Week 17:

This week was sound editing because we’re recording the scream today (28/01/2025). We’re also recording some reference footage today while in the VP room.

We filmed a few reference videos for shots in scene 2 as that was the scene I was working on.

The test shot was coloured as well! I included Will’s backgrounds as he’s now finished the majority of them.

I proceeded to comp it.

I referenced two videos in particular for the comp.

Manu Mercurial’s video is a great resource because he breaks down the basics of After Effects while also showing the practical use of what he’s explaining. I was constantly referring back to certain parts of the video to figure out something I wanted to do. His explanation of track mattes and masks was particularly useful.

The second video is a bit shorter and not as in-depth but still takes the viewer through the process of comping a shot, which I found really helpful. He explained precomps in a way I understood and made it really simple for me to add lighting. I found his video easy to follow and was relevant to the style of comp I was going for.

I’ve continued animating scene 2, but me and Will have decided to change one of the shots.

Shot 5 is Valerie stumbling to the bathroom. My issue with this shot is that it would still require another follow up shot to establish the bathroom and seemed needlessly complicated for what we need. I started animating it and made the progress above before rethinking the shot.

This shot establishes the bathroom far better and is a more effective way to set up the shot, it’s also a more interesting shot compositionally. I would like to make it longer but we’re working with this for now to see what feedback we get for it.

Week 18:

I finished the paintings!

Background paintings of Valerie’s.

This vanitas painting is inspired by 16th and 17th century paintings of the same genre. They’re paintings that closely resemble memento mori still lifes. Memento Mori means ‘remember that you must die’. This often represented through worldly possessions juxtaposed with a reminder of death like wilted flowers, skulls, etc.

‘Vanitas’, Adriaen van Utrecht (1642)

I really admire the atmosphere that’s instilled in these paintings. Softer lighting, a lot of nice contrast as well, it all gives the painting an atmosphere that’s hard to articulate. It’s isn’t exactly somber, but it isn’t happy either. The focus put on the skull with lighting is really effective at drawing the viewer’s eye around the canvas. The flowers are the biggest object, and they lead you to the skull.

Vanitas Still Life, Pieter Claesz (1625)

 

 

 

These paintings were slightly more generic as they’re just background paintings. I wanted to keep in mind the sort of artist the vampire is, and due to that I kept them dark with muted palettes and darker theming. If I had more time, I’d have liked to spend more time fleshing out the paintings and putting more though behind them.

I finished all rough animation for scene 2! I’ve started on scene 4.

I also finished the sound edit for the animatic.

I used sound from Pixabay. I didn’t have time to add every sound and the balancing is off, but it gives us a good idea of timing and gives me a framework to build upon for the final edit.

The other thing I finished were the model sheets.

I don’t think this model sheet is great, but there aren’t a lot of full body shots in the short film so I think these will be suitable. It has highlighted my need to practice solid drawing and turnarounds. Consistency is something I struggle with in art.