Animatic Development - Original Ideas and Research

Introduction
For this project, the objective was to produce an adaptation of an existing work or idea by writing a screenplay, convert it into storyboards and create it into an animatic. In order to achieve this, we were arranged into a group and did it in several stages. First we had to come up with an idea that we all agreed to do.


Original Idea - "Artemis Fowl"
My idea for an animatic was based on one of my favourite books, "Artemis Fowl" but this was before I was arranged into a group. I have read the book before so I knew the story and which scene I chose to do. But I still looked up some form of research on the franchise for good measure. Below are a few links to websites and some images that are relevant to my idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_(series)
http://www.artemisfowl.co.uk/home.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl_(novel)

Original cover of the first Artemis Fowl book.

 

The Artemis Fowl Graphic Novel.

An image of pages of Artemis Fowl: the Graphic Novel. This would come in handy if I was to produce storyboards for the scene of my choice.

Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl franchise.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT

Below is the full draft of the script  for a scene of the Artemis Fowl story. This script stays true to the story, having used dialogue directly from the book.

 ARTEMIS FOWL

First Draft for Animatic

Based on the novel by

EOIN COLFER

Written by

MICHAEL HINES

SCENE 12

EXT. RIVER BANK – NIGHT

A field of green grass stretches out over the horizon, a variety of trees can be seen far and near against a cloudy night sky.

A full moon glows brightly in the sky, illuminating the land. A long narrow river flows along right next to a huge oak tree.

ANGLE – TRACKING SHOT -

CAPTAIN HOLLY SHORT, a small elf in a jumpsuit and helmet, appears into the visible spectrum.

She switches off her mechanical wings and shield as she comes to a smooth landing upon the wet grass.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP – HOLLY SHORT

Holly reaches up to remove her helmet and takes it off to reveal her sweet cherub face and auburn shoulder length hair.

She swings her head from side to side to shake the hair out of her face and takes a deep breath of the cool fresh air.

She sighs with relaxation.

LONG SHOT

Holly looks around in the dark silent field before resting her eyes on the huge oak tree beside her with anticipation.

HOLLY

                        (calmly)

River bend. Ancient oak. And a full moon. Perfect.

CLOSE UP - HOLLY

Then she hears a gunshot from a distance and feels the vibration of a speeding bullet that whooshes past her right ear.

Panicking, she reacts to the sound and ducks down behind some nearby bushes.

She takes out her Neutrino 3000 handgun and activates it.

HOLLY:

                         (whispers)

I’m under attack? But...how?

She crouches through the bushes, carefully observing the area for any signs of movement.

A huge figure comes into view behind here. She senses the man’s presence and slowly looks up over her head.

HIGH ANGLE – HOLLY

Holly turns our head to look up at the tall man standing behind her with a look of bewilderment on her face.

LOW ANGLE – MAN

The huge man dressed in a suit, BUTLER, towers over Holly. He is wearing a pair of red tinted mirrored sunglasses.

BUTLER

                   (condescendingly)

I’ll take that pea shooter, miss.

HIGH ANGLE – HOLLY

Butler quickly picks Holly up and takes the Neutrino 3000 off her with ease.

Holly is thrown back onto the ground. She quickly turns over onto her side to look back up at Butler.

HOLLY

Stay back, human. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.

TWO SHOT – BUTLER AND ARTEMIS

Butler stands on the spot as ARTEMIS, a 12 year boy dressed in an Armani suit, steps out of the shadows and stands beside him.

He too is wearing mirrored sunglasses.

ARTEMIS

                    (confidently)

I believe, fairy, that you are the one unfamiliar with the facts.

CUT TO. CLOSE UP – HOLLY’S FACE

Holly stares at the young boy, completely astonished.

HOLLY

                       (thinking)

Fairy? He knows I’m a fairy? How?

Holly begins to stand up slowly.

HOLLY

                    (threateningly)

Stay away for I have enough magic to turn you into a pile of pig droppings.

CUT TO – ARTEMIS

Artemis does not react to the threat but instead slowly crosses his arms in front of his chest.

ARTEMIS

                          (calmly)

If you already had magic, then you wouldn’t be here to replenish it with the ritual now, would you?

CUT TO. MEDIUM CLOSE UP - HOLLY

Holly is now more astounded by this boy spilling out secrets.

