Short Film: Update #19 are we nearly there yet?!

I’m actually pleased with the amount of animation I got done this week. Yes, you heard that correctly: I’m actually pleased with the amount of animation I got done this week! I completed five shots in full and made good progress on a further four. I averaged 7 hours animating each day, hitting my target. Nice.

Because the sequence I’m working on currently is so movement heavy (it’s a nightclub scene, so yes, I did actually have to dance), each shot is taking quite long- perhaps a little longer than I initially thought. I hoped they might have all been finished by now, but I definitely need about three more full days on them. But like I said in the previous update, the remaining scene is very static, so that shouldn’t take as long. She says. I think Wed 26th might be a realistic deadline for all the outlines.

I know it seems like I keep extending any deadlines I’m setting for myself, which I guess I have been doing, but I’m not going to work 12 hours each day and burn myself out or impact my mental health in a negative way, just for the sake of creating a film. Which is meant to be a fun, enjoyable process anyway. That’s not to say I want to be slacking either- I think a nice number is around 7 solid animating hours daily, which also gives me time to do the other things I enjoy doing such as skateboarding and cinema, plus getting some walking in as well. Not a chance I’m sitting at my computer all day and not getting out for a stretch of the legs! The deadlines have been quite hard to set when it’s difficult to know how long each section might take to do. It’s easy to underestimate this kind of stuff in the world of animation and err on the side of optimism!

It also pushes my April 30th final completion date into contention. Once these outlines are done, then that essentially gives me just two months to colour maybe around 80-90 shots (not too sure on the exact figure right now as the remaining ones aren’t yet in my tracker), alongside backgrounds for said shots- though obviously some backgrounds can be used on multiple shots. I also want to do at least one other round of feedback, to see if this version of the story lands better than the one I sent out for the animatic way back when. And then potentially have extra scenes/ shots to add if the consensus leans that way. And then I still need to arrange and film the shots with the extras, plus animate those. Then there’s compositing, sound design and score to consider. And I also want to spend some time really developing the background and colour styles, which is something that won’t happen over night. So when I set it all out like this, then two months doesn’t feel enough. At all. Unless I work into the night for two months straight and forfeit anything else I enjoy doing. Which is of course not an option! Some people might be able to do that, but not me. It would have too much of an impact on my mental health, which isn’t always in the best shape as is!!

So with this in mind, I did have a brief re-look at the festival deadlines and costings and see whether it’s best to delay until next festival cycle. An idea suggested by my boyfriend. Which I think is a very valid point. This would mean the pressure is off a bit, and then I can really spend the time making it the best film it can be, without trying to cram everything into a tiny time slot. I’ve made this mistake with previous films to get them ready for unrealistic festival deadlines and therefore hampering the end product. I’m not saying I’m going to be working on my film for years and nitpicking every tiny thing and end up never completing it, but that’s not to say I shouldn’t spend a little more time on it where possible, or at the very least, not rushing it for what is essentially, an arbitrary date. I don’t want to have spent all these months working on it, for it end up falling flat or not be something I’m proud of, especially when I’m the one setting the deadlines/ timescale.

I also need to consider my intentions for the film- which is a ‘calling card’, if you like, for my feature film in order to attract funding/ producer etc. Plus also to improve on my previous short ‘Bear’ in both story and style, along with contributing to my body of work and illustrating who I am as a director. So with the above in mind, I don’t want a rushed piece of work to be a showcase of who I am. I want to be fully proud of this film and be able to screen it without any caveats. Yes it’s a little frustrating to potentially not have it in this round of festivals, but the film itself is more important than that, and if I spend a little more time on it, then it might likely have a better chance at getting selected for more festivals. So yeah, I need to re-read this post if I start doubting or getting all panicked about it! The film will be done when it’s done.

