SWEET TOOTH Concept Art

SWEET TOOTH

It has been a while since I've updated this blog. Luckily, there is a good reason for it ( at least I think it's a good reason..). I've been extremely busy the last 6 months making my 3rd year film, SWEET TOOTH.

The start of 3rd year at Uni was like an unstable, dramatic roller coaster ride..
The end of 2nd year, us in pre-production was preparing ourselves for pitching our film ideas for 3rd year. After only a week back after summer, the day had come. I was pitching my idea Sweet Tooth, this idea I had developed through pre-production of a comical horror about a bakery were all the cake would come alive and eat all the humans, as a little bizarre, but funny short film.

The pitch it selves went pretty fine, I went into make-jokes-be-funny-nervous mode, instead of choke-on-your-words-and-forget-everything mode. The worst part of the pitch was definitely the waiting. The crucial countdown. Then, everything seems to be over, and you can relax.. until..

They turn you down. My project was not chosen, and this was a big disappointment, of course. Making my own film in my 3rd year at Uni had been my goal since I started, and through pre-production second year, it all seemed like my project was a go. Apparently not. I know this is how its going to be after uni, rejections and dreams crushed, but then the only thing is to try again, a new idea, a different project, something. I quickly tried to make a new plan for my final year, to make the best out of it and focus on what I want to improve, witch is storyboarding. So for a couple of weeks I was helping fellow students out with their own storyboards.

THEN, the tutors had a change of heart and gave Sweet Tooth the thumbs up after all. Now, all I have to do is to prove within 10 months that Sweet Tooth is an awesome idea and will be an awesome short film, maybe (hopefully) win some awards here and there. Again, hopefully.

So, let all hell break loose and let it be cake!
(more about the film will continue..)
   

Character Design Development Result

Here is the result of the Purity West and Arabella West for West Country.

Character Design Development

I started quite slow with this project, and in the first feedback round from James Henry, he said that Runepaw had enough contributions. I've only made a couple of few sketches of a viking mouse. So now I've gone for another idea instead, West Country. 

West Country is about a girl and her brother who moves with their mother, she's an author, to a village in Cornwall, Westmouth. The siblings go on adventures and meets ghost’s of past relatives who helps them on their task to find the sunken city. The TV show is aimed to be funny/spooky made in CGI/puppetry. What caught my eye with this idea was the “spooky” and puppetry, and I was inspired my Tim Burton and his animations. Looking at his films like Paranorman, Frankenweenie, Coraline, and even Corpse Bride and a Nightmare before Christmas, I want to make a spooky design that is still funny and friendly. 

A couple of the sketches of the viking mouse. 

 

..and again, some new moodboards! 

This for two of the ghosts Purity West: Puritan Witchhunter (accidentally burned), Arabella West: Victorian Werewolf Biologist (eaten). (From James Henry’s script ideas).

Purity West

Arabella West

New Animatic RJ Working

After showing our first animatic to our class, we had to make some changes. A lot of them. We've decided to just cut the whole idea of Lady Justice, it got too complicated with symbolism and metaphors.

The old idea could have been read as the victim and offender are on the same level, and that Restorative Justice would make them "equal", which is not the case. These meetings are suppose to help each side to better understand.
This new animatic shows that each of the victim and offender has their own scale with individual feelings that needs to be heard, to make their own life more in balance.

 

RJ First Animatic

Here is the first animatic for the Restorative Project.

Our original idea was to have Lady Justice holding the scales with the victim and offender falling down on the scales, then word representing all the burdens they bear on their shoulders would fall down on top of them as  they struggle to carry it.
We were struggling so much to make this idea to work with Lady Justice, and ended up just cutting her out, but keeping the scales and keep going with the idea of people in unbalanced in their lives.

RJ Working

Restorative Justice (RJ Working) is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that helps people who have been in a crime or a conflict to meet at a meeting to talk through the episode and hopefully gain a fully understanding of each others perspective on the situation.

We are this semester going to make films that informs about RJ Working. 

Our group want to make a very informative and neutral graphic film that doesn't take a side in a crime, but try to keep the offender and victim in a situation on the "same level". Therefor, we came up with the idea to of showing how each part feel and how RJ can help people to express and get stuff of their chests. 

We want to make something graphic and simple in style, and keep the offender and victim is  silhouettes  to keep them anonymous. We looked at graphite artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey, and use the colours taken form the RJ Working website; blue, purple and black