Short Film: Update #2/ Filming Ref Footage

Hello! And another week of animation down:

As you can see, a fair amount has been completed since last weeks post. I must admit I’m mega pleased with how the outlines are progressing currently. I don’t really have any set deadlines or expectations with this (though outline completion by Christmas sounds nice), but it feels like I’m getting through the outlines at a good rate. Admittedly lots of the shots so far have been quite static, speeding up the process a bit, but they’re all shots that need doing regardless. It’s nice being able to chalk off a few quite quickly, because it’s building my confidence and motivation for the more complicated shots later down the line.

Animation update over, I wanted to talk this week mostly about the filming of it, which I have now made a decent dent into. If it hasn’t been made explicit already, I am not only the director/ animator/ producer of this film, but also the camera op and lead actor for the reference footage! None of this was especially by choice, but more out of necessity. With this being a totally self funded project, I’m always looking for ways I can be economical with all aspects of production. Though I will be outsourcing the score, voice actors and sound design as those are not my forte.

First thing to say on this matter: filming yourself is HARD! Like very difficult. Framing, focussing, performance. The more I am shooting though, the more I’m learning about the process and having a better idea of what is ‘right’, but that’s not to say it now feels easy because it really isn’t. I’m so grateful that my boyfriend has been around to help for small sections of it- acting as stand in while I set up the shot and focus. If it wasn’t for him, this would be a lot, lot harder. I’m also trying to avoid not taking up a load of his time and roping him in to a full on film production, so have only been using his assistance when I really can’t do it myself. I have even been using my teddy bear to set the focus point for some shots!!

As well as it being a hard task, I have actually filmed portions, then decided to re-shoot. Perhaps that comes down to poor planning, but also thinking something might work in one way, then realising it doesn’t or is not quite right on reviewing the footage. A couple of examples are firstly the ‘over the bed’ shot. I wanted a shot almost directly over the character as she is in bed struggling to sleep. I first thought I’d be able to film this using just my tripod, but on reflection after the shoot, it really didn’t provide the angle I had in mind. With indie filmmaking especially, there are lots of times you need to compromise, but you also need to learn when not to and when to stick to your original idea. This was one of those times. Luckily, I am a member of the South Yorkshire Filmmakers Network who actually have a good amount of kit to hire and at fair rates (for both members and non members). I noticed there was a fairly basic jib which I could use for no cost, so after watching a few YouTube videos on it, I decided to hire it out.

And what a great decision that was! I got the exact angle I needed and I’m much happier with the footage (despite it being a little out of focus- I had no external monitor and the jib is high, so I was tip-toeing to try and focus it correctly)! Luckily I wasn’t shooting for a live action film or I wouldn’t be able to use the footage, but as it’s for rotoscope and is essentially just a guide, then it was perfectly fine for my needs.

storyboard panel

footage- wrong angle

footage- correct angle

animation outlines

And where I also need to re-shoot is when I didn’t like the costume I had the character wearing. After mulling it around in my head for a while, I decided the costume didn’t really fit what I had in mind for this character. It was a hard decision, being as I had shot some of the footage, but like with what I was describing above, deep down I knew that this wasn’t right for the project and wasn’t a point I’d want to compromise on.

Thankfully, I had only shot two camera set ups with this outfit, so it’s not like I need to re-shoot the whole thing. I’m not really looking it as wasted time either- more just an experience I can learn from. In future, I will think more carefully about the outfit before shooting (even though I thought I did here, but clearly not enough). I suppose that’s one advantage of using myself as the reference actor and shooting it section by section, rather than all in one go. It also affords me to have more thinking time between each section I shoot, allowing me to analyse my performance and how I can improve for the upcoming scenes. I can also do it a lot more ‘casually’, rather than sourcing locations, I can just film sections around my house with no trouble. For example, the bed shot as mentioned above, that was just shot in my bed, whereas if I were to have sourced an actor, then I would have needed to hire somewhere external to shoot those scenes, adding to the production costs.

So self shooting clearly has its advantages and disadvantages and I would likely work in this way again. This piece is a litmus test in a way, to see how I get on in light of creating an animated feature in the same way. If I am happy with the result, then I will transfer this way of creating a project into something longer form. I like the idea of being able to make something without the whole funding barrier (because funding is ridiculously hard to secure and essentially a gamble- you’re basically waiting on someone to give you permission to make work), so I want to find a way I can make the films I want to make in an economical way if I’m not able to secure any funding. They might not be as polished, but I’d rather have made several un-polished films than not having made any at all.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about filming and the subsequently animating myself. This is because I have a history of disordered eating and body dysmorphia (both of which I have received treatment for btw), so I didn’t know if this was such a good idea. It gives me a load of time to analyse my body and find faults with how I look, so could potentially be quite a triggering experience. But I have so far been quite objective with it (and actually quite happy with my appearance in some shots), though admittedly there have been instances where I haven’t liked how I’ve looked. I am quite clearly aware that this could become an issue, so I am keeping on top of it and hoping I can get through the process without my mental health suffering. Actually writing it down on here has given me more motivation to keep my mind strong, because the fact that I still get these thoughts from time to time really frustrates me. Anyway, I don’t really talk about this much, but I did think it would be useful to make a note of here, because it is relevant.

Aaaand finally (this has been a long one- have definitely written essays shorter than this): just a little colour test:

Still not sure how exactly I’m going to colour the character (or backgrounds for that matter), though whilst doing the outlines, I’ve been thinking of several ways how I might go about it. The above is just one idea I put into practise. The end result will most likely not look anything like this (as these things develop), but it’s something to include on here anyway…

See you next time xo