8652

Good Sunday,

Probably lots had happened again but I was busy having lots happening to me so I couldn't write. What happened recently, so I still remember: Cindy Derby's "Edward's House of String". I mentioned that before, the performance me and Cat Bruce helped on, it was pretty awesome. So me and Cat had a good night.

Me, Pete Smith and Gareth Griffiths had also kind of finished the train film (that now has an official title, I should change the labels on the blog maybe some time...), kind of, it is, because we're still working on the sound. Anyway, I don't see it being screened anywhere before June (and I'm not even sure about June), so I'll keep it quiet for now, sorry. There should be a trailer available online within a month.

In the meantime, I had to start working on that degree film of mine (is there a deviation like that? A constant urge to make films?), here's some pictures, I don't have a camera of my own, so it's always a bit of a hassle to get any:

bits of the set

messy workplace of mine

part of the set again

from under the rostrum camera

As for more general, and far more important stuff, my oven broke, which is the greatest tragedy of all, and I can't get anyone who'd want to see "Tangled" with me, which makes me sad, well sad, I'm such a sad character.


PS. Oscars: Kind's Speech and How to Train Your Dragon. Because I say so, so it must be so.

8624

going back to college tomorrow. no, please, no...
the train project/film is almost finished, there are like three scenes that need some work, I think. Should be animated this time next week, then it's sound, and credits, and rederings, and all that fun that I won't be able to enjoy that much: I need to start working on my degree film properly now.
Yes, I do ask myself sometimes, why the hell am I making so many films.
No, I don't know either.


I'm not sure if I should be putting any more stills from that project here, or just wait till it's all done. That's The Last Frame of the film. It's not the last frame drawn, there is still one scene I left myself as a dessert. It's the last frame chronologically.

More updates on another film coming here then. I started that blog for the degree film, but I don't feel like using it much. Lazy.

8575

i'm not supposed to update here, I'm supposed to be working on my dissertation, I - very conveniently - left my notes in college. Oh Welles, what are we gonna do about this meeting this Thursday? :)

I think I'll make some mulled wine now.

Anyway, last week me and Cat finished these animation pieces we were doing for Cindy Derby's puppet performance, the preview's early December, I'm thinking I may go, but I this dissertation... the very thought is really killing me. Anyway, more details if anyone was interested: here.

∴ ∴ ∴

And here's a bad quality picture of my desk with the very last frame of the train film on the lightbox:

blue went grey, because he's a little upset:

8568

The train, the train, the train. The film that has been keeping me busy for almost a year (I started thinking about it something around this time last year, and got first attempts to storyboards around Chritmas), finally there is some light there: I can see the end. I can at least see it, it's like being lost in the sea, where I can finally see some land, and no matter the distance, I can see it, so it's fine.

I'm happy I managed to stay positive and enthusiastic all that time, well, there's few more weeks of work, but it should be all fine.

I'll do some proper thanks later when it's over, but so far, thanks for the support and help, everyone.

Some stills from the film, pencil drawings I do and finished coloured images that are in the film, I like putting them together to compare:

8525

I've just put some "work in progress" material online: it's one of the scenes, from the animatic up to the final version stage. I like when people are sharing their pencil tests, and to compare them with the finished animation, so I hope it's interesting:

Also, I have started a separate blog for my degree film progress documentation. Yep, that's another film. There's not much there yet, but just to let you know: degreeetude.blogspot.com.

And, here's a drawing I did this evening, feeling down, so I though I should do something cheery and disneyish.

8518

A long long time ago, during the first project we did in the second year, Alan Mason shared some of his legendary wisdom with me: "if you think that something is boring, it probably is". Now I find myself spicing up every little scene I work on, crazy camera movements or other insanities. It's his fault, if anyone wonders. All his fault. If not his support, who know what kind of crap films I'd be making now.

Few news:

My "train" film in intense work in progress, fell behind the schedule so badly that it may go on my big ego :)

It's all looking great, that's a positive, but taking well long. Well, that's probably what you get when you're making an 8 minutes long animation on your own.

In the meantime, I think I mentioned that before, I've been collaborating with Live Circus on new BearBones' video for their single "Diving Bell". It's been good fun, new experience, greenscreen and puppeteering mice. For an animator, it was great to get to go outside my dark closet, see real people. The premiere's planned some time in October, somewhere in the Emerald City of Glasgow.

Also, apparently-hopefully the film I made a year ago ("but it makes me happy") is gonna be screened as a short before two anime features as a part of "Scotland Loves Anime" festival (2nd weekend of October Glasgow Film Theatre and the 3rd weekend Edinburgh Filmhouse). Cool, ay?

Above all that, I have just started my final year at Edinburgh College of Art (eventually managed to get that far, yes, I can't believe it either), they've been bugging me with some dissertations and graduation films to make, or something of this ridiculous sort… such a drag to be honest, but I'll need to give it a thought some time soon.

So yeah, all sparkling and shining.

8412

First things first, someone twitted this article and I thought I may have a look, I'm to graduate next year this time, so it's good to know if there's some jobs going on, and… I found my own name there. Wow, how cool is that? I mean, someone bothered to SPELL the whole thing right!

Due to various reasons, even though I almost killed myself animating like crazy, I never managed to finish the TRAIN project for the planned deadline (that would be around now). It's 90% animated, and I'm working on the colouring now, the new plan is to finish it by September so I can concentrate on my graduation film and dissertation. Thanks for everyone who helped, and Claire, my main character number one fan - she says he reminds her of Gambit form X-men. I liked X-men, so I guess it's cool.

I really should update my website, or even make it serious (this article in the list, it made me think: "what if people really are looking at that website and it all looks like I'm a mental 14 years old?"). But I think the film is a priority right now, so the site won't change any soon. I can't even look at it myself anymore.

Right now I'm abroad where it's 34°C in shade right now. I colour my film, where the action takes place in winter, but it doesn't help. I'm to stay here just one and a half month more, so far my main place of residence is the cellar where it's a bit colder. But I share it with way too big spiders. Especially that they outnumber me greatly. And the Internet's only on the attic, where I think one could boil the kettle without putting it on.

oh flower of Scotland, when will I see your like again?

8376

a wee line test i just did, my so called main character, or at least leading male, doing a little dance :)

well of course it's just not inbetweened properly and he's not gonna do it in the film, but i thought it looks funny.

I just discovered a big scene that I haven't done at all... it amazes me how one can miss a whole big scene in the film she knows by heart already...

8359

scene 23, the conductor, line test i did today...with voices... makes me wonder why the hell was i lip synching it when in most of the frames her mouth is out of shot. and i actually drew her whole head... i'm becoming so pro, haha. not really. i'm way behind the schedule, that's sad, from good news: i'm finished with everything else at college so no distractions, and i'm going to see Gogol Bordello in Glasgow soon.

More good news, I'm hoping to recruit an extra animator for the film, my underclassmate Roza. we'll see soon.

There is more progress (or so I believe), but i don't have time to organise and edit it. I'm doing some hard core key frames like I never did before, that's me being organised. I may get some here later. If i have time.

8310

lots of stuff happening around the production. I have found a sound designer (Pete Smith) and a composer (Gareth Griffiths), who so far showed to be really helpful, understanding, hard working, keen and... no, they are real people. or Ms Schizophrenia got me this time.



We did some vocals recording and I hope to have a proper animatic done soon.
It was a really exciting time for me, I need to learn to pretend to be a professional better. And I was depressed by my absolute lack of directing skills - something to work on in the future.
All my unprofessional crew of actors was doing quite well. with the exception of one couldn't help touching the mike... but that's what you get working with almost three years old.

In the meantime, I carry on animating and colouring. I wanted to share this test when I had the sun shining through the blinds, I love this effect :)

8297

little things, like tea, conversations you're forced to listen to in public transportation, time you spend waiting for things to render, shoelances. you've got to tie them, untie them, and they make shoes with fake shoelances already, saves you trouble. but it's that little trouble that makes this time i spend here My Life.

here's some pencil tests me and Will Anderson did for the train project so far, plus one colour sample at the end (the quality here's crap, but in general i'm pleased). the plan is to have the whole thing in pencil done by the end of April, and then colouring - as soon as possible (which could be a while). next week we're hopefully recording the proper vocals so we can have the animatic fixed.

I have found a sound designer, and - hopefully - a composer to do the soundtrack.

PS. my tutors are still doing well entertaining me, that's a recent one: "As everyone knows,animation is a moribund art form which only a fool would want to study - and only a bigger fool would want to teach." Mason, A. (2010)

8292

Seminar. During two hours, Jonny Murray said "kind of" at least 219 times. this is how many i managed to wrote down. and at least 30 minutes we were watching clips so he wasn't speaking. he can do much better, i believe. other than that, i made a drawing of Ben.

earl grey, with raspberry, stirred with a pencil. i was once told that girls who stire their tea with anything that wasn't designated for that particular purpose, they can never get married. and here i know why i will live and die in solitude. we all die alone anyway, an none of us can live alone either. so it's lots of bullshit.

i'm in a big need for
a) sound designer
b) recording studio
c) composer who would do the soundtrack.

i don't have time for anything, and i'm getting very little done, that could be frustrating if i had time to be frustrated.

but above all the every day hussle, i know that i am making an amazing film, and this feeling is wonderful.

8285

Will Anderson's character design for the train project

i'll do something with my life, not only with my films. i hope it won't cost me a lung cancer. i'm a little unsure about the future, and i don't like it for one simple reason: i can't book advance tickets anywhere if i don't know which country i'll be in. and i don't like flying.

we started working on the train projects, the life in college got some meaning for me again. it's a bloody filmic image, and i want to make it. accidently, i found this idea for my gaduation film, which would be something totally different. so i want to do it even more. i'm working with many (more than one is many for us) people on that, it's challenging, overwhelming, yet exciting.

Cat Bruce's character design

oh, i wanted to put some pencil tests here, but blogger's gone bad, i can see. o welles...

8260

some pictures form my next, hopefully, film. the big plan is to have it finished by June. o yeah. i want to look more mature, this one's gonna be hard to counterfeit.

 

 

other than that -  i've got some Orson Welles to watch. and some brandy to drink with Cat Bruce and Will Anderson. what more can one ask for?

8210

living in the world where there's no right or wrong, how can we be asked to take that responsibility and draw the line to define these? and yet, we are.
in the big Anything-Goes world, we're being asked to have an idea of the future. there's nothing to fight for, nothing to rebel against, nothing to embrace or neglect, nothing that would make any voice of opinion valuable.
and you asked us to make up some rules. again.
i find this uncomfortable.

after experiencing life as a human for a while, in which i failed miserably, i decided to go back to being a film making machine. it's quite a sad thing to do, if you think about it, but i try my best not to think about it, so it's fine.

here's s wee test for my next (hopefully) film (project working title: train). i really want to make a film in this kind of style, but i'm not sure if it's really gonna work. esp. that the story is quite long.

ps. i liked "the men who stare at goats". i actually liked a film. that's strange. more about films coming soon, as the year's coming to an end and the oscars are approaching.