Reflective Report - Moving Pictures

First idea too complicated and would be difficult to animate. Was going to have camera zooming in through house window, through house and out through back window to reveal motel. Same camera movement continues but through motel window to show dead tree with Cormac’s name spelt out in the tree branches. Would have needed to patch up/reprint house and motel prints to fit the dimension requirements of the animation and to print the assets to make up the inside of house and motel. Seemed to ambitious and unnecessarily complicated for the time and skills available. 

Struggled thinking up more ideas as it is not my usual way of working. Translating flat imagery and illustration work into moving images proved very difficult. It is not just about making illustrations move but making an effective and relevant animation, no matter how simple. 

Had idea of panning camera across the landscape instead, by stitching together my prints digitally and panning in after effects. Joining the prints was near impossible to do seamlessly, with the noise of the analogue printing outcomes and the different sizes of the elements of each print that were supposed to become one, for example the bushes. Decided that redrawing and cutting a new print would be the solution, just on a smaller, simplified scale. This way I can ensure dimensions and space is adequate for panning movement.

Narratively originally wanted to include a gunshot sound in synch with a flash in the window of the house to depict a scene in one of McCarthy’s books before the start of the pan. However this was proving difficult to achieve effectively with difficulties in after effects and knowledge of the software. In the end it didn’t need it, with the audio sound track fitting perfectly with the pan allowing no space for a gunshot to start. The moon’s movement shows a passing of time as well as emphasising the sinister atmosphere, with the colour red. 

Final outcome may be too simple or unimaginative. It was very quick and easy to execute and it has ended up not telling much of a narrative, but more of a feeling. If the brief was just to make out prints move then it achieves that, but for me I would have been happier if it had more substance and energy to it. 

Cormac McCarthy Sting from EhrenBarnard on Vimeo.