With my time at Sony Music Entertainment, I created a couple Flash Banners for the relaunch of the Slayer website. One is a river of blood with a couple head kababs and the other is ghost type on a police document. Check them out!
http://www.slayer.net/us/home?theme=reigninblood
and
http://www.slayer.net/us/home?theme=psychopathyred
Wow, its been a long time since i have posted anything, but I feel the time is right. In an attempt to re-visit and re-create the first protoype I did for my thesis, I have written a new song and come up with an entirely new idea which I hope will prove successful. I have decided to do a sing- a – long animation inspired by both School House Rock as well as 3D rendered videos of going inside the human body. I spent the past weekend creating as many of the illustrated elements as possible for this. My goal is to have three solid PSA prototypes to display at the end of the semester.
I am looking at two possible treatments for the coloring of the elements I have created. The first is A watercolor washed look with more detail such as the example below:
The second idea was use very flat color. The reason for this approach is that since all of the drawings will be vectorized, solid colors could be used in illustrator and create continuously rasterized scalable objects.
My thesis concept to date is to create an animated series of multi-media videos for adults that address the problems surrounding children’s obesity in the United States and the possible means of its prevention. Continuing on with this project I hope to complete a website in which users not only view video content but also learn about the issues of obesity in innovative new ways.
In the beginning of this semester, I was extremely hesitant about the entire thesis process. I was intimidated by the workload and all of the research that needed to occur within my domains. As I began to focus on individual prototypes and assignments I gradually became more confident with where i was and what i was doing. Over the course of the term, I was able to refine a very general thesis concept and reach a place where I am aware of exactly what needs to get done and how to reach an end goal for the spring. With three rough prototypes to refine as well as a website in the works, this project feels on the right path. The writing side of this project has allowed me to express my ideas to others not only in written form but also improve my public speaking skills of the material this project deals with. If anything else, the writing process has taught me to be clear about my ideas and goals not only for myself but also so that others may more easily evaluate my content.
Overall I felt the final presentation for this semester went well and generated very valuable feedback about my project. One suggestion made to me was that I might want to become more specific with my overall package of children’s obesity. For example, different animations could deal with different issues about obesity or that the various pages of my site could cater to a different generations whether they be eighties or nineties themed. Another suggestion was that no matter how different my approach towards the issue will be from existing sites already on the Internet, my own project should still be filled with practical information. This would help the audience clearly understand my point of view, the crisis at hand and how they can make a difference. The major hill that this project has to climb is in the creation of nostalgic content that does not feel like it is geared for children. Each of my iterations so far has received this same criticism. In moving forward I will need to do more research on how child like aesthetics are used in adult content. The second issue that continually comes up is in regards to my target audience. In the final review, I was told that perhaps a target from 18 to 30 years old was too large and needed further consideration. This feedback will be a good foundation in pushing towards the next phases of my project.
Looking ahead to the winter months and on into the spring, several next steps will need to occur. First of all, user-testing this most recent prototype and comparing past prototypes with this one needs to occur. With three prototypes I can now assess what is and isn’t working within my designs. I will need to begin to code and format the website and push the branding and packaging of this project. This will be an important part in distributing this idea within the field of healthcare. Finally, I will need to promote this project as much as possible and create a genuine buzz about this idea, maybe trying to get other animators involved in generating content. Now that this first semester is over, the hardest work will begin.
My latest idea in pursuing my concept is something I am very excited about. In my love for music, I have found a passion for creating hip-hop tracks, and have realized that through rap there is the ability to say a lot within a short period of time. Rap has also been the outlet for attacking social and political issues. From NWA to Rage Against the Machine, the attack within rap and hip hop culture has withstood the test of time and now I hope to use this method in my own work.
I wanted to create a spin-off of a popular rap group from either the 80s or early nineties, so I could still utilize the look and feel of eighties animation and live video. I decided to go with the “Beastie Boys” and create a rap duo who would deal with the issue of children’s obesity. I have come up with the tag team tandem called “The Feasty Boyz”
The next step in creating these characters was to find out who would play these two rap stars. In searching the internet for ideas, I found two puppets and envision them as the main characters. Though they individually do not have names, together they would address the social problems equated with being overweight.
The puppets themselves will be customized to create the characters I envisioned for the music video. I will reference various hip hop artists and what they wore, including artists like Slick Rick, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Public Enemy.
Here is a link to the rough cut of the track I have created. The name of the song is “Go Out To Play.”
This weekend I will be shooting live footage around Washington Heights for use in the music video.
After thinking long and hard about the “Avatar Fitness” project and the first animation I created, I have been thinking about a way to incorporate each of these projects’ successes into yet another iteration. I have collected the feedback I have received about both prototypes and have come to the following conclusions about them:
– The music I have created in regards to both projects is the driving force. I have learned that they are catchy and that their content is retained in the minds of those who listen and watch to my work.
– The comedic aspect to my project is essential. It it what I find myself having the most fun with, and allows me to keep moving this project further. the Comedy within the pieces, in particularly “Avatar Fitness” is successful, and is generating an audience. The You-Tube channel where I have posted the projects now has subscribers.
– The combination of live action and animated elements has established the look and feel I am looking to achieve. Since the project is attempting to utilize nostalgia as a popular educative adult tool, the 80s aesthetic that I am working towards in “Avatar Fitness” is beginning to come into its own.
– The incorporation of facts regarding children’s Obesity and means of preventing it need to be more apparent within the construction of my work. I am attempting to discover a balance between what is funny and entertaining and what is informative and educational.
