10.21.2011

:: Nietzsche's Motto ::

Yesterday, I gave my Thesis presentation and the discussion about Edward [Lumi's Father] came into question.  Is he trying to be protective, while being annoyed at the same time?  Yes.  Is he trying to be the "bad cop" to be the "good father?"  Yes.  His methods are rough and unrefined, and this results in a tragic choice of killing off one of the two good characters in the end.  Lumi or the Wolf?

Edward is very in-tune with who he is.  German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is NOT one of my favorites, but I do read what he has to say, because some of it I agree with.  He believed that people who are willing to stand against the grain follow their "inner law," thus, as Pindar used to say, "Become what you are."

Edward is a father:  He becomes this in a very extreme way; there is no stopping him.  He is also a hunter; his instincts come first, before reason.  I put him in the position of a murderer from the beginning,  but making it subtle, until the very end.  His intention of killing is about survival; he kills to eat, and he kills to not be eaten.  I'm probably putting too much thought into the characters, but hopefully at least some of this complexity comes out in the film.  :]

10.19.2011

:: Way Down East ::

A spontaneous divine intervention happened today--the day before my 3rd year Thesis Presentation...  I got editing help!  Thanks to Joanna Leitch, I am one step closer to having a film that makes more sense.  She also gave me the 1920 silent film Way Down East [D.W. Griffith] as reference for the snow scenes in ACT II of my film.


10.18.2011

:: L’heure entre chien et loup ::


"The hour between dog and wolf, or the time between dog and wolf. I'm told it's a common expression in French, referring to the hour between the end of the afternoon and the beginning of the evening. More simply, the twilight hour.  

The hour when the dog and wolf are indistinguishable. The text implies that symbolically, good and evil (dog and wolf) are lost in the gloom of twilight."




At twilight the world burns red.
There, a shadow creeps down the hill.
Is it a friendly dog? Or a vicious wolf?
This is the hour when I can't tell...
L'heure entre chien et loup.

Translation © 2008 D. Bannon.


Jean Genet's Prisoner of Love




"...the expression entre chien et loup [literally, between dog and wolf, that is, dusk, when the two can't be distinguished from each other] suggests a lot of other things besides the time of day. The colour grey, for instance, and the hour when night approaches as inexorably as sleep, whether daily or eternal. The hour when street lamps are lit in the city, and which children try to drag out so that they can go on playing, though their eyes, suddenly active, are closing in spite of themselves. The hour in which - and it's a space rather than a time - every being becomes his own shadow, and thus something other than himself. The hour of metamorphoses, when people half hope, half fear that a dog will become a wolf. The hour that comes down to us from at least as far back as the early Middle Ages, when country people believed that transformation might happen at any moment." (p. 254)

Referenced Site

10.16.2011

:: Visual Artist Looks ::

Over the past week, I had a really hard time with my film and the look of winter.  There were three illustrators that I thought would be good to look at for ACT II of my film.  I chose the scene of LUMI trying to cautiously feed the Wolf.

This first still is in the style of Seth Fitts:


These second stills are in the style of Junyi Wu:



This last still is in the style of Tom Keating:


This was the first time I copied the look exactly of a specific artist, and although it's a good exercise to expand one's styles, I don't know if I will be doing this again any time soon.  Thank you for the inspiration, though, illustrators.

10.14.2011

:: Stills and Composition ::

The snow and ice in the first 30 seconds or so is something to look at for a possible feel of my film.  The rest of Amasia turns from peaceful, to chaotic, which is a direction I'm NOT ruling out from my film as well.


10.12.2011

:: Kiki Smith ::

My thesis instructor told me to look at Kiki Smith's work because she does women and wolves a lot.  I really need to educate myself on artists out there.











8.19.2011

:: D0CUM3N74R135 ::

After watching a few documentaries on Youtube and Netflix, I understand wolves a lot better on a natural living level.  The following are the links to the websites of the documentaries:

Living With Wolves
BBC Wolf Battlefield
National Geographic A Man Among Wolves
Montana PBS Wolves in Paradise

7.27.2011

:: Slow Summer ::

This has been the slowest summer I've had yet, creatively.  I've travelled and had new exciting experiences, so my input has been quenched; but my output has been disappointing.  I've been watching new things from movies, to tv shows [online since I don't have television], to cartoons, to live dance and music, and animations on Vimeo.

These following animations resonates with my thesis, even though style, story, and meaning are all different:




2.22.2011

:: 4CT i :: BG5 ::

These are my first pass at the backgrounds for the whole of ACT I.  I've changed a few things to mold everything together better, but these are close to the final versions.  Animating LUMI in ACT IPart I currently.  These backgrounds were done on February 4, 6, and 11.  Yay~


















2.15.2011

:: B4MB1 R3W47CH ::

It's been about 12 years since I remember last seeing this movie, and all I remembered was the baby part where everything was about discovery.  Only when I went to Ralph Eggleston's talk here at CalArts last Friday was I able to see the genius of the Disney movie from 1942.  Too bad I already did most of the backgrounds for ACT I of my film...  I'll be posting those next!

