Current McSqueeze Progress: March 2014

Progress has fallen behind schedule, I have filmed 3 shots off the storyboard and all 3 are basically stationary shots. 

I have most of the props I need and the green screen with which to film the characters on, 

the main things that need doing are:

• Finishing off backgrounds in Photoshop and FireAlpaca.
• Filming the rest of the scenes and creating a very rough edit for timing.
• Source some sound effects and replace temporary voices with final ones.
• Take into after effects and add special effects, stabilize footage and comp characters against backdrops.

 There aren't many weeks left on the course, so I'm going to try and at least get a rough cut done which has as many of the backgrounds comped into it in order to at least give someone watching it a sense of what the visuals will look like.

Comparing the storyboards to my ideal visuals, I have the shots I've filmed which are my attempt at capturing the quality I hope the final product is:

Nuclear Warhead Shot

I think the final look is both accurate to, and better quality than the storyboard. My particular favourite part is the background, I have many problems drawing backdrops but this very abstract style seems to compliment the puppets surprisingly well.

At the very least, if all the shots in the trailer have this sort of look to them, I'll be happy.

Essay Research 1: Get a Horse!

The essay which I have chosen to write is on the trend of reviving old franchises, and it's possible effect on the future of the industry. 

'Get a Horse!' is a 2013 animated short which takes visual cues and animation style from the classic Mickey Mouse cartoons of the 1920s. While there is a largely CGI element to the cartoon and it's main focus is computer animated characters interacting with traditionally drawn ones, the 2D elements of the short are deliberately designed to feel and move as if the animation was produced in those very early days.

Footage is artificially aged with film grain and blurriness, and initially starts out in a 4:3 aspect ratio before cleverly shifting to widescreen. The production goes as far as to use archive recording of Walt Disney's original portrayal of Mickey Mouse to make it even more authentic, and the inclusion of the original title card from Mouse animations from 1928-1930.

The project came out of Disney's desire for new Mickey Mouse products for television, while the final result was 2013's Mickey Mouse series which combines retro visuals with more contemporary animation production, 'Get a Horse!' is Disney's first attempt in a number of years to straight-up emulate an older animation style, to the point the film was originally announced as a 'lost' Mickey Mouse cartoon which featured Walt Disney as the voice, when in reality it was almost a recreation using new or archived material, rather than a unreleased cartoon produced at the time.

What 'Get a Horse!' means to my essay is that even the giants of animation such as Disney are in on the trend of reviving the past. It's not as if this short's going to be the most profitable and attaching it to Disney's biggest film of the year is going to bring in far more viewers and far more money, but seemingly the reason it exists is as a nod to the era it's self, made and directed by people who have an appreciation for the old work.

McSqueeze storyboards

The storyboards for McSqueeze are complete and I'm incredibly happy with how they've turned out. I didn't have to colour them but I felt it lent to the presentation of them if they were as close to a finished visual as possible. Not to mention it makes for a handy reminder to myself of colours and lighting to help me create a final shot that's as close to the storyboard as possible.

There are a number which weren't coloured due to time constraints, but I think that I at least have a structure to follow in order to make the final trailer. 

I think overall it's a good visual representation of the script and it's much easier to understand for people whom I'm explaining the short to.