This page only exists for assessment purposes, any complaints or experience I discuss in this is in the spirit of reflection. In truth I love this work and I am doing what I love. Regardless of how stressful this job gets, it doesn’t compare to the stress of being a pizza delivery driver.
Key Crew Credits
Producers – Gerard Boynton, Josh Percy
Director, Concept and Story – Laurenne Adams
Lead Character Artists – Laurenne Adams, Gerard Boynton
Lead Environment Artist – Patrick Watts
Lead Animator – Ali Hussaini
Music Composition – Liam Castles
Sound – Josh Percy
Director, Concept and Story – Laurenne Adams
Lead Character Artists – Laurenne Adams, Gerard Boynton
Lead Environment Artist – Patrick Watts
Lead Animator – Ali Hussaini
Music Composition – Liam Castles
Sound – Josh Percy
Synopsis
On Halloween night, Sid, a destructive delinquent, is painting the town with his mischievous tricks. Filling his rap sheet with vandalism, damaging property and the most heinous of all, the theft of candy. He is about to get the scare of the season as this Halloween has other plans for him. Something is lurking within the neighbourhood, intangible whispers of a horrific threat. As Sid discovers the horror of Halloween, will he get his treat, or succumb to the ultimate trick? Will he learn from his Halloween Hubris?My Roles
DirectorConcept artist
3d Modelling
Lighting
Rigging
Clean Up
Duration: 3 minutes 10 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (1920*1080)
Format: 3d animated film
Year of production: 2021
Genre: Comedy Horror
Recommended Audience Rating: G
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (1920*1080)
Format: 3d animated film
Year of production: 2021
Genre: Comedy Horror
Recommended Audience Rating: G
Trimester 1
-Pre Production Hell
Originally titled Boof, with a completely different story, this project was pitched at Griffith University as a part of the final year projects. Unfortunately it was not chosen for the original story but was thankfully chosen for its style and design. The story had to be reworked quite substantially. furthermore we were a late project, 2 weeks behind other groups.
Unfortunately, the producer fell into a depressive low and had to drop the course. Despite this, the production went on and thankfully Patrick Watts came onto the production and quickly became the environmental lead while I focused more on the concepting and story.
I remained as the only concept artist on the project up until its completion on Halloween
My main focus was the animatic. and despite being possibly the single worst experience in my degree, a lot of what was in the animatic made it to the final film
the video highlights the Pipeline process. if you would like to see the full animatic, you can contact me on my socials page
the video highlights the Pipeline process. if you would like to see the full animatic, you can contact me on my socials page
Trimester 2
At the beginning of trimester 2, I was lucky enough to welcome Gerard Boynton and Josh Percy, onto the project as producers.
Both are very talented and technical 3D artists. and thanks to our combined effort we were able to turn the work around. at this point we agreed to ensure that the film was as cohesive as possible.
to do this we had to make stylistic efforts and work smarter not harder.
Both are very talented and technical 3D artists. and thanks to our combined effort we were able to turn the work around. at this point we agreed to ensure that the film was as cohesive as possible.
to do this we had to make stylistic efforts and work smarter not harder.
Black and White
I made the decision to switch the film to black and white prior to the end of Trimester 1, since the film is largely an homage to horror, we didn’t lose anything from this compromised and would later enhance the visual style of the film
Black and white can be a powerful narrative device that is rarely used. By focusing on the film in monochromatic let us focus more on the composition and value lighting rather than color managment. It synergizes well with the horror theme too
Environment Decisions
I did not like how Arnold renders some textures, so we opted to leave most background objects untextured; it helped to give the film a flat and interesting background that was unobstructed by the environment.
This choice really helped pin the cartoon vibe. Arguably i think that this would still hold up on larger projects too. the background being flat really helps build atmoshphere. we had no volumetric fog in the final render and yet the background isnt overwhelming.
our film with solely the main character in the scene rendered at about 3 minutes, an unprecedented technical feat not seen by our university before
This choice really helped pin the cartoon vibe. Arguably i think that this would still hold up on larger projects too. the background being flat really helps build atmoshphere. we had no volumetric fog in the final render and yet the background isnt overwhelming.
our film with solely the main character in the scene rendered at about 3 minutes, an unprecedented technical feat not seen by our university before
Production
The first task I had was to immediately begin the Previs, to do this, I quickly rigged a work in progress version of the main character, using AdvanceSkeleton5 and began animating a Janky Previs as quickly as possible.
