Thought I'd post a link to my last interactive project... my third contribution to the online academic journal Vectors.
I actually finished this back in September, but I've been so busy working on my thesis film that I forgot to mention it. In any case, you can view the project here: Deliberative Democracy & Difference. I've also posted some screenshots below.
It's been a while since my last update. Recently finished my final project for the academic journal Vectors (I'll post a link shortly), and I'm now focusing exclusively on my thesis film.
In the meantime, my short film The Intruder has been screening (or will screen) at various festivals across the U.S. and overseas. Here's a list of screenings so far.
L.A.A.F. Los Angeles Animation Festival Sacramento Horror Film Festival FIDEC Festival International des Ecoles de Cinema Woodstock Film Festival Best in the SW: Flash Animation & Motion Graphics Festival Evil City Film Festival Animadrid Festival Internacional de Imagen Animada GIAA (Guild of Italian American Actors) Festival of Short Films and Videos Taiwan International Animation Festival Coney Island Film Festival Valley Film Festival Temecula Valley International Film and Music Festival L.A. Shorts Fest Toofy Film Fest Rome International Film Festival Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Hermosa Shorts Film Festival Animation Block Party USC First Look
If any of you happen to see it, drop me a note and let me know what you thought. More info on each screening (i.e. time, date and location) is available at The Intruder web site.
Finally got around to making postcards for my film, which will come in hand when I want to notify people of screening dates and times. Ordered 500 of these bad boys, so if you want one, just ask! I'll have plenty to pass around.
For those of you who were unable to attend the First Look screening of my short film, THE INTRUDER, you can now catch a glimpse of it online at.... (drumroll please).......... THE OFFICIAL "THE INTRUDER" WEB SITE
(Flash Player 9 required for viewing... download the latest Flash Player HERE.)
Been meaning to post this for a while now... the model is horrible, obviously, but it's all I had to work with for this particular exercise. Anyway, the line is from Donnie Brasco. The infamous "fuggedaboutit" scene... (TURN UP YOUR SOUND FOR THIS ONE!)
Well, with classes finally out of the way, I figured I could spend a week or so building a proper web site for The Intruder. Nothing too crazy... something clean and easy to use that would allow people to preview the film. Here are some Photoshop mock-ups of what I've got so far. Everything will be done in Flash. Hope to get it all done this weekend!
(EDIT: Looking at this online, the deselected menus look really dark... must be the JPEG compression. Anyway, will have to lighten them a bit, because they're practically invisible!)
The animated short film I've been working on for the past year, "The Intruder", will premiere Friday, April 13th at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles as part of the University of Southern California's First Look screening.
If you're in the area, please come by for a night of animated shorts and cocktail reception! Entry is free and open to all. If you can't make it but would like a complementary DVD, please e-mail me you mailing address, and I'll send one out to you shortly (while supplies last).
Working on the final shot, as in the last shot I have left to complete the film (chronologically, it actually takes place about 2/3 of the way through the film), and all of the 3D elements are done with the exception of the "card pass". Here's the final 2D animation that will go on the card. It needs to be colored, obviously, but it's otherwise done. The woman is stumbling through the hallway, and the 3D camera that's tracking her is moving as well, particularly in the final segment, where the camera actually goes flying off the railing. It'll seem a bit confusing at this point, but you'll get it when it's integrated with the background.
I post this primarily because a lot of what, in my opinion, are the better moments in the sequence will actually be cropped out of the final shot due to the 2.35 aspect ratio of the film... so, for example, you'll lose her entire upper body in some portions of the shot, where she gets really close to the camera.
anyway... i'm not crazy about the first part of it, she's moving a bit robotically, but other than that, i'm pleased with the result. now for some coloring! anyway, enough yapping...
It took back-to-back all-nighters to fix all of the issues that arose trying to composite the 2D and 3D elements in this scene. There are still some problems, but I can't afford to spend any more time on it. In any case, it was quite the learning experience! I feel like I could fill a chapter in a book discussing the various problems and solutions. Big up to my main man, Andy "The Mad" Lyon, for his help and advice.
Just finished the animation for my second to last shot. I still need to color it and integrate it with my 3D background. I'm also going to model and animate a 3D high-heeled shoe that will spin and slide towards the camera. Andy and Ryan suggested I add the blood splatter hitting the camera lens. I'm not sure about this... could be good or could be crossing the line into ridiculous. In any case, I threw it in there for now. It'll look a lot better when it's colored properly and out of focus.
Came up with a new way to project shadows from the 2D charaters onto the 3D backgrounds for this scene. Basically, duplicated my camera and used it to projected a blackened version of the 2D onto the geometry. I'm not sure if it's the best way, but it works.
Wireframes of the wooden owl newel post that appears in a few of the final shots. I wasn't going to bother modeling this originally, figuring I could just as easily draw the owl in 2D, as I've been doing with the cat and the woman. But when I realized it was going to be visible in 4 different shots from 4 different angles, I thought it would be worthwhile. I kept many of the edges hard to give it that "carved from wood" feel. Look for it textured and lit in the upcoming shots!
A couple more scenes done over the holiday break... next week is my killer week. Classes resume and I've set myself up to complete two of the hardest scenes left. Should be interesting...
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