I decided to work on the first story for my pre-vis. After making some changes to the story, I redid the storyboard.
Author: Yatharth Gupta
This unit is interesting for me, as I have struggled with story writing in my projects. I wanted to experiment with basic stories for the storyboards and focus more on the story circle for each of them.
Storyboard 1 : Johnny One-Arm
Storyboard 2 : Farenhiet 451 – Montag
Storyboard 3 : Brand within
In a near-future vision of Jaipur, Jaipur_2042 explores the consequences of unplanned urbanization—a cityscape where roads, bridges, metro lines, and commercial structures clash against the context of architectural heritage and nature. This short presents a jarring juxtaposition of the old and the new, an exaggeration of the rapid urban sprawl of Indian cities.
This is not to choose side of old or new, or disregard modernization. Jaipur_2042 calls for a harmonious coexistence, where development does not overshadow heritage and nature but finds a way to complement it. A world where the old and new can stand together, not in discord but in thoughtful juxtaposition.
At the center of the city lies a ruined fort, a silent witness to centuries of history, now engulfed by the relentless growth of the urban jungle. Neon lights and massive commercial billboards obscure the natural horizon, cutting off the flow of sunlight to the space. This chaotic cacophony of development poses a stark contrast to the timeless solitude of the fort. An AI droid, programmed to restore the fort, works on repairing the ancient structure. Resulting in an unintended side effect, the city begins to deconcstruct. Modern constructions go backwards in time, dissolving into the sands of time. Slowly, the chaotic cityscape fades away, leaving only the restored fort standing alone in the vast desert.
I wanted to present the contrast seen in above images between the heritage and Urbanization. Looking back at my time in Jaipur, the speed of development has increased with passing years. While imagining a version of the city nearly 30 years in the future, I came up with the idea for this short film. To recreate the Rajput Architecture, I refered to some elements from the existing forts and palaces.
Process
Working in Unreal Engine was new experience, both exciting and challenging. My knowledge of the production pipeline in blender was useful to translate into Unreal Engine. It was a quick process to visualize and blockout the shots in Unreal, with easy to setup cameras and sequencer.
After blocking out the scenes, I created different building assets in Blender, updating them simaltaneously in Unreal to see what looked better. Using 5-6 different types of buildings I managed to create the cityscape scene. The skylight and directional light worked well as I planned. I did the animations in Blender as well and imported them in Unreal, placing the character in different positions.
Challenges
The main issues I faced was to get the physics simulations right. With a number of physical property settings it was difficult to adjust and get a smoother fracture simulation. Another challenge was the post processing, I could not manage to get Depth of field in the shots. The color corrections did not work out as I wanted too.
I had done an upstairs cycle for an older personal project which looked choppy so I wanted to try out any of the staircase movement. I chose ‘Walking Downstairs’ exercise for the body mechanics. Below are my planning, 2D test and keyframe animations.
We started walk cycle with the blocking of key poses for the 1st week and then cleaning up the spline in further weeks.
For the blocking, the 4 main poses were Contact, Down, Passing and Up. I started by fixing my contact poses and then went on to key the middle poses. I had to integrate my learning from weight shift exercise in the process. And also, maintain a uniform motion graph and arcs for each subsequent cycle.
This week we learned different lighting setups.
I experimented in class with different types of lights (spot, area, point). Using IES light functions, I managed to create dynamic moving lights with varying color and intensity.
For my project I used mainly skylight and emissive materials to light up the scenes. The city scape however required a few spot lights for lamps and some blinking lights on top of tall structures or construction cranes. I created a basic Light function to have a blinking effect for the point lights.
One of the most important concepts to master is mise-en-scène, a French term meaning “placing in scene,” which refers to everything that appears within the frame. The 5 main elements are –
1. Setting and Props
The setting is the environment in which the action occurs, and the props are the objects that are part of the scene. In order to fully immerse the spectator in the story’s universe, both set the tone, context, and time period. For instance, whereas a comfortable space with soft furnishings communicates comfort, a dark alley with dirty props may imply danger. The inner states of the characters or the story’s themes might also be reflected in the location.
2. Costume, Hair & Make Up
These components establish a character’s emotional state, personality, and social standing. While makeup and hairstyles provide more personal information about characters, costumes aid in character differentiation by emphasizing their roles or purposes. While a character wearing shabby clothing could signify hardship, a character dressed in elegant gear might suggest professionalism. Exaggerated features can highlight symbolic roles or personality qualities in animation.
3. Facial Expressions & Body Language
Without using words, characters’ emotions, ideas, and reactions can be inferred from their body language and facial expressions. Tension, dread, or grief can be conveyed by a slouched posture or a furrowed forehead. These components are frequently amplified for dramatic effect in animation. Whether a scene is tight, relaxing, or humorous, the way a character moves or holds their body affects the tone and directs the audience’s emotional reaction.
4. Lighting and Colour
The mood, ambiance, and visual tone of a scene are determined by the lighting and color choices. While shadows and harsh lighting may imply danger or mystery, bright, warm lighting may create a pleasant atmosphere. Blues imply serenity or melancholy, while reds might convey danger or passion. Color selections can have symbolic meanings. The emotional effect and thematic depth of a scene in animation can be greatly impacted by the way light and color are manipulated.
5. Positioning of characters/objects within the frame
Character and object placement within the frame affects the scene’s emotional dynamics and directs the audience’s attention. Characters toward the periphery may imply fragility or loneliness, while those in the center can communicate significance or authority. Characters’ spatial interactions might reveal their power or emotional dynamics; for example, close closeness can suggest intimacy, while distance can convey estrangement or tension. The capacity to adjust visual storytelling in animation is enhanced by the flexibility of positioning.
Types of Shots
Extreme Close-Up: Draws attention to minor elements, such a hand, eye, or small object, to accentuate the focal point or express symbolic meaning.
Close-up: Draws attention to a character’s face or a significant detail, highlighting significant objects or actions in a scene, or expressing emotion.
Medium-shot: Character and background are visible in a medium shot, which frames the character from the waist up and is frequently employed for discussion or interaction.
Long Shot: Presents the character from head to toe, maintaining them as the main subject of the scene while giving background information about their environment.
Extreme Long Shot: This technique creates a big setting or scene, frequently displaying the figure in juxtaposition to a vast world, either a bleak wilderness or a sweeping urban.
Over-the-Shoulder Shot: This shot, which is frequently utilized for stressful situations or talks, places the viewer behind a character and lets them see what they see.
Point-of-View Shot: Provides intimacy or subjectivity by allowing the viewer to see the scene through the eyes of the character.
High Angle Shot: A high angle shot looks down on the subject and is frequently employed to provide a scene’s overview or to make the subject appear small, helpless, or vulnerable.
Low Angle Shot: Often utilized for dramatic emphasis in animation, this shot is taken from below the character, giving them an air of dominance, strength, or imposingness.
Further shots can be categorised in context of number of characters in a frame namely, one-shot, two-shot or group-shot. Or for a moving camera Pan shot, Tilt shot, Traveling shot (dolly shot) or Crane shot.