Workshops Evaluation

Sand Animation - I really liked this technique as it had a lot of freedom in terms of the designs you can do, i also like how fluid the final animation turns out. It has a simple technique but with a rather spectacular outcome.

Shadow Puppet Animation - I didn't particularly like this technique as to make the models is very fiddly which isn't my style, the final outcome i rather liked but the technique let it down.

Chalk Animation - This technique was really simple to do but is very time consuming to make a complex design, although saying that i did like the final outcome so on the whole i liked doing this technique.

Drawn Animation - This was by far my least favourite technique because of how time consuming it is and drawing isn't particularly my favourite technique anyway.

Final Animation

Final Animation


This is my final animation, I rather like it but the camera I used would have been better if I had a stand to keep it in the same place but other than that I would say it worked rather well, I made it to represent the missing plane in the far east, I found this story quite sad as the families the passengers had left behind didn't know how to feel as no one knew what to tell them because they had nothing to tell. I made it using hand drawn animation and object animation combined together.

Artist Research - Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki is a retired animator from Japan, he has created feature length films such as Castle in the Sky, Ponyo and Princess Mononoke. 

He takes a leading role when creating his films, in his early films he would personally review every individual frame but due to health issues he now delegates work to other animators.

Miyazaki uses traditional animation in majority in his films, he introduced computer graphics first into Princess Mononoke. In a interview he explained his use of computer graphics "it's very important to me to retain the right ratio between working by hand and computer. I have learnt that balance now, how to use both and still be able to call my films 2D"

Shadow Puppet Animation

Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist.
One of the main and first pioneers of this technique was Lotte Reiniger, she created feature length films using this technique such as Cinderella, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, Dr. Dolittle and His Animals and The Chinese Nightingale.


Silhouette animation is most often created in black and white, with either a black paper or cardboard silhouette on a white backdrop, or a white silhouette on a black backdrop. In many ways this style of animation requires more finesse and skill, because it relies solely on motion, shape, pacing, timing, and music to convey emotion without the benefit of things like facial expressions.

Chalk Animation

Chalk animation is the process of drawing objects or figures or a chalk board and then strategically rub out parts and draw them back in so when you take pictures of it looks like the picture is moving. This is quite a time consuming process to make a complicated or long sequence.

Equipment

• Chalk
• Chalk board
• Camera
• Computer

Method

1. Draw out the first scene of your animation
2. Take a picture
3. Rub out the bit you want to animate
4. Draw them back on but in a slightly different position
5. Take a picture

Drawn Animation

Artist Research - Lotte Reiniger

Lotte Reiniger was a pioneer of silhouette animation and created films such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretal. Lotte Reiniger was born in Berlin-Charlottenburg on 2 June 1899. As a child, she was fascinated with the Chinese art of silhouette puppetry, even building her own puppet theatre, so that she could put on shows for her family and friends.

As a teenager, Reiniger fell in love with cinema, first with the films of Georges Méliès for their special effects, then the films of actor and director Paul Wegener, known today for The Golem (1920). In 1915, she attended a lecture by Wegener that focused on the fantastic possibilities of animation.

Reiniger eventually convinced her parents to allow her to enroll in the acting group Wegener belonged to, the Theatre of Max Reinhardt. She started making silhouette portraits of the various actors around her, and soon she was making elaborate title cards for Wegener's films, many of which featured her silhouettes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvU55CUw5Ck&feature=player_detailpage

Artist Research - Adam Pesapane

Adam Pesapane is a stop motion animator who specialises in short films and commercials, he also holds the record for the shortest film ever nominated for a Oscar. Some of his films include Roof sex, KaBoom!, Game Over and Western Spaghetti.


He studied in the University of Virginia and received a B.A. in English Literature. PES migrated into film and was influenced by Jan Svankmajer. He would use everyday objects to create instantly recognisable animation.


I like his work because of the way he brings ordinary objects to life which is hugely evident in the film Western Spaghetti, he has inspired my work because I am using object animation and also creating objects from other smaller objects which is what I have done with my plane.
http://youtu.be/qBjLW5_dGAM

News Story

Australia is investigating two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, officials say.

A Norwegian ship joined planes from Australia, New Zealand and the US in searching the area 2,500km (1,550 miles) from Perth.

As night fell, the air search ended for the day, with teams saying bad weather conditions had hampered their efforts.

Flight MH370 was carrying 239 people when it disappeared on 8 March.

It was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it lost contact with air traffic controllers and disappeared from radar.

