WIP Reel

WIP animatic oct.6th from Carolyn Fisk on Vimeo.

This is a work in progress reel for my grad film. It has a few sound effects thrown onto it and the music I wish to use (I have permission from the band to use it).

I've had several people look at this reel already and I have decided to change the entire first half because the main character's motivation is non-existent. There is no ending at this point and the reel does not reflect the final style.

If the small sample of music interests you, follow this link to the band's website. The song is called "Master Roshi" by Sic Semper: soundclick.com/​bands/​default.cfm?bandID=365751

Grad Film Description

So now is probably a good time to do a description of my grad film. It's working title is "Disconnect" and I'm aiming for it to be around 3 mins....but I'll know for sure how long it'll be soon because I have to do my work-in-progress reel w/ rough sound. I'll post a link to my reel when it's done....and I'll also post more visuals soon.

“Disconnect” is an animated film about a protagonist who struggles with depression resulting from his inability to find a way to connect with others. The protagonist - Malcolm - is a sad, lonely character who finds it hard to connect with others because he feels different. He lives in a grey city void of emotion but full of people. Everyday begins to feel the same to him as he struggles to find some way to identify with others and come out of his shell. 

 

One day Malcolm finds himself laying on his bed struggling with the idea of reaching his hand into the open drawer of his bedside table. When he finally works up the courage we see him holding an old photo of himself during better times. He sees an expression – a smile - on his old face that he doesn't understand. He puts the picture down and goes over to look through other drawers and pulls out more photos of old times full of expressions and feelings he can no longer place. Frustrated he starts to leave but sees a kid in the doorway of an apartment across the hall from him. The little kid is shy but waves at him. He feels an urge to wave back and when he does the kid smiles shyly and closes the door. This moment intrigues him but he continues to leave the apartment building, all the while smiling slightly. Walking down the street he inadvertently smiles at someone else coming towards him. This person in turn smiles back. Puzzled he stops smiling and watches this other person as they walk by. He begins to realize he has found a way to connect with others. When he gets on the subway train he works up the courage and decides to smile at someone again – who in turn smiles back - and eventually he gets everyone smiling with him. As a resolution, Malcolm realizes he has a connection with others and that he is not so different after all.

The ideal age range for this film would be 14 to 25 because I think the story's message will be best understood by older teens and young adults. This film is intended to function as an educational or informative story, and I want it to be thought provoking. It will convey the feelings of a depressed person but it is not intended to leave the audience feeling depressed. Instead I would like the audience to feel like they can relate to my character and understand why he feels the way he does. At the end of the film people should walk away feeling uplifted, with a better understanding of the character's emotions. 

The style of the film will need to reflect the actions and feelings of the character so I anticipate working with a very muted colour scheme. I will be using a lot of blacks, greys, and blues, but I will be introducing brighter colours in later sequences for the sake of contrast and to highlight a change in mood. The story takes place within a city so I have modeled parts of my city backgrounds in 3D. I have also modeled Malcolm's room and the subway train in 3D. I will be painting over elements of all the 3D backgrounds with photoshop to integrate them with the hand-drawn characters I have planned. Modeling the city will help me when dealing with perspective and deciding on camera angles. I would like to experiment with leaving the characters as one solid colour. 

“Disconnect” will not be narrated and will not include dialogue. I will be using music and sound effects to tell the story and create an overall mood. The sound effects will be realistic. The music that I have permission to use is “Master Roshi” by Sic Semper (formal contract pending). The sound should reflect the emotions of the protagonist.

Follow this link to learn more about Sic Semper and to hear “Master Roshi”: 

< http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=365751 >