DD3992: Music, Sounds and Voices

Unusually for an animated film, the voices for 'Gopher Golf' were one of the last parts of the production to be completed. The two main characters, Golfer and Gopher, were voiced by husband and wife Rob Kennedy-Parr and Sarah Ann Kennedy-Parr respectively, who have had plenty of experience in voice acting with roles in shows such as 'Peppa Pig' and 'Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom'.

Right from the beginning, I didn't want the final film to have dialogue in it. I imagined the Golfer and Gopher would make noises to show their emotions rather than use words - similar to how the Farmer and his animals communicate on 'Shaun the Sheep'. By doing this, I can focus a lot more on the slapstick and visual humour. Therefore, Rob and Sarah watched the film on a TV monitor in the sound booth, simply running their own commentary over the finished picture. Every once in a while, the Golfer makes noises which sound like English words such as "yes" and "no", but it felt natural for a human character to make such noises and it made him more relatable. Also, the words "yes" and "no" are now understood in almost every major world language due to the impact of the media - even in languages where the words for "yes" and "no" are different.

The sounds were all royalty free, available from a large library of sounds so I had no difficulty choosing the right sounds. However, when I test screened the film with sound, some of the sounds were too loud compared to the voices and music tracks, which were at the right level. The sounds will be increased when played back on a larger screen at the degree show, so some time had to be spent adjusting the sound levels.

The music is also royalty free, composed by Kevin MacLeod. He had composed his own take on the famous tune, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (German for "Thus Spoke Zarathustra"), which is the track I used instead of the more famous version heard in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". I also used his music piece called "Scheming Weasel" - I was reluctant to use it at first because it has been featured in countless YouTube videos, but then I remembered "Also Sprach Zarathustra" was even more well known so that argument was invalid! "Scheming Weasel" also captures the style of comedy I'm looking for and matches the visuals very well, so I'm pleased with the end result.

Gopher Golf: Feedback from Second Viewing

Today I showed my film to an audience for the second time, with some people who had seen the first version and some who hadn't. The film was edited together in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, my preferred editing software. It was the first time I was able to render the film in a H.264 format in 1080p HD.

The response to the film was a lot more positive than the first viewing. The comedy and timing worked a lot better and the audience laughed to most of the jokes, particularly the ending. There was a feeling that the film would work with noises coming from the Golfer and Gopher, such as annoyed grunts or chuckling noises, which I have always intended to include in the film.

The compositing also needed sorting out in some places. Notably, in this scene, when trying to use matte choker to erase the outline on the Golfer in After Effects, the golf club disappeared with it. I had to add the golf club again digitally and improve the lighting.

Before

After

There was also a scene showing the Golfer receiving the money during the end game, where it was unclear whether it was a dream or not. Therefore I added a white outline to make it more obvious it was a dream, matching the scene at the beginning where he dreams of the same thing.

The feeling from my audience was that the film will work a lot better with sound, but the narrative was highly praised and the film worked very well.

Gopher Golf: Building the Golfer Puppet - Part #8

The hands and head for the Golfer were finally completed this week. The Golfer also now has a hat which, like the clothes, has been hand-knitted.

The hands were dabbed in watercolour paint and talc powder to achieve a colour similar to human skin colour. This took several attempts as it had to match the Plasticine.

The head was attached on with wires, stuck to the main body by Araldite. The joint between the head and main body will be covered by more Plasticine.

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Gopher Golf: Script Breakdown (Final)

Here is the script breakdown for my final film.

Gopher Golf: Final Screenplay, March 2015

Even through the production and shooting of my film 'Gopher Golf', I'm still making amendments to the screenplay. Here is the latest draft.
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INT. HALLWAY - DAY

A leaflet falls through the letterbox on a front door.

A man walks over and picks it up. This man is the GOLFER, a tall man wearing a green golf shirt, hat, shoes and shorts.

The man sees a large headline on the newspaper and gasps - it reads "$10,000,000 prize offered at Golfing Championship". The Golfer clearly becomes excited and nods decisively.

EXT. GARDEN - DAY

The Golfer carefully places the golf ball on a tee in his back garden.

The garden is very large with flat, green, freshly-cut grass, a pond and a single tree at the end and fencing all around the garden obscuring the view outside. At the end of his garden, the Golfer has very badly dug a hole for the golf ball to land into which is clearly too large.

The Golfer swings carefully then hits the golf ball. The ball misses the hole and lands in a tree.

The Golfer GROANS LOUDLY.

We cut to the Golfer trying again. This time he hits the golf ball into the pond.

The Golfer then hits the ball again. It's clear in his aim that he is frustrated and not putting much effort into it. The ball knocks over a garden gnome. The Golfer gives a fed-up look and SIGHS LOUDLY.

Next the Golfer hits the ball over the fence. We hear the sound of the ball hitting an old woman and a car which crashes.

