3D Storyboard shots

I made a rough 3D model of my pet shop with a sandwich and a computer. Below are shots of it almost like my new beginning of my storyboard. I have added some comments so you can imagine what Remus and the camera would be doing as Remus is obviously missing.
I am thinking of just getting a stock image of a cat and blocking the animation, to give a better idea of whats going to happen.
There is also an animatic version of the shots. Of course missing Remus again.


Remus walks past and goes off screen behind one of the shelving units. He suddenly does a double take, shooting back with a slight skid. His mouth just drops open with his tounge hanging out.

The camera changes to look at the sandwich on the desk and quickly zooms in on it.

In the distance you see Remus licking his lips and stand up like a Meerkat to get a better view. As its zooming back in on him you see him drop and get into a stalking pose, moving his legs slightly to give the wiggling bum about to pounce move.




There are two mistakes in the video above, one being the zooming back in on Remus being too quick as he couldn't do what I discribed in that time and the second being that the first shot is missing.



WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE THIS SCENE

Before this bit I have added a new bit which is showing who Remus is. He is basically proudly and cooly walking past the fish tanks with either 1.the fish scared and hiding 2.following him in the tanks sticking their tounges out or 3.just winking at him.
He then goes past a snake tank and the snake slowly opens one eye until he notices it's Remus and opens both eyes while lifting his head slowly. Remus grins and nods his head slightly as a greeting and then they hi five each other with their tails (obviously with the tank inbetween). (Remus could lift his back half slightly off the ground during this like some people jump when hi fiving).
He then walks past the shelving units and it is the bit above.

The reason I have added this is because when I asked the guy from Pixar about how I can make the audience like my characters more and feel empathy for them he said that a background story or a brief feeling of what and who the character is, is the best way of doing it and how I do when creating stories for Pixar.
The bit with doing the Hi-5 with the tails was actually from a suggestion from Derek who said to get the tail involved as if its a hand. I saw this idea as being anthropomorphic, give the tail something to do, be comical and different.


Here are some reference images of animals Hi fiving. Obviously no snakes but some cats to get an idea how I could do it.

Lasseter Promises More Hand-drawn Animation

Animation Magazine made the following report on September 14th and I think it's brilliant news. I always loved the traditional hand-drawn animation and it makes it even better that my idol John Lasseter was the one to reveal the information! Below is report. The link to the original report can be found here -


Lasseter Promises More Hand-drawn Animation
By: Thomas J. Mclean

Pixar and Disney animation chief John Lasseter has built the studio’s sterling reputation on cutting-edge CG animation, but says Disney fans can expect to see a lot more hand-drawn animation in the future.

Speaking at Disney’s D23 fan expo in Anaheim, Lasseter gave fans a peek at the upcoming hand-drawn film The Princess and the Frog, and a new Winnie the Pooh feature due out in 2011, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He said that studios had made a mistake in focusing solely on CG animation.

“I never quite understood why the studios thought people wouldn’t want to watch it,” Lasseter said, according to a Reuters report. “What audiences didn’t want was bad movies.”

Speaking to press, Lasseter denied there was any truth to the rumor that Pixar was planning an Ant-Man movie as part of Disney’s recently announced plans to buy Marvel Entertainment.

He also announced some casting news for the upcoming Toy Story 3, confirming that John Morris will return as the voice of Andy. Jeff Garliln, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton and Whoopi Goldberg also will play voices in the film.

Cat Cleans House Animation

I just stumbled across this. I really like how the character moves and how even though the cat walk like a human she still does cat moves especially with her ears. If I am going to do an animation on a cat then I need to take note of all the little things a cat does before and during doing something. Such as wiggling their bum before they pounce on something.

Idea - Possible pretty animation

I couldn't sleep last night so was sleepily trying to think of more ideas. I looked out the window and suddenly my mums cat jumped up. This made me come up with a little idea.

A person could be curled up looking out a window and suddenly a bird flies by. The person watches it and then the camera follows the bird, sometimes looking as if the bird as well. I imagined leaves flying around too a bit like in the Disney's Pocahontas. It then flies towards the floor as if to land and turns into a cat. It then follows the cat with the same kind of feel. It then changes into various animals experiancing their lives. It then could come back to the person at the window and a tear drops followed to the floor and the person could be in a prison or in a wheelchair or something like that to show how they cant do those things.

I imagined painting backgrounds sort of like the russian dog animation I posted earlier but then have the animals in 3D but maybe distort them a bit after. Like animate them and then do a painted type effect in after effects or photoshop after. Might make it look really unusual and new and maybe a bit weird.

I thought I could do a lot of experiments with it too. Like when the animals change they could transform or maybe change in a puff of smoke or you could just see the shadows change.

Another short I like - Daphne's New Broom

I found this a while ago and saved it. It's by an Animation Mentor student. They really do come out of that course with some fantastic animations! I especially like the humour and animation.

Cat Animations

Here are some shorts I found that can inspire me and give me some ideas.



This is a funny story done in 3D. I think if I went the 3D route I'd go for a style like this as everything is reletivly simple so the animation and the story are more the main focus.




This is a really nice little animation made by an Animation Mentor student and I love the characters and its a funny story. The style is very much like mine and I'd love to do something like it. The story is simple but funny. Another thing I'm interested in doing!




This is a stop motion animation about a fat persian cat who tries to catch a bird but it all goes wrong. Its well done and a nice story, it also reminds me of the new Fantastic Mr Fox film. I'm not personally a fan of stop frame animation so its highly unlikely that I'd go down this path.




This is an old MGM cartoon. It's the kind of animation I watched as a child and grew up loving. It's a nice style and funny. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the fact the animals talk. I'd prefer to do a no talking short, just music or background noise.




A very odd animation in a Japanese style. I like odd and weird so maybe a story like this would be good. There are some wonderful shots especially the bit at 0:14 and 0:49. Its mainly based on souls as Nyātta, an anthropomorphic kitten, travels to the land of the dead and back in an effort to save his sister's soul.




The 13th Kitten is set during Halloween and the Queen Witch is plotting to stop time and rule the world forever. She has 13 newts, 13 toads and 12 kittens. So with the help of her army of Karate Witches they set out to capture the 13th kitten and complete the spell. But the kittens mother and her pumpkin friends race to try and save the day. Sounds a bit corny but I like it for how it looks visually. I especially like how the cats looks although the animation doesn't look perfect.




This animation is a re-imagining of a Russian folk tale about a hen who layed a golden egg. It's a nice story although a little sad. I particually like the way it looks cartoony 3D. I'd consider doing this for the background of my animation as I think it could work with quite a few different styles. Possibly have this style as the background and a style like the cats from the 13th kitten.




A very simple animation but it works. The kitten is actually just an extra in this episode as this has been made as a series like the ‘Simon’s Cat’ episodes. I believe for this to work I'd need a strong story though.