Rollercoaster Animation Evaluation

Evaluation

For my first project in term 2 I was assigned to create an animation using 3ds Max. I was given the task to build a rollercoaster with a set theme; the theme was horror, which was ideal for me because most of the films I have produced so far have been based on the horror genre. I was excited about beginning this project because I have become more interested in the animation side to my multimedia course. I was given 5 weeks to produce my rollercoaster, creating my animation was time consuming in comparison to the  animation TV Ident I produced in term 1. I think this is because of the detail that was going into this new project, I believe making an Ident is a lot more simple so to me making this rollercoaster was an interesting challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed.

My idea for the theme of the rollercoaster was to create a dark, gritty atmosphere around the rollercoaster building; I wanted to create something that looked like an abandoned hospital. I was inspired by a recent theatre show I have seen called ‘Ghost Stories’, the show plays with scare tactics using set themes that are known to scare the audience, there were such characters such as delusional mental patients, deformed malnourished humans, evil kid like creatures or monsters and twisted manikins able to move twist and crawl. I wanted to create a similar intensity and impact on my own audience as if they were about to get on this scary ride themselves.

My rollercoaster is aimed at a specific audience, obviously this rollercoaster would not be suitable for younger ages because of the fear it might create problems and affect other people’s experiences on the ride if children were allowed on this particular rollercoaster. My target audience are male and female’s aged 15 and over.

What I enjoyed the most was learning new ways of using 3ds Max, I am eager to increase my skills with the Autodesk programme, so this project was perfect as it allowed me to experiment with different tools , gizmo’s and textures. I learnt how to use textures and materials for objects such as inserting backgrounds onto the objects, for example I added an old brick background on my building to make it look more realistic. I think my modelling skills have improved as I now know that I can also use lines to build something such as a prop, for example at first I didn’t know I could shape something using the line tool then extrude to make it a solid 3d object. I used lines to create the outline for my rollercoaster cart. What I found hardest was my attempt to make the characters I designed, I believe my drawings were too detailed and complicated that were too hard to create in 3ds max because of how new I am to this programme. However I am determined to increase my animation skills and I aim to be able to create detailed and realistic animations in the near future.

Rollercoaster Animation project first render test: (operation nightmare)

So far I have been experimenting and testing camera angles and camera types for my rollercoaster animation. I’ve also been practicing with the different types of lighting and there uses. I can’t decide what camera angle I should go for to present my “operation nightmare” rollercoaster. I have produced the main outline of my rollercoaster such as the track, rollercoaster cart, rollercoaster venue and my entrance including different textures for the objects I produced. I have carried out a render test for my rollercoaster which shows the main sequence to my animation video such as the cart going round the rollercoaster track.

I still believe there are some improvements I can make for my rollercoaster such as the improvement to the flow of the cart going round the rollercoaster track; some more improvements are the effects and conventions for the genre of the rollercoaster which is horror. I want to add more props and smoke / mist effects.

Interactive Space rationale

This assignment I found quite hard, I enjoyed the concept of creating something that was interactive and consisted of creating a story that allowed the audience to navigate through the story. However I found it hard to create my interactive space, it was the html coding that I didn’t enjoy because I didn’t understand it so well, I found it quite tedious and repetitive unfortunately. Before creating my interactive space i was inspired by an old PC game called ‘DOOM’. I thought because this assignment is about creating something interactive the best thing to create would be something that is like a computer game, which is why I was inspired by ‘DOOM’. My interactive space has a 1^st person view perspective where you have to go through levels of a lift and defeat a different boss on each level in order to survive the game.   If I was to do this project again i would improve my work by taking better pictures for the interactive space, by using a better camera that would allow me give to take higher quality photos that would be more impressive and engaging for the audience. i would also add more depth to the game itself and create more levels for the interactive space to make it more entertaining. however I would find a way to shorten the interactive space but make it just as effective at entertaining the audience, for example I would remove images that didn’t have as much relevance to the story and insert pictures that contain more information from the picture that are displayed within the interactive space. I was most happy with the consistency and that it finally started to come together once I got the hang of the coding side of creating the interactive space.

The one and only...... ONE SHOT FILM!!!!!!

This is my final one shot film edited by myself. I am really happy with the outcome and the effect it has on its intended audience. I think the music creates a build up insight to the one shot film that creates an intense, uncomfortable feeling, which leads onto the fear of what is going to happen in the story. The blood really stands out as it lays on the surface of snow on the ground. I wanted the audience to think for themselves and have their own imagination as the story begins, for example when the camera follows the blood trail no information is given which I wanted the audience to think and want to know what is happening and what is going to happen.  

    
                          

Practice Attempt for the one shot film assignment!

                                  

Before making the final one shot film, me and my group created a practice one shot film (UN edited). The practice one shot film gave me the inspiration to produce something better that was more simple but effective and intense at the same time.

One shot film rationale :) 300 words ish......

For my third and final assignment in this first term, I was assigned to create a one shot film. I was given set rules when creating my one shot film. I really enjoyed this project because I’m most interested in the film aspect within media. The assignment was challenging from the set rules, this made the assignment fun and enjoyable because I had to create something that was quite difficult to produce. I had to create a film that was obviously entertaining however I was only allowed to film one shot that was only allowed one movement, this made it difficult to successfully entertain an audience. I am really happy with the outcome of my one shot film; I believe I am successful at engaging an audience from the use of conventions I have used from taking advantage of the genre I chose which was horror. I used a high contrast effect for the blood trail that stands out with the snow on the pathway. I think it was lucky to have snow on the day that I and my group decided to film. The snow fits in well with our story as it made the film look more effective and intense. The idea that I had for the film is really simple, I wanted to create a short horror film, so I thought the best thing to do is a first person shot following a blood trail to find a zombie eating a human. The zombie then notices the person following the trail and chases after the character that sees this horrific event. I used intense background music that builds up and glorifies the intensity of the events that occur in the film. If I had more time to film I would have retook the shot to get a smoother, flowing sequence.

Assignment rules:

·         You must use a tripod/camera support when shooting this film (i.e. not handheld)

·         The camera may either pan/zoom/crab or track only once

·         Title sequences and credits must be overlaid on to the image and included within the shot   if added during post production i.e. not on a black background or still shot.

My 3D animation ident 'BIG SPLAT TOONZ' (no sound)