ROUGH ANIMATION

This screen shot of Cubson is just an example of what your character with the background finally added, would look like. Having a dark surrounding in the process, makes animating the character in rough, way easier, since they're a very prominent contrast in colour and shade. I discovered this accidentally, and will certainly consider using that method again when doing the rough stuff before clean up.

MISTAKES

A few people I've shown this clip to actually favour this sequence out of the rest due to the zany performances I've given the characters. But I think my gripe with these few seconds is that there's too much going on, yet not enough. I may have relied too heavily on layers, that what ever is moving, it's moving too much, and what isn't moving, is almost too stationary and uninteresting.   

Saltys Background, by Robin French

Side by side before and after screen shots, of close up shot of Barbra from Peanut Putter. 

The rendered version was was done by the background artist, Robin French.

Video Editing and Production

Slow

I won’t lie, this piece of work was much harder, though enjoyable. I knew I wanted to use Future Island’s-Fall from Grace, but I had no idea what imagery to use. Initially I wanted to go with something animated, like Ren and Stimpy, or an assortment of Ward Kimball sequences from various Disney films and shorts.

Eventually I realised I had to use something much more suspenseful and darker in tone to emulate the mood and pace of the song used. So I attempted to use clips from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but in practice it proved to be a little too bland and drawn out.

 There weren’t enough action segments to use for the very explosive moments in the song, were the lead singer pulls into an unexpected guttural death growl, as he typically does.

So I thought good and hard, and had a good look around for something I knew, and would have fun working with. So in the end I ended up going through a few films at home and stumbled upon one of my favourites and a classic beloved by millions, The Shining. Which proved to be ten times more effective. Everything I needed was there. I had a full pallet of amazing pieces of footage to work with. It accrued to me eventually that the song itself must have been made for Jack Nicholson, since the two things I tried using in total all included him. Despite my optimism, the task came to be harder than I anticipated. The song is one of my all-time favourites and I very much wanted to do something spectacular with it. But I ended up almost having somewhat of a surplus of footage to work with, which turned out to be a littler overwhelming and intimidating to say the least. I had to find the right clips and make sure they fit in well. Not to mention the timing needed to be impeccable and punchy. The other challenge was that the song itself to some, may be somewhat wearisome, and could lose the attention of the viewer if not edited right. The challenge was to keep the imagery consistent with the motion of the song but also make sure it pulls the viewer in, and keeps them hooked and interested.

Eventually I feel that I have achieved that, though there are parts that seem oddly scattered, due to difficulty and frustration. The main task was to get used to the program, and in turn I did. It almost became second nature to me in the duration of the process. Not to mention enjoyable. 

Video Editing and Production

Fast

It’s been a while since I worked with anything using premier, and it was challenging to get back into the rhythm of things. But over time the gruelling process I previously anticipated was no more than mere hollow intimidation buy potential difficulties ahead. But I was wrong, and rather quickly got the hang of things, with only minor difficulty. I was also motivated by the task given to us. To work with footage of our own choosing, with musical accompaniment of our personal preference, provided that it emotes a similar theme, complementary to the visuals. The theme I chose to go with was 20s-30s animation, preferably a variety of Betty-Boop sequences that, when handled carefully, could convey the message and or theme of the musical piece chosen. As for the actual music, I wanted to go with something surreal and atmospheric, yet somewhat haunting. So I chose a very recent song released by my favourite band in late 2015, Future Islands-The Chase, from the album The Chase which was a single that featured only two tracks.

The song is about the front-man Samuel T Herring’s previous relationship, and how it had a sturdy foundation but turned out to be “The Love of the Chase”

This song was perfect, since Betty Boop is consistently being chased by Beasts, Demons, Skeletons, Goblins, Animals and musical old men living in the mountains. 

I tried to handle the various clips with great attention to detail and tender loving care, placing each sequence in specific parts of the song, relevant to the lyrics. Of course, not the entirety of the video consists of her being chase, but also visuals that I thought would almost take a breath from the premise, and fit well with the atmospheric synth textures and vocal melodies, as well as the tempo, and snare drums. Specifically from 0:50 to 1:09 and 1:26 to 1:47. 

In 0:50 we get the first chorus, and can see two tooth imps hammering away at a nerve in the clown characters cavity, also emulating and establishing the beat and timing of the song. Which, in a way was an attempt on my part to bring aware to the audience that I at least took into account the timing, accurate pacing and energy of the song, and didn't negligently throw a bunch of clips together hoping it might look pretty, since it’s difficult to tell previously.

                               

From 0:57 to 1:00, We see Betty Boop dancing on a platform by herself, a clip from one of my favourite episodes (Hells Bells), which was a choice I made since you have less instruments playing and get a full perspective of the assorted sounds used, such as the watery synth textures, and prominent symbol clashes with a very clear, tight beat and snare drum. Not to mention by far one of the grooviest bass lines every used in my opinion.

I think the moments I am most happy with go from 1:31 to 1:38, where we see a Ghost yank on a lever to an electric chair and actually almost coincidentally mouths the words in that moment of the song. The clip then cuts to another sequence where we see a much larger, more rotund spook or Spectre awkwardly and unsettlingly drift along a panning shot with some of the most haunted imagery used in a backdrop I had ever seen, perfectly reflecting on the sound, texture and feel of that moment in the song.  

A Quick Update.