Previs

I have been working on the animatic lately, and from working with it, I learned that there was a lot of things in my storyboard that could be better, faster and more interesting.
The animatic is a mix of playblast and After Effect animations that is been put together and timed.
So far I am happy with the length of it. I was afraid that it would be longer than 60 seconds, which it was when I first started working on the previs. But after changing some things, speeding some things up and combining shots, I found that I was still able to deliver the same message  in a shorter amount of time.

Here is the result:

(The backgrounds is something that I am still working on, so the background that has been used here is not meant to be used)

 There is still some work to be done, and some missing elements.

earth + map

I have been playing around with an idea lately. I just had to test it out and I am actually really happy with the result that I gained when I tested it.
I recently watched an After Effects tutorial on YouTube that showed you how to make a flat map fold itself. I really liked the simple look of it and I started playing with ideas on how to implement it in my own work, being that I really wanted to test it out.
In my commercial there is a scene where we see the earth and then zoom in on it, focusing on the great wall of china. After a few seconds, the camera zooms out again. But what if, when we zoom out the earth fold out and turn into a flat map. This map could be folded and end up in the shape of a refrigerator and would make a smooth transition to the next scene that actually is a refrigerator.
I tried it, and I liked it. I showed it to my father and he really liked the idea too.

To make this happen, I had to make a round object turn into a flat object. First I tried folding a plane around a sphere, hoping that I could create something from that. It didn’t work and it looked bad. Then I tried to fold out a sphere and played with blend shapes, but that didn’t work either. Lastly, I found a solution that was easy and worked perfectly.
I simply made a plane, created a nonlinear bend two times going in two different directions. Then I bended them both 180 degrees and voila I had a sphere!
This is the result of my first test.

CFC

Lately, I have been trying to figure out how I am going to show the CFC circulating in the refrigerator and how I am going to animate this. Because CFC is an invisible gas and doesn’t evoke any odor I figured I would just make simple spheres that move inside of the pipes. I talked it over with my father, and he approved of the idea. The point of this shot is simply to demonstrate that the refrigerator contains the gas and that it will leak if the appliance gets damaged.

I ended up drawing a curve and extruded a cylinder along it. This cylinder is now the pipe and the curve inside of it I made into a motion path for the spheres.

Then I made enough spheres to fill the whole piping system before I looped the animation. 

To make the spheres “escape” from the pipes, I drew 3 more curves that went outside of the refrigerator and created new motion paths out of them. I wasn’t sure about how to make the spheres change from one motion path to another, especially when I had made the animation infinitely. To solve this, I duplicated the spheres when they were at the root of the new curve and connected the new ones to the new motion paths. I turned off the visibility on the original at the same time that I turned in the visibility on the duplicates and it now looks like the spheres are exiting the pipes leaving the refrigerator emptied from CFC.

I don’t know if this was the most efficient solution, but I achieved what I wanted from it.

counting numbers

I have recently been working on the counting numbers that is going to represent the number of E-waste that is being generated worldwide each year.
I wasn’t sure on how to solve this at first, but I found out that I could write a command in After Effects that basically did it for me. I only had to change it up a little bit so that it was integers showing and not decimals.
Here is the result from the testing.

Production Plan

After looking trough my production plan, I found that there were a couple of areas that needed some changes. First of all, I forgot to set off time to do the previs, and secondly I had given myself way to little time to do the compositing at the end

Therefore, I went over and redid the whole thing and used another type of layout. I feel the new production plan is much more accurate and gives a clearer indication on how I will progress trough the project.

AfterEffects

I have also tested out some of the animation that will be done in AfterEffects. I have done this to see where I need to improve my skills and what I am able to do. This still needs improvements, but as I said this is a part of my research for this project and it is just to test my knowledge and play around with different styles.

You might recognise from the storyboard where these animations would fit in. 

Modelling

I have continued some of the modeling that needs to be done for this commercial,
I have so far started to make the MagnoJack, a truck and some appliances.
This is where I am at right now:

Storyboard and Manuscript

I have been working on the manuscript for the commercial lately and I am struggling with the length of it. I feel like there is a lot to say, and not so much time to show it. I want to try to keep it within one minute. I have written down everything that I think needs to be mentioned, so now it is up to me to try to break it down just a little bit more so that I am left with what is really necessary and emphasises the product.

This is where I am at right now:

I also started on the storyboard. I did this to help myself visualize everything a little better and to get a better sense of where I can narrow down the manuscript. Later on, I will try to time this to the manuscript in AfterEffects and from there on see what I can remove from the text and  visualize instead. I have also been doing some more research and I have discovered that a lot of the other commercials use text additional to the voice over so that they can deliver more information in a shorter amount of time. This is something that I probably will try to use myself.

