Animating

I've been animating as much as possible this week and am pleased with the shots I've done so far. I use reference footage more than ever and it's really speedy. Animating with a boiling line style really speeds up the line work as I don't have to keep it so consistent.

I especially enjoy animating character designs done by other people as it helps me develop my own range of drawing techniques.

My biggest concern is time. I must animate fast and make sure my group is running like a smoothly oiled machine. 

Finished Animatic and Group Presentation

I cut a third and final draft of the animatic to shorten the film to just over a minute.

I've cut some shots and changed the order. The gunfight will be the framing device to cut between two significant flashbacks in Scott's life. I've also scrapped the narration. We're now going to try and convey the essence of Scott's activities and him as a character, and the world he inhabited, rather than just presenting lengthy wordy facts. It's less time.

I took inspiration from "Journey to Cape Verde". There's a 1 minute long version of the 17 minute animated documentary that conveys the feel of the characters journey without narration or a plot. It's quite abstract and I liked it.

I presented the animation thus far to the class and was told that the cinematography and animatic were good, but I needed to include more facts. blech. I'll probably add some text at the beginning and end but I don't want to make it too text-y as it detracts from the whole point of animation.

I've assumed the role of the illustrious director, but I find it hard to make decisions which isn't good. My group has accused me of saying stuff and then saying to do different stuff, but I think they're just liars out to usurp me and steal the title of "Illustrious Director".

Animatic

I've finished storyboarding and made a start on the animatic. It's much more comprehensible than the storyboard. I need to improve the way I communicate through my storyboards. I worry that the sketchy, very rough style might not make proper sense in a real life pitch.

I sent the script to a couple of people who didn't know it, and they said the story made sense which is good. A friend suggested that I could rearrange the scenes. Instead of going:

1. CLIMACTIC GUNFIGHT
2. SCOTT'S LIFE LEADING UP TO GUNFIGHT
3. RETURN TO CLIMACTIC GUNFIGHT

I could disperse the scenes of Scott's life as flashbacks that take place throughout the gunfight. The gunfight, rather than being a separate scene, could be the framing device for the whole story. Plus, this approach could shorten the animation and make less work for us.

I'll deliberate with my group on it.

Stills from my animatic

Storyboarding

I made rough storyboards over Easter. I got approval from my group who said that the story reads well, even though my handwriting is atrocious.

Sheets 1 to 5 of the storyboard.

There are four main scenes me and the group want to include:

1. The gunfight where Nesbitt was killed and Scott was captured
2. The bank robbery when Scott gave himself the name "Captain Moonlite"
3. The relationship built up between Nesbitt and Scott in jail
4. Scott and Nesbitt trying to find work after prison but returning to crime

The main concern is length. I've storyboarded each of the scenes and will put them into an animatic. Once we see how it flows we can tweak, rearrange and shorten it. Eloise originally suggested the idea of opening with the climactic final gunfight and working back to show how the story reached that point, which I think is cool.

Developing a Documentary Script

I've started writing and staging the tale of Captain Moonlite. My biggest problem is condensing the whole story down, getting all the facts in while also creating a portrait of ||Moonlite's character. He was complex, part hero, part absolute villain which would be good to convey.

I sent my first script draft to my team and received positive feedback, but a couple of notes warning me about seeming biased, as well as the pacing which needs work.

I've bought Paul Terry's book "In Search of Captain Moonlite", which is an incredibly detailed and informative source by a respected author. It will inform the dates, times, locations and personality of the titular character in our film.