Inspirations: 2014

Quantic Dream

The studio: Quantic Dream

Quantic Dream is a French game studio based in Paris. A lot like Naughty Dog, Quantic Dream has the goal to create interactive stories that are emotionally engaging. Thus, I've been a big fan and an admirer of their work for years now. I'm going to talk about three different games they've made and how they have really pushed me towards psychology in animation.

Once again the post is spoiler free.

Fahrenheit (2005) / Indigo Prophecy (US)

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Fahrenheit was the very first game I played from Quantic Dream and despite its low quality graphics it managed to draw me in as a gamer and I think the game really laid Quantic Dream's path towards 'cause and effect' style of games and since then they've been taking huge steps and developing their unique style as a studio game by game.
As an animator the quality of animation in Fahrenheit caused some hilarity at times but it didn't spoil the gaming experience because the story is so solid. This made me realise that animation is very important and it can make or break the believability but the story and the plot are the very core that needs to be strong as well to keep the audience entertained and interested.

Heavy Rain (2010)

Heavy Rain is one of my all time favourite games because you get to play so many different characters and all your decisions affect the storyline. I was, however, rather disappointed by the not the story itself or the plot but the very ending and who the Origami killer was. The solution was too obvious but rather that a solution which had no foreshading whatsoever.
Action is reaction to something and so should animation be as well, it has to have a purpose and meaning behind it. This is why all the games from Quantic Dream have always fascinated me so much. Their story work inspires and makes me always explore why a character is doing what it's doing and more importantly what the character is thinking or feeling first and then how this translates into action. What the emotions drive the characters to do.

Beyond: Two Souls (2013)

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As the director of Beyond: Two Souls David Cage describes it as fractal storytelling in which there is the main story line going through the whole game but also every single scene has their own story arch with its start, middle and end. I love this technique because it can be and should be used in every story and every single scene or shot should always have a purpose and thus all the three story stages too. This way, no matter when the audience arrives in the scene they will instantly pick up the clues and understand the situation, character motives and they can emerge into the story and start anticipating what will happen next.

In similar fashion, every time when I'm animating a shot I like to think that there is an audience member who is channel hopping from a channel to another and when they get to my shot, I ask myself would they instantly know what is going on. If I feel they wouldn't, I know that something needs to be changed. Also stopping the animation at random frame is great way of testing the quality of the performance and acting in animation. As they say, every frame should tell a story.

As a summary, through Quantic Dream's amazing games I've become more and more interested in the psychology behind animation and the acting in animation. Anyone can learn to animate but acting is the real art in CG animation. And lastly, here is a very interesting webinar in which the animation director Kenneth McDonald, the supervising animator Teppei Takehana among others talk about their work on Beyond: Two Souls.

Play games, think, cause, affect and as always, stay tooned!

Walt Disney Animation

The Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios

This post will tell the story of how I figured out I was always meant to become an animator and how Disney has been part of that decision. I will focus on a one special moment in my life and then expand from that to talk about the artists at Disney and their inspiring work.

Way back in 1996 when I was 5-years old my parents bought me a very own TV with an inside-built VHS player so that they could get their television back from me who couldn't stop watching my favourite videos.

The Lion King (1994)

The original Finnish VHS cover of The Lion King - Leijonakuningas

This masterpiece was the one video that I watched over and over again so many times I knew it by heart and still do. I used to even act some of my favourite scenes again and again and rewind and act them again. At the time I was too young to think this film would literally show me the way to where I am today.
During my first year in university I, however, wasn't quite sure whether I wanted to become a CG artist because I enjoy modelling and texturing as much as animation. I know it was time to make the decision though. I started looking back and recalling things from my past during my first Christmas holidays from university in order to decide and understand what I really want to do as an artist.

And then it hit me. Some people start playing music in very early age and become musicians, some start drawing all the time like I did and end up as artists. This I had always known - I've always meant to be an artist but what kind of an artist I had no idea. During my foundation year I had done a bit of oil painting and a bit of sculpting, a bit of jewellery making and life-drawing some of which you can find from my portfolio).
When I started my studies at the University of Glamorgan I was introduced to CG animation and the art of CG modelling and I loved all of it which was great but also a burden because I wanted to find out which of these art forms was the one that I love the most. Not until I started thinking of what was the most memorable moment from my childhood was I able to realise it's been animation all along.

To add to this Throwback Thursday: a collection of The Lion King figurines.

The best toys in the world!

