Maya Building Images

Images of UV mapping lintels and starting the pillars, after doing these couple of videos I now have a better understanding of Maya and UV mapping.

Unit 2 - Space / Presentation

Unit 2 – Space

Avatar - Review

Fig one - Poster

Avatar is a 2009 epic science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, the film is set in the mid 22^nd century, when humans are mining an expensive mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a wonderful habitable moon in the alpha centauri star system.

“So the writing is clunky, and even lacking in the crackling one-liners that have often saved Cameron's scripts in the past. But that's always been a problem for a man who fancies himself an auteur when he should just accept that he's simply a brilliant visual technician and storyteller”.           (Buckwalter, 2009) The film has the same basic story we have all seen but “Avatar” makes you see it like never before with groundbreaking visuals and stunning scenery to match. The vibrant colours of Pandora, whether it’s the 12 feet Na’vis or the lush’s greenery with magical flowers.

The emotion roller coaster Jack sully goes on this film massive, first off, his brother is murdered, then he takes his brothers place and goes to unfamiliar world, being paraplegic and then having the freedom to walk and run again through the Avatar system and then to fall in love with another race jack really does experience it all throughout the film. “Spiritually moving, visually daring and emotionally stirring, Avatar is classic storytelling at its very best”. (Shaffer, 2010).

The creatures within the film are stunningly designed, taking a basic animal and adding extra legs and vibrant colours to give some relation to earth’s animals, so the audience can relate even more to the film.

The Na’vi themselves are the most interesting thing about the entire film, typical tribunals but being 12 feet tall and shiny blue tiger skin. With amazing skills in climbing and hunting no wonder why the Na’vi have survived the horrors on Pandora.

The acting in avatar isn’t going to be the best you seen but aren’t that bad Jack sully’s character is mainly motionless throughout the film, maybe this is on purpose due to his brother’s murder to show depression or just plain lack of acting skill.

“A spectacular visual experience unlike anything you've seen before.” (Miller, 2010). The environment of Pandora is breathtaking in every way, beautiful glowing plants, trees glowing when touched and the lushes bright colours at night from the surroundings making it look like neon night club. Even though Pandora is a natural world it has a unique system what connects of living things and the deceased together which work like a computer data system.

Illustration - http://www.screenhead.com/reviews/avatar-wins-and-wins-the-box-office/

http://blog.tokyololas.com/avatar/

Bibliography –

http://dcist.com/2009/12/avatar.php 

http://uk.bluray.ign.com/articles/113/1134354p1.html

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/reviews/review-avatar-neilm.php

All Thumbnails (100+)

Second Scene 2 (Update)

First Scene Progress (Update)

Second Scene Progress

 

First Scene Designs

Just a few images of my first scene designs, playing around with objects and where there being placed.

Edward Scissorhands Review

Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 Romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. The film is about an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands.

“The well-behaved, lonely and freakish looking lad (adorned with an electric-shock hairdo and a black leather outfit, and an appearance that is a cross between Michael Jackson and a punk rocker.” (Schwartz, 2008) Probably the most eye catching thing in the film is Edward Scissorhands himself with his fuzzy hair and gothic suit what makes him stand out from the dull suburbia scenery. The scares on Edwards face are simply scares from his scissor hands but maybe have reason to show that Edward has scares on the inside and that might be why he acts nervous and shy at the start of the film.

“Fine performances all around, particularly from Depp and the immensely sympathetic Wiest.” (Guide, 2008)The acting in the film is great, especially from Johnny Depp, his character becomes very easy to believe and understand, Edward has a mind of a kid and has only socialised with his inventor but his inventor dies before finishing him so Edward has spent a lot of his time on his own so he hasn’t had a chance to grow up and act correctly with other people until the Avon lady takes him to live with her family in the suburbia environment. Where Edward learns to socialise with other people and becomes a celebrity within the neighbourhood as he has amazing cutting skills with his hands which can be skilful or deadly.  

