Monday 30 April 2012

Commission: Basic Screenplay Version One


Intergalactic Adventures Through the Human Body
                  Episode Three: Mitosis

Opening Credits

Narrator
On last week’s episode, we continued to investigate the Cell Cycle, looking at the importance of the Interphase. This time, we will be seeing how and why Cells divide in this week’s exciting installment of Intergalactic Adventures Through the Human Body!

Title Sequence
The title sequence provides a brief visual summary as to how the human body is represented as a space age society, with each different element playing specific roles that can be compared to similar roles in reality, such as the emergency services etc. The sequence ends with the words “Intergalactic Adventures Through the Human Body!” across the screen.

Scene One
FADE IN and PAN OVER a bustling highway of fast moving objects.

Narrator
This bustling highway is the human bloodstream, the regular route of travel for many Cells, specifically, Red and White Blood Cells. Look! Here comes a White Blood Cell now.

FOLLOW White Blood Cell enters the bloodstream, pursuing a bacteria as if it were a police chase. Camera moves to be level with Cell.

Narrator
When White Blood Cells are needed to rid the body of bacteria and other trespassers in the bloodstream, they may duplicate their numbers in order to tackle the threat.
These Cells, like others, duplicate through a process called Mitosis.

Scene Two
Camera moves in towards Cell, fading through to reveal the genetic material within.

Narrator
Mitosis takes place over several phases.

First of all is the Prophase, where the chromosomes coil up and condense. This makes them shorter and thicker, and the nuclear envelope containing them is broken down. The separate copies of a single chromosome are known as sister chromatids. Spindle fibres are formed whilst centrioles move to either end of the Cell.

The next step is the Metaphase. The chromosomes line up in the centre of the Cell. Microtubules formed during the Prophase attach to the sister chromatids.

The sister chromatids begin to separate, this is the beginning of the Anaphase. The sister chromatids are held together by the centromere, which begins to divide as each sister chromatid, moves down its spindle fibre.

The final step is the Telophase, in which the two now separate groups of chromosomes reach opposite sides of the Cell. Both groups gain a new nuclear envelope and the chromosomes uncoil.

Scene Six
Camera PULLS BACK from Cell, returning to an exterior view of the Cell. The camera continues to track the Cell down the bloodstream.

Narrator
The division is finalised through a process known as Cytokinesis, where the cytoplasm and organelles divide. The completed processes of Mitosis and Cytokinesis result in two separate cells that are genetically identical, known as daughter cells.
These daughter cells are free to duplicate further before they go on to fulfil their specified tasks.

The two White Blood Cells maneuver to stop the Bacteria in its tracks.

Next time, we’ll be investigating specific Cells and their roles in the Human Body. Make sure to tune in for more exciting Intergalactic Adventures Through the Human Body!



Sunday 29 April 2012

Commission: Back to the Drawing Board

As fond as I was of my initial ideas, after further investigation I found them to be scientifically inaccurate, rendering the ideas pretty much redundant. After an hour or so of hair pulling and feet stomping, I've generated another potential option, this time focusing on Adult Stem Cells (I say "potential" as it may end up being as convoluted as before and I may still return to a simpler approach, but I'm putting the idea out there anyway).
Adult Stem Cells are undifferentiated Cells that reside among differentiated cells. They specialise in order to repair or replace the Cells surrounding them. An example of an Adult Stem Cell is a Hemopoietic Stem Cell, which can differentiate into different types of Blood Cells, such as Platelets or Lymphocytes. 
Because of their ability to fulfil the roles of various different Cells, I couldn't help but think of the word options. Adult Stem Cells provide the body with options to repair itself, as they are so versatile. I began to think of the word options in certain real-world contexts, and I thought about how the word is typically used when buying something, e.g. "there are many colour options for this particular model" or "additional options include a larger hard drive" etc. This made me think about applying the idea of Adult Stem Cells to an advertisement scenario, as if they were being marketed to a potential buyer. 
Unlike my previous ideas, Adult Stem Cells actually do divide through Mitosis (thank goodness!), meaning that I will still be addressing the process of the Cell Cycle. I imagine this would be achieved much like "Firstly, our Stem Cells go through a strict three-step process, where a series of checkpoints inspects our Cells to make sure they're fit for duty" etc etc (its difficult to explain without doing the voice myself or having a video to demonstrate). This would take the audience through the entire Cell Cycle process, guided by a narrator and visually demonstrated.
I would like to demonstrate Adult Stem Cells as a whole, i.e. providing examples of their tasks etc, and this could be achieved if I was to cut between separate shots fairly quickly, but this may end up being A) tons more work and B) more messy than interesting. 
As previously mentioned, I may be overcomplicating things here, but I can always whittle the idea down to get the most out of it.
Here are a couple of videos I've been looking at for both inspiration and as examples of the sort of 'advertisement' approach I'm looking at. (Also, I will still be retaining the stylistic choices I had made previously, just to clarify.)




