satyajit2000

Interesting genre. Reminds me of the Starship troopers animation. But they were all motion captured and lifeless. But, here the human models are realistic. I'm always eager to see some hand animated realistic human models. Can't wait to see your human animations. Best of luck with your venture. The imagery is already looking great. The concept arts are great. You have already got another fan here. Satyajit

Elephant Textured & Rigged

Bear Textured & Rigged with TSM2 [attachmentid=22682] Deer Textured and Rigged with TSM2 [attachmentid=22683] Some production stills of How's it going to look finally. [attachmentid=22684] [attachmentid=22685] [attachmentid=22686] [attachmentid=22687] Satyajit

Thank you Dale, for liking my works. Yes, I'm working on a comprehensive 'Making of' for the Hansel & Gretel DVD. As for the story of 'Tiger & Stork' (Working title). You can follow updates here in this thread and pick up snippets of the techniques behind. Also, don't forget the Assets for download. This is an open project. So, all the models and animations are going to be available for download. Satyajit

Hi all, Here's the Elephant Model contributed by KenH. Just look at it! Isn't it great? So full of personality that you can almost hear the tone of his voice. The Details are never missed. You can check every part and find Ken's handiwork. Another of your great craftsmanship. Thanks a lot for contributing. Satyajit

Hmm...notes taken. Here's the Hare Model Mesh. Satyajit

Bear Character Mesh (Modelled By Me)

Hi again, Here's the Patch Mesh of the Deer Character Modelled by Biswajit.

Announcement of Temporary Suspension of Animation WIP Posts Sorry guys. The Asset and Animation Files are getting heavier and the 4mb limit of the attachment of each post is far from enough. I have to buy some web space and post there. Till then I have to stop posting. I'll be back real soon. Satyajit

Shot 2 : Animation WIP [attachmentid=22402] Script : Subtitled "On this fine morning after making his kill with his razor sharp teeth he chewed off his meal" Directorial Script : A tiger is chewing on a healthy piece of meat very cheerfully. Asset File : [attachmentid=22400] Contents : Voice Track in Bengali (Indian language): 2.wav Props : Meat.mdl Project File : Shot2.prj Animation Preview : [attachmentid=22401] Satyajit This is an open project. Every pre-production asset and animation production project files will be available for comments, critics, download and modification. If you make any changes in the downloaded animation projects do not post the files here. Mail me and I'll take the decision of posting with proper credits. Shot2.zip Shot_2.mpg

Shot 1 : Animation WIP [attachmentid=22399] Script : Subtitled "There’s rumble in the jungle and a lot of wailing A tiger stuck a bone in his throat while he was eating" Directorial Script : A sound of tiger wailing is coming from the deep forest. The camera dives thru treeline into the forest. The Sound gets louder and camera crossfades to shot 2. Asset File : [attachmentid=22398] Contents : Voice Track in Bengali (Indian language): 1.wav Props : None Project File : None Animation : The Animation of the this shot will be done in Adobe AE during compositing phase. Shot will be camera diving thru BG layers in multiplane. Satyajit This is an open project. Every pre-production asset and animation production project files will be available for comments, critics, download and modification. If you make any changes in the downloaded animation projects do not post the files here. Mail me and I'll take the decision of posting with proper credits. Shot1.zip

Dhar, I don't mind you entering festivals & contests as long as you include the modeller's name in the credit list. I suppose you're already going to do that. Satyajit

Animation Weekly WIP Part 9/9 Part 9/9 is uploaded and Part 8/9 is removed. This is the concluding part of the Animation Instalments. Thank you everybody to be with me throughout the journey. PART 9/9 Link Also, you can view the trailer HERE Please post your feedbacks. Satyajit Next ....Compositing

I left out the toe control of the hind paws as I thought they wouldn't be required. Okay, I'll add them if animation is required. You're welcome to use this model. Just don't use it for commercial purpose. Satyajit

That's great news! I'm proceeding with my models too. I'll try to make a modelling tute during the modelling. Meanwhile any comment on the rig of the tiger and stork? Anyone? Satyajit

Dhar, You have to turn on the TSM Constraints Slider in the pose slider panel to activate the rigs. I'd be glad if the Tiger finds an employer after finishing my works. He's a fine worker/actor. Satyajit

