Audio Project (Scarecrow)
For the first audio project, we were asked to think about the sound before introducing images. Initially, we took some recordings (foley) around the School of Art building to get used to recording our own sound. My main takeaway from this was seeing the potential for sound to be simulated by soundalike objects i.e. swaying a grassy bush had something of the sound of gentle ocean waves.
As a starting point for our individual projects, we pulled a word from a hat, establishing the setting for our scenes. I pulled out the word 'Field'.
With sound in mind, I realised that most fields by their nature usually show an absence of life; lack of sound then would represent that stark emptiness. In the brainstorming, I had the idea of a scarecrow as a main character for a viewer to identify with as they experience the sparse environment. The challenge then was how best to communicate the loneliness of the landscape but with the limited time-frame of a 30-40 second animation. My assumption was that I would need to hold on certain shots longer to feel the vastness/isolation of the space.
The next part of the process was to start the storyboards for the short film.
I ended up storyboarding far more scenes that I needed, thinking that more scenes meant a stronger connection to the main character, establishing his solitude and spelling out his state of mind by several things passing him by. Among the omitted scenes from the final version are a plane passing overhead and a train passing by; I wanted to suggest he craved some company by almost coming in contact with it. Also I liked the visual of a crow arriving and pecking at the scarecrow - an idea that possibly could have stretched to the full 30-40 second length.
Ultimately I had to distill these storyboarded scenes down to an essential few shots. I tried to find the clear important moments to convey the misery of being rooted to the spot in the middle of nowhere, subjected to the elements and unable to shelter from them.
Once I had settled on a definite series of shots, I started on the animation. Although it wasn't a requirement for the audio project, I felt I needed to draw a set of distinct backgrounds, as the changing environment was a character of the story. Here's an unused background image.
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Perhaps the main lesson I learnt from this six-week project is the necessity of finding smart shortcuts to get to a completed animation. I was able to repeat frames and to copy and paste rather than completely redraw the scarecrow figure, resetting on each scene.
Also I found myself studying Chuck Jones' sense of timing on the classic Road Runner cartoons. Wile E Coyote will often hold an expression, perhaps blinking, after or before sudden impact. Not only does this save on the amount of drawings but is actually far more effective than constant movement, giving the moment more space to breathe.
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Another example of this style which came to mind: the Chuck Jones-inspired Pixar short, Knick-Knack, in which a snowman is frustrated to be stuck in a snowglobe. My scarecrow character is similarly stuck and can only react.
This is a copy of the final audio track. It's amazing how many sound effects could be found around the house. Crinkling paper and plastic could believably replicate the sound of straw. A lightning strike was made by tearing a single sheet of A4 paper. I used my microwave to blend into the sounds of a UFO; though I liked that one just for the novelty.