Further research and development:
Toys 'r us





(im still recovering from the amount of pink that the toys 'r us girls section was plastered with!)







Findings: plastic, plastic plastic, bold, bold, bold.

My modern doll development:




Sale display tables:

Environment development

These images below are of the mock up scenes i created in maya, allowing me to be able to play around with the furniture in the scene. I'm trying to gather a better understanding of my scene and i feel that this has really helped. Although from the images below it is slightly difficult to see my progression but at the bottom of the page are my most finalised ideas.....

Im going to arrange my sale display at the end of one of the isles, still allowing some light to reach the corners of the other toys but mainly lighting the main characters. Im going to keep the isles all horizontal fro now, meaning that you would not be at the end of the store and see the wall.

Dancers box design (in development)

Storyboard 4

Newest thoughts

After going to Hamleys i gathered quite a few ideas about how i should display the toys. Although i had the original idea of shelves i was finding ti hard to think of anything else so by having a look at the different display methods i was able to refresh my mind. It has also enabled me to really think about the opening scene and set up of my animation. At the store there were many tables that things were displayed on, and i feel this would work. These tables were stepped or separated and also glass and an assortment of shapes and sized and i feel that by placing two of these tables in the junction of isles would give my animation focus and the audience and understanding of the environment. At the beginning scene instead of zooming in on the shelves you would see these two tables - one a sale table and one 'new in' items, both dimly lit by a store emergency light leaving everything else in silhouette.

(This last image is the sort of style i am going for on with a one level lower table next to a higher slightly differnt styled table.)

Also a thought to leaving the dancer out, instead of Jack popping out as much as he does, i would like the camera to show him starring at him from his box admiring the dancer, allowing the camera to still use the 360 degree shot of her dancing on her platform which i had originally wanted to use then left out with my third storyboard. I need to make sure that this, 'admiring' scene does happen after showing them try to be with each other to avoid the darker concept that could easily be perceived.

development...

While still working on My storyboard Ive also been developing the 'shop' area. I considered that maybe the shop had closed down, and the toys had been left behind, but i still mostly like the idea that the shop is closed and it is only the toys that are inside. Ive been trying to create this environment including the sale area idea for the Jack in the box, and incorporate the 'new in' shelves for the dancer. Ive made a few mock ups in Maya trying to establish how to best display them. Originally i thought that i wanted the store to be an old collectors store, crammed full of things, but i think for this project less, would probably be more. I want to keep it very basic, dimly lit, apart from the two main toys (possibly lit with hanging display lights) keeping the viewers eyes on what i want them to be looking at and not distracted by what else Ive packed into the scene.

After watching the YouTube clip that Phil suggested i watch for ideas on the suspense factor of my project it became quite apparent that to tell a story you don't need o.t.t visuals, unless that is part of the style or theme, and i feel that especially for this project, with some nice animation and paced subtle camera shots, would be more than enough to tell my story well.

Back to the point... Ive been sketching, trying to create this small piece of world that these toys exist in to try and allow me to improve my storyboards. I think if i had i better idea of the set up, perfecting the storyboard will become easier. Also i need to work further on the dancer, making her more of an important part of this animation because at the moment, Ive left her out a little.

Tomorrow i will be going to look at some toy shops to get an idea of environment and style. I think Hamleys has the widest variety of displays and also quite a few ares away off from the rest of the store, for instance corners and not so obvious isles and this is what I'm looking for. I'm most interested in the smaller, almost forgotten displays, as this is how i want to create mine. I just need some inspiration i think.

Development of Jack's box....

Storyboard 3

Storyboard 2

Maya work

Just some basic bits and pieces ive been working on. None are finished, ive only just started the jesters hat.