FINISH (12/14/2022)

I FINISHED MY PROJECT ON TIME!!! I am in actual disbelief in how I managed to animate everything with the small amount of time I had (4-5 weeks??) I had to relearn (and learn) a lot of editing tricks to really amp up some of the work I had last minute but everything meshed in to how I wanted it.

Wow… what a journey.

All of that coffee, all-nighters and instant noodles really helped me pull through in the last few weeks haha.

Jokes aside, I really am proud of how I managed to pull through in the brink of the deadline despite the setbacks earlier on (and even the past week as I got sick with COVID). Even if this project gets no recognition, I will treasure it just because of the manner and circumstances I was in while I was creating it. I really had to bring the best out of the worst and this project is a symbol of the success that came out of the struggles and hardships I underwent— not only during the process of making the video but throughout my entire life. This project came out of a place of vulnerability for me so I don’t think I will ever be able to think of this project as a failure to me. I’ve learned so much in the making of this video and I think it definitely helped transform me for the better and hope it can do the same for others who watch the video.

Thank you so much for following me throughout this project and I hope to venture on further beyond on my journey.

Blog Post 13 (12/7/2022)

I have one more week to work on this project and I’m really making the most out of my time to get this animation done by the deadline. I’m drinking coffee, skipping out on some meals, and sleeping late nights to really get this done. For some reason, I don’t feel that much pressure since I’m so absorbed in my work right now that I don’t have much time to really process the deadline anxiety. I just feel the progress. I won’t be able to update this post in depth as I want to get back to my work as soon as possible but by the end of next week, I will have the final project done. OK bye.

COLOR (11/30/2022)

To be quite honest, Thanksgiving break wasn’t really a break for me but a chance for me to catch up with the work I wasn’t able to do when I was working my part-time job. I actually added some color to my animations and I have to say that I am proud of some of the work that I was able to create in the given time I had. I really wish I had more of this time earlier on in the semester but there’s no time for me to look back and wish the impossible. I just need to focus on the present and take action over the situations I can control and work relentlessly until I reach my goal. I feel myself becoming more efficient in terms of making these animations as I work and reaching this “flow-state” whenever I’m working on this project. This project really feels like its flowing out of my soul and I’m pouring out my heart into this.

I’ve been posting my progress on my art Instagram as story highlights so that I can keep track of the progress I’m making while engaging the few followers I have at the moment to garner some feedback and responses to what I’m making.

I hope the end result turns out well.

Blog Post 11 (11/16/2022)

I’ve been working on more animation tests for key scenes that I want to keep for this animation but I feel like I really need to push myself to get more scenes done faster which means I can’t give too much of my meticulous attention and effort to every scene that will go into this project. I made up my mind to expend that energy only for several key scenes and resort to still shots or looping/low framerate animations for the rest of the accessory scenes. I also might have to redo some of the storyboards so that it fits the song better in terms of pacing so I will have to keep in mind of how long each shot is and making sure story remains coherent in respect to how the song develops.

Blog Post 10 (11/9/2022)

So I actually got a response from the agency saying that I can use the song as long as I don’t monetize my project so that gave me so much relief and motivation to go forward with my project. I can’t express how much of a godsend this is for me so I feel energized to work on this project full speed and lay out all of the creative ideas I had with the song on paper (or iPad). I actually got to animate one of the scenes which took me about a full day to make and I have to say I’m pretty proud of the result. I do think I have to settle for some easier animated scenes since I don’t think I can make a full minute and a half video if it’s going to take me a full day to create a 5 second animation test. I may have to resort to couple of still shots working with camera pans, zoom ins/outs, and other editing magic to make the most out of the small amount of time I have left. It’s dawning upon me that I only have 4 weeks left to finish my project which I just started to animate but I feel that now with the extra free time I have, I will manage to make everything work out.

Blog Post 9 (11/2/2022)

I actually think I’m going to quit one of my part time job soon just so I can make more time for my project and have some breathing room to let my creative juices flow more freely. I really don’t think it’s feasible for me to spend all that time working and working without it affecting me so viscerally to the point where I can’t bring myself to work on the things I feel so passionately about. I actually presented some of my work for another class that is related to storyboarding and got some really good feedback that I want to implement. I’m still waiting on a response to the email I sent to Porter Robinson’s agent to see if I can work with his song since I feel it will elevate the emotional qualities of my work to another level but in the meantime I will be working on actually animating some of the key scenes for the animation and letting the rest of the story flesh itself out as I work with more free time.

Midterm Demo (10/26/2022)

I honestly haven’t had the best week in terms of mental and physical health. Due to midterms I’ve been jam packed with work not only from school but also my part time and I haven’t been able to sleep well. I did create storyboards for my animation which I feel like are still subject to change.

Despite all of that, I did manage to get a message back from the guy who made the fan animation and he helped me find the contact info of the agency that owns the song “Goodbye To A World” so I shot an email immediately to see if I could get permission to use it. I already have a remixed version of the song that I wanted to use so if I can use that as a frame to my storyboards, all I have to do is commit to creating the animations once I hear back from the agency.

