flash animation

Into the great unknown, across the great divide, all around my hat and so on and such....Flash!

I don't know what I'm doing. Never created anything in the computer before. Flash is difficult i have to ask for everything to be shown to me twice or three times. Spent the first evening shouting at my computer because I didn't know what I was doing. It wasn't really the computers fault but must he mock me?
We are to produce a short animation for the eisteddfod. I started of with an idea that was a little too ambitious for my first piece of flash animation and became bogged down with the first shot. Came back with a much more sensible idea on day two. A dragon playing a trumpet to a dragonslayer. I am much slower at animating using this package than the people around me are, this is a concern. My computer is playing up, no sound today. The layers in flash are confusing me.

A troubled week and then...

Friday Flash week 1

Finished the animation just two hours before the deadline I am not sure that I like flash. Quite like the final dragon/ dragonslayer thing but it does seem like a huge amount of effort to produce flash films. This must be easier than it first appears. This will take some hard work and working late into the night.
Have been listening to the reissues of the Travelling Wilburys this week, been waiting for this release for a long time.

Flash week 2

We have each been given a project from three different cardiff based animation studios, I have the project from Calon. The project is to produce a scene for the childrens television programme Bobinogs. The scene is to be one of crime as it involves a monkey stealing a knitting bag belonging to some holiday makers from the front seat of a safari van. The dialogue to sync to is quite annoying when you have heard it twenty or more times. Quite like the clean look of the programme.
I am still struggling with flash and I have decided to allow myself the first week to complete scene A.

Wednesday

Went around to see Mike Price at Calon today to find out how the characters of Bobinogs move. Quite simple movements as this is intended for small children.

Thursday

Scene one is done. Layers still confusing. The synchronization of moustache with dialogue seems to have gone well but it does seem like everytime I complete one tasks on a scene I mess up what had gone before, it is a worry and on top of this the football season starts soon and I'm an Everton fan and the up and down nature of their form isn't likely to provide a comfortable mindset in which to work.

Friday

Scene two was easy. Making characters walk when their walk cycle is already built in wasn't much of a challenge. This last sentence makes me sound quite cocky, I'm not, it is just relief that something has gone well and didn't add to my already greying barnet.
Will spend the weekend getting aquainted with the next scene.

Flash week 3 (Bobinogs week 2)

Monday

Rick Villeneuve who is acting as project manager on this bobinogs thing came in today and helped me sort out a timetable for the rest of the project. I am intending to finish everything by next monday giving me a couple of days to make alterations.

Monkey is stealing the bag from the van. I have made the monkey bounce into shot like an excited idiot, I quite like this. Have had to rebuid one of the layers on the animation because I can't work out how to remove the bag from the van. This causes a little stress and I sit in my studio into the early hours shouting at flash and calling for Jesus to help.

Friday

The monkey now has the bag of knitting in his possession and he has legged it.
Filmed my mum knitting last night as reference for the next shot monkeyman must do some knitting.

Have spent the weekend animating the monkey knitting. Thought that I had finished at one point but then realised that the bobinogs sun had stopped moving. Had to go back and mess with this for a bit. I shout at my computer some more. The sun starts moving again around five on sunday I then enjoy a delicious roast dinner with red wine.
I have ordered a Gary Lineker 1986 replica england shirt like the one he was wearing when he scored a hat trick against Poland. Everton have won their first league game of the season.

Monday

Add a few final touches to Calon work and all looks good. Talk with Rick about presenting it to Calon which will now take place on Friday afternoon. Have decided to do some lip sync on flash so I will record some dialogue tonight, nothing fancy just a little something funny maybe a quote from a film.

Tuesday

Have started working with some animated fish in a bowl and some dialogue lifted from the Dudley Moore film Arthur. This is one of the first films that I was allowed to stay up late and watch I was also always allowed to stay up and watch the television series of M*A*S*H. Read Alan Alda's biography recently a cracking read. It feels like he hasn't been in a Woody Allen film in ages, I miss this, also miss lovely Dudley Moore and John Candy and Jolly Rancher hard candy and Tab Clear. Punctuation Ben!..?!?...,,,,,another? and a fullstop
Tottenham 1 Everton 3 (I love you Alan Stubbs)

Friday Calon Day

Going to see Mike price today. He was very busy but took time out to look at my work. He liked my knitting action and said that it was as good as what they had come up with, I liked this. He seemed to enjoy the overall monkey work and my interpretation of the character of Ranger Bob. I feel I have learned more than I thought I would learn about flash but it still frustrates me.

Weekend

Evertons first defeat. Break my phone and bruise my leg. Have a nice roast dinner in a pub. Watch and enjoy Return to Oz (I like the Gnome King's style - a pipe and ruby red slippers "mum I know what I want to be when I grow up") Can't sleep.