Asset Post - MODELS There will be 6 character models in this film. All will be rigged with TSM 2. The Models will be uploaded here for C&C of modelling and rigging. As, this is an open project, if you think you can upgrade the models or rigs you can mail me the changes and I'll update here with proper credits. Enjoy the Models. 1. Tiger WIP (Quadruped) Credits : Satyajit Tiger.zip 2. Miss Stork WIP (Quad legged biped with wings ) Credits : Satyajit Stork.zip 3. Elephant (Quad) WIP Credits : KenH & Satyajit Elephant.zip 4. Deer (Quad) WIP Credits : Biswajit & Satyajit Deer.zip 5. Hare (Quad) WIP Credits : Satyajit Hare.zip 6. Bear (Quad) WIP Credits : Satyajit Bear.zip Satyajit

Ken, Thank you for showing interest in the voice acting. I've sent you an email about the recording quality problems. Regarding the voice, I think some tips may help. Though I'm not a voice actor. But I've gathered these experiences. Voice Acting Tips Breaking up the lines It helps in breaking up the lines to highlight the meanings of each portions. Thus you can act differently in these breakups. Then the lines with multiple acts can be done easily. I have shown a complete breakup of the script below : There’s rumble in the jungle/ and a lot of wailing/ A tiger stuck/ a bone in his throat/ while he was eating/ On this fine morning/ after making his kill/ with his razor sharp teeth/ he chewed off his meal/ Now,/ something has happened/ and he does’t know how/ A bone/ got stuck/ in his throat and he said wow/ the bone of an inch or two/ lodged in his gullet/ And it would’t come out/ no matter how he roared./ Sensing the danger,/ he considered another to pull it,/ So,/ he cried out to the animals/ above the breeze./ “A bone has stuck in my throat/ and it’s hurting me/ can you try to take it out,/ can you help me/ please?”/ Harkening to his cry/ the elephant did ask/ "Who can believe this cunning beast?/ Who would help in this task?/ If we look down his throat/ to pull out that bone/ He'd surely break our neck/ and not even moan./ Who would possibly invite death like such?”/ At the thought of this/ the animals escape from there./ The tiger thought/ “Pleading won’t work here/ I need to take a more cunning approach”/ He called upon them again/ and told/ “Mark my word/ as I take a vow/ with the river and forest/ as my witness/ whoever manages/ to remove this bone from me, I’ll give the chap/ his rightful reward."/ Listen,/ I'm not that thankless,/ nor am I unkind/ rather than hurting the one/ who removes the bone,/ a friend he will find/ Miss stork was listening,/ and slowly she came forward/ Saying/ “Open your mouth wide and let me see”/ She spied the bone/ wedged deep in his throat/ And carefully/ she brought it out/ using her long beak./ With the relief from the pain/ the tiger gave a wide smile/ “Love you /sweet darling,/ you are my buddy from now”/ The stork said /“I don’t need that,/ where’s my reward?/ When you make a promise,/ it's not something to break!”/ The tiger said angrily/ “You've got a head that's thick./ And some nerve to say such a thing./ You still live/ after putting your head/ into my jaws!/ How can you forget so quick?/ Do you value so cheap,/the life that I allowed you to keep?"/ Finally he roared,/ "With such generosity,/ what true friend would ask for more!?"/ Act out the meanings Try to act out the meanings in a particular line by protraying different vocal moods for different situation. Like When you act out the word.... 1. 'Stuck' making the voice like a choked throat helps. But here you have to care to control the voice some that the words sound clearly. 2. 'Eating' is a happy situation, so making a happy voice helps. 3. 'Wow' is painful, so making a sound like a nail has stuck in your foot helps. But control the volume & pitch of the sound, maintaining the expressions. 4. 'Something has happened' - must sound with suspense. 5. 'He doesn't know how' - must sound like a question. 6. 'Can you help me, please' - must sound like a exagarrated request. Maintain a rhythm Try to make a rhythm like children's rhymes and try to maintain throughout the script. Even where theres no rhyme you have to maintain the rhythm. You also have to take care of the acting. Maintaining the rhythm must not affect the acting. Try to go slow Maintaining a slow tempo always helps. You can catch the breath. You can catch the acting and seperate out the meanings discreetly. Satyajit

Animation Weekly WIP Part 8/9 Part 8/9 is uploaded and Part 7/9 is removed. This WIP video file will be online for a window of one week. That is upto 18th Novembor. After that it'll be deleted from youtube and the concluding part will be online. PART 8/9 Link to be concluded in the next part Also, you can view the trailer HERE Please post your feedbacks. Satyajit

