, generally on 3 or 4 maybe 2 if it needs to be fast and the movements are much more even paced and graceful. So no sudden jumps in arcs or other things. Likewise the same applies to other underwater creatures although since they evolved for such conditions they are much more streamlined in the water and can be faster, but generally they are still slow moving, unless they’re really small. That being mentioned lets get onto the fish in the background as they are using much more complex animation. The most complex thing you'll see is the manta rays going across the screen.
You'll also notice the less detailed fish in the background, They are that simple on purpose it's not that I haven't added stuff to them yet. They are basic like that because it helps bring attention to the main animation focus. The basic fish also haven't even been fully animated either, the manta rays have but the other fish haven't due to time constraints. The colours of the fish I really love, since they are all neon and bright hues, The line colours you see are representative of a pallet their actual colours would be along with their glows, you'll see a finalised version of this in the next shot, so you'll be able to see what I’m talking about. The animation for the stingray, I got the stingray swimming method down it's just a tad to slow I would of speed it up if I had more time. Likewise I would have smoothened out the arc that they follow as at times it’s a bit janky but the actual type of motion they use to propel themselves I'd say is pretty accurate. Not picture perfect but it's close enough that I'm happy with it. Composition wise it's a very basic POV shot. you can see him opening his eyes from just being thrown into the ocean. The blinking itself I'm rather happy with. I think the timing is good as is the actual animation itself, It's basic yet effective. On the whole I would have liked to give this shot colour and added some more fish in the background like I had originally planned. I'd add the rest of the animation for the background fish and also speed up the manta rays. Other than that, with what I could get done in what time I had, left, I'm still pleased. Especially since I had to get rid of most of what I had planned for this shot.
This is shot 9 of the FMP. Seeing it completed, bar some minor details, now I would wholeheartdly say it emcompases the one of the two words this animation is about, atmosphere. As to the kind of atmosphere I leave that up to the viewer but it has atmosphere and for that reason alone I’d say this shot is a success, even the best shot that I have made. Still though if I am to be critical I'd say the two major things I’d of liked to change is the timing. While I feel it’s good on the most part I still have a nagging feeling in the back of my head it could be better. But hey if I had more time to work on it then I'd figure I’d resolve the issue. Due to time constraints on all of the shots I've had to forgo somethings in order to atleast make the entire animation look consistent. Besides the timing I'd also say that I'd want to add some of the smaller details. Like adding some bubbles here and there but it's for the same reason I gave earlier consistency and time that I couldn't add the small details.That being said though I still don't feel like it detracts from the shot just something that could of pushed it further. The fish and their glow I love the most. The expressive face of the Fisherman and how adept he looks at swimming speaks about his character with just visual aids to then become scared with nothing but clear facial and body expression I also say is rather well done. The colours I love. Dan specifically said he liked how I didn't use black for the lines but complementing colours. This was one of the shots that is from a perspective thus it used a guide if you look in the animatic you'll see it. This is the first time I've ever animated someone swimming so on the whole I'd certainly say one can tell that he is swimming, same with the fish, manta ray and the sunfish. If you look at the fish you'll notice each different species has its own way of swimming. Just those small animation details that I like adding.
This is the last shot of my FMP shot 23. This shot is the longest in the FMP. But has little actual animation. Half of it is just a simple basic loop. The other half has small slow movements. which if I'm being honest took longer than I expected but I still like the final product. Here you finally see the actual Ocean God in full. You'll also see how it looks in the final cut now from the character sheet to this, it looks good I feel. I love the glow again. Like in my other shots. the colours also I love. The background I also really like. Done by arkin it’s simple yet effective and great. Other then that my criticisms would be that before it goes into the loop with the god lowering its left arm and raising the other I feel that animation could be more smooth but it was taking enough time as it was and I didnt want to get stuck on this one thing so I decided to leave it as it is. On that note the reason it's as slow as it is, is because of the context of the shot. The Ocean God is huge. Especially in water, huge things move slowly and are rather lumbering. Have you seen and whale swim? It has slow but elegant grace. Same exact situation here. A giant thing moves very slowly in the water. It doesn't need to move fast. It's not in a rush or at threat, this is its domain and it can move at the pace it's comfortable at. Besides that it's a very basic shot so I don't know what else to cover really?
Video breakdown
This is my video breakdown. Nothing much to say about this really other than. It shows a speed up version of me working on some shots as well as showing all the pre vis images including the collaborative work I got done by Matt and Arkin. take note of the bottom left hand corner of the screen to see what they worked on. Also if you listen you can hear some of the songs that I may have picked, if I had not chosen the one that I did which you'll be able to hear in the next video. Other than that it's simple, basic but it's only to show myself working on some shots. I added the previs stuff for posterity and also to show what led up to me making said shots.
