Adaption B | Race to the Whitehouse

  

Race to the Whitehouse

Originally the idea I had for Adaption B was to take various world leaders from different eras and attempt to mash them with a Mario-kart style world and game play physics.

After the tutorial with Alan we both agreed that the world leaders would be too broad and would translate better if it were to be based around the American Presidents instead.

When trying to incorporate the American Presidents, Me and Alan figured that a Mario kart style game would be better if it was the Presidents racing to the Whitehouse as if it were some sort of cannonball run or Rat Race in karts that each represent the President for their popularity, public views and maybe even some urban legends.

The Presidents would be racing to the Whitehouse whilst collecting popularity as if they would during an election. This would require them to use 'power-ups' to get the upper hand over each other. These 'power-ups' would potentially reflect the presidents election tactics or again, something that they are renowned for. For example, Obama is renowned for Obamacare therefore could be in a medical related vehicle or use medical related 'power-ups'

I would like the final outcome of this project to result in having two karts with corresponding Presidents modeled. These would have a few animation cycles that will consist of the President standing by the car, then climbing in it and driving away. The other animation cycles could be him driving, using a 'power-up', and idle cycle.

This of course will mean researching into each president that I desire to be in the race. Below is some of the presidents that I will Research into, design and may have as my final product:

• George Washington
• Barack Obama 
• George Bush Senior/Junior
• Ronald Reagen
• Thomas Jefferson
• Abraham Lincoln
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• John F. Kennedy
• Richard Nixon
• Bill Clinton
• Andrew Jackson 

Adaption A | The Science of a Dragster

For the Adaption A project I have decided that the subject for the infographic will be 'The Science of a Top-Fuel Dragster'.

The idea for the infographic is to showcase a top-fuel dragster and all the vital parts that make it the fastest accelerating car on earth.  To introduce all of the scientific facts to the infographic i wish to show the run of a top fuel dragster in slow motion so that i can show all the facts about specific parts coming from the locations they are found. I aim to talk about the facts in a order of which they are used. As the run is a straight line the infographic will follow a straight line also. After the slowed down run is finished and all of the facts are introduced the dragster will do a real time run to show the audience how fast it actually is.

As the infographic is about the science behind the Dragster's effectiveness and speed there must be a lot of research done into specific parts of the Dragster. I have therefore collated several facts about the Clutch, Engine, Tires, Management system, Supercharger and the Fuel system.

General Top-Fuel Dragster Facts

• The car weighs 2000 pounds 
• It is 500 cubic inches
• It can do 0-120 mph in less than 1 second
• It has 5G acting on the Dragster at it's highest speed 
• It is the fastest accelerating car in the world.
• It generates roughly 8000 horsepower 
• A Dragster can hit 300 mph in the same time it takes a standard road car to go from 0-30 mph
• The wind resistance hitting the Dragster slows it down to 4G

Engine Facts 

• Engine is a V8 Chrysler Hemi
• The engine block is made from billet aluminium 
• The cylinder head is also billet aluminium 
• The cylinder is a 2 valve hemispherical combustion chamber 
• The engine ignites through the use of magnetos
• It's 43 gallons of fuel that passes through the engine and to fire it off 2 spark plugs and 2 magnetos 
• 1 magneto generates 44 amps of primary current 

Super Charger Facts

• The atmospheric pressure pushes the air fuel mixture then it is forced into the engine under pressure, The job of the Supercharger is to allow this 
• A standard car will breath air at atmospheric pressure 
• Through the intake valve the Supercharger will take a large gulp of air and then force that into the intake manifold
• Near this there will be a reserve that will build up to approx 50 PSI of manifold pressure
• Because air is being pressurized in the intake, the stream will result in a significant horsepower gain 
• Although because of this process it will absorb 600 horsepower as a parasitic loss 

Some Pit Facts

The engine virtually destroys itself during a run and will need some love and care to get it to it's finest again. Although there are a few other things that may need replaced or refurbishing after a run.

They are:

• Rings
• Spark Plugs 
• Connecting Rods
• Clutch 
• Pistons

In one run the cost can be up to $5000 in fuel, bearings, valve springs and other parts.

Fuel Facts 

• Is Nitro Methane
• Because more burning is possible more power is needed
• Fuel tank is made of Aluminum 
• Fits in the frame rails towards front of TFD
• Tank can hold 17 Gallons 
• Fuel line is 2 and a half inches in diameter 
• A gallon of Nitro Methane costs $35
• Fuel pump can pump fuel at 100 gallons per minute 
• 1.3 gallons of fuel will be consumed by engine per second during quarter mile run 

Clutch Facts

• Is the buffer between the engine and tires 
• It uses 6 discs in a TFD
• Several Levers on Clutch
• This is because the TFD has no transmission
• It is made from Sintered Iron ( Made from iron powder in a process that insures simpler fabrication and higher purity
• Clamped with centrifugal clutch
• During a run the discs will get so hot that 2 or more can weld together 

Tire Facts

• Side walls of tires are 150.000 slick
• The tires have a wrinkle wall slick meaning large flexibility when needed 
• When starting tire will stick down to make a bigger footprint
• the 36 inch diameter tires will expand to 44 inches tall during the run
• The large tires on the back and the small tires on the front help to maximize straight line acceleration and speed.
• Tires can last up to 8 runs
• they cost $700 each

Management System Facts

• Clutch engagement, ignition timing and fuel delivery settings are controlled via a small computer 
• its located on the dash in front of the driver
• Its a base set-up of ignition maps 
• Clutch management is entered before the run and in the pit.
• The final set-up is put into the car in the staging lanes, just before the run.

