Little Nightmares Behind the Music: I researched Tobias Lilja and how he created the audio for "Little Nightmares 2"

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

I did this research because I felt inspired when listening to the music and the ambience of the game and I wanted to create something similar for my FMP. From this research I learned how Tobias used sound effects and ambience to enhance the gameplay and how he tried to make the audio sound realistic but also unsettling at the same time. My original idea for the audio was going to sound more retro like a 90's video game but I felt like having more of a depth audio would make the viewer feel immersive into the video. On his website Tobias explains how most of his audio are mostly orchestral instruments "with heavily processed and filtered to create a surreal and otherworldly feel". This was really helpful to me because I like the mix of orchestral and synths merging and creating this weird and wonderful music.

​

Office Location References: I researched The Office TV Show building and Wall Street layouts to get an idea for a general concept.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The reason I researched this is because the TV show The Office is mostly set around an office, which my FMP is also going to be located. When looking up the layout of the office building I saw that in most rooms the walls are either grey or white and they all similar design. For my FMP I will have a similar colour palette with white walls and a grey floor until the door appears then the colours of the office will change to dark sinister colours.

​

Blender 3D Modelling (Environment): I researched a basic Blender step by step guide of how to model an environment for a scene in Blender. The link:

https://www.blendernation.com/2019/04/01/generating-realistic-terrain-in-blender-2-8/

I think that this step by step guide will be helpful when creating the environment for my FMP. I will try to aim at finding a visual guide instead of instructions so I know what I will be aiming for.

 

Blender 3D Modelling (Buildings):

I found a video on how to create buildings in Blender, the tutorial also includes Texturing which could be helpful towards my FMP.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The video is for beginners and for advanced users, which I think is a perfect video for modelling buildings. This will help me create the city/background and scenery which the Office will be located in. The video also explains about tools that I have not explored before like the Snapping Tool, this will be useful to help me learn new skills.

​

Baldi's Basics Character Modelling:

I researched how the characters in Baldi's Basics were created and what software was used to create them. link: https://twitter.com/mystman12/status/1105886426158301191?lang=en

​

​

​

​

                       "GIMP"                                                                    "Anim8or"

​

According to Micah McGonigal twitters account apparently according to the creator Micah McGonigal (Mystman12) The 2D characters were created on the software "GIMP", whilst the 3D characters used to be created on an old 1999 software called "Anim8or", but now it's in Blender.

​

VST Plugins (for Audio):

I researched some VST Plugins for the audio for my FMP, I've researched this topic over the course of my experience with music.

Some VST's I've researched are:

• Darksicord - Has a dark and creepy vibe to it, sounds like a distorted piano.

• Techno NH1 - A main use for percussion, the VST has a lot of metal hits and undertone synths.

• Music Box Suite - Can be altered to become distorted and eerie, whilst the Music Box in my opinion is the creepiest instrument.

• U-He Cheese - Although the "Cheese" Series of VST's are mostly synths, they can be adjusted to be spooky.

• Spitfire Orchestra Series - With my experience with this VST I'd say using the different orchestral instruments you can edit them to make the soundscape of each instrument un-natural.

• Audacity - Not considered a VST but an audio software where you can use different effects like distortion and Reverb to change audio into a creepy sound.

• NOVO: Modern Strings - Strings are the most important instrument in a orchestral composition and this software would be helpful to get an un-nerving vibe to the audio.

• ATOM - An atmospheric VST which will bring depth to the audio in my FMP.

• HGTO/ Waterharp - The Waterphone which is an un-common instrument and, would sound interesting with my FMP.

• Atmos 2 - A  relaxing piano with a eerie synth soundscape played in the background, I feel like this will play well towards the end of my project.

• Synisteria - A retro horror VST which just by reading the description of the VST will go perfectly with the type of genre I'm aiming for.

• Logic Pro Synths - These synths are used a lot because they are most common and free with Logic Pro. You can also add effects and alter them to sound different.

​

Blender Character Rigging (Fundamentals):

I researched how to rig a 3D Model in Blender, from watching the video it looks practical to import and adjust the Armature to fit the model. The tutorial covers the basics of rigging a 3D Model and posing it, but the downside to this tutorial is that it doesn't include how to animate the armature by using keyframes.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The channel that uploaded the video is the official Blender YouTube Account, which means that this is a trusted source. The channel also includes loads of tutorials for rigging and animating 3D Models. Another video I researched was "2D & 3D Animation Combined", which shows a behind the scenes of how using Adobe Photoshop you can import 2D Characters into your 3D Blender scene.

​

Blender Lighting Effects:

I researched different Blender lighting effects. The website includes different types if lighting effects to enhance your projects in Blender.

​

Link: https://all3dp.com/2/blender-lighting-simply-explained/

​

The website explains the process of the five different lighting effects in Blender: Point, Sun, Spot, Area and Hemi. The website also explains Volumetric Lighting and spotlight effects which will go well for the effect of the "Door" in my FMP.

​

My Short Film Reflection:

I researched my own film made in Blender, which was made in two days. The animation was simple but creative with the face expressions of the character.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The animation was a pain to render because of the upload size, this was later fixed when snipping down the keyframes and editing them in Adobe Premiere. The Lighting seen on the table was my favourite aspect of the project because it was the first time I tried lighting in Blender and I was happy with the final result. The Audio was Made in Music Maker (the same program Baldi's Basics Music was created on) I tried to create an eerie soft piano track for the ambience. The "Monster" theme was composed with an Oboe and Strings rising as the jump-scare approaches.

​

My Second Short Trailer Reflection:

I researched another short film I've done, this video is shorter than my main Short Film because this was a trailer for my FMP.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

This was my first animation with lighting movement and camera rotation. The Models, animation and the lighting setup were easy to create. The timing of the door opening with the camera moving towards it was difficult to time with moving the keyframes to the correct pace. I learnt alot from my previous animations which will help me further my knowledge and skills in my future projects

​

Auto-Rig (Blender Add-on)

Auto-Rig is a tool that I have recently bought. It helps by automatically adding a skeleton to an imported 3D Model. It is a beginners software which is easy to use.

Tutorial link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tDlcPOIf5w

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​