Let's all do the Hamster Dance

I usually like to take a quasi serious approach towards these posts. Despite my greatest attempts, I almost always fall flat on my face. Now I bet I know what you're thinking. Is this going to be the turning point? Is he finally going to write something that I can learn from? Will I finally be putting my time to good use? Nope! Sorry, dude. There may, at some point, be a change in the tone of my posts, but this is not that post. The fact that the post is titled "Let's all do the Hamster Dance" should have been a strong indicator. I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you, but as long as you're here you might as well keep reading!

Let's get down to business. And no, I'm not referencing the forever-adored song from Disney's Mulan. I mean I should probably tell you why you're here. But good luck getting that out of your head now. Have you seen the commercial for the "totally transformed" 2014 Kia Soul? Of course you have! Because, like all the Kia Soul commercials, it features our favorite fuzzy hamsters. Well, if you haven't seen it yet, here it is:

2014 Kia Soul Hamster Commercial from Asad Baig on Vimeo.

I'd really like to just take some time to discuss this advertisement. Mostly because there are hamsters. Actually, entirely because there are hamsters. From watching a VFX breakdown video, I learned that the Kia hamsters are actually actors wearing suits that were later CGI'ed into the furry creatures we've grown to love. Up to this point, I was positive the hamsters were entirely computer-generated. I honestly had no idea, whatsoever, that the hamsters' heads were usually the only parts completely created in post-production. Here's the video I'm referring to (yes, I see that it's titled "2013 kia," but they're mistaken):

2013 kia making of from Andy Boyd on Vimeo.

What I simply cannot figure out is why the animators would always seem to add the hamsters' upper torsos only to take them away. Why wouldn't they just add the head and neck? The only explanation I can really think of is that it would help more accurately map out the hamsters' movements. I could be completely wrong, and probably am, but I'm all out of ideas.

The most fascinating part of the entire commercials for me can be found in the video preview image above. When the hamster (or actor) jumps into the pool, clearly one would expect to see a cloud of bubbles following behind it. Well, the makers of the commercial hit it spot on. Most of the bubbles were originally created from the actor physically jumping into the pool and swimming, but much of the cloud had to be added in after shooting since the hamster is larger and shaped differently than the actor. I know there are plug-ins and whatnot that can be used with ease to create such effects, but I'm just assuming some of the final product is the result of the animators' talent.

Like I said, this was not meant to be a well-articulated post, nor was it meant to teach you much of anything. I'm not the one who wasted your time. You did that to yourself. I just needed an excuse to type out "hamster" thirteen times (including this time...and the title).

Top of the Lake

This week I'm going to talk about the BBC show Top of the Lake. This is a show about detectives looking for a girl who has gone missing after being sexually assaulted. The dynamic and interesting cast of the show is what really sets this show apart from other crime dramas, and makes for a really interesting watch. Here's a trailer so you can get an idea of what the show's about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKlsiZhgnbc

(Sorry this is a link, it's not letting me embed the clip.)

The reason I'm posting this intro is because of how well I think it captures the feeling of the show. It's very short, only about 30 seconds long, but in that time you get a real feeling for the show is going to be about. The colors used in the clip, aquas and deep blues make you feel calm when you watch it. the music also helps to create a very placid feeling. It's because of those elements that the symbolism really makes you feel uneasy. The image of the deer head slowly sinking until it disappears into the darkness of the bottom of the lake and the fetus and photo appearing just makes you feel on edge. On top of that the stop motion feel that this intro has also adds to the feel of unease this intro is trying to convey. I just really think this clip does a fantastic job of setting a mood for the show to follow. Here's the intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwSVYPWXoBU

Freezing Time

I like this video not only because of the effects, but also because it talks about more than just that.  It talks about so really cool systems that can be used to control the camera.  With these systems shots can be perfectly duplicated and thus allows an editor countless more options with video effects and essentially giving him a free reign.  The coolest part of the video tough is at the end.  What they do is basically freeze time and move the camera around in it.  From what I have been through in animation from this class, I can really appreciate the amount of time, money and effort that must have gone into making this scene.  I currently don’t know how they did it, but trying to figure it out is half the fun! 

Dragon Baby

The thing that impressed me the most about this piece is the fact that even though the viewer knows it is fake, it is nearly impossible to catch any flaws in the animation.  This looks soo real and and so well done that its production personal must have an extremely experienced background.  It is one thing to fight on the green screen and then make it look like they are in a miniature environment.  But the fact that they were able to put the child’s head on the actor with such an apparently flawless execution is absolutely stunning.  They were even able to achieve all the head movements and various expressions necessary from the baby with the correct orientation of his head.  The editing that must have gone into this must be remarkable.  I realize that this level of animation mostly likely won’t be able to be achieved from just this class alone, but it would be very interesting to know how they did this.  I am in awe.