The Final Western Animation

My Actual Actual FINAL animation I am so pleased with because with all the stress and all the drama payed off because in the end I did enjoy making it. This module has really opened my eyes to how preparation and organisation is key. From the beginning I had a plan for each week and what had to be done so that I didn't leave it all till the last minute as I have done In other modules. I new that I was going to have difficulty with after effects but with the two drop in days I had the support I needed and I am slowly getting used to it. I have learnt so much from this module from the basic to the complicated and have a belief in my self that I can push myself to create good things. If I was to do it all over again I would make it longer and maybe add a gun shot and some smoke and maybe change the music. I think my animation works well because you can see the effort and work that has gone into it.

A Nearly Finished Final Piece

This is my animation almost finished with the audio missing and the end not being how I wanted it I want something that will really hit home that it is a Western. I have used after effects to change the colour of the video as the camera I used made it difficult to have everything the same. I have also cut everything so that it is a complete animation not two seperate ones using the time line. I also used opacity, graph editor, parenting, colour correction and colur stabilizer and a lot of other things.

The Original Stop Motion Films Before After Effects

My Original stop motion animation the first one hasn't uploaded very well I don't no why though What I shot in the first sequence was a bit to much like a theatre there wasn't enough diffrernt angles and view points so I went back into the stop motion room.

I was more precise with angles and was following my storyboard which I sidlined a lot in the first film and with me integrating them together I will have the sequence that was my storyboard.

My Action Figure Cowboys

The cowboy figures that were the thorn in my side for some reason I thought that getting cowboy toys would be easy ohhhh how wrong I was!!!! I looked on ebay I looked on all american sites possible and nobody had what I was looking for none at all.

I went to places like early learning centre toys 'r' us Charity shops, Argos all over every toy shop. 

I even had the family asking other friends with children to see if they had any cowboy figures but it seems that with the decline in films had seen a decline in action figures. I did find one on ebay but when it arrived it turned out to be a 12"inch cowboy doll which the seller had forgot to mention.

Eventually I found Jim Ross a old WWF wrestling figure in my loft which sort of resembled a cowboy and I remembered that my cousin had the same figure. So in the end I had them all along but altered them a little bit. 

I drew a beard on one, made a waistcoat, a poncho and paited one of the hats to make them different in the end they were perfect for what I needed them for.

My Western Set Model

Building my set I started with foamboard to create the base and back and one side I set aside three days to build my set which was in the Easter holidays.

I painted the background blue with a light layer first which later I didn't like so I added darker layers to enhance the clouds.

After looking at the sky I moved on to mountains and how to create them I didn't like this much so i quickly stopped.

The next stage was to start building the General store at this point I didn't have my action figures and the siza was general guess work I measured the door at 5.7" inches as a rough estimate and everything else was made around that.

Once the General store was up and built I started working on the saloon I wanted it to be alot bigger in comparison height and width.

I basically used match sticks, lollypop sticks card foamboard and sand keeping it at a few materials meant that I didnt try and over complicate things. 

Once both buildings were complete I stuck them down at this point I went to bed not knowing that a complication had happened.

The complication was that the foamboard had started to bend and lose shape but it wasnt as noticeable as when I started applying sand to the bottom that the base did the same I then applied a heavy weight to try and even up the base because the figures would ahve toppled over with ease.

After I came back from The Easter break and the heavy weight had been there for a week and a half it had mad the base a lot more even. It wasn't perfect but alot better.

In hindsight I would not have used foamboard as it didn't do the job I really needed maybe if I was to do it again I would use chipboard. I was really peased with houw it turned out though and getting the figures was to prove a more difficlt task.

Set Design Ideas

Design ideas for my model set with the equipment I intend to use including paints.

Looking closely at detail with drawn pictures of western buildings.

Set Design Models

Reasearch of different types of set design looking at ways to build and familiarise myself with what I task I had to do during the Easter break.

Although these are not of wetsern sets they are still are similar and what goes into making a set the finer detail in each one is significant.

This set model is the same kind i'm looking to do as the buildings are coming off the landscape which is painted on this is the direction I am looking to go with.

Each set looks beautiful and stunning care and consideration has gone into them and design work. I think getting the right material is key looking around and getting the exact stuff will have to be found.