I felt really demotivated after last week so therefore, decided to bring one of the more interesting scenes from 'The Last Riders' forward. However, the storyboard and animatic weren't corresponding with one another, so I followed the storyboard and roughed out the clip below. Worried that I was going in the wrong direction however, I asked the director for feedback and we discussed some changes that needed to be made.
While we won't use this in the final animation, it was still good practice. The director decided to tone the final version down, as he wants the shot to cut to black as the gun is fired. By losing the gore, we should hopefully gain suspense and tension. So from here, I will change the timing and refine the key frames.
As we are about to enter April, I decided to update the Gantt chart and add the post-production tasks so that the team, and director, could see exactly where we were at as out of all four projects I'm producing this module, 'The Last Riders' has the most left to do.
Next, I had to colour scene 22. While there was a small note from the session last week, I'm not sure it applies anymore, as this clip seems faster than what was shown in the animatic. I coloured the character as best I could however at the start, the colour on his legs isn't refined as the grass was difficult to avoid. So, I've asked the background artist to separate the grass layer, so we can add it later in post.
Originally, the final shot was meant to be a still image with some puppetry animation applied however, as the director wasn't happy with the outcome, he decided to animate this shot instead. However, he only drew the key frames as we haven't got much time left. I offered to colour this, this week. I'm not entirely convinced with this shot however, as the rest of the animation is really fluid and refined so if there is time at the end, I nominated myself to tackle this.
As I only have one more scene to animate for Khoa's project now, I can focus primarily on producing from now until the deadline. So, I started by putting a Gantt chart together for post-production.
Joseph explained that he would have to step down from his post roles due to his workload becoming too overwhelming. So, I messaged around within the group looking for others to pick up these jobs. While Khoa has the bulk of the tasks, I did find a couple other animators within the group who were willing to help out. I also messaged him privately, asking if he was alright with this, and that I would be available daily if he needed any support.
As Alisha's project is also at the same stage of development, I put together a post-production Gantt chart for 'Aviation Aggravation' as well. Then, I got back to work with more animation on 'The Nightly Care I Give My Hair' as I have quite a few shots to colour for this.
First up was shot 3. I was worried about the jitteriness of the hair texture however the director was happy with this, as she felt the movement worked, so I moved onto another shot.
Shot 5 was easy enough to colour as I didn't have to add any texture. I did however, have to learn how to change the opacity of certain colours in Toon Boom which was difficult, as I have about two weeks experience in this software so I'm still very new to the commands and tools.
Next up was shot 6. Once again, I found this shot easy enough once I had learned how to apply the texture layer. I was also happier with the hair in this shot, as I felt it looked less jerky and more fluid.
I'm officially burnt out. We haven't got long left to go but my eyes are strained, my ego is bruised and my emotions are all over the place. I'm not taking it to heart though. A year of lockdowns, the uncertainty surrounding my future (or lack of) and strict, inextensible deadlines can do that to a gal!
We interrupt this breakdown to show you more work. There was a scene that I needed to recolour, so that the hair was consistent throughout the film, which I found time this week to do.
Just like before, I also made a post-production Gantt chart for this project as we have nearly finished production completely, ignoring the scene I have to reanimate based on feedback last week. This chart was the easiest chart to put together, as we aren't adding VFX, shading, lighting or colour grading.
Considering all four of my teams are nearing the end of production soon, I emailed a lecturer asking for a seminar on post techniques, particularly colour grading, as I feel this would really benefit the outcomes, and he mentioned leading this lecture a few weeks back, if enough people were interested.
At the end of the week, my glasses finally arrived. I've been suffering from frequent migraines so now I have a new prescription, I'm hoping they will die down somewhat. The stress doesn't help either. Even in the hours I try to relax, I give myself headaches worrying over the submission. For an idea of what it's like in my brain, despite the eleven tasks I completed this week, that one red task in my Gantt chart is causing me to spiral.
In a one to one with a lecturer, I was told that I'm really good at managing others, as I'm thoughtful and understanding when it comes to scheduling the team. However, when it comes to looking after myself, I'm really mean and overly harsh. I was advised to try and take the same attitude towards myself that I do with others.
