It's Over

Well, this class has actually been a lot of fun for me. I feel like I've got a basic but firm grasp on Flash now. So, so long and thanks for all the files!

Oh that was terrible. I apologize.

DA DA DA DAAA DAA DAADA DA DAAAAAA

May I present to you...Barghest!
I'm rather okay with it, as it's my first flash movie ever. I may tweak it in the future as I learn more about the program.

Exporting

I am currently exporting my movie into AfterEffects, soon it will be finished!

Ready to Splice

My animation is finished, my sound effects are purchased, my dialog is recorded, and my music is composed (read: chaotic noise produced by punching in random chords with a a synthpad simulation in Garage Band and then recording it in Audacity using my iMac's own internal speakers and microphone). All that remains now is splicing everything together!

Production Under Way

My Flash animation, "Barghest" is now well under way. I will be animating about three shots a day for the remainder of the week in order to be finished with animating by Friday. Tune in later today to see a clip from the film!

Puppets

Yay, I can start animating with puppets today.

Background

Here's what I have so far for Backgrounds. I'll upload the finished BGs later today.

Barghest Character Design pt. 2

Sorry for the mess, I wanted to get these in as few scans as possible! Also, the puppets for Rachel (the Barghest) are complete as well. I'll images of them later. These are links to the images on my Photobucket account, as Blogger does not seem to be working properly.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/RCEverboundVenvel/rachel_faces1.jpg


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b174/RCEverboundVenvel/rachel_faces2.jpg

Barghest Turn Around

Character turn around for the Barghest, code name "Rachel".


(c) Shannon spoler

More Inspiration

Being the absentminded airhead that I am, I almost forgot to mention another bit of inspiration for "Barghest"; Yume Nikki, a freeware game by Kikiyama for windows that can only be described as very, very surreal. Looking at this strange game helped give me ideas the background that will be used in my animation. Being a Mac girl myself, I have not been able to play it yet myself, but I've watched videos, such as the one below. 

WARNING, GAME SPOILERS!

Animatic

Here's an animatic of my storyboards, to help me figure out timing.

Workin'

Workin' on the characters!

Scheduale

Here's how I hope It'll go down:

Feb 9-14: Draw out characters (rig if time permits), study canine and old lady movement.

Feb 15-21: Rig characters, start rendering backgrounds.

Feb 22-28: Finish backgrounds, begin animation.

March 1-7: Animation.

March 7-14: Hopefully the animation will be finished, record voices, composite in After Effects.

Storyboards

Here are the storyboards for "Barghest" My printing is horrible, I know, but it's quicker than the text tool in Photoshop....Blogger has some strange HTML issues.

I'm currently working on my storyboards. I should have them scanned later today or this weekend.
That's all, folks.

Script: Barghest

Speaker

BARGHEST: (Sniffing) Hrrmmm…

Sound Effect

Wind over grasslands, BARGHEST’s canine foot fall

Action

W/S of BARGHEST cresting a bluff in a graveyard. She sniffs the air, and cocks her
head to side.

----------

Speaker

OLD WOMAN/ BANSHEE: Aye, skeletons in the graveyard…Old bones in the ground…’Nother skeleton a-goin’ in the
ground soon.

Sound Effect

Wind over grassland, footfalls of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE

Action

W/S of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE hobbling along a path through the graveyard.
---------

Speaker

BARGHEST: Uwee he hee…!

Action

C/U of BARGHEST’s smirking face.

----------
Sound Effect

BARGHEST’s canine footfall

Action

W/S of BARGHEST descending the bluff, moving off camera.

---------

Speaker

OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE: Alas, but it ‘twas a long life for such a woman.

Sound Effect

BARGHEST panting, footfalls of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE, Doppler effect on BARGHEST’s footfalls

Action

C/U Upshot of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE walking along, BARGHEST approaches from behind w/a blank expression.

------------

Sound Effect

Wind over grasslands

Action

W/S of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE and BARGHEST. They have stopped in their tracks on the graveyard path.

Sound Effect

Wind over grasslands, ruffling of cloth

Action

C/U Down shot from BARGHEST’s POV of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE turning her head to look behind her.

------------

Speaker

BARGHEST: GRRRRROOOOOWARRRG!!!

Sound Effect

Otherworldly howling

Action

C/U Upshot from OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE’s POV of BARGHEST twisting her face into a horrible expression.

----------

Speaker

OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE: EEEAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIGH!!!!

