Supervisor Meeting 25.03.13

Over the past week, I lost quite a bit of motivation for doing practical work. So all I've done in terms of maya work is to roughly block out the scene geometry but I've not gone as far as lighting or texturing or a colour pass.

Ryan and I discussed the project Aim as I felt it was a bit naff, or didn't quite illustrate what my project was about and he agreed. So I just need to reword it and remember that I'm using the game environment as a visual storytelling aid or device to help tell a story or convey a mood, and not as the primary narrative device. So the aim needs reworked.

Brought up a copy of a rough introduction and went through it with Ryan because I'd never really brought him any of my written work and I think that if I make a push to bring in a bit every week it'll ensure I'm keeping to the right path and actually motivate me to keep it up and not leave it all lounging in the back of my mind. So we went through that and isolated the parts which weren't really relevant and drew attention to the more important sections.

Next thing to do is to regain my motivation by perseverance and make a big push for practical work to show next week. Ryan wants to see the basics blocked out of the drug abuse scenario and an idea of the lighting / colour pass. So that'll be this weeks tasks.

State of Mind Scenario 2 - Drug Abuse

Came up with a mood board and a quick written idea of the room under my critical framework.

Images in the moodboard above illustrate a typical representation of a run down impoverished flat. The colours are all very neutral and dull, with mostly browns and creams. Materials and textures feature some stains such as smoke stains on the walls, making them appear yellowed. The main light source is always the window - which suggests that the owners of the flat do not have enough money to ensure regular electricity.

Bellow are the critical framework categories for this scenario

Ambient;

Colour : Muted
Lighting: Lighting coming in purely from windows (suggests no money for electricity)
Materials/Textures: Decaying, decrepit, dull and moth-eaten
Space: Not a lot of it (suggests trapped in poverty)
*Sound (No sound will be in final environments)
Framing: main points of interest (fold out bed and debris and small hob) framed in light
Geography: Outside covered by curtains/boarded up with splits for light to come in.
Architecture: Small, boxy room, rectangular.

Narrative;

Player Created Space: Not a lot of room to move about in,
Scenes, Events and Vignettes: A lot of drug stuff? Skins, weed, joints, pipes. homemade "bucket"

Props;

Artifacts: Piled up dishes, blankets, joints, grinders, crip packets (big bags - munchies) choclate/sweetie wrappers
Decals: Scabby paint, stains on carpets, bedsheets, burns on sofa/futon
Effects: permentant "smokey-fog" effect
Posters and Graffiti: Boards on a window? Graffiti on the walls to suggest it was broken into

Navigational;

Beacon: Light from outside shining on the table where all the drugs etc are.
Signpost: Lightstream from window shining in through cracks in the boards/curtains falling on the points of interest - the futon and druggie table
Trail: Wrappers and artifacts leading from the table across the futon bed.

Supervisor Meeting 18.03.13

In this weeks meeting, we discussed the feedback I got from the Crit presentation session in more detail. Ryan again said that he was much happier with the direction I was taking the project in and was relieved that it was all starting to come together.

Decided that producing 3 different "States of Mind" was a good number to go for, and had a brainstorm over what those stories and mental states could be. Came up with a few;

• Alcoholism or Drug abuse - shows a range of emotions all contributing towards "Dependency" and "Paranoia".
• A Soldier reintegrating into normal everyday life - "Schizo", "Paranoia" "Isolation"
• Poverty - an impoverished person living in a run down neighbourhood, "Fear", "Desperation" "Hopelessness". Possible research for this would be going off and watching Harry Brown.
• Spirituality - someone who's really into their crystals and spiritual self-help - "Hope", "Delusion"
• Thought I should try and include a "nice" state of mind in there to contrast the much darker themes being flung about. so maybe a well to do, "Centered" individual who is content with life. A Just-married couple could be the driving story behind this. "Bliss"

So next up I'll have a think about which ones I want to take forward and compile some mood boards. I think the drug/alcohol abuse story would be a good one to go for as I've already watched and researched Requiem for A Dream which is a brilliant example of those themes.

Drug Abuse Scene - Asset List

Created an updated asset list to keep me on track when making this scene.

KITCHEN AREA;

Cupboards
Cooker
Fridge
Worktops
Fridge Unit
Plates
Cutlery
Pots
Pans
Oven Tray
Dish towel.
Bin
Bin bags.

LIVING AREA;
Sofabed
Sofabed frame
Mattress
Coffee table
Plug socket
Adapter
Plugs
Mug
Cereal box
T.V
Remote
Ash Tray
Cigarettes
Spoon (for melting heroin?)
Tins of food (beans)
Beer bottles
Hashpipe
Hash
Heroin
Hash grinder

DOOR AREA;

Door
Door Handle
Letterbox
Drawers
Letters (backed up mail)
Bin bags.

