JUNIOR and senior PROJECT DEVELOPMENT FILES: SP16-SP17
junior review pitch
Photo of my Grandfather John, taken by I’m guessing my Great Grandfather Pah Kit in Hollister NC. 1961©
Above is the only photo I have of my Great Grandfather who passed away before I meet him. When I began this project I submitted it as my second assignment to George, who I was introduced to by John Hay during my Drawing for Animation class. I told him and the class of a story pitch that surrounded a story about my life; so the class could get to know me better and as an ice breaker amongst my peers. I wrote up the story and presented it. A year later I’ve taken that energy and crafted the opportunity to create a variant of what I’ve been working so hard to get done; but I’m getting to pitch the idea of a group animation project. GE has been a real friend/ambassador on my behalf to the Animation Department as a whole, as well as John and Valerie Mih. Both of whom listened when I would talk about my focus on facial animation, and taking advantage of the resources from other departments to create a hybrid of a film not only with different disciplines throughout the college, but with different mediums applied to animation. Even though this would be classified as experimental animation by the department, I hold firm that allied the final film would show promising results.
Original Artwork for Sunken Forest Idea. Created in Charleston SC. Watercolor 2016©.
First Draft of Story.
Senior Thesis Pitch for Short Film The Sunken Forest. The goal is to complete the short in six months based on the feedback given by the new story development team at Pixar University. I’m including the video below to showcase that what I am pitching to do through Rapid Prototype with our budget and the help from the Rapid Prototype LAB over on the SF Campus.
summer 16 research and development to build the class syllabus
fiction research
Last June,I developed a system in order to watch up to twelve movies at a time in order to spot continuity between staging and layout within shots called DREYFUSS. By looking at the directors body of work and the contributions of their cinematographer, I'm able to then mix and match genres in order to merge the overall narrative I'm working on at the time.
film analysis for inspiration
non-fiction research
McManigal, J. W., and Grant Heilman. Farm town: a memoir of the 1930s. Stephen Greene Press, 1974.
conceptual art
Concept Artwork for Sunken Forest. Digital 2016 ©.
story reel boardS: THE SUNKEN FOREST
character designs
ZEDOK. Final.
BANGER. Final.
BO MIGHTY. Exploration 1.
The Sunken Forest Poster created after getting approved to continue my Senior thesis Pitch. So excited to bring this to the public. 2016.© By Mister Kennedy
summer 16 inaugural pixar@cca story intensive
The Pixar lecture of clarity: when everything clicked
I've been meaning to post this since the lecture in November, but decided to wait till now with Oscar talk buzzing around the animation department here at CCA. Last summer I was fortunate enough to meet many talented artists from Pixar during the summer months, that have helped focus my approach and knowledge on the ways or organizing and staging the pipeline for my senior thesis film The Sunken Forest.
The highlight in terms of putting it all together into a short film was when Andrew and Lou paid a visit to the campus. The filmmakers discussed how their relationship grew, their workflow strategies, the creative process, and the benefits of being able to make a film with co-worker and use of the facilities Pixar Animation Studios. Hopefully my request that they should consider teaching at the college won't fall on deaf ears.
cca nahl hall fa16©
fa16 pre-production
syllabus fa16
The Sunken Forest Poster B. 2016.© By Mister Kennedy
research field trip: angel island san francisco bay fa16
fa16 crew members
live action reference for storyboarding
This was just a video workbook of sorts that I compiled during last semester to help the crew with the cinematic approach of the film. I also have begun to write the ending/introduction to the pitch version for the series, for Adult Swim called Nicodemus. Hopefully I can at least get the storyboarding done for this, even if it doesn't make the film. Over the summer I was also informed that the college has purchased ZBrush as an additional tool for the animation department. Looking forward to fitting training into the pipeline…
look of film animation test
Sandro Cleuzo Test for kubo
expression SHEET EXAMPLES
KUBO ART BY SANDRO CLEUZO
MAIN CHARACTERS AND FACIAL TURNAROUND:
This is what I shooting for for stylization but I’m unsure if it can be created using the Stratasys that we have on the SF campus. Art by Mister Kennedy.
