Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Inchworm Animation

This week was a great one. Why? We got to animate something that wasn't a bouncing ball! YAY! This was our second project this year, and we learned how to use the Puppet Pin tool. So, without further ado, here it is. My inchworm animation.

In this project, we had to create an inchworm and an environment for him to be in using Photoshop, and then make him crawl across the screen using AfterEffects. I made an alien planet covered in thick clouds of gas, some purple grass, and a brightly colored alien worm. The Puppet Pin tool was very easy to get the hang of, and I managed to get it done rather quickly.

I learned how to use the Puppet Pin tool and how to animate something that isn't a bouncing ball. I also learned about subcompositions, parent layers, and how to make shadows.

Overall, I think it turned out nicely! The worm and alien planet both look appealing, the animation is smooth, and the shading looks natural. Overall, I'm happy with how this turned out and am SUPER psyched for the next project- a character walk cycle!

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Bouncing Ball III

This week in Animation, we worked on our first real project of the year, which was to animate- gasp!- a bouncing ball. As if we didn't have enough of those already. But this time, we did something a little different than we did the last few times. Instead of animating everything in Photoshop- which is what I have been doing both for school and for the videos I make in my free time- we simply made the layers in Photoshop, then imported everything into AfterEffects and animated it there. Animating in AfterEffects is like animating in Photoshop, but it's a lot smoother. (However, I don't think I'm going to use AfterEffects for my private animations, because a) I don't have it and b) for me, old habits die hard.) Everything was rather simple and moved smoothly, and I enjoyed it.

What did I learn from this? Well, first of all, I learned how to use AfterEffects. AfterEffects was completely alien to me and I had quite a few difficulties trying to figure it out, but in the end, I managed to make something good. I also learned more about squash and stretch as well as how to make something look 3D in Photoshop.

How did it go? Well, I think it went pretty well. I chose to put the ball in a field at night, as opposed to during the day, which led to the use of several dark and subdued colors. These colors created a beautiful contrast with the ball. The movement is fluid as well, and it bounces in an arc like it would in real life. However, if there's one think I could improve on, it's the speed. The ball's bouncing seems a bit slow, so I'll try to make it faster next time.

Maddie's Magnificent Movies!- Science Procedures

Ahhhh! After 10,000 years I'm free! (And by 10,000 years, I mean, like 4 months) It's time to conquer Earth- I mean, make videos!

So, in Video Production, we were supposed to make a video about procedures, and my best friend Tate and I decided to do science lab procedures. Here's our video:

The first day we didn't get anything done due to our failure to operate a camera. But on the second day, we filmed everything. Originally, we had dialogue, but since we forgot to turn on the audio while recording, we had to voice over the only line we thought was worth keeping ("Man, forget about this! Let's pour napalm all over the auditorium!") and left everything else to be communicated via our expressions.

Recording day was a blast, I tell you. Not only did I get to mug for the camera and do a thumbs-up on two occasions, I also got to run off with Tate to pour napalm all over the auditorium, watch Tate eat paper and hold up Wilson the Wombat (who is now our unofficial mascot) in the Circle of Life pose, put my hand on a hot plate without flinching, drink sulfuric acid, and play dead on the floor.

I learned, for the most part, how to operate a camera. Before this, we recorded things on iPads, so this was my first experience with a camera. I also learned that my best friend and I can indeed get a lot of things done in 1 class period, and that Wilson the Wombat is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.