Final Project: The Mouse Trap

Assigned: Tue, Nov 22, 2005
Story Pitches: Tue, Nov 29, 2005 in class
Story Boards: Thu, Dec 1, 2005 in class
Mouse Trap Set Pieces Due: Thu, Dec 1, 2005 at 11:59 PM
Animatic: Tue, Dec 6, 2005 in class
First Motion Critique: Thu, Dec 8, 2005 in class
Second Motion Critique: Mon, Dec 12, 2005 from 10:30 AM - 12:20 PM
FINAL PROJECT DUE: Wed, Dec 14, 2005 at 11:59 PM

References:

Overview:

The final project this quarter is team-based and it designed to encourage you to work collaboratively. Collaborative skills will be crucial for you to master both for your work in this class and for work in the animation industry.

Our final project will be based on the board game Mouse Trap. The board game is currently in the lab and should remain in the lab at all times so that all members of the class can use it as reference.

Each student has been assigned a partner (see the Team Assignments link above). You will need to decide with your partner how best to split up the tasks based on your areas of interest and expertise. One person could be in charge of motion while the other is in charge of lighting, visual effects, and rendering, for example. Just make sure you divide up the work fairly and that you are in constant communication with your partner! You will be submitting a critique analysis at the end of this project to let us know how evenly the work load was distributed. In your critique analysis, be sure to outline what you accomplished, what your teammate accomplished, and what you did together.

Both members of the team will plan/design/execute the work for the film and both will present the story pitch.

What to do:

  1. Each group will receive a modeling assignment. The assignment consists of one or more game pieces or a game board. Each team must model these objects immediately. When the individual objects are modeled, you will be able to construct the game. These objects are to be modeled accurately and quickly - as EVERYONE in the class will be waiting for their completion in order to continue the project. The randomly assigned objects can be found on the Team Assignments page. Feel free to get a head start on modeling these whenever you can as there's only a very short turn around time for this part of the project. Be sure to use the scale 1 Maya unit = 1 cm for your models.
  2. All of the objects except three (the characters that you will add later) will be placed in the scene provided to you. The constructed scene will duplicate, as closely as possible, the physical board game. One group has been assigned the job of pulling the objects together, shading them, and constructing the replica. This scene will be used by each one of the teams. If the team assigned to construct the scene chooses to, they can make efforts to get other class members to help them. However, it will ultimately be that team's responsibility to get the board game constructed and prepared for each team to use.
  3. Each team will develop a 30 - 60 sec story about the Mouse Trap "process". Who starts the crank and why? What dramatic event is unfolding? What happens as a result? What happened before the dramatic event occurred and why should the audience (your class) care? You will be adding THREE CHARACTERS to the game -- whoever starts the game (moves the crank), whoever makes the final mousetrap fall (the green man in the original game), and whoever is IN the mousetrap. You will need to write down your story. It should be one or two paragraphs. Then, think very carefully about HOW you will best illustrate your story. A good story can be much much better if it is acted and timed and shot in the best possible manner. This means considering the acting and the design of the shot. You can design whatever story and whatever characters you like. You MUST use the game board though and the story has to happen while the game is in play. For characters, you can (1) use already rigged models from the model library linked above (preferred), (2) model and rig your own, and/or (3) use models/objects you find elsewhere. Whatever option you choose, be sure to be careful that the models can MOVE in the ways you want them to. This means that if you decide to model your own characters, you will also have to rig them so that it can be animated properly. Refer to the rigging tutorial linked above for instructions.
    Again: The first character is the one who turns the crank that starts the mousetrap in motion (i.e., YOU in the original game). The second character is the one who gets launched off the see-saw into the bucket (i.e., the "little green man" in the original game). The third character is the one who gets trapped (i.e., the mouse in the original game). THESE characters can be anything from a mouse/human to a plasma cloud/force of nature. Be creative, but remember things must make sense in your story. Your story must clear enough so that the audience can understand it -- please include some suspense and resolve it in some manner or other. MAKE SURE that at the beginning, your board looks like the physical game board in our lab. You must start your animation using the game pieces exactly as you find them in your initial scene. However, you may decide to modify them with blend shapes, deformers, animated geometry, etc.. as the shot progresses.
  4. You'll "pitch" your idea to the class on Tue, Nov 29. This will be good practice for you. Just imagine that you are pitching a television sitcom or feature film. Make sure you are clear on your story's armature and seven story steps. The staff and your colleagues will give you feedback. The staff will be considering whether your intended project is doable in the amount of time you have. If we feel that it might be too overwhelming or even if it is NOT challenging enough, we'll make sure to tell you.
  5. After receiving feedback, you'll revise your story and come up with some final storyboards, which you will present to the class on Thu, Dec 1.
  6. After getting your story and storyboards approved, proceed to "rough in" the basic camera location, timing and character layout for your complete product. Do not worry about completing the motion but instead focus on conveying your story visually. This is called an animatic, and you will be showing it to the class on Tue, Dec 6.
  7. Each group will implement their story with their unique set of characters. Remember to consider design principles (composition, color, and all of the other contrasts, etc) and animation principles (anticipation, squash and stretch, etc). Think carefully about how to support visual storytelling as part of the design of your shot. Consider cinematographic elements. Design whatever you need to construct your story. Determine what you want your viewer to "get" from your shot.
  8. Your last step will probably involve using Premiere and/or After Effects to put your shots together. While this can be very straightforward, it can also get complex depending on your plan. Decide early on what kind of compositing ideas you may want to use, and what type of audio best supports your story.
  9. The final version of your film is due at 11:59 PM on Wed, Dec 14.
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE TIME NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR WORK!
KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS PROJECT COUNTS FOR 25% OF YOUR FINAL GRADE.

This is an ambitious project but very doable. The fact that you will be working TOGETHER may present some scheduling challenges but will also allow you to accomplish more if you plan well. Everyone has different schedules and finding times to meet will be very very important.

RENDERING is also a HUGE time management challenge. Rendering shots can take days. Please factor this into your schedule. Be sure to take full advantage of the Renderfarm we have. Refer to the TA's for help with this process. It is important to set aside enough time to address the rendering issues that will undoubtedly crop up.

What we're looking for:

  1. Your very best work. Quality rather than quantity -- don't try to do too many things. Do what you do really well.
  2. A story. Include well integrated characters and motion. Be careful not to get too carried away with tricks. You will need to spend some significant amount of time planning. You must have a clearly defined armature and follow the seven story steps you learned in class, as you will be expected to bring in an outline that follows those steps. Remember that you can use VERY simple objects for your characters and keep your animation to a minimum if you really want to. The overall effect and story are more important than a long animated sequence and/or some complicated models. Concentrate on the story.
  3. Thumbnails and boards. Well designed sketches of camera movement. Drawn storyboards that are clear and tell your story.
  4. Character motion. How well you've used the principles of animation to tell your story.
  5. Lighting/shading/effects. How you've utilized these elements to support your story.
  6. Audio
  7. Editing and Presentation. Clarity of the finished product.
Your performance on this project will help us decide who will be placed on certain teams -- and who will lead them -- in the Winter and Spring, so put your best foot forward.

Turn in: