Casting & More

POST-5PM UPDATE: Just met with my composer & he played the first "piano sketches" of the songs. It sounded incredible!! He transformed my little tunes into full-on Broadway production numbers! Today was a blast and I'm incredibly lucky to be working with this guy. Most of the songs are developing rapidly, with the exception of "Dragon Song" which needs to be reworked in the tin pan alley style of the other songs.

Hi folks!

This week I created some new models, worked on the script, and started rough storyboarding.

Today I sent out my casting call, and the response is already overwhelming! So far, 10 Sir Knightlys, 12 Dragons, 12 Singing Swords, 4 Wizards, and 42 Princesses. Auditions will be held Friday!

Also today, I met with Brenda Goodman and Kenny Hall, who gave me much-needed insight into the world of creating animated musicals.

I'm about to go meet with my composer. There's been a mixup -- I thought the composer/director event was tomorrow; my composer thinks it's today -- so either we'll go to the event or meet about the score.

I'd better get going. In the meantime, here's those new models! Any thoughts or comments?

Sir Knightly Model Sheet

Here's the first Sir Knightly model sheet. It's more than just a model sheet -- these are the actual puppets I'll use in animation. The pose on the right is just a modified version of the quarter-angle puppet. Working from the puppet, the poses come quickly and are always on model.

What do you think? Does the puppet system work, or does it look too rigid?

Here's Knightly's silhouettes to test if his poses read. (Note: still need to make front, back and back-quarter-angle puppets for Sir Knightly.)

Meetings and Models

Hi folks,

This week I met with my composer. By next Monday he'll have a rough piano version of the score!

I also met with Elizabeth Brauer to help me punch up the script between songs. She helped me flesh out the characters and discover their motives. I'll revise the script this week and hopefully lock script by the end of the week.

I've found someone to consult with me on set design, and I'll meet with him later this week.

I'm also searching for a choreographer to help me visualize what the characters will be doing during the songs. I haven't found one yet, so let me know if you know anyone...

Tonight I'll be creating model sheets for Sir Knightly, Doofus and Tap-Dancing Doofus. The model sheets will not just be guides, but the actual puppets I'll be using in animation. Check out my cartoon "Unusual Business" to see an example of this approach (ignore the ridiculous introduction).

In Unusual Business, I drew assets for Frank and Mr. Bossman from five different angles, then reused those assets in nearly every shot. I'll be using a more fluid version of this for "Ladies Knight." (More drawings, less reliance on assets.)

I'm falling slightly behind my schedule, so I've arranged to take a short hiatus with my job while I get "Ladies Knight" back on track. Work will be over in a few weeks anyway but I don't want to take any chances on my thesis.

Composer Quest

Hi folks,

This past week I've been interviewing composers. Two interviews down, two more today. My leads are promising -- the Thornton school of Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television is overflowing with talent! I should have my final choice by class tomorrow.

I also attended the SAG casting seminar last week. This week I'll write up a casting call and start the casting quest! Also this week, the composer and I will get to work on the score...it'll be an exciting week!

Pretty in Pink?

In class last week, there was some debate about whether or not the Princess looked too much like Princess Peach from the Super Mario games. I maintain that I don't care; but to satiate the masses, here are some variations on a theme:

I still like the original pink dress best. Keep in mind that she is part of an ensemble cast, each featuring a different color (Knightly=blue, Sword=purple, Horse=orange, Dragon=red) and the Princess needs to fit in.

What do you think? Which variations are your favorites?

Lady's Knight

Hi folks,

Well, summer's over and my thesis is greatly improved...so improved, in fact, that it's a completely different project. My new thesis is called "Lady's Knight" and it's about Sir Knightly, a knight who is trying to track down his Princess who ran off with a macho Dragon. Oh, and it's a musical.

The songs are written already, and the story is more or less locked. So far it runs about 6 and a half minutes.

Here's some artwork to tantalize and amuse until my next post.

First Test Animation

Hi folks,

Here's my first test animation of Danny, to see if my process will work. Apparently, he's scared of something.

 

I used a layered approach. Danny's head, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, and body are all on separate layers. The movement of his head is motion-tweened but the rest is traditional. For hybrid animation, I think it turned out really good, and had a decent turnaround of about a day.

I'm happy with the result, but I'll need to streamline my process to get more than 3 seconds done per day. It's only going to take longer in multi-character shots, effects shots, etc.