Wow, that was a long speech! I guess I just needed to get it out my system… Anyway, I suppose you know where I’m at with it now. I’m thinking I might try and get a clip out for next week, so there’s that to look forward to- after all it’s been a while. Right, I’m all out of words now, see you next time! x

Short Film: Update #18

I’m going to try and keep this one pretty short, because I am a little behind with how much animation I achieved this week:

I did have a few other commitments going on though, such as that panel I did in Manchester, so that took up the majority of the afternoon, with travelling etc. Alongside the day after feeling a little tired and not the most productive, due to returning home long after my usual bedtime! The panel was great, by the way, a fantastic discussion with some really lovely filmmakers. And I’m not just saying that- it was genuinely a very nice evening. I also spent a fair chunk of time editing all the footage I shot the week prior, which is now almost there- it just needs a few tweaks. And then I took an afternoon out to watch ‘The Brutalist’. Naughty of me, I know, but it was so very worth it! I was also working on a couple of poems, in prep for my next open mic night on Tuesday coming (6.30pm, Showroom Cinema, if interested)! To make up a bit of time though, I did actually forfeit football yesterday to enable me to put in a decent shift with the animation. And I’m really pleased I did.

I feel the end is in sight now with all the outline work- I reckon one to two weeks, so shall we say Friday 21st Feb as my estimate/ deadline? Though it’s really hard to know how long each section might take, I think there’s about two minutes of footage to go. Which is still quite a significant amount. And one section there is quite a lot of movement, though the other is quite static, so I guess that balances it all out?!

Anyway, the more I ponder over how long it all might take, the less time I have to actually animate it, so yep, that’s me done here. See you next time!

Something a Little Different...

Over Christmas we had a family day out to the Museum of Royal Worcester (Worcester Porcelain factory) to do some pottery painting of our own! We finally received the fired versions back last week and I think they all look amazing! It was a super fun experience and was nice to do something creative but not attached to any of the ways I usually create stuff. It also reminded me how much I love painting- I have some ideas of things I'd like to paint, though those will have to wait until after my animation is finished... Spoiler alert: they're skateboard decks (quelle surprise).

Below are the results- I painted the super cute fox mug, because why wouldn't I?!

Instagram Handle Update

...Basically just that!

The previous name was something I created in 2018, when I was going down the whole animation production company route, rather than just being 'me'! That idea only lasted a short while before deciding that doing so wasn't for me and I was better off as just myself. Aren't we all, eh?! Though the username remained unchanged as I thought it was too much hassle to change it, with it being linked in a lot of places and was concerned no one would be able to find me afterward. But this morning I was just like ah f*ck it, it's no longer relevant, so you can now find me at @floramartyr over on IG!

Short Film: Update #17 aaand that's a wrap!

Ooh she’s only gone and completed all the filming! Well, to the best of my knowledge at this point- the story may require some pick ups or additional scenes later on, but at current, it has all been shot. And I couldn’t be happier! The remaining few shots were definitely hanging over me, so it’s great that I have them all ready to edit and animate.

As these things always do, it didn’t all go quite to plan and I had to rethink a location for one of the scenes. It has actually been rethought (wow, had no idea that was actually a word!) twice now, but I am happiest with the location it has ended up being: it was initially meant to be a shot on a train, but then I felt that was too close to the ending of my previous film ‘Bear’. It was then meant to be in the back of a taxi. Which is what I tried to film on Thursday morning, but getting the angle I wanted in a car was proving difficult, alongside the fact that it was absolutely freezing and extremely windy. So it was safe to say the conditions were not the best for figuring out camera logistics. Never mind trying to get a good performance once I had worked out the shot. Luckily I quickly realised that it wasn’t going to work and I’d have to go back to the drawing board with it, so we hastened home for a hot drink and cosy clothes!

After some further mulling over, I was able to shoot it in the comfort (and semi warmth) of my home, for it would now become an airport departure lounge. Or waiting area, or whatever it’s actually called- I seldom travel by air if that isn’t already obvious at this point! Regardless of semantics, I feel this decision is the right one anyway, as it suits the setting of the story better and I feel it works well on an aesthetic level, too. I guess in filmmaking change is something to lean into rather than push against. There’s always going to be logistical difficulties, especially when shooting low budget, which can force you into different directions and sometimes for the better. I suppose a lot of making a film is deciding when it’s fine to compromise or change direction, but also knowing when not to and when you should persevere with your original plan. I think these kind of decisions come with experience and practise. So if you want to improve, then my advice is to just make a lot of things.

