THE ANIMATION

The above storyboard image is of Cornelisz having a good time in the climactic scene.

Anyways, we've still got a lot to do before we do some serious shooting - one ongoing concern is our lack of a really good animator. It's almost certain that one of us will be doing it, i.e. me. I feel that I can do something vastly better than the work on the previous two films (which stink, for the record), but it's still worrisome.

The problem with stop-motion animation, and indeed with any animation, is that one must aquire enough skill with the basic craft before one can truly make the characters 'act'. On the previous project it was simply a matter of acheiving a level of quality somewhere above 'barely acceptable' before we moved onto the next shot. Our main focus has always been on the visuals; myself with sets and Dave with lighting, etc. This time, we want to do some high-quality work. Our best option seems to be extensive cheating, i.e. taking extensive reference footage with Mike's camera, and really analyzing it frame by frame. Having to invent physical 'acting' out of thin air is really beyond our current abilities. I've already spent quite a bit of time watching Kurosawa's Seven Samurai* frame by frame to better understand human movement.

We've thought about enlisting outside aid to up the quality level with the animation, but that presents several problems. It is going to take us quite a while to finish this thing, so we need somebody who intends to be around for a comparable length of time. The other main concern is that our current group has been working together for a while, so we're pretty comfortable critizing each other's work. It might be awkward if the work they do is sub-par. As well, we can't offer them anything immediate in return except long hours on the bus and tedious hours in the studio.

So, it'll probably be me.


*Seven Samurai is the awesomest movie ever. If the reader has a favorite movie which he/she prefers, I assure you that you are wrong; this movie is better.