My final film for the year. It's taken me at least 8 months to make. Surely an amazing feat. I will admit it has been quite a struggle and I've had to really kick myself into gear at some points. I struggled quite a bit this semester and the reasoning for that may be because it's the very last one. For a while there I was very much in doubt about the project, not having seen much of it put together until a week or so ago. I definitely took off maybe a bit more than I could chew but that doesn't mean I didn't pull through in the end.
There are a few things I wish could have been better. Firstly, the animation. I was quite happy with the vast majority of the sequences but some I think could have been better – namely when he's walking. All animators know that walks are one of the hardest things to animate, whether it be in 2D, 3D or Stop-motion. What makes it incredibly difficult with stop motion is gravity. I looked up references of how quadrupeds walk and worked to it frame-by-frame but things still came out a little wonky. I think definitely the weight of the puppet is what made this a more difficult task. Granted, though if I had made him any smaller he'd be lost by the spaces he was situated in. I think I really just needed more practice and perhaps I could have improved upon my technique. I am satisfied with what I achieved in the time I had but as a perfectionist there's some things I can't let go.
Secondly, the flickering. Now, I don't have a huge problem with the flickering myself, in fact I think it adds something in some of the sequences (like when Quolger is interacting with the tv) but I do realize that professional grade work has no flickers and when I did my previous stop motion it didn't have any. That's because there was no natural lighting. I attempted to make it less noticeable in photoshop but because only parts of it flickered rather than the whole image, it wasn't looking right. Part of me wanted to leave it in too, to keep it a bit more raw and true. I think in the sequence where Quolger first sees the window and walks towards it is strengthened by the flickering also – as the shadow of a cloud drifts over the curtains. I was aware of it happening while I was filming and I just went with it because I liked the effect. Those are things you can't really create. The film is quite in the moment and has some inconsistence sure but I experimented a lot and if I didn't it may have come out perfect sure but I wouldn't have learned anything. I suppose I'll admit it would be more professional without it, but it's more creative with it.
Thirdly, the ending. While I am satisfied with the ending I can't help but wander how the alternative ending would have looked. It would have been nice to have enough time to at least experiment with it. I did in short bursts but nothing amazing came out. Not to mention it would have been dangerous having a mac outside – especially in Hobart. Had I had a week or two more I probably would have attempted to test this ending out. My critiques did reveal that people were more fond of it ending with him simply jumping out the window, but still it would have been nice to be able to contrast the endings. The important thing is that the story and ending does still get the message across and it's more uplifting. I figured having him dying under a tree maybe would have been a bit harsh, like his journey had been somewhat in vain. So as much as it would have been good to test out those final shots, I think it still works well without them. Even leaves it a bit more open ended, before it was quite cold and a bit harsh.
So overall I am very happy with how it turned out and I really can't wait to see people's reactions at the grad show. Only a few days away and I can't wait!
