Because I'm Crazy...

    I have given this a lot of thought, but with quite a few jobs coming up and the fact that I've been lacking in the animation department for my reel/portfolio for the past 3 years, I've come to the decision to put Shift on a semi-hiatus.
    "Semi" because I will still be working on it, but I am going to focus my attention more on getting animation exercises and a "mini" short film done by November so I can dust off my very outdated reel. I will continue to work on Shift, but at a pace I can work at where I continue to enjoy it while building up my animation skills to where I'd like them to be. I really want this to be something really great, so I'm willing to work on it for as long as it needs. Plus, it'll give me plenty of time to get the programs and resources I really want to make this happen. I will continue working on thumbs, storyboards and backgrounds though behind the scenes and keep updating on where I'm at. For right now though, I have a simple, fun idea in mind for a mini film that I'd like to have done by November just to get my animation skills working and improving again

       

    These two girls will be the two main characters of a "mini" film I'm starting to plan out. I am aiming to have boards done by the beginning of March. I won't give away too much just yet because, for one thing, I am still planning out the fine details of the story, and for another, you'll have to wait and see with more posts!

 

Deleted Storyboards

    I apologize for the schedule being so inconsistent. I'm trying to figure out the best day to pick to post something/have a due date for progress every other week. Right now my work schedule's been so whacky and I'm in the process of trying to secure work at a studio again so that is only adding to my inconsistency right now. I'm thinking of just picking Saturday or Sunday as a post day only because I know I'll eventually be booked up all week and will have more free time on weekends.

    But I digress...

    While I was going through my production folder and just sorting things out, I came across a scene I had thumbnailed this past summer that had long since been excluded from the film so far. However, I still thought it was a cute scene and wanted to share it anyway:

    I had talked about this scene in one of my previous posts and why it was taken out. My intention was the show Oliver's human side and how while he can hunt, he also lives in a cabin and relies on human resources as much as he tries to live as a wild, solitary animal. However, because his hunting skills aren't up to par, he is hardly able to catch his food and being a kid living alone in the wilderness, I can't imagine he'd have any money to pay for much human food. To add insult to injury, a little mouse comes along and robs him of both sources of food basically. 

    The reason I ended up scrapping this scene was it added unnecessary time and it made the point of who he was kind of redundant. I've already established he's not good at hunting and dealing with confrontation in the beginning and that he's basically alone. Still, I was pretty happy with how it was all staged out anyway and it's good to kind of look back on it from time to time because while it's small, it is a quaint little home. Also, was really proud of those hands...hands are never my strong point. His cabin still does show up later in the story, in fact, I am using the same establishing shot later (*cough* Act III), however, I don't think I'll need to show the inside of it...at least not for this film. 

Post Holidays

So already I am slipping, but it was the holidays so there wasn't much to talk about anyway. There still hasn't been much done for Shift. It's been put on the back burner a bit to make these two cards for the holidays:

Fogarty Family 2016

Shift Holiday Card 2016

    I sent the first card to family members. I got roped into it completely by accident and because I opened my mouth about wanting to make the second card. My mom mistook it was me offering to do a family card. That unfortunately set back the Shift card, which I JUST got today and will mail out by tomorrow. So instead it'll be a thank you/new years card. Still holiday time so I can't be too upset. 

    With the holidays done though and my hours at my part time job slowing down I will finally have a lot more time to give Shift the attention it needs. My goal is to get Act II storyboarded out by the 6th so, fingers crossed!

A Look Back

    I changed my mind and decided to post on Mondays instead of Saturdays. Maybe. I'm not sure if that's a smarter idea, but for me, it's easier to keep track of things and I know at this time I'm most likely to be less busy on Mondays than Saturdays.

    Anywho, progress is still slow going, but I'm almost done with boarding out Act I of Shift (aside from going back and making some adjustments.) If all goes well, I may even provide a little sneak peak animatic of Act I by my next post! Act II is pretty much all thumbed out and ready to go, Act III on the other hand is still a bit shaky but I have a general idea of where it's headed. It's just ironing out some details, maybe tweaking some designs.

    I don't have a whole lot of new stuff to show at the moment, but I realized I haven't shown my "Beat Boards" for the film yet so....