HOLLY

                         (thinking)

He knows about the ritual too? This is really bad. Disastrous.

HOLLY (CONT’D)

                         (thinking)

Wait a minute; I do enough magic left to perform a mesmer. Even a drop is all it takes.

Holly stands up confidently and focuses her eyes on Artemis’s. She begins to speak as her eyes glow purple with magic.

Her voice sounds dreamy and enchanting.

HOLLY           

Human, your will is mine.

Artemis just looks on at Holly, standing still and lifts his hand up to adjust his mirrored sunglasses, which shield his eyes from the Mesmer.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP - ARTEMIS

ARTEMIS

                         (calmly)

I doubt it.

Artemis snaps his fingers.

CUT TO BUTLER

Butler pulls out a gun with a silencer, takes aim and fires a dart at Holly’s neck.

CLOSE UP - HOLLY

Before Holly can react, she falls to the floor like a rag doll, unconscious.

CUT TO TRACKING SHOT - ARTEMIS

Artemis walks over and kneels down to examine her.

ARTEMIS

                    (whispers to himself)

A female? I hadn’t expected that.

 Artemis stands up again as Butler walks over to him.

ARTEMIS CONT’D

                          (aloud)

Butler?

BUTLER

Sir?

ARTEMIS

Nice shooting. Let’s get her in the car.

CUT TO

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

Through the dark woods, a car drives down a narrow road towards the camera.

CUT TO. INSIDE CAR - NIGHT

Butler is driving the car while Artemis is in the back seat. He closely examines Holly’s equipment.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP - ARTEMIS

ARTEMIS

                      (anticipated)

The design of this technology is incredible, Butler. We might as well abort the mission now and make a fortune off new patents.

Artemis picks up the helmet and turns it over, closely observing it. He notices a red blinking light in the interior of the helmet.

CLOSE UP – HOLLY’s HELMET

ARTEMIS CONT’D

It seems this helmet has a kind of locater built in it. No doubt they are tracking us right now.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP - ARTEMIS

ARTEMIS CONT’D

I assume that boat you rented is still tied up at the docks?

BUTLER

Yes, sir.

ARTEMIS

I think it’s time we taught our diminutive friends a little lesson.

CUT TO

Car drives off down the road into the distance towards Fowl Manor.

END OF SCENE

Cocaine Cowboys


After I joined a group, the idea for Artemis Fowl was (sadly) scrapped as we all went in favour of producing our animatic based on a sequence of footage from a documentary called "Cocaine Cowboys." Below are just a few links of the research I had dug up on the subject.

Cocaine Cowboys - Part 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocaine_Cowboys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l0INA-yG1I

Cocaine Cowboys - Pre-production - Screenplay

Here is the original draft of the script I had written based on watching 7 minutes of the documentary.

COCAINE COWBOYS

1^st SCENE

Adapted by

MICHAEL HINES

1.

EXT. MIAMI – DAY

An establishing shot of the city of Miami. We see the many rows of tall buildings surrounded by sandy beaches against the blue sky.

CUT TO.

EXT. MOTORWAY DAY

A huge white van comes into view. The camera follows it as it speeds up the road, past palm trees and towards the city.

DISSOLVE TO.

EXT. CAR PARK – DAY

An establishing shot of a large car park next to a big building. Many cars in different sizes and colours are all lined up in rows. Camera then focuses on building.

CUT TO.

LONG SHOT – CAR PARK

The people are going about their daily lives; some drive in their cars, some leave their cars and others are walking in all directions. We now focus on a store behind a line of cars.

CUT IN SHOT – LIQUOUR STORE

We see the title of the store as it reads in big lettering “CROWNS LIQUORS”

TRACKING SHOT – WHITE VAN

The van we saw earlier now enters the car park. It turns and cuts corners through the park, driving slowly and silently. It parks in a space as its rear end stops right in front of the camera.

We see that on the side, there is some text reading, “HAPPY TIME. COMPLETE SUPPLY PARTY. 6648275.”

CUT TO. LOW ANGLE SHOT – VAN DOOR

The door of the van opens slowly. A foot then pops out from behind the door and steps onto the black, dusty asphalt.

LOW ANGLE – VAN

More feet come out several men exit the vehicle. We only see them from the torso down.

