Domino Treatment

For the domino animation, I decided on creating a layout that shows a design (pictured below) and at the end, when the last domino falls, there would be a fun and unexpected action.
The animation starts with an extreme close up of a single domino. It's a traditional black and white domino. As the domino falls we see that there are others falling behind it. The camera cuts along side of the dominoes and travels with them as they topple over in one straight line.
There is a split and the dominoes go off in two directions followed by a third soon after. The camera cuts to an angle where we see the dominoes falling towards us and they begin forming two different spirals. The camera pans over to the third path where the dominoes form a larger spiral and in the center is a button.
We cut to a high angle extreme close up of the button just as the last few dominoes are falling. The last one falls on top of the button which pushes it down. There is a second of stillness as we wait to see what the button will do. We cut to a long shot that shows the entire design of fallen dominoes and we hear a click like a switch turns on and the dominoes glow.
For music, I want something with an upbeat tempo, maybe techno, to go with the quick falling dominoes. Once we reach the place where the button is pressed, the music stops and there is silence followed by the click that sounds as the glow turns on. For the setting, I want the dominoes to be in a dark area on a dark surface so that when the glow appears, it's intense and noticeable. To do this, I will probably keep the background black and create a black table top that is kind of reflective to show that the dominoes aren't floating in space. I'm going to use minimal lighting, maybe one or two faint spotlights, so that the glow shows up in the end.

Treatment

The camera starts from above where we see an underwater scene below. We then move down closer so that we are surrounded by the sea life, which is animated by the water in which it’s submerged. The scene is a cloudy blue color and bubbles float up in the foreground of our frame just before we start to make the journey forward.

We slowly swim ahead and are surrounded by seaweed that moves in and out of the frame. Scattered on the sandy floor of either side of us are shells and starfish of various sizes. We look to the right to find some purple sea urchins resting along with an isolated bunch of coral. More bubbles float up and we turn to face forward again.

Moving along, the path gets clearer and we see more shells, seaweed and starfish along the left side. Up ahead we also see a large patch of orange coral that stands out amongst the deep blues of the ocean. Passing through more seaweed and bubbles, and some sea anemones, we make our way towards the coral.

Once we get close, we weave through the large structures of coral and pass through making twists and turns so that we end up facing the direction we were coming from. The camera then dollys out and moves up, using a crane shot, towards the ocean surface, which gives a slight aerial view of the full ocean landscape below.

The viewer will be able to take a journey to a place unfamiliar to them. The goal of this project is to give the audience an experience of swimming under the ocean, while appreciating 3D computer animation.

Treatment -- Draft

I plan on creating an animated underwater scene using Maya's 3D paint tools. I will create a rough terrain that will look like sand and scatter rocks around to give it more character. Plants will play a major part in my scene. I will use plants like kelp and seaweed which will move and sway to give the illusion that they really are under the ocean. Other species that are found in the ocean will be found in my aquatic scene, for example, starfish and sea anemones. Also included in my scene will be shells and coral to add to the setting. To give the illusion that we are traveling through water, I plan on adding bubbles which will float up and give some life to the empty area. Lastly, I plan on giving a full view of this underwater terrain using a fly-through camera.

Brief

For my project in IDD401 I think I would still like to experiment with the paint tools in Maya. I am interested in creating a small underwater environment using the 3D paint effects. I plan on creating an atmosphere with plants, sand and shells. I want to give it life, so I also plan on animating it. Making the plants move as if it really was underwater, I think, can help achieve this. I know that it can be really hard to get every plant life and shell, etc., proportionate in size, so I plan to do a little research to make sure my scene is pretty accurate.
By animating my underwater terrain, I can get the look that I'm striving for which is a believable location. I am also planning on adding animated bubbles to add to the water effect. I may try to add some fish if time permits. I am going to experiment a little with lighting since I haven't done too much with that. Also, to get a full view of my scene, I will do a fly-through with a camera and also take some high-quality stills which, hopefully, I can add to my senior portfolio.

Minor Project 1: Mission Statement

I'm interested in the 3D painting tools within Maya. In my previous Maya class, we worked on an underwater scene briefly using the painting tools, and I think it would be interesting to create a more detailed and precise underwater environment as a project. I also would like to learn more about scene layouts and lighting which can help make an animated backdrop appear more realistic in addition to further studying of animation and natural motion.