Artist's Influence

Here are a group of images that really caught my eye. They are a bulgarian company called Masthead Studios, they specialize in post apocolyptic MMORPG characters. This immedietly appealed to me as my idea seemed to flow well with these designs. The panel armor combined with the cyborg/humanoid head mask, really appealed to me. This set me off developing my character and finishing the final piece.

Main Character design

Here is my Initial Ideas. These are just a collection of the words that I wanted to bring to my character, and also that fit with the theme.














This is a visual brainstorm of the kind of textures and materials that I had in mind for my character. Mainly a mechanical military theme.










Here are the initial sketches, inspired from the brainstorming process.





















Another sketch sheet, developing the armor and experimenting with different styles. This was really a chance for me to put my idea onto paper and allow the development to begin.




















I then went onto creating a few armor sets, I experimented with the two main colour themes I thought of working for my character. I ended up sticking to the chrome tones, because the colour was too distracting, and didn't match the characters persona.




















These are a few sketches with a cloak as the addition. Also setting he character in his own environment, and gathering a better idea of his world.

However I found the cloak to be too masking and made the character too mysterious.

These are the final images I came up with, there was a considerable amount of development in this process and I feel that I may have spent too much time perfecting the final image, rather than explaining the process. I need to adapt to putting my ideas on paper, instead of developing the idea within my head.

About me

Here is my 'about me' poster. I wanted to include most of what I enjoy, with a few doodles over the top. From music to gaming.

Blogtask 1

For this task I’d like to talk about one of my favourite films called ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’. The story is about a paratrooper called Paddy Considine, who has left the army to seek revenge on a gang of thugs, who have been tormenting his younger mentally challenged brother. The scene I’ve chosen is a sensitive scene involving both of the brothers. They are both sat down in a grassy field discussing a fond past memory of when Paddy attended Anthony’s (his Brother’s) school run.

The scene starts with an extreme close up on Paddy’s face, which switches to Anthony. Then to a wide shot of the two of them sat down back to back on some tractor tyres. Throughout the conversation they stick to the 180 deg line of action rule. The wide shot is also on the same side as the close up shots were taken from no to ruin the integrity of the scene. The wide shot is taken from a slight angle above the characters; this could imply the sensitivity of the scene and their vulnerability at this stage in the film.

The camera doesn’t always change to a close up; if the other character has minimal response to the previous statement the shot will remain on the first character. As the second character is always visible due to back to back stance they are both in throughout the scene. This I feel adds to the individual’s perception of the scene and adds realism to the conversation, allowing the viewer to become more involved.

The whole conversation consists of two camera angles, apart from the initial wide shot depicting the scene for the viewer. This adds to the intensity of the conversation and unlike the rest of the film the camera doesn’t need to do a lot of work as the scene itself is rather intense, and relies mainly on the script to convey the emotion.

The rule of thirds does come into play with the angled wide shot as the two characters fall within the inner third. This is then continually demonstrated throughout the conversation, retaining the continuity and honesty within the scene.

The scene then cuts to the journey of the thugs, making their way home. This is depicted with 7 shots ending with a resolving 8^th shot outside the thug’s home. The first shot is about waist height showing the three thugs walking into the distance away from camera. The three thugs also fall exactly on the rule of thirds lines.

It then cuts to another still camera taking a wide long shot, as the thugs move from right to left on a country road. The thug’s scenes are all shot in real-time, this is a really effective way to emphasise the distance and time past since they began their journey. The journey is shot with music over the top, because of the lack of dialogue the viewer focuses more on the characters plodding along from a series of slightly drawn out long shots.

The sequence ends after the thugs reach their destination, as the last scene shows the curtains being drawn from a long shot outside the house. The house falls under the rule of thirds as it sits in the right hand side third throughout. The music fades then the scene ends.

Video Here

Character Brief

Basic Shot Framing

Extreme Long shot:

Here is an example from 28 days later. The use of an ELS to include the London backdrop, emphasizes the character's loneliness and isolation. It allows us to see the full impact of an evacuated London Center that otherwise couldn't be captured using a closer angle.

Long Shot:

Here is a shot from Dead Man's Shoes. The Long shot includes both characters, with added background of the hill/moorland. Not only does it convey the scene but also the direction they will travel. This is suggested by the characters set to the middle and left, leaving a slice of background on the right, suggesting the journey to come.