Still in the process of setting up everything: the blog layout, my old animation archives, a podcast feed, a podcast, my new Internet connection, my life...so updates are still coming in rather slowly right now...did I mention a podcast? A weekly podcast.
Having already failed my personal goal of submitting the minimum of at least a single blog post every week, I will continue and attempt to complete the rounded out summary of all my original Re: your brains university final year project documented work (you may breath now). Over the next few days I will post everything that I have not already previously covered about the video, ending the whole experience with a commentary wrapping up my final thoughts about the production and any hindsight I may have as of the recording. After that: CHANGE!!! (see
here for more info)
So lets get this crap over with, next up the initial concept information, featuring the novelized summary of the entire video...which I really wrote after making the video, but pretended I didn't:
1 Initial Concept
After going over the edited down version of the song, listening to the way the atmosphere builds up through the use of the music and lyrics, I eventually came up with a visual narrative to accompany the exciting eerie music. I also spent much time thinking about how elaborate the animation can be, the scale of the situation that I wanted to present, and how long it would take to animate.
All the animation I was doing needed to complement and bring something of value to the original song. It had to be visually interesting and exciting and not just having characters standing around with flapping mouths. Doing that would not be a good example of animation
1.1 Characters
The music video contains three main characters, as well as a handful of interchangeable Zombie designs multiplied many times to create the illusion of crowds. The three characters are as followed:
He is the office boss who has recently been turned into a Zombie. Bob is the only character who will speak in the cartoon, singing the lyrics from the song.
He is the office worker who gets bothered by the Zombie Bob. Tom is the hero and main character in the music video, the intent is to have the audience rooting for him to not be killed.
She is a hot secretary that Tom has to save from Zombies half way through the video. Janice works as the damsel in distress, giving Tom an obstacle that he can actually overcome by saving her.
1.2 Locations
To keep location workflow at a manageable level, I decided that I would start with Tom inside a locked room, then twenty to thirty seconds of action while Tom is on the run and it ends with him again in a locked room. I wanted the beginning and end to have the main character reacting while staying in one place. There are four location areas which are:
This is where the video starts. Tom’s office is a small glorified cubicle with a door, window and shades. This room is mostly full of the usual office supplies such as a computer, desk and filing cabinet. Tom has customised his walls a little with a few motivational posters and graphs.
This is the conveniently endless strings of hallways where all the action takes place. Aside from the broken windows, fires, splatter of blood and vital organs, this area look more or less like a generic type of office environment.
This is where the majority of the ending shots take place. For whatever reason the supply closet works nicely as a safe house, containing large amounts of food and firearms.
- External shots of Tech Support
Now and then throughout the video, we cut to shots of outside Tech support where there are usually large crowds of Zombies gathered round. The building is a large block separated from everything else, with a car parked around it.
1.3 Plot
Tom is a frustrated software engineer who works in private, with the door locked and the window shades down, at the company Tech Support. He is once again being pestered by his boss Bob, who tends to bother Tom several times a day over the intercom. Usually Bob visits Tom to enquire about incomplete paperwork and inefficient software data, but this time things are a little different. Bob has somehow been converted into an unholy undead Zombie and he wants to eat Tom’s brain.
It seems while Tom has been working in his closed off office space, a Zombie apocalypse has occurred and now there are several hordes of hungry Zombie mutants crowded outside the Tech Support Building. When Tom finally figures out what is going on, the Zombie Bob tries to reason with him, assuring that they only want to eat his brain and that no one is going to even touch his eyes. Not taking kindly to this news, Tom barricades the door with his filing cabinets, computer, boxes and everything that is not attached to the walls. This workplace is fine for a little while, but before long Bob and the other hundreds of Zombies descend on Tom’s office. As a mighty undead fist smashes through the window, Tom realises he has to run for it.
Tom Breaks down the door and crushes the four unsuspecting Zombies directly outside. Tom starts running down the hallway as Bob and the others chase him. After Getting some distance, Tom notices that Janice, the distant but very attractive secretary, who he could never summon up the courage to talk to, is surrounded by a small group of Zombies. Tom grabs the closest weapon he can find and rushes to save Janice. After spattering all the monsters heads against the walls, Tom grabs Janice and pulls her into the nearby supply closet, slamming the door behind them before Bob and his army can catch up.
As luck would have it, the room is packed to the brim with a wide selection of weapons, food, and locks. This ensures Tom and Janice’s safety, while the two of them get intimate. With little ground to stand on, Bob watches helplessly as his Zombie colleges try to chew off the door handle and get inside. Bob looking defeated however, lets off a little smile as we cut back to Tom and Janice looking at each other with concern. Tom gives Janice a thumb up, as a half hearted response, in an attempt to reassure her that things will work out. Taking kindly to this sweet gesture, Janice Gives Tom a big hug, it is then that Tom notices the big bloody bite mark on her back. A somewhat zombified Janice pulls away with a horrifying smile. Tom in shock takes a few moments to assess the situation. He then shrugs in an accepting expression and then the two intimately tumble underneath the sheets.
