Video & Sound Production Final Project

Rhyanne Cyrene Lowe
0347077
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media

Video & Sound Production Final Project

LECTURES

Week 1: For the first week of class, Mr. Martin briefed us on the module. He introduced himself and made us familiar with the projects we will be having throughout this semester. After that, we were shown project samples from our seniors to get a better idea of what we'd be doing. 

INSTRUCTIONS

STOP MOTION FILM STUDY

We were asked to study 3 stop motion short films and share our thoughts on them as we are to create our very own for our final project. I am a huge fan of LAIKA, which is a stop motion film studio as well as Wes Anderson, a filmmaker who has done a couple of stop motion films. I will be listing some of their films below.

1. Kubo and The Two Strings (LAIKA)

fig 1.0 Kubo and The Two Strings film still (LAIKA)

Kubo and The Two Strings is a stop motion animation film about a young Japanese origami storyteller, Kubo who is gifted with powers to bring his origami figures to life as he plays his three-stringed lute. In this film, he embarks on a dangerous journey to avenge his dead father and save his mother, while being accompanied by a monkey and a beetle.

Laika Studios has done many great films before such as the well-known and loved Coraline and Corpse Bride, but Kubo and The Two Strings is a personal favourite of mine to this day. This film delivers both musical and visual skills. The creative lighting in this film is important as it tells more of the story and compliments each scene so well.

fig 1.1  Kubo and The Two Strings concept art (LAIKA)

fig 1.2 Kubo and The Two Strings characters (LAIKA)

The diligent research gone into the Japanese cultural design of the characters and their environment is proudly shown in its final work. The costume and set design in this film were detailed and executed beautifully. It was also refreshing to see such intricate and beautiful Asian character/environment design in a highly acclaimed stop motion animation film. 

fig 1.3 Kubo and The Two Strings film still (LAIKA)

2. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)

fig 2.0 Isle of Dogs film still (Wes Anderson)

Isle of Dogs is one of my favourite stop motion animation films of all time. This film is set in Megasaki City, where the powerful, pro-feline Mayor Kobayashi ordered all dogs - domestic or not - to be deported to Trash Island to stop the further epidemic spread of "dog flu". However, Atari, the mayor's rebellious nephew, went back to the wasteland of Trash island 6 months later to look for his dog, Spots. From there, he gains help from a couple of dogs on the island.

If having Wes Anderson directing wasn't enough to sell it to me, this film is about dogs !!! As a dog lover myself, I found this film to be incredibly heartwarming and touching and I recommend it to every other dog lover as well. Even if you're a cat person yourself, the beautiful visuals of this film would be enough to draw you in. 3 Mills Studio and their artists did a wonderful job at the character and set design in this film. 

fig 2.1 Isle of Dogs film still (Wes Anderson)

My favorite thing part of this whole film is its color grading. With Wes Anderson and his art direction, other than his central focus and grid usage in film making, his attention to colour in his films is also one of the most distinctive aspects, he delivered the emotion and feeling of the story beautifully through the warm tones throughout this film. 

fig 2.2 Isle of Dogs film still (Wes Anderson)

Another thing I was impressed about was the creative use of materials used in set design. The water in the shot below was made using cling wrap/ plastic wrap! 

fig 2.3 Isle of Dogs film still (Wes Anderson)

3. Lost & Found (Wabi Sabi Studios)

This silent stop-motion animation short film stood out with the use of an unconventional material: yarn. Even though there are no dialogues in this short, the heavy emotions portrayed and felt by the 2 characters were carried through and beyond the screen to many who were watching. Do watch it before you read the next part so that I don't spoil it for you. 

fig 3.0 Lost & Found film still (Wabi Sabi Studios)

The story is very touching and it's very impressive how the feelings of worriedness, panic, and sadness did not need to be conveyed through words for me to sympathize with it but rather with sound and music. The use of unravelling yarn to portray as a symbol of self-sacrifice was heart-aching to me but I was also in awe of how creative it was and it executed so well. I found that the sound and music design in this short was enough for me to feel all the shared emotions the characters had, all in the span of fewer than 8 minutes! 

In other words, yes I cried to this. 

