Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Wolf Movie Update

Success. Tomorrow marks the final stage of Team Wolf's short film project. Once our sound editor/designer returns with the final sound file, we'll export the film and present it to the teachers.

Begone, Little Wolf will become an official short film.

It's been an extremely tiring, emotional and excruciating process. One that has taught me many important factors in the world of animation. It has taught me the importance of being a director and the responsibilities of that role. While I hadn't played the director as well as one should've, I've understand a smidgen of the responsibility that comes with the title.

I've learned to work with others, despite their faults and tribulations, and myself with my own annoyances.


Pre-Production

I see now that my original 1st year vision of a 5 minute animation piece, starring up to 8 characters, with lots of animation, was a scary ambition. Storyboarding and cutting the film down, especially during production phase, has made me see that even a minute of animation can be long and tiresome.

It hasn't deterred me per say, but it's certainly an eye-opender.


Animation

Has been a fun experience, despite the long hours. I've enjoyed animating the various sequences, especially during the action scenes, which allowed me to test my understanding of the principles of animation.


Post-Production

While not perfect, my knowledge of such programs as Adobe After Effects and Premier has increased dramatically. I now know the difference between standards definition (1024/576) and high definition (1920/1080). Compositing has been a fun but irritating experience, one of which I shall improve when I being new projects down the track.



Final Thoughts

My 3 years at Griffith has taught me a great deal about myself and my future goals. While it has shown me that my dream cannot be easily achieved, it has shown me a potential path I can take that will either lead me there, or land me close enough.

I desire to continue improving, drawing, animating and creating stories to share.

One frame at a time.