lampost design

one of the important elements to the environment are the lampposts as these will be a prominent feature in this set. so to help me get an idea of different styles and shapes of current lampposts.

After doing this research I now have decided that I simpler approach would be better as although the lampposts will be a prominent part of the set they need to blend in and not draw too much attention to themselves and draw any attention away from the rest of the action of the scene. therefore I think that a simpler idea would be better. I have created some blueprints that reflect the simpler idea that I think will be more effective.


This is also the initial design that was given to me by ben:

Blueprints:

 

From this design, I then did my initial models for the lamppost.

 



I think that this design works really well as it has an iconic 50's design but also has a simple, clean cut look that also fits to the 2d look and design of the film in general.

Tommy Gun Design:

One of the most important props to both of the characters, considering that they are criminals, is a gun. with this in mind I did some research into tommy guns and the most important defining sections that are needed to make it a recognisable weapon.

Doing this research really helped me to understand how a guns of this type is built an what sections of the gun are more important, therefore will need more detail added to them.

with the research I have done and this initial sketch that be did of how he would like the gun to look in mind. I then went on to create a initial model of my own tommy gun.

 

 

overall, I am really pleased with this design as I feel that it is a very strong representation of the very particular style that a tommy gun has.

although the general style and look of the gun is good. we have decided that it looked too realistic and was not stylised enough to fit with the rest of the general theme of the film. therefore, I have decided to simplify the design down.

 

instead of creating another model in maya straight away I have decided to create blueprints of what I would like the gun to look like.

I am much happier with this design as I feel it fits to the style of the rest of the film more effectively.

I now think that this model and design is an improvement on the first design and I think that it will fit it much better with the design and look of the rest of the film.

Prop Design

A very important element to the film is the props as they are particularly important in the main section of the film where the two characters are trying to break into the safe.

I have created a series of different props that could be used in the film. I have tried to keep certain running themes throughout the designs so that they both all link together visually, but also match the design for the rest of the film.

Storyboard Solution?

After the initial storyboarding that I did for the first gag with the dynamite, I found that there was a bit of a gap between the characters arriving at the vault door and them placing the dynamite around the base of the vault door. I have done a few more boards that I think may solve the problem.

I think that this will work much better as there is now a clear section of the gag that illustrates how the dynamite appears there in the first place.

Storyboarding - Dynamite Gag:

This is my storyboard for the first gag when our two characters try to blow open the bank vault door with some dynamite.

 

I felt that an establishing shot of the bank vault door with the wire connected and all of the dynamite piled up outside the door will need slightly more screen time than I originally thought as it needs to be made clear to the audience what the first initial set up for the first gag is something quite typical of a bank robbery scene.

The two main problems that I have come across whist creating these storyboards is that although the first few boards of this scene are important and time needs to be spent on them, the shots also cannot last too long as I fear that the audiences watching might get bored and that might take something away from the comedy element to this gag later on. Therefore we will need to find the exact amount of time that should be spent on this shot. I think that the best way to resolve this would be to act out the scene and time the gag. Then we will be able to work out exactly how much time will need to be spent on particular sections of the gag.

The other problem that has come to light is how to possibly show the shot where the dynamite is on the floor in a quicker and more dynamic way. To resolve this I have decided to do some more storyboarding to try to find a different way to illustrate this.

Overall, I am pleased with the main sections of this storyboard as I feel that the shots will be fairly snappy and that the gag will be both effective and funny.

The story so far....

One of the first problems that we faced was that there is a section within the plot where there is a set of gags that run one after the other are needed.
We had an extensive and rather eclectic amount of ideas that spanned from quite stereotypical items such as guns and dynamite to extreme and unusual prop ideas such as them resorting to using medieval weaponry such as swords, axes and crossbows.
There were so many ideas flying around that eventually I suggested that we needed to take a logical approach to working out the sequence. I suggested that we sat down a wrote out each individual idea and write them all down on separate pieces of paper, so that we could whittle them down to the ones that we thought worked and then try them in lots of different orders and combinations until it seemed to flow properly.
This eventually worked and we found an order we had both a nice rhythm to it, but also that gave a natural rapport between both characters. this was the eventual order that we decided upon.

