today update is a few key frames from the second pass of the scene im still animating on.
hand comes from off screen
contact frame
last frame
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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.
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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.
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todays update will be about a scene i had finished months ago…or so i thought.
This week I did an over pass of all the scenes and all animation for FRANK, I was doing edits on a scene I was not happy with. In the process I ended up redoing some if not all the animation. I started redrawing some of the keys when I had the idea, Do I even need this scene? Could I tell this part of the story better? as I often ask myself. And so I went back to the original animatic and boards as I often do when not sure what move to make. The original draft is longer but as I’ve mentioned before on this blog I always feel like its the truest interpretation of what I want to say. It being longer has lead to many cuts being removed or redesigned.
In this scene FRANK plugs the device into the wall using a usb. We focus on FRANK with a neat camera swipe.The other version (original) focuses equally on both FRANK and the device. FRANK plugs the device into the wall but the cord is already at his table and its done off screen with the shot ending on the device and what it wants. Both these scenes work great but I can only pick one. One almost fully animated while the other (longer) cut has to be animated from rough keys to final passes.
As post this I have not decided which scene to go with, I need to give it more time and think about it. I do not mind adding more time to the production and animating a few new cuts, but at the same time I need to stay on schedule.
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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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Todays update is just a fun picture I’ve put together with the key frames from my most recent shot. I am happy to day the shot is FINAL. Well the animation is, the background is still being tinkered with.
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Todays update consist of the current scene i’m cleaning up. Below are a few variations on the scene.
The first one is from a more profile angle. He drops the flowers and walk off to the right.
The second is a 3/4 over the shoulder angle and the one i decided to go with. He drops the flowers turns around and walks off screen towards the camera. This was original idea but I did board one other angle just to explore the scene. This angle won due to the fact that while I do want a linear visual style I didn’t want to fall into a hole and lose the audiences attention.
Below are some of the boards from both ideas. Blue is the original with the first version of the character
Below are some color variations on the background
pencil and paper, first draft of backgrounds
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final draft of the scene
todays update is about one of the opening scene. Above is the final design still for scene. Below are a few different variations of FRANK smelling his roses.
We start with the first draft I did on a very old piece of hardware, about 3-4 years ago when I started putting together a rough animatic. My goal was to capture the movement of both FRANK and the roses.
1st draft, done on a very old cintiq about 3-4 years, got it from a friend as payment for a job
Next we have the 2nd draft done about 2 -3 years go, this draft is just cleaner but the movement stayed the same.
2nd draft, done about 2-3 years ago on a 13 inch cintiq, borrowed from a friend
We finally we have the 3rd version done about 2 year ago. Same movement but the roses have been cleaned up and detail has been included, making the next pass to be a simple clean up pass.
However the roses have been reanimated, I wasn’t happy with the shot so i decided to redo it, in the past I would have dreaded reanimation a shot, but after spending so much time with this project and my goal being to make it the best possible, I really did not hesitate on the idea. Once I said, I gotta re do this, I simply went and started. I knew it would take some time but it would be worth it. As of this post its almost complete.
3rd draft, done about 2 years ago
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A still, drew this like one years ago maybe longer.
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todays update is a simple color study on the city that FRANK lives in. A few different city concepts with some different mood exploration.
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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.