Salome Thesis

Sc 6 _ Staged Closer

2008-05-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

In terms of staging, I moved Salome closer to Herod at the end of the dance. Herod pulls away from her when she asks for the head. Does this work?

The Plague of Locusts

2008-04-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

I decided to animate the swarm of locusts for the scene where the head of The Baptist becomes the plague. I initially thought I would use sand for the animation, but I found the sand hard to control and hard to detail. I tried using paint on glass for this animation. At first, it was not clear how I would achieve the movement of the swarm. I tried 4 or 5 different patterns of movement which were more random and spotty. This inspired me to go further, but I still wasn't sure about the effect. Several people asked me why I wasn't using a dynamic simulation for the effect. The proof for the paint technique came when I began animating the whole swarm as one entity. I concentrated on drawing the frame after before erasing the previous frame as I learn from Sheila Sofian. I think this has given me some great results and it was fun to do. I don't think I would have had this much control with either sand or a dynamic simulation.

Layout_April

2008-04-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the layout for the second half of the film. More to come...

Progress after Spring Break

2008-03-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

Compositing

2008-03-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

Salome Animatic_Revised_3-12-08

2008-03-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Salome's Dance All in One

2008-03-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Salome's Dance_rough animation

2008-03-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

Style Frame 2

2008-02-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Style Frame Refined

2008-02-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

Experimentation with Background Elements

2008-02-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

The underlit paint on glass experiment didn't work as well as I had hoped. After some good luck on the first test, I was really excited to continue painting. However, this past weekend I tried to do background elements for the first shot of the dance scene. After 2 or 3 hours working on just one background for this shot, I found myself struggling to control the values in the background. Even after the tempera paint dried, I was still brushing furiously to change the different values. Basically, I can't seem to get away from the high range of values that happen when underlighting paint on glass. My characters were getting lost in the high contrast backgrounds. Also, frustratingly, my peers said they couldn't tell what they were looking at (which is always my favorite piece of critique). After imagining what it would be like to struggle all of the backgrounds for all of the one hundred shots for my ambitious film, I thought it was time to change course for the paint on glass route. Again, the contrast in the background fights too much with my highly detailed characters. In all honesty, I think the characters looked better against simpler backgrounds, like the stained cloth I used early on. By keeping the backgrounds simple I can focus more on playing with light, etc. As I was thinking of experimenting with sand again, I was looking at my mother's cell microscopy pictures that I have on my wall in my cube. I remembered that Christine Panushka had urged me to use them as a background. I also had an idea about using the beautiful cell patterns in combination with soft outlines of sand. I think this would go well with my character designs. Contextually, the cell patterns look like organically placed stones and textures in the environment of this old terrace. Also the idea of projecting the cell patterns onto the cloth compliments my research in the Wayang Kulit. My goal is to immerse the audience in this world of projections, light, and shadow. I am ecited about experimenting with this, and already a simple test proves it easier to achieve and more complimentary to the design of my film. The next step will be to test the sand outlines with the cell textures. One difficult thing that I had with my early tests in sand was that I had the same troubles controlling the values and gradations within the sand. Just like the paint on glass I found that everything became too dark. So instead of using the sand to create the different values, I just suggest the outlines with sand lines. From the huge stack of cell photos I have from my mother's 30 year career, I will find different values of textures to use. I remember one of the art projects I did cutting up pictures of cells. This actually is a fond memory for me because I really got into the creative flow using these cut-up photos. I made a ornate box of cd's for an old love interest when I was 21. Using the cell pictures, I made a strange-looking fly. I remember having so much fun making this thing that I see the opportunity to experience this medium again. Also, I've been recently studying the work of Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how this artist carefully uses materials from the natural world and arranges them in value, creating these beautiful and miraculous images. Something I really like is the calm, meditative simplicity in his forms. The beauty is in the details once you realize how carefully he worked to make these. Seeing a collection of his work was really inspiring for me because I connected with his love of nature. It surprised me how much his work related to animation because he takes a picture right after the work is done and then several more as the work naturally decays. Sometimes the decayed work was even more beautiful than the initial shot.

