Initial Ideas

So this time of year...again. Having done fmp before, well started it and done the whole planning processes, I know what to expect from it this year and I know how much time I have realistically. Last year I discovered that my idea was far too grandiose for the time limit, even though I hadn't planned it to be too large in scale. So this year I'm aiming for something far more manageable in terms of scale and time.

So with this project I was thinking that I would do a scene based on the back alleys from Japan, specifically Shinjuku in Tokyo. I really love the atmosphere and lighting from these alleyways. My initial idea, well not my initial idea but a more refined version, is to have the scene raining so that I can get that some really nice reflections of lighting.

Below are some of the moodboards I created taking shots from areas that I particularly liked. 

This is the Golden Gai area of Shinjuku. The parts that I liked about this area are mainly the lighting but also some of the architectural elements. This would probably be used as reference more than anything as it's quite dull and grey.

This is Hozenji in Kyoto. I really love this area, I think it has such a nice aesthetic. There are some really lovely architectural elements in this area, especially the traditional elements. It also has some really nice lighting.

This is Kabukicho. It's not necessarily like an alleyway that I was looking for, but I really liked it for the neon signs. I'm looking to have a lot, or at least a fair few, neon signs as I believe that it will allow me to have some really nice lighting and atmosphere in my scene.

Nonbei, this is one of my favourite areas from Shinjuku. I really love the whole aesthetic and the atmosphere in these shots. There's just such nice lighting here, especially in the shots that have the wet flooring and some great reflections. As well as some of the architecture. Overall it was very much the inspiration for this project.

Omoide is another one of the areas that was of a great inspiration to me. Again, the lighting and overall aesthetic is great. But this one if more for the interesting detailing and industrial feel it has. There are some really interesting industrial architectural elements that I would love to have in my scene to add a nice juxtaposition to the traditional elements that I'm also hoping to achieve.  

Pontocho is another area from Kyoto that has a much nicer, more traditional feel to it. I really like this style and I would hope to have a lot of this in my scene to get a nice contrast between the traditional and the modern.

Finally, is Shomben, also known as Piss Alley interestingly enough. This is one area that I liked for the more industrial feel to it. Much more interesting to me to have a nice mix of styles but blending it together into a nice scene.

So I've collected all my ideas, and more some, into a moodboard just illustrating my general thought patterns. So at the centre is a really rough sketch of what I want my final scene, just looking at a sort of composition that I like and that could work. Obviously, subject to change. And then around that are the images that I like for the specific areas. As you can see, I've segmented the composition into three separate elements, all coloured coded of course. There split into; pink, the much more modern and slick, predominantly the neon signs at the top most level. Blue; the slightly less modern more industrial elements at the mid level. And green; the lower level that's more traditional. 

However, with my fmp this scene is far more of a backdrop to what I want the outcome of my fmp. The main outcome that I'm aiming for is the rain effect. The scene is, as I've said, a mere back drop. I want to focus predominantly on the rain effect, from the particle systems to the shaders and full on screen effects. This is what I'm trying to get out of this project.

So yeah, that's my idea.