They move over to the back and open the rear door of the van.

2.

CLOSE UP – MAN #1

One of the men reaches a hand into the back of the van and quietly pulls out a hand gun. He cocks it and hides it away.

CUT TO.

EXT. OUTSIDE STORE – DAY

More people walk past the liquor store, minding their own business.

TRACKING SHOT – ARMED MEN

The men from the van calmly make their way over to the liquor store, hiding their weapons from view.

One of them stretches out a hand and pushes open the door.

INT. CROWNS LIQUOURS STORE – DAY

The men quietly enter the store; the door makes a slight creaking sound as it is swung forward. They go up to the counter where a man is waiting.

CUT TO.

EXT. OUTSIDE STORE WINDOW

We see flashes of light and loud gun shots, followed by high pitched screaming. Even people outside the store run away in terror.

The men quickly exit the store and they begin to open fire on the surroundings. More screams are heard in the background before they are drowned out by the gunfire.

CUT TO – LONG SHOT

People run all over the car park, waving their arms around and screaming in fear.

CLOSE UP – ARMED MAN#3

The camera is slightly tilted as it focuses on the man’s deranged face. His eyes are covered by huge black sunglasses. He continues to fire his sub-machine gun, light flashes in his face.

CLOSE UP – BEHIND CAR

An innocent bystander tries to hide behind a car; bullet holes are made in the car anyway and he is badly wounded.

CUT TO.

LOW ANGLE - CLOSE UP

3.

A series of empty bullet shells shower all over the man’s feet as he continues to fire his gun.

CUT TO.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP – MAN NEAR STORE WINDOW

A man standing in front of a store window is shot repeatedly by gunfire. As he is blown away by force, he crashes through the window, glass shattering and flying everywhere.

CUT TO.

INT. LIQUOR STORE – DAY

Another shot of the man flying through the store window. His now lifeless body lands on the floor, surrounded by shattered glass.

CUT TO.

HIGH ANGLE. CAR PARK – DAY

The camera slowly pulls away as the men frantically continue to fire their weapons in all directions, shooting at people and cars. Glass windows shatter, bullets ricochet everywhere and the people scream and run.

CUT TO BLACK.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Cocaine Cowboys - Pre-production

Research, Designs and References

Here is a collection of bits and bobs of research, designs and references that I have produced, collected and used.


This here is the link to the 7 minute documentary clip via YouTube. This is where we acquired the audio, which will be used in the conclusion of the film.

Miami in the 80's - Dadeland Shooting - Cocaine Cowboys

As a group, we decided to work on a certain part of the animatic, I was given the beginning to work on, so I started researching and designing concepts of what would be sufficient to the story and what would best set the scene. I always thought an establishing shot would be a good way to introduce the scene and as the story is set in Miami, I looked up images of overviews of part of Miami, which can be viewed below. 

Sketch of the establishing shot overlooking Dadeland Mall, Miami.

An image from the documentary, showing the same establishing shot.

An overview image of a part of Miami.
Will be using this as reference to set the scene at the beginning of the animatic.

An image of the construction of a mock up of the city of Miami in progress using Google Sketch. One of the requirements of this assessment was to use the program Google sketch in some form so I decided to produce an establishing shot for the beginning of the animatic.

This clip above is some live action reference for a shot in the animatic where the culprits walk up to the store. This is also a good reference for a perspective shot, when the character walks at a certain angle and gets smaller as he moves away and bigger as he moves closer.

Another perspective shot, this time from the waist down. So we can only see the legs. Not seeing adults from the waist down creates a kind of uneasy and suspicious feeling. This idea was inspired by many examples including Mammy Two Shoes from the original "Tom & Jerry" shorts and the opening scene in "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial." where the adults are only seen from the waist down until near the ending of the film.

I think I've spent enough uploading movie files onto this blog, which takes so long to do so I've decided to take some images of other reference footage that I have produced. The image above is just an image of me goofing around, acting out a shot for the animatic in which the culprit shoots a gun around the car park.

Reference for when the store door opens. Used the back door in the kitchen for this shot.

An image taken from the movie, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial where Peter Coyote's character is overviewing the area. Notice how we only see him from the waist down, thus leaving his identity unknown. I decided to use the same idea for the animatic because I believed it would arouse more suspense and make the opening scene more dramatic.

