five nights at freddy's (original idea)

Initial ideas: A Five Nights At Freddy's Animation Using Blender

INSPIRATIONS

Five Nights at Freddys Ar, Special Delivery is an augmented reality survival horror game. Here the animatronics are sent to locations in the players home where the player has to survive. Various devices are available and players can even re use animatronic parts. There is a great back story whereby players have signed up for the ‘Freddy Fazbear Funtime service’ and get their favourite animatronics on demand, although it goes horribly wrong and players end up having to survive the stream of characters that turn up in their homes. This definitely has some time to run and with the AR capability, the reality of scaring yourself as well.

Willys Wonderland is an action comedy horror film that has just been released this year. It stars and is produced by Nicholas Cage. The ‘wonderland’ is an abandoned entertainment park that is the stage for a host of animatronics to attack a confused janitor amongst others. There are a variety of plot twists with some teenagers trying to set the whole place on fire. The theme of course, is based on how one might survive an animatronic attack. This film has a ready-made audience with the FNAF fan club who never seem to tire of these strange creatures. I am a big fan, I think they are great.

The Terminator series is classic machine versus man. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, an assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton), whose son (Kyle Reese) will one day save mankind from extinction by a hostile Artifical Intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. Obviously there are six films and a spin off TV series as well. The central theme is the survival of the near extinct human race against synthetic intelligence in the form of machine assasins. What’s not to like!

-MOOD BOARD-

pre production

Rationale

Since I started this Level 3 qualification I have developed a number of skills, both in researching material, creating my own ideas from inspirations and using a variety of software programmes to model and animate.

When I set out, I thought my main area of development would be in the modelling programmes like Zbrush and Maya, but my skill set is definitely more suited to Blender and Sourcefilm animator. I find that I can manipulate imagery quickly and effectively using these programmes. Certainly, they suit the speed my brain works at. I enjoy creating settings and environments more than actual character modelling, even though I think I have already achieved some good results with past creations. I intend to push my skills further in this project and work up environments from my own home. I still want to focus on the horror genre and see how scary this short animation can become. I’m using the FNAF AR game ‘Special Delivery’ as the starting point and inspiration for the animation.

Project Concept

Using the FNAF augmented reality game, ‘Special Delivery’, as my starting point and inspiration, I am planning to create a short animated film. I want to animate voice lines to create a thrilling horror experience. I will focus initially on the character called Springtrap. Essentially, the overview is that, FNAF animatronics are dispatched to gamers houses (within the AR setting) and end up trying to kill the individuals who are playing. The scenes I will be creating will involve the study in my house, and various actions, like the curtains moving and the door opening will reveal this ‘Springtrap’ character. I want to bring in some of the classic horror tropes that producers use in movies and probably what the audiences expect as well. Sound will play a key part in creating the right mood throughout, as well as lighting the environment. It will have a mixture of cinematic camera panning and a first person point of view.

My plan is to add a second character, probably ‘Freddy’, because he has some of the best voice lines, so gives me the most scope to play with. I also intend to create another room or hallway for the animation, so more props and dark areas can be added to the animation. This would mean it more closely looks like a scene from the AR game.

I intend to use mainly the software programme Blender to create the animation. In the past I used Maya, but technical issues meant the final piece was not what I wanted, so I won’t be using it this time.

My setting

For my setting I decided I would use my office where I work becuase I think the characters would work well with the multiple different door/windows in the room to interact with.

Reference images

This is my desk which I work at (sorry about the mess)

There are in total 3 doors in this room only two of which I am using for this project.

Research

How Horror films and animations have influenced my work

I have always loved watching horror films and animations and actually prefer stories that incorporate twists in the plot or something a little sinister.

A short history of horror

Horror films are designed to create fear and tension within the audience for the purpose of entertainment. They often have an effect that lasts for longer than the length of the film and even burrow into our subconscious creating nightmares, fears and phobias.

The horror genre has been in existence for over a century, with influences from Bram stoker Mary Shelley and Edgar Alan Poe, giving rise to Dracula, Frankenstein, The Raven or The Mummy. Essentially an evil presence, whether a ghost, or the devil, or a monster invades normal life.

Georges Méliès was a French film maker in the late 1890’s. He created short silent films such as ‘The haunted castle’, where a devil creates problems for the visitors. This film is probably the earliest horror production available. Other short films by him are ‘The cave of demons’ and ‘A Terrible night’.

The American director George Albert Smith created a film using x-rays of two skeletons in 1897.He also produced a short film called Photographing a ghost, this is considered to be the first paranormal venture in film.

The 1930’s saw a series of gothic horror films created with Universal Pictures leading the way. Many gothic horror monsters were created during this time, like The Mummy in 1932, or The Invisible Man, Dracula and Frankenstein. The sequel The Bride of Frankenstein was considered to be the greatest in cinematic history. Monster features became popular and special effects and makeup were important in creating realistic adaptations in order to scare audiences. Jack Pierce became well known in the area of creating monster features. Boris Karloff was cast in many monster roles, notably Frankenstein’s monster.