Below is an image of one of the exterior shots I was able to get before the whole car fiasco and a shot I didn’t compromise on. Though the shorts and t-shirt were NOT fun considering the weather conditions! At least I was running though, but still… Seriously, I am making my next film to be set in autumn or winter because those seasons are a whole lot easier to dress for in this country!

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

As filming/ editing was my primary focus this week, the animation has taken a bit of a back seat, so I didn’t a whole lot done. It’s not like I didn’t do any though and I did finish a quite big shot, amongst a few others. Though I feel with all the filming now out the way, I can just crack on with a load of animation and hopefully at this point in two or three weeks time I can say that all the outlines are complete- we shall see…

I touched on celebrating each landmark/ milestone of my film in last week’s update, as to recognise ones hard work is important. So to celebrate the conclusion of the filming, I treated myself to a double bill at my local World of Cine, to watch ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘Hard Truths’- the latter being the one I was most looking forward to, as it was directed by the legend that is Mike Leigh. And I urge you all to go out and watch it- it seems to have a fairly wide release. It’s hard to stop myself from spending so much time at the cinema these days, especially with my unlimited pass! But I really must focus on the animation now or I will struggle to hit my deadline of April 30th. She says, having already booked a matinee showing of ‘The Brutalist’ (3+ hours) next week… Though honestly, that was not one I was willing to watch in the evening or I’d likely fall asleep long before it ends! But I do try and watch the films I want to watch at the end of the day or evening, so I can maximise time spent animating. See you next time xo

Short Film: Update #16 closing in...

I didn’t get quite as much animation done this week as I’d have liked (I don't know if I ever do), but I did manage to film several more shots/ sequences (including one I was super nervous about), so I guess that sort of balances it all out. I now only have two shots left to shoot- well one shot and one (two camera set up) sequence. Which, hopefully, I’ll get to do next week if the weather plays nice- they are both exterior scenes. In fact, there is one more shot actually in addition to what I outlined above, but that’s with extras only (I am just behind the camera on that one). Though that shot always slips my mind because when it’s not me in front of the camera, I find it nowhere near as stressful!

With closing in on the filming, I feel like that’s such a weight lifted and I can solely focus on the animation.

There isn’t actually a load of outline animation left now, though despite it being nearer completion, for some reason it feels even farther away. I just can’t picture it being done if that makes sense?! But suppose I just need to keep plugging away at it one line at a time and it will eventually be finished. Plus I think one reason it feels so distant now, is that I know finishing the outlines is only one element of it- there’s still the colour, the backgrounds, the compositing and all the other bits left to complete. So I’m probably seeing the finishing of the outlines as only a third of the way through the full film completion, despite it being a big landmark in creating the film.

I should still make sure I celebrate each stage of completion though and appreciate/ acknowledge how far I’ve come, rather than just moving straight on to the next bit. Perhaps I’ll treat myself to a nice day out somewhere once all the outlines are done! Mid February as a realistic target for that sounds good- though it’s always hard to predict with animation as some shots take a lot longer than what you think they might and it’s usually the shots that you don’t expect!

Right, I think that’s all for now. I’ll leave a screen grab down below of one of the clips I shot earlier in the week of what will become the balcony shot. Plus the storyboard image from that scene and the makeshift prop balcony I formed from a clothes drying rack and piece of dowling shoddily taped on! Enjoy!

Talking on a Panel

Basically the title(!)- on Tuesday 4th February, I will be talking about my filmmaking journey on a panel alongside four other excellent filmmakers at HOME in Manchester, as part of their PUSH festival. The event is at 6.30pm and tickets are only a fiver, so what are you waiting for?! For more details and tickets, head HERE.

Short Film: Update #15 short and sweet!

