Friday, 11 December 2015

Animation progress diary: Shot one


Shot one

My first shows the ATAT from the perspective of the heroes near the power generator of their base. I have used a low angle shot to give the impression that this enemy is huge and to be feared. I also intentionally chose a wide angle shot to convey the full size of it and how far it is from the base at the start. I feel this shot nicely catches the terrain and the far off hills which effectively disguise the intersection of the sky dome and the terrain.

For more realistic movement on the ATAT, top part of the model moves slightly upwards each time the leg moves. Though subtle, it effectively breaks up the otherwise unrealistic movement of the body moving forward with the legs.

In much the same way as the model, I have used the key frames to change the rotation of the camera at certain times. Slightly before the last frame of the walk cycle the camera finishes it's tilt upwards.

Though often much slower, I felt it necessary to speed up the walk cycle so the shot captures most of the legs lifting up to give the impression it is actually moving.
 

To further replicate the scene I decided to add a translucent image over the 3 second clip. This is simply a simple rounded rectangle with a zoom blur, some science fiction-esque text and numbers around it and a translucent blue back layer with some noise distortion. I feel this effectively gives the impression of futuristic binoculars as seen in the film and helps to frame the shot.



Good parts:
  • Tilt movement combined with low angle wide shot effectively connotes the ATAT's size and the intended feel
  • Use of image sequence and Premier Pro allowed for easy overlaying of binocular image
  • Opacity of image allowed it added without any need for tweaking in Premier Pro

Improvements:

  • To better match the actual scene and further highlight the size and power of the machine, the shot could start from a close up of the feet and dolly out as it tilts up

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