Axel Dangerson
ANIMATED SCHOOL OF MOTION PROJECT
Role: Storyboard Artist, Animator
In the summer of 2024 I studied Character Animation at School of Motion to refine my skills.
The final project of the course was to create a movie trailer concept for 'Axel Dangerson'. All that was provided was the character, three scenes, and a voiceover to fit the trailer to. The rest of the brief was completely open ended.
The character is shown and explained to be very strong and macho, so what did I do? I made it ironic!
Provided Elements
Aside from the Axel Dangerson puppet, I was provided with three jungle-themed scenes which included a log "bridge" with a drop below, a snake hanging from a branch, and finally, an area filled with ancient stone pillars and a golden keyframe.
The artwork style was very simple, built entirely from vector points in Adobe Illustrator, which meant it was easy to adjust colours, move objects around, manipulate shapes and create additional items that may be needed.
Setting the Scene
Whilst certain elements were setup ready to animate, I also wanted to provide movement in the background of every scene.
I decided to add motion to all background or foreground elements to give a feeling of depth.
Both cameras and lighting were essential for this piece. The spotlights I added allowed the character to be highlighted in an area of darkness, whilst it sequentially added shadows to other areas, giving a sense of forboding.
The cameras meanwhile allowed me to not only cut from one area of the scene to another with ease, but to provide a snapshot of what was important in that moment. The camera movements allowed me to create a more cinematic feel to the animation as the viewer is then taken quite literally through the depths of the jungle.
Audio
The project files provided included a voice over by Joey Korenman which explains the character throughout the trailer. Whilst the character is explained to be a brave hero, I wanted to turn the idea on its head and have him terrified of absoutely everything around him.
To bring this side of his personality to life, I needed an additional voice to provide the right sound effects to carry it off. That's when I enlisted the help of Voice Artist, Joshua Pallett.
The addition of Joshua's vocals and sound effects helped to complete the final piece of the puzzle.
The Result
In the summer of 2024, I received my credentials badge from School of Motion for passing the Character Animation Bootcamp course!
It was a joy to practice additional character skills and I look forward to applying to them to future projects.
