Shot27

Just a little clip of the dancing. :)




And can I just say that this compressed it really badly. It looks a lot better.

Almost There

Nearly there!

Sadly, I am at the point where everything I've done makes me want to poke my eyes out with my pencil, so I won't be updating with any animation until it's finished. I just wanted to update this blog to say that it's almost done.

Hurrah!

Nowhere

Animating and animating and getting NOWHERE.
UGH.
So annoying.

WIP Shot Again

Another version of this shot, with all the details in there. I think it turned out nice. :) I know that it's hard to see because of the watermark and stuff, sorry.

And now time to animate something else...

WIP

Another WIP shot. I quite like how this shot's going. Especially seeing as it was one that I was a little worried about. But I like the overall movement. Next is hair (my nemesis) and details like stripes, more accurate clothing, faces, etc. I need to fix up the face kick shot as well...maybe later. :P

One Frame at a Time

Well I'm back and I'm animating. Mostly I've been going through shots and fixing hair. Bloody hair. Next time I do one of these things the main character is having short hair. Or maybe she'll be BALD. But, like all animation, it's a good feeling when I get it right...or right enough.

Anyway, I'm not going to be updating the animatic for a while, maybe when I have stuff coloured I'll start updating it again. Most of the shots that are in there at the moment are cleaned up, huzzah!

So in the mean time here is a shot that I'm working on/failing at. I think it looks okay so far, except for the end. There is something very wrong there.

At the End

Well, the year is ending and so is my time in Adelaide. Unless they get busy and ask me back in January. Shannon says he'll go slow so that there's lots of work and they need me. Cheers mate!

Seriously though, this has been great, my first job in the industry and a great trip all round. I met awesome new people, learnt new things and refreshed my motivation for Viola. I'm itching to really work on it again. I brought stuff back with me, but it was mostly clean up and to be honest I wasn't very disciplined with it. But when I return, by thunder! Work shall be done. I'm really keen to wrap it up so that I can send it into festivals and so that I can go out and get more work in the industry. I have until the end of May now to finish up my honours stuff, but I'd like to get it done well before then.

There are many things I'd like to get done actually; I need a website, perhaps a general art blog, new cards (you know, ones that look decent) and an updated demo reel. Gotta get it sorted! I feel as though all my recent posts I spend babbling about what I want to do...I guess because I can't really work on anything solidly just yet. So once I can this blog will stop being all talk and you can actually see things that are done, or on their way to being done.

But having worked a nine to five job for the first time in my life (my previous jobs have been casual jobs with ever changing hours) I feel pretty confident that I can sit myself down and work on my own stuff from nine 'til five. I feel so full of motivation and energy so it bloody well will be done!

I've also enjoyed getting to know everyone at the studio and some people not at the studio. It's been really fantastic and I can't wait to see each and every person again further down the track. The atmosphere that the studio has is really great and the fuller it is the greater the atmosphere. It's been so much fun working with such rad and talented people.

So anyway, this could well be the last post for 2009. Talk to you all again (hah, I love how I write as though this blog has a huge following of legions of fans) in 2010.

Expect great things.

Or, well, you know, completed things.

Lex.

Staying longer, hurray!

I'm staying in Adelaide a while longer. Going back to Brisbane for a few days, seeing as I had a flight booked already anyway and then it's back to Adelaide. This time I'll be back as an employee rather than an intern. I'll be here from the 7th of December until the 23rd, then it's home to Brisbane. If the PRA get more work I can go back after Christmas. So I hope they get more, I really like it there. Although, you know, it'll be good to finish my uni stuf, haha. I'm bringing my lightbox back to Adelaide with me so that I can get a bit done during the rest of December. And when I get home I'll be going at it hardcore!

I really should get a little plastic lightbox though, something really portable. And the next time I upgrade my computer I'm switching to a laptop so that I can be ultra mobile.

Radelaide

Another post from Radelaide!

