VFX After Effects: Pt 2

• Making Animated Maui

Drawing

I started off with a simple line drawing on Adobe Illustrator.

Then I transferred it into Photoshop so that I could neaten it up.

This is the final outcome.

Assembly

VFX After Effects: Pt1

Moana Title Sequence

After reading the brief, I decided to create a title sequence for Disney's Moana. To begin with...

• The Storyboard

I decided to go with the same colour palette they use for the official Disney Moana poster before I started story-boarding because I think it would look more professional.







For inspiration I have watched numerous Disney film end credits, which I found very helpful in figuring out the structure I wanted to go with for my own title sequence.

1. Directed By - John Musker & Ron Clements
2. Co-Directed By - Chris Williams & Don Hall
3. Produced By - Osnat Shurer p.g.a
4. Executive Producer - John Lasseter
5. Screenplay By - Jared Bush
6. Story By - Ron Clements & John Musker, Chris Williams & Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell & Jordan Kandell
7. Original Songs By - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i, Mark Mancina
8. Original Score Composed By - Mark Mancina
9. Editor - Jeff Draheim, ACE
10. Associate Producer - Nicole P. Hearon
11. Visual Effects Supervisor - Kyle Odermatt
12. Production Designer - Ian Gooding
13. Art Director Environments & Colour - Andy Harkness
14. Art Director Characters - Bill Schwab
15. Production Manager - Yvett Merino
16. Head of Story - David Pimentel, John Ripa
17. Head of Animation - Hyrum Virl Osmond, Amy Lawson Smeed
18. DOC Layout - Rob Dressel & DOC Lighting - Adolph Lusinsky
19. Technical Supervisor - Hank Driskill
20. Head of Characters and Technical Animation - Carlos Cabral
21. Head of Environments - Larry Wu
22. Heads of Effects and Animation - Dale Mayeda, Marlon West
23. Stereoscopic Supervisor - Robert Neuman
24. Modeling Supervisors (Characters- Chad Stubblefield, Environments- Brien Hindman)
25. Look Development Supervisors (Characters- Jack Fulmer, Environments & Set Extension- Colin Eckart)
26. Character Riggin Supervisor - Matthew Schiller
27. Simulation Supervisor - Marc Thyng
28. Technical Animation Supervisors - Christopher Evart, Mark Empey
29. Animation Supervisors - Adam Green, Jennifer Hager, Mack Kablan, Daniel James Klug, Malcon B. Pierce III
30. Hand-drawn Animation Supervisor - Eric Goldberg
31. Executive Music Producers - Tom MacDougall, Chris Montan
32. Auli'i Cravalho as Moana, Dwayne Johnson as Maui

• Searching for the Right Fonts!

I really want to make sure that the fonts I choose to use for this title sequence look great together and fit well with the genre of the movie. So, I went on a wild google search for Disney and cartoon fonts to see which ones would work best.

When deciding on which fonts to use for my title sequence, I decided to with the 1st one for the main "Moana" title, then I chose the second one for the titles, and the 2nd/3rd for the names.

• Testing the Ideas out in After Effects 

Creating Water Particles

created a null object, centered the anchor point then created a solid layer.

effect > trapcode > particular

press p on the null object (make layer 3D) 

ALT-click stopwatch Position XY & Z then parent to the null object layer position

on particular layer > effect controls > physics > gravity

effect controls > particle > size & size random & opacity random

layer > light (point) > effect controls > shading > turn everything on > ambient & diffuse ^

move light around in top view then duplicate the light then back-light other side

particular layer > effect controls > shading > shadowlet settings > always in front

pre-compose all layers

new solid > effect > gradient ramp > radial gradient

effect > matte > simple choker > noise > median 

add adjustment layer to prev comp > effect > stylize > cc glass

height and displacement controls how the particles will look more like water

play around velocity, layer mode, light intensity & colour till satisfied

Creating Wave Title

pre-compose text layer

after opening a new 2000x2000px composition, new solid layer 1800x100px 

pre-comp > effect > distort > turbulent displace

animate by ALT-click evolution stopwatch then enter time*100 into timeline

place solid base under text layer > alpha matte

hit P on wave layer then keyframe start & end points

duplicate x 3

Water Splash

draw a line, then animate it using trim paths, F9+click the keyframes & change speed on graph

add repeater, and amount copies you want

(quit this idea)

