4/17/2024

My, how far we've come. This past week has been a struggle for the team for many reasons, but seeing the giant printed poster illustration I made standing in the hallway outside the elevators was an uplifting experience (even if I accidentally misspelled a couple last names)! The carpet is rolling out for our shorts. We have three weeks of school remaining - One Production Pass next week, the setup of the gallery showings, and today, the final required blog post.

And of course, right at the finish line, we take a major hit. Due to unforeseen issues, our Unreal Engine file for the Operating Room became corrupted and unusable, forcing us to cut the entire scene from the short. A big change at the worst time, but not entirely damning. Out of all the scenes that this happened to, the Operation Room was the most ready to be cut. In fact, the scene didn't even appear in the original storyboard for the project. However, it did come at the cost of some great gags, such as the Giant Ominous Machine(TM), the Squaritos bag, and the sorrowful loss of Pat-Pat. Dark times indeed. But, with some rearrangement of the scenes, the story still functions perfectly well, which is the most important part.

In terms of animation work, I'm happy to say that my previous conceptions about how long it would take were incorrect. I've been able to consistently animate one or two shots a day since the start of the week - including two of the tougher ones I was convinced would be a challenge. It was a much-needed relief, and seeing the movements come to life gives me the rejuvenation to keep working on this short.

Speaking of which, me, Logan, and other members of this short are vowing to return to the DAC after graduation in order to continue production! In the film's current state, there are many things that are lacking which we do not have the time to fix before the thesis review. We still intend to make something great for the deadline, but we are still passionate about the project and willing to make it the best film it can be. And potentially, when we do jump into the unofficial Production IV, I may continue these blog posts as well! I'm crap at keeping up-to-date with them, but it'll probably be a good learning experience for keeping up with networking and social media.

Overall though, I have thoroughly enjoyed this process and can't wait to continue it! This was an amazing opportunity to create something from the ground up, executing and developing a creative vision to make something bigger than ourselves. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this project helped me to understand why I love animation, both as an art-form and a profession. Moving forward with this short won't be an easy task, but it'll be one the team and I will take on with smiles on our faces. In the meantime, thanks for reading! See you soon