Near Final Edit!

calendar day 4

Final - Next Draft from Jessi on Vimeo.

calendar day 3

Feedback Response

In regards to the feedback given in class, I really do agree with the class as a whole about the issue of the blue background. I do like how the green and pink pop when traded back and forth. I chose the blue because the characters stood out well against the background, but I do see how it is not jarring at all. Possibly, maybe I need an additional color, maybe an orange, to play against the blue so it is a jarring jump or maybe the blue should be done away with all together.

I think as far as the compilation of the small lines of figures is concerned, I believe I will form them into a shape. The brown cupcake stands out well against the background, so I will try to outline the form of a cupcake and then fill it with the other figures and the outside will be filled with additional characters to create a "created space" and to actually give the sense of a choreographed set-up.

The background on that part will take more thought on my part since I am unsure what to replace it with. I don't want that harsh black background so I will consider other colors and patterns and try them out to see what I get.

So, for next week, I plan to have the individual animations revised and the timing fixed and the lines will be choreographed. I am considering maybe changing my order of flow as well and possibly doing a different choreographed section of the lines in between each individual animation. I will experiment with that and see how that goes.

calendar day 2

Principle Animation done.

Final Project Principle Animation from Jessi on Vimeo.

calendar day 1

November 17 - Assets completed, animation started

Assets:

Animation start:

Proposed Calendar

November 17 - Assets completed, animation started
November 19 - Finished and refined individual sequences, begin dance sequence
November 24 - Finished, refined, and revised dance sequence, begin music/audio
December 1 - Refine and time music/audio, revise/refine all piece
December 3 - Continue revisions/refinement, begin DVD construction
December 8 - Finish revisions/refinement, finalize DVD
December 10 - turn this shit in!

Animatic Revision:

PS. Uploaded in Blogger because Vimeo is being an ass.

Storyboards and Animatic

Storyboards:
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Animatic:

Final Project Animatic from Jessi on Vimeo.

Concept/Outline:
This animation begins with tiny images spread in lines across the screen, tiny enough that the audience is not 100% sure what exactly it is they're viewing. As the first few shots go by, the viewer is zoomed in on some of the lines and their motion. After this, each action on the line is taken by itself and shown to the audience individually. All motions are based on/inspired by sex acts, some of which are popular in pornography today and others that are entirely fictional in the hentai world.

Bill Plympton Master Class

Ummm... If they need a replacement for God he might be it. I mean God has to be getting tired after all.

Anyway, on topic! I really respect and genuinely understand his dogma of it being short, funny, and cheap because I see how it makes money and I can see how that might be more fun to make than anything else anyway. I really like people who just do what they want to do.

I LOVED his "Santa: The Fascist Days" piece. Anything that turns my childhood icons into Nazis is usually pretty enjoyable. Because even if he wasn't trying, let's be realistic - they DO take over everything. I mean, look at how Christmas marketing has come earlier and earlier. I don't know if I like seeing Christmas items next to Halloween items.

His dog series was stupendous. I really enjoy how he gets into the mind of his character and figure out why it is they do the things they do. I never had considered why a dog barks at a bird and now I see a good reason why.

I really appreciated the advice on where to show your work if you want to be recognized.

Project Ideas

genre:
Dance

logline:
Fruits, candy, and sweets dance in lines in a Rockettes type formation and motion.

Synopsis:
Continuing with my last project's theme of innocent, naive looking foods, this time the characters consist of cherries, lollipops, bubblegum, and cupcakes that dance in a Rockette's type fashion in lines expanding over time. "Innocent" actions are included as their dance sequence. There is no narrative to this piece, just a look at the motions they portray.

Visual Development:

Character ideas:

Lineup formation ideas:

Inspiration:


Ideas are inspired by the Kawaii Not book by Meghan Murphy. I used this as something I would like to emulate in the way it is naive and naughty at the same time.

Midterm v.3

midterm version 3 from Jessi on Vimeo.

I tried to edit the milk sequence although I see that the front portion should be cut out because it's too long. I changed the ending so it would have a definite bukake-esque ending. I extended the scene with the popsicles and ice cream but I want to go back and have the popsicles on longer versus the ice-cream.

