Week 9: Final product and getting some sleep

So here it is. The product of nearly 10 weeks of blood, sweat, tears, and coffee. Boy it's been quite the rollercoaster.


Now I'm not gonna say that I'm completely done, since I'm pretty sure after getting feedback from my production class I might have to go tweak a few things (like I completely forgot to add the SOFA logo in the beginning so I need to definitely do that) -- only when I submit this into the screenings server will I proclaim my one-quarter as finished and over.

But for now, SLEEP, HERE I COME.

Oh, and as usual, le motivational comic of the week:

And not a comic, but I thought this was mesmerizingly hilarious:

NOW LET THE COUNTDOWN TO SCREENINGS COMMENCE!

Week 8: Picture-lock and sound

40 shots animated in 3 weeks -- indeed I did what was thought to be impossible. (And for reference, here's the shot list again: AWYEAH )

Here's what my final product will sort of look like -- I think I'm about 95% close to final picture-lock. Sound is preliminary.


And now comes the final task: SOUND. Working with pre-composed scores is more difficult than I had first anticipated -- the score doesn't cut very cleanly and trying to sync it with action is a huge pain in the ass. However I intend to spend these last two weeks working through this problem and hopefully I'll have something decent playing in the background of my animation. If not, then...well, let's not think about that.

To wrap things up as usual, here's TWO motivational comics for the week:

Week 7: New layout and almost complete cut

Like the new layout? I thought I'd change it a bit to fit the theme of my short film. Blue was so last week.

Anyways, I thought I'd be able to finish the animation entirely by week 8, but alas, time got the better of me and some of the final shots I had planned to do this week took waaaay longer than I had expected. So what I present to you is an almost complete cut of my animation, with some parts (namely the splitscreen in the middle) that still need to be revised.


This week I will definitely (emphasis) complete all of my shots, and then begin sound (which I had to put on the backburner again last week, sadly).

Also, before I forget, motivational comic of the week:

Onward to the final stretch!

Week 6: Personal setbacks and trimming things down

So this picture perfectly sums up my productivity for this week, tablet and all

I basically went through somewhat of a mid-year crisis in which I reevaluated my major and life and emotions and couldn't find the concentration to get the shots that I wanted done, done. SO instead of regretting my lack of productivity come week 7, I decided to ease the pain a little by cutting some shots out. As of now I've only dumped like 3 or so, but as week 7 rolls in I'll probably try to cut corners a bit more. I'm gonna keep quality control at max, though, because sacrificing quality for quantity is never the answer. I've also been putting sound in the backburner so I think for this week I'm gonna start collecting my final sound forreals. Since I'm inept and inexperienced at actual sound recording I'll be relying purely on the sfx library and the magic that is free use material. YAY.

Week 5.5: Midterm shot and getting more stuff done

My completed midterm shot:


Walk cycles will be the death of me. (I had fun animating the right side though)

Anyways my progress on shots so far:

SHOT LIST WOOP WOOP

As you can see, things are going pretty smoothly so far. I'm trying to balance out animating both easy and difficult shots -- I decided to scratch the idea of going in order of difficulty since I don't want to save all my difficult shots for last during crunch time.

So yeah production class, contrary to popular belief, I am getting shit done (pardon my language) AND getting sleep (for now).

Week 5: Ambition and getting stuff done

According to most of my production class, my endeavor of completing 45 shots in 3 weeks is very 'ambitious'. And, well, I completely agree. BUT, I consider this a challenge on my part and welcome it with open arms. My schedule for these 3 weeks of production will break down to 15 shots a week -- daunting, yes, but I've handled worse. Of course, along with two other time consuming classes I might be eating those words by the end of week 7, but I'll push through (who needs sleep really).

Anyways, I've got about 12 shots completed so far, not including my midterm shot. That one's gonna be a doozy, so I'll be saving that for tomorrow when I'll have the entire day to animate.

In the meantime, here's a quick animation test since I promised I'd show one last week but forgot:


These next two weeks will really test my patience and ability to consume massive amounts of caffeine. WEEEE, ONE QUARTER!

Week 4.5: Backgrounds and preparing for animation

Got all of my backgrounds for composition done, yay! I decided to go with a simple solid color/shading style for the backgrounds -- something similar to 'Ed, Edd n' Eddy' except not as unorthodox of a color scheme. And speaking of color scheme, I tried to harmonize colors as much as possible within each room and contrast colors between the bedroom and living room (essentially underscoring the difference in environment of the twins). Hopefully that works out to my advantage when I stick the animated characters into the backgrounds during compositing week.

I'm gonna try to post an animation test or two by Sunday, so look forward to that!

And in the meantime here are some examples of the backgrounds I'll be using:

(some of the backgrounds seem empty only because there will be other elements composited onto it)

ONWARD TO MOAR PRODUCTION!

Week 4: Shot list and schedules

I has a shot list for my next 3 weeks of production.

SHOT SHOT SHOT SHOT SHOT SHOTS

This week's plan: Paint all composite-able backgrounds, work on 'easy' shots (lines/color)
Week 5: Finish 'easy' shots, do 'medium' shots and 'difficult' shots (lines); work on midterm shot
Week 6: Finish coloring 'medium' and 'difficult' shots (if time permits, begin compositing)

It seems slightly optimistic but who knows, I might surprise myself with what I can do on caffeine and tears.