FINAL PROJECT

TITLE: Ocean At Your Door

STOP MOTION TYPE: Object Motion

THEME (SOCIAL ISSUE): Climate Change - Global Warming - Sea Level Rise

SYNOPSIS: A man finds the ocean visiting his house and eventually drowning him.

Plot Segmentation

• A man sits in his living room watching tv
• He slowly falls asleep as the tv plays in the background
• Water starts leaks through under his door 
• He wakes up from the water touching his feet 
• He panics
• The water slowly fills his house
• He drowns

Shot List

<LIVING ROOM>
SCENE 1
Sc1 Sht1	CU- TV is playing (mumbling and static noises) TV plays news-anchor mumbling
Sc1 Sht2	WS- Man in dozing off on his sofa TV light flashes on him
Sc1 Sht3	CU- Man’s head drops and he sleeps
SCENE 2
Sc2 Sht1	CU- Water slowly leaks from under his door
Sc2 Sht2	MS- Man is shown sleeping and snoring as TV in the background still plays
Sc2 Sht3	CU- Water leaks through more and fills to his feet
SCENE 3
Sc3 Sht 1	MLS- Man wakes up in shock to his floor is covered in water He pulls his legs up onto the sofa He turns his head to find where the water is coming from  He looks at the door
Sc3Sht2	MS (side angle)- He reaches for the doorknob
Sc3 Sht3	ECU- Shows news anchor speaking again on the TV
Sc3 Sht4	CU- He opens the door Water is rushed in and pushes him down
SCENE 4
Sc4 Sht1	WS- He is tossed around in the water  (full room box)
Sc4 Sht2	CU- He tries to come up for air but gets pulled down
Sc3 Sht2	MCU- TV shows the news is about sea-level rise - National emergency Water rises to about half the TV until it shuts off
Sc3 Sht5	WS- The entire room is filled with water and the man drowns in it
Sc3 Sht 6	The camera zooms in and the PSA shows on screen
<END CREDITS>

Stop Motion Slides

FINAL VIDEO

FEEDBACK

Week 10: Mr Martin suggested i change the scene order in which i show the cause of the effect (the flood) at the end of the film instead of at the beginning.

Week 11: Mr Martin said to draw more focus on the news broadcast as it'sthe main message. Other than that, the set design and shot progressions look good.

REFLECTION

Week 1: After hearing the brief for this project I was incredibly excited because if I weren't to be a graphic designer, I would be learning sculpture and concept art design to work for LAIKA Studios which has been my dream since I watched Coraline when I was a kid. With that being said, I do feel nervous because I lack the experience, resources, and materials to create something remotely close to a LAIKA production so I hope I don't get my hope too high up and focus on learning and having fun through the creative process while doing it.

Week 10: I got to prepare for filming this week and it was nerve-wracking because I don't want to have high expectations of my outcome on this in case I don't meet it. 

Week 11: Writing the story and drawing the story board was tough because i got stuck with how the delivery of the message of the film but with Mr. Martin's advise he guided me through the process and suggested what would fit best for the film.

Week 12: The process for this assignment took a long time because of the prop designs needed to be done but it was fun nonetheless and i enjoy being hands on and crafting things

Week 13: Filming took a lot of patience and steady hands. Stop motion is not an easy thing to do and it's very hard to achieve a professional outcome without the right equipment. Nonetheless, it was still a educational experience and im glad i got to challenge myself in this field.

Week 14: Editing had a lot of ups and downs and trial and error especially figuring out how to use certain clips and how to crop them in a scene. Although i could've spent more time on the film, i am still happy with how the film came out. I'll definitely consider going into this creative field in the future to expand my knowledge. It was nice to have such a supporting lecturer that gave guides and advises whenever needed.

FURTHER READINGS

Behind The Scenes of Laika Animation Studios

Behind the scenes of Kubo and the Two Strings

ISLE OF DOGS | Making of: Animators | FOX Searchlight

The making of 'Isle of Dogs'

Inside the Models in Isle of Dogs - Behind the Scenes of Wes Anderson's Film

ISLE OF DOGS | "Making of: Weather & Elements" Featurette (2018)

ISLE OF DOGS | Making a World: Megasaki City & Trash Island | FOX Searchlight