Midterm v.2

I decided to go ahead and do away with every part that wasn't working. I'd rather it be shorter with good sequences versus longer with things that don't work. I think I should have gone longer and more on the very last part since it's a big collective sequence. I feel like maybe there should be some more editing involved, like cuts back and forth between certain sequences and maybe some repeats but I'm unsure of how exactly to go about doing that to make it intentional and visually interesting. I kept with the dumb, happy faces because I like that naive quality.

(PS. Vimeo is still not cooperating, which is why I uploaded it to Blogger.)

Midterm

I may do more scenarios. It seems like it may just need MORE. Or maybe not but to me that's kind of what I'm thinking. I also am considering doing repeats in a rhythmical way and I wonder if this could be set to music. I will attempt to create/find a sound piece that seems fits the mood of the piece and may rearrange elements to fit the music's beat if that works out in any way.

I think the characters need either on emotion or more emotion. I think they either need to stay with blank, happy faces all the time or they need to have a wider range of expression. But I kind of like it how they always look happy because it communicates that they are dumbly pleased with all the sexuality around them, almost like they're kind of drunk on it.

(PS. Vimeo was not cooperating, which is why I uploaded it to Blogger.)

Project Revision

Okay, so whole new direction here! Yes, I am going to go forward with the cutesy foods because THAT'S WHAT I DO. I do that all in my spare time and I agree that I should work with something I really have a passion about. Why I have the passion I have no fuckin' clue but it's there and I'm loving it. So, I decided to try some foods out and by the time I got done drawing them, I was surprised to see that they were all VERY sexual. I started with an ice cream cone and a popsicle. Then I, thinking along the ice cream and dairy lines, ended up with a banana and milk. Then finally a donut because doesn't a banana fit in that hole oh so well? So, what we have are a bunch of sugary treats and foods that are so adorable but would make you blush if you just saw what they could do to each other. (Yes, imagine that banana pounding that donut. Imagine the milk splashing on the banana [homoerotic, eh?]. And imagine the ice cream and popsicle licking the hell out of each other!) Raunchy, cute food. This is what happens when I'm on the end of my rope and I'm liking it!

Assets:

Ideas for Scenes:

Sexy Food from Jessi on Vimeo.

As if this won't give you a bloody nightmare...

Imagine the banana thrusting in and out of the donut.

Ice cream cone is licking the popsicle and oh that popsicle is enjoying it!

Graphical lineup

Milk pouring on wet popsicle

Storyboards and reference stuff

Storyboards:

Based on my earlier text experiment with green, i kind of wanted to pursue a project with a similar feel to it, only expanded to include more colors. This is, in my opinion, definitely a project that needs audio. I would like the words to have a feel to them not only in image but in the way they sound when spoken. This is kind of corny, so I would like to make sure the element of corniness is up. I want the project to have a feel of someone learning colors for the first time, thus I included some references to color-learning videos. I'm still on the fence on my language of choice. All though I did my storyboard in English, I kind of would like to go back to German because the project has to be 100% clear for the average American to understand that it's talking about colors and they're not just some random words.

Reference materials:

http://www.moillusions.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/colors.gif

Project 9 / Write-up

Project 9 - Mattes from Jessi on Vimeo.

Writeup:
Not quite as fail as the last one but still a lot of fail going on here. That and I'm horribly sick so after effects doesn't want to cooperate because it think I'll infect it with a virus (it doesn't realize macs don't get viruses). I brought back some text because it seems I had the most success using text out of all my projects. All though this wasn't quite the same and I think I should have gone a similar route like with my Grün project. Ah, whatever. I'll fix it.

Project 8 - Puppet Tool - TOTAL FAIL!

Project 8 from Jessi on Vimeo.

Writeup:

Yeah, I don't like the puppet tool. I think it has it's place and would be useful for other purposes but this isn't what I need for this project. Oh, well. I tried to move the light waves around with the puppet tool. Not happy at all with this project and it sucks and it's TOTAL FAIL! But I think I was thinking too much on using the puppet tool versus doing the project. Eh... Whatever!

