LIGHTING INTERACTIVE / ASMT 03

Naura / 0356798 / Interactive Spatial Design
GCD60904 / Interactive Design
Assignment 03: Final Production and Project Presentation

For our final assignment, we are tasked with fully developing the video for our projection mapping, bringing our conceptual idea to life. Initially, I had some reservations about starting this phase, given that we only have two weeks left to complete it. Additionally, my art skills have become a bit rusty since shifting my focus toward 3D-based work, and our concept seemed quite complex to execute. However, challenges like these are part of the learning process, and I’m determined to push through.

Task Delegation:

Each team member was responsible for a specific narrative section based on our second assignment:

• Angel - Exposition and Rising Action
• Renee - Conflict and Climax
• Naura (Me) - Denouement
• Natania - Resolution

After the Week 5 lecture (03/03/25), we had a brief discussion with Mr. Shakir regarding our story progression. Since our characters are highly dynamic, we sought his advice on the best approach. He recommended rotobrushing as an efficient technique to streamline our animation process. Before our consultation, I decided to experiment with rotobrushing myself, and I was able to achieve a successful result. I was quite pleased with the outcome and excited to refine it further as we move forward.

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Week 6 Consultation notes (10/03/25):

Mr. Shakir provided feedback on the project’s overall direction, offering insights into stylistic choices and technical considerations to align with the intended creative vision. The session focused on refining rotoscoping techniques, optimizing projection colors, and improving animation workflow efficiency.

General Feedback

• The story is well-structured, with a strong focus on character movement and manipulation. 
• The current art style is effective and does not require excessive detailing. 
• We are encouraged to continue exploring creative techniques without hesitation.

Technical Guidance and Suggestions

1. Rotoscoping:

• When using the rotobrush, apply the Fill Effect to create a silhouette.
• Render the silhouette as a separate video for easier manipulation.

      2. Styling:

• Maintain a cohesive visual style, particularly in Angel’s exposition scenes—consider using Procreate for consistency.
• Reduce the frame rate to 15fps instead of 25fps to ease workload while preserving fluidity.
• Explore the Sketch Loop tutorial in Procreate for dynamic motion effects.
  Look into the Pencil Scribble Sketch tutorial in After Effects for additional visual enhancements.
• Blend personal artwork with stock images (e.g., from Envato) to enrich the composition.

       3. Color & Projection Considerations:

• Avoid full black screens, as black areas will appear as projected white light—use gray instead.
• Ensure clear contrast between characters and the background.
• If using red, make it vibrant to prevent it from dulling under projection. 
• Projection distance and size impact brightness and color saturation; increasing brightness may result in loss of fine details.
• Adding an old filter layer can help balance darkness and prevent excessive contrast loss.

       4. White Screen Considerations:

• Avoid full white screens, as projected light reflection can obscure character visibility. 
• Keep the storytelling interactive throughout to enhance engagement.

       5. Art Style and Asset Preparation:

• A sketchier style is acceptable, as it effectively conveys story progression.
• Fine-tuning is optional and should only be done if time permits.
• Export hand-drawn buildings at 1920x1080px resolution (PSD format) for optimal quality.

       6. Music & Transition Feedback:

• Transition smoothness: Current transitions feel abrupt; extending fade durations will create a more seamless flow.
• Sound design: As the animation progresses, more sound effects are gradually incorporated to enhance scene transitions and storytelling impact.

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While working with TouchDesigner to animate the butterflies for the resolution scene and experimenting with Procreate Dreams for the "bursting" effect in my denouement scene, I encountered an issue where the background was not displaying as transparent. I had planned to seek guidance from Mr. Shakir during the consultation hours to find a solution to this issue. Below is the intended output of the particle butterfly effect.

Fig 1.0 - Particle Butterfly for Resolution Scene

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Week 7 Consultation notes (17/03/25):

This was our last consultation before the presentation on Saturday. During this session, we addressed the challenges encountered during the execution phase of our animation. Mr. Shakir provided feedback and recommendations to refine our work before the final submission.

Exposition & Rising Action:

• Building filled with text: Since the frames were drawn in Procreate, it is recommended to export them as a video with a transparent background rather than as Photoshop layers. This prevents unnecessary re-animation in After Effects.
• Heart animation: Once the timing is finalized in Procreate, export it as a video and integrate it into the After Effects template.
• Heart animation enhancement: If time permits, consider using the Puppet Tool to introduce subtle movements, making the heartbeat appear more natural and dynamic.

Conflict:

• Masking effect: Apply a scribble effect to both the dancer and the background in After Effects to create a more expressive and fluid visual style.

Climax:

• Color animation: Animate the moment when all colors merge together to enhance the emotional impact.
• Thin lines: Introduce thin lines to maintain visual consistency with the earlier sections of the animation.

Resolution:

1. Gradient background:

• Instead of using the default 4-color gradient preset in After Effects, create a custom gradient in Photoshop, Procreate, or another design software to allow for richer colors, textures, and depth.
• Import the custom gradient into After Effects and apply the Turbulent Displace effect to create a flowing, animated effect.
• When resizing, split the gradient into three walls and a floor to prevent oversized, distracting blobs from dominating the composition.

       2. Rotoscoping with scribbles:

• To enhance animation texture, duplicate the scribble layer and apply wiggle time or rotation animation for added depth and fluidity.

General Feedback:

• Sound Design: The audio is working well so far.
• Art Style Consistency:
• Maintain a uniform style throughout the animation.
• If thin lines are used to depict pulses, they should remain consistent across all scenes for cohesion.

