Into the Unknown

A little update...

I mentioned when discussing the idea for my film that I wanted to incorporate some type of animation into the piece. I think an animatic would be the best choice; I think it would give that "work in progress" feel that the film is about rather than any other type of animation.

I considered doing lego stop motion again, but I don't think it would really fit in with this idea. I also considered doing a full animation, but that would require a lot of time. I believe that an animatic would work well for what I'm trying to do.

First of all, what exactly is an animatic?

Well, an animatic is a preliminary version of a movie. Basically, it's a story board turned into a video with an added soundtrack (an animated storyboard). 

The goal of an animatic is to define the timing of a piece. So, the frames of the storyboard have been timed to provide a basic idea of what the finished video is going to look like.

Animatics are used mainly in the pre-production stage of a film or animation. This is part of the reason why I think an animatic would work best for my film, as it conveys that the story isn't finished; it's a rough draft that's still being edited. 

Animatics are quick to produce since they are derived from the story board and don't require a smooth or completed look.

This is an example of an animatic (left) and an animation (right) from Boords

Despite the fact the animatics are quick to produce and don't require as much as a full out animation, I'm still going to be doing my best to make it look good (so no stick figures).

I'm still not 100% sure what the characters are going to look like (I know I want there to be 2) or what they're going to be doing.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Dig a Little Deeper

A little update...

As promised, I'm back with a more in depth look at observational comedies. Honestly, I didn't too may details about observational comedies.

Observational comedies are a form of humor based on the more common aspects of everyday life. The humor is derived from the premise of "Have you ever noticed...?" or "Did you ever notice...?" This is followed by something that is (hopefully) universally familiar for everyone, but not so obvious that it has been consciously noticed by people. Anything too obvious or obscure won't have the same comedic effect. The event has to be relatable to the audience. Observational comedy is considered to be "funny because it's true."

It includes long monologues of personal narratives. The punchline is either hard to predict or never comes.

What I've found is that observational comedy tends to be used mainly by stand-up comedians (as they're long monologues and meant to be relatable to an audience), but I think the concept of observational humor (finding humor in everyday tasks) can still be applied to my idea.

My film would be focusing on a common aspect of everyday life as it's about the struggle/process of writing something. It wouldn't consist of monologue; it would be a visual representation of what it's like instead.

Anyway, that's all for today. 

Until next time... 

Once Upon a Genre

A little update...

So, genre.

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what genre my film would fall under. I think it could be considered a comedy, so that is what I'm going to go with.

I researched the genre of comedy to find out more about and see if my film really is a comedy.

Comedy films are described as "make 'em laugh" films; they are meant to elicit laughter from their audience. They are usually light-hearted dramas (although they can have a darker/more serious side) that amuse, entertain, and provoke enjoyment. Films under this genre usually have a happy ending

In a comedy, the situation, language, action, and characters (so pretty much everything) are exaggerated for a humorous effect. It is meant as an escape from day-to-day life.

Some believe that the term of comedy is too broad to describe a film, so I started looking into the different sub-genres of comedy.

Comedies can exist as a sub-genre under other major genres (romantic comedy, horror-comedy, etc.); however for the purpose of my film, I believe Comedy to be the major genre.

There are many different types of comedies:

Situational comedies derive humor from having a group of already established characters and exposing them to different situations.

Slapstick comedies were more popular during the time of silent films since they don't require any sound to be effective. It is considered to be primitive and universal comedy as it uses broad, aggressive, physical, and visual actions (a pie in the face, chase scenes, etc.). 

Gross out comedy relies heavily on vulgar or sexual humor and often contain a lot of profanity.

Observational humor finds humor in the common practices of everyday life.

A parody film satirizes other film genres or classic films.

Straight comedies don't fall into a specific type of comedy; they use comedy in a broad sense, for comedic sake.

Surreal comedy includes behavior and storytelling techniques that aren't logical. It has strange juxtapositions, bizarre situations, and abnormal reactions to normal situations.