Parachute Facts

• Parachute deploys at 300 mph
• Normally used in the end, the parachute flys in the back and catches the air, therefore giving resistance force against the speeding car going the other way. The speed at which the car is going is the very thing that is used to slow it down. The air trapped inside the parachute will be pushed against the car that is going the other way, which will reverse the car's speed to resistance force. Causing the car to slow down. The brakes would not be able to handle such speeds alone.
• Is released from a pre-packed parachute bag

Body Facts

• Need to be as light as possible
• Can be made from carbon fiber and aluminum 
• Depends on chassis size as too how much is needed

Spoiler Facts

In the same way an airplane wing works to create lift, a Top Fuel Dragster’s wing works to create down force. As illustrated to the right, a wing’s shape dictates how the air moves over and under the wing. A wing has a high pressure side and low pressure side. The high pressure side pushes on the low pressure side. So the direction of this push either creates lift or down force.

The longer it takes for the air to pass over/under the wing, the lower the pressure will be on that side of the wing. And the faster the air moves over/under the wing, the higher the pressure will be on that side. So a Top Fuel Dragster’s wing is designed for the air to move as fast as possible over the wing and take as long as possible to travel under the wing. To create the down force needed to get the tires to gain and keep traction with the race track, three separate wings are combined to make the one big rear wing.

Chassis Facts

300 inches of chromoly steel tubing are required to keep a Top Fuel Dragster going in a straight line down the race track. 300 inches is the maximum wheelbase allowed by the NHRA. This long wheelbase helps the dragster keep its course and flexes at launch. The flex of the chassis allows some of the energy of the launch to be absorbed which helps the dragster gain traction.

4 main frame rails, two top and two bottom on each side, are the main structure with additional pieces creating triangles for strength. The most visible component of the chassis is the roll cage to protect the driver. The roll cage is a 6-point cage that protects the drivers head in case of an accident. It gets its name of a 6-pont cage because there are 6 points where the roll cage connects to the chassis.

Source List

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/motorsports/top-fuel-dragster2.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VF0JwxQqcA&t=614s

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring06/Gregorzek/wing.html

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring06/Gregorzek/chassis.html

Adaption B | Further Ideas

Mario Kart Adaptation - World Leaders? Cartoon Characters?

The way in which I would like to make this idea come to life is take each iconic world leader from a different country and model a Mario-style kart for them to race on a track. For the designs of each character I plan to take the traits, characteristics, time period and cultural background of each world leader and create a car that would have the essence and personality of that leader translated onto it.

The characters themselves would be designed in a cartoonist style, much like the style seen in many of the much famous Mario Kart 1-8, Super Smash Bros series and many more. As the characters in the game would be based off of the appearance of the real-life leaders, I would like to design the to be like a caricature of each leader.

I would like each leader to be the most iconic of the corresponding country as that allows me to select a leader from any era, much like the character selection that can be found in Sid Meier's Civilization. Each character in the Civilization games has theirs most significant features exaggerated slightly. I plan to do the same thing but also shrink them into a little kart and exaggerate the characters even further.

By Introducing historical figures to a Mario kart style world, there will need to be power-ups available that match the style of the game. For this adaption I would create power-ups that are universal for any character and can be picked up in the race by any character. On the other hand there would be specific power-ups that would only be accessible to certain characters i.e Abe Lincoln being able to use a homing eagle. Also each track could feature in a different time period and country. Maybe even during a specific battle?

With time taken into consideration i know that it wouldn't be possible to make the track and an array of characters therefore I may have to design a selection and only take one or two to the final stages.


Little brother Adaption

For this idea I would like to take a few recordings of my little brothers 'made-up' stories, of which are concocted on the spot usually and doesn't really make a huge amount of sense.

But the general premise is that I would like to use these recordings to be able to create a small animation where the words that are are recorded from him are taken literally to form some sort of character and slight plot. The character would most likely be Jayden (little brother) actually experiencing or "living out" one of the random nonsensical stories.

For this I would have to take a trip to Kettering for the weekend to record a series of different takes so that I can select from a few different story ideas. Of course Jayden will probably insist on some sort of payment (sweets) to liven his stories up a bit.

It maybe to my delight or despair that Jayden's stories are so fantastical and nonsensical. Trying to capture a good art style would be my main challenge and also sticking to it. As the project would be based around the adaption of Jayden's story as told by him, I feel that the designs should be more like a kids drawing on a notebook of a person rather than a normal generic character, although if the character is to be Jayden himself then maybe it'll be more worth keeping the character design more geared towards Jayden's personality.

Take famous hero and villain and turn it into a slapstick cartoon

The idea for this would be to take a classic good vs evil pairing a pit them against each other. Much like how the comedy/action would pan out for classic animated cartoons like : Wile E Coyote and Road Runner as well as Tom and Jerry.

This would of course making a list of different opposing characters and weighing in on which ones could work. For example Sherlock Holmes trying to chase after Jim Moriarty would translate to a cartoon environment where everything is over exaggerated. My job would be to model each of the opposing characters and create animation cycles for both of them, where they will either do an action on their own or with the other character.

There is many examples of opposing characters that could work if there were transported to the work of looney tunes and such.

Mudbox Tutorial | Week 2

In today's lesson we experimented with a pre-modelled robot. I tried to get the post apocalyptic vibe going with mine. Next week i intend to learn more to do with painting on the model. I would also like to use the freeze tool a little more also.

Adaption A | Further Ideas

After my tutorial with Alan today, I have been told that the idea I was going for isn't the best of routes that I could take. With this i have thought through some ideas again and decided to go for a more literal approach. This meaning that I instead be using pure fact for the infographic, as the infographic needs to be interesting and capture the audience's attention it will need a large quantity of scientific facts. Below are 2 ideas I would like to do.


