Production Hiccoughs

It looks like I won't be able to order eyes from that Gumdrops site because they're not answering my emails. There are other sites with similar products but they're not as nice. However, I have to make due so I will probably purchase from one of them or just make my own eyes. (I have everything I would need to do it, I just have never done it before).

LINK 1 (Mystic)

LINK 2 (Ever Purple)

LINK 3 (Enchanted)

LINK 4 (SOOM)

(There are others but I already weeded them out.)

I'm also having trouble getting caught up in my classes so that I can meet with everyone and get done what I need to get done. For instance, I've been trying to meet with my costumer but I don't even know if my sewing machine can be fixed. (I may have dropped a couple hundred bucks on a useless machine).

I'm having trouble choosing a natural wood for props. Here's the site I want to buy from LINK.

That last one's not so bad. Also, my boyfriend cut some of the wood for my shooting stage. I think the legs need to be cut again because the height seems a bit ridiculous at 4', but that's why I wanted 8'- 4"x6" pieces. Now I can cut it down to what I want it to be (a height that is both easy to get under for working with Tie-Downs as well as easy to reach across for animating). Anyway, I'm excited about this one!

Photos soon!

My Home Shooting Stage

As I mentioned before, I will be shooting at home on a homemade stage. It's 4'x8', WOO!

Here's what it cost:

* 4'x8' sheet of plywood (3/4") - $29.77 (Home Depot)
* 2"x4"-96" - 5 pieces @ $2.36 ($11.80) (Home Depot)
* Box of 50 Wood Screws - $9.87 (Home Depot)
* Tape Measure - $4.86 (Ours went missing, like everything else...ever) (Home Depot)
* Rope - $11.24 (To tie the sheet of plywood to the roof rack on my van) (Home Depot)
* 4"x6"-8' - 2 pieces @ $11.97 ($23.94) (I wanted 4"x4" but all of Home Depot's selection was wet and gross. Also, with as large as my set is going to be, I can use the extra stability).

Info Concerning Shooting Off-Campus

Here are some notes for SCAD kids about shooting off-campus:

1) Stop Mo kits can't be taken off-campus because they belong to each of the shooting stages on the 3rd floor in Monty.

2) Another camera can be reserved with approval from both your Senior I professor as well as Professor Hal Miles (Stop Mo Guru and Special FX Mastah). Oh yes, and even with these signatures, the camera can only be taken out in 10 hour blocks. (Even the Stop Mo kits can be out for 24 hrs. ... as I remember.)

3) Lights can be taken out but require a signature from your Senior I professor EVERY time they are taken from the cages. (I am not sure how long they can be out for at a time).

4) If shooting with Stop Mo Pro (which I believe I will be, once I purchase the program), a digital SLR camera (still camera) is best. (The images will have to be edited to your liking, but they will work for even HD.

5) Don't forget that you will need a tripod for the camera and some way of hanging lights.

Armature Stuff & New Materials

I have purchased some more items and made some more progress.

Below you will see suede for costuming, etc. ($2.29 @ Michaels), a black paint swatch for my sets (free @ WalMart, Ha. I will be purchasing a gallon of flat black, it will cost about $25), wood screws for assembling my set ($9.87 for a box of 50 @ Home Depot), a card for Mr. Smiley (who fixes sewing machines) (free @ Hancock Fabrics) and a wax cast of the original hoof (which actually worked this time...strange).

Below this set of text is the first run of the deer's armature. Jenna got this baby rocking and rolling and will be putting together the other girl tonight. We wanted to attach the hooves but found that one of them needs to be recast (the nut was too close to the surface of the top of the hoof; when we drilled into the resin, in order to insert the armature wire, the nut became visible). (Also, we're not sure about the leg length). The other thing we need to do is add facial wires and ear wires. The same goes for the girls...minus the whole ear thing.

I also purchased the wood to build my shooting stage. My set will be 4'x8'! Yowza! My boyfriend and I were going to saw and assemble it today but with the rain, decided against it.

There will be more to come.

Twisted Armature Wire & New Deer Hooves

Here's the twisted Armature Wire and the new Deer Hooves. They're even separated and labelled by what puppet each wire goes to. This was all Jenna except for the hooves, which I made, but Jenna clipped the excess Resin from around the bottoms. (They still need sanding however. Also, one may need to be re-cast as when the Resin was being clipped, the Nut inside became exposed.)