Saturday 28 April 2012

Commission: 'The Cell Cycle' Step Outlines

I've made a few attempts at putting a step outline for my animation together, but I've found myself reaching points where the idea just falls apart or becomes way too convoluted to be used. Here are the first three versions of my step outline, with the reasons why I gave up on the idea and moved on. They all have parts I love, but they are fairly ambitious and given the time frame we've been provided, I think it would be sensible to restrain some of this ambition and really tighten up and polish the key aspects of the ideas.




The Cell Cycle Version One

Red Blood Cells 

Scene One
Opening titles appear on screen, they brush out of shot to reveal a flashing alert sign. The sign reads “Trauma Detected at Index”. A close up of a hand is shown briefly, blood is seen oozing from a small cut on the index finger.

Scene Two
A hovercar with a cross emblazoned on the side pulls into a corridor resembling a car assembly line. The hovercar is revealed to be a Red Blood Cell and the assembly line is the Interphase. The Red Blood Cell passes through the assembly line, reaching the individual checkpoints, G1, S and G2. The G0 area is seen, filled with wreckages of unsuitable Red Blood Cells that didn’t make it through. The Red Blood Cell passes successfully through the Interphase, pulling out onto a busy highway, full of bustling Blood Cells and other things. A futuristic, 50’s sci-fi inspired cityscape is seen surrounding the highway.

Scene Three
The Red Blood Cell begins to speed down the highway, weaving in and out of the other Cells. The camera pulls up and over the Red Blood Cell, moving inside the glass dome and revealing the genetic material within the cell.

Scene Four
The cell division process begins. The steps are presented in a two dimensional style, much like that of a textbook. When Cytokinesis occurs, the camera pulls back out of the dome, revealing the Red Blood Cell dividing into two.

Scene Five
The Red Blood Cells repeatedly duplicate at a faster rate, still accelerating down the highway, as the camera pulls up above them. The Red Blood Cells are seen approaching a gaping void, which is revealed to be the cut.

Scene Six
(I got to this point and realized the healing process is less to do with Red Blood Cells and more to do with Platelets and coagulation, so this trail of thought came to a grinding halt. I may be able to use this later, but at the moment, it’s being put to one side.)


The Cell Cycle Version Two

White Blood Cells

Scene One
Opening titles appear on screen, they brush out of shot to reveal a flashing alert sign. The sign reads “Pathogen Detected”. The invading pathogen is seen, as havoc occurs at its presence.

Scene Two
A hovercar with a cross emblazoned on the side pulls into a corridor resembling a car assembly line. The hovercar is revealed to be a White Blood Cell and the assembly line is the Interphase. The White Blood Cell passes through the assembly line, reaching the individual checkpoints, G1, S and G2. The G0 area is seen, filled with wreckages of unsuitable White Blood Cells that didn’t make it through. The White Blood Cell passes successfully through the Interphase, pulling out onto a busy highway, full of bustling White Blood Cells and other things. A futuristic, 50’s sci-fi inspired cityscape is seen surrounding the highway.

