6DM015 & 6DM022: Experimentation for pre-production

These images and clip show my experimentation that was fundamental to gain the right outcomes for the film pre-production package and show how these developments can help move the project forward. This includes animation tests in how the character would move, making initial designs for setting and environments, previous concept art that tested how I experimented with colour and seeing what can be improved aswell as sketches that were useful for designing the characters and structuring better concept art especially with the help of life drawings to create the poses I want for particular characters. The concept tests also help with experimenting with shadow and lighting.

6DM015: Production schedule update, animatic, rough soundtrack

Pre-production	week 1	week 2	week 3	week 4	week 5	week 6	week 7
Research
Synopsis and treatment
storyboarding
Character Development
Animatic
Setting design
Concept Art
Sound effects and music
colour script

Pre-production	week 8	week 9	week 10	christmas week 1	xmas week 2	week 11	week 12
Research
Synopsis and treatment
storyboarding
Character Development
Animatic
Setting design
Concept Art
Sound effects and music
colour script

Animatic:
This video shows the direction I want to take this production through in terms of setting up scenes, camera angles and a rough soundtrack that would suit the mood I want this film in. From given feedback, the only changes I would need to make overall is changing the timing as the scenes are too quick in terms of shooting off from one action to another in a second and also experiment with the 'Mother' character as the design isn't as produced well as the boy and ghouls. The music contribution was called Insidious edited in Adobe premiere pro but is very rough and is mainly a place holder until I gain more ideas on music but in the end I might consider mixing this track with other music ideas. Overall my fellow peers and lecturers liked how the idea has moved forward and how it has improved to become something potentially good to present in a showreel.

Vimeo: 'The Prey' Animatic

The next step to take this project forward is continue designing the colour presentation, sort the narrative structure as some scenes could be cut out to flow the pacing better and begin animating scenes to the short film to get a head start aswell as animating test runs of what the characters would move and interact with the scene setup. This in turn would help structure the narrative better if some action needed changing since my film will have no dialogue and rely on character traits and body language to describe the emotion of the film.

6DM015: colour scripts and concept art

This post displays improved concept art as taking on the feedback from lecturers and peers has helped considerably to clean the colour scheme and make the characters feel apart of the world I'm creating for this film. Another way I have improved is look at toning the colours out to reflect the dark mood I want to present this film in including shadow and lighting.
This also displays colour scripts practicing upon what I would involve to create dark tones in my film and also show what the end result would look like but this would have to be expanded when designing more scenes to this film.

This post also shows designs in environments as it helps set the mood and tone of visuals towards my inspired genre of horror.

6DM015: Updated synopsis and treatment

Synopsis:

‘The Prey’ tells the tale of a boy yearning to go out in the middle of the night yet his mother tries to lead him away from this thought. But he goes out anyway and whilst he walks the dark alleyway, he is stalked by Ghouls and is ready to take the unexpected boy. But, what the ghouls don’t know is that they’ve picked the wrong kid to take this very night as under a full moon, the boy transforms into a werewolf and is ready to face his attackers.

Treatment:

•  Pacing: The pacing should be quick to fit the 90 seconds but it would need quick for the parts that don't contribute to the important parts of the story. It would have to keep the audience engaged with the story but leave time for the plot to get an understanding to audience through visual personalities and traits from characters.

• Style: It would have to be gritty and dark so it would have influenced art styles of obvious people like Tim Burton. It should have the sense of being unrealistic and surreal to get the true depth of the horror genre. The colours would have be presented as decrepit and worn out. It will have no dialogue and instead music will drive the narrative but still incorporate noises from characters and setting such as grunts and environment sounds

• target audience: adults and mostly people over the age of 18.

• Mood and overall vibe: chilling, scary and tense.

• Production methods: use of both hand drawn and computer drawn animation techniques for both the animatic and the final look for the animation. Aswell as producing music from inspired music free websites and mix them up create a new soundtrack.

• Software:  TV paint, after effects, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Audition.

• sound effects and music: It would to be terrifying; unnerving and tense which can help the pacing of the film. Main music inspirations would come from such films like ‘Jaws’ and ‘The Sandman.’

• editing: Premiere pro and after effects.

• Length of time: 90 to 100 seconds.

6DM015: pre-production storyboards

pre-production presentation and stages

Updated Synopsis and treatment

The story begins in apartment block 15 where a boy called Tyler is bored and infuriated that his stressed out mother, Trish would not let him go out with his friends believing the area is dangerous at night. But his thoughts on the matter start to differ after Trish tells him a scary story of how creatures called ghouls come out of the brink of nightfall and stalk the streets for prey. She tells him that they don’t just stalk any prey, they take children as they are the easiest target.  She ends her story by telling that when they find their prey, they would either take the victims to be eaten or turned into their own kin.

This scares the boy satisfying Trish's worrying nature but once she’s out of the room, Tyler takes no belief in this silly tale and plans his escape for meeting with his friends.

But tonight what he doesn’t realize is that these ghouls are real and are hunting for prey this very night. They come out the drainage system in a group of three and begin to hunt. They spot the block and start to climb the structure without being noticed by the residents. Once they caught the scent of the Tyler they climb through an opened window one by one whilst being unnoticed by Trish and Tyler himself as he is getting ready to go out. 

 

As they ready themselves to nab the kid, Tyler realizes what’s happening, turns around to face his attackers and transforms into a werewolf. To the shock of the ghouls, they try to escape but tyler catches them off guards and rips them apart with his teeth and claws.

By the end, only one ghoul escapes the on slaughter and comes to realize they’ve chosen the wrong kid to take this night especially when it sees the full moon drifting clearly in the night's sky.

Once the ghoul is clear of the vicinity, Tyler climbs out of the window and follows suit, staring at the moon and hears other werewolves’ howling call. Tyler is ready to find his pack and hunt for his own prey night whilst a shocked, dismayed but unsurprised Trish looks on in the living room. 

 

Pacing: The pacing should be quick to fit the 90 seconds but it would need quick for the parts that don't contribute to the important parts of the story. It would have to keep the audience engaged with the story but leave time for the plot to get an understanding to audience through visual personalities and traits from characters.

•Style: It would have to be gritty and dark so it would have influenced art styles of obvious people like Tim Burton. It should have the sense of being unrealistic and surreal to get the true depth of the horror genre. The colours would have be presented as decrepit and worn out.

•target audience: adults and mostly people over the age of 18.

•mood and overall vibe: chilling, scary and tense.

•production methods: use of both hand drawn and computer drawn animation techniques for both the animatic and the final look for the animation.

•Software:  TV paint, after effects , Adobe Photoshop.

•sound effects and music: It would to be terrifying; unnerving and tense which can help the pacing of the film. Main music inspirations would come from such films like ‘Jaws’ and ‘The Sandman.’

•editing: Premiere pro and after effects.

•length of time: 90 seconds.

This will be changed as feedback showed that the narrative would need to be changed and shortened down including a few changes to treatment where appropriate if I make any changes to how I am designing and animating the film.

concept art 

production schedule 

character development 

Feedback from lecturers and peers

• Research music inspiration and sound effects when creating the animatic
• Produce animatic and colour scripting
• sort out the storyboard and plot as it has holes in the story as they didn't see how this would come across as a silent film
• use monochrome colour palettes when producing concept art in photoshop
• make sure to address that visuals and character personality traits can explain the story without dialogue
• artist inspirations other than tim burton
• As given by fellow students, they suggest that the kid could already be outside when caught by ghouls
• if using silent techniques don't use names for the characters in the synopsis.
• make sure to do the animatic to see and change scenes and cut outs unimportant plot points if possible to fit into the specified time frame from the brief.