A Bigger Fish (what I had of it for submission)
So now after seeing all the pre visualisation, animation tests and individual shots you can now see the cumilation of all those things, the edited FMP itself. Now obviously since I didn't have the time to finish all I would of liked this is also unfinished but with what I had I still put it together as it would of been if completed. The music I got from a royalty free music site on account of the music students not responding to my inquiries of a collaboration. Now when I finish the actual thing my thinking in that regards is to ask a friend who’s a musician to see if they are interested in coming up with something for me? Anyway for shot one you can now see it has a ease in and ease out tilt from screen top to bottom. Along with a title card appearing before fading out. Simple not much extra on the first shot really but worth mentioning. Then on shot number 23 you can also see a pan and a zoom out from just the hand of the Ocean God to the full shot itself. In fact I can even say from the static shot you saw before it became a tracking shot on account of it following the hand until it zoomed out fully. Other than those changes every other shot was left as is so? not much to say really.
Title card
So while not a major nor critical part of the process at all it is something that I made for the piece and hence I just want to mention it quickly. The title card that appears at the beginning. Now as you can see it’s a shark's jaws I used the image on the right as reference. I mean I knew vaguely what sharks jaws looked like I think we have all seen a image or two before. We all now they have rows upon rows of teeth and such but I just needed this reference to get more the shape of the jaws themselves rather than the teeth of the shark. Which if you've ever seen the film of the same name Jaws, you'll be familiar with what a sharks teeth look like. Anyway I came up with this design in roughly 2-3 hours so not much time spent on it at all. I mean you only see it for roughly 3-5 seconds so. Not on the top of my priorities list. But I wanted it to be iconic. For some reason a shark jaw is the first image that came to mind. We all vaguely know what they look like, they have a vague aura to them. You seem them you think danger, predator, that kind stuff? Also it’s somewhat of a foreshadow to the creatures that await below the surface in real life and in my animation. Or at least will be when I finish it fully in my own time, Even if in the submitted version I didn't actually get to animating the leviathans yet. It's just a iconic, symbolic piece of marine iconography. I used the net to be representative of the Fisherman. Being caught up in the beast that is the ocean or the jaws in this case. lastly I used the same colour of the tattoos of the Ocean God for the title itself and made the word fish be a simple little fish. Lastly I just got the skin tone of the Ocean God added that as a scribble made it opake and it just helps separate the title and detailed icons behind it making the title easier to read. Simple, basic yet effective. I maybe would have liked the words to be more catchy but I'm happy with the symbols carrying the flair.
Relevance, reflection, application and future
Relevance. The relevance is the practice and process of animating itself. Not the pre vis or the post. Rather, the actual making of the FMP, it should be rather self explanatory considering I'm doing an animation course and my specialism is 2D animation. Practice is always appreciated. The techniques I learned applied and developed and lastly the new animation software I'm learning. While not comprehensive with it yet this FMP has given me ample time with Clip Studio Paint nearly every day, enough time to get the basic understanding of it.
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Reflection. So upon reflection I can definitely name some things I would've done differently. Planning once again for the same exact reasons as the R&D page. To allow me to be more realistic have a better grade of time and ideally get more done in less time on the whole. Had I had more time ideally to complete the whole animation. As well as add all the extra details I wanted. not to say I wont complete it in my own time but it would've been nice to at least get roughly half of it done for submission. That being said if I planned it better I may have been able to get more done. I would've liked to make a more detailed title card but it was just the timing issues that got in the way of that, not that timing is an excuse just that was me prioritising the overall body of work rather than fine details only there for my perfectionist sake. That's why a decent portion of this projects decisions have been made within the animating process as they have. Me having to prioritise body over details down to timing issues. Main thing being my handling of the timing while trying to be realistic and keeping a standard of work at a good level while being as quick as I can. While I feel I have gotten better over the course of this project, that’s still a major reflection for me and my management of time. Hopefully opening up more time for me to do other things and have to prioritise less. In that extra time I may have been able to do more tests to inform my practice. Additionally, I would have liked to have spent less time on the animatic as I did. Not that it didn't result in a bad quality animation, just that I could have spent less time on the animatic and more time specifically animating. That being said, I did merge the animatic stage with the blocking stage to save time. Which I believe it did. other than those I can't think of anything else I would've done differently and why. Just mainly to finish more really, and to a more detailed quality then I had.
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Application. well firstly this I will apply to any and all future projects I'll have that involve me animating. Like I said in the R&D page planning. Making more detailed and specific plans that are based in reality. In terms of actual animation, do more tests before I start an animation. Get the animation quality more consistent. Keep doing all things at the same peace to keep consistency. Do the animating quicker with the help of tests informing my practice and technique.
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Future. The impact this has on my future is also hopefully self explanatory. Anything work wise I put towards animating, and enhancing my animating skills is gonna profit my future in the 2D animation field. All practice is good practise. It will also give me more things to put on any future showreels I may make. I will also be uploading work onto my work instagram and website as more projects get completed. As well as try to work with more people to help establish connections and for references.