The Science of Dragsters - Elaborating on my earlier idea of looking into the science of cars, I have narrowed this to the science of dragsters. There are so many more differences between cars and dragsters than people realize and the infographic could be a brilliant way of educating people about the speeds that can be achieved by a dragster and exactly how that process works. This can include different types of dragsters and how they vary. There will be statistics about the engine and general trivia. After visiting Santa Pod Raceway a large amount of times to watch top fuel dragsters as I grew up, seen dragsters in action and up close in the pits. I've seen the preparation behind readying a car for a run and I've learned a lot from some of the Dragster crews. I feel that all this knowledge would be invaluable if this was to be my final chosen idea.




The Science of a Black Hole - Previously this idea was based around the science of a supernova. The problem with this idea is that i feel there isn't enough science specifically about the subject. Therefore i wanted to expand on the life of a star and how the supernova causes a black hole. On top of this i wanted to look into what is inside a black hole and what a black hole is. The facts I use will be widely researched and verified before finalizing.

Adaption B | Ideas

• Aesops fables as a different genre? 
• Wolf in sheeps clothing - model as him as a assassin 
• Hare and Tortoise as vehicles?
• The Dark Tower - Gunslinger Character designed, modelled and rigged
• The boy who cried wolf as a horror - In style of bloody Mary 
• Soul Music by Terry Pratchett - Model, Design and Rig Imp Y Celyn
• Lyrics from Metallica song 'Creeping Death' -  Model, Design and Rig character described in song ( Unless copyright forbids this )

Adaption A | The Science of a Zombie | Developed Idea

For Adaption A, I hope to cover the science of zombies. This of course is completely fictional and up for debate on how this may or may not be real-life science behind zombies, should the zombie apocalypse happen.

I have already looked into plenty of discursive evidence on how a zombie's brain works and how certain parts of the brain are active or deactivated and therefore correspond to a zombie's behavioural traits. I researched through a few Zombie infographics, although most of them containing steps on how to survive a zombie outbreak, there was a few parts that caught my eye. For example the image below shows the effect of the human body judging by where the bite is.

This image shows that the closer the proximity of the bite to the central nervous system, the higher the chance of falling unconscious and transforming in a shorter amount of time. To work along side this, I researched into which parts of the brain would be affected and relate that to their behaviour. I found some scientific research into what parts of the brain cause the zombie to want to eat brains and move at a slowed rate. With the research that was done could explain for how fast zombies brains work.

As seen in the image above, the zombies are separated into two different classes of CDHD. CDHD 1 and CDHD 2. CDHD 1 being for slower zombies and CDHD 2 being for fast. I would like to use the supposed discoveries behind CDHD and apply them to my infographic, so that I can better explain the differences of the two types of zombies through their brains.

Finally, I would like to use film examples of both fast and slow zombies to solidify their meanings and differences.

I believe that I will be creating a lot of the imagery for the infographic will be created using both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. One that is finished, I will take this into After Effects to bring the infographic to life.

Slow zombies in movies

Dead rising
George Romero Films
Shaun of the Dead
Dead Set
The Walking Dead

Fast zombies in movies

World war z
28 days later
Warm bodies
Dawn of the Dead Remake

Useful Links

http://mentalfloss.com/article/53422/real-life-neuroscience-behind-zombies

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2865792/The-science-ZOMBIES-Neuroscientists-reveal-anatomy-undead-s-brain-avoid-dinner.html

Video Links

Wonder Woman Defense | Courtroom Battle

WW Defense Final.pptx by Danni on Scribd

Film Review | Documentaries and Mockumentaries | Supersize me

Supersize me is a documentary that shows the audience what it would be like if a human male consumed McDonald's for 30 days. This of course means that it's not like most documentaries where there is a clear message to take away about politics or life.

Supersize me acts more of a visual aid for every person who eats McDonald's and sits and thinks "how bad would it be if I just ate McDonald's?". Essentially Supersize me is "The thinking man's Jackass".  (Thomas, 2004)

The main man who undertakes this challenge Morgan Spurlock. He intends to show McDonald's what they are doing to people and how many deaths they are responsible for. Suprisingly Morgan remains in good spirits through the whole month, that of course when he isn't throwing up.

After a while of the course of food Morgan starts to deteriorate and starts to concern his doctors hugely. they tell him that he will destroy his liver if he aims to carry on with what he is doing. Without a second thought after this meeting he went and grabbed another burger. That's dedication to a cause.

Of course this sort of thing will always grab the attention of
The audience. It's like when Fast food nation book came out everyone lost their minds over the horror stories of fast food places. But Supersize me Supersize the hit it gave you when you realise a man is essentially killing himself for everyone to see. That's why he is held up as a proper fat fighter. He fought against McDonald's and got them scared, no-one else has managed to accomplish such a thing.

