Saturday, September 11, 2010

Animation tells story

What is creative multimedia? Let us separate both of the words and take a look. First and foremost, the word of ‘creative’ is a mental process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts and multimedia is a combination of several media types in a single digital object or collection. There are many types of creative multimedia. Animation is one of the common type of Creative Multimedia. Basically, animation is the combination of visual and sound effects. When images of different position or movement are arranged together, we can tell story by using those images. But it is bored to look at lots of images and sometime we cannot understand the message that the author wants to deliver to us. With the alignment and movement of a certain group of images, we are able to create illusion of movement. When the illusion is added with sound effect and background music, it becomes more realistic and dramatic. By using this way, it is easier for public to understand the story.

Visual can be formed through motion capture like drawing or photography. With the modern technology, people can even capture what we see around us into video directly. Although using video camera to capture images around us is the easiest and fastest way to record scenes, video camera cannot record things which do not appear in front of us, what I mean is our mind, our imagination. Humans are born with imagination and creativity, it is a treasure from the God, so why don’t we make full use of our mind? With various type of storytelling through visual and background music like piano as well as violin, people will be attracted. In order to make our storytelling more interesting, appropriate sound effects like fire burning sound, water flowing sound, wind blowing sound and animals sound can touched audience heart effectively.

Nowadays, animation has been developed well. Apart from powerful human beings like Spiderman, Fantastic 4 and the incredible Hulk, machines that owns super power are always playing important roles in animation, examples like i-robot and Transformer. Not even those characters are always involved in animation, monsters and beast can be the main character too. The classic examples are the Beauty and the Beast, Spirited Away and Avatar. All these characters are created by human imagination.

When we talk about animation, it consist of lots of knowledge. A successful animation is formed by proper plot, characters and great script. Script is the bones of animation. Just like a building, without strong bones inside, it may collapse in no time. For animation, a good story already brings fifty percent of the succeed. Then, with the animation theories and techniques applied in every parts, animation becomes complete. We are familiar with the animation that heroes are the main character in the story. Usually the Heroes’ journey are similar. The story lines are made of twelve Hero’s journey Principle. All these knowledge comes from studies and research.

Different position have the different work because the area and apartment in animation is large. Script writers write legend, comedy, fiction, folklore and historical story. Director has to make sure the progress is smooth. He has to control everything like timing and places. The characteristics of the characters in animation have to be expressed well in the story. Sometimes, characters have to be simplified and stylized in order to show their expression and emotions. Animations that produced by Walt Disney like Lion King, Tarzan and Mickey Mouse show the creativity and imagination of us.

Different techniques like rotoscoping, photorealism and cinematography are applied by animators to deliver different messages. Animation is used as a way to tell the public to love life, protect wild animal, anti pollution and anti war. In traditional ways, animators produce animation through tweening, morphing, anion skinning, interpolated, frame by frame and flipbook. With development of new technologies, there are softwares like After effect , Maya and Flash. Animators use these softwares to manage and edit the movement, timing, lightning, angle, and modeling.

By making full use of animation as a kind of creative multimedia, animations like clay animation, object animation, model animation, cutout animation, graphic animation, go motion, pixilation, silhouette and puppet animation are created.

Last but not least, animation plays an important role of media that greatly affect the world. Unfortunately, nothing is perfect in this world. People often use the reliable media to convey messages for their own benefits. Animation is also one of the media people may be using. People believe that animation can be greatly potential for human life in the future. It is a leap towards the future from pencil drawing frame by frame on paper to tell story. In nutshell, animation is a useful media that delivered the messages to people among the society and it give a great impact to the society and the people.


Prepared by,

Lau Chong Siong

Chew Kok Yong

Tan Pei Lyn

Lee Xin Kuo

Friday, August 13, 2010

Class Exercise 5 - Juxtaposition (Analogy)

lectured by Mr. Ahmad Radzi Bedu

ANALOGY
- Is a comparison based on such similarity
- Consists of
◦ Metaphor
◦ Simile

METAPHOR
◦ Can be define as one thing is on behalf of another idea
◦ Comparison without using like or as

Example of metaphor
The road was a ribbon of moonlight
Time is a thief

SIMILE
◦ Sets two idea side by side
◦ Comparison by using like or as

Example of simile
As easy as ABC
As sweet as chocolate

Class Exercise
POEM WRITING

In the exercise, we were given few pictures and create a passage at least 4 lines of sentence to describe based on the picture.

◦ Describe the CONCEPT OF LOVE



Love is like chili...
I love you because your talking is as hot as chili
Always make me feel hot
Give me unforgettable memory
Remain the hottest words in my heart forever

◦ Describe the CONCEPT OF MAN or WOMAN



Woman is like mortar and pestle...
As hard as mortar and pestle to be defeated
Deep down all men to justify themselves
Showing strenght to one another
By using the hard work


◦ Describe the CONCEPT OF LOVE or LIFE



Love is like a cup of tea...
Sometimes it seems too hot,
Somtimes it seems too cold,
If u don't add sugar,
The taste will be very light.


◦ Describe the CONCEPT OF HAPPINESS



Happiness is just like time...
Hapiness appears from time to time,
Different time has different hapiness,
Once the time is finish,
Hapiness will become memory.

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This is a poem i would like to share on this week.

Sweet death

In the darkest hours I dream
Feel the presence of your form come though the fog
In my mind, creeping slowly
Moving along the very essence of my thoughts
And I float..

'Awww, sweet death..'
I feel you.

Above all I feel my body move
Towards your darkened form
Your hands held out towards me
Grasping at my mind
Beckoning me closer towards your salvation.

Yet you let me linger, sweet death
Hold me just so close, yet still let me feel freedom
The touch of your fingers barely grasping me
Holding my thoughts prisoner
Yet still releasing me in the end.

What is it you want from me
Oh sweet death?

I feel your breath beckoning
Your darkness calling to me
Your hand reaching out for me.

Yet you slowly stay above,
Close, but still so far.

Yet I welcome you..

Eyes closed I reach out my hand,
Move towards your figure
And gladly give in.

Yet in thoughts your voice comes forth,
Smooth, silky, and soft, whispering
'No my dear, your time is not yet'..

And I softly whisper...

'What is it you want from me'
Oh sweet death?


By Moonstar
http://www.creative-poems.com/poem.php?id=268856

Class Exercise 2 - Mortar & Pestle

lectured by Mr. Ahmad Radzi Bedu

Mortar & Pestle

source: http://www.moonslightmagic.com/images/categories/mortar_and_pestle.jpg

In the exercise, I have to select five words from the mind mapping of " Mortar & Pestle " which done by lecturer.


BEAUTIFUL


Back to year 2010, people used mortar and pestle as a make up tools.















MUSIC

Back to year 2010, people used mortar and pestle as a musical instrument.















COOK

Back to year 2010, people used mortar and pestle as cooking items.















WEAPON

Back to year 2010, people used mortar and pestle as a weapon to protect their safety.
















DESIGN

Back to year 2010, people used mortar and pestle as cloth decorations.















Personal Reflection:
In the class, Mr. Radzi Bedu explain on the differences between left-brained and right-brained. Left-brained is more on logical mind while the right-brained is more on to creative. We must develop both sides of brain because no one is totally left-brained or right-brained.

Class Exercise – Juxtaposition



lectured by Mr. Ahmad Radzi Bedu

How merges goes wrong?

My answer for this exercise: FROG and COW


frog + cow = Frog Cow





















Personal Reflection:
In this activity, I know that not everything is suit, it is not every imagination is possible and suit.