The character animation here is 100 percent ASP. Compositing was in After Effects.
http://www.vimeo.com/11122222
SHEEP!
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
That's breathtaking. It's my new favorite of your work. In the words of Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there!" XD
If you're looking for a critique, I would suggest taking some of the emphasis off of the backgrounds. The sun and the hill in the middle of the first scene are distracting me from the characters. Each time I start the clip, I tell myself I need to look at the characters this time, but for the first few moments all I can see is the sun and hill. And the details in the roof on the right-hand side of the screen in the second scene have a lot of contrast which also draws my attention away from the characters.
However if the segments are longer in the final animation, there may be enough time for the viewer to take it all in.
If you're looking for a critique, I would suggest taking some of the emphasis off of the backgrounds. The sun and the hill in the middle of the first scene are distracting me from the characters. Each time I start the clip, I tell myself I need to look at the characters this time, but for the first few moments all I can see is the sun and hill. And the details in the roof on the right-hand side of the screen in the second scene have a lot of contrast which also draws my attention away from the characters.
However if the segments are longer in the final animation, there may be enough time for the viewer to take it all in.
I like it! I had to watch it several times to admire the details of the sheeps and the man movements.
And yes, the sun at that position is distracting.
-G
And yes, the sun at that position is distracting.
-G
Last edited by Genete on Thu Apr 22, 2010 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Success?
Maybe (and oddly enough) this scene is having the effect that I sought after - facing a low sun. However, this is useful feedback. I am trying to walk a very thin line, between what would be more natural, and what is more pleasing to look at. It's very hard to see something correctly when my mind already knows where every line is drawn.
It would probably be a good idea if I could have a Microsoft computer to color proof uploads. The different gamma settings for windows machines can drastically compress tonal range. The gamma setting on my Mac (with one of the better video cards Apple sold in 2007) is approximately 1.8. The video master is rendered as Rec 709 color space HD seqential PNG files. For upload, these files are rendered out as Sorenson Quicktime, with preserve RGB checked in After Effects. Small wonder that some people may not see this the same as I do.
If you're still reading this long post, I would appreciate knowing what machine you're viewing this with. Thank you for the very nice compliments and the honest evaluations.
It would probably be a good idea if I could have a Microsoft computer to color proof uploads. The different gamma settings for windows machines can drastically compress tonal range. The gamma setting on my Mac (with one of the better video cards Apple sold in 2007) is approximately 1.8. The video master is rendered as Rec 709 color space HD seqential PNG files. For upload, these files are rendered out as Sorenson Quicktime, with preserve RGB checked in After Effects. Small wonder that some people may not see this the same as I do.
If you're still reading this long post, I would appreciate knowing what machine you're viewing this with. Thank you for the very nice compliments and the honest evaluations.
I'm on a windows machine. I don't know where to look up its gamma settings. 
If the low bright sun is a focus of the shot, then that makes things a bit trickier. It does contribute to the atmosphere. But it raises the question, where do you want the audience to be looking and when? Right now, my eye does this: I start by looking at the hill. It has a lot of tonal contrast and it's in the center of the scene. Then I notice that something is moving in the front. I look down to the nearest sheep. Then I notice that the sheep extend back and to the left into the scene and I see that there is a man back there. At this point, I begin to suspect that I should have been looking at the man the whole time and that I missed something important. I only have a moment to take in his movements before the shot ends.
Ideally it would be very clear at every moment where the audience should look. That way, the issue of where to look never rises above the threshold of awareness. As soon as the audience is aware of it, the narrative spell is broken. In order to direct our eyes, you can use composition, tonal contrast, and movement. And the eyes of the characters will also tell us where to look.
I think the clearest way to tell us where to look would be to break this first scene up into a few shots with only one main idea conveyed in each shot. However, the picturesque aesthetic might be lost with a lot of camera changes and close ups.
Alternately, maybe you could reduce the tonal contrast of the background near the sun and hill. Then, to convey the brightness of the sun, you could start the shot with some animated glare. After the glare is over, you can direct our eyes to the animation you want us to watch at any given time. Another note: my eye wants to move in the same direction that the characters are moving, rather than the opposite direction.
It's just tough to see that you have such beautiful character animation that the audience is missing because they're looking at something else.
If the low bright sun is a focus of the shot, then that makes things a bit trickier. It does contribute to the atmosphere. But it raises the question, where do you want the audience to be looking and when? Right now, my eye does this: I start by looking at the hill. It has a lot of tonal contrast and it's in the center of the scene. Then I notice that something is moving in the front. I look down to the nearest sheep. Then I notice that the sheep extend back and to the left into the scene and I see that there is a man back there. At this point, I begin to suspect that I should have been looking at the man the whole time and that I missed something important. I only have a moment to take in his movements before the shot ends.
Ideally it would be very clear at every moment where the audience should look. That way, the issue of where to look never rises above the threshold of awareness. As soon as the audience is aware of it, the narrative spell is broken. In order to direct our eyes, you can use composition, tonal contrast, and movement. And the eyes of the characters will also tell us where to look.
I think the clearest way to tell us where to look would be to break this first scene up into a few shots with only one main idea conveyed in each shot. However, the picturesque aesthetic might be lost with a lot of camera changes and close ups.
Alternately, maybe you could reduce the tonal contrast of the background near the sun and hill. Then, to convey the brightness of the sun, you could start the shot with some animated glare. After the glare is over, you can direct our eyes to the animation you want us to watch at any given time. Another note: my eye wants to move in the same direction that the characters are moving, rather than the opposite direction.
It's just tough to see that you have such beautiful character animation that the audience is missing because they're looking at something else.