Morning! Just going to keep this short today, because other than the fact I’ve mostly been animating this week (with a fair amount of editing/ admin), then there’s not much else to share! Pointless writing a load of stuff for the sake of writing, when I could be using that time to continue animating… So here’s the the tracker, and see you in the next one!

Short Film: Update #14 busy busy busy!!

Hello! Now the festive period has all settled down and I kind of know what day it is again, it’s definitely time to start up these weekly round posts for my film again. Since the last one I’ve been busy, very, very busy. I started looking at background/ colour ideas and carrying out some tests:

Above are a couple of the tests I carried out and potential examples of what it all might look like when finished. I definitely need to do more development, especially on the character and look at how it all might work while animated as well. But I feel on the whole, I’m going to go with a textured background (similar to above) and a smooth character style, so there’s a solid bit of contrast. Anyway, that’s what I’m thinking at this point, though it is still early days. I’m also thinking to keep it all in TVPaint (the software I’m drawing all the animation in), in order to keep my work flow as streamlined as possible. It also makes any background components that may need animating a lot easier to do there and then, rather than swap from program to program. But I’ll see, who knows, I might say all this and then go and draw all the backgrounds in Photoshop or Procreate! Anyway, more on this at a later point when I’m at the stage to fully focus on the backgrounds and colour.

I’m super pleased that I did manage to spend a few days looking at the above though and doing a few tests, because it’s the part of the process I’m least confident in (the rotoscope animation is where I feel most comfortable). But, it’s actually boosted my confidence, because yes, although it still needs more R+D, I’m really happy with the direction it’s going in and I absolutely love the look I’ve created so far. It was nice to have got some of this done before I’ve finished all the outlines, because it means I can be mulling it over as I finish animating the character footage. It has also put me in good stead for when I do get to the background/ col stage, because I won’t be starting from a blank canvas so to speak.

I was also able to get a chunk of filming done:

…which has made me feel a whole lot happier. The filming is definitely a part of a process I find least fun, especially when I am not only behind but also in front of the camera (though I must admit I am pretty pleased with my performance so far). I now only have about four sequences left to shoot with me on screen, plus one shot using some extras. Just cracking on with it early this week has been great for the momentum of the film and has been a big relief to have been able to get it done. Though when it’s about 2 degrees outside and everywhere is covered in snow, it’s definitely not a time to be waltzing around in a dress and bikini pretending it’s summer!

I have also been busy animating for the remainder of the week:

On the last one of these I posted about a month ago now, I was on shot 044. So yes, significant progress has been made! The film is looking a lot more fleshed out in the Premiere Pro timeline and I’m really pleased with the pace I’m getting through the outlines. I’m also super happy with the quality of the animation I’m producing at the moment.

I’m feeling really positive about the project right now and it feels like the end is (almost) in sight. Or at least for the filming/ outlines part: I’m not under any illusion about how long the backgrounds/ colour/ score/ sound is all going to take. But I just need to keep at it one shot at a time and not let the rest of the project overwhelm me. I was able to take a little time over the festive period to actually take a look at festival deadlines and prices, as it was becoming quite apparent that the end of Feb deadline I had previously set myself was going to be wayyy off. On doing this, I realised that the prices don’t jump up that much, providing I get it done by April 30th. Which sounds a lot more achievable. So that is now my deadline.

What are my plans for the coming week? To continue animating the footage and see how far I get with it- it’s unrealistic to say that I’ll get it all done as there’s quite a lot, but I feel I can make a significant dent into it. So yeah, I’ll mostly be stationed at my computer! See you in the next one!

2024 in Football

And now for the final 2024 round up post and it’s the one you’ve all been waiting for: football! So first things first- the all important stats! In 2024 I attended 97 matches, with 95 of those being ‘new’ (previously unvisited for me) grounds. The revisits were Wembley and Wembley again- I’ve become one of those people haven’t I?! One time for the Women’s FA Cup final and the other for the Lionesses vs the USA in an international friendly. The highest attendance was 78,346, for the aforementioned Lionesses game and the highest domestic attendance besides the Women’s FA Cup final (76,082) was 18,078 for Tottenham Hotspur Women against Leicester City Women in a Women’s FA Cup Semi Final game. The lowest attendance was (approximately) 8, for a Sheffield and District Fair Play League Division Two game as Sheffield Union FC took on Thurgoland Welfare FC on a cold Saturday morning at Norton Playing Fields. I saw 417 goals in total, averaging 4.3 a game and my most seen team was Manchester United Women (3 times in total).