Here are the storyboards for the midterm presentation:

Blog Post 7 (10/19/2022)

I still haven’t gotten a response from the animator I mentioned last week and I haven’t been able to find any songs that I want to use for my animation that’s free to use. I’m honestly just considering just using foley and ambient noise for the sound design. It definitely won’t be as emotionally impactful as having the song I had in mind but I don’t want to pervert the emotions present in the animation by settling for music that I don’t find fitting or compelling enough. I also decided that I will be using my character, Sierra, instead for this animation.

I also tried contacting Porter Robinson through his Instagram as a super last ditch effort but the chances of him responding to me is slim to none. I might as well scratch a lottery ticket.

I also decided to work on some of the storyboards during the downtime in my part time job office as work started to get less busy there (I hope I don’t get caught…). Here are couple of the thumbnails I drew during that time:

Low Res Presentation (10/12/2022)

Today we had to present our low res prototype and I was honestly disappointed that I didn’t have enough content to show off to the class. However, this week I did stumble across a song that I really liked (“Goodbye To A World” by Porter Robinson) and wanted to use for my animation but my professor said I will need to find a way to get permission to use the song so that I don’t undergo any issues for copyright or find a song underneath a free domain for use. It’s a shame because I really thought the song fit with the concepts of my animation and found so many fan-made animations/animatics that inspired me.

The video below in particular really impressed me and was also made by someone working on a film/animation project. I also watched the creator’s (Nekonbini) process video of making the storyboards to the animatic to the final animation. I really liked how he made cuts to the original song and pieced them together seamlessly to fit with the story of his animation. I was thinking of taking a similar approach (possibly making the song as long as up to a minute) but after hearing that I needed to get the rights to the song, I might have to scratch all of that…

I could try to contact the person who animated the video below to see how he managed to get the rights to the song without getting his video taken down for copyright. I’m going to see if I can contact him through his socials tonight and see if he responds.

Blog Post 5 (10/5/2022)

I finalized a sketch for the character I may be using for my animation project. I haven’t really gotten a chance to work on any storyboards for the animation unfortunately but that’s something I will work on bit by bit over the little free time I have.

I’m honestly feeling a little overwhelmed by my current schedule since I really don’t have any free time throughout the week. The most free time I have is probably on Sundays where I don’t have any work or school but even then I have a weekly obligation with the family that really limits the time I have to spend on my work. It’s starting to take it’s toll on my mental energy but I still feel very determined to make this project come out as best as it can be. I will try to manage my time better and dedicate a time where I can give the story and animation its undivided attention.

Final Project Proposal (9/28/2022)

Our final project proposal presentations were due today so I gave a brief overview over the design considerations of my project as well as how I was going to plan my milestones and progression. I also have to keep in mind that because I am currently juggling two part times with school, I might not have the time or energy to really pull off a grand exposition for my animation so I may have to sacrifice the aesthetic integrity and/or the duration of my animation to make it more feasible. However, I really don’t want to settle for less and really want to pour the core of my essence into this project.

I’m in a dilemma and I may have to make a decision soon before I compromise my goals.

Blog Post 3 (9/21/2022)

I’ve been watching a lot of animated shorts to gain more inspiration for my animation and to understand the rhythm and pacing of storytelling. I found a couple of animations that struck a chord with me but the video I linked above really hit home to the themes I want to present in my animation. The character’s childhood self being chained down by her self-destructive thoughts was such a powerful visual and storytelling element. I definitely want to incorporate an inner-child version of the character I will be basing my animation off of.

Blog Post 2 (9/14/2022)

I actually haven’t been able to brainstorm of many ideas this week as I was occupied with my part time job and other classes but I have created couple of concept sketches and thought of basing the story off of my childhood experiences and trauma. I am also considering making another character to base the story off because I already had a separate storyline in mind for Sierra (even though I haven’t fully fleshed it out). I’m still fishing for more inspiration and I think my biggest challenge for this animation is to find the right piece of music and sound design to pair up with my animation. I think I’m going to use some lo-fi music to pair up with my animation and just add sound effects from a website where I can find free-to-use foley.

Blog Post 1 (9/7/2022)

I have a general sense of what I would like my senior project to be about. I want it to be an animated short (fully drawn in 2d format on Procreate) with thematical elements surrounding mental health, existentialism, and self love. During the summer, I created an original character, Sierra, and possibly want to use her for this animation. I still don’t have a strong grasp of her full story but I do want to base it off my personal experiences with depression and anxiety and express that through her story. I think that way, I will be able to make this animation more authentic to the feelings and themes I want to portray and make her character feel real and genuine instead of just making this animation just seem visually appealing.

I have several aesthetic inspirations I have in mind; namely, “Dear Basketball” directed by Kobe Bryant and animated by Glen Keane. Glen Keane’s sketchy, hand-drawn animation style is something I want to emulate in this project with an obvious twist with my own artistic style and considerations. Thematically, my work will be inspired by “A Silent Voice” directed by Naoko Yamada and created by Kyoto Animation as well as a myriad of Studio Ghibli films such as “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, and “A Whisper of the Heart”.