kaileypaahana

[kaileypaahana]

Week 17 - I Never Thought I’d See The Day...

I apologize for being pretty MIA on this blog after Week 11...but I’m back to finish off the semester with this final blog post!!

The Experience

Overall, I really did enjoy creating what started off as just a passing thought into a short film. It definitely wasn’t the easiest thing to do in a semesters time, but WE DID IT!! 

What I Would Adjust  In The Future

In terms of the filmmaking process, I’m pretty set on the way I execute the different steps in making a film. However, I really do need to work on my time management. Often times I get so stuck on perfecting this one area that I run out of time to work on the rest.  

Advice

I’m sure this applies to everything you’ll ever do in life, but DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!! It may seem like a semester is a long time, but it’s not...I can’t stress this enough... stick to your production schedule. 

Oh, and don’t forget to backup your work!!

[kaileypaahana]

Week 11 - Beginning Blocking

Whoops... I totally forgot to post progress for week 11. Well, last week I started working on the blocking for scene 2 of my film (since it’s shorter than scene 1).

I also forgot how long blocking takes... I’m hoping to complete all of the body movements for scene 2 by the week 12 progress deadline. 

Click here to see the very short play blast of my blocking progress so far.  

For some reason the arm looks so weird when it extends to the night stand. Is it just because it shouldn’t be fully extended, or is it just the camera angle??? I also need to fix the movement of the snow globe so it moves better with the hand. 

I was thinking of doing the parent constraint but is it possible to do it for both hands on one object?

Side Note: Is it just me or do Eleven’s eyes look green? I’m assuming it has to be from the trees in the snow globe. Do they really reflect that much when the scene is rendered?

[kaileypaahana]

Week 9 & 10 - Texturing DONE(ish)

Spring break week... I was planning on making some progress on the project, but that didn’t happen since I had to prioritize an art project for a different class... However, this week I was able to get some things done, so here’s my progress so far. 

I mainly wanted to get the rest of the texturing done for my environment scene, so I could focus on the blocking in the next few weeks. 

This is the “snowy” environment scene (still working on the “snowy” part):

Close up, the trees look pretty wonky, but I’m not really going for the realistic look since it’s supposed to be in a snow globe, so I think it works for now. May make some changes later on if it starts to bother me. 

This is the room environment scene:

I finished this earlier from the ACM 216 class, so it’s not really progress from this week. I just want to show what both of the scenes in my film will look like.

[kaileypaahana]

Week 8 - Some Blocking Progress...not much

This week I worked on some really basic blocking of the run scene in the forest just to kind of get a feel for the camera movement and practice working on the Mr. Buttons’ rig a bit more.

I can’t remember if we learned this in ACM 316B, but is there a way to keep the hands in place while I arch the back? In this scene the character is trying to pull at his legs so the hands don’t really move during the action. I keep having to readjust the hand placement when I try to rotate the back. 

Click here for my most updated animatic.

FEEDBACK FROM SMALL GROUP CRITIQUE

The three main things that I might possibly try on incorporating into my film from our group critique today are:

1. Have the snow stop falling, show the ground shaking (as if someone would be shaking a snow globe), and then have the snow fall again. (Alex’s Idea)

I really like this idea as it hints more that the character isn’t really in the environment that it seems to be. And I think it could be a good transition into helping the character actually break free his feet free. My main concern though would be the clarity of the scene. Like would a viewer be able to know what is going on or would the shaking of the environment look a little random?

2. While the character is running to try to escape, have him run through the forest, dogging trees and so on. (Isaiah’s Idea)

Originally I had Mr. Buttons just run straight through this open space with trees on each side of him, but this idea works much better in terms of the intensity of the scene. It would also make for some good POV camera movement as he traverses through the forest.

3. In the final scene of the film have show Mr. Buttons trying to get out of the snow globe or hitting the glass. (Desirene’s Idea)

I was definitely on the fence of whether I should have Mr. Buttons move around in the snow globe at the very last scene. The more I think about it though I am starting to lean more towards the idea of showing Mr. Buttons distressed expression trying to escape the snow globe at the end. 

[kaileypaahana]

Week 7 - Modeling Snowy Landscape

Here’s a few screenshots of what I worked on this week:

Proportion wise it may look a little off, but the actual snow globe part is mainly just there so I know how far Mr. Buttons will have to run until he hits the glass. Most of the scene will be in Mr. Button’s POV, so it’ll just look like he’s in a forest. 

I’m still trying to figure out how to animate the snow falling....

[kaileypaahana]

Week 6 - Script Final Draft Complete

This week I mainly worked on adding the scene where Mr. Buttons breaks free and runs into the snow globe wall. I was having a lot of difficulties getting the scenes to flow together, so hopefully it works well. 

I’m mainly having issues with the part after Mr. Buttons breaks free and starts to run away. It just doesn’t really seem natural that he would “run away” if there really isn’t anything to run away from/ run to. 

[kaileypaahana]

Week 5 - Pre-Production Package

This week I mainly worked on fixing up my animatic. I blocked a couple of the scenes and did a few rough poses of the characters to help with visualization:

Pulling at leg to break free

Looking up terrified

Holding snow globe

Looking at snow globe lying down

Final pose of Mr. Buttons (in the snow globe)

VIS DEV - ENVIRONMENT: SNOWY LANDSCAPE

I still haven’t started the modeling of the landscape but here is a rough sketch of what I am thinking:

I’m not quite sure how I am going to animate the snow, but overall the scene should be fairly simple to make. I may also include a path way for him to run down. 

