Dollhouse Animation

Ke - Effects Added

2009-02-22T19:18:00.000-06:00

Final Version: Effects Added...

Ke - Original

2009-02-22T19:15:00.000-06:00

This is the final edit of Ke. Thanks to Fuad for letting me use his music.

2009-02-22T17:01:00.001-06:00

2009-02-21T10:30:00.001-06:00

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Ke - First Edition

2008-04-06T21:56:00.005-05:00

I am not touching that camera again! All the required footage is at hand. This is the first edit of the full animation. I will need to add credits and perhaps play with transitions and effects some more.

The Sun Going Down

2008-04-02T00:53:00.005-05:00

"There is no light ... I live in darkness." Sunsets make me sad, and I couldn't imagine a better visual parallel to the lyrics.

The Lady in the Painting

2008-03-20T00:39:00.006-05:00

The last scene of the animation: the man caresses the painting of the lady. The camera pans across, and on the other side of the wall, the lady touches back.

Learned two useful things on Premiere working on this scene: to manipulate the shape of the opacity curve, and to adjust color channels on clips. It is a relief to have more than half of the movie done finally!

2008-03-09T18:33:00.000-05:00

This shot zooms in and rotates across the living room. Moving the camera has been a challenge in this project: even the tiniest camera move between frames is magnified and looks awfully shaky in the movie. The movie would have been a lot smoother if I used a video camera for plain camera pans and zooms; but they would not match the clips where the dolls themselves move using stop-motion.

At 30 fps (frames per second), the movement was extremely jerky. By stretching the movie clip to almost double its length, the motion became slower, and a lot less jarring to the eye. The color saturation of this clip is comparatively higher than the rest of the clips, but I left it as is for now. Once I arrange all the clips sequentially, I will see how the clips relate to each other before editing.

Although the room is very blurry in the clip, I spent a lot of time planning out the layout and decorations, and couldn't resist showing off this still photo from the set!

Window Long Shot Loop

2008-02-25T23:56:00.001-06:00

This is a looped video clip of a long shot of the window. I was trying to mimic candle-light flicker on these shots. The problem was, the table lamp gave off a constant and steady light. Solution: I used a real candle inside the room, behind the left wall, so that in every frame, the lighting was different, creating a flicker effect.

I am thinking of using a snow effect composited on this clip.

The Light Through the Window

2008-02-25T23:48:00.001-06:00

The camera pans from left to right, looking into the window. The first clip is the original. In approximately the middle of the clip, there is a sudden flare of light when the camera moves from one window pane to another. Since the camera's shutter speed was set in automatic, it stayed open longer when the table lamp went behind the window frame. In the second clip, the level and saturation has been tweaked to minimize the brief flare.

Looking Down the Staircase

2008-02-23T20:08:00.000-06:00

Looking down the second floor stairwell, the camera zooms in. I could have used a single frame and resized it to create a zoom-in artificially, but the parallax effect is what makes the zoom-in believable. Granted, using Houdini would have resulted in a smoother parallax effect, but since the rest of the animation is jerky and odd, a smooth segment would stick out stylistically.

Compare the two clips: the second one is smoother than the first. The second clip was constructed by layering, staggering and blending the original in four iterations. Although the movement in the second is smoother, we lose the crispness of the original.

Parallax effect in Houdini

2008-02-21T23:39:00.000-06:00

This is an example of Parallax effect created using 2d images inside Houdini. I had been considering using Houdini to do some of the scenes, such as the one looking down the stairwell. It would certainly make my life easier! But I am afraid these will be too smooth, and look different from the rest of the animation that is done in stop-motion.

The Lady by the Window: Moving to the Music

2008-02-19T21:34:00.001-06:00

I edited the clip a little, playing with frame durations. I hoped to make the movements more deliberate and in sync with the music. Also, I wanted to eliminate the jerky movements as much as possible.

A History of Evil

2008-02-19T13:07:00.000-06:00

The animation below is not relevant to my project stylistically, but it is so creative, that I had to share it on the blog!

The Lady by the Window

2008-02-05T21:28:00.000-06:00

The first 10 seconds of the animation. I wanted to film it in daylight, but the light kept changing too much from frame to frame. So, I had to mimic daylight indoors. The lighting setup was 3 lamps outside the window: 1 daylight bulb, and 2 regular bulbs further away to create the warmer late afternoon highlights.