“Yet I loved the film simply for the character of Edward, who is Burton's purest achievement as a director so far.” (Gleiberman, 1990). The film is probably mainly remembered not for the story of how the film looks but for the character Edward Scissorhands simple because the character is unique. The innocence of the teenager who is so calm and in control of his actions with deadly scissors for hands that could easily go on a mascara but instead the shy teenager keeps himself to himself.  

Illustrations-

http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_poster/edward_scissorhands_1990.htm 

http://www.cosplayisland.co.uk/costume/view/48096

Bibliography

http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/edwardscissorhands.htm

http://movies.tvguide.com/edward-scissorhands/review/128196

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318762,00.html

Legend Review

Legend is a 1985 fantasy film directed by Ridley Scott, though the film wasn’t a notable success when it was first realised it later won an award for best makeup and has a cult following. The story is set "once, long ago" in a world of unicorns, fairies, goblins, and demons. Hidden in a dark lair, the antagonist, the Lord of Darkness (Tim Curry) instructs his goblin servant, Blix, to locate the two unicorns that roam the nearby forest and remove their horns. If the unicorns die and their horns are removed, the Lord of Darkness can ensure that dawn never again breaks and sunshine never returns.

“Tim Curry, from "Rocky Horror Picture Show," makes an effective Darkness; I liked his style. But, once again, the makeup people have done such a good job with his blazing eyes and gigantic horns that, in a way, almost any actor could be lurking inside there (only Curry's sensuous lips give him away).”(Ebert, 1986) The makeup in the film is very well done, one of the films strongest points, Ridley Scott contacted Rob Bottin who has designed the special makeup effects for “The Howling”, Bottin read the script and saw the opportunity to create characters in a starring roles.  Each actor spent every morning having makeup applied, each having 7-13 prosthetics pieces applied accept Tom Cruise and Mia Sara.

“The cool costumes and set designs almost make it worthwhile, so long as the sounds turned down and you don't have to hear the witless dialogue.” (Thompson, 2003) even though the poor sound effects which is mainly down to being filmed in a sound stage and dialog was bad and unappealing, the scenery of the film is beautiful to look at, making up for the sound effects.

“On the one hand, Legend is essentially a movie for children. After all, it features a lot of children with fairy wings stuck to their backs. (Often it feels as if one is stuck in a primary school pantomime!) In addition, the plot is simplistic and some of the dialogue and characters quite juvenile. On the other hand, Legend is so heavy-handed in its approach that it isn’t a whole lot of fun at all. Its depiction of evil is so intense and scary, that the little ones would probably be begging their parents to please switch off the TV!” (O’Ehley, 2007) Whether the film was intended for children or adults is unsure, the fairy, unicorns and other mythical creatures suggest its aimed at children but looking at Darkness and his evil companions would give children nightmares due to the makeup being so well done. Maybe it’s aimed at family by having such fairytale story with such dark characters within the story.   

Illustration - 

http://howtheylooknow.livejournal.com/483178.html

http://valientsvloggg.blogspot.com/2011/08/badawesome-flixxx-review-legend-1985.html

Bibliography –

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/luke-y-thompson/

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19860418/REVIEWS/604180302

http://www.scifimoviepage.com/legend.html

OGR - Unit 2 - Space

Online Green Review

Alien - Review

 Fig 1 - Poster

Alien is a 1979 Sc-Fi Thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and the film really does emphasis “No one can hear you scream in space”. The spaceship Nostromo is on its way to earth from Thedus but upon receiving a transmission from an unknown planetoid. The ships computer “Mother” awakens the crew and they decide to land on the planetoid.

“At the same time it reworks the sexual anxiety of the slasher movie with startling efficiency”. (Jamie Russell, 2003). Sex is a strong hidden factor throughout the film, at the beginning of the film when one of the crew members is exploring on his own in an unknown and alien-looking ship and is attacked by a small alien what flung from an egg smashing through the crew member’s space helmet and attaching itself to his face. The alien is basically rapping the crew member by forcing its long tactical down his throat and using him as host for the offspring.

