For the final animation project for Animation this year we were required to conceptualise, develop, and animate either a serious or humorous Public Service Announcement regarding an issue found within, and relevant to, our society and surrounding environment. The main focus was to be placed on the performance of the character that would be animated, thus the character would be the main storytelling device, as opposed to text, voiceovers, or sound. Importance was also to be placed on the piece’s engagement with the audience and had to be done in an effective manner in order to explain the message of the PSA clearly.

After writing the script for my PSA I created my storyboard using a drawing tablet, Photoshop, and the provided storyboard template. The storyboard consisted of 16 frames in total and indicated things such as camera and character movements and positions (for example with the first scenes focussing on positions in which the selfie stick would not be seen until the final scene), scene cuts and fades, and text positions. I also created a logo for my fictitious organisation (the South African Association for Selfie Safety, or SASS for short, and a play on words) to represent my cause.

Once I had completed my storyboard, I created an animated version of my storyboard. In order to create the animatic, I drew out extra character positions to create a better flow, added backgrounds, and compiled everything in After Effects. This included scene cuts and fades, text, character movement, camera zooms, and end credits. The final animatic also included a time and frame count (24 frames per second) in order to use as a guide for my final animation, as well as an action and title safe area to aid in creating a more balanced final animation.

For this animation I had, besides the main character, four other models that that needed to be part of the PSA, namely a smartphone, a selfie stick, the Telkom Tower building, and a bird. I decided to model the first three and source the latter, as I would not have had time to model, rig, and animate the bird in the allocated time frame for this project. I modelled the smartphone first, and through trial and error established a more efficient workflow in order to complete my other two models. The key to modelling, I found, was to try and work closely with reference images of the object desired to be created, and to keep the model and its elements as symmetrical as possible, so that once the model is smoothed it keeps the desired shape. Once I had established my own routine and manner in which I felt confident in creating models in, I completed the selfie stick in its entirety and a basic version of the Telkom Tower. Next, I used the Hypershade function in Maya to add materials to the surfaces of my models, such as a highly reflective black surface for the smartphone to represent plastic or metal, and a dull pink material for the handle of the selfie stick to represent rubber or hard Styrofoam.​​​​​​​

First I imported my selfie stick and smartphone models into my Maya scene, along with the Tina rig, and before I started animating I ensured that Tina was already holding the selfie stick. This ensured that, when I set up my cameras and playblasted my scenes, Tina’s hand holding the selfie stick would not be visible in the first scenes, and that later on in the final scene one would be able to realise that she was holding the selfie stick all along. Then, with my animatic as an overall guide, and my two reference videos as guides for balancing and falling (a gymnastics balance challenge video and a fight scene from the first Mortal Kombat movie), I animated each scene separately, but still within one Maya file (scene one was animated from frame 1 to 144, scene two from 170 to 290, and scene three from 310 to 590). Within in the third scene I imported the Telkom Tower and pigeon model, and animated Tina and the pigeon simultaneously in order to create a more realistic chain of events.

I also created three individual cameras and then set them up before animating each scene, and adjusted accordingly in order to get the best angles and show the best positions of the animation. The reason for creating individual cameras for each scene was also to ensure that I would be able to go back to a previous scene and make changes if I needed to without having to move or adjust the camera. Lastly I playblasted each scene separately as individual clips with a green background image behind each scene (for easier editing), with my third and final scene being playblasted with motion blur on so that the zoom in from the cityscape to the character would seem faster and more realistic.

I used After Effects to edit all my scenes together, and to add the backgrounds (using the greenscreen technique), informational statistics, and end credits (which included my fictitious logo, the Digital Arts logo, and my name and student details). Within After Effects I also created the fades and cuts for each scene and used masks to reveal the PSA text as the character moves across the screen.

This was my first complete animated production that I have created - from the initial concept stage all the way to the final animation. I am pleased with the development of my concept, and I feel that my final animation highlights my message clearly. I also believe that my animation PSA is effective in the sense that I tried to make it look and feel like a real PSA through the creation of extra elements, such as the South African Association for Selfie Safety organisation and logo.

Modelling was also a big part of this animation, and although it was difficult to get into and find a routine and workflow that worked well for me, I feel that I have improved a lot in terms of modelling objects in Maya. I can see the progress I have made from the first smartphone model I created to the last one I created and used in my final animation. Besides also now being more confident in the process of modelling (including where to find certain tools and how to use them), I feel that I am now more persistent in modelling and do not give up as easily, and also pay more attention to detail.  

As with any project that one does, there are always a couple of concerns or problems that one had to face or deal with throughout the process. One of the biggest problems that I had while creating this PSA animation was that of a lack of time. I had underestimated how long it would take me to create all three models, and seeing as I consistently found better ways of doing things after one model was complete, I ended up creating three versions of my smartphone model, each time in order to improve on the first. This ultimately led to me having less time to complete my animation.

As for my animation, it still feels too “stop-and-start”. I did not pay enough attention to animating elements at different times in order to create a better flow, and this could also be because I did not create enough rough playblast in order to see what the animation was looking like as a whole. I feel that, if I had taken more time to evaluate each scene in more detail, I would have been able to create a smoother animation. Another problem with not viewing the animation as I was animating is that the final animation seems too fast and feels a bit rushed. Before animating, and especially seeing as I was following my animatic quite closely, I should have ensured that I knew how long certain actions would take to execute, as the animatic’s timing on these actions was not accurate.

Overall I really enjoyed creating this project, from concept creation, to modelling, to animating. Now that I have a better understanding of the technique behind modelling and the intricacies of 3D animation, I look forward to what I will be able to create next. 

Your feedback is greatly appreciated =)