Sound Effect

Hellish screeching

Action

M/S of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE and BARGEST as OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE reveals her true form with a horrible scream. BARGHEST blown off camera

-------------

Speaker

OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE: ‘Nother skeleton in the ground by mornin’…

Sound Effect

Church Bells (after white out)

Action

M/S of OLD WOMAN/BANSHEE resuming her walk on the graveyard path. Pan to BARGHEST,
dazed on the ground. Screen whites out.

------------------

© 2009 Shannon Spoler

More Tutorial Results

This is just STRANGE. However, I'm fairly satisfied with the result as this is my first freehand walk cycle in flash.



This next one is a lip syncing exercise. Obviously, I need more practice. Looknig at it now, it's her teeth that are the worst part. The top teeth should'nt move, the bottom ones should. Obviouldy I overlooked this fact in my hunger and exhaustion induced stupor. The sound was found on www.moviewavs.com, and is from Star Wars Episode One, I believe. The sound was used for educational purposes - this animation was made for a digital cell animation course at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Proposal pt. 2

In my animation, I would like to tell the story of a Barghest who is stalking a little Old Woman. The Barghest is the size of a calf, and she has the face of a young woman. However, she can contort her face into hideous expressions. The Barghest attempts to terrify the Old Woman with this ability, however, the Old Woman turns out to be another frightening being - a Banshee. With a single ear-shattering screech, the Banshee knocks the Barghest away, leaving the latter dazed. The Old Banshee hobbles off as the Barghest tries to regain her bearings.
For the backgrounds of my animation, I would like to create a surreal interpretation of the storybook British countryside. I am looking at the works of artists such as Max Ernst and Salvador Dali for inspiration, as well as the contents of my own strange dreams. I feel that an overall surreal air will suit my little faerie tale well.

Proposal Pt.1

For my final project for this digicell class, I would like like to make a faerie tale short aimed at the sci-fi and fantasy audience. I have always held a strong interest in faeries and monsters from the mythology and folklore of various cultures. I would like to make a cut-out animation on the myth of the Western European "black dog". Black dogs, also known a "barghest" and a host of other titles, are faeries of the night that take the form of gigantic, monstrous dogs with huge, fiery red eyes. In folklore, they are known for following solitary travelers on old country paths, terrifying them, and in the worst cases, mauling them to death. Most black dogs are seen as bad omens, and appear in graveyards or places where ancient treasure is hidden. However, there are also tales of benevolent black dogs who protect young women and girls. black dogs were made well known to popular culture partially due to the influence of the Harry Potter books, in which they are called "grims". Within the context of my animation, I will refer to my black dog using the term "barghest". The barghest character's code name is "Rachel" for the sake of file organization, but this will be of no consequence to the content of the film.

Rotoscoped Run Cycle

Double-Suspension gallop using a creature I literally dreamed up called a Pincer Face. The keyframes (obviously the cleaner drawings) were rotoscoped from Muybridge's photographs of a running whippet. 30 fps.

First part of the rotoscoping exercise.

Jumps

Here are some jumps animated in Flash. The clown puppet was made by my professor, the dog puppet is my own. Both were cut out and animated by me. I still need to learn how to properly rig characters in Flash. I'm guessing it has something to do with overlapping layers.

Bouncing Ball Tutorials

My first ever Flash animations, made using a tutorial. The yellow ball on the purple background was animated using Custom Ease in and Ease Out, while the animation of the blue ball on the orange background was not.

Illustration Inspiration

The collages of Max Ernst are playing a large role in inspiring my character designs for this project. I have always been fascinated with chimeric designs such as the ones present in "Un Semaine de Bonte". The dark atmosphere of these collages will likely also be reflected in my project.

Character Concept Sketch

Here is a concept sketch of a character that I may be using for my animation in this class. Her name is Rachel, she is a Barghest (a dog-like specter known for haunting old roads and graveyards in western Europe). While her body is that of a large dog, her face is mostly human. I imagine that her jaws are lined with vicious fangs. More sketches will appear as I progress with this project.

My Favorite Animated Short

Before I showcase my own animation, I would like to show all of you my favorite animation on the internet:

Adam Phillips is a phenomenally creative animator and his Brakenwood films are all beautifully done. I will be looking to his films as an inspiration for my own project. You can see more of Adam Phillips' work here: http://www.biteycastle.com/

An Introduction

Hello, My name is Shannon Spoler. I am a fourth-year animation student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I was born on June 6, 1987, meaning my signs are Gemini and Fire Rabbit Looking At The Moon. This blog will be used to document my progress through Digital Cel Animation I. I will be posting videos from my YouTube account in order to showcase my work.