visual development: the land trust
Cruz (taking the photo), Belofsky, Mosbe and Chipman
The creation of the Land Trust came about after a visit from the sF chapter of women in ANIMATION, consult with FacuLty in the department, and FROM observing my peers in classes during my first year at cca. seeing in them traits that went above and beyond the limitations of what was being assigned.
it reminded me of this interview that Steve Jobs gave to the BBC in 1995. it describes an approach that I strive to have in my life at all times.
color script
I gave Cruz this set of images and expressed that I liked the feel and tone of the art direction; she gave me an array of palettes to select from that following week. Studying and working alongside Cruz has been a privilege in plusing my sensibilities in design and color theory.
Images taken from Kanye West's Runaway.© 2015 Art Direction by Vanessa Beecroft. Production Design by Martin Krejzlik
Images taken from Solange's Cranes In the Sky and Don'y Touch My Hair. ©2016. Art and Creative Direction Solange Knowles and Carlota Guerrero. Director of Photography Arthur Jafa & Alan Ferguson
Recruitment poster. Out of the 28 students whose portfolios I examined and gave feedback during the three weeks before Thanksgiving, it was really tough to narrow it down to 14.
Last month Laika had a panel at the Pixologic ZBrush Summit for those who couldn’t attend including myself they were kind enough to post to Youtube.
UTILIZING COMMUNICATION
This past March, I had the opportunity to see Coraline in 3D along with the directors of the GLAS Animation Festival, as we as with Henry Selick. Truly a life altering moment in my life as a fan and as a student of stop-motion animation. For years, I've admired the talents of Mr. Selick for the way in which he has been able to create worlds of narrative engagement, both visually and narrative-ly.
This opportunity lead to talking about my schooling, what I’m interested in and George. “George Evelyn... he’s my neighbor!” Funny how small the animation community is when you really look at it. Fast forward four months and George brings to my attention that he’s pulled some strings to retain a second composer to help with an additional tonal feel for the short. Henry’s son, Harry was looking for some work and GE thought that trying another element of collaboration with the scoring would be interesting, and I agreed. So now we have two composers on the project, just as we have two of every position in the pipeline.
There's much more that I wish I could share from the lectures, and the personal conversation that I had with Selick, yet I'm working on putting things together in a more professional repository. A side note, the photos of Selick and I was during a " make me laugh first contest". As you can see I won.
when in doubt ask steve segal
Steve Segal has been an influence on my practice since meeting him here at CCA on a Saturday in the summer of 2015. I asked myself "what professor teaches on Saturday's and why?" The answer I discovered for myself was because he cares about animation and is a steward of the medium. At the request of GE, Segal sat in on the final day of our pre-production semester and gave notes on how the storyboards where reading, turns out this was the best thing to happen all semester. To cut to the chase "It was bad, confusing, not good..." Honesty is what Segal gave me, and I proceeded to figure out ways to take his notes and run them by other mentors.
I value Segal opinion because of the vast animation history that he continues to build and share with his students. He's passing the torch to the next generation and challenging the quality and entertainment value of what's being put forth. Always a friend.
GE and I were celebrating the fact that we completed the pre-production necessary to move forward next semester. A lot of things were against the process trust, folks doubts, and clarity on my behalf that would enable us to be as far ahead of the curve. However, GE was there along with John Hays giving encouraging words to keep on pushing, and I didn't sleep for at least a month adding up all the times during the semester. After all, this was the first time a student was given the opportunity to lead a class, and I wasn't going to half-ass the effort. Let's hope the next semester is as rewarding. I'm ready for a few weeks with my wife and children and the feeling that cold weather gives you around the holidays. Here I come Chapel Hill!
The Old Well on the campus of UNC.
Production sp17
Nicodemus research and development
So I began writing a treatment while visiting family in Chapel Hill, Charleston, and Nashville over winter break, to take this student film beyond the confines of the CCA. Much of the thought process was about how best to arrange the migration aspect into the storyline. How to get Merit's story started based on his involvement in the story so far. I worked out the storyboards and we've added them to the final TSF Animatic, in order to use it for pitching to Adult Swim. Here is a look into the process.
