Thursday, March 11, 2010

Props to my prop-makers!




Hello everyone! We're still moving onwards and upwards. Man, this whole "create an entire world and animate it one frame at a time" is extremely fun! I become overly ecstatic whenever I see something new that the guys are working on even if it's a small, seemingly insignificant object that will probably only get about 0.5 seconds of actual screen time. It doesn't matter, they put their all into it! The level of talent and detail that these guys have is just amazing so I dedicate this blog post to everyone working on the props for the film and will show you all a few of the props these guys have hammered out.




The first here is the broom. The broom is a prop that plays a significant role in the film so it had to be detailed. What I like about this prop is the fact that the creator (Steve) took the time to actually modify a real brush as opposed to creating the entire thing in clay. My personal taste as a director agrees with the use of realism even in an animated medium. Great job, Steve!


This magician's hat and variations of magic wands were created by Jared. What I love about this prop is that it captures a rustic, cartoonish spirit but still remains grounded in reality (if that makes sense). It has life in it and hopefully that comes across in my poorly taken camera phone photo.



Love, love, LOVE this piece. It is technically considered a prop piece which falls under Brian's jurisdiction but I don't care! I love it! The picture doesn't do it justice as I only took a picture of one side of the tree. But what I love about it is the very clear and distinct immediate mood or feeling you retrieve from it. That's hard to pull off effectively! Props to Brian!



Wait... How big are those chairs and table? That's right, these props are at a 2" = 1' scale. Look at the detail! Look at the structure, design and architecture of these pieces! Amazing work! Steve has proved his talent once again! Below I've added just a quick photoshop I've created to give you a further look as to how the piece would end up as these props are technically still in the process of being made.


These guys are really adding an amazing value to this film. As a director, I cannot wait to see this film in it's completion and share their talent with everyone else. We are starting production soon and we are looking into ways to provide you all with a more intimate involvement with the creation of this film so stay tuned Moving Day watchers!

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Director's Journal #5


Duane our resident Animator kicks off the new year with a HARRUIKAN!


Howdy folks and happy New Year! The beat goes on and I guess that means so do we. Our latest production meeting, I took the liberty to snapping some pics on the progress and excited to show them off here on the blog. The set is right on the brink of being done and it's already looking great! Our main character Chris is taking shape and gaining personality. We will be revealing him soon!

Our meeting this last weekend was generally to set up and lay out the very first shots of animation and make sure we were all on the same page. Coming from experience in live-action, it's interesting to see the differences that stop-motion has to offer. For example, no need for a boom mic! Below are some of the images I was able to take at the meeting. A lot more is coming soon as we begin actual production of "Moving Day!"





Mr. Wohlers pops up from the trap door to work on the set. Yes, each and every floorboard (tongue depressors) had to be glued down and wood stained


The trap door is the last to be laid with floorboards. The staircase that you see here is drywall with cut out steps. Mr. Wohlers will fill everyone in on a special post on the construction of each of the elements in the set.





This is a general layout shot of the inside of the house. We just wanted to set up some framing and spacing options. The fireplace in the background will be created by Steve who just uses some dry wall as a visual. An entire post could be dedicated on the fireplace alone. We're talking green screen, separate LED's and a very customized design!

Matter of fact, here is some of the concept art for the design and construction. Inside the actual firebox are going to be placed a strip of LED's to light the green screen in the back. It's important to isolate a light source just for the green screen. What's interesting about this is that the green screen itself will only be inches and the light source itself will have to be tiny. THANK YOU modern technology LED's!






Here we see the semi-winding staircase that leads from the top of the stairs.







Again lining up and mapping out our shots. Nick (Producer) and Duane (Animator)



Where the magic happens! A peek into the character creation.





Dad? Just some concept art of Chris' dad. He may be on the site but not in the actual animation. More to come on that!






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