The golfer growls angrily. The Golfer then calms down and looks at the golf hole again. He sighs then proceeds to try one more time. This time he aims much more carefully with greater precision. He hits the ball and it finally goes into the golf hole. The Golfer cheers and shouts excitedly, then looks at his newspaper again feeling much happier.

EXT. PLAYING FIELD - DAY

The big day has arrived. Another GOLFER has just taken a shot but the ball lands too far from the hole. The other golfer cries loudly in anger and hurries off. Our Golfer simply laughs as he starts taking his place in preparation for his perfect shot. A large crowd is seen behind him sitting in stadium seating.

The Golfer is looking very nervous as he prepares his perfect shot. He keeps moving hesitantly as if he is unsure at what moment to hit the ball.

The Golfer finally hits the ball. There is complete silence.

The ball hits the ground after a prolonged silence. It moves its way around the golf hole. Everyone is watching. Finally the golf ball lands in the hole. The crowd cheers and the Golfer cheers loudest of all.

The Golfer takes out a leaflet showing a picture of a mansion up for sale, making it clear how the Golfer plans to use his prize money.

Suddenly, the sounds of cheering start to fade. Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss plays.

Unknown to the Golfer, the golf ball emerges out of the golf hole again, moving very, very slowly. The golf ball is riding on a GOPHER.

The Gopher brings the ball back up to the surface again in a shot referencing the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Gopher watches the Golfer, looking happy and looking forward to having his revenge.

EXT. MANSION - DAY

We see the Mansion on top of a large hill, with a "Just Sold" sign outside.

The Gopher watches from nearby, looking very pleased with himself. Behind him there is a crate of TNT. He holds up two wires and connects them together.

The entire mansion suddenly explodes.

The Golfer walks up, holding the keys to his new mansion. He screams when he sees the mansion is no longer there - the Golfer has now got his comeuppance.

Gopher Golf: Animating in Photoshop and After Effects

Some scenes in the film 'Gopher Golf' will be animated using a mix of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects, as well as traditional stop-motion animation. The scenes animated on the computer will be those involving just the props, not the actors (or puppets) which will be filmed in stop-motion. Together these methods will create a unique style for my film; a bright, colourful world to suit the comedic nature of my film.

The biggest advantage to animating in After Effects was being able to create effects that otherwise, when using stop-motion techniques, would create heavy time constraints. One such effect is being able to add motion blur to a golf ball flying through the air, completing the effect. Such effects can be done in stop-motion using an overhead rig, although given I am working to a deadline for my project, I have to consider the easiest and quickest methods to use - which luckily, in this case, are also the most effective. The other main (and most important) advantage is that I can start filming on the project whilst the Golfer puppet is still under construction.

The above screenshot shows what live, 3D objects will look like against my 2D backgrounds. The whole film will be done in this style. Officially, the definition of a "prop" in live-action is anything which interacts with an actor. So, for my film, any props in 3D will be props which interact with the characters. All other visuals in the film will be 2D.

Gopher Golf: Updated Animatic, 10th February 2015

https://vimeo.com/119225647

The above link is for the updated version of my animatic, based on feedback I received recently that the set-up for the conflict wasn't strong enough.

I wanted the Gopher in the film to be a device, not a main character, so the film focuses more on the Golfer, his vanity and his eventual comeuppance. However, when I test screened the film for different audiences, it was felt that the ending was too random when a gopher appears out of nowhere. Then, when I included the Gopher in the first half of the film, it suddenly made the ending too predictable - which was something I really wanted to avoid.

The best way to compromise was to have the Gopher appear in the first half, then misdirect the audience - making them think one thing might happen, then something completely unexpected happens. I was reluctant to this as it made the Gopher more of a character than a plot device, but I can understand how it creates more interesting conflict between two characters - effectively like a Tom & Jerry or Looney Tunes short.

In this version, I've used a tutor's idea to have a house blown up by dynamite as the Golfer's comeuppance. This was originally to be the Golfer's own home, but this then leads to a massive plot hole - the Golfer has won enough money from the tournament to buy himself another house, so he doesn't get his comeuppance. I went around this error by having the Golfer spend his winnings on a new, improved house - in fact, a Californian mansion.

Whilst I still feel unsure about the ending, it definitely works better than previously - it works better for comedy, whilst still keeping the same moral values I've always wanted this film to have. The Gopher has become more of a character, but the story is still about the Golfer, his obsession with fame and fortune and the consequences it results in.

AX3001: Creating a Style

In the making of my film 'Gopher Golf', I've always imagined the film would be shot in stop-motion animation - even though this would mean time management would be much stricter, if the film is to be completed for its deadline in May. This is because each element and effect seen in the film would require a different approach. These would all have to be worked out accordingly before they are filmed.