Ken, I use professional recording studio for voice recording. I never record at home. A recording studio with a good sound recordist can make much difference. The quality is much better than at home. I'm sure with a little lookout everyone can find a cheap recording studio. But in this case I suppose you want to record at home. I want to share some tricks that I found to be useful. Home Voice recording Microphone A good, costly condenser mic always helps, but in home recordings I have also found lapel mics very useful. The headphone ones are not very good because they have a tendency to catch the blow of air from mouth. The lapels are very good in lowering the ambient noise. [attachmentid=22153] Ambient Noise The ambient noise is the first problem. You have to lower the ambient noise. You can record inside a car. I found that cars can act as good sound proof booth (Thanks Timothy Albee). If you have a laptop, you can record there. Also, if not anything else. Try to record at late night. It always helps. Distance from Microphone Try to maintain a fixed distance from the mic. I know it's easy to get carried out while acting but you have to try to keep the distance fixed. Popper-stopper The words like 'P', 'B', 'D', 'K' & 'Ch' will create problems because you'll tend to blow air from your mouth on the mic. If you can find a 'Popper stopper' use it. It'll help a lot. [attachmentid=22152] If you can't find one. While recording find a angular position to the mic. You'll find that keeping the mic at an angle, not directly in front, you'll get better result in these words. Recording Time & Tonal quality You can try different times of the day & record different voices. Like Deeper and Low Bass voices ususally comes you well in early morning, just after sleep. Your voice will sound much different in the early morning. And the late nights can give to better control of the voice. Recording Place & Recording quality Try to record in a small place. A hall or a big room will be a problem for recordings, due to echos. A small place like a closet provides much better sound absorbing. Recording Software Professional Recording softwares are great. Like pro-tools, cakewalk, cooledit. But Freebies like Audacity is perfectly suitable because of our limited sphere of operation. One last tip. It's better to get another person to operate the recording (Pressing the record button) rather than yourself pressing the button and recording. You'll find it very useful for focussing on an acting. Satyajit

Voice Voice recordings are made in Bengali (An Indian regional language). The recording is done by a group of artists. These are voice samples to have an idea of the tonal qualities. Narration Female Voice Sample [attachmentid=22131] Tiger Male Voice Sample [attachmentid=22132] Stork Female Voice Sample [attachmentid=22133] Animals Voice Sample [attachmentid=22134] It'd be great if we can get a similar voice act in English. If I don't find contributors for this I'll be moving towards making this short in Bengali only. With subtitles from the English Translation. Ken, I've made the suggested changes in the translation. Satyajit narration.mp3 tiger.mp3 stork.mp3 animals.mp3

Ken, You're welcome to start on the elephant. Actually I was about it to start it. Tiger & Stork are being tamed of by me. Biswajit is trying to catch the deer. If you can take care of trapping the elephant I'd be after the bear and the rabbit/hare. Anyone else want to have a go at the models ? Tralfaz, Welcome to this post. This is an open project. If you want, you can have a try at the production anytime. No strings attached! I usually do the storyboards by hand (pencil sketch). Then scan the drawings. The character designs are also done this way. I still find the pencil handier than my Wacom Intuos. Satyajit

Excellent work George and Ken, This rhyme is really looking smart now. I've updated and corrected it with your inputs. Check it out at the Story Post. Also, Storyboard Post has the 2nd page of the storyboard now. Any suggestions for the camera angles? Satyajit

Ken you're already at this, Do what you can to the Rhyme. And mail me the changes (do not forget to give an intimation thru PM), I'll make changes to the rhyme (with your credits of course) at the post. This way, we can avoid confusion of multiple scripts and assets. The Storyboard (Page 1/2) [attachmentid=22062] The Storyboard (Page 2/2) [attachmentid=22063] Any of you can download this storyboard, if you like make changes in the shot and PM/mail me. I'd be updating this file. Satyajit

Hi all, Unlike Hansel & Gretel, this film is an Open project. That is, during production the assets will be available to the community and everyone is welcome to contribute voluntarily. If you think you can contribute to this project, you can download assets like script, character designs, models, rigs and animations and post a upgraded version here. And if it comes useful, it'll be used. Everyone can try new things over here. If you like to make this film with me jump in. But you have to keep up with me. If you'd like to change something (script, storyboard, models, rig, animation, composites) Please Mail me the changes file to satyajitchakraborty@yahoo.com. Also, give me an intimation in this thread or by PM. Then I'll change the asset files with appropriate credits. This way we can avoid confusion of duplicate assets and posts. But Firstly, This is a voluntary project. But not collaborative. No pay is involved and no commitment is anticipated from anyone. Ken, You are most welcome to modify the English. You have to remember (1) It has to be a rhyme and (2) You can change the phrasing but you can't change the meaning of a line. It has to go with the Indian version. And after that, you can try out the voice acting anytime and it'd be included in this project. Satyajit