Untitled

25 Week Plan 

Over the past few days, I received tangible feedback from Mario Kkounnous, which changed my perspective on the project and made me realize there is still a lot of work to be done in regard to refining the details of my project. 

Narrative  In regards to the Narrative, the framework is there but there is no clear ending. Whilst I intended to leave the film up for interpretation, Mario’s advice meade me realise that I needed to answer some questions surrounding the film. 

Is the narrative happening or in Courtney’s mind? Is Bev there the whole time or a figment or Courtney’s imagination? Could Bev and the bird possibly be one in the same and how would I implement this? 

By answering these questions, I can better visualize the film and implement some visual storytelling devices the film is currently lacking.  

Storyboard  I need to rework the storyboard based on this feedback, plus the recommendation to push angles as far as possible because everything is currently at ‘eye-level’ and ensure I haven’t crossed the invisible line in any way, which, as it turns out, I have multiple times. 

This is also where JJ and Fern can come in as they are interested in animating some shots for the film and, with an extra set of eyes, I will be able to achieve more compelling shots and visual storytelling. 

Implementing more stop-motion  Mario suggested the final 2 scenes be reworked and animated in stop-motion as it represents the lowest point of the story and the tonal shift accommodates it. Because of this, I will need to create a Court puppet over the break as well as a bird puppet. 

This should also prevent any issues with scheduling in regards to conflicting work/uni schedules as, when my work schedule was changed suddenly, I found it very difficult to progress forward. 

Overall, the animatic does an ok job of demonstrating timing. However, because I accidentally drew on the same layers the action can be unclear.

Because I intend to go back with some more elaborate shots, this can only be considered ‘Draft 1’. If I have the opportunity, I will go back and create a cleaner version of all of the animatic slides to clarify the action and refine the timing.

Overall, the animatic does an ok job of demonstrating timing. However, because I accidentally drew on the same layers the action can be unclear.

Because I intend to go back with some more elaborate shots, this can only be considered ‘Draft 1’. If I have the opportunity, I will go back and create a cleaner version of all of the animatic slides to clarify the action.

Scale Assistant Model

Because I was struggling to imaging the proxemics on the raft as I was creating the storyboard, I tried to make a model that would help.

Hhowever, it was not overly useful. I underestimated how flexible the plasticine was so I didn’t make an armature, which meant I column’t pose the characters effectively anf they could not stand up.

It also meant I couldn’t ‘Cheat’ the angle for the sake of the shot. I will use it going forward to check my depictions of awkward angles but so far the most use I’ve gotten out of it is experimenting with the ‘frame-within-a-frame’ technique.

In order to use photogrammetry to create a head for my armature, I needed to model a head. I am unsure if this version is large enough for the process so I may need to remake it larger. 

Also, photogrammetry uses both shape and colour so, before I try to capture anything, I need to paint the head.

I did some Intuitive markmaking inspired by the song “You’ve Gotta Die Sometime” from the Musical ‘Falsettos,’ where the character Whizzer contracts AIDS and sings about his experience confronting death. The song varies in tone so much and inspires a lot of different movement within the markmaking process. 

After this, I cut up the piece and created an animation from the segments. Whilst the original intention was to create another swatch for the ocean, the outcome seems to embody a stress response and could be used as an overlay for more stressful scenes to mimic sensory overload.

I created a series of swatches to see if I could find a fitting way to portray the ocean. My favourite is the swirling acrylic blue paint but it is not directional and I like the directional lines provided by the oil pastels, markers, and reverse marker sheet. I like the scribbles also. It is taken from a warmer swatch panel I made for the blanket, which is also effective.

My overall takeaway is that, regardless of my preferred method as I move forward, I need to animate the water, as a still image simply doesn't work. A few frames should be enough to mimic movement

I designed an armature for the final appearance of the bird in my film because I wanted it to look otherworldly. Literally a 3D object in a 2D world. I got feedback  on the first design from Mike Tharme and then redesigned it to create the second armature drawing. Full details are featured in my essay. 

I created two versions of the storyboard. The first was unfinished because I moved on based on the finalised character designs. Whilst unfinished, I prefer the depth and shadows in the first storyboard. Whilst I used markers to make the second draft of the storyboard clearer, it does not have the same depth as the first.

The feedback I received on my storyboard was that there is a lack of interesting shots and story building. To fix this later, I intend to involve a team to help, specifically Fern Delahunty and JJ Stevens, who were introduced to me by Jon Turner who originally gave me the feedback and said that more than one person’s involvement could fix these issues.

Whilst I knew I wanted an external element to haunt the characters, the concept changed a few times. When I was considering the circus setting, I thought about using an elephant, as in ‘the elephant in the room.’ I also considered a barrage of chickens appearing over the course of the film as if ‘the chickens are coming home to roost.’ Both of these are fun visually but a bit too silly for the subject matter.

Another idea I had but didn’t like was a human-like representation of grief in the form of a fae-like woman. She would appear like the grim reaper throughout the film but then become ethereal at the end but I felt an animal would work better because of the primal and instinctive nature of the emotions involved. 

I chose a heron-like appearance because of the heron that tormented my Grandparents pond. It swallowed fish like terminal illness can swallow memories and physical abilities. It also hovers over and watches: a looming presence.