As Chris has yet to get back to me about my Project Spec (understandable with him being busy) i though i would post it up on the blog now and see what you all think about it.

I have a meeting with him tomorrow so i will talk to him about it then and then submit it to the Project Site that we all have to submit to.

Title: The Dive
Name: Ashley Stringer
Student Number:
e-Mail:
Project Type: A3D
Website: http://thedive-animation.blogspot.com

Idea
A a young man has just started a new job at a circus as a high diving act but he is very nervous about the prospect of a 60 foot dive and and this courses climbing the tall ladder to become a problem, to top all this off he soon discovers that he has a fear of highs but this can't stop him from doing his act as he needs the job and he can't afford to lose it over a silly little fear.

Setting The Scene
Starts on a image of a poster showing that there is a new act and what the act is, this will be a Victorian style using influences from the Presto Short (Pixar) for placement of images and text style. The camera will then zoom out to reveal the environment of a circus and the poster will be at the foot of the swimming pool, surrounding the area will be sideshows, popcorn stand, ice cream stand, test your strength machine, big top tent, showman caravan and other features of a circus environment. Once the environment has been established by the audience the camera will start to move up the ladder of the diving board until it gets to the performer trying to climb, we see that he is nervous and is having trouble trying to fight his fears and his body from stopping him doing it. as he continues to climb the fears and the nervousness gets stronger and harder to fight but he struggles on and manages to reach the top but he starts to wish that he hadn't.

Research Into The Idea
For reference footage i have looked at other animations such as Presto and Hot-Dog Circus and movies the likes of Freaks and Vertigo.
For visual style i have looked at things from Tim Burton and certain students of Animation Mentor and Gobelins Animation School.
Due to my lacking knowledge in modelling, texturing and rigging i have researched into how to tackle these sections in the production.

Specification
The animation will be 3D and made using Softimage XSI 6.5 and will be something between 1-2 minutes. It will be focused on the character animation rather than rendering and modeling but if time allows it focus will be switched to rendering and modeling as well as long as the animation is finished and to a standard that I feel is good enough to get me the grade I aspire to. After talking with my mentor we have agreed that the animation will be the deciding factor in my hand-in so we have agreed on a 4000 word report to hand-in.

Essentials
•An animation showing a man reacting to his fears and anxieties.
•A believable performance from the character.
•A model of the environment and the props used by character.
•A character model and rig that can be used for other characters in the scene (universal rig).

Action plan:
(Building the scene)
1.Design the characters and environment.
2.Model the environment and props.
3.Model the character head and body in a way that clothing can be textured on.
4.Texture characters, props and environment.
5.Rig characters using an advanced rigging setup.

(Animation)
1.Use recorded acting footage from green screen room as reference.
2.Block out main poses and movements.
3.Ensure timing of animation is correct using a quick capture.
4.Once the blocking is finalized start doing animation passes until it is finished
5.With the main performance done repeat the process with the secondary characters and props in the scene.

Schedule (date showing is the start date of these production section)
• Concept Design - October
• Modelling Of Environment & Characters - November
• Texturing & Rigging - December
• Blocking - January
• Second Pass - February
• Polish - March

Well back to the storyboards.