The movement isn't as smooth as I wanted it to be, but after 4 attempts, this is the closest I will get if I want to finish the animation this semester! In a way, there is something eerie about the jerky movements, and goes pretty well with the mood of the story.

I want to add an "aging" effect to this clip, to make it look like it is part of an old home video: a memory of the lady who died. The Windows Movie Maker's built-in effects are OK, but I feel the need to have better control of the parameters. I am still new at Adobe After Effects and Premiere, and am yet to find out how to create the effect.

Light

2008-02-01T01:51:00.000-06:00

The chandelier is working! Talk about suffering for art: I burned my hand while soldering the connections. Note to self: never watch Lost and handle the soldering iron at the same time!

Costume Design and Camera

2008-01-14T01:54:00.000-06:00

The costume design is complete. Well, at least on my part. The shoes are on their way from Australia, from Lesley's Miniature Knitting: the same store I bought the dolls from. Also, thanks to Tanveer Ahmed, I have a wonderful digital SLR camera at my disposal! I LOVE THE COLORS!

And here is a really really short animation made with a few of the photos I took today: my take on camera panning.

Animatic - Version 2

2007-11-30T09:10:00.000-06:00

Animatic Version 2: shows timing, lighting & camera angle ideas.

Checking Out Camera Angles

2007-11-29T09:35:00.000-06:00

Aaaahhhh! Change of plans!!

2007-11-13T01:06:00.001-06:00

After photographing the dolls, I am very certain that the "hanging lady" scene will not work! The ceiling is far too low and the room is much smaller than what I had imagined. I think I will have to go back to poisoning her. Hmmm...very dark thoughts!

Dry Fitting

2007-11-13T00:58:00.001-06:00

The major walls are complete. Next step: wallpaper smaller walls and add interior trims; add wall sconces and power outlets; glue when everything is finalized.

A Setback Due To Botched Schematics!

2007-11-13T00:24:00.000-06:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I tried to dry fit the walls on Saturday! As soon as I reached step 2 of wall assembly, I hit a major snag. Apparently, the diagram of the left wall (on sheet 11) was labeled incorrectly. As a result, there was a strip of exposed slots right under the ceiling.

So I had to redo the first floor wallpaper as well as fix the bottom part of the second floor. Note to self: contact Greenleaf and ask them to make the changes on their diagrams!

Some valuable tips I learned from this quandary:

Do not paste the entire fabric to the wall if possible. Glue only along edges, so that if and when you need to pull out the fabric, it is easier to remove.
Dry fit the parts before wallpapering to make sure the schematics are correct.
Buy extra fabric ~ because chances are, mistakes will happen!

Animatic - First Draft

2007-10-30T01:14:00.000-05:00

Here is my first animatic. I have decided to stick with "Ke" instead of "Kranti" as the background music, although I have edited the song heavily to make it half the size of the original track.

Storyboard Draft

2007-10-29T01:28:00.000-05:00

Video Reference: Afterworld

2007-10-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

My foray through YouTube brought me to Afterworld: an animated serial. Stylistically, this is what I am trying to achive: the gloomy ambience; the earthy color palette. Another thing that I noticed was that the characters do not move much. Most of the animation is done using Video Effects and Transitions. As I mentioned before, although the Heidi Ott dolls hold their poses well, getting convincingly realistic motion out of them will be difficult. So, my lesson from Afterworld: it isn't always necessary to have the characters moving in order to tell a compelling story.

Some Quay Brothers' Animations

2007-10-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

So, I was discussing my project with Mr. Barnes, and I expressed my concern that the Heidi Ott Dolls, while they hold their poses well, might not be ideal for the fluid realistic motion I was aiming to achieve in my animation. He suggested I take a look at animations by Quay Brothers. While their animated characters are far from realistic, they took the limitations and flaunted them to a point, where the viewer accepted the bizarre charactersitics as inherent qualities of the characters, and not mistakes. I forgot the strings and the abrupt movements, and was absorbed by the story being told.

Another Stylistic Inspiration

2007-10-12T12:09:00.000-05:00

I love this stop-motion animation. I like the dark atmosphere, the aura of mystery, which is so similar to what I am trying to achieve.

Electrifying!