Scene Three
The White Blood Cell begins to speed down the highway, weaving in and out of Red Blood Cells. The camera pulls up and over the White Blood Cell, moving inside the glass dome and revealing the genetic material within the cell.

Scene Four
The cell division process begins. The steps are presented in a two dimensional style, much like that of a textbook. When Cytokinesis occurs, the camera pulls back out of the dome, revealing the White Blood Cell dividing into two.

Scene Five
(I got to this point and realized that White Blood Cells duplicate considerably less than Red Blood Cells, and that the whole idea of Cell Cycle would be a lot less…. impressive. Also, whilst White Blood Cells represent the ‘Ambulance’ idea a bit better, I feel that the way in which they use antibodies to restrain pathogens of which they then engulf would also have to be explored, which would only add to my workload. Of course, I could go back to this and just make sure that the Cell Cycle was specifically put in the limelight, but I don’t think I can merit using White Blood Cells to explain the Cell Cycle without defining and demonstrating their purpose.)


The Cell Cycle Version Three

Red Blood Cells- Simplified

Scene One
Opening titles appear on screen.

Scene Two
A hovercar pulls into a corridor resembling a car assembly line. The hovercar is revealed to be a Red Blood Cell and the assembly line is the Interphase. The Red Blood Cell passes through the assembly line, reaching the individual checkpoints, G1, S and G2. The G0 area is seen, filled with wreckages of unsuitable Red Blood Cells that didn’t make it through. The Red Blood Cell passes successfully through the Interphase, pulling out onto a busy highway, full of bustling Blood Cells and other things. A futuristic, 50’s sci-fi inspired cityscape is seen surrounding the highway.

Scene Three
The Red Blood Cell begins to speed down the highway, weaving in and out of the other Cells. The camera pulls up and over the Red Blood Cell, moving inside the glass dome and revealing the genetic material within the cell.

Scene Four
The cell division process begins. The steps are presented in a two dimensional style, much like that of a textbook. When Cytokinesis occurs, the camera pulls back out of the dome, revealing the Red Blood Cell dividing into two.

Scene Five
The Red Blood Cells repeatedly duplicate at a faster rate, still accelerating down the highway, as the camera pulls up above them.

Scene Six
The Red Blood Cells are seen to be part of a greater number of Cells, all moving down the highway. The end titles appear on screen as the animation closes.

(This is a much simpler interpretation of my original idea. The Red Blood Cells are used simply as an example of a Cell in which the Cycle occurs, and unlike the first idea, they have no definitive role, they're just there to demonstrate the process. Whilst its watered down considerably, it is probably a much more sensible approach, even if it does disappoint me a little in terms of ambition.)


Edit: Argh! Biggest. Screw up. Ever. Red Blood Cells don't have any chromosomes and do not divide. This makes all of my ideas completely redundant, and I have to start from scratch. Nuts!


Thursday 26 April 2012

Commission: Red Blood Cell "Ambulance Hovercar" Concept

This is another heavily "Jetson's"-esque concept, this time for the Red Blood Cell. I think I've settled on demonstrating the Cell Cycle in relation to healing wounds, with this in mind I thought it could work out that the Red Blood Cells act as little ambulances, rapidly getting to the source of the wound and dividing constantly in order to save the day. The design is incredibly simplified, as to fit with the overall style of the project. As mentioned in a previous post, the glass dome will house the genetic material. The processes will be visible through the dome and the little hovercars will multiply as a Cell would be expected to.

Commission: 'The Jetsons'-Inspired Cityscape Concept

Just a quick little bit of concept artwork heavily inspired by The Jetsons. This concept depicts the human body as a bustling city, with Red Blood Cells being depicted as little hovercars. The genetic material would be housed within the glass domes on the Red Blood Cells, with the hovercars reaching checkpoints etc and dividing. I like this idea, but it still needs a ton of work before it will work.

Commission: 'The Cell Cycle' Working Logo

Just a simple working logo. It will most likely change by the end of the project, its just a basic way of branding my work for the time being.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Commission: Cell Cycle Summary

This is a simplified summary of the Cell Cycle that I've written up simply so its easier for me to weave this information into a narrative. Its by no means a script, but it gives me something to work with.



Introduction

The Human Body is made up of around fifty trillion little building blocks called Cells.

These Cells are called upon whenever the body undergoes particular genetic changes, such as when your hair grows or when you cut yourself.

But, where exactly do all these Cells come from?

Cells duplicate and divide themselves through Mitosis, a process that occurs whenever Cells are needed to fulfil a particular task.

A Cell goes through many stages before it finally divides into two.


The Interphase

The process begins with the Interphase. The Interphase is broken into three sub-phases.

The first is the G1 phase. During this phase, the Cell grows in preparation for Mitosis and functions as normal.

This leads into the S phase, where the DNA produces two copies of each chromosome.

The final phase is the G2 phase, in which, much like the G1 phase, the Cell’s preparations for Mitosis continue.


The Mitotic Phase

Once the Interphase has passed, the Cell moves into the Mitotic phase.

Like the Interphase, the Mitotic phase has several sub-phases. 

First of all is the Prophase, where the chromosomes coil up and condense, making them shorter and thicker, and the nuclear envelope containing them is broken down. The separate copies of a single chromosome are known as sister chromatids. Spindle fibres are formed whilst centrioles move to either end of the Cell.

The next step is the Metaphase. The chromosomes line up in the centre of the Cell. Microtubules formed during the Prophase attach to the sister chromatids. 

The sister chromatids begin to separate, this is the beginning of the Anaphase. The sister chromatids are held together by the centromere, which begins to divide as each sister chromatid, moves down its spindle fibre.

The final step is the Telophase, in which the two now separate groups of chromosomes reaching opposing sides of the Cell. Both groups gain a new nuclear envelope and the chromosomes uncoil.


Cytokinesis
After the Mitotic phase comes Cytokinesis, where the cytoplasm and organelles divide.
The completed process of Mitosis and Cytokinesis result in two separate cells that are genetically identical. The resulting Cells are known as daughter Cells.


Monday 23 April 2012

Commission: Initial Ideas

Stylistic Choices
When working in a trance-like state to churn out every frame of my animation, I had time to conjure up some ideas of how I would tackle my Commission task. A particular style stuck with me constantly throughout this period, with every thought leading back to it no matter where my ideas travelled to.
I became fixated on the style of incredibly charming 1950's animation. This being a fairly broad area, I began to investigate specific styles within the style, using the absolutely brilliant book, Cartoon Modern compiled by Amid Amidi. This book has practically been my Bible for the past two weeks, as I've been spending every free moment perusing the plethora of brilliantly dynamic and characteristic artwork it consists of. Studios that have become particular favourites of mine include (apologies in advance for the copious amount of scrolling you're going to have to endure!),

Creative Arts Studios

Stop Driving Us Crazy! (1959) Directed by Mel Emde

Fine Arts Films

Petroushka  (1956) Directed by John Wilson

John Sutherland Productions



Rhapsody of Steel (1959) Directed by Carl Urbano

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Symphony in Slang (1951) Directed by Tex Avery

As well as the work of Kietz and Herndon, Playhouse Pictures, Shamus Culhane and United Productions of America, who's work is considerably more difficult to find examples of online.

Although this is a style that clearly is more suited to two-dimensional applications, I feel that through strategic modelling and faithful texturing I can achieve a similar style that encapsulates the charm and appeal of these examples. In the coming days, I will develop some concept artwork and Maya tests in order to decide how I will achieve this.
Another point I feel I need to make is whilst these examples are very strongly character based, this does not mean I intend to throw myself in at the deep end, crafting complicated character models that I'm completely inexperienced in developing. It is more the overall aesthetic of the animations and the era they represent I wish to take inspiration from.