Effects Experiment

test trial from Jessi on Vimeo.

Writeup:

Honestly, I didn't quite complete the tutorial but I was surprised a the easiness of this effect since After Effects has the basics built in. There's a lot to mess with with presets to make this effective but it's not hard and it's actually quite a beautiful effect. I love it but I'm not sure what I'd use it for right away. It seems kinda kitchy and really only good for TV shows or commercial advertisements. I'm sure I can apply the explosion technique somewhere in my work. I personally liked even the font explosion. I think most of the effects are only worth doing though if you're making title work. With my project, I'm going to have to consider some options prior to using any of this crazy stuff.

Project 6 and Text Artist Research

Project 6:

Project 6 - Text from Jessi on Vimeo.

Writeup:
I'm not sure where text plays a part in my idea for the semester so this project was difficult for me. Overall, I am dissatisfied with the outcome, largely in part due to the time and effort spent in it for this extremely minuscule, unattractive piece. I guess now in retrospect I could have created plant imagery and other objects to represent green but I just don't want to get too heavily involved in imagery if I can help it. And I tried to get away from the "Lisa Frank color scheme".

Katsumi Asaba
Katsumi Asaba was born in 1940 in Kanagawa, Japan. He created his own firm, Asaba Design, Co. with clients such as Suntory, Seibu Department Stores, Seibu Saison Group, Takeda Chemical Industries, and Nissin Food Products. He is at the forefront of advertising design in Japan and the world.
He studied lettering for five years after he turned 19 at the Keinosuke Sato Institute of Typography which might be what led to his vibrant use of calligraphy with modern images of electronics/machinery and table tennis. He is interested especially in Tompa hieroglyphic characters that actually stem from Chinese tradition, a tradition that passes down these characters in Lijiang China specificially.
Most of Katsumi Asaba's work is featured in commercials, on packaging, and on posters with much of it being very easy to identify stylistically as that of the artist's. He often fuses traditional Japanese calligraphy with modern elements or products.
He also includes the Tompa hieroglyphic characters for added visual interest. The Tompa characters are often pictographs of an animal, plant, or object. He weaves in these characters with English and Japanese text in his own original work.
In his advertising job, the Japanese calligraphy is very prevalent and combined with the product's mascot. Kewpie mayonnaise featured this type of work and Katsumi Asaba is very well known with the work he created for the Kewpie company.
His work is significant and relevant because he's blending a mixture of tradition, modern day, mythology, and science fiction. In a sense, he is combining our past, present, and future into one so that when someone sees his work they feel as if they are in a place where one can be more aware. Katsumi Asaba has a set style but it is obvious which of his images are used for products and those that are used for his own personal work. The personal work tends to be more radical and ambitious while the advertising work is obviously made in order to impress and satisfy corporate appeal.
I do believe his work is influential. I am a rabid fan of Suntory and Kewpie products myself so when I see these on the shelves or in my kitchen, I'm getting a glimpse of past, present, and future every time. The work he does not only satisfies corporations but also the art galleries. Yes, he makes work for consumer consumption and how much of it left to make for just himself is unknown. But eating is always a good thing and he has a good thing going on in him being able to have his own design firm and being able to live comfortably.

Work:
http://www.tdctokyo.org/awards/award97/97membersilver_e.html
http://www.kanagawa-arts.or.jp/16kiaf/en_event_7.html
http://www.dnp.co.jp/gallery/ggg_e/exhibition/g056/index.html
http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/bien/echigo_tsumari_triennial/2009/tour/matsunoyama/john_kormeling
http://www.2121designsight.jp/schedule/inori/outline-e.html
http://ffffound.com/image/ea5a645980bf5651dbb8c0a5c0b03ffb1ce4451f

Project 5

Writeup:

I had difficulties rendering for the first time. My second camera wasn't rendering out and I couldn't figure out why. This project doesn't have as many random objects this time. I focused in on organic lines that appear and disappear with a subtle background change. Essentially, this time I was going for subtle versus the overly striking mess that I have been doing thus far. And my Vimeo account hit maximum upload for the week so I uploaded on blogspot instead because I had no alternative. DAMN IT.

