Premise has thought me a lot about the malleable means of animation, through the use of white space in my pictured idea for Lost Boy I really feel like I understand about how anything is possible in animation and how to exaggerate the animation in order to conceptualise the words.
It has been really invigorating to tell the story of Lost Boy because it is extremely personal to me. I want to instil the viewer with comical, heartwarming and hopeful images but also at times with a tinge of sadness and I think I have accomplished this with my animatic. It has been really nice to feel like I am starting to get a personal style for myself one of which I don't really have to overthink when I do quick sketches, I'm understanding that it's not about perfection but about getting the idea or the emotion across and one that I really enjoy doing while maintaining control over the image. I have learned that animation is also about taking things out such as taking out an original idea of having a modelled person in the cupboard and instead just show their judgy eyes,
As I was creating the storyboard for Lost boy I started to realise little nuggets of information were right there in my drawings that tied things together nicely and foreshadowed the following or altered the previous panels. I originally had planned for the part "it was like a light switch coming on" to have an actual light switch appear on the present Graeme's forehead but I didn't take into consideration the fact that I had drawn a light on the security machine that set up the rest of the intensity in the climax for the airport scene. I then started to consider the airpot scene more, for the part with the Present Graeme turning around on the coveyer belt I originnaly with his eyes popped out I was just going to have a camera turning around him but I wanted to really show the humilation so a coveyer belt being the means of movement flourished taking into consideration things that move in an airport, I also remember what it was like being in the airport and how asking for help was useless so this resulted in drawing stitches over the mouths of the black phantom figures because in that situation they might aswell have not been pysically able to talk.
I knew that I wanted to keep the animation as something that recollects being a child so I wanted toys to be exaggerated into the animation with the spring eyes being a reference to spring eyeglasses and the rocket being something that reflects what the young Graeme is drawing.
The feedback that I was given has really made it clear into what direction to turn in, dialling up the rubberiness of the animation and having a mash up of different styles while maintaining the style of the animatic I think will give Lost Boy an edge and is exactly where I want it to head in. I think Birgittas feedback was really interesting I would love to give claymation a whirl - it has always been something that has fascinated me especially from one of my favourite band's - glass animals music videos Exxus and Pools. Claymation tied together with a kitbash of CGI that looks traditional and 2D animation layered on top would be fascinating.. I think I might buy some play doh..
As I said in the crit I do find it frustrating that I find it difficult to covey the movement that I want to be shown with 2D animation such as flash as I found it difficult in Nat's class last year.. but that frustration also fuels me - one of the other inspirations for Lost boy is Bill Plympton's Your Face. although I may never be able to animate with such fluidity as Your Face I can certainly try and find my own ways around making it manageable,
For now moving ahead with Lost Boy I want to get better at 2D animation like Phil suggested by experimenting with Photoshop and other means, I want to do tests in maya, start modelling the characters and try and come up with more scenarios that correlate to the script in which I dramatize the rubberiness of the animation more than what I conveyed in the animatic. I have honestly felt the inspiration bubbling from me with Premise and I am really excited to dig deep into the exploration aspects that Lost boy focuses on while telling this story the best way imaginable.
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