Final Compilation:

• Once all individual scenes are finalized, a designated team member should compile them into the final sequence to ensure a seamless transition between sections.

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Unfortunately, Mr. Shakir was not an expert in TouchDesigner and suggested that I reach out to him so he could send some videos or advice from a colleague with more experience in the software. However, despite receiving the videos, I found that they weren’t helpful when I tried to apply them in After Effects, as the black background still persisted. As a result, I decided to try using the Luma Key in Adobe Premiere Pro to remove the black background. I didn’t adjust the threshold at all, as I found that Premiere Pro provided better results, particularly in preserving the soft bloom effect of the butterfly. While I could have used the Luma Key in After Effects, I found that Premiere Pro gave me the best outcome for this specific effect.

Two days before submission, a calamity (an exaggeration, of course) struck when my iPad completely wiped all the progress on my bursting animation—my iPad was essentially a clean slate. Given the limited time and the fact that I still had other tasks and assignments to complete, I had to think creatively to salvage the situation. I turned to TouchDesigner once again to create a bursting effect that captured both the vibrant explosion of colors and the dynamic qualities I had envisioned for the animation. Below was what I created:

Fig 2.0 - Dancing Star Background TD

Since I felt the floor design was too plain, I came across a video demonstrating a stunning butterfly effect created using the Lorenz attractor, which perfectly aligned with our concept. The Lorenz attractor, a mathematical model that generates chaotic yet beautiful patterns, seemed like the perfect inspiration for adding more depth and visual interest to the floor animation.

Fig 2.1 - Lorenz Attractor Butterfly Effect TD

I also created the star sparkling effect for the exposition part, as Angel was struggling with time constraints and had not yet finished her section. Given that two weeks is a very short period to complete such complex work, I stepped in to help ensure we stayed on track.

Fig 2.2 - Bursting Star TD

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Presentation and Last Iteration

Our group was the fifth to present, and I initially felt quite nervous, concerned that our work might fall short in comparison. However, the presentation proceeded smoothly, and we conveyed our ideas as intended. Seeing our work come to life, I recognized areas for improvement—particularly in reinforcing our theme of love and butterflies, which felt somewhat underdeveloped. Additionally, a more restrained color palette could enhance the overall cohesiveness.

We received constructive feedback from Mr. Shakir, highlighting areas for further refinement:

• Scene 5 (0:46): He suggested that this scene could be further developed. If time permits, collaborating with teammates to align it more closely with our initial vision would be beneficial.

• Final Scene: He recommended exploring a brighter colour palette, similar to Scene 3 (0:37), rather than using pastel tones. Additionally, he suggested incorporating more butterflies to enhance the visual impact.

Additionally, Mr. Zeon provided feedback on the transitions between scenes, noting that they still felt too abrupt and could be refined for smoother visual continuity.

Personally, I did not want to burden my teammates with my own shortcomings, nor did I want them to spend their holiday time working. To address this, I utilized my flight home to make improvements—spending six hours refining the project with a brief one-hour nap in between. To enhance the transitions between scenes, which were noted as being too abrupt, I created scribble animations to ensure a more seamless flow from Angel’s section to Renee’s:

Fig 3.0 - Scribble Transition 1

Fig 3.1 - Scribble Transition 2

Fig 3.2 - Scribble Transition 3

I organized the animations into a folder and left it to the other's discretion to select the ones that best fit the final composition, as I was unable to attend the online meeting. 

Next, I worked on the "bursting" effect that I had initially envisioned in my storyboard. While the final result was not exactly as I had imagined, it was close enough to achieve the intended visual impact. 

Below is what the effect looks like on its own. After consulting with my groupmates, they suggested changing the background to orange as a reference to the previous scene, ensuring a smoother visual transition. I’ve also included the updated version below for comparison.

Fig 4.0 - Denouement Bursting Animation

Fig 4.1 - Denouement + Burst (before)

Fig 4.2 - Denouement + Burst (after)

Submission (slides):

Submission (video):

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Reflection:

Although the outcome wasn’t as cohesive as I had hoped, I recognize that hasty decisions and a “just get it done” mindset may have contributed to it. While splitting tasks based on different story sections seemed logical at the time, it led to inconsistencies in art style, transitions, and scale. In hindsight (as I've discussed with Natania), assigning tasks by elements—such as having one person focus on backgrounds and another on characters—would have created a more unified final product.

But worse of all, losing all my Procreate Dreams progress just days before submission was a major setback, and while I tried to find workarounds, the time constraints made it difficult to fully integrate my revised work with the rest of the project.

Despite these challenges, I am incredibly grateful for my teammates, especially Natania, who handled much of the audio and compilation. Our team communicated well, openly sharing and accepting feedback, which was crucial in bringing everything together. I also appreciate the guidance of our lecturers, Mr. Shakir and Mr. Zeon, whose constructive advice helped refine our project. Mr Shakir's insights especially - on consistency, interactivity, and scale were valuable, and I agree that certain aspects could have been better refined if we just had more time.

This semester has been a valuable learning experience, particularly in Adobe After Effects. However, I wish we had explored TouchDesigner and projection mapping in greater depth, as understanding the technical aspects would have enriched our final presentation. Completing the content in just two weeks, from scratch, was both exhausting and rewarding. Knowing that our projection content will (hopefully) be displayed publicly for three weeks is fulfilling, as it allows us to connect with the audience and leave a lasting impact.

While this project had its ups and downs, it reinforced my passion for visual storytelling. I hope to have more opportunities to work on similar projects in the future, particularly in art installations and projection mapping. More exposure to software like Resolume Arena would have been beneficial, as it would allow us to focus on both content creation and technical execution.