Adaptation A - VHS Test Video

I wanted to get across a kind of 'Friday The 13th' / 'Halloween' vibe. The previous test was too reminiscent of films like 'The Ring' which obviously don't fall into the slasher genre.

Adaptation B - 'Gonna Get Yer' Development

Characters

Tortoise (Protagonist): Has a fear of water due to being a tortoise

Bear (Protagonist): Slacker uninterested by Uncles adventures

Hippo (Antagonist): Legendary warrior, guard of the island

Adventurous explorer, Tortoise and his slacker nephew, Bear, venture to the mysterious (yet to be named) island. A place that nobody has every been to before but the island is shrouded in mystery, it is said that a treasure hides within it's core but is guarded by a legendary warrior.

Tortoise and Bear make their way through the treacherous overgrown land only to awaken the legendary warrior who is angered by the two explorers attempt to find the treasure. 

Will they escape the island? Or is the warrior going to get them?

Adaptation A - VHS Test (Video To Be Uploaded Soon)

Recently I have been looking at end credits for horror movies, specifically Slashers' and I have changed the look of my infographic, after a talk with Alan on Tuesday he said that the VHS effect that I went for looked too 'Ring-like' (the movie) and didn't fit with the Slasher genre that my infographic is about. I still want to keep the VHS look but I have changed the font and colouring of my design to be less black and white to a more retro 80's style. I feel it has worked pretty well. Sound wise, I have been listening to 'Horror synth wave' to give it a more upbeat and less horrifying feel.

I am also un-sure of the amount of steps I am going to have due to the vast amount of slasher movie tropes. (For now I have put 20) But I feel I have an idea that could exploit the idea of there being so many.

World Animation - 'Spirited Away' (2001)

Fig. 1 'Spirited Away' Poster

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, 'Spirited Away' (2001) is an aesthetically wonderful, film that saw western filmmaking break into an eastern market. It's mystical characters and imaginative storyline encompass some social aspects that within live action film may be harder to put across. 

Fig.2 Film Still

Produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan, the film topped the box office and gained success as the highest-grossing film in Japanese history. It was then released to world after the film was taken under the almighty wing of Walt Disney Pictures and put under the supervision of Pixar's, John Lasseter, to re-dub the film in the english language.

There are times in the film where the voice acting becomes a bit too much, and a bit jarring which at times can make the film a bit tedious to watch.

The design of the characters are great, they are imaginative and at times bizarre which makes for enjoyable viewing.

Although at times hard to follow, the narrative of the film also holds deeper meaning and deals with social issues. It is said that greed, environmentalism and food are all issues that the film holds within it's core and they are portrayed to the audience in a way that isn't in your face but it's masked by a cute animation that helps the audience to see things in a different way, similar to Australian animation 'Mary and Max' (2009).

Fig.3 Film Still

'Spirited Away' is a great film to know about within the animation world, it holds it's own within mainstream animation and is a key inspiration for many of Studio Ghibli's other films and bringing them to a worldwide audience. It is clear that the film was created with love and it is exhibited by the visuals, a review by Roger Ebert says 'Spirited Away is surely one of the finest of all animated films, and it has its foundation in the traditional bedrock of animation, which is frame-by-frame drawing' (Ebert, 2012) the craftsmanship of the film is what makes 'Spirited Away' worth watching, it's beautiful animated and is embedded in the minds of many.

Bibliography

Ebert, R (2009) Spirited Away Review At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-spirited-away-2002 Accessed on: 27/01/2017

Illustrations

Figure 1. 'Spirited Away' (2001) [Poster] At:http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/sen/poster_images/USA_full.jpg Accessed on: 27/01/2017

Figure 2. [Film Still] At: https://2015.acmi.net.au/media/1924926/kf-spiritedaway-film-hero.jpg Accessed on: 27/01/2017

Figure 3. [Film Still] At:http://www.geeksofdoom.com/GoD/img/2015/06/spirited-away-still-10.jpg Accessed on: 27/01/2017

Mudbox - Lesson 2

Lesson 2 was fun, got back into making this model and bringing it to life a bit more with some Mudbox texturing. I am hoping to get some eyes done within the next lesson. Also learning how to send a file from Maya to Mudbox and back again was very helpful.

Adaptation A - Effects Test

I have recently decided to change the aesthetic of my infographic to a damaged VHS tape. I thought it would be a cool idea because of how overused the tropes in slasher movies are. So I wanted to show this visually.

Adaptation A - 'How To Survive in a Slasher Movie in 10 easy steps' - META META META

Always run

Suspect everyone

Got a car? Check the backseat, the killers always there

 Don't ask "who's there?"

Don't go to the police for help, they're useless

If you're blonde, you'll probably be first to die...It's just how these movies work

Don't be an A**hole you won't make the final act 

Avoid wild high school parties...of course you won't but you know, just do your best

Be the 'final girl' out live your friends and kill the killer

Make sure you have killed them though, those guys are invincible...

