So Fall Semester will be over in 3 or 4 weeks, and after that, all the time I have left to work on my film is Spring Semester! (And any breaks that happen from now until like, April)
So because of this, the question that’s certainly on my mind, is CAN I GET THIS FILM DONE IN TIME?!?!?!
Well, let’s look at the numbers.
As of today, (Sunday, November 25th) I have 130 DAYS LEFT to work on my film before Picture Lock.
Also, in each shot of animation, I need to do the following:
– Shoot Reference footage
– Animate the main body motions
– Facial animation (both for lipsynch and emotional reactions)
– Hair Animation (if I have time)
– 2D Animations for some shots
– Occasional Special effects
But how many total individual shots are there in my film? (as in, camera cuts): THERE ARE 74. (not counting opening and closing titles)
Oh my god, Max, that’s a lot! You won’t be able to get that all done in time!
Oh but I think I will, brain. After all, those 74 shots can be consolidated together into scenes. And currently, I’ve grouped those 74 shots into 30 different Maya Scene Files.
That’s still a lot!
I know, I know, but calm down! ONLY 17 of those 30 Scene Files include intensively-animated 3D Assets
And if you want to break it down even more, there are 27 different instances of animation in my film (this doesn’t count characters who are standing idly in the background, but this does count each time a character does or says something. So if there’s a shot where one kid rolls a ball and another kid kicks the ball, I count that as two different instances of animation)
OK… But is that a lot?
Trust me, it’ll take time. But I think it’ll fit in the time-frame. After all, I can get a pretty good first rough pass of one character done per day, at least. In fact, that’s the minimum work-rate I’m holding myself to, and I’ve been able to keep that pace up consistently for the last 5 or so days with no problem. So at that rate, I will most CERTAINLY have a rough-layout animated version of my film done by the end of December (which hasn’t started yet). And if I really can follow through with this pace, then I’ll have a rough-animated version of my film before Spring Semester even starts.
Also, to prove it, check this video out:
In this shot are (what I consider) 3 different “Instances Of Animation”:
1) The mean girl saying “Sure! Roll me the ball”
2) The Hero rolling the ball to the girl and then jumping in fear when she kicks the ball
3) The mean girl kicking the ball
And consequently, this shot was completed over the course of 3 days. And this is 3 out of the 27 shots!
So with that said, at this rate it’ll seem that I’ll have all of Spring Semester to get my Final Animation completed. And once that’s completed, then… well, then it’s completed! And of course I have to render, composite, do special effects, bla bla bla, but the main hard work (and the main focus of my work, since I want to be a 3D Character Animator) will be done, and boy will THAT be exciting! ;D
But hold on there, cowboy! You’ve completely neglected 2D Animated Assets! Will you have time for that?
Nice catch, brain. And while you’re right that I haven’t really factored the 2D assets in, I feel like that will actually not be too much of a problem either. After all:
– There are only 2 lines of 2D Dialogue
– There are only 2 shots in which 2D characters do something other than dancing that doesn’t involve any 3D assets
– There is only 1 shot when a 2D character and a 3D character actually touch each other and make contact/interaction
– There is only 1 shot in which 2D characters do something that causes a reaction in some 3D characters (when the monsters all scare the Mean Girl Gang away)
And the rest of the 2D animation, literally, is just monsters dancing. And since I’m not super-focused on making the 2D animation impeccable (in fact I want it to have a somewhat rough look), I’m not stressing myself out too much about it. (yet)
So yea. Don’t worry! This project will be completed. And as always, there is lots more to come! And since this post didn’t have any pictures in it, then let me post this picture of Kate Bush I just discovered today, because she’s so pretty in it. 🙂
MmmaaaxxxRubinThesis 