Thursday, March 27, 2008

As the Set Turns- Milestone MET!!

Hey guys,

Big Milestone last night.....Me and shel have taken down the dog interior set.....and have turned around the set back to the hallway set.....which will be the last shots in the pound. This was a HUGE moment for me last night..... I was remembering the set 1 FULL year ago in the same position....The set was undressed and full of possabilities??and questions.
I had'nt animated a single shot of the dog and had no idea what to expect from the puppet.WOW,
I have come a LONG FREAKIN way!!! The dog is now alive and is nearing the finish of his stay in the pound.Its just working out that through my production on this Film......Gerald is actually getting freed from the cage the same way it happens in the Film..His time there is Now over.Ill actually finish this film with the last shot of them going into the happy hills.....Pretty cool Ending to this Monstrous Undertakeing!
I have a garage door full of X'ed out storyboards. Finished shots.....Hours upon Hours of HEART breaking work in the deep of the night......... I am so EXCITED TO FINISH!!!We have been watching shels edits and adding shots here and there to improve the story....and clarify certain points.These small changes are makeing Huge improvements to the story and are really one of the funnest parts of our collaberation.....We both know very clearly what each sequence is saying and can see when its failing or succeeding. I will do my first shot this sunday on the last run of interior shots.Its a dialog piece which Im really excited to do.


{Motivation}I have felt a bit on auto pilot for the last 3 shots or so which isnt great.....but I have had a hard busy month{work-cold-and more work} the shots havnt been big acting pieces....so Ive gotten away with it.....I am planning on getting very serious with the next batch.
I keep thinking of a race analogys in the end of this film......I was hitting the really hard part of the race{This last month}.....My knees ar'nt lifting easily anymore - My lungs and muscles are Burning - Im hurting.....but the finish line is right there and I feel that second burst of energy comeing!!Motivateing me to push that last push!! just get to that line..I see it.....and Im comin.......................... POWERFULL!!!

jriggity

9 comments:

Shelley Noble said...

Congratulations, you guys! An unbelievable effort and success-stone!

Justin, you are my favorite Viking!

Ken A. Priebe said...

Life is pretty exciting for you these days Justin...very inspiring! One of these days when I finally get 'Nigel' in the can, I think I want to make my next film strictly stop-motion. At least once you animate it, it's done!

Ethan said...

You can make it Justin! Soooo close!

I can't wait to see the outcome of your efforts!

Brian said...

congrats. Can't wait to see the final movie.

jriggity said...

Ha...thanks Herself!!

that compliment means alot!!

Ken- Yeah man.....I know how 2d has a long tail behind the actual animation.

cleanup - coloring - and backgrounds. It takes some time.

as for the stop motion....Its true you can have a finished piece if you nail it the first time.Which is awesome....but I love how much testing and adjusting 2d offers.

Positives and Negatives.

Ethan - Im definately gona make it!
Thanks for the support.

Brian - Me too!! and thanks!

Ryan McCulloch said...

This is an exciting time. treasure it! You will not be animating your good friend Gerald much longer, I sense you guys have gotten very close this past year. I know how that is. Anyway, Here's to your final days! I'd tell you to work hard and put your best into it, but it's obvious that you will, so.... Have fun!

Craig Harris said...

Definitely POWERFUL man...no other word to describe it. Keep kickin ass and get the Academy Award for this thing. YOU CAN DO EEET!!!!

Anonymous said...

Justin,

You've been a huge inspiration for my little studio, and one of the only animators who has been able to convince me that PC's are the way to go. I tried an iMac at the Mac store, and actually didn't like it.

So, I'm back to the PC and all of its inherent problems, will probably get a second PC just for web access- I don't like putting my work computer online.

Anyway, thank you times a thousand for the tie-down hole innovation. That is going to make anything I have to shoot upright or walking SO MUCH EASIER!!

Looking forward to seeing your film, I love the story and the characters feel like they're really alive.

jriggity said...

ryan - yeah man....I know Ill miss GERALD once its over.

He'll probably make an appearance in a few tests now and then...just to take him for a walk.

Thanks Don....and Craig for the compliments!

jriggity