Subject Matter
Initially, I had decided I was going to investigate the biological processes of cancerous cells and the various ways in which these cells can affect the human body, although after investigating the above stylistic option, I felt I may be worth changing the subject matter. Whilst a lot of these cartoons are not aimed at children, the aesthetic lends itself to a younger audience. Also, I feel if I was to approach such a strong and serious topic in this manner, I'd be at risk of glamourising a humorous side of a disease that is anything but, and that is the last thing I want to be doing.
Because of these issues, it is likely I will be investigating the Cell Cycle. It is a fairly neutral topic that is widely taught to children and teenagers in A Level and GCSE science lessons, as well as in earlier Key Stages of education. The audience for my animation will most likely be a younger one for these reasons, although I don't feel I need to specify whether it will be for teenagers or younger, as the stylistic appeal should hopefully translate through various ages.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

'The Conceited Fountain Pen' Complete(-ish)

Here is the most complete  (and most likely final) version of 'The Conceited Fountain Pen'. All the sounds and transitions have been put in place, although there is a chance I may change the music track for something else in the next twenty four hours. It works to an extent, but I feel it may be too cheerful and optimistic for the tone of the animation. Apart from that, the animation is pretty much complete. Hurrah! 

The sounds I used throughout the animation were all created for this purpose, which involved a ton of scribbling on bits of cardboard just to get the right sound. I also created movement sounds for the Fountain Pen by rattling Lego bricks, and I attempted to create a laugh-like noise by clicking a Biro. This faux-foley experience was actually a ton of fun and it made a nice change to just drawing, drawing, drawing!

Tuesday 17 April 2012

'The Conceited Fountain Pen' Progress 17/4/12

The most complete version yet! This version features the ten second line exercise, the monitor's reveal and the final closing boil. All that needs to be added is the next half of the 'chase sequence' and the Fountain Pen's turn to see the monitor, as well as a title boil and credits. Corrections will be added once everything else is complete.

Thursday 12 April 2012

'The Conceited Fountain Pen' Progress 12/4/12

I've added the Fountain Pen's jump to the animation, as well as the Crayon's written trail. I've also added a small snippet of the 'chase sequence' between the two objects, just to see if the concept would work out as I imagined.
Just a quick explanation regarding the writing the two objects leave behind them. The Fountain Pen, being the conceited character, leaves a calligraphic trail of various Latin terms. The Crayon, being the opposite, leaves a mis-spelled, poorly drawn trail. The words the Crayon leaves are simple words which have been converted into Pig Latin, a simple language game that involves taking the first consonant or consonant cluster of a word, placing it at the end and adding -ay, for example, Friend would be Iendfray. I decided to use Pig Latin for the Crayon as it couldn't be further away from actual Latin, making it perfect for the Crayon.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

'The Conceited Fountain Pen' Progress 10/4/12

Here is the current progress of my animation. I've got roughly twenty second here, although there is a lot of incomplete parts which I've yet to include, which would take the animation up to around 32 seconds. I've also removed a few frames in Premiere Pro to speed up and smoothen a lot of the animation, such as the Fountain Pen stretching before it leaves the shot. I've also used Premiere Pro to extend the duration of a few frames at parts of the animation that I wish to extend. These spaces will be filled with hand drawn frames when I come to tidying up the animation once everything has been put together.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

'The Conceited Fountain Pen' Progress 4/4/12

This is the first ten seconds of animation for 'The Conceited Fountain Pen'. It seems to be going quite smoothly, although there are some noticeable issues already. First of all, its all a little too quick, and I feel I should add a few frames after each key pose both to slow it down and to emphasise the actions. Also, the Fountain Pen in the first 36 frames is way too big, so I will need to redraw these frames to make sure it  fits better in the 16:9 ratio, luckily though, these are only six frames looped and reversed, so this can be rectified easily.