I decided to present this assignment starting with the contents lists first. I did this as it would help with understanding what is in the storyboard and animatics, with each piece laid out I would also be able to improve my consequent planning. But first an essential part of any strong animation is a strong story. Without a strong story the animation has no purpose, it keeps the audience interested in the characters and events and can also contain and convey a message. Therefore my first step was creating a story.
In order to not overcomplicate things I kept the story focused specifically on the what was involved in the scene. This is important for two reasons, one is that it would be difficult to implement a complex story into only a short animation due to time constraints and such. This could lead to an animation hard for the audience to follow if not done well. The second reason is that, in some cases, simplicity can be more effective. Sometimes, a simple story told well can be more impactful and memorable than a complex story that tries to do too much.
Below is a short summary of the story I created for the animation.
In the future earth is at war with the colonies of mars, in this new age war is no longer fought the same, instead of guns, tanks and jets battles are mainly fought in the endless expanse of space. To adapt to these new circumstances a new form of weapon was formed. Known as Crusaders, these giant piloted robots would serve as the new army and protectors of earth.
In order to deploy in space quicker, a giant scale lift was constructed known as the Tower. With its help earth has gained an upper hand in the war. However after some underhanded tactics mars now has access to this information and sent a party with the sole purpose of destroying the Tower.
In this critical moment there’s only time for one crusader to deploy code-named ‘Lionheart’.
General Themes
Due to the nature of my video, most if not all of it will involve some sort of effect present. Below is a collection of the themes that would be presented in the sequence and associated ideas for assets and vfx.
Space – To mimic the look of a space scene I would need to light up and composite those particular scenes appropriately so that the objects in the scene look realistic. Particle systems could also be used to generate asteroids and such.
Robots – In order to make the robots more impactful, sound effects such as metal scraping would give more weight. To add to the aspect of space, movement of the robots would be altered to give a sense of zero gravity.
Sky – For the sections on earth I would need to create a sky. There are different ways I could create realistic skies and atmospheres, for example procedural generation or overlay textures. Sound effects of harsh winds etc. would also be useful.
Mechanics – Using effects like sparks flying would give the semblance of a working/operating machine adding to the realism.
Earth – To create a realistic looking earth I would have to use different compositing effects such as lens distortions and glare.
List
Space (background)(lighting)(composition)
Robot (asset)(sfx)
Sky (background)(lighting)(composition)(sfx)
Lift (asset)(sfx)
Earth (asset)(lighting)(composition)
Atmosphere (Texture)