Crit Presentation

So we had our Crit week presentations on Thursday and I was really panicking about this one, more than the others. Purely because I'd had so many set backs the past couple of weeks which made me loose a lot of my motivation. However I ploughed through and did what I could to get the nursery room ready for the presentation so I could at least show what direction I was going for.

 

Hons pres4 lmcs_0901821_copy from mcsheff90
Above is my presentation, my notes can be downloaded at https://www.box.com/s/wiwwvsdi0zbrffd14g1u

Like I said, I was more worried about this presentation that any other one, purely because of everything that had gone wrong in the lead up to it. However, I got some really good feedback!

Ryan really liked the direction I was taking with it, he said the States of Mind idea was explored well and in a good place to take further and explore in different ways visually. He also said it was a big relief that I'd established this connection between the states of mind and the stories to drive them.

The only criticisms were that the lighting wasn't quite right in the scenes I'd showcased, but I already knew this and have said previously that these were not final renders but works in progress.

Final piece needs to be spoken about ASAP to determine what I'm actually making. Basically, it's all gonna be hard work from this point but the more I produce, the more I can crit.

Personal Development Portfolio - Plan.

Now that I have a firmer idea of what my project is actually going to entail (thanks to the critical framework) I've put a rough plan together for what I want to improve on for my Personal Development Portfolio skillset.


My first media tests involved trying to input characterisation into a room through the use of various environemntal narrative principles such as colour, lighting and actual props. These first tests show that I need to improve my lighting and texturing ability above all else, since lighting and textures (apart from colour) are probably the most important and influential principles which form the ground base for most other visual narrative techniques.

So throughout the year I'll be paying particular attention to improving these skills, doing some tutorials and such, and it should reflect in my final honours project piece.

List of skills to improve;

• Lighting
  Natural Sunlight, Interior Lighting, Mood/Ambient Lighting.
• Texturing
  Experimenting with different materials, shaders and textures (photoshop)
• Modelling
  Improve my 3D modelling skills and general modelling workflow, try to speed up the practical process as I'm actually a bit slow when it comes to modelling and always seem to pick the longest, most difficult route to doing anything.

States of Mind - Room media test

Okayyy, so following on from my previous post about using a story as an emotional catalyst to illustrate this "states of mind" idea I had, I've been working in Maya to create a room which showcases three stages of this story over time. The first story I decided to go with was stillbirth, or miscarriage in the late stages of pregnancy. As stated previously, this was inspired by the events in the intro to Pixar's UP.

So I started off with the first version of the room, which was all about excitement, happiness and expectation.

Started out by modelling the basic shape of the room and then modeled the individual crib parts with the idea that they had come out of a flatpack box, sort of like IKEA products. This is to show the progress of the room as later versions would show the crib built and completed. I also included a ladder at the wall as I'm going to have a mural on the wall (again inspired by UP) to suggest their excitement and obvious glee in the expectation of their child as they handpaint the mural to add a personal touch to their child's room.

This image shows the sunlight streaming in through the window to fall on the crib parts, to convey an idea of happiness and lightheartedness.

This image shows the mural in progress, and shows the bump maps applied to the wooden crib and ladder.

Floor is super shiny, and so is the crib! Need to fix this be decreasing the specular rollof and the reflectivity. Added in an obvious light source - a bare bulb, to give the room a bit more light. Kept the bulb bare to again help to illustrate the progress of the room over time, as future iterations will have a lampshade.

Above image shows the room in it's finished "constructing" stage. I added in the flatpack box to suggest the parents were so excited about decorating the room that they have yet to discard the box in their haste to get started. I also added in a dustsheet over the shiny wooden floor as I realised that if people are painting in a room, they'd usually cover up any surfaces that might get paint spilled on them. Some paint tins were added in on top of the ladder. All in all the bright and mellow yellow colour of this room is supposed to convey a relaxing yet happy enironment. I tried to keep the shadows soft and unimposing, and keep the room bright all in attempt to add to this excited, all-round contented feel and create an atmosphere of safety.

Above image shows the second version of the nursery room, the "completed" stage. The ladder, paint tins and dust sheet have been removed and the mural has been completed, as has the crib which now stands basked in the sunlight steaming from the window. An empty rocking chair sits by the finished crib, to enhance the idea of "expectation" and "excitement" as the parents have set up where they will sit in the room already. A storage dresser for baby clothes etc has been included on the right hand side, and a baby changing station on the left. This iteration would have more props such as baby clothes stacked on the dresser or baby changing materials, but I have yet to implement them as I was trying to get something finished for the progress presentations which would clearly illustrate my idea, so I didn't have the time to include all the props and elements which would be in the final iteration. The lampshade casts a really horrible dark shadow on the ceiling and this was not intentional nor do I think it looks good. This is because the volume light I used to light the whole room is situated underneath the lampshade, but moving it cast the lampshade shadow in other ways so I've yet to figure out a good lighting technique to remove this brash dark shadow. Also there needs to be a light bounce reflection on the floor from the sunlight and the actual lamp itself. I want to include a light fog effect for the sunlight to show off some small dust particles in the light stream from the window, not just purely for aesthetic effect as I think would also help to illustrate the importance of the crib and symbolise that this baby is literally the light of the parent's lives. 