Here is the first draft of my storyboard:

Originally I wanted to use the Chinese wall when showing the amount of the electronic waste. But I am currently playing with the taught of changing this to UK's coastline.

The length of the coastline is 12,429 km and that almost takes us two times around it with the heavy trucks. This is a really great way to illustrate the amount of e-waste that are generated every year. And hopefully, a fact that sticks with the audience.

The last two pictures illustrate this. I might change it so that these are the ones I use instead of the Chinese wall.

The one scene where I just added question marks is still something that I am struggling with. At this stage, the audience is going to learn that emissions of all CFC gas from a refrigerator corresponds to CO2 emissions equivalent to 10 000 km of driving. I am thinking about showing this by taking an extra trip around the UK coastline.

  

Backgrounds

I have been testing out and searching for different background styles for the commercial. I want to have something really simple and appealing that does not steal any attention.

I have tested a few different styles, but I am still searching for the right one. I like the thought of using soft colors and a soft blue color is relaxing on the eyes. So I might choose something in the pastel-blue direction.

Here is some of the ones I have been testing so far:

Manuskript and logo

I have been working on the manuscript for the commercial this weekend. So far it is looking good, but I am struggling with the length of it. I have a lot of points that needs to come trough, but not a lot of time to show it on.

I have written down everything that I think it should include and discussed it with the "client". He agrees with it. So now it is up to me to strip it down and polish it without removing any important information.

Additional to this I have also been working on a 3D-model of the MagnoJack logo. Something that might come in handy later in the production. This is something that I can use both at the beginning and the end of the commercial.

Test modelling

I have started on the MagnoJack model, and this is what it looks like so far. When modelling I realise that I need more photos of the product for reference. I am not sure jet on how detailed I want/need it to be. This is something that I will discuss with the owner of the product. This model is only to get a basic understanding of how it looks and works. If the target audience that I am aiming for want to see the actual product there will be added a link to MagnoJack's web page at the end of the commercial. This will provide a better product description. It is off course my goal to make as many as possible visit this web page and buy the product. The commercial will focus more on the reasons why this should be used and not so much on it's construction, other that what needs to be said to understand it's use.

Here are some of the reference footage that I am working with at the moment. I am going back to Norway for Christmas and then I get a chance to take a couple more and try out the product. I am also thinking about waiting a little bit with this model and continue on it while I am in Norway. That gives me a greater opportunity to see everything that I need whilst modelling since my father has one of the demo models at our home.

 

I have made an alpha map for the metal plate to save geometry. I did this using photoshop creating my own pattern. This pattern is repeatable so that it is easier for me to at it on the different shapes that I am going to use it for. I am going to use the same method for the logo that is right over the magnets.

CFC-test

I have started to test out how I can show the CFC-gas leaving a broken refrigerator. I want to show  one or more examples of ways a refrigerator can be damaged and then cut into a close-up of one of the broken pipes where the CFC "escapes"

I have just been playing around with som squash and bend to make it look like it has to struggle a little bit. I want to give the feeling that it is actually escaping from the pipe since this leak of this gas actually is illegal.

From here I am thinking about following the bubble in a high speed upwards until it crashes into the ozone layer. Eighter this or I cut to a frame where you see the bubble rising from a top view. I am going to do some tests and see what is most efficient.

   

Project description

For this project, my aim is to create an animated commercial for a product called MagnoJack. The commercial will be simple, informative and hopefully enhance sales. The commercial will be a 20-40 seconds long sequence with animation, text, models and voice-over. There will be a royalty free soundtrack playing in the background and a voice-over that explains the product and its use whilst the animations is running. The voice-over manuscript will contain information from the MagnoJack webpage. Following I have provided information about the product.

MagnoJack is a "Sack Truck" specially designed for handling household appliances.

The simple but robust construction makes this the best trolley for handling big household Appliances that has ever been introduced to the market.

This is the tool that should have been invented when the first appliances were sold many years ago.

The Technology is patented in Japan, Europe, and the USA. Patent pending in Canada, Australia and in several Asian Countries” (www.magnojack.com) 

   

Moodboard

Here is a moodboard that shows my main focuses for this commercial.  

• Health
• Environment
• Savings

My next step now, is to write a manuscript for the voice over. Before I can start on that I have to do more reaserch on the industry and look at different examples of commercials that use the same method that I want to use.