SCRIPT EDITS

I mentioned this in a previous post, but I definitely do plan on including the idea of Mr. Buttons breaking his legs free and running into the snow globe wall into the final script. 

I’m currently struggling with how to transition that scene in my story to make it flow naturally. 

This is my current brainstorming on how it will play out:

Overall, I think it works pretty well. I am still trying to decide whether I can cut a few parts of it. 

[kaileypaahana]

Week 4 - Getting Organized

This week I added Action Notes to my storyboard, filled in my Sequence/Shot Breakdown and Asset List tables, and began the rough modeling of my snow globe prop. 

STORYBOARD

SEQUENCE/SHOT BREAKDOWN

ASSET LIST

VIS DEV - PROP: SNOW GLOBE

This is the basic model for the snow globe. I still need to add textures. Since the camera does zoom into the snow globe at the end of the film I am thinking about modeling more details to it.

[kaileypaahana]

Week 3 - Animatic (...rough...)

Well...I did it. Currently running on two hours of sleep...this is what I get for once again procrastinating.

Click here to view the rough animatic. Below is a shot overview:

From what I’ve been hearing, a lot of people are having an issue with their stories being too complex and long... I have the opposite problem. I picked this story mainly due to its simplicity (and the fact that I didn’t want to do 2D), but now I’m running into the problem of it being too short. 

Currently, the animatic is 36 seconds long. I still need to adjust the timing a bit more and add in one more very short scene, so I’m hoping with that I’ll be able to make the 1 minute mark. 

One suggestion someone had during the group discussion was to have the character, Mr. Buttons, finally break his feet free, try to run away, and then bump into a glass wall (since it is a snow globe). I think this would be a great idea as it gives this sense of hope once Mr. Buttons is able to move his feet and then ominously crushes it once he realizes he’s trapped again. I’m definitely considering it. 

[kaileypaahana]

Week 2 - Script...Some Progress

After some back and forth on which story to choose with for my final project, I have decided to go with the Snowy Imprisonment. My main reason for this being that I just felt more enthusiastic about the story and the other one was just far too long (and I really didn’t want to draw all those panels). 

Here is the rough draft of my script:

PROGRESS?

To be honest, I haven’t really made much progress this week besides doing the script. Since I am recycling my Environmental Scene project from a previous class, one of the locations of the story is complete. For some reason when I reference the scene into the project a lot of the original textures disappeared, but I was able fix that issue after discussing it in class. 

Here are a couple of different angles of the bedroom location for my story (not rendered). I will more than likely be scaling Eleven down a little as he is supposed to be a young child. 

[kaileypaahana]

Week 1 - Story Pitch

These are the two ideas that I’m currently leaning towards for my final project:

STORY 1

Working Title: Chef Carmine

Logline: A famous chef, known for his unique and extraordinary flavors, goes to extreme lengths to create the perfect bite. The secret ingredient in all of his dishes -- human blood. 

Synopsis: A chef meticulously prepares a dish. The waiter takes the dish to the table, the guests excitingly devour the food. Francis Carmine, chef and owner of the restaurant, stares at the guests while they eat -- a smile on his face. After closing time, Francis begins prepping for the next day. He takes out empty bowls, trays, and various spices. He then slams a lifeless body onto the kitchen table. Taking out empty blood bags, Francis sticks a needle into the vein of the body and proceeds to dice vegetables. Suddenly, he hears the click of a phone camera and sees a bright flash of light. Knife in hand, he sprints towards the direction of the flash. There is no one in sight as he stands in complete silence. However, as he turns to head back to the kitchen he notices a wallet on the floor. Francis opens the wallet. Upon seeing the ID, he confirms to himself that someone just witnessed his crimes. 

Visuals: I plan on limiting the color palette of the film to red and shades of grey. Style-wise I’m thinking of keeping the drawing fairly realistic with pretty flat images (no shading, mainly line work). 

Inspiration: Seeing this video of a restaurant leaving out frozen meat to thaw out outside in the sun was pretty shocking. It definitely got me thinking about the food consumed at restaurants or really anything we eat. What if a dish is cooked with an ingredient we, as a customer, aren’t notified of? Will we be able to tell that what we are eating isn’t exactly what we ordered?

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STORY 2

Working Title: Snowy Imprisonment

Logline: What at first seems to be a beautiful snowy escape, soon turns into a hellish nightmare.

Synopsis: Mr. Buttons, a cat-like figure, wakes up to find himself surrounded by a beautiful snowy landscape. Wanting to explore the area, he tries to take a step, but realizes that his feet are unable to move almost as if they were glued to the floor. He struggles with all his might to lift his feet but it’s no use. Suddenly, he sees two large eyes staring down at him. He is terrified. The camera cuts to the perspective of a young boy as he happily looks at his snow globe, soothing music playing from it. The boy gently places down the snow globe and goes to sleep. The camera zooms in on the slow globe, Mr. Buttons as still a statue. 

Visuals: Since I will be recycling my Environment Scene project from ACM 216, I will mainly be focusing on modeling the snow globe and the environment in it. I plan on using the Eleven and Mr. Buttons rig for the character animation. 

Inspiration: While looking at the snow globe on my bedside table, I got to thinking about the possibility of the character in it somehow coming to life. And if the character was alive how would they feel being trapped in this small globe.

THOUGHTS

Although I have already completely a lot of the work for the Chef Carmine story (script, storyboard, animatic, etc), I’m leaning a bit more towards the Snowy Imprisonment story mainly because I prefer to work in 3D. 

Looking forward to the semester. I’m hoping and praying that I’ll be able to sleep.