Introduction - Planning My Idea

This blog will serve as my 'Production Bible' to my Final Major Project in my Second Year at Uni. I've been given a choice between ding an Animation Short and a FMV (Full Motion Video).

What's the difference?

The Animation short is more based on telling a story with a meaning/moral where as the FMV is kid of an opening to game, so more focused on detail and luring people in rather than the meaning.

I was thinking doing an animation short - I has thought of ideas that included telling the story of responsibility when owning animals; perhaps a little child owning his/her first puppy or an adult adopted a dog and discovering that it's not as easy as it seems. However these type of ideas require a lot of planning time and can be tough to fit into one minter so I decided to go with the FMV idea.

Idea One 

My first initial idea was based upon a friends nightmare (creepy I know). An opening animation to a Japanese style horror game; the story is about a young woman who has just had her first baby and is already looking for the perfect first school. One afternoon the mother is standing with friends in a primary school yard, learning about the school, as they wait for the children to be released. In the background you see 3 men eye the mother and new-born - a janitor, a head master and a random guy (blended in as a parent).

Fast forward to the next part, the baby is kidnapped and taken back to the school. The mother runs after her baby and kidnapper but loses them as they go inside. Through-out her ordeal inside the school all she can hear is her baby crying over the tannoy. She starts feeling extremely scared and begins to hallucinate whilst being attacked by small mind-controlled children. The ending of the animation shows  the masked kidnapper about to reveal himself, but ends before he does.

Obviously this idea is too long for a one minute film and has too much work for just one person who has only around 10 or so weeks to complete the project, so unfortunately I had to let this idea go for now and work on something else, but I do plan on 'perfecting' this opening one day.  

Idea Two

After some thinking and collaboration, I decided to change my story completely but keep the horror theme. Still being a FMV my idea is now based on a real location - my new stables. On another project, I've been working on a little goblin like character and it's been quite popular so I'm bringing that character idea into this animation.

This animation is more of an advertisement rather than opening, but depending on how the game plays (which I have no idea about, I just have the starting idea really), it is about little goblins running around the stable yard, terrorising the horses and causing havoc.

 It plays out behind a young girl (3rd Person Mode) as she does her usual stable chores in the evening. Hearing a noise and/or seeing something frights her and she goes to investigate. As she walks along the path she sees, what looks like a little creature run across the end path behind a horse, she startles but continues. She comes to the end and sees the horse standing up the top to her left, no creature...
She turns right to go see her horse and check on him - it's strangely quiet - she looks around, looks back to her then quickly looks left and the little jumps on her.

This is the basic outline of how the animation will run.

For the best outcome on the animation I know I will have to focus on the movements on the young girl, the horse(s), the creature, texturing, modelling and, importantly lighting, to give the best spooky effect.