Finished Animation

Just to notify that the animation work is now finished and all that is left to do is to add some sound effects, and that's it. Job will be done.

Update

I have now started on the production of the animation. Out of the three I have been working on the first one, which is now just about finished.

I have also been doing simple bits from the other two clips.

As I was delayed in getting the equipment and software I needed to complete the work I have been looking at the audio and some of the shots used in the animation. The dialogue of sorts is still going to remain, but there is now going to be less of this. This is to make it more realistic and appropriate to the zombie. There are now going to be less morphs within the 3 clips as these were getting in the way and deviating attention away from what really mattered.

I have also been working on background detail and cycles and working out what need to go where in relation to this. This is so that I can re-use certain pieces of animation, but alter this in certain ways so that it looks different.

Shock Horror

Scientist says that Zombies as portrayed in films would never be able to function in that way.

Such a shame. But it does mean that no one will be coming after your brains.

Viral Media

There is a lot of information out there on what it means for something to go viral on the internet.

I take it to mean that some sort of content that has gained over 100,000 views.

There doesn't seem to be any reason for what will make something go viral. It can be good or bad. Rebecca Black became infamous for her 'terrible' music video Friday. I presume that something similar was happening with 'Gangnam Style' but its popularity took over and meant people enjoyed the dance rather than making fun of something silly.

Usually something goes viral by accident, it will be shared between friends and from there will just keep on going. If something becomes big enough like Gangnam Style did then it can make it to international news where it gains exposure and will then garner even more views.

There are companies out there that profess to know how to make something go viral, but usually these will have money behind them so that they can sponsor posts on Twitter and Facebook and make it more likely to go viral.

It doesn't always work though. If a site produces good content then it may go viral, but as everything cannot go viral then the one good piece could be stuck between rather rubbish pieces. Because of these rubbish pieces people turn away. The bigger the company the more content and the more likely this can happen. This is why companies go for advertising campaigns where it will be a more drawn out process. As this can more or less guarantee that the piece will be seen. This obviously costs a lot more money, but is more likely to provide a return.

Why the Narration Matters.

Even though I have previously mentioned that there is going to be no dialogue, this is a misnomer of sorts. There is no intelligible dialogue, just muttering. It doesn't matter if you cannot understand it, as it adds to the atmosphere. However, as there is a script that corresponds to these mutterings and you knew what they meant then it would add a new layer of the audiences understanding. It would act as a sort of in joke. In the same sense that 'The Clangers' employed the same technique, with the whistling, it adds to the atmosphere. But if you care enough to want to know, and are able to understand these mutterings then it can just add to the enjoyment that can be felt by watching something like this.

Cycles in Animation

I use cycles in my animation as it allows me to do more work in less time.

If I was to animate a 1 minute clip of walking, on 12 frames a second then I would have 720 images to 'draw'. This would take an extraordinarily long time to do and would mean less time spent on some other part. By using a cycle I can create a walk cycle from 10 images. Using the cycle method I would only have to do this once and then repeat the cycle 72 times. This would save me a lot of time and allow me to move onto something else. This is a big advantage that comes from being able to use layers in Flash, as it means I can add backgrounds that make it look as if it isn't a cycle being used.

However, some may say this is lazy. But, as mentioned on the inspiration page, there is nothing wrong with limited animation it is all about the story telling. Sure the animation has to be professional but if you have a good story then you don't need to over-complicate it all by going over the top with the animating.

Review

Have watched World War Z (2013).

It was a very different Zombie film in that it showed the outbreak as being a 'virus' that had got out of control. It made extensive use of hand held cameras for the action scenes. This allowed for a more realistic effect in that it immersed the audience in the action, so that as tension built up and winded down the audience could feel every twist and turn. The film showed the reluctant hero being forced into taking action by his family effectively being taken 'hostage', and being told that they would be removed from safety if he didn't get involved. He showed that even though he had been out of action for a while he was still very capable at getting the job done. Even though he was an investigator he seemed as if he was much more than that and seemed as if he had been in military forces at some point as he seemed very hands on. The film for me felt perfectly placed as even though it was 2 hours long, the action flowed nicely and meant that you were able to follow along the action and not get bored.