Ok, so here goes...

So, all through last semester I had always considered writing a blog of my experience doing my grad film but I never got around to actually doing one.Of course, the post I made at the end of November doesn't really count....lol Although I suppose you could argue I technically started one.

Anyway, now that it is mandatory a pleasant suggestion for my class this semester I shall now have to do it become more dedicated...

So if I've done this right this should be my lastest Leica reel as of right now. Although, I've done a bit more work on it and will have done more today so I suppose it's technically not the latest...just the latest one I have rendered. Okay...here goes...nope, the files too big to load so here's a link to my vimeo account:

Just a warning, the sound is just scratch so I won't be using any of it in the final piece.  It's just there to show what kinds of things to expect.  There will also be a lot more sounds as well.

Leica reel


Assuming this loads be sure to watch it before reading the rest of this post if you have not yet seen it. It's just more fun that way.



Now that you've seen it. I shall describe a bit about it.

As of right now I have no title for my film so if anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. :D

Summary

This film will be a 3-4 minute animation about three characters experience in a maze. As of now it is 3:18...I hope to cut that down even more. It will be drawn in 2D using Photoshop and a little pencil drawn if needed (though not likely). The final render will be done in After Effects because it hates me less than Premier does.

Synopsis

My story is about a small character, Sinii, who finds himself and two others trapped within a maze where none of them have control over anything.  They are unable to explore but still need to find their way out.

Description

My story is about a small character, Sinii, who finds himself and two others trapped within a dark maze. One by one each of them is picked up and carried away various distances, against their will, every time there is a loud booming sound accompanied by an earthquake. They find that even though they can often see one another they are unable to get back together. One by one, Sinii watches his friends disappear into the darkness. As time goes by Sinii, himself, experiences both falling and progressing further into the darkness and his fear of the place gradually begins to lessen as he becomes more used to the constant cycle.Even the constant loud booming sounds and earthquakes are not as frightening. In the end it zooms out to reveal three people sitting on a bed playing a game of Snakes and Ladders.

My intention for this film is to make a suspenseful, but humorous animation that people of all ages can enjoy it. I would like the tension to be driven by sound effects, the actions of the characters and the close encounters they are subject to as opposed to using music to sway the viewer's emotions. I only hint at the Snakes and Ladders game until the very end and leave the rest confusing and mysterious to allow the viewer to experience the 'game' right along side the characters.

This idea was inspired by both my love for the game Snakes and Ladders and how I enjoy taking something and changing the meaning a bit with imagery. I wanted to show how a game piece might feel as its entire existence is constantly being manipulated by a second, unknown, party and how frightening that would be.

Visual Treatment

I would like the visuals to be rendered in 2D, drawn and cleaned up in Photoshop. I plan to composite everything in After Effects. My plan for the background is to be a hedge maze. The lighting will be dark but gradually get lighter as Sinii gets further to the end. However, even though the area gets brighter there is a deep fog so sight is still limited. My colour palate will be dark but still rich, deep colours. As it gets brighter the colours of the labyrinth will change. The characters will be coloured with flat, light colours. Each one will be wearing a different coloured outfit to hint of their game piece origins. These colours will be the very basic colours that can be found in any given board game: blue, green and orange.

 Here are the character designs:

And here's a link to a few backgrounds I have:

Sound

Sound will be a big part of my film. I want the loud booming sound to be the sound of a dice roll only deepened and distorted to a point where it is unrecognizable as dice. I want my film to have SFX only. I would like to create a feeling of tension with this film but do not want any music to dictate what the viewer should feel like is done in films such as suspenseful movies and/or thrillers. I remember a friend of mine saying that she felt it was far more frightening to be alone somewhere in silence with only the ambiance of the area and the sound of your own footsteps to tell you what is out there.

The characters will not talk but any sounds that they do make will be higher pitched 'voices'. It will consist of gasps, screams and few possible other noises.

When the ground/environment opens up and 'swallows' the characters I want to make it a very distinctive sound so when the audience hears it without the visual they will still be able to connect it back to when they saw the first character fall through the hole in the beginning.