I've given some more thought to the next, and hopefully
final, version of "The
Barrier". From that I developed a sort of to-do list.
I have a version of "The
Barrier", my transportation planner movie, posted now.
I see several major steps I need to take to get the project
done.
·
Produce a script of the existing movie
That was before I finished the
final movie, and I didn't update the script with changes I made later. That in
itself could be a major project. I could go back and rerun the file conversion
system I created, but I seem to recall that when I tried it later, it didn't
work. The converter only converted the dialogue and not the action. That could
be an issue.
·
Compile the ideas I had and others suggested for
changes to the script.
Several people were kind enough
to suggest some changes that they thought would improve the movie. I have some
of my own ideas for changes as well. I also had some criticism, which I might
be able to address as well. I want to compile all these ideas together before I
try a rewrite of the script.
One example of a change I want
tot make is the scene where Arthur shows Meera the simulation that Dennis did.
It starts at 35:50 of the movie. In the current version, she is impressed with
the simulation. I want to change it so that she isn't convinced, but Arthur
convinces her to send it to Brandon. I think that is a more realistic response
for her to have. I think it works better with what happens later.
·
Revise the script to incorporate changes
While I "wrote" the
script in Xtranormal, I think that I will do the rewrite in a script format. I
can always fine tune the dialogue and action when I redo the scenes in
NawmalMAKE.
·
Revise some of the computer screen images
When I did created the computer
screen images for the earlier version, I mostly used PowerPoint to create the
screen images. I also indulged myself in some inside jokes. As a result I cut
the length of the shots of the screens quite short, so that people wouldn't be
distracted by the images. Some people didn't like that.
I should remove some of the
inside jokes so they won't be a distraction. While I'm at it, I should also try
to improve the look of the screen images.
One of the things I'd most like
to do is replace the simulation Dennis did in the scene I mentioned above with
Arthur and Meera. Like the other screen images, I used PowerPoint. It doesn't
really look too convincing. I think I can do a better job by revising the
Blender animation I created for the opening scene. It's been a while since I
used Blender, so I worry that I'll need to relearn how to use it.
·
Character descriptions for the actors
I want to write notes about each
of the characters to help the actors understand what I want. If, as seems
likely, I am unable to work closely with them in recording the voices, this
kind of information could make a big difference.
·
Dialogue descriptions for the actors
I need to write notes to describe
the emotions each character has for each of their lines. These notes could also
suggest what the characters want or think. For example: when a character says
something, are they angry, sad, bored, frustrated or have different feeling. I
want to make it clear what I want, but at the same time, I want to give the
actors some leeway about how they interpret the lines.
A good actor can bring more depth
to the character in ways that I can't. I would like to get some feedback from
the actors about the facial expressions and gestures the animated characters
use.
·
Recruitment of a collaborator and actors
I find it quite daunting to
recruit people to help me on projects. I'm always somewhat reluctant to ask for
help, but I'm also unsure who would be a proper choice. I think the most
important thing is to find people who buy into the story, and believes in what
I want to say.
This is particularly important with
the collaborator/co-director I want to work with. Since I will not likely be
able to work directly with the actors, this person will have to communicate
what I want, while they allow for their own input and that of the actors. I
have some ideas about who to approach, but I'm reluctant to ask them unless I
am willing to commit to them. A kind of chicken and egg problem.
If I do decided work with a
collaborator, I would like to have them handle the recruitment of the actors.
If not, then I'll have to do that part of the job. AT the moment I tend to lean
toward people I've already worked with, but then there are several characters
for whom I don't know people who might work.
·
Recording and sound quality
Since I plan to record the actors
and then use those with the animation, the arrangements for the recording and
the recording sessions themselves will form a major component of the project.
I've done a little bit of that, but this is a much larger effort.
I'll likely do the sound
recording piecemeal, so I need to be concerned about consistent sound quality
between sessions, and maybe between studios. I am not a real audio guy, so I'm
somewhat unsure what I need to be concerned about. That is another reason I'd
like to work with someone else.
·
Combining audio and video
One of the nice things about
NawmalMAKE is that you can import pre-recorded voices and the program will sync
the lip movements to the voices. This will make it much easier to do a new
version. I haven't done much with this capability before, and worry that
they're may be some challenges when I comes to the timing of actions.
Once I have the scenes output
from NawmalMAKE, I plan to use Adobe Premiere to edit them together. The
experience I had before makes me think this will be relative straight forward.
The hardest part at this stage is to drop in the background images and computer
screens I've created elsewhere. This can be tricky, but it is also the kind of
work I enjoy.
I'm a little unsure where to start. Either I start to
recruit an collaborator, or I start work on the script rewrite. At the moment
I'm inclined to start with the script because I worry that if I bring in a
collaborator too soon, then they'll lose interest and drift away before I
finish the script. On the other hand, if I have a collaborator in place, that
will be an incentive to push forward with the project.
This post is a mirror from my main blog
http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog
