BSA325, the new animatic, 9 May, 2017

I am so dehydrated right now.  

I was sick this weekend through Monday night and didn't get back to finish loading clips into shotgun until Tuesday morning.  Rachel started to show me how to apply tags to each shot so we could sort by which ones needed which assets.  Then Reuben piped up and said we don't need assets- that's too complicated and each artist should "do their own drawing".  It turns out that the animatic we've been sitting on for four weeks (which Reuben helped mark the timing out for with Anna and me and sat down and cut into shots with me) isn't what Reuben wanted.  He doesn't want limited animation per shot he wants limited shots and 135 is too many.  And it's finally come out that he doesn't just want to repeat shots (like the ice cliffs or waka on the water) or combine shots but wants to cut down to only 30 images.

So I said, time for the tail to stop wagging the dog ie put up or shut up ie show us exactly what you want done because we are out of time for this mind reading shit.  Can you get this new animatic sorted out and together by Wednesday?

The dehydration is not going away.

He pulled a group of us together after Vaughn's class- Anna (she is really nice not to scream bloody murder about having her whole work scrapped at this late date), Doug, Ben (who I had a nice chat with at lunch- he's feeling frustrated that he hasn't had much to do and acknowledges that he also doesn't volunteer, either), Maddy, Reuben, and me.  We clipped down the script to 23 roughly drawn images (including a shot that highlights Hahana's decision to join the story by running after the waka; I had to lobby for that, twice, and I really hope he keeps it in, otherwise this is a story about a fucking BOAT based on the images.)  I keep using the word "consistent" like a parrot on crack; nobody has snapped my neck yet but it must be a word that mentally rhymes with "boring" or "responsible" or "pay your bills on time" so their little faces just glaze over like donuts when they hear it.

Maddy reckons we can't do a new animatic with timings and camera moves on the new images until we get a scratch track in it "because the animation has to match the narration- it's just like somebody is reading you a story."  As irritating as I find this concept, Maddy has actually produced well-timed, well-written, and well-animated animations for every class and I have not so I will have to eat shit; I've said my peace and even though I very much doubt that Aaron the ALL ROUND SOUNDIE AND AUDIO EXPERT!!!!!!! has made a scratch track, she is very firm.

I will never reach optimal hydration again.

I asked Reuben again if we could get this second animatic done by Wednesday, otherwise it will be ANOTHER WEEK. (I can't believe we were this close to assigning shots to artists.  So So So close to work actually starting. I can't even pull out my optimistic "well, thank GOD this new direction came in time before anyone else's work had to be summarily thrown out.") Nathan was supposed to do the moving animatic but Reuben does not like the idea that he'd need to be taught how to do it in 2D.  He also doesn't seem very keen on Nathan (Or Gerry) being on the project.  I suspect Reuben of wanting to hiring in ringers at every stage because he wanted Marius to come in and do frame-by-frame animation with him.  Can't switch horses in the middle of the Derby, Jockey!  Gotta ride THIS group across the finish line.  I told Reuben he had to run job changes through Rachel because the exec producer assigns jobs.

I scanned the new images and emailed them to myself for chop up and uploading to Shotgun.  But then I said, fuck it, Reuben, who can you get to do this tonight?  In whatever form, then we can start a conversation about the new direction tomorrow otherwise it will be ANOTHER WEEK before work gets done.  And Shotgun can wait until this new direction has been approved.  Maddy said, I think Aaron has a scratch track in the folder ready to go.   And do you know what????  He didn't.  So Reuben recorded himself reading the narration (and he sounds great!) and Maddy and he are making an animatic with camera moves right now in After Effects.  And their heads are together and they are making quiet little pleased sounds so it must be going well.  I can imagine them having alarmingly photogenic babies that quietly crawl around making award winning art and communicate with each other telepathically.

Pissing blood in rage is not helping with the dehydration.  

The new images look like this and who I vaguely remember drawing what: 

transition from live action (Reuben drew this)

Hahana watching the men prepare the waka

The waka goes to sea (Anna drew this)

Hahana runs to jump on the boat

bad weather

more weather

men rowing, Tama and Hahana hanging out

They see something!

It's a big ice wall "steaming and smelling like flax"

The sun goes down (Reuben drew this)

They're in darkness

whole lotta controversy (from me) about why they'd turn around and look around at the night sky if they'd been staring at a big ice wall this whole time without having SOMETHING draw their attention to the night sky.  Maybe Reuben will solve this problem in the animatic. (I drew this one)

everybody looking up up up to the gorgeous Aurora Australis (Reuben drew this)

fish hooks go down down down to the fish (Reuben drew this)

Tama swallows the shrimp

Tama chokes on the shrimp and Hahana asks "What happened?" break to live action (I drew this one)

back to animation, the men are sad

they cover Tama's body with his cloak as Hahana watches (Doug drew this)

on the way back, they're cold and worn out from rowing (Maddy drew this)

a storm blows in and they are unable to row anymore

worn out, their waka heads straight for the rocks (Anna drew this)

they all go into the sea and then the camera pans back up to show Hahana on the rocks and the Tohunga crawling out of the drink.

The iwi gathers to farewell the men and burn the waka.  The camera pans up to reveal Hahana, the men's spirits ascending through the flames and smoke, the night sky, then the parts of the waka become constellations.   That "The End" and "Ko Hahana Ahau"  in the stars was a mistake done by Doug who decided to write on my drawing.  Bah!  Don't enhance my drawing, Doug! 

Ben was talking about drawing "huddled" men, but I can't remember which one that ended up being.  

The transition back to live action is waiting on script changes.

Reuben, through most of the session, was looking for ways of panning across or up the image rather than making one image that we could then pull in and out of to highlight moments.  He may change his mind as he works through the animatic and introduce some cuts for interest.  Stay tuned!  

Home time and Rehydration!

Ps. I finished loading the shots into shotgun but I didn't time them all out.  So I Finished and Did Not Finish my job.  12 hours, poof!