Research Task 3: Visual Research

The idea I am most likely to go with is the one about the string puppet that was jealous. Thus, I have decided to do some research regarding the actual making of one. This will come in handy when I start constructing the 3D model in Maya.

I have in mind how I want the box-theater stage lighting to be. Basically, there will only be 2 main types of lighting. I'll be using the warmer colors (ie. yellow and orange) for lighting during the puppet performance and cooler colors (ie. blue and purple) after the show when the marionettes come alive. I particularly like the colors shown in the images below and they will inspire my use of colors to set a tone and mood to the animation.

Finally, I also did some research on how a box theatre stage might look like to get a clearer idea of it all. Also, I would like to have background elements similar to those used in a string puppet theatre. (flat planes of buildings etc.)

Research Task 3 Brief

Do some visual research for one of your ideas.

Find some research images (moving or still).

Provide a reference and a brief paragraph explaining what aspects of this visual research are relevant to your concept.

Reseach Task 2: News Article

The Article: Nice kids do win, eventually
Written by: Allison Tait, The Age

"Nice guys finish last."

"When US baseball manager Leo Durocher said those words in the late 1930s, he was talking about a baseball team. Fast-forward 70-odd years and it's an idea that moved on from the sporting field a long time ago.

Nice guys. Nobody wants to date them (too safe when there's a leather-clad bad boy hanging around). Nobody wants to make them the boss (too lacking in killer instinct). Nobody wants to be one (too boring when an I-make-my-own-rules philosophy rules the day).

So why am I expending so much time, effort and patience trying to turn my sons into nice guys?"

I was intrigued by the first line in the article. A bold statement was made and it captured my attention. Why do nice guys finish last? My mind retorted. It doesn't makes sense. The general notion is that the nicer a person, the better liked they are. Yet, the opposite seems to be true. Surely this piece of Topsy turvy logic can't be true.

The effects on parenting could cause a disaster if young / immature / accidental / unprepared ill-advised parents decide that it's a case of survival of the fittest in this urban jungle of ours and decides to teach their young that might and violence is the 'smart' way to go. We get chaos and a society of distrust where everyone acts selfishly.

I feel that what fuels the reasoning behind the statement is its freshness and individuality. Thus, I likened it to a fashion fad. Whenever we reaches a saturation point in things, the fresh new thing that comes along gets to wear the crown.

Some ideas generated:

• Fashion fad causing blindness to everything right.
  
• Survival of the fittest in an urban jungle.
  
• Beliefs defines your right and wrong.
  

Research Task 1: John Lasseter

Concept Development Task 01


John Alan Lasseter is an American animator and chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. As a pioneering member of Pixar, Lasseter was put in charge supervising all of Pixar's films and associated projects as an executive producer. He also personally directed Toy Story [1995], A Bug's Life [1998], Toy Story 2 [1999], and Cars [2006].

I like the clean and simplistic visual style of the animations he directed. The world of which his characters exist are always inspiring and creative yet induces believability that endear the audience to his creations. Lasseter believed that animations can entertain audiences immensely and are the 'future of live action and special effects'. 1

Lasseter is also a close friend and admirer of renown Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, and has been executive producer on several of Miyazaki's films. Lasseter revealed that whenever he was stuck with a problem during the making of Toy Story, he would watch a random scene from one of Miyazaki's many films and he gets inspired somehow every time.

In his homage to Miyazaki for the "Ghibli ga Ippai" laserdisc box set, Lasseter had written:

"At Pixar, when we have a problem and we can't seem to solve it, we often take a laser disc of one of Mr. Miyazaki's films and look at a scene in our screening room for a shot of inspiration. And it always works! We come away amazed and inspired. Toy Story owes a huge debt of gratitude to the films of Mr. Miyazaki.

In an interview about the concept development of the featured film, Cars, Lasseter talked about researching and learning the history of certain cars in the film and fusing it into the personality of the character. He also made the connection of humans having breakfast at a cafe and the cars in the film gathering around a gas station that acts like a town center.

Research References:

• 1
  The Guardian
  19 November 2001
  http://film.guardian.co.uk/lff2001/news/0,,604658,00.html
  

  "There are a few moments in my life that I will never forget, and one of them was May 1977 seeing Star Wars at the Chinese Theatre - it was only 2 days old. I remember seeing it and I could not believe a movie could entertain so much. People were of course hyped up to seeing it, but seeing it was thoroughly entertaining. I was shaking at the end of it. I was entertained. I was looking around at the audience of young people and adults and kids and everybody was just screaming. A lot of my friends thought that was the future - you know, special effects and live action, but I said, 'You know what? Animation can entertain an audience like this,' and I believed it in my heart and soul. And I just always remember thinking, 'Let's take it somewhere it hasn't been'."
  - John Lasseter

• http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.8/3.8pages/3.8lyonslasseter.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8t2LJRI14Q
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUxACOJiz2c