There are many more sub-genres and hybrid sub-genres that I found, but I don't think they're too relevant to what I'm doing for my film.

I believe my film would fall into the category of an observational comedy as it focuses on a common task; it's an aspect of everyday life.

In another post I'll look more into observational comedy.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

I Wonder...

 A little update...

When I first started thinking about this project, I had absolutely no idea of what I was going to do. I thought of doing a mystery again, but I wasn't really into that idea. So, I did what I usually do when I need inspiration. I took to Pinterest. I mostly just scrolled through, falling down multiple rabbit holes, trying to find something that would spark an idea, anything really.

And it worked.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a few ideas for this project (thank you, Pinterest).

I also mentioned that the majority of my ideas were along the lines of a hero vs. villain storyline; I really enjoy comics, superheroes, and supervillains. I had quite of few ideas along that line, but not all of them are very feasible fo this project. So, I narrowed it down to two. 

I also came up with a few different ideas. I had a lot of ideas in general, but I managed to narrow it down to the four that I thought were best.

The first idea is a hero vs. villain storyline. Hero and Villain are friends and unaware of the other's alter ego. The film would chronicle their day. It would be of a similar structure to the movie Last Five Years. Hero's storyline would start at the beginning of their day and end at the end of it. Villain's storyline would start at the end and end at the beginning. The scenes would alternate, with one shared scene in the middle. I was playing around with the idea of doing it with some sort of animation.

The second idea is also a hero vs. villain storyline, but focusing on the villain. Villain would be trying really hard to be evil or bad, but their deeds are seen as good instead. For example, Villain steals candy from a child, but the candy was actually poisoned/toxic, so they end up saving the child's life.

The third idea is an interaction between a personification of death and a guardian angel. They're arguing about whether or not Death should claim the Angel's charge... again. It's a recurring conversation as the charge always seems to be doing something that they either shouldn't be doing or something that could potentially be dangerous to them. In the end, the Angel wins... again.

The fourth, and last, idea is about the process of writing a story. Every time the author makes an edit to the document, it would be reflected in the scenes of the characters (if that makes sense). So there would be two aspects to it: the author (live action) and the characters of the story the author is writing (animated). Every time the author is seen seen making a change, we see the effect that it has on the characters.

I was originally thinking of doing one of the Hero vs. Villain storylines, but I'm not sure I'd be able to do either effectively. The third idea would rely heavily on the dialogue being amazing (it would really make or break the film), and I don't think my writing ability is good enough. 

At the moment, I'm leaning more towards the fourth idea of the writing process. I think it could turn out either really great or potentially really boring. I'm hoping for really great.

I'm kind of excited to explore this idea further, so we'll see how it turns out. There's still a lot to do.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Start of Something New

An update...

Okay, so I have officially chosen which package I am going to do (cue the confetti canons).

I am going to do a short film.

Of course, I still don't know what I'm going to do for sure, but I already have a few ideas that I'm considering. The majority of them seem to be along the lines of hero vs. villain, so we'll see where that leads.

After all, there are no such things as dumb ideas, right? Right? I guess we'll find out.

I'm going to think about it for a little bit, and get a rough outline of each idea. Then, I'll decide on the final idea for the film.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...

Remember Me (We're Doing a Sequel)

Hello World! It's Chelsea. 

Here with an update...

I'm back... with another project.

This time it's the A Level portfolio project. I have yet to decide what I'm going to do (unfortunately), but I thought I would just introduce the topic as it's been quite a while since we last left off (almost a year now).

There are four different options I can choose from: music promotion package, film promotion package, documentary package, or short film package.

I already know that I don't want to do the music promotion package (I don't know any artists/bands) or the documentary package (I don't have access to anything I think would be interesting enough for a documentary).

That leaves me with the option of a film promotion package or a short film package. 

As seems to be the standard, I have absolutely no idea of what I want to do at this point. I don't know which option to pick, let alone what the idea will be. But I will figure it all out... eventually.

Of course, I'll keep you updated with whatever I decide to do.

Anyway, that's all for today.

Until next time...