Overall I feel like there wasn't much explaining needed to be done in Supersize me therefore became a little boring after a while. Although seeing Morgan go from a healthy young man into someone who looks like they're at deaths door has certainly made me think again

CG Artist's Toolkit | Maya Tutorials and Film Reviews

Maya Tutorials

2d Facial Rigging (Poma)

Pipeline 1: Head Modelling

Part 1, 2 and 3

Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14

Pipeline 1: Body Modelling

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

In Class Animation: Animated Sequence

Start and Finish 
3 poses
Slow in/out poses

Animation 1: Lip Syncing

Stylisation: Isometric Cameras

Film Reviews

Myth and The Hero's Journey - Interstellar

Archetypes and The Hero's Journey - Batman Begins

Narrative Theory and Film Structure: Paul

Narrative and Character: The Punisher

Quality Part 1: B Movies

Quality Part 2: Exploitation Cinema - Mad Max: Fury Road

Documentary and Mockumentary - Supersize Me

Adaption and Transcription - The Shawshank Redemption

Comedy and Slapstick - Shaun of the Dead

Reflective Statement

Overall I feel like the CG artists toolkit was difficult but rewarding when a tutorial gets finished. Unfortunately I was unable to finish all of tutorials due to time issues and not enough time focused on the maya tutorials. I'd like to complete the Jetpack Jones character ASAP as I know that it's needed for lesson. If I was to repeat from the start I would ensure that every maya tutorial gets done by better organising my work.

The film reviews were first difficult to grasp as there was so much freedom to choose whatever films we wanted. I enjoyed being able to apply new theories to many of my personal favourite movies. 

Stylisation | Isometric Cameras

Film Review | Narrative and Character | The Punisher

Fig 1. The Punisher Movie Poster

Jonathan Hensleigh's adaptation of Marvel's "The Punisher" was released in 2004.
Featuring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and John Travolta as Howard Saint.

The movie acts as an origin story of "The Punisher", which much like the comic books, Frank Castle is an ex solider who loses his family because of murder. In the movie Frank goes undercover for his job in the police force to apprehend Bobby saint and his accomplice for dealing in guns. Frank gets shot during this deal whilst disguised as Otto. Bobby Saint also gets shot in the gunfight with the FBI. Although Frank lived because of his protective vest that shielded bullets, Bobby was not so lucky and died from his wounds.

It's the death of Bobby that brings the main opposing character to Frank Castle into play. This character is Howard Saint. Bobby Saint's Father. Howard discovers that Frank was not killed when undercover and hires a group of henchmen lead by Quentin and another Saint son, Howard's remaining son to eliminate Frank's family in their entirety including Frank whilst on holiday

Fig 2. Frank with his dead Wife and Son

When the whole of Franks family has been killed, Howard's son and crew advance on Frank and attempt to kill him by shooting him then exploding the floor he falls upon. This leaves them with the idea that Frank is finally dead and gone. The "witch doctor" saves Frank and treats all of his wounds and help him recover.

After travelling to the place it all happened, Frank gathers some guns and heads back to his home city where Howard and Co are. With anger in his belly he is ready to make everyone pay for what they did to his family. Frank is now at one with himself and now believes the old Frank died with his family, he is now "The Punisher"

Frank moves into an old dilapidated building that's got 3 other residents living there.
Frank doesn't really talk to anyone and attempt to kill himself many nights. He instead decides he wants revenge Howard Saint. With this he plans to rip everything out of Howard's life, much like he did to Frank.

It's very clever how Frank manages to pull this off. He organises it so that it appears Howard wife has cheated on him with his best friend. So obviously Howard kills them both. But not only that, Frank intends to go to Howard's main hub "Saints and Sinners" to kill anyone who was involved with the death of his family. It's a true bloodbath, many different deaths to many different men. Eventually Frank finds Howard's last remaining son and ties his hand to a grenade so that if he moves it will blow up. A few moments pass and it does explode but of course not before Frank finds Howard so he can witness Howard listening to his son die.

After all the trials and fighting, Frank finally got his man. revenge time. Or should we say punishment time.

Franks ties Howard to the back bumper of a car then puts a brick on accelerate. When the car speeds off we can see that each car is exploding as Howard reaches them. This sets him on fire and the camera cuts to a birds eyes shot of all of the exploded cars, leaving a clear punisher skull made out of the wreckage.

Fig 3. Car park after Howard's Death

Image Sources

Fig 1. The Punisher [Film Poster] At: https://fanart.tv/movie/7220/the-punisher/ Accessed 12/01/2017

Fig 2. Frank with his dead Wife and Son  [Film Screenshot] At:http://www.screengeek.net/2016/09/01/why-thomas-jane-never-actually-played-the-punisher/ Accessed 12.01.2017

Fig 3. Car park after Howard's death [Film Screenshot] At: http://www.screeninsults.com/punisher-the.php Accessed 12/01/2017

Film Review | Comedy and Slapstick | Shaun of the Dead

Fig 1. Shaun of the Dead Movie Poster

Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead is a British comedy classic featuring Simon Pegg as Shaun and Nick Frost as Ed. Shaun and Ed live in a house together with their not-so-great friend Pete (). Shaun works in a electronics shop and dates a girl called Liz (). They all live pretty mundane lives and only really dwell in the Winchester, the local pub beloved by Shaun and Ed...and definitely not Liz. Also roughly a third into the film there's zombies, lots of them, but much like the dumb zombies we are very used to filling our screens through movies and gaming.

Throughout the whole film the comic relief is evidentially Ed, he as a standalone character could make the audience laugh. Whereas some of the truly golden moments come from Simon and Nick's on-screen chemistry. The icing on the cake is that the humour in Shaun of the Dead is hugely British, using sarcasm and mocking everything too. The comedy doesn't just come from Simon and Nick, with a wide array of British comedy stars sometimes the jokes are flying in from everywhere.

One of the most memorable comedic scenes in Shaun of the Dead is where Shaun and Ed find a girl in their garden, this girl is a zombie. They attempt to throw random furniture at the girl which in itself is funny as it's clear none of the furniture used would actually hurt, let alone kill someone. After trying furniture they attempt to use vinyls as frisbees but instead argue over which album cannot be thrown, this ultimately leads to Shaun and Ed running out of time to kill with the vinyls but must instead do the thing they should have done in the first place. Get in the shed. Get weapons.

Fig 2. Ed and Shaun arguing over what vinyls to throw.

This to me seems like typical British humour, as I am British it is potential that that is why it's my favourite comedy type. Throughout Shaun of the Dead British humour and wit have been used a lot, the record scene is definitely a good example of how an argument over music can still be more important than a ravenous zombie trying to eat your brains. Another bit that sticks out is whenever anything goes wrong, needs to be fixed, they're hungry, thirsty or defense from a bloodthirsty zombie horde they go to the Winchester. It's this failsafe method that I love, it is very British. So much so that you can easily imagine a Brit going to the pub to fix every problem. Also "The point is not to make you feel good, but to prompt laughs of horrified recognition that we really are like that." (Newman, 2004) 

Overall I feel like Shaun of the Dead is by far the best comedy I have seen for a while. I enjoy the subtle humour that is constantly slipped in, the casting but most of all the ending. It's true that Shaun pretty much lost everything but he did learn valuable lessons at the same time also.

Image Sources 

Fig 1. Shaun of the Dead [Film Poster] At: http://www.impawards.com/2004/shaun_of_the_dead.html Accessed 12/01/2017

Fig 2. Ed and Shaun arguing over what vinyls to throw [Film Screenshot]  At: http://misterneil.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/13-for-halloween-11-shaun-of-dead.html Accessed 12/01/2017

Quote Sources

Newman, K (2004) The Shaun of the Dead Review At http://www.empireonline.com/movies/shaun-dead/review/ Accessed 12/01/2017

Film Review | Adaption and Transcription | The Shawshank Redemption

Fig 1. The Shawshank Redemption Movie Poster

We have had an array of wonderful movies that have already lived their life on a bookshelf
And then been brought back to life through the power of adaption. Adaption is the taking of one medium and re-telling the story through a different genre or lens. One film that specifically sticks out in terms of adapted movies would be Frank Darabont's adaption of Stephen King's novella 'Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption'  "It's not a horror film, rather a thumpingly good ode to friendship, hope, wit, wiles and wisdom, brimming with crackling characters and topped with the most twisteroo of twists since The Crying Game."  (Nathan, 2016)

Fig 2. Andy and Red conversing in the Prison yard

The Shawshank Redemption is a stunning movie that follows the betrayal of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and how he was sentenced to two life sentences wrongfully. Andy Dufresne never committed the crime, he never killed his wife and her lover. Nonetheless Andy get transported to the Shawshank Penitentiary where he meets Ellis Boyd Redding  'Red ' (Morgan Freeman). It's in the Shawshank penitentiary where Andy is used as a financial advisor to everyone in the prison, his job in prison is to be a library assistant to Brooks Hatlen. Eventually Andy gets offered to Lyell launder money for the warden.

Unfortunately even though the novella only has around 100 pages Frank has still managed to leave out some information from the film. There's some quite significant changes as well, for example Red was depicted in the books as a white Irish man, whereas in the movie Red is played by Morgan Freeman who is a black actor, but he still jokes about by saying he is Irish. Another huge change from the book to the movie is at the end of the movie once Andy has escaped. When the warden finds out about Andy's escape he resigns, whereas in the movie he clearly commits suicide via bullet to the brain. Andy is also described as a small, neat man within the book, but within the movie Andy is instead played by Tom Robbins who is a hefty 6 ft 5. One
of the hugest pieces of information was omitted from the movie is to do with the ending. Red in the book is supposed to get out of prison and find Andy's note to tell him to go to Mexico but the story ends before Red finds Andy. Whereas in the movie we all know that Andy meets Red in the beach in Mexico.

Despite omitting a fair chunk of information, The Shawshank Redemption also to adhere to a lot of its story from the novella. One mighty fine example is the lines from book are pretty much matched exactly in the film. It is Morgan Freeman who acts as the narrator as well. "It uses the narrator's calm, observant voice to include us in the story of men who have formed a community behind bars. It is deeper than most films; about continuity in a lifetime, based on friendship and hope." (Ebert, 1999) As it seems Frank Darabont stuck to his guns and ensured that the events in the film matched exactly to the novella somewhat. This means that there was not really any room to add anything to the source material.

One thing that has always been celebrated with The Shawshank Redemption is that it perfectly captures the themes of the source matierial. The themes that emanate from the source a belief of hope. It is about when there is nothing to hold on to, hope will give you something to strive towards. In point of fact the whole story is about hope and friendship over coming adversity and the film shows this magnificently.

Fig 3. Andy explaining no-one can touch your hope

Although strangely enough The Shawshank Redemption didn't do that well at the box office, on the other hand it did get 7 oscar nominations, gleaming reviews and many praises for the story and acting being so realistic and emotional.

Overall I feel like The Shawshank Redemption is a perfect adaption of its predecessor, Tim and Morgan steal the show and make it their own. Definitely a film to go down in history as one of the best adaptions.

Image Sources

Fig 1. The Shawshank Redemption [Film Poster] At: http://gbtimes.com/life/shawshank-redemption-out-parole Accessed 12/01/2017

Fig 2. Andy and Red conversing in the Prison yard [Film Screenshot] At: http://www.biography.com/news/shawshank-redemption-quotes-anniversary Accessed 12/01/2017

Fig 3. Andy explaining no-one can touch your hope [Film Sequence]  At: https://www.tumblr.com/search/shawshank%20redemption%20gif Accessed 12/01/2017

Quote Sources

Nathan, I (2016) The Shawshank Redemption Review At: http://www.empireonline.com/movies/shawshank-redemption/review/ Accessed 12/01/2017

Ebert, R (1999) The Shawshank Redemption At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-shawshank-redemption-1994 Accessed 12/01/2017

Maya Tutorial | Pipeline 1 3d Head Modelling | Part 4

The mouth is now added to the head model. I found this tutorial difficult as i found it hard to make sure that the volume was always looking good. Although i did find this tutorial difficult i did enjoy it.

