Project 8: Preproduction

Class Meetings and Due Dates:

Project Assignment: November 21, 10:30am

Review of Schedule/First Draft: December 5

Interim Class Review: December 7, 10:30am

Final Project Due: December 11, at 9:30am

Description:

For your final assignment in CSE458 you will be working on the pre-production for your film! You will have only one week to work on the final project so use your time wisely and coordinate efficiently with the other members of the class. The class has been divided into three groups. Each person in the class has been assigned to a project to support our story. Staff members have been assigned to each project and they have the expertise to help you through so contact them in a pinch. They are happy to help you. They will provide you with the overall production steps that you’ll need to follow in order to be prepared for check in meetings and your final turn in.

The whole class will be provided with a few preliminary production tools at the outset. You will have a storyreel, the current 7 steps, the armature, and stand in models -- all of these will serve as a “jumping off point” from which you will be asked to visualize what you are given and in many cases improve on what you are given. All of the character models are preliminary models and are stand-ins for the final versions of the models you will be using in your completed film.


Three Groups

We have divided the production groups into three sections. Each group should communicate with the others but the pipeline and work completed should be independent of the others. Don’t wait for anyone to complete their work for you to continue the work on your own. Be proactive and move ahead. Your deadline won’t allow for any delay. We would like to see a calendar of what you plan to accomplish, a contract stating your intent to finish this work, a statement about how you plan to approach this assignment, and a preliminary first draft of what will be completed next week on Tuesday, December 5th.

Use our story packet as reference while you work.

Armature

Fear is its own prison.

Story Seven Steps

  1. Once upon a time there was a group of intimidated people following a tyrant.
  2. And every day, like everyone else, our protagonist followed the controlling leader without question.
  3. Until one day one of the followers was hurt.
  4. And because of this a small group of compassionate followers came to his aid, including our protagonist.
  5. And because of this the compassionate followers and our protagonist were in danger of being left behind as the larger group of followers moved farther away.
  6. Until finally the compassionate followers come to understand that they can govern themselves.
  7. And ever since that day, while the compassionate followers make their own way in the world, our protagonist decides to follow the crowd that follows the tyrant.

Story Suggestions: You must do what you've been assigned to first. We will entertain story suggestions when we see the completed version of your animatic.


Student Producer Group

The student producer group will be creating our shot list, sequence names, beatsheet, story bible, and finding reference for our characters based on their adjectives and animals. The Story Bible should include: a title, a student contact information list, a beatsheet, sequence names, shot numbers, and character references. Use previous years story bibles as reference. The following people have been assigned to these tasks.

Assisting Staff: Barbara, Erin, Ezzy

Group: Rund, Dylan


DUE TUESDAY 12/5:

Shot List, Sequences: A complete shot list, including sequence names and shot numbers (to be given to animatic group).

Beatsheet: A first pass at a complete beatsheet.

DUE WEDNESDAY 12/6:

Reference: Reference for each character based on their adjectives, and animals that you feel best represent them.

DUE THURSDAY 12/7:

Story Bible: First pass at a completed story bible.

DUE MONDAY 12/11:

Story Bible: Final story bible, including beatsheet and character reference/animals.


Reference Group

The reference group will be focusing on creating reference reels ,each with a different focus. Use our storyreel for timing reference. In general it's a good idea to have the storyreel included and edited into each reference reel so that we can easily see where we are in the story as we review the reference.

Mood Reel

The mood reel is meant to evoke in the audience the moods desired to support the story. Use images, video, and music to create the desired emotional response. It's important to remember that you don't need to visualize exactly what's in the story reel so feel free to use anything that evokes the right mood. You can find examples of previous mood reels here and here.

Assisting Staff: Blake

Group: Erika, Tyler, Alex

Story Story Reel

The Storystory reel is used to illustrate the cinematography, acting and especially the story structure. Use clips/audio from any film that you feel clearly represents our story. Make sure to include a voiceover to provide extra clarity. A good example can be found here.

Assisting Staff: Xavier

Group: Nick, Alexa

Effects/Shading Reel

The effects/shading reel is a way for us to explore what types of effects we can use for the film. Find examples from other films of any type of effect that may help illustrate the story. You're also welcome to try out any effects that you think may help the film, and include your tests in the reel. A good example is here.

Assisting Staff: Brian, Diana

Group: Travis, Andy

Lighting Reel

The lighting reel is a way for us to visualize potential lighting setups for story support and look and feel. Use clips/images to illustrate the lighting styles that you think best support what's going on in the story. Think about the way color, shadow, intensity, etc can be used to strengthen the film for any given shot. A good example is here.

Assisting Staff: Amanda

Group: Amara, Wanna, Alisha


DUE TUESDAY 12/5:

First pass: A first version of your group's reel should be completed for feedback.

DUE THURSDAY 12/7:

Second pass: Apply the feedback from Tuesday and submit a new version of your group's reel.

DUE MONDAY 12/11:

Second pass: Apply final feedback and submit a final version of your group's reel.


Animatic Group

This group will be completing the 3D animatic based on the storyreel provided to them. Below are the specific assignments for this group.

Assisting Staff:

Erin (modeling for layout)

Cody (rigging/assets)

Kevin (rigging)

Xavier (motion)

Jenna (motion)

Blake (editing)

Brian (layout)

Diana (layout)


Initial Asset List:

Blue-eyed follower

Followers

Tyrant

Set (floor, ceiling)


Group 1 (Sequence 1, Blake)

Group 2(Sequence 2, Kevin)

Group 3 (Sequence 3, Jenna)

Group 4 (Sequence 4, Brian)

Group 5 (Sequence 5, Xavier)


DUE TUESDAY 12/5:

Editing: Work with the Story Bible team and the rest of the Animatic team to put together a preliminary edit of the animatic.

Layout & Props: First pass at a 3D set and simple props, set up file hierarchies for each shot.

Motion: Make sure there is a playblast for each shot, no matter how simple, for the editors to work with.

DUE THURSDAY 12/7:

Animatic: All teams work together to address feedback and produce a revised version of the animatic.

DUE MONDAY 12/11:

Animatic: All teams work together to address feedback and produce a final version of the animatic.


Turn In

Use Collect-It on Catalyst to turn in your files.