For my senior thesis, I will be making a 3D animated series pilot accompanied by a pitch deck.
In order to better demonstrate the methods and process I will be implementing in the production of this pilot, my prototypes will serve not only for my benefit as well as my classmates and instructors, but also for that of future acquisition managers and studio producers to understand how and why this pilot’s design demonstrates a solid framework for potential investment and long-term production.
The first prototype I will showcase will be a presentation of my latest film, Gothic, followed by a brief demonstration exploring within the Unreal project it was produced in. I will walk through methods such as animation, look development, lighting, camera operation, and rendering out footage for use in editing. At this point, I have a very efficient pipeline for Unreal film production, as made apparent in Gothic which was created in its entirety in one week completely by myself. This prototype example would provide a reasonable confidence in my abilities both in project management and animation production.
For those curious, here is Gothic, which this past Wednesday won a Jury Award and a Best Animation Award at Campus Movie Fest:
The second prototype will be a walkthrough of taking readily available motion capture files, most easily found on Mixamo.com, bringing them into Motionbuilder or Maya, and adding additional character and expression to them by way of animation layers. I’ve found that these Mixamo animations are incredibly good starting points, but quite simply are not enough to convey strong emotion or dramatic weight, and their one-size-fits all nature doesn’t work very well in the unlimited storytelling nuances.
The third prototype will be what serves potential studio partners the most: a script/outline. This is by far the most important piece of the puzzle, as often times studios will have their own methods and ideas of how to develop a series and would actually prefer the story over an actual pilot. As I’ve mentioned in the past, providing a solid foundation for any production by way of a phenomenal story is key to ensuring that all production work is a. communicated through a central idea and b. worthwhile in the first place. In the beginning stages of my work on Resistor, my previous idea for my thesis that I am now adapting for television, having that strong story and getting plenty of positive feedback from peers and mentors was the highest affirmation to keep going with it. Once I had a powerful idea, and the support of those around me, I could go forward with confidence. Just the same, when beginning to search for aesthetics and styles in look development, I could say whether or not this cyberpunk apartment environment works better and how much better for the potential cost over another. Below I’ve provided an example of all the environment assets (and obsessive organization) involved in production of Resistor.
As one can imagine, that financial investment was pretty substantial, but having that foundation of a strong story that also meant a lot to me personally gave me the confidence to make that investment knowing it was worthy of it. And that’s the overall point here: if someone is looking at whether or not an investment in your series/movie/game/whatever will be worth it, they’ll look first at the story, and move forward only if they see that potential. Another point, because the story worked so well before, even after adapting it, I know that that investment wasn’t lost and there’s still a lot going for this idea. Therefore, the story will clearly be the most vital part of this thesis project. To quote my highest inspiration for filmmaking, George Lucas, “we don’t use the story to use the tools, we use the tools to tell the story.” I can personally attest to this from experience working on my very first animated short, A Hero’s Journey, that despite never animating before in my life, having that emotional impact on the audience carried the film forward regardless (p.s. the one and only Carson Talty wrote it with me.)
I’ve talked in length before about all that went into Resistor to this point in time, and am probably still leaving out 50% of it, but in answering how I came to the knowledge of where and how to prototype this project, I would refer anyone to my past experiences. Now having produced 4 animated short films with 6 or 7 on the way before this thesis will be completed, and pouring an entire summer into understanding and prototyping all of these procedures on my own dime to be able to create a feature film without any other crew members and one other actor, I can without any doubt say I understand exactly how to make this series and do it right. The biggest what-if is how good will this story be, and I will ensure its worth the work at all before I ever open Unreal.