Maya Tutorial | Pipeline 1 3d Head Modelling | Part 1 + 2 + 3

Unfortunately, i had already got ahead of myself with the rough modelling before i realized i hadn't taken the screenshot after part 2. The orthographs are now in the scene and the character is ready to have it's mouth modeled now.

Adaption A | The Science Of...

How a supernova is caused

How a car works

Heavy Metal

Relativity

Comedy

Sleep/Dreams

Making Money

Baking

Fear

Zombies

Film Review | Quality Part 2: Exploitation | Mad Max: Fury Road

Fig 1. Mad Max: Fury Road Poster 

For years and years people have created movies that have exploited something to make money. Exploitation cinema tends to exploit things like: Sex, Violence, Natural Disasters, Creatures and Monsters and Gore. Usually these films will be low-end B-movies and therefore have a certain stigma about them. It doesn't stop there though sometimes there are even sub-genres that get their names from the fact that the films are from a specific nation. These are called Ozploitation films. Ideally ozploitation films are just films that exploit things that are set in Australia. A perfect example of an ozploitation film would be Mad Max and the most modern Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) directed by George Miller.

Mad Max: Fury road is a high-octane, thrilling ride. Which when all exploitation films are deemed as poor set Mad Max: Fury Road apart from the rest. George Miller aimed to properly capture all of the shots in the film rather than use CGI. "Max’s re-enfranchisement is a triumph of barking-mad imagination, jaw-dropping action, crackpot humour, and acting in the face of a hurricane." (Nathan, 2015) 

It's hard not to notice all of the stunning and hard work gone into the creation of the reboot of Mad Max. It's wonderful, right down to the littlest details. The score, the music and the sound effects truly bring it to life. "Every single sound, no matter how subtle or simple — from the simplest little footstep sound to a humpback whale — is considered, composed [and] orchestrated to have an affect on the audience." (Kim, 2016). One thing that must also be mentioned is the fact that the pounding music also comes from the drummers on the car and most pleasingly from the guitar/flamethrower toting maniac that that blast lurching and domineering riffs to motivate Immortan (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his army of post-apocalyptic death vehicles.

Fig 2. The Coma-Doof Warrior

Forget about the blistering action and everything else that Mad Max: Fury Road offers and instead look further into the story and the roles of Max (Tom Hardy) , Furiosa (Charlize Theron). It's clear that the Feminism movement were pleased that it has evidently chosen Furiosa as a matriach for Feminism. Throughout the film we as an audience are able to tell that Max is obviously not the main character for this film. It is Furiosa.  "Furiosa is one of the toughest, most resilient action heroes in years, with a metal prosthetic arm that hints at past trauma and a steely gaze that sees more on the way". (Colin, 2015) It is her that is the driver of the rig and the one who is depicted as the controller of the whole group. 

Fig 3. Furisosa About to take aim

One of the most memorable scenes that prove this point is where they are trapped in the dark night whilst being pursued by The Bullet Farmer and others. One of the vehicles that is transcending upon the groups position is shining a piercing white light that it cutting throughout the darkness. Max attempts to put out the light by shooting it, he misses two shots. Furiosa takes over and hits the light first, bursting it and blinding The Bullet Farmer. Another quintessential part of feminism in this movie is when "There’s a scene in which the wives cut off iron chastity belts in a moment of liberation and disgust" (Valenti, 2015) 

Fig 4. Chastity belts have been removed by all

Overall i feel like this rendition of Mad Max is a brilliant way to bring back some original ozploitation to satisfy those people who love the Mad Max films. But at the same time it manages to spread itself to a wider and more diverse audience therefore in a way breaking loose of the stamp that is always applied to exploitation films.  

Quote Source List 

Nathan, I (2015) Mad Max:Fury Road review At: http://www.empireonline.com/movies/mad-max-fury-road/review/ Accessed on 11/01/2017

Kim, J (2016) 'Mad Max' sound designer Mark Mangini was inspired by 'Moby Dick' At: http://www.scpr.org/programs/the-frame/2016/02/02/46162/mad-max-sound-designer-mark-mangini-was-inspired-b/ Accessed on 11/01/2017

Collin, R (2015) Mad Max: Fury Road review: 'a Krakatoan eruption of craziness' At: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/mad-max-fury-road/review/ Accessed on: 11/01/2017

Valenti, J (2015) Sexists are scared of Mad Max because it is a call to dismantle patriarchies At: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/27/sexists-are-scared-of-mad-max-because-it-is-a-call-to-dismantle-patriarchies Accessed on: 11/01/2017

Image Source List 

Fig 1. Mad Max: Fury Road [Film Poster] At: http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/428175-madness-these-are-more-mad-max-fury-road-posters Accessed 11/01/2017

Fig 2. The Coma-Doof Warrior [Film Sequence] At: https://forums.ultra-combo.com/t/characters-you-wish-were-in-fgs-but-probably-never-will-be/3342 Accessed 11/01/2017

Fig 3. Furiosa taking aim [Film Screenshot] At: http://movieweb.com/mad-max-5-fury-road-sequel-charlize-theron-furiosa/ Accessed 11/01/2017

Fig 4. Chastity belts taken off by all [Film Sequence] At: https://www.buzzfeed.com/brente3/can-you-ace-this-very-difficult-mad-max-fury-roa-9xqk Accessed 11/01/2017

Reflective Statement | Narrative

When the Narrative project started our group looked strong and that we would be able to have a final animation. Unfortunately communication began to break down and certain feuds over roles and creative choices within the group began to damage our group. I felt like the group all could have helped each other a bit more to get the final task done and to avoid any arguments during this process. My roles were assigned to be director, marketing manager, producer, modeler and rigger. I feel like i was able to stick to all of these roles and offer my services further to the group to get some concept art finished and to help with other tasks too. All group members stuck to their roles when trading roles had finished. Some roles had to be taken from some people because they weren't producing anything for the group in those roles.