This image shows the room in the "after" stages, after the suggested miscarriage or stillbirth. The room is drastically darker to immediately create a contrast and imply that a horrible event has taken place. However, the sunlight visible outside and the resulting light on the crib, I felt, was a bit jarring to the image and took most of the effect away.

So I decided, it would work better at night, rather than putting curtains up. It also suggests a darkness of the mind and mental state. The moonlight falls on the crib in an attempt at poignant lighting. All the shadows in the room are very dark, and looming and almost suffocating to create an idea of grief and suffering. There are also cardboard boxes on the floor and dresser with "Charity" written across them, to imply that the baby clothes have been packed away to donate as they are no longer needed. This iteration is really dark and all 3 stages need more work done to them, but I just want to have something ready to show at the presentation on Thursday, to give a general idea of what my project is, and how it's progressed. 

Nursary scene research.

Created a mood board which represents the main assets I'll need to make. Full asset lists below

Nursery Scene1 - Constructing.

LADDERS.

DUST SHEET.

PAINT TINS

CRIB PARTS

CRIB BOX

WALLS

WINDOW

FLOOR

CEILING

LIGHT FIXTURE

LIGHT BULB

Nursery Scene 2 - Constructed.

CRIB COMPLETED

TEDDY BEAR

VASE

TULIPS

BLINDS

DRAWERS

CHANGING STATION

NAPPY BIN

NAPPY BOX

TOILETRIES

FLOOR LAMP

LAMPSHADE x2

ROCKING CHAIR


Nursery Scene 3 - After Stillbirth
CHARITY BOXES
(Main focus in this scene is not to introduce new geometry, but to let the lighting and colour do the talking about the tragic event that's taken place.)

Brainstorming

Took Ryan's advice and had a bit of a brainstorming session with a friend to see what input they could give me and just to help shape up my project and make it a bit clearer.

So had a bit of a chat with Lorna and hashed out some ideas.
Came to the conclusion that the "states of mind" project idea will need a story behind it to act as an emotional catalyst to put the rooms into context, instead of just being a visual representation of a generalised idea of "depression" or "paranoia" etc. Also that the rooms are supposed to be relatable and provoke an audience reaction, even if it is just recognition of what has potentially happened.

Some examples of powerful relatable life "stories" that could act as catalysts are; Death, Breakup, Marriage, Birth, Alcoholism, Marriage, illness -Cancer.

Another idea was to take a single room and go through the story using 3 or 4 different processes, looking at the intro to UP for inspiration. The things the people within the house are going through is very evident in the house itself. The colour scripts for UP do a particularly good job of representing this emotional journey.

The nursery room in particular, redecorated to the travel room, is a very powerful scene.

Also, after his wife's death, the house becomes more like a museum and her picture stays out on display, and he still keeps her empty chair beside his.

In terms of conceptualising a room to fit a story and show a state of mind, we started thinking about a scene which has a certain degree of dissonance. For example; a calendar which shows the wrong month for the season outside - indicative that something is wrong i.e death or depression (the inhabitant(s) couldn't be bothered to change it.)

Also thinking about how something would look when folk are happy - clean, tidy, everything looks really fresh. flowers/plants etc. This would actually be more difficult than showcasing a depressing atmosphere.

Take something like a nursey, how would that look progressively over time if something bad, like stillbirth,  happened?

1st version of the room would show boxes everywhere, half painted walls and a crib in construction. screws all over the floor etc.
2nd room version would show progressively more baby stuff, maybe even some daffodills, painted fully and brightly lit - springtime - happy.
3rd version would be  darkly lit, empty, jumpers and baby toys etc put away in boxes - the baby was never born - sadness, grief, death.

I'm going to start putting this scene together to show at the presentation next week and illustrate how a room can change over time and showcase the state of mind of the character in relation to the events they are currently going through.

Supervisor Meeting 04.03.13

Had so many setbacks this week what with my laptop hard drive failure and having to try and sort out getting it fixed, it's been stressful to say the least. As a result of that I tried to get on with what work I could in terms of case studies, dissertation intro and a tutorial but after speaking to Ryan I know that I really need to just get my head down and get as much practical work done as possible to show at Crit week presentations. I hadn't yet started work on my final project piece so at least I didn't lose anything there. This weeks tasks are all about preparing for crit week. I need to show how my project has developed and changed since then, and show my practical response to feedback so that means firing out a lot more practical development work that is relative to the project piece. If I can't get a lot of maya work done, Ryan said that I should be prepared to provide detailed information on exactly how it's going to progress. I need to pick up the pace and make up for lost time.

Essentially, don't go out this weekend, work in uni as much as possible to avoid distraction and speak to peers about my project and get there input which will help to frame and shape the project more.