Effects required for the film include:
*Water = blue tissue paper and cling film (previously used in my earlier film 'Catch of the Day': https://vimeo.com/66972956)
*Rocks = pebbles/slate collected from Wales
*Grass = rolls of Hornby grass/turf grass
*Garden Gnome = photos / miniatures.
*Walls of house exterior/interior = drawn or constructed from wood
*Background crowd shots = animated in 2D in Flash.
*Backgrounds = drawn or animated in 2D in Flash.

The film's main character, the Golfer, is a puppet which is being constructed especially for the film. However, the construction of the puppet has proven more complex and is taking much longer than first expected - which, initially, created huge problems by delaying work on the film's sets. To conquer this problem, I have now decided, under the advice of my tutors, to revamp the style of the film in a mix of 3D stop-motion and 2D Flash animation.

I've always intended for the Golfer's performance in the film to be the focus of the animation, so I could improve my abilities in character animation especially. This has been key to the development of the film's style, since the main character has more focus than most background elements - such as the spectators at the golfing competition, who are only seen in shadows. This means they can be animated in 2D whilst the Golfer, the film's main focus, will remain animated in stop-motion as intended.

I was encouraged by my tutors to develop my drawing style before creating backgrounds and background props in the film. Particularly my style of line drawings has received comparisons to artists such as French painter and sculptor Jean DuBuffet, whose work I was encouraged to look at for research.

I have also looked at previous combinations of multiple art forms in animation. Before directing his own feature films, Terry Gilliam was well known for producing cutout animations for 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' (1969) and the feature films 'Holy Grail', 'Life of Brian' and 'The Meaning of Life'. These combined Gilliam's own drawings with photographs to create a bizarre, surrealist style which matched the Python's bizarre, surrealist comedy.

The popular 1965 TV series, 'The Magic Roundabout', uses 2D trees and backgrounds, with the characters and all other props being animated in stop-motion.

Another famous use of this technique came ten years later, in the TV adaptation of 'Paddington Bear' from 1975. Most famously, Paddington Bear himself is a stop-motion character, whilst all human characters, including the Brown family, are cutouts. The sets are also paper cutouts, although the sets and characters are distinguished through the use of colours - the human characters are in full colour, whereas the sets are only partially coloured or completely white.

Whenever a character interacts with a prop, the prop is also in colour most of the time and crafted as either a 3D model or a 2D cutout, depending on which character is using the prop. In one scene from an earlier episode, Paddington hands a 3D object to Mr Brown which turns 2D when he receives it. Below is another example where Paddington is stuck in strings of 3D film rolls, in front of a 2D background.

The only time all the sets are in colour is in the 1986 TV special, 'Paddington's Birthday Bonanza'. This is also the only time the mouths move on the human characters.

This is very similar to how I can imagine 'Gopher Golf' looking, once all the techniques as listed earlier are applied. By adapting a blend of visual styles, my aim is to still produce excellent quality in my animation in the very limited space of time that I have.

The backgrounds in my film will take inspiration from these styles, using hand-drawn images which will later be coloured in digitally in Photoshop.

This is the art style I adapted for my first designs of the Golfer himself back in September - although the initial drawings were very rough. The final backgrounds in the film will look more refined with darker lines easing the process of colouring in digitally.

Gopher Golf: Building the Golfer Puppet - Part #1

The Golfer is the main character in my film "Gopher Golf" and the main puppet I am currently building for the film. I was aware from the beginning of the film's production I would be limited for time on pre-production, so I decided I would have an advantage only building one main character for the film. I would be able to spend more time focusing on the one character's performance - how he moves, his reactions to certain events and emotions, etc.

 

The character is currently being built using a Ray Harryhausen Armacreature Kit - a multi-purpose make of armature. His face, hands and shoes will use both plasticine and silicone rubber, whilst his clothes will be hand-knitted.

 

          
 


Some early animation tests were done earlier in the year, mainly to visualise how movements such as a golf swing would look on screen.

       


Some changes were made from the Golfer's original design to make the model's construction easier. The Golfer's shorts will be changed to trousers, since either can be worn in the golfing world. It will mean that I won't need to separately construct the Golfer's legs using plasticine or silicone rubber; the trousers, made with fabric, can cover the legs entirely and the two different materials (fabric and plasticine/silicone rubber) will not need to interact.

The other important change in the Golfer's final design is the hands. It was decided that the Golfer's hands should be larger and more exaggerated, since he will be handling some large and heavy props on set (i.e. golfing clubs, golf ball, newspaper, etc). This is a technique often used in children's animation such as Postman Pat and Bob the Builder - in both of these shows, a character's hand will also have four digits instead of five. Again, this is to make handling of props much easier for the stop-motion puppets. This technique is also used in the 2D animated The Simpsons for all characters besides God, although this is more due to Matt Groening's unique art style.