I still remember the moment when I was holding the Lion King VHS case in my hands for the first time and couldn't wait to get home to watch it. In particular, I remember the scene where Simba decides to take back what belongs to him, the Pride Rock. That shot, the wide angle shot of Simba running from right of the screen to the left with the close up of the run cycle layered on top, is the single most memorable art moment from my childhood that is been carved into my brain because I've watched and act it out so many times.

That run cycle. I didn't know back then what made the shot so special but now it think it must have been the animation in the shot. A run cycle like that just demostrates the beauty of animation and the essense of animation. To make something move and live frame by frame. If you don't know the shot or cannot recall it here it is. I'm getting shivers as I'm thinking about it - shows how much it means to me.

The Artists: Ruben Aquino and Andreas Deja

Ruben was the supervising animator of adult Simba in The Lion King and that's why deserves a special mention in this post. I love his drawings and the ease of his line work. all his drawing look so natural and effortless and every line has that something that makes every drawing so interesting and encompassing.

Andreas, on the other hand, was the animator who created Scar, one of the best animated villains of all time. I love how he has his very unique drawing style which really stands out yet fits in with 'Disney-style' animation. Especially with his Scar drawings the exaggeration of main poses is amazing and creates wonderful drama and also the facial expressions are so lively that I could stare at those drawings forever. Here is a video of his line tests for The Lion King.

Stay tooned and never stop drawing!

Naughty Dog

The Studio: Naughty Dog

As the studio* is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year it's quite appropriate to look back and recall how I discovered Naughty Dog and how the studio, the artists there and their work has influenced my work and affected my life/career choices over the years. I've selected only the most important projects, in this case games, which have had the greatest impact on me and after briefly describing the games I will tell how I discovered them and discuss how they have influenced me and my work. I shall proceed chronologically and start from one of my first gaming moments.

On Naughty Dog's website they state that the early game developments started in somebody's garage back in the year 1984 but I discovered the studio through Crash Bandicoot at the age of 6 or 7 right after Crash Bandicoot was released.

*I will only be using the word studio when I'm referring to Naughty Dog and not repeating the actual name because I feel the company as a phrase sounds too corporate and dry to use as the describer for a group of extremely talented artists creating amazing interactive art.

Once again the post is spoiler free, so keep calm and carry on.

Crash Bandicoot (1996 - 1999)

Naughty Dog was the main developer of this platform adventure from 1996 until 1999 and during those years they shipped tittles Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (which I particularly remember), Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped and Crash Team Racing all of which I used to run to play at the neighbours when my sister's SEGA and Sonic weren't enough and if we weren't platforming around the neighbourhood ourselves.

Crash was one of the first games I've ever played and it really lit up my passion for games and animation. However, the masterpiece that has had the greatest impact on me and as I later learnt also changed the course of my life is The Lion King. You can find the story of how I discovered the effect this tremendous film has had on my life in my article about Disney. Crash, nevertheless, introduced me to the interactive world of gaming where your actions affect the course of events.
Fast-tracking a couple years ahead to the year 2007 I found myself following a game review show every Saturday afternoon and there was this one particular game caught my eye. The game footage I saw looked amazingly rich and unique but the 3rd person shooting aspect made me stay away from the game for a couple of years until I eventually bought my very own Playstation 3 console in 2009.

Uncharted Series (2007 - hopefully forever)

As mentioned Naughty Dog released the first game in the series Uncharted: Drake's Fortune in 2007 which then was followed by Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) and the latest release Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011). I immediately fell in love with the cinematic style of Uncharted. These games were something I always had dreamed of - being part of and living a film! And Uncharted has always been exactly that, it is as if you're playing a film! Witty dialogue is delivered by amazing voice actors and what really has amazed me is the quality of the facial animation Naughty Dog has produced for these games. All the subtle details in the facial animation really bring the characters to life and make you care about them and emphatise and really connect with them. You feel that you're really interacting with the characters and the world around them.

The studio's cut scene's have really sparked my enthusiasm towards character and facial animation as well as cinematography which is somewhat weird because I'm referring to a game but very impressive and shows how games and films are actually quite similar visual art forms. It's beautiful and very interesting how films are being pushed towards interactiveness and at the same time games are trying to become more and more filmic experiences in which you interact and the cutscenes are perfectly blended with the gameplay. The next game certainly has done all of the above and it definitely is one of the best games and game experiences ever created - if not the best!

The Last of Us (2013)

The Last of Us was released last year and it has won over 300 awards worldwide which probably tells a lot about how amazing work Naughty Dog does and who wouldn't want to be part of something like that! In this post-apocalyptic game we follow Joel and Ellie's survival journey. The game is almost like road trip during which you get to know these two characters and witness their relationship growing. The gamer(s) are show the path to walk this journey and realise that the journey itself is the key. Everything comes to an end, especially everything good comes to end at some point, and because of that when you reach the end of the game you feel you want to start over.

