Final

Evaluation

I started this project with an indecisive attitude towards choosing what object I wanted my animation to be based on. I had lots of different options, but I finally made a decision that I wanted my object to be a coin. I hoped that by choosing something quite simple and common, there would be a broad range of ideas and approaches I could utilise for this project and I wouldn't be tied down to anything too specific. My research into coins started by looking through a collectors coin album. This gave me the chance to look at a variety of coins, old and new, from all over the world. I found myself very interested in the markings engraved on the coins, so I researched into what these illustrations meant. I focused on British coins since we are living in London and the audience would be able to relate to it. My research led me to find out that the lion wearing the crown jewels on the 10p coin symbolises the pride of Britain. I decided that this would be the coin that I want my animation to be focused on. I had several ideas but the one I liked the most was the idea of the lion in the coin coming to life. These ideas were all fine but they lacked any particular meaning, they were all just visually pleasing. I wanted to play more on the idea that this lion is supposed to represent the pride of Britain, so I thought it would be quite ironic given the current economic crisis to have the lion act like a playful kitten and inside of letting out a mighty roar it would let out a sheepish meow. 

The Making Of

The main difficulty I had when creating this animation was dealing with the amount of drawing that it entailed, I also found it hard to get into terms that 20 drawings would equal up to 2 seconds. This pained me as it was too late before I realised this, which led to my animation being shorter than expected. I also wish I could’ve experimented more with sound, so that there are no silent moments in the animation especially when the cat is running around. I also found out when I was editing it on Final Cut Pro that I would’ve been better off using Dragon rather than iStopMotion. However, after finding this out I decided that I didn’t mind that much about the grainy, boil-ridden quality of my animation, I really think it suits the quirkiness of the cat.  

Sound Possibilities

The most important sound in my animation should be the "meow" at the very end. Another sound effect I had in mind was the sound of coins dropping which would give the lion a fright, but then he'd be intrigued which leads him to jump out of the coin frame. I was thinking that it would be a good idea to add the sound of glassing smashing in the empty frame after the cat runs across the screen for comedic value. I'm still debating whether I should have some sound as he's running like paw steps. I'm also debating whether I should have some kind of song during the titles, I was thinking a crackly old fashioned version of 'Rule, Britannia" which could then suddenly warp and cut out like a record player suddenly being stopped as the coin rolls in.

Cat Movement

When it came to actually drawing the frames, I needed more help with making it move. Even though he's a lion the whole point of the animation is that he's more like a cat (or even a kitten) therefore I needed more research into cats and the way they move. I also looked into my favourite comic book artist, Jeffrey Brown. I have a book by him called Cat Getting Out Of A Bag and its filled with sequential images of all sorts of cute cat-like tendencies. This book really helped me get a feel for the way I want my cat to act and even his funny expressions. It gave my animation a more lighthearted feel.