Art of

by Jack White
Introduction

For my minor and major project in my third year I chose

to continue with the adaptation of the poem The Sound
Collector by Roger McGough, into a short
animation. This work began in my second year for the
Adaptation B project, where I focused on designing and
modelling the character of The Sound Collector. I also
created an animated storyboard for the intended
animation. I hired a voiceover artist by the name of
David Riley to narrate the poem.

As I rebooted the project at the beginning of my third

year, I revisited the design of The Sound Collector
character. I also reworked the storyboard as I began to
design and build the interior of the house where the
animation takes place.

Once the house environment was modelled, the many

individual shots of the animation were finally created
and edited together. I collected and processed all of the
sound effects in the animation myself.

Page 1
Poem Adaptation

The Sound Collector This is the poem I chose

A stranger called this morning
Dressed all in black and grey
Put every sound into a bag
And carried them away
The whistling of the kettle
The turning of the lock
The purring of the kitten
The ticking of the clock
to adapt. It has a simple
rhythm and does not go
into great detail about
the character or the
environment where this
takes place. This left it
completely open to
interpretation and
allowed a lot of creative
freedom.

The popping of the toaster

The crunching of the flakes
When you spread the marmalade
The scraping noise it makes

The hissing of the frying pan

The ticking of the grill
The bubbling of the bathtub
As it starts to fill

The drumming of the raindrops

On the windowpane
When you do the washing-up
The gurgle of the drain

The crying of the baby

The squeaking of the chair
The swishing of the curtain
The creaking of the stair

A stranger called this morning

He didnt leave his name
Left us only silence
Life will never be the same

Poem by Roger McGough Page 2

Influences for The Sound Collector Character

When I began designing The Sound Collector, these

particular characters and uniforms were very influential
in the overall look of the character.

The character Mr Mackay from the television series

Porridge and Blakey from On the Buses were both
used in the design of the sound collectors face. The film
Brazil and the exterminator from the film Mouse Hunt
were useful references for objects associated with the
character. Vintage postman uniforms were very influential
in the design of the characters uniform.

Page 3
Early Concept Work for The Sound Collector Character

Page 4
Early Concept Work for The Sound Collector Character
(continued)

Page 5
Concept Work for The Sound Collector Character

Page 6
Modelling Work for The Sound Collector Character

Orthographic image for modelling

The Sound Collector

Page 7
Textured and Rigged model of The Sound Collector
Character

Page 8
Reworking the Concept of The Sound Collector Character

After revisiting the design of

the characters face at the start
of the minor project, I
concluded that the addition of a
stubble would help give the
audience more information about
this character. The reason being
that this character has worked on
this job for many years and as
such he has grown weary and has
begun to care less about his
appearance.
Page 9
Remodelling The Sound Collector Character

The only major change I

made to the model of the
character was the shape
of his chin. I felt that
it could be improved and
that a rounder chin shape
would better reflect the
revised concept.

Page 10
Paper Style and Texture Testing

Another major
change I made was
to opt for a
pencil drawn on
paper look for
the style and
texture of the
character.

As such I created a simple kettle

prop to test different
thicknesses and techniques, so
that I could achieve the optimum
look for the textures in my
animation. I also used a bump map
to complete the illusion that it
is drawn on paper.

Page 11
Second Textured and Rigged model of The Sound Collector
Character

Page 12
Early Concept Work for the Sound Contraption

The contraption used by The Sound Collector to

collect sounds was intially inspired by the illustrations
of Heath Robinson. I wanted to create something that
would appear dull and monotonous but also bizarre and
fantastical.

Page 13
Concept Work for the Sound Contraption

Orthographic image for modelling

the Sound Contraption

Page 14
Textured and Rigged Model of the Sound Contraption

Page 15
Influences for the Environment Style Design

When I began designing the environment for the animation,

I found Raymond Briggs illustration work particularly
influential as I opted for a similar pencil drawn style.
I also found the 1975 TV series Paddington very useful.
It was an appropriate reference as the setting I decided
on for the animation was a late 1970s British home,
inhabited by a couple and their baby.

Page 16
House Environment Layout

Page 17
House Environment Concepts

Page 18
House Environment Concepts (continued)

Page 19
Kitchen Environment Render

Page 20
Living Room Environment Render

Page 21
Hall Environment Render

Page 22
Baby Room Environment Render

Page 23
Bathroom Environment Render

Page 24
The Sound Collectors Van Render

Page 25
House Environment Model Overall Setup Render

Complex environment texture maps

Page 26
Animation Storyboard

Page 27
Animation Storyboard (continued)

Page 28
Animation Colour Fade Frame Setup

Vignette

Contraption Alpha
Channel

Colour Fade Animation

Alpha Channel

Animation Colour Render

Animation Black and

White Render

Depth of Field Render

Page 29
Animation Colour Fade Frame Setup - Result

Page 30
The Sound Collector in the Environment

Page 31