How generic

[Like this infographic]

World Animation - 'Mary and Max' (2009)

Fig.1 'Mary and Max' Poster

Created by Australian director, Adam Elliot, 'Mary and Max' (2009) is a pleasantly un-pleasant film that captures the struggles of human life perfectly, it's a film that masks it's main themes with a cute animation and a simple narrative.  

What makes this film so great is the way in which its humour is portrayed, it is a very dry and blunt type of humour. This humour runs deep within Australian cinema. 

Fig.2 Film Still

The film follows the two characters in the title, Mary and Max. Mary a young girl from Australia and Max an older gentleman from New York.

The way in which the humour is used throughout is great, it's not in your face and over the top. If something funny has been said the film doesn't take time to acknowledge that it simply glides over it as if nothing funny was said at all. There are times where the comedy is something in the background or an object it's not always joke after joke. It's the little things. It's comedy is reminiscent of that of a recent film directed by Taika Waititi 'Hunt For The Wilderpeople' (2016).

'Mary and Max' hits home with it's blunt take on life, it doesn't sugar coat it, it's story is heartfelt and honest. It's evident that Adam Elliot took his time to develop a story that audiences across the globe would enjoy.

Fig.3 Film Still

Stylistically, the film has a slightly unappealing look, but it's cute. It's a claymation film which adds to it's charm as every detail of the character has been meticulously sculpted to convey their personality to the viewer. The colouring of the film adds to it's mundane aesthetic, colour is rarely seen unless it's the red of the pom-pom on Max's head or the slight sepia tone of Mary's world as opposed to Max's washed out grey apartment.

The entire aesthetic matches perfectly to the narrative making the two a well thought out combination.

In a way, 'Mary and Max' is destined to become a cult-classic within the animation world, if it's not already. It's story leads audiences down an ever winding path that challenges your emotions and leaves you feeling sad but happy, but still pretty sad, writing for The Guardian, Andrew Pulver says 'Mary is enthusing about her favourite TV show; the next, we are being treated to a lecture on the symptoms of Aspergers' (Pulver, 2010) This Juxtaposition of storytelling is what gives the film such an organic nature that captures the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.

Bibliography

Pulver, A (2010) 'Mary and Max: Review' At:https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/21/mary-and-max-review Accessed on: 20/01/2017

Illustrations

Figure 1. 'Mary and Max' (2009) [Poster] At:http://www.humshaughshop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/mary-and-max-poster.jpg Accessed on: 20/01/2017

Figure 2. [Film Still] At: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSI1Uz6ThPVlDZ5zg0zrljS6_n1jt97xXnuDrmICf4duOnIcPE08JYwXPt7h14m6yvKRYiHmsrRu2K6IRTcq9-lhXNJWI4plPPMf3GNaNj-jDAkt3JTEpHBeffPsimqGqSByUVbB0Ax0/s1400/mary.jpg Accessed on: 20/01/2017

Figure 3. [Film Still] At: https://www.anonlineuniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mary-and-max.png Accessed on: 20/01/2017

Adaptation B - 'Gonna Get Yer' Development

Characters

Bear (Main Character)

Hunter (The villain)

Sidekick (The Dice)

Location

Island (Tropical)

My current idea revolves around a fairly lonesome bear on a mysterious island. The bear would be clothed. He has got these clothes from a plane crash that happened many years previous, scavenging what he could and in the wreckage and happens to find a leaflet for tours of the island with the slogan 'Discover the Mystery' what does it mean? does the island he lives on has a a secret? Possibly treasure, hiding deep within. (The volcano) This sets the bear on an adventure deep within the jungle parts of the island, a place he is not accustom to.
The bear encounters many obstacles on the way, constantly taking various routes that lead back to the place he first started until he stumbles across a mysterious character that helps him on his journey.
The villain is the volcano, a spiritual being guarding the treasure but can transfer it's spirit into rubble/the molten rocks that are fire out of it to chase other characters bringing an element of panic to the story. An emotion that was always present when I played this game as a kid.

Mudbox Tutorial - 17/01/2017

Adaptation A - 'How To Survive a SLASHER Movie in 10 Easy Steps'

Slowly but surely I feel that my infographic is begin to become more specific which is making the work I produce for it much easier. I have chosen to stay in the genre of horror but go for a genre within it, the slasher movie. Personally I am not a fan of all things horror, BUT slasher movies have always appealed to me, I think it is because of the stupidity and common tropes that are used within them which is what I want to exploit in my infographic. 

• Run. If in doubt, just run.
• Police are useless, so are your parents. Don't ask them for help
• Suspect everyone...
• If you are blonde, you will probably die first (sorry) 
• Stay away from summer camps or the woods
• Don't ask "who's there?" 
• Don't try to kill the killer, those guys are indestructible. 
• If you're an A**hole then you're doomed, so don't be an A**hole
• Your cars not starting? There's probably a killer in the backseat. Get out and RUN!
• Avoid wild teen parties, it's like christmas for killers! 
• OR avoid going upstairs...