FRANK production blog 44

todays update is a pose sheet. these are some of the keys for the scene, i have been working on this for more then 1 month now. im really happy with the out come but there is still much todo before it is ready for color.

although im not active, i am devoted to my art and usually do a good job at putting time into it daily. some days are better then others. somedays i end up redoing the entire scene, however it is all for the best. i trust the process and dont want to rush because of FOMO. It will be ready soon but not till its done.

FRANK production blog 41

todays update is a continuation of the last two updates. its the scene im currently working on. its a updated animatic version, it has some updated animation but still a ways from being final.

as i’ve mention previously, this version of the film is closer to the original animatic and boards, it was not the route i was taking but i recently starting questioning if i was happy with the direction i had settled on months ago. i will animate the scenes and play around with the editing but i wont know which way it will go until the very end.

FRANK production blog 40

todays update is about the scene i been currently working on. the video below is taken from the original animatic put together about 4 years ago. it is very raw and is probably the truest expression of FRANK that i have done. since then i made cuts in order to save time, however i have currently gone full circle. as i continue to refine the film i have decided i do not like the updated version and started thumb nailing this version. i have roughed out the animation and put it together in order to improve my options for the final edit. next post will contain the updated version of this scene.

FRANK production blog 38

todays update is a concept page for the game that our main character plays. I have not decided what the scene will look like, its been on my mind for a long time, I haven’t started the actual animation yet, I just been playing around with what it could look like and why. Obviously I want to convey all the right emotions (repetitive and time consuming being two of the big ones) but I’m currently chipping away at some other scenes.

concepts for the game FRANK plays

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today update is about the evolution of a scene

below are three different variations of a scene. Only the first one is different. the bottom two only have updated animation but the cuts remain the same.

the scene is the introduction of the device into FRANKs life. It wasn’t a slap in the face for him, and the story was it came from his neighbor, who had himself just experience the device and was over it. I liked the idea that it was being passed down from one person to another. this was from the first draft which was a longer story.

this variation had a reduced number of cuts. as the project evolved I started to remove things from the story. I am fascinated by directors who can tell a story with very little. part of the reason for doing this was to experiment with the story telling and to shorten the film and it’s production.

this third animatic variation has updated animation but the cuts remain the same. at this point I have decided that I will keep it this way. I feel as though I have stripped away everything that can be removed without telling a different story. I removed the neighbor because in the end I felt he wasn’t that important. FRANK and the device are the stars and how they come to meet is something I hope I have done a well enough job on.

At this point all these scenes have been fully cleaned up and are ready for color. I have not updated the animatic yet, but I will soon enough. I feel great with where I am in production and how the scenes are turning out. I do miss the old story a bit, but this being a solo project I have had to make decision that have trickling effects. I am however very excited with what the final will look like.

FRANK production blog 24

todays post is about animatics! this is the 1st time im posting any animation for the film on this blog. its something i look forward to doing more of especially after i start coloring the cuts. below i have FRANK smelling his roses and walking towards the window.

this cut is one of the opening shots of the film, this is the 2nd pass of animation with one more final pass left to do

this was the 1st pass of animatic edits for this scene, these are not the original boards, these where a more updated design to the boards, maybe the 2nd pass instead of the 1st. the 1st pass was done in green pencil, but these are just boards and no animation

this was the 2nd pass of animatic edits, but its actually the 1at draft of animation for the scene. i think this is one of the 1st scenes i animated about 3 years ago on what is possibly the 2nd cintiq ever made, ancient piece of tech but it served me well. FRANK smelling his flowers and walking off