Above is a link to my project book.
IT IS COMPLETE!
YES!!! I am finished my project. After weeks of pulling long long hours in the F block lad I have completed my final year project! It feels so weird to have it complete as it has been the only thing I have thought about for the last 9 months.
I am very happy about how it turned out. The project was a real journey and honestly if you had have shown me how the end project turned out at the start I wouldn’t have believed you.
I got my project book printed today and it turned out really well. Currently I am putting the finishing touches to my presentation for tomorrow and then I am truly complete.
This has been one lonnnggg but rewarding journey.
The Installation
Above is an installation map. The animation will be projected onto 4 walls allowing the viewer to turn around and be surrounded by the stories.
Long Days
Just an update:
I have been working 12 hours days for the last 3 weeks and my hard work is really paying off. My render last night didn’t turn out how I wanted it so I rendered it again today. Doing my last render at the moment. kinda happy I don’t have to go through that process again as it became a little stressful at time.
Focusing on the edit, the project book and Hugh Rodgers project. I’m starting to see all my hard work and how much it payed off.
Really happy with how everything is looking at the moment!
Render Render
This week has been all about rendering. I taken up about 14 macs in the D block lab and left them over might to render. I rendered 300 frames at a time on each on computer. This was very effective. I exported them as PNG files and using the blender video editor and exported them as a Quicktime file. Once I have them all rendered I will start to edit in Premier Pro.
Project Discription
Like You and Me is a projected art installation piece which confronts the viewer with the difficulties that Syrian refugees undergo in order to escape war. Through-out the experience we follow four journeys.
Rima describes the fear she experiences being in Syria during the war with her family. Jamal recounts the traumatic experience she faced while crossing the sea in a boat. Karam speaks of being smuggled to safety across the Syrian border into neighbouring countries and Yusuf talks of his life now living in a refugee camp. Together they immerse the viewer in the emotion and despair the Syrian people face everyday.
This project was created using a combination of Blender, Adobe Premiere Pro and Reaper.
The Struggle and The Solution
So, I was trying my best to get four voice actors that would be able to read my script with  a Syrian accent. As I have noted in my past blog is this proving to be very problematic. So the solution is…
I have contacted a number of voice actors on Fivver.com and have got a very positive response. I have asked them to translate my script to Arabic and read it in Arabic. I will then put subtitles over the project. I don’t think this will take away from my project, if anything it adds to the authenticity of it. So that’s one pressure gone for now and I can sleep at night once more!
Adding to the Scenes
I have the bones of the scenes made. I am currently adding the character and other finishing object to the scenes. I am also importing the animations and animating the character. The idea is I record all the projections over the weekend ready to place them on the object next week. I want to mostly done next Friday so I have a week to get my rendering done.
Here are some objects that I have added. I have added a small pot outside on of the tents and two walking lines . I think these objects add something personal to the scene. I hope to add more! Currently my project is going very well. I happy with my work so far!
Voice Actors Struggle.
I have been spending a lot of time looking for voice actors and currently I am having no luck 😦 I have asked people on Fivver.com but most have refused as they are not from Syria and believe their accent won’t be convincing, which is completely understandable.
I have also gone onto StarNow.ie. This is a platform which allow you to post casting calls. I posted the ad 5 days ago and have yet to get a good actor to respond. In all this is the only part of my project that I am worried about. Worst case I can use Irish voice accents. Like the Save The Children Campaign I can relate it back to Ireland and what it would be like if Ireland was going through this. I will keep trying and looking for voice actor and pray that I get some good voice actors!
More Objects
I have been adding to the four scenes each day. For instance today I made a burnt our car and some life jackets. I am finding that all I need to create things now is a reference photo. Once I have that I can create the object.
I really proud of the fact I can do this. I never thought I’d see the day where I could work within Blender without having to follow a tutorial!! Regardless of how my project turns out at the end I am very proud that I took on a project that at the beginning I did not have the skills set for. I have learnt so mucho over the last couple of months.
Final Year & Me 