Short Film: Update #36 winding down

Hello hello! Being as this week I finished off pretty much all the visuals, I think I’ll put a pause on these weekly updates. Just feels that there won’t really be that much to write about and might pose a risk of ending up sounding all quite same-y. So from now on, I’ll write these as and when I see fit, rather than a fixed weekly update.

Apologies if you’re an avid reader here, but I don’t want to bore you: I probably do that enough as it is! And it’s not like I don’t have a load of other stuff to write about on here anyway. Being as the work on my film is significantly slowing, it actually gives me space to focus on my other creative ventures, so yes, you’ll hear less about my film, but more about my other stuff. Which for me is very exciting! I genuinely love and get such a thrill out of creating things and I have a load of fun project ideas to get to work on, so watch this space!

Anyway, rambling away as usual, so back to my film: I did another decent re-edit during the week and I really feel like it works as a solid story now. It was quite difficult to get the first couple of minutes down- and to balance the pace/ dramatic elements, but I think I finally figured it out (with the help of my boyfriend who gave me some very honest feedback about what was working or not). Editing is so hard to do alone sometimes (especially at the latter stages of a project) and is very useful to have someone to bounce ideas off and also keep you grounded.

I also had one of the voice recordings back from one of my voice actors, which was great. It was only one line, but it has already made an improvement to my film and makes it feel like it’s all coming together nicely. So thank you David Holt!

And lastly, on Friday I managed to get a load of other (film related) stuff done! These tasks were only down as ‘maybe’s’ on my to do list for this project, but I had a wave of enthusiasm/ inspiration/ whatever come over me enabling me to complete four leftover little tasks. I just went for it! And it made me feel so good and positive about the project. Plus it wasn’t like they were really easy things either- one was an After Effects shot and they were all a bit of a faff to be honest. So yeah, I’m mega happy about that, especially as I wasn’t sure if I was even going to bother doing them at all. But they’ve made such a difference to my film. It’s the little details like these. Picture of the Premiere timeline below, because I don’t have much else to illustrate this blog with today!!

Bet you’re all wondering how my skate progress is going as well, aren’t you?! Oh go on then. I Ollied my first stair set the other day- it was only a very small two stair, but it was a nice trick to have got done, because I’ve been trying for the longest time to get the commitment to land it. I’ve had the ability to do it for quite some time, but not the self belief/ confidence to stick the landing. I think if I believed more and had more confidence I’d progress at a much better rate. I need to stop telling myself I’m bad at things because I end up believing it. Same with animation/ creative stuff or life in general. There are so many skills in skateboarding that are transferable to real life… xo

Short Film: Update #35 a clip again- at last!

This one is a pretty short one this week, as there’s not all that much to report: I’ve predominantly been working on one shot. It was a shot full of extras walking across an airport walkway, essentially an establishing shot/ scene building shot towards the end of the film. I finished it yesterday and I really like how it turned out:

Ooh look, a moving picture! I appreciate I’ve hardly shared anything moving from this film and especially not recently, because to be honest I’ve not really had the time or headspace to stop and think about what to export out to share. But things are wrapping up on the visual side of things at the moment and this shot doesn’t exactly give any story away, so thought it would be nice to put something out there. Enjoy!

There were six characters in total, plus the background to create. Hopefully I’ve got all the times correct on the clocks! If not, some kind person please let me know before I export the final animation!! I also did the shadows for the characters, which I thought added a nice touch (and some depth to the shot).

Besides this, I’ve not done a lot else in terms of creativity this week- the other bits I’ve been doing have been more admin-y type things again. Stuff I’m not going to bore you with on here! Plus, the previous shot took 34 hours in total. So it wasn’t like I had loadsss of extra time anyway. Ok, think that’s enough now- see I said it would be a short one! See you in the next one on here, unless I see you in real life at Sheffield Doc Fest this weekend! xo

Recent-ish 35mm

Ooh look who finally got their 35mm film developed? That would be me... I've had this film in my camera since the deep, dark winter, but been using it fairly intermittently until finally finishing it off a couple of weeks ago. So it basically spans the first half of this year. I have another one currently in the camera, so with any luck that will be developed by Christmas!

There's quite a mix of stuff on here as you'll soon see- I think it might be my best roll in recent times. I absolutely love how the images of my favourite skate DIY came out. Anyway, I'll shut up now and post the photos! Most of these are unedited, but just for transparency I've cropped/ straightened a few and done some minor light/ colour adjustments in Photoshop.

Short Film: Update #34 back on it

Hello! How are you? It’s now June, so happy summer!! You may have guessed, but I was on holiday last week hence no post. Down in sunny south Wales, via Worcester.

Also got some decent skate clips in the interim- improving on my boardslides and landed my first Varial Kickflip on a flatbank. Definitely going to start filming myself more, as I think it’s imperative for progression, as you can easily see what you’re doing wrong/ how your form is. Basically looking at my tricks from an outside perspective. It also makes stuff less scary, as it takes you out of your head, too. Couple of pics down below:

But, me talking about my jolly’s is likely not the reason you’re reading this- am I right? It’s that all important film progress you’re after. I think. Though I can (and will) happily chat skateboarding all day if given the go ahead…

So how is my film going? Since returning from my week off, I’ve come back full force on this project. I finished a few more things off my to do list, plus did a load of admin-y type bits, such as booking the location to film the shot with the extras and writing up my sound design notes. I also did a slight restructure of the edit, which improved the pacing/ tightness. Sometimes it’s hard to cut the stuff you’ve spent a lot of time animating, but if it’s no longer right for the film, then it needs to go. I can always post the unused clips on my socials and on here, so it’s not like they’ll go to waste as they’ll still get seen if I want them to be. Down below is a grab from one of these outtakes. It is technically still being used in the film, but this was a duplicate shot earlier on in the narrative, but ended up cutting as it wasn’t necessary to have it in twice.

I also started animating one of the three big remaining shots, plus created some clouds for one of the scenes in After Effects from this tutorial. I must say it’s been really nice to be doing some more rotoscoping again, as it’s been a while. It is something I find extremely relaxing and rewarding, plus also means I get to catch up on all my podcasts and music I’ve been wanting to listen to, because when I’m doing the editing or anything like that, I much prefer to work in silence with little distraction.

The film is feeling the most complete it has done at this point and I’m so pleased with how it is turning out, in both narrative and style. The end finally feels like it’s in sight and that is mega exciting! All the hard work I’ve put in definitely is paying off. Right, that’s it from me, time to do some more animation! Oh, by the way almost forgot: I’m hanging out at Sheffield Doc Fest next week, so if you see me, come say hello!