Sand Text

open image

alpha matte the text and sand background

simulation > shatter

view = rendered

Synopsis & Treatment

Synopsis

Mainstream hip-hop dance is seen as a very masculine style of dance which is a stereotype

that I want to challenge with my dance video. A male dancer will be dancing in this style of

dancing and trying to reject the feminine element of this piece (which will be the reflective

rainbow light) and he will eventually learn to accept it. The video will then transition into a

dreamier aesthetic that represents how society has become more accepting to femininity in

hip-hop which will hopefully continue to improve in years to come.

The main focus will be on the dancer’s body movement and slowly detaching the style from

its masculine stereotype in a subtle way.

Treatment

Working Title: TBD

Duration: 3-5 minutes

Genre: Experimental Dance Video

Crew: Rufaro Maumbe and Team

Outline Production: An experimental dance video exploring hip-hop dance movement in a

way that people aren’t usually exposed to.

Target Audience:

I feel all ages/genders will have something they can take away from the video.

Visual Elements:

Lighting – Psychedelic, soft, bright lights.

Camera Movement – Various camera movement.

Editing – Fast, rapid shot transitions at the beginning that will eventually transition into slow

transitions going along with the movements. Adding emphasis on specific shots when the

beat of the music changes/when the beat drops.

Setting – Preferably shot in a studio using a white backdrop for the ease of the reflecting

light I will be using.

Dancers – Only 1 dancer will be needed because I feel it strengthens the message of the

piece.

Props – Plexiglass, sun-catchers, scratched cd’s, lighting gels, crystal prism.

Costume – Black/White/Nude shorts and white t-shirt or shirtless.

Audio Elements:

Music – Non-diegetic hip-hop remix (specific track tbd)

Effects – In post-production, I will judge whether any extra sound effects need to be added

to the track to compliment the visuals.

Requirements and Resources: Canon GH4 camera, Canon 70D camera, 1 tripod, Lighting,

Diffusers, Gels, Production paperwork.

Constraints and Contingency: The reflection from the different materials (plexiglass, crystal

prisms etc. might not have a strong enough reflection so various tests will need to be

carried out)

Legal and Ethical considerations: Making sure that my dancer is always rested, well-

hydrated and has eaten enough on shooting days.

Dance Video Presentation

The Idea

Experimental dance video displaying hip-hop/street dance style in a way that we aren't usually exposed to as an audience. I basically want to take a very urban style of dance and put it into a dreamscape of some sort. I also want to experiment with incorporating different dance styles into the choreography.

Hip-hop and street are not seen as dance styles that can have much fluidity and usually dance videos of this style are filmed in much more urban environments, which is what I want to challenge; adding an element of "femininity" to a usually masculine style of dance.

This aesthetic element of my idea is heavily influenced by Marina Fini, who is a conceptual filmmaker and photographer. She was born in the 80's but is influenced by multiple eras including the late 90's, early 00's, and the 60's. She also claims to have been enamoured with counterculture, hippies, and psychedelia in high school, which I can relate to. Psychedelia fascinates me so much because it's so different from everyday realities and can be seen as a form of escape.


Wifi's Lil Angel by Marina FINI from My Superhero Mag on Vimeo.

I want to use light refraction to produce a rainbow that will be following my dancer around as they try to dance away from it. The idea is the dance will start off very sharp and powerful without the rainbow, then it will follow the dancer whilst s/he tries to escape it, but gradually accepts it whilst the dance will become more fluid.

    

Inspiration

Choreography-

WillDaBeast Adams

Matt Steffanina

The Jabbawockeez

Camera Movement and Editing Style-

ViT Jumpcut Productions

Tim Milgram