Animating the Dance

2008-02-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Mesha Kussman - Final Performance

2008-02-23T14:46:00.001-08:00

1st Render

2008-02-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

paint test reference to storyboard

2008-02-09T18:53:00.001-08:00

paint test_motion

2008-02-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Paint on Glass Test

2008-02-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

Mesha Kussman - Choreographer

2008-02-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

First Frames of Animation

2008-01-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months, I've had many breakthroughs with this project. Even though this is very rough, it was exciting for me to see her begin to dance. And in the scope of the whole production, this may be the biggest break through yet. My personal goal is to begin showing smooth animation by February 1, 2008.

Character Turnarounds

2008-01-19T18:08:00.000-08:00

Today has followed the same momentum as the rest of the week. I have been modeling and modeling. After Effects to Maya and back.... I have learned some helpful tricks by doing Herod's turnaround first, especially since he's the most complicated character. I have spent a lot of time on this side view of Salome, but that's because I had to clean up the mess I made while using textures at an exceedingly high resolution. So here I am. My goal is to finish modeling the three turnarounds by Wednesday for the early-semester thesis meeting.

Modeling

2008-01-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

Today, and most of this week for that matter, I have been meticulously modeling these characters. I really hope this goes faster this weekend so that I can finish it soon. My goal is to start animating by February 1 and if I don't keep hammering on the modeling I won't be able to push it through. Even in a cut-out project, the modeling is extremely demanding especially when you have to translate what you did in the front view of a character to the side, back, and three quarter views. I have finished all of the views of King Herod. Here they are...

Front Views Done

2008-01-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

Here are the front views of my main characters. I had to do a great deal of problem solving to move them from after effects to maya and I believe this is only the beginning of the many challenges I will face with this pipeline. However, I believe it will pay off with the quality of the lighting, the movement of the camera, and the better performances of animation. I feel like I achieved something with these designs, especially of Herod. Finally, I can see the potential of these characters to perform the play and contribute something to the long heritage of Salome.

Digital Art

2008-01-11T19:02:00.000-08:00

As I work on this project, I would like to identify some of the experiences of working in this medium. To those who see me sit all day in front of this blinding screen, it must be a mystery to them to understand how I can be making and experiencing art. Today I worked on the design of King Herod again, to make him more likable, and to finalize the design. My only references are in my head when I begin. I wish I had the time to sit outside and study a subject for each character. I wish I had the ability to render a face on to paper. Instead, I looked through art books for basic shapes and tried to create the character in my mind, concentrating on him during exercise to keep him in my head. I open up the software and ready my hand at the mouse. I always try to picture myself holding a pair of scissors as I start working. As I click points, I'm cutting shapes from the black paper. The computer is not immediate, but there are some aspects of the process that are very enjoyable and produce great results. In working with the roto-masks, I start with with the hard edged shape and place everything to try to complete the image I have in my head. As I close in on it, I change the points of the various masks to bezier curves and begin to shape each part of the cut out puppet. This is where the process becomes lively, instinctive, and fun. Sculpting the roto-masks and cutting holes in the paper produces the silhouettes and the style that I am pursuing for Salome. I never thought that clicking a mouse would allow you to get into the zone of creativity, but its happening for me. The important part is that I can use the textured paper and see the beautiful patterns to cut. I will continue to right about this experience but I'm not sure if I'm articulating it very well. Thanks for reading if you got through this.

Salome Animatic - Herod to the next power!

2007-12-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

Salome Animatic, 2007

2007-12-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

Early Production Setup, CG, Sand, and Paper

2007-12-14T11:16:00.001-08:00

Here is an early sample of the what the film will look like in production. There is no lighting in this shot and there is a huge matte line on the horizon. I am happy though, that I incorporated the cg-cut out puppet with the layers of sand animation. to create the frame, I referenced a specific shot from the storyboard. Though the storyboard was time consuming, the details they contain guided the placement of the sand for the background.

Sound Design in Salome

2007-12-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

For the soundtrack of Salome, I am working with Ludwig Goransson, a composer from the Thornton School of Music. Already, he has given me a temp track that captures the mood of the film and plays very well in the animatic. In terms of sound design, I would like to create it from original recordings as much as possible. I found the perfect day to record the bangs and clangs happening during the construction of the new Lucas building here at USC. One of the interesting things about this project is how much psychological and internal effects are need to allude to the emotions in the story. More to come...

Herod Design

2007-11-29T12:21:00.001-08:00

Animatic Coming Together

2007-11-28T22:44:00.000-08:00

Herod loses control of his desire for wine and for his stepdaughter Salome.
Herod loses control of his authority because of his fear of Jokanaan.
Herod loses control of his kingdom because he makes a promise he cannot keep.
Herod loses his mind as he realizes the prophecy is coming true.

