Essence

          I finished "Essence", and it turned out great! I did have to work out some kinks but it really did turn out well in the end. I initially wanted to shrink the armatures so that you would see completely different deformed meshes during the filter scenes, but that messed with certain things so I decided to let it be. I also did not manage to get the lighting as dramatic as I wanted it to be, but I do like the system and idea of a play-like lighting system and I may try it later. I also had to re-render it a couple times, especially because the aspect ratio was at 50% when it should have been at 100%.

          I was extremely pleased with the product because of multiple reasons : I've been wondering about the question I posed in this animation for a while, and I finally figured out a way to "put it down on paper"; I also experimented a lot during the project--I took a method used to give an x-ray effect and then modified it to fit my purpose. I innovated and succeeded in my goal, which bodes well since technical direction is mostly experimentation and innovation. I also started the project in 2.79 and ended in 2.8, and the project isn't a train wreck! I was extremely impressed with the rendering speed of 2.8: it rendered 1750 frames in cycles in only 3 days, which 2.79 would definitely not have been capable of. I also made the decision to narrate over this project--and this is the first time I've done that for an animation. I normally would not have even considered it, but this is an extremely abstract piece, and the narration really does (in my opinion) make it much easier to understand.

          I can confidently say that this is one of my best pieces, because not only is the animation good, my concept is fully developed and understandable.

Work Log:

Monday 12/9: Worked on Carlisle Theatre letters
Tuesday 12/10: Worked on Carlisle Theatre letters
Wednesday 12/11: Worked on Carlisle Theatre letters, went over portfolio
Thursday 12/12: Worked on Carlisle Theatre letters, went over portfolio
Friday 12/13: Missed class (Sorry Mr. Bomboy)