Blocking

This is the current stage of our animation.

This is our proposed plan for the tranformation of the bullies.

We intend to paint over the frames after the final render.

Scenes/Environments

This is some of the live footage we took for the animation.

Using nCloth we created a new duvet for the bedroom scene.

Using the live footage we created a replica classroom and used the footage to create image planes around the scene.

Due to the difficulty in filming the corridor scene we decided to recreate it in 3D to give us more control over the environment.

Video References

Classroom Scene

Transformation Shot

Bus Stop Scene

Wake up Shot

These are our video references used to help in the blocking and animation process.

Animatic

3D Final Animatic testing camera angles and the live footage in the scenes.

Semi-final Animatic using test footage for the animation with final timing and pacing.

We changed the order of some of the shots to better suit a new voice audition that we received.
A more finalised animatic is coming soon.

This is an early test animatic to begin figuring out the timing and pacing of the piece as well as the audio of the piece.

-Darrell and Lois

Aftermath by Bernadette Wright

Aftermath.
There is no escape for me. Not even in sleep,
Even then I'm tormented with missiles and jibes,
My ears are too big. I'm a runt. I'm a creep.
My threats are weak and so are my bribes.
Nothing can save me during Math or after,
And my heartbeat gallops as I wait for the bell,
It's fight or flight and I run from their laughter.
The daily gauntlet I now know so well.

The chase ends the same, with a trip and a fall,
And there I awake to the reality of it all.
By Bernadette Wright

Character Modelling

Current version of the Character Model by Darrell Wright

 (Wireframe) Character Model

Lighting and Colour Test in Mental Ray

Modelled in Zbrush and retopologised using ZRemesher and Maya.

"Victim in Bed Clothes" 3D Model by Darrell Wright

"Tall Bully" 3D Model by Darrell Wright

"Tall Bully Monster Form" 3D Model by Darrell Wright

"Short Bully"  3D Model by Darrell Wright

"Short Bully Monster Form" 3D Model by Darrell Wright

Final Turnarounds for all Characters.

-Darrell and Lois

Storyboards

Final Storyboard:

These are our final storyboards after receiving feedback on pacing and timing and the order or events.
This final storyboard also takes photographic background into consideration.


Initial Storyboard:

These are our initial storyboards, outlining the story from beginning to end. We decided to use colour in the storyboards as we intend for the use of colour in this animation to play a big role in setting the mood. The dark dreary blues and purples are indicative of the nightmare, while red will be used to indicate danger. This will continue throughout the nightmare sequence until the character wakes up.
The colour scheme when the character first wakes up is based on the morning sky, with a lot of warm colours and a bright blue, as opposed to the dreary blues in the nightmare. The colours become instantly washed out when the character opens the curtains, expecting to see sunshine, but is instead greeted by typical UK weather. Finally the character looks out from his window and spots the two bullies at the bus stop, as the colours fade further into the initial dreary blues and purples, indicating that the nightmare is also his reality.

-Darrell and Lois

Plot Synopsis

Example Storyboard for the corridor scene.

This is a brief overview of what we have come up with for the story so far.
(This post will be updated as we go along)

1. Victim falling asleep in bed.
2. Dream Sequence begins
3. Victim is sat in class while two bullies sit behind him, hitting him or throwing things
4. Bell rings and Victim leaves class
5. Victim is chased down corridor by bullies who are becoming more monstrous
6. Victim trips and bullies catch up with him
7. Crowd appears and laughs and takes photos while becoming more monstrous
8. Bullies lunge at Victim
9. Victim wakes up to moms voice "Get ready for school"
10. Victim looks out window and sees the bullies at the bus stop.
11. Victim sighs as he knows he will have to endure another day of bullying.

At this point it may be difficult to fit all of this into 40 seconds, but when it comes to storyboarding we will be able to more accurately tell what is necessary and what isn't to maintain the message and tone of the piece but to limit it to 40 seconds maximum.

We have also contacted a poet to write a short poem that will be used to narrate the story.  This should help with the pacing and timing of the piece.

-Darrell and Lois

Character Design - Sculpture

Head Shot of the Main Character / Victim (Fully Rendered)

 After coming up with some character designs we were happy with, we needed to make sure that they would translate well into 3D. Using Zbrush we blocked out the character and used Keyshot Materials to texture him. We are really happy with how the character looks in 3D as the little black eyes translated well.

Head Shot of Meat Head (Left) and Ego Trip (Right) (Fully Rendered)

Next we will be designing a school uniform for all of the characters, this decision was made to drastically cut down on character design time by giving each character the same clothes. We will allow for variations in how the uniform is worn from character to character, expressing their individual identity in more subtle ways. Uniforms, while seemingly stopping students from expressing their individuality have been employed by many schools as a way to stop bullying over clothes than students can and cannot afford.

-Darrell and Lois

Character Design

Character Head Shots by Darrell Wright and Lois Cockerill

We initially decided to make most of our characters children between the ages of 11-16, although this comes with its own set of unique challenges, like the dreadful uncanny valley.

