Thesis

august 28th

in

the summer overhaul

i. animatic

ii. animation tests

my rig is still being weird. will explain.

iii. setting up the scenes

lighting tests

and post production test

iv. the other thing i worked on

besides a really cool internship and a second job and playing soccer, i learned this:

now i need ryan to come back and help me finish it.

june 29th

in

i. sometimes you do that thing you aren't supposed to do

after several weeks of overthinking and some help from my really great boss, I was finally able to pinpoint what was wrong- or what I was having problems with- about my thesis. most of the fault was in the general structure of the story and the fact that it didn't really have an arc to it. and even though we really aren't supposed to backtrack on an entire semester's worth of work in the summer, that's kinda what i had to do. 

ii. so i'm fixing it

 

 

 

may 7th

in

i. animatic!

ii. vertical slice!

iii. stills

iv. poses

april 24th

in

i. animatic update

  • 3d animatic is coming, slowly but surely
  • includes test render of vertical slice scene
  • updated audio/voice over

ii. first pass vert slice animation

iii. lighting is fun

april 16th

in

 

i. Mk

iii. apparently we only have a week left

april 10th

in

i. animatic update

ii. mk

  • still working on the hair thing, but i did figure out the eyebrows

iii. shark

  • look at this little baby robot i made

iv. voice over script

v. what's next?

  • hair
  • rigs
  • modeling for vertical slice environment

april 5th

in

i. I'm rewriting my voiceover script, version 1

  • So the main point of rewriting the script is because I want that sense of adventure to have a presence in my film, and I felt like I was missing that with the previous direction I was heading in.
  • I also like the idea of a happy-adventure-bedtime story kind of thing because it creates a dramatic sense of contrast between the fantasy and reality. This story MK grew up hearing about going on adventures and having a grand old time is drastically different than how it actually is, at this point in her life, to be a kid and her robot traveling in space all alone.

Once upon a time, there was a girl and a robot and the stars.
On a day like all the others, the girl and her robot packed up her ship, kissed her parent’s goodbye, and went off in search of a great adventure.
The Girl pointed her ship away from home. They shot across the Delta Quadrant like lightening, unafraid of what they might find.
On Arthrope, a small moon, they dug for a piece of the map under the dirt of the thick forest, carved it from the base of a large tree. It was shady and smelled like honey and they ate and danced. When they were tired and happy, they were called back to the stars.
Deeper into the Delta Quadrant they went, where they found the Pirate Tribe on Elamain. The Girl won a swordsman’s duel against the Chief of the Pirates and took the next piece of the map in her victory.
The third piece was found in a river of asteroids on the edge of the universe. The Girl and her Robot put the map together and kept going, diving into the stars.
They only found Nacarrat after they forgot where they were headed. You can only find the things that are lost by becoming lost yourself. The Girl and her robot walked the planet and laid in the fields and watched as the grasses turned to light in the setting of the three suns.
When they returned to the ship, the Girl was afraid that they were so far outside of everything known that they would be lost forever. Her robot reminded the girl about the gift her parents had given her, the earrings that, when she wore them and believed, would always lead her home. The girl and her robot left the map behind, keeping Nacarrat in its mystery, and took off back to the stars.
They returned home. The girl hugged her parents and they sang and danced and were happy to be together again.

ii. i'm rewriting my voiceover script, version 2

  • In this version of it, I gave up the idea of them searching for the map.
  • I also included the theory of universal expansion because it's one of my favorite cool science facts and also one of the main inspirations I had for this film. I don't know how well it fits as part of the story, but figured I would give it a try.
  • I like to think that MK's parents were the type who, instead of saying "I love you to the moon and back," would've been more like, "I love you to the most expanded point of the known universe and back." Because science is cool, and they were huge nerds.

There’s an astronomical principle that the universe is in a constant state of expansion. There is another principle that where ever you are in that universe will seem like the center point of that expansion.                                                                                            
When all the universe is constantly moving away from you, it’s even more important to remember the way home.
Once upon a time, there was a girl and her robot and all the stars that were moving away, so the girl and her robot kissed her parents goodbye, climbed into her ship, and chased after the stars in search of an adventure.
The Girl knew the stories of a mysterious planet that no one had ever found, a planet where the sunsets would take your breath away. She pointed her ship in the direction of getting lost, because everyone knows that to find the things that are lost, you must become lost yourself. The shot across the Delta Quadrant like lightning, unafraid. 
On Arthrope, a small moon, the Girl and her robot wandered through the forest. It was shady and smelled of honey and they rescued a native tribe from doom before returning to the call of the stars.
Deeper into the Delta Quadrant they went, where they found the Pirate Tribe on Elamain. The Girl won a swordsman’s duel against the Chief of the Pirates and took the title as her own. She bid her new tribe farewell and they continued on their way.
When they found the Asteroid Storm at the edge of everything Known, the Girl and her Robot stood together on the bridge of their ship as they dove off the edge of the universe, just barely escaping the dangerous snag.
All turned around and having forgot where they were headed, the Girl and her Robot found Nacarrat. The Girl and her robot walked and danced across the planet and knew that this was a special place, a place no one had ever seen. They laid in the fields and watched as the world turned to light in the setting of the three suns. They slept in the magic.
After a while the Girl was ready to return home. She felt the way the Universe was moving away from her, and away from them, the distance growing, so she took out the earrings her mom had gifted her, the ones that would always lead her back to where she belonged. The Girl and her robot said goodbye to their planet and took off back across the stars. She remembered the way.
The Girl and her robot hugged her parents and told them of her adventures. They sang and danced and were happy to be together again.

iii. possible titles i have come up with while writing this script

  • A Girl and Her Robot and The Stars
  • The Space Between Us (which I used for another thing but could work here too?)
  • Distance is Spreading
  • The Theory of Universal Expansion

 

march 6th

in

i. animatic 

now including a scratch version of that one very important piece of my film.

ii. model

next up, the hair and a rig.

february 27th

in

i. animatic update

some parts of this still feel really fast? but i think the beginning is getting somewhere.

ii. a script!

I finally collected all of my pieces of the voice over script into an actual thing. I will have it recorded and added to the animatic for thursday.

iii. she's got clothes on now

i've been looking into using Marvelous Designer for at least the overalls of my character. need more research and to probably test rig it both ways before i make a decision. also started looking into hair stuff.

february 20th

in

i. animatic update

ii. color swap

like the look of the overalls, and the faded maroon color takes her away from that midwest farm girl style.

iii. conceptual art

Finally had a reason to use my hammock.

iv. modeling and motion test

After testing my WIP model. I definitely notice some weird deformation in the forearms- they might just be way too skinny. Her legs are surprisingly good, and her torso moves nicely.