Shot List draft 01

This is my first draft of the shot list.

Shot List(in PDF format)
View it!

Animatic Draft 02

This past Friday, I had my industry critic. I must admit I wasn't as nervous for this one as I was for the faculty crit. When it comes right down to it, you just have to do it. Hmmm, that's a slogan. Maybe I can print it on a t-shirt? Hahaha. Anyways, the critique went extremely well. There was some confusion in the beginning about my thesis statement. I know it was because I structured it in a classic academic fashion. Never mind the fact I write in my statement that its Man's internal struggle, when actually my story is about a wooden bird. It was quickly understood that I was speaking figuratively rather than literally. I received several helpful ideas for planning my shots. The panel recommended things to look for regarding post-production that I had not considered, for example window reflections, and the weight of objects (leaves) as they get affected by rain. Basically, I need to observe elements in nature better and take more photo references.

They liked this 2nd draft of my animatic. I removed the mirror in this version. Also, I located a better score for my scratch music. It's got the playful quality I've been looking for as well as the type of musical instruments I wanted. I bookmarked the URL location in advance, but hopefully I can find someone to create an original piece just for my film that is similar.

Animatic 02 (6mb)

Animatic Draft 01

Today I'm posting my first iteration of the animatic for my thesis. Right now however, my animatic is not synchronized with the storyboards & script because I am currently revising certain story elements: The mirror is out of the story. One of the biggest arguments that arising from the faculty critique (almost 2wks ago) was the issue of over complicating the story. This was a hot topic for me because I really had become so attached to the idea. I feel very strongly about taking the internal struggle with leaving the clock and visually externalizing it for the viewer. I believe the mirror will accomplish this in the scene. Then later in the story, it reflects the turning point for the bird, when the cuckoo bird sees, because of the mirror, the device which originally prompted it to make the choice that it made. Thank God for my friends.

I asked a few friends of mine for their opinions about having the mirror in the story. Not surprisingly they agreed it did add a level of complexity which may not be necessary. Why does everyone prescribe to that proof: "The shortest distance between to points is a straight line", except me? But you know what? They all make a lot of sense, and I'm not above admitting when I'm wrong (sometimes ;-)). One suggestion I received was to have the bird escape to the outside world, but unbeknown to the bird, he is no better outside than he was inside the clock. This conclusion really would be obvious to the view, but not to the bird. Stupid birds. I think it's a brilliant idea! So I wrote the mirror out of the story. Except now I need to re-think the layout of my opening sequence. Oh bother.



Animatic (6mb)