Log Date

Captain's Log for our animated short film

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  1. January 30, 2012

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    G’day fair readers! My crew and I are braving the stormy seas of the story process. We just finished our first pass at the boards, and we’re currently editing our first animatic. Then, as the late great Joe Ranft always said, we start the stoREboarding process. That’s when you reboard, reboard, reboard till you get it right! But our film has the compass of a great plot, always pointing North. And our crew is ever stalwart! So I say, bring it on! Cap’n A-Mad

    G’day fair readers! My crew and I are braving the stormy seas of the story process. We just finished our first pass at the boards, and we’re currently editing our first animatic.

    Then, as the late great Joe Ranft always said, we start the stoREboarding process. That’s when you reboard, reboard, reboard till you get it right!

    But our film has the compass of a great plot, always pointing North. And our crew is ever stalwart! So I say, bring it on!

    Cap’n A-Mad

  2. January 23, 2012

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    My producer/sculptor Shawn Sullivan and I know that when you’re making a short film on your free time, you have to spend every available moment working on said film. Even if you’re at a hockey game.

    My producer/sculptor Shawn Sullivan and I know that when you’re making a short film on your free time, you have to spend every available moment working on said film.

    Even if you’re at a hockey game.

  3. January 9, 2012

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    Good morning readers! Today’s update is more a recommendation than an update. My DP, Eric (seen below with the massive RED), suggested me Adobe Kuler for nailing down a solid color scheme for our little film. It’s a fantastic program that enables you to sample color schemes from a given image and save them out as color palettes and swatches. This is especially handy for artists like me, who are essentially colorblind. It’s a HUEge help. Cap’n A-Mad

    Good morning readers!

    Today’s update is more a recommendation than an update. My DP, Eric (seen below with the massive RED), suggested me Adobe Kuler for nailing down a solid color scheme for our little film. It’s a fantastic program that enables you to sample color schemes from a given image and save them out as color palettes and swatches.

    This is especially handy for artists like me, who are essentially colorblind. It’s a HUEge help.

    Cap’n A-Mad

  4. January 2, 2012

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    Happy New Year! This Christmas break, our crew got together for our first story pitch of Act II. From left are Darrell Watson (storyman), Andy (my brother, and a fellow filmmaker), Eric Hann (tech lead), Alexa Hann (producer), and Shawn Sullivan (producer/sculptor). Shawn and Eric broke out their cameras to document the momentous occasion. Yes, that’s a RED camera in front of Eric, and yes, that thing in Shawn’s hand is another camera. There was a bit of camera envy before Shawn realized it’s not the size of your lens that matters, but how you use it. I have some story notes to address before our next meeting, January 20th, so I better get back to it. Needless to say, my New Year’s Resolution is to put this film in the can, and give Shawn and Eric a story worth documenting (even for a RED)! Cap’n A-Mad

    Happy New Year!

    This Christmas break, our crew got together for our first story pitch of Act II. From left are Darrell Watson (storyman), Andy (my brother, and a fellow filmmaker), Eric Hann (tech lead), Alexa Hann (producer), and Shawn Sullivan (producer/sculptor).

    Shawn and Eric broke out their cameras to document the momentous occasion. Yes, that’s a RED camera in front of Eric, and yes, that thing in Shawn’s hand is another camera. There was a bit of camera envy before Shawn realized it’s not the size of your lens that matters, but how you use it.

    I have some story notes to address before our next meeting, January 20th, so I better get back to it. Needless to say, my New Year’s Resolution is to put this film in the can, and give Shawn and Eric a story worth documenting (even for a RED)!

    Cap’n A-Mad

  5. December 25, 2011

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    Merry Christmas to all our dear readers! The goal for our little film is to be finished by Christmas 2012. Lots of work to do, so keep checking back each week for an update. We’ll see you back here in 52 updates with the final film. Till then, Mele Kalikimaka, and to our extended filmmaking ohana! Cap’n A-Mad

    Merry Christmas to all our dear readers! The goal for our little film is to be finished by Christmas 2012. Lots of work to do, so keep checking back each week for an update. We’ll see you back here in 52 updates with the final film. Till then, Mele Kalikimaka, and to our extended filmmaking ohana!

    Cap’n A-Mad

  6. December 20, 2011

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    I sat down for an interview with one of my co-conspirators, Vi-Dieu Nguyen. Vi works at Dreamworks, so you know I really have to like him to collaborate with him on Nail’d.

    Austin: would you say nail’d fits into your vi-oeuvre?

     Vi-Dieu:  the adventure aspect yeah
    should I say more?

     Austin:  no, that’s fine
    how do you go about designing a character?
    scratch that
    what do you find most appealing about adventure stories?

     Vi-Dieu:  I like that the stakes are high and it’s all about going into the uknown. That sense of wonder, mixed in with anxiety. Exciting, but scary. The unknown, in a nutshell.
    Plus, there’s an episodic quality to adventure.

     Austin:  like the character’s adventures preceded the story and will go on after.

     Vi-Dieu:  Like…it’s one set after another. New characters to be introduced, new situations.

     Austin:  i think i know the answer to this, but what is your favorite adventure story?

     Vi-Dieu:  Hands down, Raiders.
    You knew that didn’t you?

     Austin:  i had a hunch

     Vi-Dieu:  But, I also like Lord of the Flies.

