Thesis Update #2

“Today” is a 2D animated short film about a mayfly named Buddy and a bird named Enzo trying to reach New York City before Buddy’s time is up.

By the end of this semester, I was hoping to have a final script completed, my character designs for Buddy the Mayfly and Enzo the bird, and backgrounds. Unfortunately, I was not able to get as far as I hoped to be. Currently, I am still working on the script and I’m finding it extremely difficult. Storytelling is very very complicated. I have a general idea of how the story is going to play out, but actually writing dialogue and making sure that I communicate what is happening in a clear and effective way through their conversations is something that I find challenging. I do not want lines like “I only have 24 hours to live” because I think subtlety is important. Even deciding how the story is going to start out took more time than I thought it would. I had to go through multiple revisions for me to be satisfied with the beginning. I decided that the story will be told from the perspective of Enzo the bird. The animation will begin with an older version of Enzo reminiscing that particular day. The message that I ultimately want to convey is that our time is limited, so spend your life doing things that actually fulfill you. Conveying this message well is another challenge that I’m expecting to encounter.

Here is concept art I drew for “Today”.

• 

Within the next week, I intend on having a finalized script. I would really like to have some storyboarding done and perhaps more concept art that I can show at AIMM After Dark.

Here is my timeline for the rest of the year and for spring semester:

December 3-5: Final Script

December 6-10: Storyboard & Concept Art

December 13-31: Storyboard, Character Designs, Backgrounds

January: Voice Acting, Animatic, Animation for Pocono Scenes

February: Animation for Pocono Scenes & Journey Scenes

March: Animation for City Scenes

April: Effects & Score