Project 4

Project 4 from Jessi on Vimeo.

Write up:

Since I really liked the squiggly lines from the last project, I decided to reutilize them in this project. I tried to get away from using exclusively blues since I know I've been doing that a lot lately. I used a nested comp for my background image so that when the opacity and motion changes for the different color lines, the viewer can see the color changes. I also made the background image stark straight lines and the foreground images organic shapes for contrast.

Project 3

Project 3 from Jessi on Vimeo.

I started exploring the idea of shape a bit more in this one since i've been so strongly concentrating on color in the last view. of courser color is a part of this, too, but i wanted to have shapes, polygon and non-polygon, interact/cut/overlap/dance with each other and see what happens. i think i want to push those blue figures farther because personally i believe they have a lot of potential with their odd, flowy shape. That and they animate in an interesting way. So for a revision, I plan on doing a lot of those in different ways.

Project 2 // Assignment Write-Up

Project 2 Test Trial from Jessi on Vimeo.

Writeup:

Well, since I missed class for surgery I fell a little behind and had a hard time figuring out how to even start this project. I was unsure what starting composition I should use because I had no idea how this was going to work out when 3D layers were enabled. I ended up having to do more than one trial/experimentation before I understood the basics of how to use the 3D layers.
My idea was to use monochromatic scheme and show how opacity changes and layering changed the hues of the blues utilized. I was trying to control my experimentation down to hues of the same color in order to challenge and force myself to think within a confined criteria.

After Effects Project 1

Project 1 Test from Jessi on Vimeo.

Proposal

My idea is to demonstrate how shapes and color interact on the computer screen. I want to illustrate and animate how shapes affect one another when they collide, disintegrate, orbit, bounce, along with other movements/reactions. I also want to explore color in several ways such as the emotion evoked from a certain color scheme, how colors react differently to be placed against other colors (i.e. do they brighten, dim, "change" the color, etc. to each other), and how restricting colors affects a piece.
I want to explore this idea because it is a challenge for me. I have played with the concept of "changing" a color simply by placing it on top of a different color and it is intensely difficult. I need to explore this concept of using shapes and color because my formal processes are not fine tuned. Simply, I need more experience with it along with my ambition to be able to make color work in my favor, for my purposes. By exploring this topic, I can see myself being able to more effectively create illustrative and animated pieces that use shape and color to push the piece further, to give the piece a more meaning. Choice of color can effect the mood, vibe, and underlying meaning. Choice of shape can effect the way we see a character or item and make complexities within those. I want to control those elements more effectively in my work and I believe this topic will help enhance this for me.

Library sources:
1. Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting, Architecture, Literature, Music, and Psychology by Charles A. Riley II
2. Concepts and Images: Visual Mathematics by Arthur L. Loeb
3. Art and the Computer by Melvin L. Prueitt
4. Color by Editors of Time-Life Books
5. Mathematics by David Bergamini
6. Color by ed. Helen Varley

Internet sources:
http://www.colormatters.com/comput.html
http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm
http://www.cs.brown.edu/courses/cs092/VA10/HTML/start.html
http://viz.aset.psu.edu/gho/sem_notes/color_2d/index.html
http://www.pdf-word.net/science-computer/color-theory-on-the-computer.html
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Polygon.html
http://www.kirupa.com/developer/actionscript/shape_camera.htm

Outline:

I. Color & Shape

A. color
i. effects
a. vision
b. mood
c. vibe
d. meaning

ii. exploring
a. colors "changing" one another by being overlayed
b. color schemes
c. restricting colors
d. transparencies


B. shape
i. effects
a. assumptions
b. movement
c. physics

ii. exploring
a. movement
b. reactions

iii. types of movement/reactions
a. orbit
b. bounce
c. jump
d. knock over/off
e. smash
f. disintegrate
g. fuzz
h. toss

