Mothman Production Pass #1 Notes:
Syncsketch Items Shown:
Updated animatic as of 8/31/2023 now with rendered stills with final character model, house model, and interior, instead of blocking assets
Rig test images by Carl
House exterior turntable by Piper
Car model by Brentan
Texture tests by Zoe and Aaron
Updated character hair models by Avery
Animatic Notes:
Animatic technical notes:
Shoe faces reversed
Car model faces reversed
Clothing interpenetrates
Weight paints in progress
Render noise tests need to be done to optimize noise/render time
Positive Feedback:
Good feedback on 3d animatic layout
Brett liked the silhouettes in shots
Sihouette on pull out shot in studio with artist framed painting in the center of the three windows is very dramatic in a good way and lends to cool cinematic rim lighting that casts the character in shadow and mystery
Critique Feedback:
Cuts feel very even like a metronome. Let shots breathe. Revisit timing to vary the shot length. Block animation to time out actions lengths.
Shots feel undynamic and impersonal
Jeremy would like to go through animatic and give feedback on render lighting
Avoid having similar shots that repeat themselves without having a distinct reason.
Frame shots to not have elements in camera that are not relevant to the story or enhance the composition staging of that exact shot
Play with extreme camera angles rather than having shots that are consistently at eye level and straight on.
Go back to the storyboard composition on the studio “timelapse” shot of the painter painting while moths invest the studio over time. The three windows framing the painter also lend to good compositional choices.
Do no tbe afraid of letting shots be more dark and dramatic with higher contrast with more shadows.
Try to avoid keeping the camera still when rendering frames eventually. Brett mentioned The Shining and how the following camera gives unease because it makes the camera a character from the house POV. HOWEVER, do not literally make the camera the POV of a moth.
Obscure and frame camera compositions with set pieces in the foreground/midground/background. (Remember frame in frame and composition lectures from Brett’s Advanced Character Animation & Screen Design class. Frame within frame compositional elements can heighten the feeling of paranoia / claustrophobic feeling
Brett & Jeremy advised against completely going back to the drawing board on redoing entire animatic
Lack of connection between the painter losing his mind and transforming into a monster. More emphasis needs to be placed on the death of the moth and how it is a transitional moment.
Lightbulb shot seems unnecessary
Focus on the moon earlier in the animatic and have it be a more recurring element. Frame the moon compositionally in a way where the moon grows a bit in size either literally or compositionally where it becomes a more important element in frame from shot to shot.
Animatic does not show the progression of the painting turning from a normal portrait into a portrait of a monster
Walking through the forest from the house to the cliffside is now too short and does not give time to really let the transition of location sink in. There is a lack of sense of space between the house and the cliff.
Possibly don’t show the face again after the transformation, and focus efforts more on the silhouette of the creature from the side or behind.
Frame the moon at the edge of the cliff as he walks towards the cliff to foreshadow moving through space towards the edge.
The beauty, hauntingness of the transformation and the painters belief that he is the moth is lost from the original animatic from the pitch animatic boards. There is a clear tone difference between the 3D blocking and the original animatic. The 3D blocking has a much more of a “horror stinger” kind of funny/scary vibe. The older animatic iterations had much more of a “beautiful, haunting, unsettling” vibe. The older animatic part towards the end feels more wistful with fluid dynamic leading lines rather than rough blocky framing and actions.
The moths on the painting is a “personal atack on him/his art as opposed to just a gross infestation in the house, emphasize this element.
More day/night cycles with appropriate lighting should be shown to make the film feel more sequential and with a passage of time. Variation in editing choices such as shot length and shot transitions cna be used to show time and importance. Seasonal background changes can also be used to show time passage (tree leaves changing, falling). Increasing the grossness of the house with dust/cobwebs could also emphasize time passing.
Referenced Films/Shows Mentioned:
Vertigo
Nightcrawlers
The Shining (following camera gives unease)
Arcane (Jinx insanity shots)
The House
Model Notes:
House Notes:
Add more large scale wonk deformation with lattice deformers as the silhouette is still very square and cubey and not quite interesting yet.
Roof tiles AREN’T important and to not worry about making individual tile geometry objects. Roof silhouette should be addressed first.
House exterior is essentially done for the sake of the preview screening
Car Notes:
Review car geometry
Do not fully detail interior of car
Car is close to done for the sake of the preview screening
Character Model Notes:
Hair growth approved and liked
Tasks for following week(s):
Avery: Retopologizing painter model, blocking creature geometry on painter model, texture tests if time allow
Carl: Character rig updates, animatic updates, folder layout
Piper: Wonking house exterior, integrating house into environment layout with speedtree models and environment elements (working together with Brentan and Carl)
Zoe: Improving texture tests, working on camera and lighting, matching cameras to animatic
Brentan: N/A - Left early
Aaron: N/A - Not present
Original notes from notebook:
Comments