Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Sucesses and Failures


well....at about 5:30 last night I crawled out of the garage with a feeling of confusion...I finished a short shot which Makes me happy {usually}....but I wasnt sure if It was good or not. The whole shot didnt flow from my mind like most shots do. It was a real struggle and my excitement wasnt there the same way it is on others.I just wasnt clear about what my character was going to do besides walk over to the far side of the cage....{always a mistake to start this way} I went to bed for a couple of hours then got up for work....After lunch I finally snuck a peek at the finished frames.....Hmmmmm?

It wasnt magic...{Dammit} struggle .....with wanting to move forward...but it isnt getting across what the shot requires...{Its a simple shot but I have a clear intention I want to get across to the audiance} and I failed to do it....

so...I show shel at the end of the day....and she with no hessitation says {RESHOOT!}

Allrighty then.....schedule a reshoot for Wednesday....this time with mistakes understood and lessons learned.....Getting the shot right will be much easier this time around.

So this reminded me that I am keeping all of the shots for the film hidden untill I finish the film.....{for maximum impact} but I dont mind shareing the shots that FAIL ....other than being a little shy about showing the mistakes....Im cool with it.

so..... This is my new policy.....Fails are public domain.....and just about every 3rd or 4th shot requires a reshoot....I imagine there will be plenty to look at for the remainder of the film.....

keep on truckin!

jriggity

8 comments:

Shelley Noble said...

Man, that was good to get a taste.

If that's a reject then your finished film that is gonna be at a craaaaaaazy high performance level.

Good for you for crafting it the way you want, rather than just getting through it.

Anonymous said...

Hey man,

At least you plan all your stuff out, and don't end up with rigid characters skating in on their feet like Gumby, and then not knowing what to have them do next, so you just animate them zipping out of the frame. I can't tell you how many versions of that I've done, and it never gets old because it was old to start with. :P

Craig Harris said...

Thats a powerful fail. It looks great!! Can't wait to see the one that passes the grade.

Sven Bonnichsen said...

Last year I wrote a post titled "against keeping your film production secret" ... which more or less explains why I'm taking the share-every-shot approach with Let Sleeping Gods Lie.

A lot of people responded and chipped in with their views on the matter. I think it was the biggest discussion we've had at Scarlet Letters, actually...

http://www.scarletstarstudios.com/blog/archives/2006/04/against_keeping.html

Not trying to push you in one direction or another. Just a pertinent discussion; thought you'd be interested. :-)

Sven Bonnichsen said...

Weird. Blogger just cut off the last bit of the url. Add to that link:

04/against_keeping.html

jriggity said...

process is not what Im trying to keep away from the public.Ill share process anyday.

Im trying to make sure my film still has PUNCH!! when released.

If I show every shot to the public I have no excitement in the end...It dampens the thrill of s story telling experiance.People start looking at it technically instead of Emotionally.

If the audiance knows whats around every corner The film will lose that MAGIC {Like these liveing breathing characters with thoughts} become puppets made by humans with tiedowns and faulty seamlines.

one more obstacle blocking the audiance from being drawn in.

Im totally against it in this reguard....I will read the post you attached though.

jriggity

MikeD said...

Any time I've ever re-animated a shot, with maybe one or two exceptions, the second time around the shot was always better.
I always plan my shots by timing them out with a lot of detail on an x-sheet and drawing thumbnails of my intended poses. Then when I'm shooting I use those as a guide, but if the puppet or the stop motion gods start pulling me in another direction I go with the flow. That way I start with a clear plan for when I need it without squelching any spontaneity.
And I agree with you 100% about not releasing parts of your film publicly before it's done. You can still get great feedback by showing it to select people whose opinions you respect.

MikeD

Ken A. Priebe said...

Looks great...keep up the good work!