Week 3: Dat animatic and the beginning of the end

I'm still pretty on schedule, which is surprising considering how much I have on my plate at the moment. However I bet it's all gonna change this week, when I'm actually diving into production. BIG SIGH.

Anywho, here's the roughly-timed animatic, with tentative scratch sound that will eventually be refined to become my score. Props to Kevin McLeod and his awesome website of free awesome music.

Unfortunate Circumstances (super rough animatic) from Gina Pidej on Vimeo.

Over the course of the next 3 weeks I'll be head-deep into animation -- starting with backgrounds, character lines, misc lines, character colors, and then finally misc colors. In between I'll be refining the sound and scavenging for more SFX for certain parts.

THE PRESSURE'S ON.

Week 2.5: Concept art and thumbnails

And it's finally here! Spent this entire weekend working on concept art and thumbnails -- slightly ahead of the original schedule because of my workshop's expectations but I'm happy with what I have so far.

Oh and here's the updated production schedule in a neat spreadsheet format: Production Schedule

As you can see, it's gonna get rough in the next few weeks so wish me luck. Also I changed the title from 'Friday' to 'Unfortunate Circumstances' -- I feel like the latter has a lot of subtext in it and fits better with the entire theme of the story.

And now without further ado, CONCEPT STUFF AND THUMBNAILS!

I'll be presenting all of this to my production class tomorrow for feedback so hopefully things go well from there. I'm also still trying to figure out some of the shot angles for my scenes so I apologize if the thumbnails are a bit confusing.

Next up for week 3: final storyboards and animatic (hopefully I can get it with scratch sound)

Week 2: Production timeline and script rework

So after garnering feedback on Monday it was decided that I should re-work my script and keep the setting contained within a house. Same gags apply, just on a different scale. I also finalized my production schedule so hopefully I'll be able to keep to that. I'll cross things out as I go to keep myself on track.

Week 1

• story pitch, script

Week 2

• revise script
• finish character design
• finish layouts/background concept
• storyboard thumbnails

Week 3

• storyboard
• animatic w/ scratch sound
• plan for final sound

Week 4

• production (lines)

Week 5

• production (lines/color)

Week 6

• production (color)

Week 7

• compositing

Week 8

• compositing
• sound

Week 9

• sound
• final touch-ups

Week 10

• class submission & critique
• revisions
• submit to screenings on Friday

According to my schedule, I should be done with character art, layout, and thumbnails by the end of this weekend so I'll probably make a post containing most of that on Sunday.

Week 1.5: Script and a working title

Got my script done, and luckily trimmed it down to 1 1/2 pages. I had to reference my screenplay textbook to re-familiarize myself with the format and such. Scriptwriting I was like a year ago eek. Oh, and did I mention I came up with a working title for the film? After debating on a bunch of cliches I decided to keep the title vague and simple: Friday. I'm a genius.

Anyways my next task going into week 2 would be to start on concept art and initial thumbnails for the storyboard. I have a vague idea of what I want my twins to look like -- now I just need to stop being lazy and push that idea onto paper. Another concern I've thought about regarding the entire film would be sound; I'm still debating whether or not I should find a composer or rely on free material or stick to pure soundFX. Leaning toward the latter right now, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for freelancing sound kids who are generous enough to help me (highly doubt it though).

Weee, progress!

Edit:

the beginnings of concept art -- hella sketchy because mechanical pencils aren't exactly my best tool for sketching

I'll throw in some more ideas later and hopefully come up with a more refined sketch via tablet and sai tools.

Week 1: Story Pitch

I'm not much a of a personal blogger -- any blogging I do is short, sweet, and full of nonsensical gifs (IE: tumblr). However, I'll try my best to keep this blog updated with as much one-quarter progress as possible. LET'S GO.

So after pitching my initial story idea out to my production class and garnering feedback, here's the gist of what I'll be doing for my one quarter:

The film will start out with a person scrambling for an unknown object at home. A calender indicates that it's Friday the 13th. Cut to the same person walking nervously down a sidewalk in the middle of the city. Then, cut to the person's TWIN walking from the opposite direction in the same part of the city, completely nonchalant and jovial. Then there will be a series of 3 gags where the paranoid twin tries to avoid all the common superstitions that come with Friday the 13th (step on a crack, walk under ladders, black cat) while the oblivious twin triggers all of them -- however PLOT TWIST -- the bad luck that should've affected the oblivious twin carries over to the paranoid twin and completely ruins his day. Finally once the gags end the twins meet each other in the middle of the city -- the oblivious twin reveals that he was carrying a lucky clover that belonged to the paranoid twin the entire time and cheekly throws it away on the sidewalk while the angered paranoid twin watches. Then the oblivious twin steps on a crack while crossing the street and subsequently gets hit by a car. THE END.

Problems I need to work out include:

• What kind of format I'll be animating the gags in (split screen, cross-cutting, etc)
• Determining the style of the animation (I'll be using TVPaint to animate)
• Determining the full length of the film and coming up solutions to shorten it if necessary
• Work out the ending more maybe

Scripts are due next week -- hopefully after writing mine I'll be able to determine how long my one quarter will be (I have a 1:30 min limit).