Random Materials, Prices & Progress

Here are some things I talked about that I've purchased.

10 reams of paper from Staples. (I think I included the price for this in an earlier post).

Paper cutter. It's got a travel handle, wee. I will say, however, that I'll most likely be needing a new blade within the next couple of reams... (Price in earlier post I believe. Purchased at Staples).

This is what 2 reams of paper looks like when you spend a billion hours cutting it.

I got this beautiful set from Home Depot, on sale for $22.00, down from $29.99 and apparently worth $120. (I bought this mostly for 2 bits: the 2nd from the left on the very top and the 5th from the left in the same row. I wanted something round to create eye sockets and I think these will work wonders).

Here's the Stiffen Stuff spray, Stiffy liquid, fake Blood, liquid Gold Leaf ($7.49 at Primary, $8.01 with tax), and Petroleum Jelly. (I forgot to mention this item earlier. The Machine Screws must be coated with a bit of Petroleum Jelly before used with Resin. When setting the Resin around the Machine Screw and Nut, the Petroleum Jelly will allow the Screw to be removed upon drying. If this is done, Tie-Downs can be screwed into place and removed at will. If you didn't use the Jelly, the Screw would most likely be set with the Resin, thus rendering your Tie-Downs useless). (The Jelly was purchased at WalMart for about $3.50).

Here we have: a Hole Punch with 3 bits that allow for 3 hole sizes. (I will use this to punch holes in some of my paper stacks so that they can be rigged with Armature Wire). (Purchased at Michaels for a depressing $24.99, but this won't be the first nor the last time I will be able to use this tool). Next we have a Putty Knife and Spot Putty. (These are to hide drilled Tie-Down holes in my set. I have never had to do this, but anticipate having to for this project). (These were purchased at Home Depot and WalMart. To be quite honest, I forget the price of the Putty, but I believe the Knife was $7.49). Then we have some Hemp to bind some of the stacks of paper. (This I purchased at Michaels for $4.99). Finally, I have some Circular Mirrors. (These I got to make the broken mirror for the evisceration scene.) (I purchased these in a pack, not seen here, from Michaels for $2.29).

*I actually had a coupon for 15% off of my entire order from Michaels so anything you see here, from Michaels, I have listed at it's normal price.

I ordered these 3 Rabbit Pelts off of eBay. They are being recycled. This is also the case with the other fur that will be used in the film. (It will be coming from my Great Great Aunt's old coat that we had in our hall closet for about 20 years). I will be using these for the fur of the deer. (Sorry for the quality of this photo).

Here's the 1st run of my armature. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be shortening the neck and I still need to add the hands, add facial feature wires, dremel out some eye sockets and then I can begin the foam build-up. (This was assembled by Jenna Wylie).

I have included this because it caught my eye in Michaels (not during the 15% off trip) and I was very inspired by the texture and color palette. I don't know if I will include it in my film, but I thought I'd share because inspiration comes from everywhere. :) (Oh yeah, and sorry for the blur here too.)

Fabrication Pushes On

I went to Michaels and Primary today to buy more supplies. I will photograph and itemize them soon.

Other than that, I ordered wigs from Monique Trading Corp. I decided to buy 3 wigs. 1 to spray or otherwise tack into place with "Stiffy" or "Stiffen Stuff" and 2 to rig with wires for the running scenes. (I'm almost tempted to take this photo into Photoshop and see if I can change the colors so I can see what this wig would look like in red.)

I'm on the course to order eyes and really want to order through Ethereal Angels. They carry versions of all of their eyes in standard (meaning with black pupil), albino (with muted pupil) and no pupil (which speaks for itself). To get 3 sets of eyes in the color "Rose Blush" but I want one standard for the main character, one albino for the white deer and one without pupils for the hunter.

This is the Standard "Rose Blush."

Below you will see examples of the albino and no pupil series but at the moment the website doesn't have photos of these in the "Rose Blush."

This is an albino eye in another color I liked, "Orange Brulee." (Sorry, I don't know how to add the accents over the "u" and 1st "e".)

