Evaluation

Overall the design process of the model went well. The model itself was fairly straight forward to create as was filming of live footage. The animation side of the design was probably the most difficult and time consuming. My experience with 3D animation is fairly limited so getting good movement i found quite difficult. The length of time it took to do 30 seconds of 3D animation was a great amount, well over 2 hours possibly due to my lack of experience again and with some problems with the time line controls resetting parts of the animation resulting in restarting a few times.

If redone I would like to have added a longer and more well animated object, however with the limited knowledge I feel I was able to get the main idea of the video across well.

3D Animation and Editing

I imported the 3D model of the iPod into Lightwave Layout and began animating the scene. in order to get the model to look as if it is moving around on a real table I had to add a background image taken from the real time video I captured. I then setup lighting to add more brightness to the object and began using the time frame to animate. I used a morph mixer to animate the movable parts I setup before to make the object look like it was moving around and walking.












The animation was controlled using a time line and key frames which allowed transitions of movements resulting in a fairly good smooth animation. The lighting also helped the model to fit in with the background image and not look like it had been slapped ontop.

Once the animation was competed I rendered the scene and exported it as a .mov file where it was imported into Final Cut Pro and edited along with the real time footage I had previously filmed.

Story Board

I drew up a storyboard design to roughly follow whilst mainly animating the 3D model. This gives
a basic look at how the video will flow and what it will feature.

3D Model

Despite the design ideas for a music player character seen in earlier posts, I decided to model an actual iPod for the new video idea. I will be using an actual iPod in parts of the film, so to keep it consistent I will model an exact replica which will be the object that comes to life.
Below is an image of the Model I have designed using 'Lightwave' I have added all the textures to the model to make it look as close as possible to the original. I constructed the model using basic shapes like the box tool and simply curved the edges and then later added a screen which features a glass like texture as well as the scroll wheel.












Once I completed the construction of the model I used a morph mixer to allow certain parts of the model to bend and flex. This will be controlled within the scene editor when animating and allow me to make the object look like it is walking and jumping etc.

Idea Change!

Okay I have changed my mind about the whole concept of the video. Instead of it being someone travelling home from work, I have decided to make the film about a music player which comes to life when no one is around. The video will begin with a character sat at a computer whilst listening to an music player through speakers. The person will then leave the room whilst the player continues to play music. A new song will begin and the music player will jump off the speaker and animate to the sound of the music. Its not until the person is returning that the player jumps back on to the speakers and carries on playing as normal.

This idea is more about the object coming to life when alone and reacting with things that it would normally deliver. i.e. reacting to the music. The video is a kind of 'Toy Story' idea in which objects come to life.

3D Design Ideas

These are some initial designs for the music player character. The top three designs feature characteristics of existing players and all feature arms, legs as well as headphones to make turn the object into more of a character. Each of the designs are simple enough to be modelled in 3D without it becoming to complex and time consuming.

Personal mp3 Design Research

looking at the different variations of current mp3 devices, I have found a wide range of designs that can aid in the design of my 3D model. I need to consider the design of the player in order to achieve good movement when it comes to animation.



















Above are four of the more popular designs, obviously the Apple iPod and iPod Nano are one of the most recognisable music players of recent years and most likely the more popular. Both players feature smooth rectangular design with large screens and touch sensitive scrolling wheels. These type of player would be good to model within 3D due to the simple design but also the opportunity to create a character from an object, for example place a face on the screen, give it arms and legs etc.
Same goes for the 'Creative' player this too features the same design styles as the iPod's. The fourth image shows a Sony MP3 Player this time the players design is that of cylinderical shape with other cylinderical attahchments. This could also easily be developed into a character of sorts.

I need to now come up with design ideas of a player or perhaps an altered design of an existing object that can be animated and built within 3D.