In the 1950’s films started to depict large creatures or monsters often paired with disaster situations, like Godzilla (1954), or It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955). These films often portrayed some sort of experiment that went wrong and caused a giant monster attacking a group of people, whether they were from the sea, or from space. The whole influence of this era can be seen in many modern films and animations and story lines, including Five Nights at Freddys.

The 1950’s also saw horror move to the small screen with Alfred Hitchcock Presents. This was a series of dramas, thrillers, mysteries and horrors and has been described by Time magazine as one of the 100 best TV shows of all time.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Pyscho, released in 1960 and The Birds (1963) are classic psychological horror films. They have the ability to create suspense and tap into deep fears that many people have, like the fear of birds.

Horror films moved away from the classic and gothic features in the 1970’s and became more modern and aggressive.

Stephen King’s horror novels were adapted for the screen, beginning with Carrie. His film The Shinning (directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980) wasn’t popular at the box office, but is now considered to be one of the greatest horror films made. This is where we see psychological and supernatural themes start to take over, with evil children and insanity being common features. Dr Sleep is a recent success drawing on many of the imagery seen in The Shinning. The telefilm IT, also Stephen King, was released in 1990 and was a huge success. Its success didn’t come from blood and gore, but rather the psychological implications terrifying the viewers using an evil clown Pennywise.

Other notable horror films are The silence of the lambs (1991), What lies beneath (2000),

Scream (1996), Bird box (2018) and Truth or Dare (2018)

Remakes of the classics have appealed to a whole new generation of horror enthusiasts, who experienced the genre through childhood animations before the big screen.

I am one of those. Batman, Scooby-Doo and Corpse Bride are great examples of horror accessible for children. Not great for the parents who have to calm them down at bedtime.

Animation has also become more popular amongst young adults and obviously is no longer associated only with children. The area of games narrative and the ability to incorporate the horror genre has been a big influence on my work.

Devices used in horror mediums to create atmosphere

Negative space – It’s not just about what is there, the subject of the scene or the positive space. It’s also about what isn’t there and how much isn’t there.

Mirrors – mirrors can be used in horror to create space and depth. This also has the effect of building tension in the viewer. Reflective surfaces like windows of glass cabinets do the same thing. People expect to see mirrors because of the classics like Psycho and the association with those scenes.

Subversion of the classic horror tropes – such as the monster in the mirror, or the slasher in the woods or the light under the door. Audiences expect to see certain situations pan out at these cues, but when there is no monster in the mirror and nothing happens they are left feeling uncomfortable because they know that something will happen..soon.

Non-linear sounds – These are used for creating feelings of unease, such as distressed animals ( cats/dogs), people screaming or screeching machines. High pitched noises signal danger to human beings.

Jump scares – these are classic..no need to say anything else.

Under exposure – dark scenes with little light can accentuate shadows, creating mystery and dread. The whole effect is achieved when the viewer feels that they are deliberately being kept from seeing everything that is there.

Scenes that run on and on – Allowing scenes to go on longer than they should is a great way to build anticipation. A mundane room can become terrifying when it is the only thing being shown. The audience is asking why? What am I not seeing?

Jarring editing techniques – Psycho embraces this brilliantly in the shower scene. Jump cuts in the editing mess with the audience and they end up ‘seeing’ things that they actually don’t. The power of suggestion.

I am going to build many of these devices into my work.

PRODUCTION

MY WORK TIMELAPSE

I decided to film my work so I could speed it up and show my work progress in a time-lapse. Unfortunately I only filmed a little bit before forgetting to press record and working off camera.

The things i added off camera were:

-curtains using cloth physics
-metal draws under my desk
-laptop stand
-keyboard

I did download some free models from Turbo Squid. the models I downloaded were the:

-Laptop made by LucaCinqq
-Chair made by Kanistra Studio 3D
-Five Nights At Freddy's AR: (Springtrap) made by Scott Cawthon

I retextured all these models so that they fit my scene better and look more natural

LIGHTING

I decided to change my idea as Simon thought this project was too similar in style to work I have already produced. I really love working with horror and suspense, so I can see that he may have a point. I have spent a long time researching and developing this idea, but I think creating a totally new direction is a good thing and will challenge me to move away from my comfort zone. I’ve already demonstrated in previous projects my ability to model environments with accuracy and creativity. I’m pleased with the study I managed to create here and my time-lapse shows some of this work in action using Blender.

teaser trailer

Bibliography

https://freddy-fazbears-pizza.fandom.com/wiki/Five_Nights_at_Freddy%27s_AR:_Special_Delivery (accessed March 2021)

https://fnafar.com (accessed Feb/March 2021)

Horror tropes

https://screenrant.com/horror-movie-tropes-best-worst/(accessed Feb 2021)

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