Animation Storyboard

As part of a class group session, we had to discuss our initial ideas with each other and create A3 storyboards which were then taped together. The point of this session was to come up with a rough idea and to present it to our classmates for feedback and inspiration.

An initial ideas storyboard created in class

My idea for the animation is based on the planetary / Calder option. The name for my animation is A Solar Symphony.

 

 

The start of the animation takes place within a space craft, where a vinyl player is turned on and begins to play 1950s music. The inspiration for my piece is the 1950s/60s space age era, which is why I have chosen this music. The camera then pans up to a window of the spacecraft, where we see the galaxy outside. Then we pan out and begin to move around the galaxy, seeing different cosmic objects such as stars, meteors and asteroids.

 

 

Finally, we reach our own solar system, which is spinning and orbiting. This is where the metamorphosis takes place, as the spinning solar system fades back into the record spinning, using the similar forms to create a cross fade effect.

 

 

Now that I had an idea for my animation, I created a refined storyboard sketch, as well as a more detailed digitalised storyboard to articulate my ideas more clearly.

Refined sketch for my storyboard
More detailed storyboard made digitally

As a visual reference point, I have began to explore space and sci-fi media from the 50’s and 60’s space age eras to influence my design choices. I was drawn to this era as it feels very optimistic and with the emerging technology of the time, space travel was something that was seen as a marvel and created a lot of excitement.

 

 

My first point of reference was the classic Star Trek TV series. Here I have found a clip of the shows opening sequence which was very inspiring visually yet uses basic shapes and objects which I can easily create my own versions of in Blender, such as the planets. This is a realistic representation of space-age design in the 60s, with many of the set designs incorporating futuristic looking mid-century pieces to convey the year 2266 (Jensen, 2021) I also like the vintage texture, so I will consider adding halation effects in post using Premiere Pro or After Effects.

I was also drawn to the work of John Whitney, who was regarded as a pioneer of computer animation.


“With his computerized motion-control set-up, Whitney could produce a variety of innovative designs and metamorphoses of text and still images” (Animation World Magazine, 1997)


The video above shows ‘Catalog’, a reel by John Whitney produced in 1961, displaying a range of psychedelic computerised motion graphics which were the first of its kind. 

There is almost a cosmic feel to this, despite it not having anything to do with space. I think the illuminated colourful shapes against the black backdrop form this effect and is something which can be brought into my own work. 

An example of a title card

I would also like to create a title card for my animation, similar to many films and TV shows of this decade. Not only would this introduce the viewer to the animation but is a call back to the 1960s era and helps to amplify the retro design I am aiming toward.

Additionally, I have found some YouTube tutorials to help my process, and reference images to use when modelling. I will make my own changes to these though so mine isn’t an exact replica.

Tutorial to create space environment
Tutorial for speaker grill
Main reference image for record player

References:

 

Animation World Magazine (1997) Digital Harmony: The Life of John Whitney, Computer Animation Pioneer [Article]. Available online: https://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.5/2.5pages/2.5moritzwhitney.html [Accessed: 03/04/2024]

 

Dinadanadong (2007) Star Trek Original Series Intro (HQ) [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjL8WXjlGI [Accessed: 03/04/2024]

 

Jensen, Emily (2021) The Star Trek Extended Design Universe [Article]. Available online: https://www.gq.com/story/star-trek-furniture-design-legacy [Accessed: 03/04/2024]

 

Kaetsu (2020) Realistic Star Background Blender 2.9 Eevee [Video]. Available online: 

[Accessed: 11/04/2024]

 

Monogram Pictures (1951) Flight To Mars Title Card [Image]. Available online: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUhx20cdTfW0X_5EueAXtDJvTuvf9eV-5kqSUsYbXb8w&s [Accessed: 03/04/2024]

 

Shirokov, Yuri (2009) An Old Record-Player [Image]. Available online: https://www.flickr.com/photos/foto-nn/3694333300/ [Accessed: 09/04/2024]

 

Ultimate History of CGI (2018) Catalog (1961) – First experimental computer animated film [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nie3DAilv8Y [Accessed: 03/04/2024]

 

Welcome to creativeworld (2023) Blender 3.4 – How to make speaker and speaker grill in blender [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15ts3oX2KCw [Accessed: 10/04/2024]