Overall our feel like our group was unable to gel together enough to put the project first. It's disappointing that after we finally found a way to create an animatic that jumped straight into the action and looked abstract, that the project was finished.

Character | Reflective Statement

Overall I feel like the character project wasn't a success. There was many critical parts that were completed poorly or unfinished. I think that the characters i was creating were good until i started rushing them and therefore stripped them of any real development. They could have reached full potential if i had managed my time better and used the tutors criticisms to my advantage.

If i was to repeat this project again i would ensure to 100% research into the characters and what they are based on. I would also ensure that i go ask the tutors questions and attend more lessons to enrich my drawing skills. 

In order to improve from the character project I would like to work on strengthening my drawing skills and ensuring that my organisational skills are sorted out also. 

Film Review | Narrative Theory and Film Structure | Paul

Fig 1 Movie Poster

Inciting incident

The story of Paul begins with Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) and Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) travelling around the U.S looking for famous UFO sites and visiting comic-con in their rented RV. Eventually the two reach the famous "Black Mailbox" where a black car speeds past and flips, in this car previously contained Paul (Seth Rogen). It happens that Paul is also an Alien. Paul explains how he needs Graeme and Clive's help so that he doesn't get killed, Graeme agrees to help Paul despite Clive already fainting and urinating himself.

Fig 2. Clive standing next to Black Mailbox

Lock-In

Soon after setting off with their new on board fugitive a mysterious black suited man called Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman) appears to investigate the scene and discovers the urine puddle made by Clive. Agent Zoil calls into base and receives orders to eliminate Clive and Graeme so that Paul can be apprehended.

First Culmination

There comes a point in the journey to drop off Paul where Paul quizzes Clive by asking "what his beef is". This is down to the fact that Clive has been irritable since Paul's arrival. From this conversation Clive admits to Paul that he is overly jealous of Graeme's and Paul's friendship , and that he is abnormally embarrassed that when he first met Clive he fainted and then went on to urinate himself. Paul jumps to attention and tells Clive that all of them are in it together. As Clive accepts what Paul has to say and with no arguments happening within the group, they are a robust team now.


Main Culmination

After a few action-packed events Paul and company manage to get to the pickup point. This is the spot where his alien friends are going to pick him up. The government have already managed to get to the rendezvous point and the leader for the government agency that Zoil works for appears. She is played by Sigourney Weaver (Alien Frontwoman). At this point it looks like everyone is going to die and fail their task.

Fig 3. Gunshot directed at crew

Third Act Twist

Ruth's father shoots a shotgun at Paul but Graeme takes the bullet  and dies. It's left
To Paul to try risk his life to save Graeme through the power of "cellular revivification" better known as healing... Paul appears to be dead after the procedure but is still alive, Graeme ends up getting the girl and Paul is saved and travels back to his home planet.

Image Sources

Fig 1. Interstellar (2014) [Film Poster] At: http://www.interstellarmovie.net/downloads.php# ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)

Fig 1. Paul (2011) [Film Poster] At: http://collider.com/paul-poster/ (Accessed on 11/01/2017)

Fig 2. Clive standing next to black mailbox [Film Screenshot] https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/498562621221224429/ (Accessed on 11/01/2017)

Fig 3. Gunshot directed at crew [Film Screenshot] At: http://www.wilsonwebb.com/paul-2011/ (Accessed at 11/01/2017)

Character | Thumbnails, Artwork from Sketchbook and Lesson Matierials

Lesson Materials

Character | Crit Presentation

Character Project | Character Bible by Samuel Johnson on Scribd

Myth and A Hero's Journey | Film Review | Interstellar

Fig 1. Interstellar Movie Poster

Have you ever had the feeling like you're watching the same story recycled over a span of decades of films? It seems that after all this may not be just a instinctual feeling in the pits of your stomachs. It can in fact be backed up with theory, such famous theories have been thrown around over the years about mono myths and how they ultimately define the structure of a large collection of movies. The one theory that is certainly the most heard of and is potentially one of the best ways of categorizing and dissecting the layout of a movie. This theory is Joseph Campbell's 'A Hero's Journey.'. This theory categorizes a movie into  17 steps. The best way to describe these 17 steps would be to apply them to a modern day film to see if the codes and conventions of 'A Hero's Journey' can still be used.

The film I have chosen to review is Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar.'.  Interstellar is a film in which the earth is dying and there is only one way that the human race can survive, find another inhabitable planet in which human life can thrive again. This of course means space travel, wormholes, relativity and a bucket load of emotions and action to help you stay gripped.

The Hero within Interstellar is Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA engineer who lives on an earth that its ravaged by overwhelming dust clouds, where economy has failed and everything in the world as we know it is broken. Cooper has two children; Murph and Tom, their mother has passed and the rest dedicate their lives to growing crops for food to survive. This means engineers are certainly not needed. But when all Cooper wants to do is explore and help find a solution all he can do is remain, grow and harvest.