I am interested in portraying Herod's descent into madness through animated hallucinations and sound designed to invoke hysteria.

My goal is to create a nightmarish experience using light, animation, and sound.

Using the voice recordings I have done, the animatic is coming together, but I still have many holes to fill.

Our undergraduates presented fantastic work tonight in seminar. They have inspired me to finish my animatic and demonstrate an animation test next week.

In Memory of Thomas Siegmund

2007-11-23T23:15:00.000-08:00

My favorite uncle passed away unexpectedly today. His passing has put a shock on my family and I. I will dedicate the making of this film to his memory. He is one of the best people I have ever known. His generosity and his wisdom inspired me. His words comforted me and taught me many things. I will miss him dearly. In his name, I push on...

Sand Animation and Set Building

2007-11-23T23:06:00.000-08:00

I have spent lots of time this semester brainstorming ways to build the set for Salome. I will use the techniques of sand animation combined with compositing techniques to build the sets for the film. For example, the terrace will have to be built and rebuilt from different angles, according to the storyboards. When you work with sand, it is usually under-lit when photographed. This turns the sand into a grainy silhouette. I had a break through when I realized I could composite the sand constructions into my scenes using my favorite compositing tool, the Luma Key. Sand will create the organic textures necessary for the atmosphere and look of the film. In addition, thematically the sand works because the story takes place near the desert. To enhance the sands, I used one light coming from one side of the sand to give the little mounds shape and form.
In terms of animation, using sand will provide some interesting challenges for certain things, but it will also work very well for scenes like the Head of Jokanaan turning to sand then into a locust swarm that consumes Salome, and then the whole palace.

Sound Guiding the Image

2007-11-23T22:24:00.000-08:00

Working on the Animatic for Salome, I have tried to fill in holes by reading the script and by creating a shotlist, then storyboarding. However, in order to pick out the details of a scene, to set the tension, and to hit the key moments, I am using sound in the animatic to guide the visual structure of a given scene. As as I prepare the animatic for the faculty presentation, I will use library sounds to accentuate the voices and temporary score I received from Ludwig Goransson, the composer. As I move into real production, I will include time for real sound design, where I create my own sounds, specific to this film.

Thesis Summary

2007-11-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

Oscar Wilde's Salome is a play depicting a King's loss of control. Like King Lear, Herod's authority is challenged and then lost to his daughter or step-daughter in my case. To animate the play, I have been focusing on the mental state of Herod and the psychological/subjectively treated landscape he sees during the play. In a way, I have been researching different ways to illustrate his nightmarish situation through hallucinations and fearful thoughts that Herod has as his situation gets worse.

The purpose of my thesis is to recreate the mood and spectacle of the play through visual design, animation, lighting, editing, and compositing. I will also create an originally sound design for the piece, recording and manipulating sounds to echo the horrible night and the themes of the play.

As I work on this through the month of November, I am reaching the half-way point and I feel very differently about the project than I did this summer when I started it. I have a strong grasp on what the play is going to look like after months of visual development and research. I need to spend more time on what it will sound like. Also, I am very much still in pre-production. My puppets are not working yet and I am not ready for animation, because I have been focusing my time on the visual development and recording with the actors.

Visual Development

2007-11-12T23:01:00.001-08:00

Storyboards

2007-11-07T16:19:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the storyboards I've been developing, thanks to the techniques I learned in Will Weston's layout workshop. The great thing is that I've been able to compose and design with light, which compliments the way I visualize the piece. There are many holes to fill and the storyboards are not entirely in order in these samples.

Composition

2007-10-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Finally, we're getting somewhere. I'm happy I attempted this shot, since it's the most iconic of the piece. This definitely clarifies foggy parts of the piece for me.

Salome Dances

2007-10-23T14:43:00.001-07:00

Another early Style Frame...

Style Frames

2007-10-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

I need to start working on Style frames for the piece. This is a first try.

The Return

2007-10-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Salome Comes down into the Well

Great Reference - "300" End Titles

Great Reference - Ghost in The Shell

Salome lifts the gate and looks down into the well

Great Reference - Ivan the Terrible Pt. 1

Herod Eyes Salome as she weeps on the terrace.

