4/10/2024

This is the second to last blog post of the semester, and by extension, of BSG's production. We're in a mad dash to get done as much as we possibly can before the date of the thesis review. Though faith in the completion of this short is waning, we are resolved to at least close out with a bang. The teams are split as usual, each of us working on assets and animations in however much time we can find. For the most part, it's going smoothly, but with one exception...

A-035, the shot seen above, is a shot that I had taken upon myself to animate. The original size of the shot was around 120 frames, but in order to include some new animation not previously blocked, that number has grown threefold. It now involves slow and meticulous pacing, a frustrated scream, and an angry determined march, with fluid animation required throughout. Why do I do this to myself? Out of passion. Yet I believe it's biting me in the ass a little bit. I have spent the past week working on this shot alone, making sure the movements are precise and smooth through all the different phases of it. I'm still certain I can pull it off, but with reference to how long this shot is taking to make, it does not bode well for the other animations I need to make.

Overall though, we're making great strides. Props are being made, environments are being updated, and Josh is doing a great job taking the brunt of the simpler animations with much more consistency. Although, I have to admit that Kayla is not in her element working on this thesis project. She recently had a lot of trouble trying to model and texture one of the assets for this short, and a lot of what she puts out isn't meeting the standards we have set for BSG. It's frustrating, since I can tell from a mile away that she's invested in helping with production, but we mainly have her working on odd-jobs in and around the cracks of the larger work. She's currently assigned to blocking facial animation, and while she's struggling to work with the reference I recorded, she's doing a good job with that as far as I can tell. I just hope we don't run out of giving her things to do.