I've had some people giving me advice on my animation careerpath. One idea is to get funding to make a short animation, I think it's a cool idea. I've been formulating an idea for an animation I'd like to do after Viola. So if I developed that, got a script and designs together and ready, talked to some people here who've got funding, etc, I might have a go at getting funding myself. Although, I think that I would prefer to work in a studio, I love the studio atmosphere and I feel like I get more done in this sort of environment.

The bit I'm cleaning up is coming along but it takes so long. I'm trying so hard to get it done quickly, I think I might need to stay late on Monday. Hopefully I can get it all done then.

I'll be sad to leave Adelaide, I've had such a great time here and made new friends and all that. But I will also be happy going home, 'cos I am so pumped to work on Viola again. I should really get a website up as well and maybe a general blog, just for artwork and stuff. So that's on my to-do list when I return to Brisbane. I'm also getting excited about graduating (again, lol) and getting a job (hopefully). After this taste of working in an animation studio I am excited about the future. I look forward to whatever it holds and embrace any challenge to come my way!

Internship Update

I keep forgetting to update this thing while I'm here. Mostly it's because I don't know what to write. I can't talk about the specifics of the project and I'm doing clean-up everyday, so there isn't much new to write about. My clean-up is getting much faster, huzzah.

I am having an excellent time though, I'll be really sad to go home. And I feel so inspired about my own film again, which is awesome, 'cos I'd really hit a wall with it. If I can continue this 9-5 routine when I get home I'll get so much done. I've been spending less time on the internet since I got here and I feel better for it, so that's something else that's good.

So yeah, on one hand I'd love to stay here longer but on the other hand I can't wait to race home and work on Viola again. I couldn't bring anything with me 'cos my lightbox is too big, so I am itching to get back into it. Although, I saw an artists' lightbox in Spotlight the other day, a small, plastic thing big enough to fit A4 paper on. If you got a pegbar off the internet and stuck it on, it would make such a good portable lightbox.

I'm also learning things here, just by listening to conversations, talking to people and observing everything and how it's all run and put together. Preparing myself for the day when I start up my own studio. *Insert evil laugh.* Well, that'd be a while into the future, but it is something that I'd like to do one day. Especially because my ultimate goal in animation is to improve the representation of female characters. Which, lets face it, would be so much easier if I had my own studio and could have so much control over the animations being made in it.

So that's my update for now, I'll try and remember to update a bit more often while I'm still here.

Internship

At last I am updating about my internship. I'm at the People's Republic of Animation in Adelaide and loving it so far.

What I want to learn here is;

• How animation studios run
• How projects are organised in a studio
• How well my work stands up in a proffesional setting
• Views held by people in the industry about animation

I'm working on a 2D project and so far I'm doing clean-up and colouring along with another intern. We're cleaning up and colouring in Photoshop, which is something that I haven't done before. I like it, it's helping me to think of more possibilities when it comes to my own work.

Apparently it was hard for them to find 2D animators for this project. I've been told that there are a lot of 3D animators out there at the moment, but not as many 2D animators. As a 2D animator I found this pretty interesting.

Not too much to say so far other than I'm enjoying the work and learning a lot. I can also stay for another week, which is great. It must mean that I'm not totally awful. Huzzah!

New Birds

Updated Birds animatic, just the third part of the song to do now!

I am doing stuff!

Just a post to say that I am doing stuff. I just don't have anything that I want to upload at the current moment. I've been doing lots of clean-up and scanned a stack of it into ToonBoom yesterday.

To Do:

• Finish cleaning up the things I have animated
• Work on the first snippet of dance so that they don't fry like they're doing at the moment
• Colour and add backgrounds to the things that I've put into ToonBoom
• Next to animate: Opening shot of Viola playing music on her back, the kick into Lucien's face

I've also been thinking of taking out Viola's triumphy dance at the end. I think it might be nice just to end with her looking over the edge and then maybe go to a close-up of her face and then she smiles.