It was a bit of a year in two halves actually (similar to my summary for 2023 as well)- the first half was spent visiting more exciting/ interesting grounds, as well as taking more photographs, alongside completing our ‘road to Wembley’ quest (attending a fixture from each round of the Women’s FA Cup). This was the highlight of my year in terms of football: it brought us to some completely different places and really made us pick some interesting fixtures/ grounds to visit. It was a great focal point for the 23/24 season. Hard recommend!

The second half of the year (after the summer break) was not as exciting: if you are a regular here then you will know that I’ve been mega busy working on my film. This has lead to me having less free time, meaning that photographing games has, unfortunately, taken a back seat. It’s not so much the photographing that takes the time as I’d be out anyway watching football, it’s more the editing and sifting through that takes a full morning (and more often than not, a bit longer). I’m hoping to remedy this once the weather gets slightly more pleasant and I’ve actually written a small list of grounds I want to photograph this coming year to keep me excited/ motivated. A large amount of my film has been completed, so I feel in a few weeks or so, I can start shifting my time around to allow for a little photo editing. Anyway, watch this space…

On a more positive note, since the new season began myself and my partner have actually started watching my home town club (and the club I support), Worcester City. Both the men’s and women’s teams were promoted last season and they now play in regional midlands based leagues (the Northern Premier League Midlands and the FAWNL Division One Midlands respectively). In both leagues, there are several grounds which we haven’t previously visited, so have been able to line up a few fixtures for both. We have watched two for each so far, with both the third games we had lined up postponed due to the weather. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting behind the club I support in person and it’s made for a really fun/ interesting venture to our weekends. I’ve a few more planned out for each for the remainder of the season. I am also now the proud owner of a Worcester City FC scarf (thanks Santa)!

Right, that’s the stats and summary complete, now for the fun bit! Here are my top ten grounds/ games I attended last year. These are not all just the ‘nicest’ grounds I feel I visited, but I’ve also taken into account enjoyable days out/ great clubs/ good overall football watching experiences. These are in the date order I visited.

Sharpenhoe Road

Luton Town Ladies FC 0-6 Brighton & Hove Albion Women 14/01/2024
Women’s FA Cup Fourth Round Proper
Attendance: 1235

Silverlake Stadium

Southampton FC Women 1-3 Manchester United Women 11/02/2024
Women’s FA Cup Fifth Round Proper
Attendance: 4554

Broadfield Stadium

Brighton & Hove Albion Women 0-4 Manchester United Women 09/03/2024
Women’s FA Cup Quarter Final
Attendance: 3701

The Polegrove

Bexhill United 2-3 Eastbourne Town 13/03/2024
Southern Combination Premier Division
Attendance: 164

Kenilworth Road

Hashtag United Women 2-1 Newcastle United Women 23/03/2024
FAWNL Cup Final
Attendance: 3719

Edgar Street

Hereford FC 2-2 Buxton FC 01/04/2024
National League North
Attendance: 3004

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur Women 2-1 Leicester City Women 14/04/2024
Women’s FA Cup Semi Final
Attendance: 18,078

Garden Walk

Gornal Athletic 4-0 Bustlehome FC 20/04/2024
West Midlands Regional League Div 1
Attendance: 220

Millmoor

Wickersley Youth Ladies FC 16-1 Eckington Belles Ladies FC 01/09/2024
Sheffield & Hallamshire Women’s & Girls League Open Age 4
Attendance: 40 (head count)

Southwold Common

Southwold Town FC 3-0 Hopton and Hawthorn Devs 05/10/2024
Lowestoft and District League Div 3
Attendance: 30 (head count)