And here is an example of a no pupil eye in the color "Nostalgia." (Like the last image, they didn't have an example of the eye I want, but this gives you an idea.)

These eyes take 8-12 weeks to be made and shipped, so I hope to order them tomorrow and though I won't have them for Senior I, I will have them for shooting. (This all pending my decision to order from this company). These eyes are intended for BJD so I may do another search with BJD as part of my keywords.

This Past Week

These aren't in order but they show the processes Jenna and I have been working through. i.e. Cutting paper to make stacks for the backgrounds and making the body blocks for the puppets.

Here's Jenna starting on the first ream of paper. (I finished up the job, I know I worked for 4 hours and she worked for quite some time herself).

Here was the first part of the ream. (Completed @ 4am).

Here's what I thought an entire ream looked like until...

...I remembered I had a bad of 1/2" x 1" pieces.

Here's Batman pouring silicone. This is actually the 2nd run after I figured out that my 1st hoof design wouldn't cast without having bubbles in the tips of the hooves. I ended up doing a 3rd and it finally worked.

Here's the 1st run with all of the blocks poured.

24 hours later I popped these out of the cups.

After pouring resin for some time this was the result. (This is before sanding and with the 1st run of botched hooves).

Here's Jenna sanding the feet.

And tonight she drilled into the blocks, twisted wire and assembled the first armature. We have decided to cut down the neck so I'm not going to show it yet, but it will be here soon. (That and images of the materials I forgot and prices of new materials).

Beyond this, I met with one of the people interested in helping on my film, 3 more people contacted me bringing my crew up to 12, I did the research needed to purchase wigs and went ahead and did that, I'm in the process of getting info on doll eyes, foam build-up will start soon, the fur is being sent (both ordered and my great aunt's old coat), an airbrush is being sent so that I can do some nice, soft detailing and I think that's it. It's been a lot so I may be forgetting things. Oh, tomorrow I meet with Mohamed (who I mentioned in an earlier post) to talk about the score and on Sunday, Oct. 25th, I will be @ the "Students Helping Students Session: Stop Mo Puppets" @ Montgomery Hall RM: 311. It runs from 4-6pm and I will be there the whole time, so come hang out if you can. :-P

Last Posters Hung

Today I hung the last of my posters. One for each of the last 3 locations.

Here is the list of Bulletin Board Locations for Approved/Stamped Flyers:

* Clifford Hall (Gulfstream Center for Furniture & Industrial Design) - 3116 Montgomery St. (Boards are by the elevator/stairs).

* Montgomery Hall (Animation/Vis. FX.Gaming) - 3515 Montgomery St. (Boards are by the elevator on each floor and on the bottom floor at the bottom of the stairs).

* Wallin Hall (Foundations) - 312 E. 37th St.

* Anderson Hall (Foundations) - 412 E. Anderson St.

(Boards for these last 2 locations where in stairwells and in the center of the upper floors).

* Eckberg Hall (Henry Hall -Fashion) - 115 W. Henry St. (Boards are in upper stairwells on either side of the building and on the 2nd floor in the center of the open space there).

* Boundary Hall (3D/Foundations) - 415 W. Boundary St. (I saw 2 boards in this location, one near the offices and one near the classrooms on the right. I only placed one on the right as it seemed the more likely place and I was running out of posters).

* Pepe Hall (Fibers) - 212 W. Taylor St. (I only saw one board here and it was downstairs between the bathrooms).

* Eichberg Hall (Architecture) - 229 MLK, Jr. Blvd. (This building is practically made of bulletin boards but I found only one that was for posters like mine, the rest seemed to be to post class work for review. The one I posted on is located on the left: past the security desk, through a hall and then is on your left...lots of lefts...ha).

* Crites Hall (Theater) - 217 MLK, Jr. Blvd. (I found one board in the hallway on the main floor and one in the back room on the left where the elevator and the second set of stairs are. There are others in the stairwells but they are in class cases).

* Bergen (Photo) - 101 MLK, Jr. Blvd. (There is a board by the elevators on the main floor and on the bottom floor near the fountain. There may be other boards here on the other floors, but I couldn't spare any more posters).

