Spark of Inspiration

In my class tonight, illustrious Disney producer Don Hahn came to lecture about making a great film. I found his lecture very inspiring, and I know will apply his advice to my thesis film.

One of the things he focused on was how the character relates to the overall story. Of course there are a few things that go into this, but everything boils down to a simple concept: What does your character want, and why can't he/she have it?

This statement really struck me and I decided I wanted to create an image to capture this question and hopefully answer it. This drawing is based on a rough storyboard from my animatic. 

My Thesis Journey Takes a Turn: Meeting the Man Who Wrote the Words

After months of correspondence and some last minute travel arrangements, I made my way from LA to New Hampshire in order to meet and record the voice of Donald Hall, the man who started it all with his powerful poem. Meeting Donald was an incredible honor and delight. He welcomed Jordan and me with such a generosity of spirit.

Sitting there in his living room, surrounded by hundreds of books, original artwork, and a liftetime's worth of knick-knacks and personal history, I knew how special it was for us to be there. It was beyond moving for me to sit in front of him, clumsily holding a mic, hearing him read A Letter in Autumn. His strong voice and heart adds so much more to the narration than I could have ever imagined.

This short trip was such an amazing experience, and it is something I will never forget. I'm so grateful to Donald for being the wonderful person I hoped he would be.

New Hampshire itself was also very inspiring. The area was pretty rural and there was plenty of natural beauty. It rained our whole first day, but the mist was really quite picturesque.

 

We had to of course pay our respects to Jane Kenyon, Donald's late wife. This graveyard has been around for a long time. Many of the stones had dates in the 1800s.

Post Game Work

I went to the USC game versus Cal this weekend, and it was a fun break from work. I bought the tickets for Jordan's birthday, so it was nice to enjoy the time with him. Sadly I couldn't lose the entire day. I went back to the basement to work after the game.

Starting to Animate!

After a few tests, I've finally started animating. I'm diving right into production by starting with a 24 second continuous shot. That may not seem like a long time, but when you're drawing every frame (24 frames in one second) it really starts to add up. This is just the beginning of my 24 weeks of animating under the camera. Here are a few pictures of my set-up and of me working, courtesy of Linda Jules.

If you're wondering about the face mask, it's because of the charcoal dust of the drawings. A little bit is ok, but I think breathing that in for months might do some damage. I'm also working with a digital downshooter along with two lights, and a computer running Dragonframe Stop Motion Software. 

Plan your Work

One of my undergrad professors always said, "Plan your work, and work your plan." This is exactly what I'm doing for my thesis project since it's the biggest project I've ever done.

Figuring out how exactly to plan such a massive project has felt pretty overwhelming to me. There are so many details to think about. My thesis advisor, Sheila Sofian, suggested that I start by using a point system to organize shots, and create a calendar based of this. I think this will help me out a great deal. I plan on finishing up my thorough production schedule in the next couple of days.

Storyboards

I developed storyboards over several weeks, and I'm still editing and adding boards. Here's an example of a portion of boards I created for my film. I worked on these in the spring and have already changed many of these images.

Storyboards are basically visual scripts for animation and are sometimes used in live action. Animators create pretty thorough boards because they help us develop timing and plan out scenes and actions of characters. We do most of our story editing in pre-production, and I'm currently in this phase. My boards are fairly rough. I just try to get the information in there so I know what's going on in that shot. Don't worry, my film will look better than these sketches!

Style Frames

I developed a few style frames to capture the mood and style I'm hoping to achieve in Living Without. These frames are based on possible images from the film. They also demonstrate the subtraction drawing technique I will use in the animation.

Letting your mind wander

My Pre-Thesis advisor Christine Panushka was such a great influence in developing my idea. She allowed my classmates and me to let go and explore our ideas thoroughly before settling down. Here are a few sketches from my exploration.

Film References

Several films have inspired me in developing the look of my film. These filmmakers know how to create wonderful films with compelling stories, elegant compositions, and strong emotions.

I also looked at William Kentridge for his impressive technique with charcoal. He is a real master of additive hand-drawn animation and an artistic genius.

When the Day Breaks - Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby

 Two Sisters - Caroline Leaf

William Kentridge

Black Soul - Martine Chartrand

Frederic Back

Overview of My Film

Living Without will follow the story of an old man thinking of his late wife who has recently passed  away from cancer. He is going through his lonely, daily routine while memories of their former life continually cloud his thoughts.

Hall's poem "A Letter in Autumn" will serve as the voice over narration of the old man. The film will be created through subtraction hand-drawn animation.


PAST PERSONAL ART INFLUENCE
The visual style of my animation is directly related to the artistic style I have developed through my career. Simplification of composition and creating implied forms has been a theme in my work. Light has also been a beautiful and important element to me. I will try to use light to create mood and tone in my animation.

Below are a few of my past drawings that demonstrate my interest in light and the style I will be using in my film.

Introduction to "Living Without"

This blog is dedicated to my process of developing Living Without, my MFA Thesis film. My film is based on the poem "A Letter in Autumn" from the book Without by Donald Hall, Poet Laureate of the United States in 2006. I chose this poem because it embodies the feeling of loss and grief that comes when losing a loved one.

I first read the poems in Hall's Without after the death of my dear aunt and uncle. His poems touched me so deeply and helped me get through that difficult time in my life. I always wanted to create a film to honor my late family members and this is my chance to do so.