COP3 Personal tutorial 14/10/15 notes

The personal tutorial helped me to link more in depth about the interdisciplinary examples that I would include for my essay. I was debating with using the works of Edward Hopper, from the tutorial, Annabeth explained that researching into the renaissance painters, which would then link nicely to camera obscura and work with linking back to Edward Hopper. Annabeth mentioned the works of John Martin who's work is currently in Newcastles Art Gallery. I would be able to attend this on the 23rd as I would be in Newcastle to visit an animation studio, Arcus, for primary research.

John Martin's work contains a range of amazing perspectives, and the composition is beautiful with the placement of the character, the background elements and lighting that draws your eyes to the main message of the painting. With these paintings being over 200 years old, I can still see some painters today using this style of painting and colour. I would be able to connect two film theories to this example, formalist and classicism, showing the storytelling and the fantasy elements to the composition. I also believe I would be able to connect this painting to sequential art, show the movement of the character and the lighting, as well as the textures within the work make it seem like it is moving.

The practical needs to be portfolio worthy, make beautiful storyboards, they need a foreground, middleground and background with consideration of the composition to link with the dissertation. I can use the plot and characters from my extended project - this will help me with time management and a focus on purely storyboards rather than having to create characters and a plot for the practical.

Research into previs - is it worth understanding this within industry? An expected skill for a storyboard artist. When making the previs, make sure you put the background, middleground and foreground on separate layers so that it can be easily transferred to after effects.

Practical = Script/ a refined premise - rough thumbnails - beat boards - digital storyboards - pre vis.

Sticking to 2D animations and storyboards - would be more beneficial for the line of work that I want to enter which is mainly 2D based. However would be worth researching into for PPP.

More key points from tutorial:

+ Consider the role of a layout artist and previs, how these are an expected skill in industry. Decided to stick to 2D examples rather than expand into 3D digital and stop motion, this will aid me with my own practice and portfolio with practical. As linking Storyboards to Disney (pioneers of this medium) research into how they reference other films - what skills do they use for their storyboards with perspective and layout. Consider illusionary drawing, how this is a false perspective, a false reality, a false composition.

+ Link to gestalt theory - all about perception, link further to semiotics - research into this but not in great depth. Both of these points are important towards the perception of the shot.
+ Connotation and denotation - important perspectives to mention in the essay - one being the literal object, the other being what it symbolises.

Consider how are you making someone think? Mise en scene, why is something in the foreground and not in the background? why this structure?

John Martin, Manfred and the Alpine Witch, 1837