Possible final story?

Drawn by myself. Edited by Sam. 

Lead singer lip sync tests

I focused on testing lip syncs for the lead today and perfecting one words at a time. 

Backing Singer Movement test

Today I tried out replacement animation for the backing singers movements. I found it went really well and was very pleased with it until I walked home and realized that I had got so sucked into perfecting the movement that i had completely forgotten the sound track. It is just small adjustments to be made but due to the backing singers singing separately and then together.

Lip Sync Tests

Today I went into Uni to test out lip syncing. I was a little worried about how we are going to get the timing right for the mouth movements at the same time as animating as if we get it wrong we have to start all over again if we don't notice soon enough. Trying it out today i realized that the sound and animation has to be broken down into small sections of about 10 secs top to fit in with stop motion pro. Here are the tests I have created.

Mozorella - In this test the 'M' is a little unclear so I would need to make sure i have that mouth shape visible for longer. Although the rest of the lip sync seems good especially at the end on the 'LA'.

Parmesan - I really like this one although I feel that I didn't quite get the 'S' shape in well enough.

Gorgonzola - This one works well because i have changed the size of the mouth shape on the 'A' based on the sound created.

Edam - I really enjoyed this one due to the fact there were so many different mouth shapes to use and because it was a fast moving track i found it a bit easier.

Stilton - I'm not to sure about the timing of this one on the 'L' but the rest of it seems in time.

Derby - This is a very simplistic lip sync and I think I need to try it again to see if the mouth shapes are  correct. I think there needs to be a circle shape on the 'ER'

Camembert - For this one i have followed the mouth shapes for the word but the sound track sounds different and so I need to figure this one out again to create a better lip sync.

Brie - In this one the mouth shapes at the beginning are all the same making it look false and fake so I plan to look at this one a bit closer.

Cheddar - This one needs a clearer shape for the 'D' so that it is a better performance and so i can understand the movements more clearly.

Guitar - This one I didn't enjoy. I found it tedious as i couldn't get the mouth shapes to look right maybe i needed to use another shape in between. All i got from doing this lip sync is I really don't want to animate the guitar character.

Bass Rythem 1 and 2 - Although these two are very repetitive I found these lip syncs fun as the mouth shapes were all very similar but the slight differences make the animation seem realistic.

Backing Singer 1- The cheddar lip sync isn't quite right and I plan to look at this further at uni to get this movement right. Aside from this i feel that the goats cheese was quite successful.

Backing Singer 2 -  The movement for this lip sync seems exactly the same as the one above and i feel that once again I need to look into the sync of the cheddar again.


This task was at most an enjoyable task apart from a few. I found that sometimes i would loose track and have to go back and delete or add frames to make the sync work. Generally on the longer notes but with a bit of practice I will get used to the timing and get a better sense of which shapes work best.

Character Designs - Pencil

I felt like my last final Character Designs in Photoshop looked childish and not professional enough so I felt that I should post my pencil drawn Character Designs from my sketchbook.

Movement Tests

These are just a few movement tests I did the other day, to see what actions will work for the characters. I found that replacement animation was the more effective compared to just moving the plasticine, as the plasticine looses its shape and structure the more it is moved.

The Wag, I tried to get a swaying movement but it is a bit too fast and looks more like a wag. I have given the 'character' a brow to define the movement and character.

Head Bob 4, In this test i tried to get a head bob but it ended up just looking like a fast repetitive nod. i figured if i worked with an angle and slowed down the timing then maybe the movement would be clearer.

Head Bob 5, I tried again and this was more successful but i think it looks more like a head bang but is something to work with to a beat.

I tried some swaying and bobbing but it didn't work to well maybe if i try using replacement then it will work better.

Bumb Wiggle, I wanted to look at the possible 'dance moves' the backing singers could do while singing. In this one i moved the lower part of the plasticine to make a little wiggle.

A fast twist and turn that may need to slowed down but was done with replacement and the form of the plasticine is alot clearer and smoother.

A jumpy fast dance move that is quite amusing but probably not suited to the music.

A very rough twist but was a first test. I plan to do some more to see if i can get the timing right for the swaying and wiggles.

My Animation Tests

Lead Singer Tests 

In these tests I tested the guitar player swaying to the music. I found my first try was too fast and learnt quickly from that. I tried to make him flick his 'head' to the music with a fast and slow movement. I feel this worked rather well.

In the second test i tried him putting his head back and swaying and shaking his head. I feel that this doesn't work but if I add hair it might. The head shake was just an idea for when he could be belting out a big note. Will probably try this idea agin but include hair to see if it looks better.

Lead Singer Hair Test

In these tests I tried the lead singer flicking his hair. In the first two tests I found it hard to show him swirling his head to flick his hair. It was just too much.

In the third and fourth tests I tested the lead singer swinging his head back to flick his hair. I felt this looked much more readable and I understood what he was doing more. I still need to work on the ease in and out though but I think I have the basic idea there.

Backing Singers Tests

With these tests I was testing the backing singers movements into there shots. The first two tests are for when the singers come in when harmonising on the word "Cheddar" during the chorus. The movement work well and will obviously need to be slower for the real one but at least I have the movement sorted. 

The very quick last test is on how the backing singers should appear when saying "Goat's Cheese". I feel them popping up at the front does not work and seems very threatening. I tried the idea of them poking out from behind the lead singer and preferred the look and composition of this on the camera. This movement and timing will need to be looked into more before animating the final thing.