Assisting a senior is enjoyable, especially involving projects with fascinating backstories. Luckily, I was paired with an adorable person: Jessica harries, who is working on a very smooth music video for a band; it is vaguely about a boy and girl who met in a club while she was with someone else and eventually fell in love. The animation’s scenes and atmosphere were primarily set around a club with a DJ, lighting, dancing, and a moving crowd.
It was my first time meeting Jessica, discussing the university and her project. We had a receptive dialogue over two weeks, which was smooth. We usually communicated via Whatsapp because she was swamped with work, but she made time and met with me once a week to organise and provide feedback on the work she entrusted me with. She is still working on the initial stages of her project and wanted me to give her broad stills of the imaging and illustrative aspects of two or three sequences from the music video. Showing the ambiance, the mood, and its influence on the overall scene for the video. Some initial sketches of dancing backdrops.
When I work on a basic idea, I create a final picture, starting with a colour scheme of blues, purples, and pinks. Next, I skimmed a lot of concert and pub photographs in search of an idea for crowd referencing, which always works for me during any illustration process. Then I progressively created a sequence with the public and lighting effects that highlight the essential actors in the scenario.
These frames are a rough conception of how a cinematic sequence would look; Jessica and I discussed viewpoints and adding depth, and ultimately she was pleased with the outcome. I applied some of what I learned in storyboarding and backdrop imaging classes to the camera shot and emotional buildup. By foreshortening and zoom-ins, the audience must relate to the action and the atmosphere of the motion. Each of the stills I provided her received only a good response, which significantly increased my motivation and output. Jessica was particularly taken with the colors utilized, the mood generated by the wide shot, and the lighting spots, which added depth and character to the story’s tone.
Moreover, Jessica and I had conversations on how she still deciding on her main characters and she would like to see a small movement clip to understand a scenario of a particular frame. Finally, I experimented with minor animating movements in an image sequence to offer a hazy impression of the motion in a still that might be achievable. I enjoyed the work Jessica assigned me; it was therapeutic in a way, despite my term submissions.
Understanding what kind of work seniors do and what will be expected of me was helpful. Music videos have always piqued my interest because they are structured creatively to add value to the song, which comes with many experiments and teamwork. That is something I plan to do in the future. I’d also like to be a part of specific backgrounds and stills for any narrative, as I’ve discovered via this experience.