FILM ANALYSIS FOR INSPIRATION
LITERARY RESEARCH
penny dreadful: inside the train reference
prop design
Working on this extension of the story allows for some fun time away from the primary production of the short. I'm fortunate to working closely with great talent that pushes my thoughts and views on the direction in my mind. Sabine Belofsky has been the second acquisition to the team since bringing Cruz on board, and I've paired them up in hopes to sharpen each others skill set. Belofsky was able to visual design the great props you see above within a matter of days, after some back and forth with Cruz to round out the sharp edges. Since Winter Break I've been able to get Disney Legend Floyd Norman as a voice talent on the project which is a huge step and blessing of the project.
Looking forward to seeing this segment animated since it gives the film the suspenseful element that will leave the audience thinking.
script
Proportion of Negro to Total Population at the Twelfth Census 1900.
sound reference
music composition consultation
Dan Olmsted has taught me a lot about Sound for Animation over the past few months. The class gives students skills to create original sound design, dialogue, and music for their animated film projects.
Raised in Palo Alto, CA and educated at UC Santa Cruz and SF State University, Dan joined the staff of Berkeley's Saul Zaentz Film Center in 1987 and spent 15 years working there as a sound editor and re-recording mixer. The Zaentz company produced such well-known films as 'Amadeus' and 'The English Patient,' and also provided sound design for many other documentary and feature films.
For a list of his film credits, visit the Internet Movie Database at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0647465/.
Now working at Berkeley Sound Artists, Olmsted continues to design and mix sound for a wide variety of films. Dan has helped me entirely down my approach to sound design, as well as how to take notes on composition correctly.
Ben came to mind as soon as I found the soundscape I thought this film should have. We worked back and forth on the sound design for eight weeks via FaceTime, texts, and phone calls. His understanding of the 1980's feel I needed helped to motivate the crew while the worked and listened. Even though I decided only to use his score as a template while revising the animatic, I feel that his contributions to the show allowed us to forge a working relationship that will continue on the next project. Please check out his website and amazing IG page. Ben's ten-track score will be a bonus to all who pledge $300 or more.
music composer
After the third animatic was complete with revisions, Harry came onto the project to expand the soundscape, to flourish out period elements that would best suit the tone of the show. I was looking for something straight lined and little ornamentation; then what is currently in the trend, and Selick delivered. All this was possible thanks in part to the Sunday Morning Walking Mom's Club and GE.
sp17 crew members
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
RICK VERTOLLI ALWAYS THERE TO GIVE PERSPECTIVE. SP2017©
Andrew Lyndon given me the ROZ "Always Watching"glance in A2. SP2017©
black friday
Everyone talks about that day when things take a turn towards the worst. Three weeks into production, we were still trying to get the storyboards to read, I take responsibility for that being the writer and director. I had been given some excellent notes from people I had shown the rough animatic to, after reviewing what Segal had told me after the wrap of pre-production "It's not good." So I was in the process of retreating and editing down the scope of the story, on top of dealing with an eye infection that had come out of the blue. The events that took place on the tenth of February almost halted production, yet lessons were learned during pre-production and words of wisdom from Jobs, Lasseter and Catmul fostered in new creative thinking, keeping the crisis small. Luck favors the prepared and working in pairs.
animatic versions
Well this had to be the most time consume, challenging but vital part of the process. Thank the heavens that I had the talented editor Tagawa to work with during the process of working, reworking, reworking, reworking, and working.
facial Animation test for short film
ANIMATEd shots for short film
Final Student Version
I want to thank everyone who tirelessly worked on this project over the course of two semesters. Without your help none of this would have been possible. I will continue to carry the spirit of this film with as I move forward with my professional career and look forward to meeting with everyone in the future to talk about the wild ride that was taken, in an effort to expand the scope of what can be created here at CCA Oakland’s Animation Department; if we continue to push for innovation.
Sincerely- Mister Kennedy
P.S.: I still think the finally would have worked using stop motion and access to the 3D Printing Lab.
