Final Project Post-production

Final Project Post-production                                                                                                                       29/01/23

Figure 1: Editing studio: https://nofilmschool.com/2016/12/best-post-production-tools-2016

After five full days of shooting, the principal photography on my final film is complete, and I can move onto the integration of the animation.  I will obviously have to modify some of the shots in my film, whether it be increase their duration or add something like a sanded glass background to avoid any unwanted intrusion.  It was definitely a big boost to have someone else oversee the production for external feedback.  For the character animation of my Pictish-inspired creatures, I will need to make enough keyframes and in-betweens for them to the point where they can move in a cycle seamlessly enough.  I am currently developing the Pictish beast animation by modelling it on a royalty-free Chinese Dragon GIF, but I need to figure out a method of animating it whilst keeping the proportions consistent.  I also need to develop the model for my whale more with some more detailed features round the mouth, clearly defined eyes, a few whale barnacles for some indication of age, a texture map, and a usable rig and animation cycle for integration into footage with Element 3D.  A pivotal character that I need to start work on is the figure from the Kirriemuir Pictish figure which derives from a Pictish located near the Hill of Kirriemuir.  Though this character was described as a bit pointless in my animatic, the figure is meant to be a symbol of how much happier my family and I have been since moving to Scotland and how much we've made the most of life here.  

With the juggling of extra modules and work, and even having to share the TVPaint laptops with other animators who are under equally as much pressure, I will need to spread out the 2D animation and rotoscoping to a degree that can be doable in the time we have available.  I've experimented with the animation software enough to the point where I can comfortably use and produce usable footage, and the Jute animation footage might be usable in its current state.  The extra footage for animation will surely take another five months to perfect, though I in order to do a rough draft of the film for Advanced Production material submission, I could try adding some rough pose drawings to give an indication of the intended effect.  Although, I have learned through the tutorials that I need to export my animation as a PNG sequence for integration through After Effects so that any stray animation frames can be more easily fixed.  I hope my experience working alongside Wild Child as an animator will help me overcome the faults with my drawing that I currently have, most notably some irregularities in proportions.

The extra time needed for other modules will certainly mean more late nights in the Media Lab in order to accommodate the deadlines that we have coming up.  It will mean that I have to give up time in some societies but once we've made it through the workload for the semester and the course, it will hopefully all be worth it.  I am still sticking to a more 2D-centered approach to my film, because of my personal preference and increased familiarity of the technique, as well as the fact that the easier integration methods.  After a trip to the computer repair store, I can confirm that my laptop is unsuitable for Maya workflows: it simply does not have the graphic capability or the processing power needed to sufficiently run the software.  I might have missed the part in the module guide that says a gaming laptop is required.

Figure 2: Kirriemuir second Pictish Stone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirriemuir_Sculptured_Stones#/media/File:Kirri_1_B.JPG