Audio

The link below is for a website where I was able to acquire many of the sound effects that were used in the animatic. As well as recording other authentic sounds by using various objects and my dictaphone, I recorded these sounds directly from the computer via stereo mix by using Adobe Soundbooth. Then I simply manipulated them by altering pitch, duration, amplitude, which ever we needed to make the audio sound better. When I saved all the sound effects in WAV format, I simply imported them into Premiere Pro and started arranging the sounds in the desired order.

http://www.stockmusic.com/sound_effects

Just an image of the 7 minutes worth of audio taken from the documentary footage and converted into a WAV file in Soundbooth.

Pre-Production - Storyboards

Here is the original set of storyboards I produced. Normally, storyboards don't have to be elaborately detailed, just enough to tell a story but I really wanted to make sure that people could follow the images easily. I decided to draw thumbnail images and pin them onto cork boards just so we could rearrange the shots in any order we wanted as well as replace or add more shots. This idea was inspired by watching a special feature documentary on "The Emperor's New Groove" DVD. Well, I think it's better than drawing all images in a certain order on pieces of A4 paper and then deciding that you want them in a different order or something added. 

Board 1. The original beginning of the sequence, clearly with the establishing shots, to set the scene.

Board 2. Building up the suspense towards the scene of the shootout. Not showing the identity of the culprits, only seeing from the waist down or the shoulders.

Board 3. The actual shootout occurs, using cut in shots of glass windows and cars being shot as well as a few human victims. Also the culprits face is now shown as he opens fire around the car park.

Once the storyboards were completed and approved, we then moved on to the next stage.

Production - Rough Animatic

Once I had arranged all the audio files on Premiere Pro to my desired order, I began working on the images. I used the same thumbnails of the original storyboards by scanning them, converting them into JPEG files and then importing them into Premiere Pro, thus beginning work on the first rough animatic. Below are a series of images of the animatic in the making. 

Clearly, I have arranged all the audio files into a sequence and afterwards. Now I began to piece together the images visually.

When I imported the images, I decided to keyframe some of them to make them move as if they were filmed by a camera to make them more interesting.

Below are the same images from the storyboards, mostly highlighting the scene where the shootout takes place.

Tried drawing the background at a tilted angle just to give an expression of uneasiness to the shot.

After finishing the animatic, I converted it into a Quicktime movie file. By experiencing major delays in uploading movie files onto this blog, I got fed up and finally decided to upload the movie onto YouTube. To view it, use the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvq8p7k-bqU

Production - Final Animatic

Now that the rough animatic had been completed for use in the group one, I had then moved on to producing another animatic, this time creating 3D shot in Adobe After Effects. A series of images showing designs and sketches that may be useful.

Design for the exterior of the liqour store.

1st design for a car.

2nd design for a car.

An original design for the interior of the liquor store. The desk, cash machine and clerk will all be added in front of it later via 3D layers.

Design for the shop clerk. Will manipulate and convert each body part into PSD files and use them as 3D layers, somewhat similar to cutout animation. 

More sketches for body parts and props for the shootout scene. 

I imported these designs into After effects and produced a lot of 3D shots in order to make it more realistic and well, three dimensional. In order to do this, I simply converted the files into 3D layers and maneuvered them around. But I saved a bit of time by using the same PSD files over again, like creating a line of cars by using the same two sketches I had produced. I also played around with spotlighting to create shadows and highlights, for example; the shadows underneath the cars on a sunny day.  So I basically constructed this animatic mostly out of 3D shots, plus a few simple 2D images to save more time.

An example of a 3D shot in progress. Composed of several layers and keyframes, it would seem as if you're actually moving through a car park.

Now for the big finale, so to speak. Once again, since it takes ages to upload big files onto these blogs, I have decided it would be better to upload it directly onto YouTube, which will have better quality and takes less time. Plus, you'll be able to view it more clearly than having a small window on this page.


Below is the link to the video clip. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NnZI6PGAAw


In conclusion of this blog, as for working in a group even though there has been some time issues and other complications with the project, I think me and my fellow colleagues have worked really hard and well together as a team to produce this project. As this blog is about my individual work on the project, our group animatic can be viewed in another blog, but a lot of hard working hours has gone into this project so I say it's time to rest.