Short Film: Receiving Feedback

As mentioned in my previous post on the topic of my next short film, I said I’d write a little about the feedback process. I asked several trusted friends/ colleagues whom I value the opinion of to provide me with some feedback mainly regarding story. It’s quite easy to get lost in what you’re making and what might be obvious to you, potentially won’t translate to others who have not seen the project before or know what it’s about. I sent them what was then my “completed” animatic, alongside a Google form with a few specific questions I had (as aforementioned: mostly related to story, though there was also space for them to write any other notes/ comments/ suggestions). I did not give the synopsis to the people I was asking for feedback from, neither did I tell them anything about the story or themes or anything for that matter! This was so I could get the most true opinions.

The process was extremely useful, though always scary/ nerve-racking when sending something out like this, especially when it’s a fairly personal piece of work and also very rough- I didn’t spend a whole lot of time on the audio and as for the visuals, lots of it was quite Frankensteined together! Despite a few comments on people unsure of the geographical locations (due to the way I had cobbled the animatic together), the general themes seemed to have come across, as did the gist of the story. Though feedback is always difficult, as film is very subjective and you bring your own meaning to the films you watch because of your own lived experiences. So something that reads in one way to one, might read another way to others.

Saying this, there were some sections/ ideas that did need clearing up and clarifying further as they didn’t quite come across in the way I had intended. The animatic has been re-edited pretty dramatically since receiving the feedback. I feel this current cut tells the story I want to tell and in a much clearer way. Most of the scenes are there, though the order has changed and some bits have been added (and some redacted). It was a little difficult at first to change aspects of it and/ or cut scenes which I liked, but you just need to do what is best for the film and trust that it will be a stronger piece because of it. And I’m sure once I have shot the footage, it will likely change again and then again after I have started animating it. Films often shape as they grow, because some scenes or shots might not work as well in actuality even if they worked well on (metaphorical) paper.

I’ve now started shooting some of the reference material, so once I’ve made more headway with that, I’ll put another update on here… Another storyboard panel below as I appreciate this post is pretty wordy!

I Painted a Skateboard Deck!

As the title suggests: I painted my next skateboard deck! Here’s a few pics:

And a few of the (lengthly) process below:

It started with a mockup (above), just to see if my idea would work. It's extremely rough and looks nothing like the finished piece, but the concept is the same. It was taking forever to plot out the pins how I wanted them (which was a lot closer together than on this- this is so sparse).

I made a template of a bowling pin from card and drew around it creating an ‘all over’ style pattern on the deck. I then used acrylic paint for the base layer. I was lazy and didn’t sand the deck down first (naughty, I know), but the paint held quite well regardless. Though I’m sure the coat of paint would have been a lot smoother if I had sanded the deck first. So in future, I will definitely get the good old sandpaper out! Also, just for info, the deck I used was an ‘Enuff’ blank deck (8”). I usually wouldn’t go for this brand, but I’m sure it won’t be the worst thing ever to skate. Or at least I hope not!

Second coat (left) vs first coat (right)

After the base layer had fully dried, I used Posca paint markers to do coat two of the white, followed by the red stripes at the top of the pins (once coat 2 had fully dried). The second coat of white made it look a lot cleaner and more vibrant, as you can see in the image above). The first coat really wasn’t that opaque, despite me using a fairly decent brand of paint (Liquitex). I did the red stripes freehand, so they aren’t completely uniform, but for this project I felt that wasn’t especially important: the overall impression is there and they aren’t even wonky! It felt odd for me to do something which challenges my perfectionism, but I didn’t think measuring out the lines and drawing them on with pencil first would have made much difference to the overall design of the deck and would have just wasted time. Perhaps for another project, yes, but definitely not for this one. It’s going to get scratched off after a few skate sessions anyway!

It took a while to create, especially the first coat of paint, but no good things come easy (or so we’re told). I’m super proud of it and can not wait to skate it! I always feel I skate better when I’m using a deck with a design I’m fully into and this deck, I am 100% fully in! It’s essentially my dream deck. Bowling and skateboarding all in one- doesn’t get much better than that! I think I’ll get some white griptape as I always like to match the grip with the board graphic... See you at the skatepark xo

Embroidery: 'Covid Abstraction #1'

If you are a regular here, then you will know that my embroidery (and the majority of my other work) is extremely calculated and planned out. I like order, what can I say! And it’s also to do with the whole perfectionism thing I’ve got going on and probably a wealth of other things. But, last week I managed to contract Covid. Slap bang in the middle of summer and during my birthday week. Yes there are worse problems to have, but it was still very un-fun.

To get rid of the illness quickly, rest is best, but lying in bed all day for two days straight had me yearning to do something creative. There’s only so many trashy films and Sudoku puzzles I can take! I decided I wanted to do some embroidery. It’s a low effort(ish), high reward activity, not messy, and fairly easy to get set up (my box of threads, scissors, fabric, needle). Though I really didn’t have the energy (physically or mentally) to create a pattern or even trace a pre-existing design onto the fabric. So I thought: well why don’t I just sew? And that’s exactly what I did. No pre-planning, no sketch, no pencil guides. Nothing.

As you can see from the above image of what I created, I decided to just do squares/ rectangles as they’re the easiest- I mean who wants to mess about with circles or wavy lines when unwell? Not me, no thank you! And to keep it even more simple, I used just one type of stitch (Satin Stitch), which also happens to be my favourite! I used no outlines and just switched colours when I felt like the one I was using had even coverage. It sort of evolved as it went on and I thought of new ideas as it developed- i.e. filling the gaps with white squares at the end- this was because I thought if I do full coverage in all different colours, it might end up looking a bit messy/ murky. Though maybe I will make another one exploring that idea…

I actually liked this different way of working, or at least I did for this project. It was quite freeing just deciding what to do on the spot and working to no specific pattern or design. It was more like a ‘doodle’ in fabric or a stream of consciousness. And it also backs up the notion that just creating up something (anything) leads to further ideas/ inspiration. Before this I wasn’t that inspired with the embroidery as I had just finished a rather large project and was unsure what to produce next. Now I have ideas flooding to me! Picking up the needle/ pen/ pencil/ insert chosen medium here, really does lead to ideas, especially if you’re feeling stuck or lacking in motivation.

I’ll definitely be working this way again, but that’s not to say I’ll not be returning back to my more organised creative endeavours! It was a really fun ‘no strings attached’ way to create something, which I don’t often entertain. Watch this space for more…