At a news conference on Thursday, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein described the possible sighting of debris on satellite images as a "credible lead".

Footage shows an Australian Air Force P-3 Orion over the new search area

The largest object appeared to be 24m in size, authorities said, but warned they could be unrelated to the plane.

A number of sightings of possible debris have been investigated since the plane went missing but so far none have proved to be linked.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the latest discovery based on satellite images taken on 16 March.

"The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) has received information based on satellite information of objects possibly related to the search," Mr Abbott told parliament.

"Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified."

Australian authorities said one of the objects was 24m in size

The objects were seen on satellite images and assessed by experts

The St Petersburg, a Norwegian merchant ship, was the first vessel to reach the area

Two Australian Orion aircraft searching the area on Thursday were joined later by aircraft from the US and New Zealand.

Amsa said the aircraft had covered an area of 23,000km² (14,000 square miles) but confirmed that they had found no debris. It said the search would resume on Friday.

The captain of the first Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane to return from the search area described the weather conditions as "extremely bad" with rough seas and high winds.

David Wright, an ABC News reporter who was on the P-8 Poseidon, said all the sophisticated plane had spotted was "a freighter and two pods of dolphins".

A Norwegian merchant ship, the St Petersburg, has also arrived in the area after responding to a shipping broadcast issued by Australia's rescue co-ordination centre.

It will be joined by an Australian naval vessel, HMAS Success, which is on its way to help with the search and Britain has also deployed HMS Echo, a coastal survey ship, to aid the operation.

Australia was asked by Malaysia earlier this week to lead the southern part of the search

Amsa said ships and planes were heading south-west of Perth to try to find the objects

The objects identified in the images were of a "reasonable size", Amsa's general manager John Young said. The largest object appeared to be about 24m (78ft) in size, he said.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

Celia HattonBBC News, Beijing

The relatives of Chinese passengers on board MH370 watched the announcements from Australia on monitors set up at the Beijing hotel where they have been waiting for the past 13 days.

When the press briefings were over, the families left the room. Most refused to speak to journalists, though one man told the BBC: "I don't believe any of this. I think my son is still alive."

Another relative, the son of a famed calligrapher on the plane, explained to us the families' reluctance to accept the possibility the plane had crashed.

"If the Australian findings really turn out to be the remains of the plane, that would mean there is no hope left for us."

"This is a lead, it is probably the best lead we have right now. But we need to get there, find them, see them, assess them, to know whether it's really meaningful or not."

He warned the objects spotted in the sea could turn out to be unrelated to MH370, such as containers that had fallen from ships.

"On this particular occasion the size and the fact that there are multiple [objects] located in the same area really makes it worth looking at," Mr Young added.

Michael Daniel, a former US Federal Aviation Administration official, told Singapore's Straits Times: "If they have a strong feeling or indication that the debris belongs to the aircraft, one of the first things authorities will do is drop sonar buoys in the water.

"If the black box is there, the buoys should be able to pick up the signals. This could take up to 48 hours but it all depends on how near or far the ships and other assets are."

Australia informed Malaysian authorities of the development on Thursday morning.

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on the new "credible" lead

Malaysia's transport minister told reporters that while the debris sighting was a "credible lead" it needed to be verified and corroborated.

Satellite signal

Investigators had identified two corridors of territory - one to the north and one to the south - spanning the possible positions of the plane about seven hours after take-off.

This was based on its last faint signal to a satellite - an hourly "handshake" broadcast even when the main communication systems are switched off.

Malaysia says search efforts are continuing in both corridors, involving a total of 18 ships, 29 aircraft and 6 ship-borne helicopters.

Meanwhile, relatives of those on board are still waiting for concrete news.

Bimal Sharma, a merchant navy captain whose sister Chandrika was on the plane, told the BBC he had experienced "hope and then despair and then hope and then despair".

"I have been very hopeful because it was intentionally diverted, so I don't believed it was crashed," he said. "It's been a very, very difficult time, and very emotionally stressing."

"The area where Australia is looking - I was a captain at sea - I have been through that area several times. This area has got a concentration of garbage - plastics and wood. I don't know, I don't want to believe it as yet."

My Thoughts
I think this is a very important story because a lot of people all over the world travel using planes either for work or holiday and this story isn't common among plane stories because they never just go missing, i think this will negatively effect a lot of things such as the economy as people who would have spent money on holidays will not travel because of the new fear of planes. The plane companies will suffer, tourist destinations will suffer and ultimately the economy will suffer. I think young people should know about this for when the start travelling abroad and gain independence, they should know the dangers that are out there.