Minor Project - Contraption Orthographic

In preparation for modelling the sound collector's sound collecting contraption, briefcase and clipboard, I've made an orthographic for the contraption as it is going to have very complex geometry. I will likely make orthographics for the briefcase and clipboard as well. They both have a much simpler overall shape, but there are some smaller details that may need to be planned out.

I also haven't uploaded the final version of the contraption concept separate to the interim crit presentation so I will show it here with the orthographic.

Minor Project - House Layout Version 2 and Storyboard

Minor Project - House Layout Version 1

It has taken me a little while to figure out a house layout that fits well with the poem but I am happy with this as a base design.

@Phil - Minor Project - Sound Collector Style Direction

As I am continuing on with 'The Sound Collector' from my Adaptation B project. One of the things I wanted to explore further was the style of my character. As such I've been looking at different ways of illustrating the sound collector.

I feel that this is my most successful exploration so far, it is still very rough but I believe there is some potential in this direction. I am drawn to sharper and more geometric features/lines as well as more emphasized facial features.

If you have any suggestions regarding this direction Phil, I would love to hear what you think.

YPGTTO Speed Paint Challenge 14 : The Percussion City

I went for a more graphical approach with the percussion speed paint. Hope this isn't too late!

@Alan Adaptation B - Further Title Tweaking

Version 1

Version 2

I've made further changes to my title design. However, while using a more structured business font I found it hard to include any further sound based designs with it. It always looked too cluttered and took away from the simple graphical punch. I'm happy with version 2 but it may be too simple. If you have any more useful feedback I would be happy to hear it.

@Alan Adaptation B - Title change

In response to some feedback from Alan I created this version of the title which better sums up 'The Sound Collector.

Adaptation B - The Sound Collector Title

Version 1

Version 2

Version 2 (Black Background)

I've designed a simple title for my animatic to make it look a little better. I will likely use version 2 of these titles. I'm not yet sure if this design is too light and round for the sad undertone of the poem.

Adaptation B - The Sound Collector Storyboard Revised

There were some small changes regarding camera distance I needed to do to a few individual shots after discussing the storyboard with Alan. Now on to the animatic!

Adaptation B - The Sound Collector Storyboard

I have finally finished a fairly refined storyboard for the 'The Sound Collector' animatic I am making alongside my completed 3D character. Apart from some small tweaks that are bound to come up, I feel that I am ready to begin work on the animatic itself.

Also, the numbers for each shot correspond with each line of the poem, I will put the poem at the bottom of this post for reference.

The Sound Collector 

by Roger McGough

A stranger called this morning   (1)

Dressed all in black and grey   (2)

Put every sound into a bag   (3)

And carried them away   (4)

The whistling of the kettle   (5)

The turning of the lock   (6)

The purring of the kitten   (7)

The ticking of the clock   (8)

The popping of the toaster   (9)

The crunching of the flakes   (10)

When you spread the marmalade   (11)

The scraping noise it makes   (12)

The hissing of the frying pan   (13)

The ticking of the grill   (14)

The bubbling of the bathtub   (15)

As it starts to fill   (16)

The drumming of the raindrops   (17)

On the windowpane   (18)

When you do the washing-up   (19)

The gurgle of the drain   (20)

The crying of the baby   (21)

The squeaking of the chair   (22)

The swishing of the curtain   (23)

The creaking of the stair   (24)

A stranger called this morning   (25)

He didn't leave his name   (26)

Left us only silence   (27)

Life will never be the same   (28)

Adaptation B - Environment Design Direction

After more thought on the environment style for 'the sound collector, I feel that a 50's British home design would work best with the tone of the poem. I also still like the idea of using colour to show where the sound is coming from and also turning the colour to grey to show the sound being collected/taken. I feel that this will make the final shots particularly effective. The final four lines about being left with silence would work well with an environment that is dull and grey after all the sound has been taken away. |The idea and style will need more work but this is the general direction I want to go.

Adaptation B - Sound Collector Orthographic

This took a lot longer than I expected. Using Illustrator helped a lot with working out the more precise measurements though, now I am finally ready to begin modelling the sound collector. I have not yet done a top down orthograph for the hand but I will get that done when it is needed. 

Adaptation B - Contraption Final Design

After the tutorial with Alan on Friday I feel that I am ready to start modelling my character and his contraption. Alan suggested this final change to the handle design for the contraption which I am very happy with now. Next I will work on the orthographic for the sound collector so that I can begin modelling him.

Adaptation B - Contraption Revised Design (with handle choices)

I have altered my previous design working on the sound aspects of the device and making it more cluttered and interesting. I put the reel-to-reel on the left side as this is the right-handed version of the device. I couldn't decide on a specific handle but I have narrowed it down to four. Let me know if you have a favorite and bear in mind this is supposed to be a clunky government issued contraption.

Adaptation B - SC Concept Progress

After the tutorial with Alan I worked on multiple versions of larger ears as he suggested I exaggerate the sound aspect of the character more. I may add a specialist briefcase and make other smaller tweaks to the character so that his job/role will be greater emphasized.

Further progress on the colour concept of the contraption. I will likely make more changes to both of these before I finalize the designs and make final concepts.

Adaptation B - Rough Colour Concepts

Currently these are my designs for the sound collector and his sound contraption. They are still quite rough designs but overall they show how I see this character currently. I feel that I am getting very close to the final concepts for these as they are beginning to feel like a uniform set.

Sound Collector

Sound Contraption

Possible Voice Over Artists

I have narrowed down my search for the voice over artist to these two I found on the voiceover.com website. I'm quite confident one of these is the voice that best fits the tone of the poem.

-Johnny - North American (featured at top of page)
-Chris - British (further down the page)
http://voiceover.com/male.htm#american_male

Adaptation B - Continued Contraption Thumbnails

After considering different ideas I feel that I have concluded the basic design on the sound contraption. I am confident that a simple brick-like design will work best with the character. As such I will likely create a design very close to number 5. I have explored multiple faces for that design as I am still unsure on the specific look I want from it. My overall favorites are 5B and 5C.

Adaptation B - Sound Collector and Contraption Thumbnails

After talking to Alan on Friday, he suggested looking at specific actors and characters portrayed by actors for reference when drawing the 'sound collector'. I've done some line drawings with this in mind but I think I will need to do quite a few more to figure out exactly how this character looks. 

Sound Collector Thumbnails

Sound Contraption Thumbnails

Adaptation B - Design and Story Ideas

Design Influence Map

After talking to Phil about the style and design of the animation and the assets, he pointed me towards the original Paddington Bear TV series.

Poem Breakdown

I have begun to think about how best to tell this story and how to break it down succinctly. My main ideas so far involve very simple still shots of the objects as they make their sounds. Another idea I have thought about is having the sound collectors hand and a Dictaphone in shot as it happens and either just turn it on and off during shot or have him drain the sound using it. The latter would work much better with the final two lines of the poem;

Left us only silence
Life will never be the same

When thinking about the poems simple structure, having a lot of separate still shots makes sense when trying to convey the collection of all of these sounds. Either that or a single long dynamic shot where the camera moves to each individual sound and pauses while the sound happens.

Adaptation B - Further Character Exploration

Refined Influence Map

No Colour

Basic Grey

Multiple Grey's

After watching the film 'Brazil' as Alan suggested, I am beginning to see the 'sound collector' as a kind of eccentric tax collector. As such I have created these refined thumbnails to further explore the possibilities for this character.