 Fig 2 - Designs

“Although it has often been described as being a haunted-house movie set in space, “Alien” also has a profoundly existentialist undertow that makes it feel like a film noir — the other genre to feature a slithery, sexualized monster as its classic villain.”(Andrew O’Hehir, 2003).

The design of the main alien is much sexualised in the way its head has a lot of resemblance to a penis and the chest bursting scene of the offspring bursting out from the crew members belly.

The transformation from a little sperm looking alien into a large quick and advance in stealth alien in the film happens very quick. Maybe showing it in stages of it’s life to an adult form would of been more suttle or maybe the director wanted the quick growth of the alien to make more of an impact on the audience.

“Technically brilliant, tense, horrifying and visually breathtaking, there's not a moment in this B-monster movie that doesn't excel well beyond the usual genre trappings.” (R.L Shaffer, 2010).  The scenery of the film is pure concept art, amazingly designed and constructed but even though the film is set in the future it doesn’t have the white pristine feel to it, instead it has an organic industrial feel towards the film. 

Illustrations

http://redriverpak.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/movie-flashback-alien/

http://vaultofthebankrobber.blogspot.com/2009/05/alien-month-concept-drawings-and-story.html

Bibliography

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/10/27/alien_directors_cut_2003_review.shtml

http://www.salon.com/2003/11/01/alien_4/

http://uk.bluray.ign.com/articles/113/1130861p1.html

King Kong - Review

 Fig 1 - Poster

King Kong is a Pre-code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The film tells the story of Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) who agrees to star in a film directed by Carl Denham. They voyage to an unknown mysterious island where Ann is captured by the natives and is offered to the mighty Kong.

“The ape may be a monster, but he's also an innocent in love.” (Kim Newman, 2005). Every man/creature has a weakness and the mighty Kong’s is love. The fact Kong has no interest in the black woman from the village shadowed by the great wall what keeps Kong on the other side of the island with the prehistoric creatures is slightly racist but the beauty of Ann makes Kong keep her for his pleasure. Kong grows great affection towards Ann and shows this many times throughout the film by fighting a Tyrannosaurus, a Pterodactyl and a giant snake, risking his life to protect her from them. Emotion is shown from Kong through his eyes, this help show that even though he’s a fifty foot beast, he still has feelings.

 Fig 2 - fight scene

“When Kong battles the large flesh-eating dinosaur in his first big battle scene, there is a moment when he forces its jaws apart, and the bones crack, and blood drips from the gaping throat, and something immediate happens that is hard to duplicate on any computer.” (Roger Ebert, 2002). The scene where Kong fights the T-rex shows another aspect of Kong, his intelligence when fighting the dinosaur. Most of the fighting was with the two giant’s wrestling  with each other until Kong jumps on the T-rex’s back and starts to try grabbing the T-rex’s jaw but has little control other the giant so Kong pins the T-rex to the ground and that’s when Kong has great control over the giant and snaps its jaws apart. Then after the giants fight up, the powerful Kong sits next to the T-rex’s head and plays with the jaws like an innocent child playing with their toys.

“In "Jurassic Park" you are looking, more or less, at a real dinosaur. In "King Kong," you are looking at an idea of a dinosaur, created by hand by technicians who are working with their imaginations.” (Roger Ebert, 2002). The film is the father of many Sc-fi films what have came after it, the designs of the T-rex’s in the film are very toy like, maybe the designs of the Dinosaurs in the film are the designs what inspired or influenced in what toy dinosaurs use to look like. The film was the kick start of all the giant monster films and revolutionised the Sc-Fi genre.

Illustrations

fig 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_(1933_film)

fig 2 - http://drnorth.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/king-kong-randomised/

Bibliography 

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020203/REVIEWS08/202030301/1023

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=116908

Life Drawings - Negative Space

These life drawings are of negative space between the model and her surroundings. I have done more images and will upload them later as they are A3 size.

Thumbnails - 16

a few thumbnails I have done, mainly looking at viewing angles.