2007-10-06T17:40:00.001-05:00

As far as the dollhouse goes, I am in the process of putting in electrical connections. I found these helpful tips on http://www.dollshouse.com/flash/demonstration.html where there are flash demonstrations of how to electrify dollhouses by using either copper tapes or socket strips. I am using the "copper tape" method. My chandeliers have arrived: 6 as of now. They have been hung on the ceiling and the faux mosaic applied. I am still looking for good deals on wall sconces.

Hila Rosenberg

2007-09-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

http://www.hilarosenberg.com/animations/animations.html#

Hila Rosenberg is a model-designer and animator after my own heart. Her blog http://hilasmaniera.blogspot.com has snippets of her animatics. I wish I could see the finished movies!

The Stage for "Kranti"

2007-09-11T12:28:00.001-05:00

Kranti will be filmed inside my Garfield Manor, which I hope to finish by January 2008. I had started building it in summer, but got side-tracked by my experimental Orchid Dollhouse with its paper-clay brickwork and embedded electrical system.

I did start a blog documenting the progress on the Garfield.
thegarfieldblog.blogspot.com

I will put a link to the blog on this page too. I guess I better get started again, and quickly, if I am to finish at least the interiors by January!

Hi Zeba

2007-09-09T20:34:00.000-05:00

And here is Zeba saying "Hi" :) I don't anticipate using too much mouth-movement for Kranti.

I just animated the lower lip, and the animation looks quite stiff to me. When we speak, our chin and jaws move, along with the muscles around our mouth. Making all those changes frame by frame will probably be more than I can handle for the scope of my project.

Made Her Blink!

2007-09-09T17:04:00.000-05:00

I am thinking of doing the facial animations on Photoshop. This is Zeba, a doll I made earlier this year. Using Photoshop and Premier, I made her blink. Next step...to make her smile :)

Woo Hoo! Actor found!

2007-09-09T01:07:00.000-05:00

Won the bid tonight! Cost me a pretty penny too ;) On his way from Australia ~ meet the hero of "Kranti" (the animation...named after Fuad's song).

Inspiration

2007-09-08T22:26:00.000-05:00

I saw this antique German Dollhouse on eBay last week, and thought it a wonderful inspiration piece for the dollhouse I am building for the animation. As a matter of fact, this dollhouse would have been a perfect backdrop for my animation.

I am still working on the storyline. I have selected a song by my friend Fuad, and decided to animate parts of it. At this point, I have only random scenes to work with right now. What I do know is that the story is set in an old house: sort of Victorian or Regency in style. It will be dark and have a muted color palette. It will probably call for a balcony scene, one set in a study at night, and one in a hallway involving a haunted mirror. Ah, if only I had $3000, this house would have been so perfect!

Jointed Dolls

2007-09-04T00:14:00.001-05:00

It's midnight and I am still up. Well, I am usually up at this hour anyway, but that's besides the point. Today I had to be up and at my computer because I was bidding on this pair of Heidi Ott jointed dolls. From the photos I have seen, these seem to hold their poses quite well ~ something that will be very important if I resort to stop-motion animation.

Heidi Ott dolls seem to be my best options right now. I mainly work on a 1:12 scale (1in. to 1ft.) when it comes to miniatures, and these dolls are perfect for this particular scale. Jointed Barbie dolls would probably work OK for stop-motion, but they are too big for the 1:12 scale background I am creating.

As for the bidding, no, I didn't win! :(

The dolls that I make myself are not jointed ~ not this detailed anyway. If I have to end up making my own dolls, I will have to give up on realistic movements for the dolls.

Dragon: United Airlines Commercial

2007-09-02T00:29:00.002-05:00

On my flight home from Bangladesh, I happened to catch part of the Making of Dragon: the Super Bowl commercial for United Airlines. It uses traditional stop-motion animation techniques combined with computer animation programs like After Effects. I love the ad, and to me, it is the embodiment of what I have been trying to achieve in the Arts & Technology program.

Source: http://www.united.com/page/genericpage/1,,51529,00.html

What Inspired Me

2007-09-01T18:13:00.000-05:00

Well, it started a long long time ago, when I watched Being John Malkovich. And although I don't even remember what the movie was about (true, I wasn't paying much attention) I was touched by the marionette scenes ~ by how alive they seemed and the emotion they seemed to convey.

What struck me was not so much that they imitated human movements, but that they were believable as characters with feelings that made you forget that they were mere puppets.