Where does he get the energy!?

Im back! Barely noticed i'd gone huh!? Well, i've finished university now and im thrust into the real tax-paying, CV writing, ass kissing world of work! Yaaaay!

I was contacted by a company called "Insite Tv", who have seen Mook (god bless him), and asked me if i could possibly rustle up a short to play in the background of their Tv menu screen.

This is the menu they showed me, so i had all the background to work with.

The brief they gave me was that they had a product that is unique to them, which (i understand, i think?) Allows you to check your energy usage via this set top box, and the idea is that it can save you money because you can moniter where your money is going, and ultimately turn it off!

This in mind, and with 7 days until my deadline (that, and the fact that all of my Adobe Master collection has decided to stop working), i got cracking.

So, without my trusty Photoshop, or After Effects - and with the much begrudged (but now, much more comfortable) ToonBoom Studios, this is what i came up with.

To the Mook and back!

Woo, so after plenty of weeks of labour grinding designing, animating, story changing, bad joke making, colouring and editing and one all nighter just to keep me on my toes, i have finally gone and broken Mooks heart! Im not sure if this is something i should be proud of or not?
Either way, its been an amazing journey, one i have to say i actually enjoyed the stress of! The balancing of this project with the other rotoscoping project has been a good mix of different skills for me as an animator and designer with two very different styles and feels to them both.
When it came down to sound for Mook, i had plenty of crazy ideas for sound effects and hunted down some real cartoony sound effects from a CD, but when i applied them to my film i felt it had a real silly feel to it - something i didnt really want.
Here is the film with a different soundtrack and the sound effects, see what i mean?

I actually added the scarecrow and the rain bits - and i think they are the best bits! Yaaay! I found a handy little rain simulation in After Effects that works to the style of my film.
That brings me on to my next point - After Effects!
Having never really ever edited before, getting my head around After Effects was a real looming shadow for me, and one that i really tackled head on. I guess it was just ignorance that stopped me from doing it before, but now i feel confident in my abilities on it.
I have learnt how to composite my frames to play in whatever frame rate i like, how to apply transitions to them, and to play around with simulations too. I have also learnt about different exporting types, and editing music and sound.

In a test i did a while ago for my credit sequence, i put a song 'Company' by Dean Friedman over it, and it worked really well, the soft acoustic sound really added to the cute feel, so i have decided to use it for my film.

So, enough waffling - here i present to you Mook, drawn, coloured and animated using 'Photoshop', and edited using 'After Effects'.

Now there is still plenty that needs doing to this, im not kidding nobody - this is the film i have handed in for my end of year marking, but the degree show film will probably have a little more done to it. In terms of shots i will add only one more, after my credits - in which Mook will put his arm around his patched together plant pot - like the opening picture.

I am going to change the opening picture too, for this reason.

The credits are going to be redone, as you can see that these are massively rushed!

Some of the animation is also quite snappy, i need to add a few frames here or there just to give it a smoother flow.

And finally, i will design a poster for the degree show :).

Keep your eyes peeled, i wont put Mook back in his cage just yet.

Explain Yourself!

I have realised at this late stage that i havn't really explained my film...its deeper than it may seem. Well...maybe only a little, but it has a meaning thats for sure!
Its basically about love. Mook finds something he is not familiar with, it just seems to fall into his world, and he is baffled and confused but also warmed and attracted to this thing. He tries to figure it out, before realising where he wants to go with it, what he would like to achieve! He then does everything he can to make it work, he takes all the right precautions and nurtures it as much as he can, showing a dedication and determination to succeed...he then gets knocked back, loses confidence in his abilities, and gives up. Heartache kicks in, he sheds a tear for his broken dream, then walking away with his head down, feeling like he has wasted all his efforts, it seems to grow, powered by the pure emotion Mook has shown. Finally he gets something back, he has succeeded and achieved the simple perfection he always longed for....he holds it there, smothers it with affection until....oops, its gone!

Its a love story of course, simple 'person falls in love without realising it and then gets heartbroken, before realising he was in love and confessing this to partner etc.' plot.
With this explained, theres a few things im going to change to adhere to my deep meaning.

Firstly, Mrs Mook is no more - he does not need an impetus, his love is the flower, not the mrs mook. Instead, his dream bubble will picture Mook with his prize flower and a rosette.

Secondly, the plantpot will not be waiting for him on the path - love simply isnt just waiting for you! It will fall out of the sky (illogical i know, but bear with it), and hit Mook on the head. It was meant to be!

Thirdly, i was thinking (if i have time of course) that i could show a little more of Mooks effort with growing it instead of having him stand still and watch it. For example, have him cuddled up to it asleep at night, and maybe holding an umbrella whilst it rains over the umbrella. This depends on time of course.

And thats that, more than just a silly story huh.