Journal 3/29/2006

I'm starting to see all the elements of the project come together now. The script was very helpful in creating the descriptions of shots for the shot list, and the times for the timeline as well. After creating the shot list, I had to switch back and forth between the script and the shotlist to identify different shots, and match them up with the times I presented in the second version of my script.

Unfortunately, Illustrator was a slight hindrance because it was only the third time I had ever used the program. After a first couple of hits and misses, I finally got the hang of it and the rest was pretty straightforward, copying the vectors, moving them to the correct spot, and editing them as necessary.

The real question was how to transform a template for a 10-second timeline into a 30-second one. I opted to create three different AI files and then assemble them in Acrobat (as I think most people did). I used script formats like (next) and (cont'd) to transition from one page to another, since I'm not sure what is the correct way to do it (or if there is a correct way).

The timing, however, I think works out quite well, and I'm sure the timeline will be a huge help in creating my animatic for next week. All the pieces are falling into place. I still want to redo my styleframe and maybe change around a couple storyboards before I dive into filming and drawing the abstract images. It was certainly a big help to tighten up my script, so I'm sure it will help to redo the styleframe and see what works before I start the rough cut.

Timeline

A very nice timeline courtesy of Adobe Ilustrator and Adobe Acrobat.

Shot List

Here is my first attempt at a shot list

Journal 3/20/2006

The hardest part about the storyboards was to actually iron out some of the details for the abstract imagery. Framing the live action shots was relatively easy--I've had some experience using the digital tablets, so I had no problem tracing over pictures of myself. I drew outlines of the pictures on a separate layer in GIMP then exported just that layer as a Photoshop file.

I've decided I don't really want the monsters to look real as such. Instead, I want a more artistic look, sort of like the Impressionist filter that we saw last class in Painter. The monsters are supposed to mimic an artists thoughts, so the details may are not supposed to be ironed out 100%. In that spirit, I made the monster drawings a little more crude I may end up tweening the monster images to get the animation, saving it as a tiff sequence, then running the tiff sequence through one of Painter's filters.

One interesting idea I got from the storyboards was for frame 4, the second sequence of abstract images. My head is kind of skinny, leaving a lot of room on both sides of the frame. I can make use of this space with the monsters, animating the bit scenes in different places around the frame instead of having to keep the animation just over my head (as I originally intended to do).

I worked on a second version of the script to further develop my ideas for the abstract imagery, and cut down on some of the scenes for time. The images I have in this revision are much simpler, and easier for me to visualize (which was helpful for the storyboards). At this point, I've pretty much decided on what I want to happen in the video, but I'll probably end up doing another version of the style frame to get better looking monsters and perhaps change the color scheme. I think I like my original idea of having very low light, maybe even using the computer LCD screen as the sole source of light, if that's possible.

Storyboards

A link to my storyboards

New Script

Here's a link to an updated version of my script

New Script!

Journal 3/7/2006

My style frame didn't turn out exactly as I hoped; it looks really cartoony whereas I was hoping for more realism, and more abstract forms rather than the more defined lines in cartoons / videogame sprites. The problem was there weren't any good pictures of monsters or demons. I suppose for the final piece I can make up my own drawings and then tween them with Adobe Imageready.

I was able to use After Effects, which was a great help with the keying of the demons' faces. There are some things I should have been able to do in Photoshop, but, having just learned the procedures for After Effects, they were easier to recall than trying to relearn Photoshop.

I haven't decided whether my face is going to be abstracted or not. I think it would be easy to do with rotoscoping and layer modes; I was experimenting with these but didn't come up with anything I was happy with as of yet. I'll probably practice After Effects a little more before I really start working. I've decided I won't need green screen -- I can just rotoscope and layer the images right on top of the footage, and use feathered masks/mattes. The real difficulty is going to be animating the "characters."

Style Frame

Here is my style frame!