Run 01

Playblast

QUICKTIME: Playblast

This is the first blocking out for the chicks run cycle, it is as of now incredibly basic but I'll be adding more weight and fleshing things out a bit more over the next few of days.

Another thing worth noting is how the bird will move, I wish for it to be quite light on its feet due to the size and weight of the bird but I also wish for it to retain the look of a standard run cycle. I feel the wings should be pretty much static throughout the actual animation, so that's why I will not attempt to animate the hands on the rig in these tests.

Reference

Richard Williams Run cycle



Below is a run cycle by Eadweard Muybridge.



Because I'm slightly deviating from an actual human run cycle (like above), I'll be pushing things quite a bit more. Especially when the character is in the air, I will make sure the chick will be in the air for a few more frames to appear far more light on its feet. Another thing I will accomplish is enabling stretch on the legs to feel bouncy as it lands, but this will mostly be a subtle thing.

This weeks schedule!

To keep on track with all the work I've created a schedule of what I'll be doing every day of the week!

*Mike* - New Animatic

Hey guys, here's a really rough version of the newer animatic!

A few tweaks will be made but both myself and Guy are starting to prefer how it works as a story.

List of tests I will be accomplishing

Hop



The first test I will be accomplishing is a hop of the unhatched egg caused by the sprouting of one of its legs.

Run




The run cycle of a chick running.

Egg fall



This test will be both a combination of the eggs walk cycle and him falling off the edge of the branch.

Duck and cover




The chick ducking down (pun not intended) to the swinging leg.

Reaction of the chicks to the size of the egg




Both of the chicks will look at each other in amazement as to how big the egg actually is.

Advanced skills

I will be focusing on animation in the advanced skills unit, this is because I wish for the animation in the actual film to be my best yet. I want to ensure a subtly is there in the movements, along with pure character that reflects the characters purpose.

Over the coming weeks I will update the blog with Quicktime playblasts of the development stages for each of the tests, from blocking to polished.

*Mike* - Schedule

Here's the schedule for the term that both myself and Guy conjured up earlier today. This may very well change, but I see it as feasible if we stick to it!

*Mike* - Initial animatic

Here's the original animatic for Unhatched, this is however very early and things WILL be changed and worked upon in the coming weeks.

I'm still not completely happy with the flow yet, but I hope you'll understand the general flow of the story.



The music represented here was only a placeholder and will not be used in the final film.

Another thing worth mentioning is the lack of sounds in the animatic at the moment.

*Mike* - Unhatched group members

Key members:

Tom Ritchie: Director, Lead Animator, Director of Photography, Concept artist
Guy Morgan: Producer, Animator, Story artist, Concept artist, Additional modeller

Specialists:

Alex Caldow: Modeller
Clym Smith: Rigger, Modeller
Kofi Ansah: Modeller
Andi Bennett: Concept
Keith Trodd: Lighter
Emma Wyton: Concept

We also have 2 additional people who are willing to work on sound.

What I'm working on

My third year film is currently in development, and the group blog can be found below.

http://unhatchedblog.blogspot.com

I will also be aiding in a few other group projects:

The Deep
Animation advisor

Heroes 1.0
Additional animator

The reason why I'm mainly focusing on my project is because I wish to try and take on most of the films animation shots, with some shots also going to Guy from the group.

I'm quite a perfectionist so I wish to spend a lot of time making sure everything is the best it possible can be. This is why the practicing I did over the summer and Dans unit will be of major help to me.

Unhatched story premise

Here's the story premise:

The story of the final egg attempting to hatch, but in doing so leaves his nest unnoticed by his mother who is caring for her already hatched chicks.

Welcome!

Like some of my peers I shall be tagging each post to their representative units.

Dans unit will be shown as *Dan* -
Mikes unit will be shown as *Mike* -
And finally PPI will be shown as *PPI* -

Bring on the year!