Visual Metaphors

1. Make a list of at least 40 similiar or related words or ideas.
1. shape
2. color
3. polygon
4. circle
5. square
6. rectangle
7. octagon
8. decagon
9. nonagon
10. quadrilateral
11. trapezoid
12. pentagon
13. hexagon
14. heptagon
15. sphere
16. black
17. white
18. yellow
19. red
20. orange
21. blue
22. green
23. violet
24. indigo
25. brown
26. gray
27. cube
28. cone
29. triangle
30. pink
31. crayons
32. markers
33. paint
34. pens
35. watercolor
36. brush
37. compass
38. ruler
39. mathematics
40. pie chart

2. Make a list of at least 40 opposite ideas or words.
1. line
2. clear
3. transparent
4. translucent
5. limpid
6. deform
7. destory
8. clarion
9. crystal
10. fuzzy
11. ambiguous
12. indistinct
13. mysterious
14. obscure
15. unintelligible
16. vague
17. amorphous
18. bewildering
19. bleary
20. blurred
21. nebulous
22. enigma
23. perplexing
24. misunderstood
25. indefinite
26. inexplicable
27. ill-defined
28. impalpable
29. hidden
30. subtle
31. puzzling
32. superficial
33. problematic
34. generalized
35. hazy
36. dreamlike
37. made up
38. lack of rigidness
39. lack of containment
40. not simplistic

3. Thumbnail sketch or photograph at least 20 visual metaphors for your topic.


4. Thumbnail sketch or photograph at least 20 contrasting visual metaphors.

Screenings and Ideas

Screenings review:

The Kid Stays in the Picture had a very interesting visual style in my opinion. I liked how most of the people were snapshots put in AfterEffects versus moving, speaking people. It intrigued me how many scenes, background were filmed. But then again, it makes sense why the people would be photographs since this is a biography and all in the past. But instead of a boring TV documentary, this one attempts to have creative and artistic points all throughout the film. It does have that classic disembodied voice of documentaries, the narrator. However, knowing that it is Evans talking and seeing the way the still images were manipulated into dynamic imagery, it brings the voice a little closer to being believably realistic.
In the Realms of the Unreal had more actual animation than the afore mentioned film. The scene with the nun's face turning into a bulldog's was particularly interesting and caught my eye. I guess one would have to wonder of the necessity of animation in both of the films. It seems like in In the Realms of the Unreal it is very plausable because animation allows for things (like transformation) that just don't happen in real life. While both are documentaries, the viewer knows that the subject, Henry, of this film is psychologically unstable and lives often in an imaginary world. So why not have nuns who turn into bulldogs? But the previous film was hard and fast to history and lacked imaginary elements. Which is not a bad thing per se. Imaginary things just didn't fit the bill.
Ken Burns' The Civil War has one really distinct artistic feature to it. Almost all the pictures fade between each other (quickly to black and then to the next picture) along with the camera surveying the images or hopping up and down as if on shaky ground.

Ideas:

1) This may a bit broad and I might want to break it down further, but I'm interested in exploring one of animation's key components, transformation. Only in this realm can this happen without question or explanation. It's just accepted as the truth of that imaginary world. I would like to explore what is transformation, what can transformation become, what purpose transformation has, and what it provides for us as viewers and artists. I also would like to see what the causes of transformation are; Are they natural, necessity, comedy, imaginary? Why does transformation happen and is it real even in the realm of animation, i.e. is it fiction even for the characters involved? And even without a narrative, transformation has what role and can teach/tell/provide us with what?


Does transformation have a purpose? What is there to gain?



Does transformation have to be realistic? What kind of transformation IS realistic and how has it been applied elsewhere?


2) Once again a tad broad possibly, but I want to potentially understand imagination itself. Why do we have it in the first place and what does that say about us? How does our imagination makes us differ from person to person and what does it provide us as people? Are our lives richer because of it? Is it a place to escape to or somewhere to avoid? And when does it cross the line? When does imagination BECOME reality? (Space ships were once a figment of the imagination but now are common. Or from another angle, when does someone's imagination take over to the point that reality for them is filled with figments developed from their mind?) Finally, when can imagination benefit or weigh down a person/society?

When does imagination cross over into reality or vice versa?