We also made some small adjustments again to this order. Initially we had ideas to have both the man and the monkey at the beginning firing guns straight at the vault door. We decided that there might be timing issue with this and that the audience might get a bit bored if we put too many gags in we also felt this with the idea of the monkey suggesting that they use a nuclear bomb to open the vault door, which the man then decides against it. this would also be too final as if it was used there would be a very sudden end to the plot!

With the order of the gags resolved here is the current plotline for the whole film:

1. the camera sweeps down and through a 50's American street late at night. a traditional American car pulls up outside a bank. the break lights appear to let the audience know that the destination has been reached.
2. there is a close-up shot of one of the tyres of the car as it depresses as someone steps out of the car. the identities of the person or people are still unknown.
3. cut to a shot of a dollar sign on the top of a building. they have arrived at a bank.
4. moves to a shot of laser beams cutting holes in the wall of the bank. two holes are cut and the sections of wall fall forward. two silhouettes of our characters can be seen through each hole and we can see that it is a man and a monkey.
5. they enter into the foyer of the bank to discover a room of complex moving lasers. comedic events ensue and they eventually make their way to a door which says 'employees only'.
6. the door is violently kicked in to reveal the aim of the characters break in, the bank vault itself.
7. both the man and monkey then use all sorts of different tools and gadgets to try to break into the safe and steal all of the money that is inside.
8. first, they try a stick of dynamite to blow open the safe. cut to a shot of the vault door with dynamite piled up in front of it. shot of man pushing down the lever, but it does not work. he gets angry and furiously shoves the lever up and down but still nothing happens. he storms over to the dynamite holding a hammer. he taps the dynamite with the hammer and the dynamite explodes. the smoke cloud eventually clears to reveal a shot of the man with a face covered in soot. the hammer falls down and hits him n the head, he winces.
9. then cuts to a shot of the man holding a pneumatic drill/ jackhammer trying to damage the vault door. the harder the man try's to damage the door, the closer the handle of the drill gets to his face. it eventually starts to hit him violently in the jaw.
10. the monkey is then seen with small black bombs with a skull and crossbones painted on the front in each hand as he throws them up and down in his hands, they eventually blow up in his face.
11. the man then drags in a chainsaw that is too heavy for him to be able to lift. as he starts it he still cannot lift it up and ends up cutting a hole in the floor around himself.
12. the monkey then enters flying in the air and freezes in a 'matrix' style and through three death stars at the vault door which pierce it. he then falls through the hole in the ground cut by the chainsaw earlier.
13. suddenly there is a noise and cracks start to appear around the wall in which the vault door is on. the noise of a car engine can then be heard and suddenly the entire vault is ripped out of the wall away from the two characters and driven away down the street.
14. cut to a shot looking through the hole left in the wall. the man is stood staring in amazement and confusion by what has just happened. the monkey then pops his head up out of the hole in the floor to see what has happened. they both then look at each other in confusion and then back at the hole in the wall. fade to black.

Lights, camera, action!!

the basic plot is about two criminals, a man and a monkey hatch a plan to rob a bank. the story will involve all sorts of gags including dancing over lasers to mishaps with tools being used to try to break into the bank vault.

the film is set in 1950's America and to help me to get into the theme and time of the film I have created some mood boards. I have made some that are more general and some that focus on areas that will important for the film such as certain objects and props.

 By doing this research it has really helped me to get to grips with the period of time that the film is set and style and design of the 1950's.

In the beginning........

This year my main focus will be to create a show reel that I will later use as a way of conveying my creative skills and will be the springboard into the industry and my future career.

This year I will be working on a joint project. we are planning on making a short film. the other members of the team are Ben Hudson, who is the director, story and concept artist and animator. Harley Earl will also be jointly animating, story development and concept art. Our lighting and rendering artist, Mikey Macfadyen will be adding the finishing touches to the look of the film. Finally, Bo Lee, Zoe Cheale and myself will be in charge of all of the modelling for the project. I will be working full time in the group where as Zoe and Bo will be part time modellers as they are involved in other projects. I will also be helping with some designs and story development.

I am glad that I will be working full time on this project as it will be great to be involved in an entire production pipeline. I feel that this will help to give me more experience when I enter the industry and I feel that my work will be improved as I will have a strong understanding of the project as a whole.