Archive for December, 2009
Previs First Pass Complete
0December 30, 2009
Christmas was ace and I got some lovely gifts including some short films, texture maps, and chutney. I’ve also had some misfortune as my Mac Book Pro has died. Co-incedentaly it happened as I was rendering the completed first pass of the previs edit. I’ve spent some time trying to fix it but now it just shows a death screen at startup. I’ll be sending it off to the apple workshop in the new year and hopefully it wont be expensive… although it seems to be a hardware issue so it will probably be extortionate. Anyway… I’ve brought my old PC back to life and fixed all kinds of problems, installed new bits of software, battled through continual crashes and finally have the previs edit I began exporting about a week ago.
The idea is that Biff takes a look at the previs and begins work of the music. Normally deadlines and budgets aren’t very forgiving when it comes to experimentation and play but seeing as there are no deadlines and no pennies in the pot we have as long as we like to try new methods and different ideas. One thing I have always been keen to do is work continually throughout a production with a musician and be able to pass visuals and sounds back and forth to achieve something that isn’t led by one or the other. Most often music is led by imagery, as typically the soundtrack to a film comes later in the production or imagery is led by the music as in music videos. Having worked with both of these structures there are very particular benifits with each and I know from experience and other peoples experience that it can be very difficult to integrate music and video in such a way as they feed off each other in their production.
Our sense of hearing more so than sight has the ability to tap into our emotions and feelings. My personal desire to tell stories without words and commonly with characters that have little in the way of expression can make it very difficult visually to communicate emotion. It is music and sound that I look towards to help portray the feelings and moods of the character. Without an idea of how much is possible with the music it is easy to over exagerate the movements of characters until they become very thespian like once the music is adde, so in order to inform movements of subtle ideosyncracies it is very beneficial to start experimenting with sounds and music as early as possible.
I have a lot to say about this subject but I am terrible at putting thoughts into words… The next pass in terms of the edit will be a musically informed one… The structure and the rhythm of the film will hopefully begin to take shape and allow the pictures and the music to harmonise with each other.
Coming Together
0December 17, 2009
Okay… Thing are getting better.
I’ve fleshed out most of the film using previs stills. I can almost see the whole thing together now. It’s starting to take shape. I’ve been watching loads of short films recently to kind of keep me going. I’m off work as well so I’ve been getting loads done. Here’s a section of the previs movie.
The Struggle
2December 16, 2009
I’m struggling. At the moment I seem to be in a constant battle. I’m losing.
I spend a lot of my time here… Sat here… Staring at these 2304000 pixels. I never normally think about how I am percieved by the world. I know I’m not changing the world sat here. I’m just doing what I do. I know that when I finish this film it will never be seen by masses of people. I know that it’s not going to be accessible to the majority, and not particularly pallettable to popular culture. It will never reach a thousand views and this blog will never achieve more than a few accidental hits every now and then. I never normally worry about that. Perhaps being surrounded by a culture of memes is changing my view of my work, perhaps I’ll feel disapointment when I finish my film and somebody I don’t know leaves a comment of apathy. I keep reminding myself that it’s not about creating pop, it’s not like I’ll get pay per click or royalties. It’s not about creating something that everyone will enjoy, but then isn’t that just something crap people say. I don’t want to make something that no-one enjoys but if that’s the outcome then I guess that it doesn’t really matter so long as I enjoy the process… But it seems such a struggle at the moment. This is supposed to be what I love. I should be relishing every moment. Maybe that’s it… The struggle… The climb to the peak. It’s not the view from the top, it’s the struggle to the top that draws the climber to the mountain, to overcome the obstacle, to challenge your ability, without the struggle the reward is empty. It’s not quite the same, animating and mountain climbing. I sit here with a cup of coffee, prepared with comfy chair and wireless mouse. I guess the challenge is still there. Several minutes of infinate possibilities, billions of decisions wrestling with colours and shapes. For the impact I have on this world I may as well write my name on a leaf, watch it fall to the ground and forget as it rots. I take consolation from my meagre wisdom. I know it will pass. But for now… I’m struggling.
Mood Track
0December 15, 2009
I find myself in a disjointed workflow between storyboard, previs, animatic and story. I’ve created an audio mood track to help me follow what’s actually happening. A strange menagerie of sounds and music that somehow create a brainstorm of my thoughts as I try to time out this mess. It’s kind of working but everything is such a mess at the moment… I’m trying to make sense of a completely nonsensical situation.
Storybord Animatic
0December 13, 2009
This project has been going on for so long and is so disjointed that the storyboard exists in many different styles and levels of detail. Some parts are on paper, some parts drawn in photoshop, some colour, some white on black, some around 4 frames a second, some 1 frame per 5 seconds. Here’s a selection:
And a video of a slightly more detailed section of the storyboard animatic… Almost an animation itself.