Sid (Character) from Toy Story (1995)

To avoid this pitfall we decided to look at some cartoons that depicted children in a far less unsettling way. Unfortunately, this left us with surprisingly few 3D animated shows, so we took inspiration from the visual qualities of "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" and "Codename: Kids Next Door".

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (Left) and Codename: Kids Next Door (Right)

We particularly liked how Billy's eyes were drawn, in a similar fashion to almost all characters from Codename: Kids Next Door, two innocuous little black dots. We thought that inheriting this particular trait for our characters might help avoid the uncanny valley, as often the uncanny is due to eyes appearing lifeless when clearly attempting to mimic human eyes.

We also decided to try and keep the characters heads as simple as possible, using basic shapes while attempting to give each one their own unique silhouette.

Character Concept Art by Lois Cockerill

We also tried out various other styles and characters before settling on our final designs. These were our initial character designs for our main character: the victim. By experimenting with different art styles, clothing and defining features we chose our favourite design and began finalising it.

Initial Bully Designs by Lois Cockerill

When designing our initial bully concepts we decided to look at common bully stereotypes in pairings, groups and even individual ones. By giving our characters' harsh expressions, confident postures and violent mannerisms, we created concept designs that gave off an unwelcoming feeling. A threatening, uncomfortable feeling; a feeling a bully victim no doubt has encountered before. After experimenting with the styles and character designs we picked the strongest one and started working on it's final design.

Colour Schemes for Victim by Darrell Wright

Victim Clothing Design by Darrell Wright

Because we are setting the story in a school we decided it would be a good idea to use a school uniform, Doing so would  greatly reduce the amount of time spent in character design. These are some of the uniform ideas and also a semi-final character design for the main character "Victim".

Victim Reference Sheet by Darrell Wright

Character Expression Sheet by Lois Cockerill

Victim Model Packet by Darrell Wright

This is the final design for the "Victim" character.

Colour Schemes for Tall Bully by Darrell Wright

Tall Bully Reference Sheet by Darrell Wright

Tall Bully Monster Designs by Darrell Wright

Tall Bully Transformation by Darrell Wright

Tall Bully Expression Sheet by Darrell Wright

Tall Bully Poses by Darrell Wright

Tall Bully Model Packet by Darrell Wright

This is the final design for the "Tall Bully" character.

Short Bully Colour Schemes by Lois Cockerill

Short Bully Reference Sheet by Lois Cockerill

Short Bully Monster Designs by Lois Cockerill

Short Bully Transormation by Lois Cockerill

Short Bully Expression Sheet by Lois Cockerill

Short Bully Model Packet by Lois Cockerill

-Darrell and Lois

Mood Boards

-Darrell and Lois

Research

Image Sourced from:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/exploring-the-well-being-of-children-in-the-uk--2014/sty-facts-about-childens-wellbeing-bullying-relationships.html

During our research we have learned that out of 3 million young people in the UK, 50% have been bullied in the past year and 19% of them were bullied every day. Shockingly 12% of young people even admit to bullying somebody every day although 24% of those who have been bullied go on to bully someone else, a vicious cycle. A third of victims of bullying admit to suicidal thoughts and 41% suffer from social anxiety whilst 44% experience depression.

"I never think about them during the day. I feel like I'm over it - but they still appear in my dreams." 
-Anonymous

After reading these statistics we realised bullying is a lot more common than we are led to believe and comes in many forms, but also the frequency of the long lasting psychological effects that it can have on the victims, inducing depression, anxiety, PTSD and even suicidal thoughts, are as much a part of bullying as the black eyes and cruel private messages.

"Only people who lived through being targeted often by bullies in childhood can truly understand what a traumatic experience it is." -Barbara Lermer

Bullying doesn't begin and end in the school yard and can happen throughout life and even into the workplace. With the introduction of social media into the mix cyberbullying has become a far more accessible pass time for many of today's young people that can rest easy knowing their bullying escapades are anonymous as 65% of young people admit to having been the victim of cyberbullying.

"I have dreams in which I get into violent arguments or fights with some of the bullies... I guess it's my personal way to deal with my past." -Laura Montero

The psychological effects of bullying can often outlast the actual bullying, even causing nightmares years afterwards for many of the victims. After much thought we have decided to move forward with the idea of focusing the animation on the many psychological effects bullying has on it's victims.

These statistics were gathered from Ditch The Label's Annual Bullying Survey 2016. (http://www.ditchthelabel.org/annual-bullying-survey-2016/)

Quotes from Anonymous, Barbara Lermer and Laura Montero sourced from:
(https://www.quora.com/I-still-dream-about-the-people-that-bullied-me-years-ago-does-this-mean-anything)



-Darrell and Lois

Introduction

Welcome to Darrell and Lois' blog for the creation of the animation "AFTERMATH".

In this blog we will cover as much of the production process as possible, including our research, concept and design, story-boarding, video references, modelling and rigging, animating and the final render. This is project will be fully complete by Friday 13th January 2017 and will comprise of 30-40 seconds of 3D animation on top of live footage or photographic material and will be centered around the theme of bullying.

-Darrell and Lois