Eastbourne Christmas Light Show - Neon Noel 2017

Introduction

At night before Christmas, Tim and Jane were going to sleep, but some noise downstairs drew Tim’s attention, He went down to find out the source of a sound. Timmy’s stirring awakened Jane and she was set off in search of her brother. Timmy spot Santa and climbs into his sack silently. Jane saw this from upstairs. Santa hoists his tackle and heads for the magical chimney after he completed placing the gifts. He ducks in and vanishes. Meanwhile, Jane bounds down towards the vent and race after her brother. Jane reaches the chimney portal just before it closes.

Design different worlds
The character will enter the world, and there will be a chase or adventure through the Christmas world of your design.

Brief Guideline
Eastbourne Christmas Light Show - Neon Noel 2017
Objective: Create 30 seconds animation that forms a narrative related to the whole animation.
Target Market: Families and Residents from Eastbourne ( Public ) 
Characters: Tim, Jane, and Santa
The Plot: “Night before Christmas”

Initial Idea

First things first, when we were first given the brief, we have a group brainstorm section discussing what things will be related to the topic of "Night before Christmas" on the class to generate some ideas for the animation. In the beginning, we talk about some films and stories that related to the Christmas. Secondly, we thought about the feeling of the Christmas which give us some inspiration for the visual approach. We also thought what the world we are going to build in the animation such as North pole, wrapped gift world is...
It is really helpful that it gave me some direction and option on how to approach the brief. 

One thing that helps me to create animation is the book that I read called "Animated Storytelling" written by Liz Blazer. It is a handbook that gives some guidelines that take me through the stages of concept development, pre-production, Storyboarding, and design.

One of the chapters is storytelling that stated a methodology on how to think a story based on three-act story structure.

The first act is setting up characters, world, and conflict. It is about introducing the characters, establish what the want, and also present a problem standing in the way of them getting what they want.

The next step of the act is working towards a solution in which the character attempts to overcome the problem. The style here fully commits to solving their problem and comes up against all sorts of roadblocks that make explaining it seems even less likely.  This stage is telling the audience about what motivation drive them to solve the problem also though the chance of solving it is slim.

The last step is attaining the great solution. In Act 1 and 2, the character should be facing their problem head-on. Through their effort, an unexpected resolution happen. Act 3 is also an essential part of the story that establishes what deep down message we are trying to explore the story.
After all, I attempt to follow this three guideline to generate an idea for the theme and the plot which will relate to the main topic of the brief.

Story Structure & Storyboard

Elf workshop Theme
Act 1: Problem
Jane attempt to find Tim and Santa while accidentally entering the elf workshop. She wanted to locate a way out.
Act 2: Attempt to solve
Jane went through the whole buildings by riding in the box followed by the path.
Act 3: Resolution
Eventually, she was packed in the present and those present went to the Santa’s sleigh through the tunnel.

Retro Theme
Act 1: Problem
Jane walked through the wood, and she saw a house appear a mountain.
Act 2: Attempt to solve
Jane picked up the lantern and follow the path to the end trying to find her brother.
Jane made it to the house. The next things she saw in the house is Tim clicking button on the machine.
Act 3: Resolution
The machine turns up to be twisting and turn into a pole which covers with glass on it.
The whole machine is shaking and teleporting to somewhere at light speed.
Start at night and when she got to the top, warm light coming from the house.

Steam Punk Theme
Act 1: Problem
After going to the portal, Jane woke up on a train. She got off the train and wondering where her brother is.
Act 2: Attempt to solve
She picked up the lantern and walk through the castle.
She got to the top and opened the door.
Warm light is blooming in the background.
Act 3: Resolution
She saw Santa is running the machine. Gear start to run and steam, smoke come up from the engine covering the whole scene. Smoke fade out and the building disappeared.
Sketches for the animated world

Ideas for the Elf workshop

Ideas for Steam Punk and Retro Theme

Research 

I have looked at some youtube videos that related to projection mapping. I found some artists create an extraordinary visual effect on the animation that creates depth of field on the building. The video "box" inspire me to think how should I approach and produce my animation to look more three-dimensional when it was projected on the building. And of course, I also looked at the video of Neon Neal Festive 2015 and 2016 which provide information of what area of the building will be projected the footage. Based on the Clocktower of Eastbourne, the middle part of the building is a cuboid, and I want to deconstruct it to a cylinder in a way that looks more three-dimensional.

Other than that, I looked at the Hong Kong Pulse Light show which takes place at the HK Cultural Centre and the Clock Tower. The reason I look at it because it got Clock Tower in Hong Kong that is similar to the one in Eastbourne and I want to know what animation will they project on the clock tower. One of the animations is by removing the front layer of the tower and reveal the gears inside the building. After watching it, I have come up with the idea of the steampunk theme.

Asset Building

Process
After getting feedback from the client, I choose the retro theme for the animation. I started up by building the world in cinema 4D. Since I am a beginner in cinema 4d, I start watching online tutorials on how to make a low poly structure, spinning movement, snowing effect. During the process of building, I gain some knowledge of the camera movement and lighting which is very useful for making the idea come to life. I think learning to use cinema 4D is not as difficult as I expected but it takes time to know the setting and how the system works. Apart from that,  I feel satisfied with the outcome that I made, and I am looking forward to learning more about it.

The above video is a transition that I have suggested for the animation. The idea was ban which is a pity because the line part is too detailed that will not be adequately shown when it was projected on the building. The client wants them to be more simple than that, so I take the mountain collapse part and get rid of the atomic effect part.

West End Studio

I have spent two weeks on making the whole animation in West End Studio, What I have done during the first week is building the characters for the scene. I have learned how to use Adobe Fuse to create the characters and import them to mixamo where they have auto rig system and animation sequences to download. It is practical tools for creating animation with the use of motion clip in Cinema 4D. After downloaded all the motion clip that I need, I started to keyframe all the position of the character to make the action more natural. I finished half of the animation in the first week, but it turns out I have made a big mistake with the pivot point. The preview looks fine, but the character started twisting her legs while running to the lantern in the final render.

Therefore, the second week is all about fixing the bug and keyframing the rest of the animation. The mistake that I made is quite severe that I have to rebuild the movement of the character again. However, the staffs in Westend studio are willing to help and make solutions by editing them in after effect to make it looks smooth. I am happy that I work with them that they always give us support if we got the problem and they are careful to cooperate. I also gain a lot of knowledge technically using cinema 4D, after effect and process of making AR and VR. 

Character Design

Final Outcome
 Here is the outcome of the video. Enjoy.

It was nice to see the whole animation in the actual place and see the reaction of people watching it. It is worth spending time on this project after seeing people react to it.

Evaluation

When I have first received the project, I feel excited that my work can be showcased in one of the festivals in the UK. It is first time I create animation for projection mapping an I have less experience with it. I don't have much knowledge on making an animation with after effect and Cinema 4D, so I decide to learn it from youtube step by step. I enjoy the process of making it not just because of the final result; it also gives me an opportunity to learn something new. It gains me some confidence in working as a motion designer in the future but still got many to learn and develop.

Regarding working in Westend studio, it is also an excellent start for me working as a designer in the UK. Besides the technical skill I have to learn from them, I also get some advice from the experienced designer. I want to give big thanks for the help and patient from David and Julian. They explain things detailed to help me understand the need for them.

Throughout the project, I made a lot mistake which slows the process and the quality of the animation. I have learned the lesson, and I wish I could do better next time. I am looking forward to learning more about Cinema 4D and After effect from Jon's experience to develop my skills in motion graphic more further.