3) Lastly, I potentially want to explore the concept of isolation. Isolation does not have to necessarily be a bad thing. Sure, it can mean keeping to one's self but I would like to see the concept explored in the sense of isolating elements such as color, shapes, light, etc. and how that plays in with animation or film. How does dividing colors instead of letting them blend effect an image? What is the mood/feel/outcome/purpose of isolating light to one space? How is the screen affected by shapes kept isolated from one another or one odd one out? Even further I want to explore the reactions of the eye to these isolations. Does the isolation always have to stand out? Or can it occur without even one knowing? Do you have to work to find it or is obvious?

To watch films...

Just for my personal reference, open DVD player and then choose OPEN DVD MEDIA under FILE, then select file to play.

Project Info

1. script: A girl in a pink and orange tulle prom dress is out in a wooded area. She's covered in glitter makeup.
The shots switch between close ups and medium shots and long shots of her wildly moving, almost drunkenly, with more and more glitter catching the lights.
Close up of glitter.
Close up of dress material.
Scan up the dress and her body lying on ground.
Have her being chased by camera.
Licking at camera.
Crawling on ground while laughing.

2. storyboards of your script

3. answer these questions: THIS IS NOT NARRATIVE.
a. What are each character's life goals/objectives: none
b. What are each major character’s obstacles to reaching their objectives: none
c. What are the actions the characters will use to overcome their obstacles and reach their objectives: none
d. What are the ways and means the characters will use: there are no means because this person does not have any goals
e. What adjustments do the characters make when their actions and means don’t succeed: none because nothing fails or succeeds
f. What realistic doings are the actors engaged in: movement

4. Breakdown the Script to determine the following:
a. The number and types of actors required: 1 female
b. How many scenes each actor will be in and the total length of their performances: 1 scene, 3 minute performance
c. The requirements, number, and types of locations: 1 location, at night in wooded area
d. The number and types of stunts and special effects: none
e. What special costumes and makeup will be required: prom dresses, glitter
f. What props are required: none

5. Location Scout – during scout note sound quality, available light, and power. Take photos of location.



7. Determine the number of days and the dates you will shoot:
1 day, any Sunday I can shoot

Revised Idea

ORIGINAL IDEA:
An experimental or conceptual film utilizing the unique textures of tulle and satin and other prom dress-esque materials draped on the human form.

REVISED:
I want to definitely use overly lacey, tulle-ornamented, etc. prom dresses. As for mood, I want it to be shot at night out by trees, maybe even by a chain fence, to add contrast to the flowy, girly fabric. I also want to utilize copious amounts of glitter and sparkly, shiny objects. As for the overall cinematography, I want there to be strong, directional light and I want varying shots of the fabric, girl, and the way the body moves. I don't want to say I want a drunk aspect to it, but I want it to seem wild and fast-paced with the girl moving erratically. I really want some extreme close-ups and I want the light to really catch the shine of the glitter and fabric.

3 Ideas

1. An experimental or conceptual film utilizing the unique textures of tulle and satin and other prom dress-esque materials draped on the human form 

2. A film utilizing my type of dancing (if you have any questions, go here - http://fuwa.retro-future.net - and watch the videos on your own time). It would be my goal to use as many different camera angles to make it as interesting as possible.

3. A film in which the main character thinks they are in a video game and therefore interacts with their environment as such. The world itself is normal, however.

Response to Rehearsal

Overall, the rehearsal went well despite the fact that I was in an uncontrolled environment. Since I was filming at Shelby Farms and the horse area happens to be right next to the dog area, the dog people often come over and sit on the obstacles we need to film and will walk on the path in the way of the oncoming horse. Luckily, the obstacles we were filming had no one around and of the obstacles that people were on or around, such as the oxer, they were very good about moving out of our way. I am hoping we will have the same success next week. So, in the end, location was not a problem despite the issues at hand.

Next, the horse was extremely well behaved and easy to work with. While both the rider and I are very familiar with this particular horse, anything can still happen when working with an animal. The abundant amount of dogs and people worried us but the horse paid them no mind and did the job at hand. We did experience issues with people wanting to come up and pet the horse and we had to politely inform them that this was a working animal. 

