Applied Animation - E4 Ident - Movement

I have decided to create individual movements using frank gallaghers image and I want to incorporate them into a much more complex pattern using duplication and key framing movements, opacity, scale etc.

Here is one of the movements I have created using an image of Frank, I have had to disassemble his arms from his torso and key frame them along with the movement of the rest of his body, this gives the animation a more fluid look. I have multiplied the amount of Frank's that pop up and move across the screen as I want to duplicate this sequence so that there are Frank's moving around the edge of the screen in an anti clockwise manner.

Applied Animation - E4 Ident - Content

I have researched into the shows that the channel E4 have broadcast and came across the show Shameless, one of the main characters stuck out for me as something i could use for my animation. I have picked out Frank Gallagher as an image that i could manipulate and create complex patterns with for my animation.

Applied Animation - Research - E4 - Cyriak

Cyriak is an animator who has produced an Esting for E4 with a very distinct style, his approach is very surreal with inanimate objects growing limbs and different body parts. The Esting makes use of the logo by having some form of metallic creature regurgitate a numerous amount of 3D E4 logos.
Cyriak's approach to animation works well to voice the channel and its content as E4 is a mixture of a lot of different genres of entertainment.
I feel that I could draw some useful inspiration from Cyriak's work in terms of producing something that is visually interesting yet does not follow a set narrative - this is something that seems to be a running theme in the other Estings that I have Researched into.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Finished animation

Here is the finished animation which I am yet to create a soundscape to.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Rocket In Flight & Logo

In this sequence I used the same rocket from the previous section and the same background. In this sequence I imported PSD files of clouds that I rendered using the eclipse tool, i then merged these layers to form one solid shape which i then imported in to after affects, i repeated the process for all of the clouds in this sequence.
In this sequence getting the timing right in the animation was very challenging as wanted the camera to track the rocket but also stop at the point at which the rocket surpassed the clouds so that there would be space for the national geographic logo to appear. However I worked out that in order to do that all I would have to do is have the clouds and the rocket traveling out of shot at different speeds, and i did this by changing the distance between each position key frame.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Take off Sequence

This is the take off sequence that i have developed in after affects, I used shape layers to produce each component in the scene, I added drop shadow to every component in scene other that the background and the windows on the building. This gave the scene more depth without detracting away from the motion graphic stylisation.
The rocket in the scene differs from how I originally was going to design it, with this design I think it is more simple and in keeping with motion graphic stylisation.
I also added a small flame to the bottom of the rocket which I made grow and shrink with a flutter using key framing, adjusting the position and scale of a crimson eclipse.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Animation So Far

Here is what the animation looks like so far with added sequence of found footage. In the sequence of found footage that I have assembled I have applied a film dissolve in after affects so that each individual clip bleeds into the other. I also applied the same dissolve transition on to the animation section so that there appears a nice blend of colours and tracing of the image as the computer composition moves on to the button sequence.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Found Footage

                                       
                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06drBN8nlWg

I have decided to add further interest to my animation to include some found footage that would be relative to the 'blast off' theme that i am aiming for. I shall pick out certain segments of the footage that are appropriate to use in this project and cut them down into a short segment of film, I plan to have them at the start of the animation so that the actual animation and the footage can bleed into each other so as the style of the ident does not change very suddenly - it needs to be a smooth transition.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Button Press

Here is the Button press that I created by using an eclipse shape layer in after affects and key framing int so that it would look somewhat like a digit pressing a button, I took care in using subtlety in this section so that it would give the impression that the button was being pressed in and out.
I am not completely satisfied with how this section has turned out as the shape, does resemble a finger but i think the outline of the shape may be to thing giving it too much of a flat look. I want to keep this section however because I want to keep the stylised look of motion graphics.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Transition

This is the transition that I have created using the composition with computers, I imported the composition into after affects as a psd file and by doing that I was able to key frame each individual component of the composition to make a smooth transition into the next sequence of the animation - a button being pressed.
In order to bring in the next sequence smoothly I keyframed what would be the background of the next sequence to move down in synchronous with the background of the previous composition. I also created the button using shape layers in after affects so that I was able to keyframe each component that made up the image of the button in time with the background that the button would be in front.
To add to the continuity of the animation I used the background of the first composition to act as the surface that the button would be placed upon.
I also added a small 'shimmer' in the white area of the button so that it gives the feeling that in the animation there is a touch of perpetual motion.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - Setting

I have created this cut-out style setting of a space full of computers, this is to represent some sort of control room. I want to include this as some form of a transition to a button being pressed for a take off.
I have opted to use flat colours in the background of this composition to keep in line with a very motion graphic stylised piece of animation.

Applied Animation - National Geographic - ANIMATIC

Here is a rough animatic of what i would like the National Geographic ident to look like.
Sound effects to be added will include things such as a count down from perhaps an actual NASA shuttle countdown broadcast. I may also include some atmospheric music towards the end of the animation as the channel's logo appears on screen.