     Austin:  that one definitely mirrors our story! what do you find appealing about LotF?

     Vi-Dieu:  I like islands and survival…and savagery.

     Austin:  yeah! instant drama!

     Vi-Dieu:  Yep.
    I like kids being forced to find a power dynamic right away
    I like a good power struggle story.
    And the creepy reality of how alliances form.
    How we turn against each other.

     me:  poor piggy

     Vi-Dieu:  Yes.
    And that one boy…
    the smallest one
    the one who warned about the lord of the flies

     Austin:  i don’t really remember it that well

     Vi-Dieu:  There was this one boy who was the wisest of all, but he died too, and he warned about a monster lurking in the jungle…the monster turned out to be themselves. bum BUM!

     me:  dayumn!

     Vi-Dieu:  Oh for Nail’d…

     me:  haha

     Vi-Dieu:  i like the morality tale
    Aesop’s fable like lesson at the end
    Like if you sow wild oats, you’re gonna pay for it

     Austin:  yeah, and i’ll work on getting more savagery in there for you

     Vi-Dieu:  awesome

     Austin:  haha

     Vi-Dieu:  people wearing skull caps, shrunken heads…animal hide

     Austin:  racist

     Vi-Dieu:  haha
    toootally
    all adventure stories are racist in nature
    well
    if they have aboriginals
    and natives

     Austin:  crocodile dundee is good about it
    there are a lot of dynamic aboriginal characters

     Vi-Dieu:  i should check that out

     Austin:  yeah
    i lost $50 to a friend who was able to hum the crocodile dundee theme

     Vi-Dieu:  hah
    nice

     Austin:  how do you approach designing a character from scratch?
     Vi-Dieu:  I start with absurdity. Draw like a child and let myself go - have no rules. Make myself laugh or surprised….
    I start with the absurd and then start shaping it into a certain reality with rules

     Austin:  do you focus on shape, or try to put the character into a scene or narrative context?

    Vi-Dieu:  I start with…well for me, yeah, I start with a dynamic shape…often in facial expression
    I like to start with the eyes
    the brows
    haha

     Austin:  the eyebrows are the hands of the face

     Vi-Dieu:  but yeah, having fun with the shape in the face
    yes!

     Austin:  lastly, who is your favorite artist (not just character designer) and why?

     Vi-Dieu:  oh uhh…
    Bill Watterson
    Because of how…animated and alive his characters are. And they speak truths by their actions.
    When we recognize that truth, we laugh!

     Austin:  totally!
    he has a great minimalist approach to scenery, too
    it’s all there to support the action

     Vi-Dieu:  Yeah
    masterful storyteller

     Austin:  great!
    thanks for your time
    i may or may not edit the racist bit

     Vi-Dieu:  haha
    it’s ok
    i’m not white
    hahaa

    Austin:  haha

  7. December 12, 2011

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    You can’t overestimate the power of a good title card. A dynamic title sequence can set the tone for your film, and put your audience in the proper frame of mind for your story. Sadly this is an art form that has greatly diminished over the years.

    Art of the Title is an excellent website that has catalogued some of the most captivating, original title sequences of film (and tv, videogame, etc) history.

    Ours needs a little work, but it’s off to a good start!

    Cap’n A-Mad

    Next week: An intro to sculptor Shawn Sullivan’s tools of the trade!

    Notes: 3 notes

  8. December 5, 2011

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    Long distance relationships are hard. Especially for filmmakers. I’m prepping a pitch to my crew at Christmas time because, for once, we’ll all be in the same place. Our crew is spread all over the state (Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Burbank), so we have to take advantage of the holiday time when we are all back in our hometown of Elk Grove. For those of you collaborating over long distances like us, I’d highly recommend using DropBox and Picassa to share big files. There’s nothing like sharing art to keep everyone motivated! Cap’n A-Mad

    Long distance relationships are hard. Especially for filmmakers.

    I’m prepping a pitch to my crew at Christmas time because, for once, we’ll all be in the same place. Our crew is spread all over the state (Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Burbank), so we have to take advantage of the holiday time when we are all back in our hometown of Elk Grove.

    For those of you collaborating over long distances like us, I’d highly recommend using DropBox and Picassa to share big files. There’s nothing like sharing art to keep everyone motivated!

    Cap’n A-Mad

  9. November 28, 2011

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    Avast, me hearties! I hope y’all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. One thing I’m thankful for is my amazing crew, like Tyler Decker who created this piece for the color script of our little film. Color scripts are rough thumbnails for the film’s final cinematography. Because color is so linked with mood and tone, a good color script can give the filmmaker a sense of the emotional journey they’ll be taking their audience on. Stay tuned for more story art as I gear up for a big Christmas pitch to the crew! Your friend and mine, Cap’n A-Mad

    Avast, me hearties!

    I hope y’all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. One thing I’m thankful for is my amazing crew, like Tyler Decker who created this piece for the color script of our little film. Color scripts are rough thumbnails for the film’s final cinematography. Because color is so linked with mood and tone, a good color script can give the filmmaker a sense of the emotional journey they’ll be taking their audience on.

    Stay tuned for more story art as I gear up for a big Christmas pitch to the crew!

    Your friend and mine,

    Cap’n A-Mad

  10. November 21, 2011

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    An early animation test for a pivotal moment in the film.

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