    These were from earlier this year, around April I believe, so some scenes have since been removed or changed. The opening chase scene is generally the same, but I changed the staging of some scenes and what prompts the wolf to chase Oliver has changed. The mouse scene though, as cute as that mouse was, was taken out as it didn't add much to the story. 

    Originally, I wanted to take a look at Oliver's "human side" and show him living in an old cabin..as humans do...and further emphasize how he's just..starving, the poor thing. No food, little resources..and to top it off a mouse has helped itself to whatever scraps Oliver had left. Angry and hungry, Oliver tries to catch the mouse but fails again, as he did trying to catch the hare earlier. It would've then transitioned into the next scene, Act II. 

    As pointed out by friends, it was already established that Oliver was not the best hunter after the run-in with the wolves, so struggling with that mouse felt redundant and added more time than was necessary. His cabin will stay in the film, but I don't know if you'll see as much of it. 

    On another note, I thought I'd share the original "attempt" at making this film too before continuing on with more progress and development:

    Mmmm-mmmm, look at that 720 x 480. I did this 4 years ago, wayyyy back when I was a wee little sophomore. I definitely took on more than I could handle but I gave it my best. I look back on it from time to time though to reflect on where I was and where I am now and it really boosts my confidence. If I can give one piece of advice to any new and even more seasoned animators and artists, it would be this: You can only move forward. You will only get better. Don't give up! It's simple and it doesn't sound like much, but it really does sink in, trust me.

    As much as I still struggle to believe in my own abilities I am much better at picking myself up now than I was only a few years ago. I am determined and at least confident enough now to work hard and keep my promise I made at the end of my sophomore year to revamp and complete this film.

Finally, an Update!!

It took me way too long to realize this blog was put on my business card, yet I haven't touched it in 2 years. That being said though, I will be making a mission to keep this blog alive and well. With what you might ask? Well 2 years is a long time which means there will be a lot of new project posts from here on in: news, updates, behind the scenes, progress content and maybe even v-logs (I will be feeling that one out.)

I have many, many film ideas and a future main project I'd love to get going in the near future. The one you can expect a lot of right now though, is "Shift!"

Working Title Design

"Shift" Character Line Up

Shift is not just a short film I'm looking to make on it's own, it's to serve as a sort of introduction to a much bigger story I have been working on for a few years now. This main story won't come for a while yet. There's a lot to be developed and I need to decide how to tell it. Webcomic/Print Comic? Animated? I'm not sure. Still a lot of decision making to be made, but I digress.

Summary: A young shapeshifter, part boy and part lynx, struggles to find his place in life. He doesn't make a very good hunter as a human and easily pushed around by the other animals. It isn't until he rescues and befriends a deer does he begin to discover who he really is and find his purpose.

It was difficult to not share more of the story, I'm very excited about this and what you'll find when the story's revealed! However, more and more will be shared with each post. I am currently in the middle of CTNX and have already been very inspired to really buckle down and commit not only to this film, but to sharing more of my process and getting others involved as well. I will be making it a goal to post bi-weekly to start, with hopes of making it weekly. By August, when I will be exhibiting at my first convention ever (Liberty City Anime Con), I hope to have a lot of material to share from storyboards to "teaser" posters and prints. So here's to 2017 and what's to come for Shift!

Production Still

First official film still!!

I'm not quite up to coloring yet though, but within the next week or so I'll be getting there. Changing my course of action now though. Instead of photoshop (like this still was done in), I'll be doing the whole film in Flash. Hoping it goes well...it MUST! 

My thesis film is keeping me plenty busy, along with the other school work and outside work I have to do. However, I promised I'd keep this blog active and I plan on sticking to it this time.

I won't have much to show for a while, however, I will show a small scene, one of my personal favorites, that I storyboarded for Bear Appetit. I won't show anymore than this because I don't want to give anything away! 

This was the third and final boarding for this scene. Originally, she was just going to shimmy up the fridge, but my advisor and I both agreed there needed to be a lot more of rampaging bear time for this girl to really learn her lesson. Some of this, unfortunately, had to be cut out of the film because it was running way too long, but luckily not too much.