Murph, Cooper's Daughter who is 10 years old firmly believes that she is being communicated with by some sort of ghost. Cooper is suffering with some conflicts within himself that make him question the 'ghost' as real or fake, this is until a series of books fall off the shelf with no explanation, its from this point that Cooper realizes that this can be read and deciphered to be some type of code. Its within this scene that Cooper goes through his call to adventure, but swiftly after comes in his refusal to this call. This is due to his commitment to his family and their survival, therefore he tells Murph that it is what is trying to communicate is absolutely nothing and she should not worry.

Fig 2. Dust settling on Murph's floor

It's not until the area becomes engulfed with dust during a local baseball game that the code is discovered to be binary code, this is found within the dust particles within Murph's room. After deciphering the binary code it is revealed to be coordinates to an unknown location. It's at this location where Cooper discovers it to be NASAs place of work and that they are still in existence. Professor Brand (Michael Caine) still works for NASA and can still remember Cooper as a tremendous engineer and an excellent pilot. It is Professor Brand who can easily represent Cooper's supernatural aid.

Fig 3. Professor Brand Conversing with Cooper

Due to Cooper's Technical skills and previous piloting skills he may be the only hope mankind has of surviving. Professor Brand explains to Cooper that the earth is dying and it doesn't have long left. He also explains that if the human race is to continue Cooper and his crew must discover a planet that can sustain human life. Crossing the threshold for Cooper presents itself as him leaving earth. He chooses to do so after a hard goodbye to his family, especially a difficult departure for Murph as she knows that her Father may never return.

Soon after, the threshold has been crossed and Cooper, Doyle and Brand's Daugther are in space, They travel across space to reach a wormhole in which they can transverse through to get to a complete new galaxy, It could be said that the wormhole or the new galaxy is the belly of the whale in this film.

Once through the wormhole the set of trials begin it is discovered by Coop and co that there are 3 planets and that they only have enough fuel to potentially explore one. It's at this point where Coop decides to travel to Miller's planet. Although upon arrival it is clear that the planet is completely covered in water, the crew find Miller's ship to find that it is destroyed and submerged in the water. The task is to recover the data and get away from the planet, A freak wave makes this task more difficult. Coop and Brand's Daughter manage to get back on board the Endurance but their comrade unfortunately does not make it. Therefore the remaining crew has left empty handed and also 23 years have past on Earth.

Fig 4. Miller's Planet of Water

It could be said that when Coop returns from Miller's planet and see's all of his messages from his kids from over 23 years that that is the moment he 'meets with the goddess'. This is because after seeing the messages it makes it clear to Coop that his mission is to find a habitable planet and see his kids before they die.

After seeing the heartbreaking messages, Coop is told by Brand's Daughter that there was never a chance that plan A would have succeeded. It is this moment that can be seen as the atonement with the father.

Fig 5. Dr Mann's Frozen Planet

It is with the failure on Miller's planet that forces Coop and co to take action and journey to the planet where Dr Mann is and where the apotheosis happens. It's on this planet where they discover Dr Mann is still alive but the planet is unhabitable. This becomes another set of trials because Dr Mann attempts to kill Coop and leave him left for dead. Mann manages to escape leaving Brand's daughter to save Coops life.


The ultimate Boon in Interstellar would come at the point that Dr Mann has been saved and the planets have been explored as intended in the first goals. He is also attempting to connect to the endurance when instructed not too. It's in this moment where it is unsuccessful and is killed in the process.

Which now leaves the Endurance in a state where Coop needs to attempt to reconnect to the Endurance so that it can propel him in the direction he needs in order to fall near to the black hole, this is so that he can sacrifice himself to allow for Brand's Daughter to locate the 3rd planet. This is Coops Refusal of Return.

Once this has happened Coop falls into the black hole, it's at this point where we as an audience think he is dying or about to die, but it is in fact him travelling into the 5th dimension. This could be considered his Magic Flight.

It is within the 5th dimension that Coop is allowed to access his past like a timeline. He uses this to send Morse code to Murph via the second hand on the watch. Coop refers to the 5th dimension as 'them', giving us a greater sense that someone else lended their aid to Coop. Therefore this scene being the Rescue from Without.

Fig 6.Cooper in the 5th Dimension

After successfully decoding the Morse code, Murph is able to solve the problems down on Earth.
Mankind is able to move away from Earth and live on Cooper Station. This is the point where Coop has crossed the return threshold. He is now out of the Endurance and is able to go see his Daughter who is also extremely older than Coop.

Fig 7. Cooper Station

But alas this Coop still misses the Astronaut life, but without the impending doom of the earth's dust death he is able to have the freedom to live and explore as he pleases.

Image Sources

Fig 1. Interstellar (2014) [Film Poster] At: http://www.interstellarmovie.net/downloads.php# ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)


Fig 2: No Ghosts Just Gravity (2014) [Film Screenshot] At: https://samcooney.com/2015/11/29/no-ghosts-just-gravity/ ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)

Fig 3. Three Rows Back; Interstellar (2015) [Film Screenshot] At: https://threerowsback.com/2014/11/13/review-interstellar/interstellar-2014-screenshot-michael-caine/ ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)

Fig 4. Miller's Planet (2014) [Film Snippet] At: http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/14-2526-1( Accessed on 02.02.2017)

Fig 5. Inside the 5th Dimension (2014) [Film Screenshot] At: http://cdn.studiodaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/960_tesseract.jpg ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)

Fig 6. Dr Mann's Planet [Film Poster] At: https://uk.pinterest.com/SkipsSkyPins/christopher-nolans-interstellar/ ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)

Fig 7. Cooper Station [Film Snippet] At: http://interstellarfilm.wikia.com/wiki/Cooper_Station ( Accessed on 02.02.2017)