ATTACK!!! Of The Virus!

So it's safe to say I've learnt a lot over the past 15 weeks, as I've never done anything of this scale before. From creating a world from scratch to developing and designing it to animating it to finishing it. There are a lot of areas, in Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production, that I had never touched before or only touched upon that came to the forefront of this project and I've enjoyed learning all about. Yes, I even enjoyed the Design stage a whole lot.

And that is the final project of uni complete. Without getting any more melodramatic lets jump straight in, first with the process of the work up to its final point.

Animation:

The animation stage was a long one. Although there were no very complex animations to contend with, animating each piece individually still took time. The 'Big Battle' scene inparticular took some time as everyone had to play off one another. I did this by pairing them up with a 'counter-part' and animating the two in tandem.

Examples of the 'Big Battle'

Lighting:

I did lighting a bit differently this time. As opposed to lighting the scene and animating inside it, I lit each scene separately. This was to get the best out of the cell shading technique I had adopted. As the camera angle changes a lot I had to ensure the lighting reflected the personality of the model seen. For example, the Virus Mothership couldn't have too much light green, meaning I had to ensure it was mostly dark and in the cell shaded shadows.

SFX:

In the past, I'd never had a need or opportunity to use any special effects that really stood out. This project I was able to dive right in and learn something I'd never used before. The main effect used throughout the animation is called 'Halftone'. This mimics the style of a 50s comic made popular by one of my artistic inspirations for the piece, Roy Lichtenstein. This is to juxtapose the 'outside' world to the 'comic/cartoon' one.

Other effects used were 'optical flares' in select places to create a 'cinematic' experience. And finally, lasers to make stuff blow up.

Sound Design:

Sound Design was another area that I had only dabbled in.This time I was able to fully explore it with a soundtrack and sound effects to fill out the world. To create the 'other-worldly' sounds at points, I combined a selection of effects. This created a familiar yet odd sound.

The soundtrack is to emulate the modern day blockbusters with rousing orchestral scores to guide the audience through the action.

Branding of ELM:

The branding of ELM has changed alot over the past three years before settling on the final look. I like the simple, minimalistic approach of the final one. The ident that I created and placed at the beginning of my pieces is also small and simple lasting only 4 seconds (My Previous one lasted 10!)

First Attempt:



I decided to go 'literal' when creating my first logo. This lasted for the first year, until I stretched my legs on After Effects. Then I went onto the:


Second Attempt:

This was the second attempt on the logo and first for an Ident. I radically changed the look for a more slick/professional look.

The Third and Final Logo and Second Ident:

This is the final logo and branding. It simplyfys the logo again and advertises exactly what it is. I used the minimalistic approach becasuse I feel it looks better and more professional.

I've also had business cards printed, one of which is included in my submission DVD. The look of the card further reflects the simple design and look of the logo.

Finally, a Demo Reel to showcase some of my finer points. I've directed the Demo Reel to be modelling and animation.

And without further ado:

ATTACK!!! Of The Virus!

DVD:

The DVD cover uses the style of the comic book to introduce the audience to the world. I see the DVD as mirror of the comic, as the audience also uses that to enter the world I've created. The comic book is slightly opened on the front cover to reveal a little of whats behind.

Stills from the piece:

ATTACK!!! Of The Virus!:

ATTACK!!! of the Virus - Making Of


And finally, I think its only fitting I end with Thanking both Alan and Phil for there help and guidance throughout.