E4 Stinger Project

Getting to create our own E4 stingers was a project i was looking forward to most. After the introduction to our E4 stinger project we were asked to write up our proposal and treatment which explain the client what ideas i have come up with and what inspired me:




War Of The Worlds

The movie features an alien menacing creatures that invade earth. The machines move very slowly but have organic like tentacle legs and arms. Though the machine can move very slowly the tentacles can move a great distance at great speed. I will refer to this movie when creating test animation for tentacles and maybe do some rotoscope work.

Spiderman – Venom

Having my tentacles I did not want to create something simple and plain. I came up with an idea and way of using liquids. I suddenly came up with the idea of using heavy oil like liquid, which drips from the tentacle. Similar to the style in which the character Venom was made, in the movie Spiderman. I believe this would give off some great visuals and give a bit more depth to my animation by splashing the liquids about.

Cloverfield

With the two main elements of my animation thought up I began to think of a style in which the animation could be viewed, this making the animation more convincing to the audience. I thought about the movie Cloverfield, and the ways the filmmakers have used the camera. The method they have used is "Shaky Camera" style. The movie being recorded by a hand held video camera. Being shot by one of the characters in the movie. Within the movie and action the camera style remains the same. It is a cinematographic technique where stable image techniques are dispensed with on purpose. The camera is handheld, or given the appearance of being handheld, and shots are limited to what one photographer could have accomplished with one camera. Shaky cam gives a film sequence an ad-hoc, electronic news-gathering, or documentary film feel. It suggests unprepared, unrehearsed filming of reality, and can provide a sense of dynamics, immersion, instability or nervousness. This exactly being how I would like the audience to feel and react. Using simple camera tracking or even in a heavy style more like the “Shaky Camera” I can give a close convincing feel to my animation.

The aim of this project is to produce a stinger for the channel E4. By combining real footage with animation I will produce something realistic that will shock and excite the viewer.

The main concept of my story is to have a video camera to film the scenery at the River Tyne. When filming they focus onto a an oil slick in the water after a few bubbles large tentacles will burst out of the water waving about, one tentacle will launch something towards the camera. The camera will fall into a distorted screen flashing up onto the E4 Logo.

Inspired by the Wayne horse rotoscoping work and the camera tracking in the movie Cloverfield adding these together to produce an accurate outcome. By using real footage and using the rotoscoping technique, composite 3d animation and camera tracking. Then adding in effects to finish of the animation.


Making It Happen

A time plan will be an essential part of my production, this making sure my pre and postproductions tasks and deadlines are met. To ensure this I have created a timetable to keep me on track.

Budget

The budget for my animation will be low. Programs and software are all available free of use and equipment rental free of charge. Many benefits will be gained from this project, having E4 showcasing my work to a wide audience. Exhibiting my work it could be entered into festivals benefiting E4 and me. With the project being very popular it is a great opportunity to produce something inspirational as the brief guidelines are not as strict and are flexible. A range of E4 stingers have been created, which all range in different media and themes but all resulting in raising awareness for E4 and the animator.

Referring to the theme of this animation will be applicable to the audience. Everybody has watched movies and has seen CGI at one point in there life even if they did not realize. Also most people have shot they own video footage from video cameras to mobile phones. Everyone knows capturing something no matter how spectacular, funny, shocking or crazy it is like a memory. My animation should appeal to the audience and give of the feeling as this has been captured in everyday life.

Marketing

The main marketing for my animation will be the Internet. Many art and animation based websites can be used for showcase. Other than that I believe E4 will be to produce any extra marketing or merchandise if my animation was successful. With no limits and room for flexibility my animation will fit nicely into these themes as long as it’s not unpleasant or contain any explicit content and is 10 seconds long containing the E4 Logo.


After writing my treatment i decided to do my research and came across some interesting idents :)

A series of idents which caught my eye were a series of idents by Umeric, initially created for the re-branding of MTV in Australia and now in Europe. These seem to be based around the themes of "Aggressive", "Calm", "Lively" and "Organic" Using 3D modeling in Cinema 4D with a fresh and innovative look.

I am now going to begin some test animation to see which tentacle is going to work the best for me. This will be my next update.