On the topic of the Birds storyboard I've been working on, I have almost finished the second part of the song, the very quiet part where they're wandering through caves. Once it's done I shall upload. Should be ready in about two days. Then I just need to do the last part of the song, which is about two and a half minutes long. Ideally I'd like to get this done before the end of the month because I leave for Adelaide on the first of November. Yay!

I'm really looking forward to my internship, I can't wait to get there! :D

Birds

First part of an animatic that I'm doing in exchange for sound. Huzzah! :)

Animatic Time Again

Just another animatic update. Timing's still not perfect yet. I'm getting Andrew to help me out and animate a few shots. Yay! They aren't in there yet, at the moment it's all me baby.

You Guessed It, It's Another Animatic!

Another animatic? But of course! This time with chunks of real animation. Mmmm-mmmm.

Lemme see, got some advice today from a guy called Sorin who came in to look at our work. He said that the tension between Viola and Lucien in the dance needs to build up more, her just kicking him in the face to get rid of him is too easy and that there should be a shot in the dance where he is making the music with her by running the bow across her back. All good advice I think.

So! The changes will be in the next animatic, along with more animation. The close up on her back, where he lifts her and then they're on the roof (I'm a cheater, lol) I am going to instead have that as a close up on her back and him playing music with it. Then another shot to show, well gee! they're on the roof!

When she decides that she's had enough, she pulls her hands away, but doesn't break free and he pulls her hands back down again. Then she uses her leg instead, to kick him in the face. I don't want it to be to hard for her either because in a lot of ways, she is stronger. Especially her legs, both her legs and feet are physically bigger than his.

I was before thinking that maybe he could pull her closer and use her back to make music again, but this time the bow would leave red marks. The imagery would look really cool, but the idea seems too sexual to me somehow, I think that it would just look like he is sexually dominating her and that's not what my film is about. It isn't about dominance with concerns to sex, it's about control and freedom concerning creativity and just life in general.

I also need to put in some more close ups and stuff while they're dancing, but I think that it will really come across more when I actually animate it as well.

A Few Background Things

Here's the inside of her appartment. The veranda and buildings outside need fiddling with and I think that maybe the whole thing should be darker. But other than that I like it.

While she's in her appartment I want it all to be quite dark and brown, when she's outside there will be more colour. Here's the sky for outside.

Yet Another Animatic

Newest animatic! And I'm working on backgrounds and I started lipsynching the beginning in flash.

A few fade ins and outs with music that are a bit wonky, just ignore those. :P

Hhm, I think that I should have a new song start for her triumphant dance, after he gets kicked off the room. Whaaat else...the bit where she says, "I'll never get this right," needs to be a bit slower. Other than that I'm pleased with the animatic so far.

Animatic Fixed

Yes! Fixed the animatic. Now the sound all matches up with the pictures.

Updated Animatic

EDIT: The voice in the beginning is out of syyyync. Dear god, that is so annoying. I haven't the heart to check the rest of it. BAH. Well, I'm out all weekend, so I'll fix it on Monday. For now, just use your imagination. :)

Updated animatic! Haha, Lucien has one line now instead of two, purely because of the way that it fits into the music. But I like it much better this way. Hum, hum, what else? I slowed down the beginning, which is nice, you hear more of Viola's song. I cut into her triumphant jumping, still need to work on that, throw in some close ups and stuff. And I definately still need to work on the Viola/Lucien dance, it needs to be shorter, with close ups in there to show the gradual change from charmy to controlling jerk. That way it will make more sense when she kicks him in the face.

Originally, I boarded this so that after her triumphant jumps, you see her sit down and start her music again. I like it better now, the boring movement is cut out, leaving with a nice empowered close up of her face and then having the lovely image of her playing her music on the rooftops. Woo!

So, to do:

• Still backgrounds. I am so lame.
• Shot list and the order that I plan to animate in.
• Dance fiddling.
• Picking out some basic sounds to use.

And I'm pretty sure that's all I need to do before I get into production. Awesome!