* Hamilton Hall (Film/TV) - 522 Indian St. (There's a board by the cage desk in the back on the main floor and one by the bathrooms in that weird alcove).

* Alexander Hall (Paint/Print/Ceramics) - 688 Indian St. (There is a board behind the security guard desk, but I didn't post there as my posters have tabs. I did, however, post by the ceramics rooms in the back, right of the building on the main floor, and upstairs in the Grad Student Studios just after you step out of the stairs).

* Oglethorpe House (dorm) - 201 W. Oglethorpe Ave. (Here you can only use the boards near the change machine/ATM).

Other places where posters can be put up:

* Club SCAD (Gym) - 7 E. Congress St. (I decided not to hang here because I figured students would be more likely to see a poster of mine in a building where they would be taking classes. Everyone at SCAD takes classes, not everyone works out. Ha.)

* Student Center - 120 Montgomery St. (I didn't hang here for the same reason as above. Plus, I almost never see anyone there...sadly).

A Note about Dorms:

If you wish to hang in other dorms, O-House included (excluding the location in O-House listed above), you must speak with the RAs. I really wanted to hang in the dorms, but I wanted to hit the class buildings first. If I do a 2nd round of posters I'll probably get enough to hang in the dorms as well.

Here is a link that will open a PDF of the Facilities Map of SCAD Savannah. (Believe me, this will come in handy).

Expenditures 2

Here's a continued list from before. I'm sure I'll have to post about this again:

* Plywood & Other Wood Bits for Sets - $ ? I haven't bought this yet because it will depend greatly upon where I decide to shoot as well as how big I want/need the set to be. However, this can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's. (I want to go to Lowe's to see what they have when compared to Home Depot. I also want to go to the other Home Depot way out on Abercorn).

* 1 & 5 Gallon Buckets - $ ? These would be needed for plaster casting for skins. I just thought I'd include this as a "maybe" item. These can be purchased at WalMart or Home Depot.

* 10 1" Chip Brushes - $ ? To be quite honest, I don't know what these are for. But they were on the list as well. They can be purchased in the same places as the buckets.

* Large Tube of Spot Putty - $ ? This I haven't purchased yet, as I missed it on the list. However it can be purchased above and I believe it's to seal holes that you must drill into your set for tie-downs.

* Paper Reams - $40.99 (This price does not include tax or the Staples discount). I bought a big box of this that has 5000 sheets. I wrote about it in the last entry but had to get the price.

So there we are for now. *phew*

Expenditures

I said I was going to post prices, so here goes. (This is what I know or is a best guess):

* Digital Scale - $54.95 on Amazon.com (This was with Super Saving Free Shipping, I saved $6.95)

* 25 Posters 11" x 14" - $47.62 at Kinkos on Abercorn St. (Across from Michaels, etc.) (This includes tax) + $12.00 to be approved (stamped) for hanging on campus (certain locations ONLY) (This price was due to the fact that these posters counted as a Classified. Then I got a 20% discount for being a SCAD student. So here's the run down: Regular ads - $20, Classified ads - $15, SCAD discount 20%, which equals $12).

* Silicone - $76.41 from Silicones, Inc. of High Point, NC. (This includes shipping and a SCAD student discount. For students silicone is sold at $6.95 a pound, where as I believe it's normally $9. My order was 9 lbs., i.e. 1 gallon, of silicone and 1 lb. of activator/catalyst. This leaves $6.91 shipping and I believe I got it the very next day). (On a side note, they send you a packet with a list of their products with each order).

* Liquid Latex - $61.00 from Burman Industries of So. Cal. (This included shipping as well). (I'd give you the breakdown here, but I forget at the moment. However, it is 1 gallon of latex). (Side note, this is the company I would use to buy WED Clay and Hydracal Plaster if I wanted to make textured skins, which I may still do. These can also be purchased at FX Warehouse Inc.). (Also for skins you would need Bondo Applicators, which I bought at the Home Depot and can't remember how much they cost, but they can also be found at WalMart with the car stuff).

* Rubber Cement - $5.35 at Primary Art Supply on Broughton St. (This includes tax. And is just an average sized bottle).

* Paper Reams - $? I purchased these in a giant box on sale and with my rewards card from Staples on Victory Dr. (I'll have to get the receipt out of my car). (Word to the wise, their rewards cards are free, I did not know this.)