Interesting Salome Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BpmUPszqJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RaDT5vbKXc

I've been away from the blog for a few weeks while I was casting actors for the film. Also, I have been enlightened by a layout workshop given by Will Weston here at USC. Ever since, I have been focusing on the composition of the film. This has been unbelievably essential to my progress as a filmmaker and I can't believe it has taken so many years to final learn the concepts of layout and composition. Above, there are some samples for Salome using abstract shapes.

The Year of Living Dangerously

2007-09-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

The title sequence from Peter Weir's The Year of Living Dangerously features the puppetry of Wayang Kulit. The sequence was recommended to me to by Mar Elepano who lived in Jakarta for five years and who is a great resource for my research into the puppet theater of Indonesia. He explained to me that Wayang Kulit was banned by the Islamic fundamentalists in the government because it had supposed connotations of idolatry and polytheism. This tradition also has a place in Hindu culture, where they perform selections from the Ramayana. Seeing Mr. Weir's film helped me to understand how these puppets move. There is some very interesting motion blur in between each pose of the puppets. Also, the puppeteers don't always keep the puppets flush against the fabric, so the projections can become distorted. The puppets don't hide the fact that they're not three-dimensional, even though they're in a three-dimensional space. Sometimes a puppet will slightly rotate and you'll see its thin profile. The other aspect of Mr. Weir's title sequence that struck me was the music. It was full of tension and it used the instruments that accompany the Wayang Kulit.

City of God

2007-09-26T23:17:00.001-07:00

Moving ON

2007-09-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

With these character designs that I've done so far, I 've decide to move on and begin casting actors, finalizing the script and using these characters to block out each scene. To refine the timing and pacing, I need to record my actors.
The recent character design work has been very exciting. I think I'm discovering a look for the film. At this point, I will look between the traditional wayang kulit puppet theater of Java and the innovative film, City of God. My next move will be to develop style frames after filming my live elements, namely water, silk, fog, and dust. The scene from City of God where Lil Dice becomes Lil Ze was always the most interesting in the film for me. The Candamble priest is mystified through the lighting, the camera and the editing. The editing uses frequent punch-ins and defocusing to give the sequence and visceral feeling. I will focus on using warm tones for this film. At first, the terrace was going to be lit with the cool light of the moon, but after discovering the inspiring material mentioned above, I make my first film using the reds, yellows, blacks, and whites, with only sparing blues. Though I will need to do more detailing to the puppets before I assemble them in Maya, I am at a good place to leave the puppets for now while I work on other aspects of pre-production. Also, in my meeting with Prof. Sheila Sofian today, I realized that for a short film, including Herodias in the story just makes it much more complicated in confusing. She was more of an observer, but it was hard to develop her in tandem with Salome in such a short piece. I feel a weight has been lifted from me, because the script is simpler, yet I have to decide whether Salome is his stepdaughter or his real daughter, a decision which could greatly increase the degree of Herod's incest.

Wayang Kulit Clips

2007-09-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMRHi2WVoZQ

I just discovered about twenty clips of Wayang Kulit from Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. Here's a good one where they use a real torch to light it and this produces some very interesting effects.

Baudelaire

2007-09-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

"...Yet slender her shape and graceful, daintily chiselled her hip and her shoulder, slim and supple as a writhing serpent. Full young is she still. Was her soul exasperated beyond bearing, her senses by ennui gnawed and tormented, that she flung wide the door to the panting pack of wandering and accursed desires?
Yet, for all thy passion, couldst thou not sate thy vengeful lover? Did he whelm thy dully yeilding flesh with the immensity of his desire? Answer, defiled corpse, and tell me, ghastly head, did his fevered arm then raise thee by thy chill tresses and on the cold teeth imprint the last farewell?..."

"The Martyr" - Flowers of Evil - translated by Beresford Egan and C. Bower Alcock

Wayang Kulit

2007-09-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, after spending so much time thinking about my cut-out puppets, did I push myself to look up one of the most interesting forebearers of silhouette animation, the Javanese Wayang Kulit. Looking at the intricate work of the designs, cut in animal hide, I found a great inspiration for my puppets. Also, after reading a little about the great tradition, I learned it has a lot of similarities to opera, which connects it directly to Salome. Again I met briefly with Prof. Panushka and she affirmed my feeling that I am on the right track. Also, creating the world of light and texture that these silhouettes abide in will be an exciting challenge for compositing. Sophie O'hara also showed me the intriguing water puppets of Vietnam. The whole puppet theater takes place in a pool of water, with the puppets submerged as they perform. Of course, I immediately thought of Jokanaan, the prisoner and the prophet, submerged in water as he sits in the well. My research is giving my project great momentum.