All this, the fact that you want to play the game again, the fact that you cry and you laugh, you're entertained and frightened during the game comes down to the animation (and the voice acting) - the way the characters are portrait and presented. If the animation is poor you will focus on the mistakes that draw you out of the hypnosis and the believability is lost. A lot of motion-capture was used to help the voice-actor emerge themselves into their roles and to let animators focus on the areas that need the extra detail which is the character's faces. The amazing facial animations in The Last of Us were all hand animated by some of the best animators in the industry whose work I greatly admire.

The Artists: David Lam

I could have chosen so many other inspiring artists to talk about but this time I chose David Lam because he probably is the person I'd first and for most would like to meet from Naughty Dog. At the moment David is the lead cinematic animator at Naughty Dog and responsible for the animation in some of the most memorable gaming moments in history. I could go on and on about how much I like his work but it's better if you see for yourself and check out his latest animation reel.

As a conclusion, Naughty Dog has not only sparked my interest in facial animation but also shown that detailed animation isn't only for films anymore. Naughty dog definitely is one of the game studios I'd be very very happy to work for because I think they've defined and refined the art of games to be what it really should be - emotionally engaging and life-changing experience you can follow along and also really be interactively part of.

As ever, stay tooned and play some games - they might just move something in you!

Dreamworks Animation

The studio: DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation has always produced beautiful films with awesome designs, fantastic characters and very deep underlying themes in stories such as Shrek, Kunfu Panda, Puss in Boots, MegaMind and Madagascar. The very first films from DreamWorks that I absolutely love are The Prince of Egypt and The Road to Eldorado and of course Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

The post is once again spoiler free so don't worry and carry on.

Madagascar 3

Before I watched Madagascar 3 for the first time I had been thinking about what is the real purpose of animation and why do we use animation to tell certain stories. I had felt for a while that sometimes the use of animation hasn't been clear enough in some films and the animation and the story had not been pushed to the area where the story could've been only told by animation and thus the use of animation justified.

Whilst watching Madagascar 3 though, I had a great epiphany and realised they had done exactly what I had been thinking about earlier - taking an average heist story and taking normal scenes to the next level by really understanding the limitlessness of CG animation and creating something that couldn't be done with any other medium. This scene in particular demostrates what I'm talking about and I think it's one of the best sequences in the film.

The Artists: Jason Schleifer

I want to mention Jason Shleifer - he is the head of character animation at Dreamworks and before he joined the feature animation studio in 2003 he used to work at Weta for the Lord of The Rings trilogy. I love his passion for animation and rigging and how he shares his knowledge through Internet and his masterclasses. He's also a lecturer at this year Anomalia and will teach about High-end Animation Polish. I'd love to go there! Here' is his great TED talk about character arch and motivation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LLpxRnPlRE

Weta Digital

The Studio: Weta Digital

New Zealand's bride Weta Digital has produced some of the most believable characters in film history and thus I want to discuss how their character creation and animation have influenced me as an artist.

There are no spoilers (if you don't count the fact that I say Gollum does an appearance in The Hobbit) in this post so carry on without worry.

Gollum

(The LoTR trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Gollum is one of the best CG characters ever created and the detail and believability of his movements and facial expressions is phenomenal. Most of his facial animation is hand-keyed which may come as a surprise to majority because all the credit of the performance is often credited to Andy Serkis. I'm not trying to diminish his part in Gollum's creation but underline that some of the greatest scenes with Gollum had much more hand-keying that you'd think and all the credit for those go to the incredibly talented animators.

For example the most memorable scene from LoTR where Gollum talks to himself - the final version of the shot is often shown next to Andy's performance and people don't realise it was down to an animator, whose name I unfortunately cannot recall right now, to interpret all Andy's subtle facial expressions and animate them onto Gollum. The following is the best ever scene of Gollum in my opinion and I bet it involves a lot of keyframe animation as the studio said that they had to add a lot of extra eye darts to keep Gollum real and believable - the riddle scene from The Hobbit:

Caesar

(Rise of The Planet of The Apes and Dawn of The Planet of The Apes)

Caesar is my favourite CG character created for VFX films to this day. No wonder he is as amazing as Gollum - Weta is behind both of them! I'm very excited to see how far Weta has pushed their animation and mocap since The Rise of The Planet of The Apes. I was slightly disappointed with the trailer of Dawn of The Planet of The Apes but only after the film I can say my final thoughts.

Until then stay tooned, stare at awesome animations and animate life into characters!