Sid Design
After giving the animators and modellers a base to work on, I began working on the main character.
My main goal of the character was to be cartoonish with a bit of Tim Burton aesthetic in it. Fun fact in the design I wanted to make him highly punchable. To do this I designed him with Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in mind. His lack of chin and lips along with a broad undefined face helped with both the expressive elasticity of his face and distinguished him from other characters I have seen in the past.
My main goal of the character was to be cartoonish with a bit of Tim Burton aesthetic in it. Fun fact in the design I wanted to make him highly punchable. To do this I designed him with Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in mind. His lack of chin and lips along with a broad undefined face helped with both the expressive elasticity of his face and distinguished him from other characters I have seen in the past.
Admittedly this design took several sleepless nights. I made his base in maya before refining in zbrush, I knew that due to his importance in the story I needed to be certain on a design. I hate how Arnold renders certain elements and I feel that if the face has too many protrusions, the specular can make the character look off.
Because of this, zbrush was instrumental. I was also able test AdvanceSkeleton 5 and troubleshoot what could go wrong if the model were not up to a specific scratch
Because of this, zbrush was instrumental. I was also able test AdvanceSkeleton 5 and troubleshoot what could go wrong if the model were not up to a specific scratch
Previs Rig and Model
During this time, we had a massive technical issue within our directory and in the environment. I was not able to identify it for several weeks of it occurring and upon realizing what it was, the environment was overhauled into a different structure. And so, the main character’s completion coincided with the environment completion and animation was able to begin
My job directing went well in my opinion, my team was very competent and while some things were hurdles, my team adapted well, and the project started to come together
My job directing went well in my opinion, my team was very competent and while some things were hurdles, my team adapted well, and the project started to come together
Spider Design
While directing I was also overhauling the spider design, I had made a rough turnaround of the spider, Which I call spider, and sent it to Sophia Bianchi. Though as this site alludes to, I love creature design and so took it upon myself to create the spider. The design iteration was huge, there were only 5 listed shots with the spider at that point, but I wanted to make sure it left as much of an impact as possible.
I am proud of my final design , if for no other reason than it’s uniqueness. Modelled in Maya, sculpted head and body in Zbrush and retopologized and normal mapped. I do regret the texture, it made the creature way to bright, but it works well for the genre
The rig was a custom but made in advanced skeleton 4, following its creation, I decided I want to dabble more in the technical side and learn rigging properly
Further Character Design
Designed the Boof the dog
Designed Esther the Hag
Both Modelled and rigged by Gerard Boynton Boof Textured by Josh Percy
Designed Esther the Hag
Both Modelled and rigged by Gerard Boynton Boof Textured by Josh Percy
Miscellaneous Generalist Work
I was also acting as a 3d generalist where needed, making, and rigging props, small animation cycles, testing simulations and trouble-shooting issues and errors
Post-Production
Postproduction was handled majorly by me. During this process I was editing, compositing, technical cleaning, lighting, and rendering and was solely responsible for this portion of the process.
Cleaning Animation was quite an extensive endeavour too as it usually meant replacing props, correcting orientations, smoothing graphs and in some unlucky circumstances overhauling the animation. Ali Hussaini, the animation lead, did clean up some animations for me thankfully
Below are some highlights of the production.
Cleaning Animation was quite an extensive endeavour too as it usually meant replacing props, correcting orientations, smoothing graphs and in some unlucky circumstances overhauling the animation. Ali Hussaini, the animation lead, did clean up some animations for me thankfully
Below are some highlights of the production.
Promotional Material
I was also speared the promotional material such as the trailer and key art for the poster, while Gerard Boynton and Monika Shin handled the compositing of the poster