These thoughts bring me to my next experiment…
Here are some of the styleframes I pitched at the midterm review. I am going to rework these and get some feedback on the overall look of the site. The goal would be to have the look of all of the pages ready for the final review in December. Spring semester would begin the process of coding and putting the page together.
Truth is a precedent that influenced the idea for this type of approach towards an awareness campaign.
Last Tuesday I had my midterm review of the development of my project. Overall the presentation went well, and the guest critics left me with some important comments about where I am going with my project. Some of the most important points included:
– The tone of the “Avatar Fitness” piece is very comedic and it is important to the success of this project to find a way to integrate a comedic stance with factual information to educate the audience on the problems surrounding children’s obesity. Overall, I feel that the aproach to create a website where people can go to access information in a more immersible web presence is a good idea. The realm of health based websites is very static as well as generic. People, specifically adults should be able to come to the site and be excited to learn in this environment.
– I need to better understand my target audience. This website should be geared ffor those adults interested in learning about children’s obesity but also in new ways of learning about the problems. i should begin to consider the interface designs of the elements on the website. I should begin to generate ideas for interfaces which would allow for a more creative means of conveying information. As was brought up in the review, reading text should be the absolute LAST way of trying to execute the goals of my project. Perhaps it is time to integrate the use of flash in the execution of my website. I will need to examine my precedents thoroughly in flash interaction.
– Branding is essential to my project. I should begin to come up with logo designs and package designs for my videos. This would include work on the animated bug as well as promotional practices such as advertising on the internet and viral marketing. It was brought up in the review that I was missing a fundamental iterative process in my designs. They should also be user tested.
– User testing is possibly the most important step I am at now. I will need to solidify a test group as well as contacts with whom I can go over my project and constantly test and challenge its execution. I will need to release my video onto you-tube but there is a hesitancy in doing so. I must learn how to properly generate a large audience for my work, which will require steps in establishing “internet fame.” I will need to consult some sources about the best way of doing this. Until that release point within the next week, I will be trying to find sources online.
– I will need to talk to others within the department who are experimenting with the ideas of entertainment and education. Discussion with Colleen Macklin as well as Katie Salen will be very useful and perhaps learn from their experiances and research.
– I must make sure that when I am presenting, I convey the sincerity of my stance on this issue. One of my critics didn’t feel I really wanted to do a project on children’s obesity because of the tone of my presentation, this is not the case at all. I have to remember to be looser with my approach in talking about this issue, and more important relate it personally to myself and how it has effected my own life. this will be conveyed in further presentations.
Here are the rough storyboards of the live-action shots I took on Thursday.
Here is the unrevised initial script for avatar fitness video:
I have also been thinking about other precedents during in the fields of editing and effects and have recently thought of the importance of George Melies to my work. Being a student, the production value of my work is limited to what i know now about the software and effects i am using as well as the equipment I have chosen to execute this project. As I looked at the effects used in films such as “A Trip to the Moon,”
“The Impossible Voyage” and “The Mermaid,” I see how Melies utilized the limitations of the technology and produced beautiful timeless imagery within his film. The elements were unified in their design and carefully constructed so that every effect and illusion through the camera fit within the framework of his story. I know that melies carefully considered his audience when editing and putting in his effects.
As I began to make my own effects and animations, I unified the look and feel of the live action footage, which was shot on a Sony DVR recorder. I looked at various children’s programming from the late and early 90’s to establish a nostalgic type look and feel for my adult audience.
This past week has been about getting organized and making sure I have all the elements I will need to put together a working prototype to be reviewed next week at midterms. This past Thursday I got all of the live action footage I needed done, and am now in the continuing process of editing down the footage and laying out the animated elements to go on top of the live footage.
What I am developing for this next iteration utilizes the ideas of an underlying message within animation and media. It will not be as direct as my first prototype because after doing research, i found that this is not where the viewer audiences are for this kind of work. What is created must be innovative and entertaining, and there are ways of executing and informative and educative multimedia piece without being so direct and blunt about it.
I began thinking of this project as its own “television network” where an audience could come together and watch several different channels about children’s obesity. I created a couple of network logos just to inspire me to think in the sense of television programming.
The next step for me was to think of a program that could work in addressing the issue of videogaming and the effect it had on the well being of a child’s physically active life. What I have come up with is possibly a series of short segments called “Avatar Fitness”. “Avatar Fitness” is a series live action exercise videos teaching children how to get and keep their video game characters in shape. Like the first prototype, I would be composing the dance music for the program which would be a comical step by step sequence of exercises. The program would take a child like approach featuring content made for adults. My syndication source would be social networks like You-Tube and Current.com where I could monitor the comments as well as the hits on the video.
Here I have some character concepts for the instructor of the video as well as some initial storyboards:
What will prove very important in the delivary and execution of this prototype will be to carefully examine the elements which go into an exercise video, such as motion graphics, charts, tables, character mannerisms, lighting, camera angles etc… here are some screen shots I have taken from one of the programs I have been watching featuring Tony Little:
I have found my main character to play the role in a friend of mine named Dan Testa. Dan battled weight issues his whole life and is enthusiastic about the project. He was a theatre major in his undergraduate studies at Wagner College and has worked most recently on a children’s theatre production of “The Wizard of Oz” and has the energy a fitness character exudes during the workout.
The next steps for me in the coming week will be:
-To finish the script.
-Be my own director of photography and establish the shots i want to get in basic storyboards.
-Finish the music and work on motion graphic elements for the show opening, as well as other animated elements.
-Begin filming first exercise on Sony Handycam on Thursday of this week.
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