Evaluating the animation itself, there are some aspects that work really well with others being something that were I to work on this project again in the future, i would polish further, mainly based on my own preference and the user testing that I received from the varied audiences who viewed this animation throughout the process. Firstly looking at the environment, it has a well lit rugged feel that clearly shows that it is an icy scene. It's vastness compared with the character can easily be seen during the slow pan of the opening shot. The wind effect here works well also to establish the harsh conditions. The movement of the character is strong and the audience can see the sense of fear and uncertainty on the characters face. One thing I noticed though is that even though the quality is HD1080, there seems to be slight blur on the opening shot.
The snow simulation was not how I had originally intended but from my opinion and that of the users, it looks better the way it is now, with the opening fade to title working really well at establishing the tone of the animation. The music here also works well and is effective in showing that dramatic nature that was intended. Looking back at the music and sound effects though, although they fit really nicely, the chance to have original music which fell through would have been a far nicer touch to the finished piece.
Having tried to crack the word "Cracked" in the opening sequence, it just didn't look right so i'm glad that I chose not to do this element. When the snowfall starts and we can see the character starting to become at peace n the landscape, there is an intended subtlety that there is peace and tranquility, a false sense of safety that will be disrupted soon after. This is a metaphor for how the mind of someone with OCD can jump from peace to chaos in the blink of an eye. The movement on the characters chest works well for breathing also.
The character models, were I to do this animation again in the future, I think I would make the characters more complex. I had intentionally made them more simplistic and added the many blendshapes for facial expressions in order to have the character seem more generic as if he could be anyone, while focusing on the emotions caused by anxiety. This can be seen in the shot where the ice begins to crack and the character drops down, a shot that I think should also should have slightly less pause when the character drops. The anticipation here is really nice though and I feel works well as part of the overall film. The appearance of the crack and the overall look of panic that unfolds on the character's face at the same time as the audience's realisation hits home very well. A criticism of this area would be the ice cracking sound effect. In some places it seems a bit much and that is another area that I would fix if I were to redo it in the future.
The run works nicely with the change in shots as the ice chases the character adding to the suspense. The highlight of this shot would be the character sliding to a stop which according to user testing is a real highlight of good timing. The camera angle switches at this point are smooth with the character really showing good emotion at this point. Fear appearing on his face as the ice cracks in closeup. The slight subtleties here as the character moves are a nice addition thanks to the supervisor albeit the shot being slightly bright in some areas. This point still has the shock factor that plays well through the animation until the cut to black. The moment of suspense during the black shot was a good choice as it continues to build on that feeling of isolation, the wind dies down here but I feel the ice cracking on reflection could have died down slightly more too. The music change here is far from subtle but evokes empathy in the viewer and makes them see the fear on this character as he realises that he is trapped.
At this point, (1:15) of the video, there is a clear sense of loneliness as the character is trapped, the slight movements on the ice here work very well with the stand up and sit back down being some of the strongest animation of the video. One clear issue of this is the way the lighting changes mid shot. This would be a major design issue that I would fix if I were to rerender this when coming back to the project at a future time. Then we have the important close up shot were the voices overlay each other with the different fonts and moving text. This was a very difficult process to find a way of representing the voices and letting it flow with the animation. This now flows well with the different fonts acting as conflicting voices constantly messing witht he mind of a person with OCD.
The end shot has some good camera movement as the audience is given the shock factor that it is all in the characters head with the therapist acting as the voice of reason that breaks through all the others and helps the character, proving to the audience that there is hope in this situation. The shot was a tough one to get right as the shot needs to be powerful. This transitions into the final quote that shows there is hope and leaves the audience thinking about the situation.
Overall, the animation seems to have been a success. Yes, there are issues that could be improved but in terms of an animation, a narrative and a piece that sets out to achieve a goal, it seems to be a success.
No comments:
Post a Comment