New Direction

2007-09-16T15:31:00.001-07:00

After a review with our faculty advisor, Christine Panushka, I decided to backtrack to where I began with the character designs. What was working were the simplified shapes and forms of earlier designs. The more I looked at references like classic actors, etc, the more realistic and rigid my designs became. I was frustrated and I felt like I was chasing my tail because this is an animated piece, it should not be so close to live-action. I started to play more with silhouettes and I looked again at frames from Lotte Reininger's masterpiece, "The Adventures of Prince Achmed." This film has a very sensual mood and this serves the story very well especially where the prince and princess are concerned. Instead of using pure black pieces, I dripped paint on wet drawing paper and let in dry in different fractal patterns. I scanned each piece at high-res and began to cut things out with my "digital scissors." So far this is what I have for Salome.

Jokanaan

2007-09-14T11:06:00.001-07:00

This is close to the final design for Jokanaan. I realize he doesn't have any clothes, but I start with just the body in order to figure out the mechanics of the puppet that this design will become. I like this design because he is athletic, youthful, and mystical. In the design, you can see where the joints will be for the cut-out puppet. I will have to also draw this in the front and back views. Each character will require at least three puppets corresponding to front, side, and back views.

King Herod

2007-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Building these for characters, Jokanaan, Herod, Salome, and Herodias, has felt like an eternity. I love to paint each one in gouache because it is quite relaxing. But, I feel that the momentum of the project has not taken off yet. For the last two days, I have been painting versions of Herod and Herodias. I have been looking at classic character actors like Charles Laughton (who actually played Herod in a 1930's production of Salome). This has been rewarding, especially after multiple versions, but I still feel my characters are too realistic and not stylized enough. To me, I see Herod as the fool of the play. If there is any humor in this grim tragedy, it comes from him. When I read Wilde's play, the only times I feel Wilde's true self come through is in the character of Herod. It is interesting to me that after many wonderful and scathing satires, Wilde wrote this beautiful and poetic tragedy. King Herod reflects Wilde's tradition of satire. He wears the crown, but in reality , he doesn't have as much power as he thinks he has. When he is confronted by executing an innocent man or going back on his word, he foolishly chooses his ego over justice.

Where the Forest meets the Sea

2007-09-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

My thesis advisor, Prof. Kathy Smith, showed me a beautiful animated piece from Australia called "Where The Forest Meets the Sea" by Jeannie Baker. This animation was made entirely by hand using the layering techniques of the multi-plan camera. A young boy journeys into the rainforest alone while his father fishes on the beach. I was particularly struck by the level of depth Ms. Baker achieved with her layers of trees, vines, and jungle plants. The animation of the boy is limited, but I think this really conveys the humility he feels amongst the natural wonders of the forest. The textures and the lighting will require further study as I can see how this could help my production of "Salome."

Character Design

2007-09-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

As of today, I'm closer to finishing my first cut-out puppet of Salome. The reason this has taken so many days is because of the design. I have to create a puppet that is seductively attractive and can handle the drama of the play. This has taken me through version after version, looking at references, and painting and repainting. This stage of development has been incredibly time consuming. It's been two weeks since my last meeting with our faculty and I'm still working on these designs. Right now, Salome is semi-plantlike, but she is un-clothed. For clothing, I want to shoot thin silks backlit against a black screen and attach them to her body in layers. I want to capture the movement of the silk in slow motion. This may require me to shoot these elements on film to get true slow motion. This was my last thought before I went home last night. Today I hope to draw the design for Jokanaan's body.

Sunday 9/9/07

2007-09-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've been working on character designs today. This is a difficult process for me and I only feel that I can achieve a viable solution by hammering out many different versions until one makes sense. I've put aside the storyboarding phase for now, because I know I will need the four principle characters in the play, regardless of the shot order. I also think it's important to put ample time into the designs, because I will be working with them all year. A big part of this process has been in developing the mechanics of the puppets and how they will move. I constructed a hand with rotating joints in Maya to go through the motions of handling flat cut-outs in the 3-D software package. The more joints I built, the more shortcuts I came across, including an action script in photoshop to simplify the image "middle-man" as I like to think of it. It is still very tedious compared to working primarily in After Effects, but the animation rewards will outweigh the painful task of character set up.