Ruben
[3rd Year Animation Student]
Week... i've lost count (17th April 2015)
Where have you been Ruben?!?!
Storyteller's land
First of all after feed back from Sarah a few weeks ago i have changed up this backgorund a little bit to make it lighter. I may still do some tweeking on it but all in all i think it should be fine and good for animating next week.
As stated before in an earlier blog post about the story tellers land it was heavly infolenced by Tim Burton. With alot of imperation coming from films such as beatle juice, the nightmare before christmas, corpes bride, sleepy hollows and Alice and wonderland.
Its been a good long while since I last updated my weekly blog and unlike most students in my possition I acually have a vaild excuse! Mind boggeling i know!
On the 26th February 2015 i had chest wall surgery at greater manchester north hospital. Due to this i was granted 6 weeks to recover and Extenuating Circumstances which means now i will only have to submit in the summer.
BUTT the end of year show is in may so and i have no intention of missing it after 3 years of working towards it!
This blog post is basically going to be a update as to where abouts i am in regards to my film currently.
I may repete myself a few times or may add more information from a previous blog post that can be found here
Backgrounds
All my backgrounds are now complete but MAY need a few little tweets. Be this by adding a few extra bit in the background or a few alterations that need doing to lighting so it can been seen on the board come the night of the show.
 sleepy hallow tree |  Nightmare before Christmas |  The nightmare before Christmas |
|---|---|---|
 BeetleJuice After life |  Alice in wonderland |  The nightmare before christmas town |
 Corpes bride underworld |  Corpse bride mannor |
Whip ma whop ma gate
Now you may not believe it but Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate is acually a real place.
'Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate is one of the smallest streets in York, if not the smallest. It is between Colliergate and Fossgate and intersects The Pavement and The Stonebow in York city centre. It is currently a length of raised pavement between St Crux church hall and a small road junction.
End of Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate
The origin of the name is unclear. "Gate" derives from the Norse word "gatta" meaning street. A plaque erected in the street states that it derives from a phrase Whitnourwhatnourgate meaning "What a street!", but most modern sources translate the phrase as "Neither one thing nor the other". The city's whipping post and stocks were here in the middle ages, which may have influenced the change to the modern spelling and has certainly provided an alternative folk etymology.'
Whip ma whop ma gate York, street of historical interest. The shortest street in York with the longest name.
This used to be a site of York's pillory, a post criminals were tied to for humiluation and punishment, very much like the stocks.
The street used to be called Whitnourwhatnourgate, meaning "neither one thing, nor the other" in Anglo-Saxon.
Whip ma whop ma gate is going to be where the story tellers land is hidden. Hidding deep within the stones. At the start of my film the camera will now zoom into one of the bricks which will then start a optial vortext ending in the storytellers land. With whip ma whop ma gate being such a sereal street with such a baraze name I though it would be quite fitting.
The street
Like Whip ma whom ma gate this street is also based on a real road in york called Fossgate.
'Fossgate was part of the Roman’s south easterly route from their fortress. Named after the River Foss it was made a proper street in the Viking era when a wooden bridge was built over the river connecting Fossgate to the new street of Walmgate and runs from Pavementdown to Foss Bridge. In medieval times a chapel dedicated to St William stood on the bridge.
Rowntree’s Humble Beginnings Were On Fossgate
Rowntree’s chocolate empire stems from their purchase of a small Fossgate cocoa business belonging to Mary Tuke, distant cousin of Henry Isaac Rowntree. Today, chocolatiers and confectioners plus some of the finest restaurants in York (many serving sea food) and a variety of shops, bars and cafes ply their trade along the ancient street'
Fossgate is one of my favourite street in york and was one of the first big desistions I made in regards to locations.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |
I am very happy with the outcome of this background as i have stated before in a previous blog post explaing in more detail the techinque used. I do intend on adding a few smaller details to it before animating though. Such as a kart and items for sale outside the stores.
Door to the pub
Just a simple wooden door rig for the grave digger to charge through, nothing much else to say about it really. With it being the 16th century ive chosen to have a wooden decore because at the time there wasnt much elese available and it looks pretty with the brass door hinges and handel.
Inside the pub
Welcome to the pub and possiable the most difficult background to produce.
Unlike the other background this one isnt 100% historically accurate as i could fine any examples of any 16th centry pub intera. Though the wooden bar top would have been right the taps and clock would have only been introduced until 1935. BUT its a very short scene where you're not going to see very much anyway so hopfully its not going to be an issue. Hopefully. But even though i couldn't make it as accurate as id hoped i did spend alot of time looking around the older pubs in york and sampling what they had to offer. Below i will list a couple of my favourites.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |
The Blue Bell
In Fossgate you will one of the oldest pubs in the country, The Blue Bell. A quite little pub The Blue Bell as recently been axed for the National beer guide for standing up and staying that he didnt want tourist ruining his pub.
A lovely little pub reguardless, with alot of the orginal intera from what I could see.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  me enjoying the worlds best cocktail |
Evil eye lounge
The home to the finest cocktails in york!
Evil eye is now one of my favourite bars, once you enter it is as if you have been transported to a barzare and mistical world. Evil eye is a Cocktails and Asian street food served in a brightly painted bar themed on Brazil, Haiti and Morocco.
Please check out the images to right of this text to try and get an understanding as to how fantasic the inner wooden decore is. If youre ever in york please go and check them out.
Lady Withingtons mannor
I've ready spoke in detail about this background, if you would like to read it it can be found towards the bottom of the post linked below.
The fear is very real about animating these scene. Infact this is one of two scene im looking forward to seeing finished simple because i have noidea in my head how the outcome is going to look techinally. I had an idea but it could really go one of two ways. This is one of my favourite background and one of my longest scene. I just hope that it does go as planned, but i shall keep you posted.
 grave yard day |  grave yard at night |
|---|
Grave yard day/night
I've already spoke about the process behind both these backgrounds which can be found towards to bottom of the post linked below if you're interested in giving it a read
As for the background itself i intend on changing it a little since talking to Pete about it last term. Instead of the grave yard being out in the country I'm going to have it more city centeral so that apon the killing it would make more scene for people to come looking after hearing the screams.
But again i'll keep you posted on that as and when.
Inside the grave
Inside the grave, its one of the simplest backgrounds i've produced.