Another concern was the rider. We did discover that I, as a director, needed to give more exact directions for starts and stops, however, the rider was extremely cooperative and did an excellent job despite all the distractions and lack of direction on my part.

The major issue with the shoot was that the sound was not working. The boom operator and I spent hours trying to figure out what was not functional and we came to no accurate conclusion. We are hoping that it is operator error and that we will solve our issues by next shoot, however, we are concerned that there is a possibility that something may be wrong with the equipment. Once again, we hope it is operator error.

As far as shots were concerned, we may have to rethink our tracking shot via car since we were informed that we needed a permit to drive on the field. The truck that hauls the horse trailer does have a permit and may be used, however, we would like to avoid unhooking it from the trailer if possible. Our tracking shot may end up in a running tracking shot (I mean, literally, running) or we will use a different type of shot to achieve our desired effect. The other shots were successful however. We were able to safely wedge the camera into obstacles to get interesting shots and film the obstacles at different angles without issue. The horse did not react to any of the equipment since we did introduce it to him before the shooting began.

We are eliminating the scene with the person actually counting down, however, the voice over for the count down will still remain. By doing this, I am attempting to show how this is about the mind of the rider and their memory, not necessarily the actual event as it happened.

Overall, as long as weather is not an issue, filming this should be successful as planned.

Pre-Production Package Project 2

Location Scout














Note: It is right next to a road so car noises could be a potential interference but we won't be next to the road for most of the filming. There are no power sources so a car or a generator are our only options.
1.
a. The number and types of actors required: 2 actors, 1 female with horseback riding experience:


And one animal actor, a horse with eventing experience:


b. How many scenes each actor will be in and the total length of their performances:
Both horse and rider will be in all scenes. The actual film time is estimated to be at an hour or under due to retakes. The actual film is predicted to be about 3 minutes long.
c. The requirements, number, and types of locations:
1 location with a large expanse is required. A backup location has been secured to do closeups and any smaller footage that can't be filmed in the first day. The location is a field at Shelby Farms reserved specifically for eventing horses.
d. The number and types of stunts and special effects:
Unless you count the jumps as stunts, which I would, the entire film is stunts. We plan on jumping a maximum of five obstacles in order to keep the horse from wearing out since we will be getting multiple angles on each jump. So I'd say about 5 stunts.
e. What special costumes and makeup will be required?
As far as costuming goes, we're going to go with the traditional cross-country attire of breeches, tall boots, cross-country vest, black velvet helmet, polo shirt, and gloves.
f. What props are required?
Spurs, riding crop, the obstacles, start box

10. Response to your rehearsal and test shots:
Rehearsal went well. The horse was introduced to all the obstacles for the film and had no issues jumping any of the fences. He was a tad excited when we unloaded him from the trailer and first got on him but after becoming aware of his surroundings was giving 100% of his attention to the rider and what she needed him to do.
We did note that despite the fact that that side is for horses only, it is right next to a dog section and the dog people frequently sit on the jumps, walk through areas where the horse is coming through, etc. One of our primary jobs when we first arrive at the location is going to be to inform everyone what's going on and to clear the area not only for the sake of our shots but for their safety as well.
We did have the issue of deciding what jumps to film. We had planned to use the water obstacle but at this time the water level is much too high and therefore too dangerous for the horse. We have planned to cut it out of our list of shots however, if it is better water level by the time we film we still have the shot plans and may film it.
Weather is also a concern to us. We will be heavily monitoring the weather and will make appropriate arrangements to film despite weather calamities. Weather is not only going to affect our day for filming but also our shot types. We have some shots that require tracking with a car and if it's too muddy, we cannot film with the car for fear of it getting stuck.
Our last concern of course is the horse itself. While we do have our main horse lined up, we do have a backup horse in the event the other is unable to perform or is causing issues.

11. Fix any problem scenes by working with the actors or perhaps even rewriting the scene:
At this time, there are no problem scenes. Both the rider and horse are cooperating effectively and are willing and able to do the scenes presented for them.