These are some Bambi backgrounds from http://animationbackgrounds.blogspot.com/




2.02.2011

:: P0W3R 0F 7HR33 ::


Jessica  A.M. Chen
February 2o11

Healing of Snow
∆  THE POWER OF THREE  ∆

ANIMATION: Outline, Color, Background
SOUND:  Nature, Humans, Wolves
ACT I, II, III: Part I, II, III

ACT I:  PART I:  SETUP
                     Enter forest, establish human characters, kill missed

PART II:  CONFLICT
Grass rustle, pull back, fork in forest

PART III:  CHASE
Bunny chase, fall, lost

TRANSITION:  SEASON CHANGE

ACT II: PART I:  LOST
                     Winter comes, father calls, snow fall

PART II:  WOLVES
Wolves attack, wolf den, surprise

PART III:  DEN
Rat kill, berries present, don’t touch me

TRANSITION:  FADE TO BLACK

ACT III: PART I:  AWAKEN
                     Wake up, snow play, fun and games

PART II:  FOUND
Father hears laughter, runs over, watches

PART III:  ENDING
Lumi falls for third time, father shoots, death

TRANSTION:  BLOOD FLOW ON SNOW

CREDITS:  Story and Animation by:  Jessica "JAC" Chen
                 Thesis Instructors:  Laura Heit, Maureen Selwood
                 Sound Mixers:  Raffaello Mazza
                 EA Faculty:  Hillary Kapan, Soyeon Kim, Paul Vester, Emery Martin, Gordon Kurowski
                 Character Faculty:  Dan Hansen, Jim Hull, Robert Lence, Lisa Keene, Matt Williames
                 SPECIAL THANKS:  AMDG, M, D, Fam, [R], D2 2O1O, Cold-Hearted Critiques, EA MFA 2O12

:: 2o11 PR0DUC710N 5CH3DUL3 ::

Jessica  A.M. Chen
THESIS CONCEPTS
Laura Heit
February 2o11

Healing of Snow
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE 2O11

JAN  PRE-PRODUCTION COMPLETED.

FEB    1 – 5:  BGS for ACT I, Part I
            6 – 12:  Animate Beginning and color
            13 – 19:  BGS for ACT I, Parts II and III
            20 – 28:  Animate rest of Part I / Setup

MAR     1 – 5:  Tweak BGS to final for ACT I
                 6 – 12:  Get feedback for BGS, edit
                 13 – 19:  Animate Part II / Conflict
                 20 – 26:  Keep animating / catch up on BGS [if needed]
                 27 – 31:  Collect sound for ACT I/ Continue animating


APR      1 – 9:  Mock sound on Parts I and II, cut everything together
                 10 – 16:  Present for feedback, edit
                 17 – 23:  Start animation on Part III / Lost
                 24 – 30:  Color from beginning all ready scenes

MAY     1 – 7:  Continue coloring and shading
                 8 – 14:  Finish coloring, start effects
                 15 – 21:  Check lighting, leaves falling, snow flurries
                 22 – 28:  Implement mock sound for Part III
                 29 – 31:  REST / Collect sound for ACT II

JUN    1 – 4:  Start BGS for ACT II, Part I / Season Change
               5 – 11:  Snow loops and wind, start animation for Part I
               12 – 18:  Start BGS for ACT II, Part II / Wolves
19 – 25:  Animate Part II - a / Attack
26 – 30:  Continue / Catch Up

JUL    1 – 6:  Incorporate mock sound for ACT II, Part I and II – a
               7 – 13:  Animate Part II – b / Surprise
              14 – 24:  BLACK OUT DATES / ALASKA / Color??
              25 – 30:  Start BGS for ACT IIPart III / Den

AUG     1 – 6:  Start ACT II, Part III animation
                 7 – 13:  Continue Animation
                 14 – 20:  Cut ACT II together, edit
                 21 – 27:  Add mock sound, start effects
28 – 31:  Color basic / shade?

SEP   1 – 3:  Continue color / shade
                 4 – 10:  Rest / Catch Up
                 11 – 17:  Start BGS for ACT III, Part I / Awaken
                 18 – 24:  Finish BGS, get feedback for ACT I, II, and new BGS
                 25 – 30:  Edit any BGS, start animation on ACT III, Part I

OCT    1 – 8:  Continue animation
            9 -15:  Get Feedback, edit
            16 – 22:  Color in Part I, add mock sound
            23 – 31:  Add effects and lighting, check other ACTS

NOV    1 – 5:  Start BGS for ACT III, Part II / Found
             6 – 12:  Finish BGS, start animating Father
                 13 – 19:  Animate
                 20 – 26:  Color, sound check
                 27 – 30:  Feedback, edit, effects

DEC     1 – 3:  Edit, color, effects
                 4 – 10:  Animate ACT III, Part III / Ending
                 11 – 17:  Animate, feedback, edit
                 18 – 24:  Edit, color, effects
                 25 – 31:  Add mock sound, Record Katie?  Catch up, PICTURE LOCK


--------------------------------------------*--------------------------------------------


Healing of Snow
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE 2O12

JAN  Natural sounds, talk about layers and DOLBY
FEB  Father actor record, human sound layers
MAR  Tweak sounds, FINISH MIX
APR  Edit final animation, if needed, or sound…
MAY  GRADUATION

1.31.2011

:: Qu073 0n F41RY 74L35 ::

"Everyone likes a fairy tale story because everyone wants things to come out right in the end.  And even though to tell a story is to tell some kind of untruth, one often suspects that what seems to be untruth is really a hidden truth."

-Ralph Harper:  The Sleeping Beauty

1.30.2011

:: F1N4L P0P UP ::

These are the designs that I made from the original painting I did last month, and the Final pop-up scene!  Total time [including designing]:  3 full days.

Finished Product:



Templates:



Process: