Capstone Project: Spring Semester

And so it begins - I'll be back to weekly posting as I settle back into the Spring semester. I've worked on some roughs as much as I could during break, and I've also locked down on dialogue. I just need to contact my voice actor for Val and get her to record a few extra lines, but mainly I want to buckle down on roughs and line work for the animation. It's time to really get working now! Here's a lined clip of London from that first scene!

Capstone Project: Small Script Updates

Once again making some small final changes to the script. I have been working on the animatic but I got frustrated with the script again and was also working on more backgrounds in the meantime. Here's the small script updates / ideas and also some more lighting tests on London. I am gonna have the voice actos do these lines so I can have them in the animatic that I'm showing, and hopefully also a third pass on the music. The main thing I'm struggling with is that opening dialogue. I'm thinking maybe this instead?

VAL: Really ROCKED it out there, didn’t you London…?

LONDON: VAL-?!

VAL: Careful, you're drowning.

More simplified? And her taunting about the brief line Cade had earlier toward London. I'd like it to be more paced out like

VAL: Bravo.

LONDON: VAL?!

VAL: Really ROCKED it out there, didn't you London...?

LONDON: (?????)

VAL: Careful, you're drowning

But I can't think of something for London to say in that in between there. Still workshopping ideas, Script writing is hard when it needs to be concise and simple.

Capstone Project: Sink Background

Working on getting more of these out of the way while I brainstorm how I want to present these flashbacks. I really like the idea mentioned in class of simplifying the shots, having it flash through those memories as the camera moves up her body before revealing her dead, I'm gonna play around with that and some lighting in the transitions. Otherwise I'm pretty comfortable with everything else. I do still wanna play with the other transitions some more as was suggested in the full class presentations, but I want to get these backgrounds done and animation roughs going for everything that's locked down. I plan to have an updated pass on the animatic by Monday, but here's this for an update!

Capstone Project: Animatic Thoughts

I'm thinking on what I want to change based on the last feedback I got on the newly added scenes in the animatic. I really like the final flasbacks being intercut with him remembering the night she died, I do have a version where after he smokes the cigarette we see all three of those flashbacks in succession, but I'm just not a huge fan of it.

The "Val" London is seeing throughout the entire film is a manifestation of his guilt. It's not a literal ghost manifesting in front of him and making him teleport around, he's "drowning" in the guilt he feels for surviving and she's the voice he gives to that. Because of this I'm thinking of adding a set of lines, maybe reworking some others, in the scene on the stage.

London catching his breath and asking Val "What is this?!" and her responding with "How should I know, this is YOUR mind." Or something along those lines to make it more clear? I'll also be adding different or more tonally clear transitions. I was thinking of having the flashbacks sound kinda warped and far away, and doing something visual for that too?

Either way, I'm happy with how things are coming along! I'll keep playing with it this week.