* Tie-Downs - $9.44 from Home Depot on Victory Dr. (Right next to Staples). (Each baggy cost 99 cents). (I may need to order others online).

* Fake Blood - $6.41 from Party City on Abercorn St. (This is in the same shopping center as the Kinkos). (This price includes tax on a pint of fake blood. I will warn however that this was in the Halloween section, since it is October and may not be a year round product but they may have it all of the time on their website).

* Straws - 88 cents at WalMart on Montgomery Crossroads. (This price does not include tax as I bought a bunch of other stuff as well).

* Plastic Cups - I had this item on hand so I'm not sure how much they cost but I purchased them at Kroger on E. Gwinnett St.

* Wax Paper Cups - Approx. $3 or $4 at WalMart. (Again, this was on a large order of things so I'm not sure how much they cost.)

* Craft Sticks - Approx. $1-3 at WalMart. (Same issue as above).

* Glue Gun - I had this item before (purchased at Michaels) hand and was given a ton of glue sticks, so I'm not sure. However, it is a small glue gun and works just fine.

* Crystal Clear - I bought this ages ago so I don't remember how much it cost and I believe I purchased it at WalMart. My assumption would be that it costs between $4 and $6.

* Insta-Cure/Insta-Set/De-Bonder - I bought these ages ago as well. I bought the Insta-Set and Cure from Bull St. Station (on Bull St.) and the De-Bonder at Primary.

* Makeup Sponges - These I got for free from my mom but can be purchased almost anywhere, CVS is a good bet though.

* Wet & Dry Sandpaper Pack - I'm guessing this was about $4 or $5 at WalMart and can't remember exactly.

* Roma Plastalina Clay - This I bought from the Utrecht art supply store in San Francisco (the one on Market St. I don't remember how much it cost). (I used to attend the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. My stomping grounds. They even had a Utrecht store in their Foundations Department; something I think would be very smart of SCAD to do). All this being said, you can replace this and the Crystal Clear with Regular Sculpey which is about $12 and can purchased at Primary, Ex Libris, AC Moore and Michaels.) (Extra Note: AC Moore has a free rewards club card and Michaels often will give you coupons with purchases: they most often are for 40% one item).

* Propoxy 20 - This is about $6 or $7 at Sandpiper Supply on Bull St. (I had this from Conceptual Maquette Design with Professor Larison). (Word to the wise, this is what Professor Hal Miles swears by, don't by the cheap crap from Ex Libris!)

* Foam Rubber Sheets - I had these and got some more from Jenna Wylie for free, but I'm going to pay her back in some way. However, they can be purchased online for about $3-4 for the 1/4" and I forget how much for the 1/2", but I really dislike the 1/2", it's hard to get it to stick with the rubber cement. If you don't want to order these online, the closest place to get them is in Charleston, NC at Hobby Town USA. The man who answered the phone is really nice and carries them in the DU-BRO brand as well as other brands. (The hours are I think 9-8pm everyday except Sunday, which opens at noon and closes at 5pm). They can be purchases online from Hobby Town USA's website or Tower Hobbies. (Let it be known that if you try to find them anywhere else, not only will the store not have them, but the staff will have no idea what you are talking about and will look at you funny. Ha.)

* Tools and Safety Gear - These I had but got from Alexander Hall, Hal Miles in the Stop Mo room, Home Depot and WalMart. In other words, you're kinda on your own with these ones.

Re-Post of Link

Here's Mohamed Sinbawy's link again: Click Me!

Hopefully that will work.

Problems with the Link Below

It was brought to my attention that the link below doesn't work. I'm going to see if I can fix that in a new post, but I seem to have lost the link now myself... Silly, silly me. It would be fair to say that I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. D:

However, I did hang posters in Crites, Bergen, Gulf Stream and O-House. I have 3 posters left and 3 buildings left that I want to hang in. This has been nutty.

Oh, I needed more foam latex sheeting and Jenna Wylie came to my rescue. I believe I shall be naming her Consultant and/or Co-Producer, the lady is all kinds of helpful. I was going to have to go to Hobby Town USA in Charleston, NC. She also brought me Manic Panic incase I need it.

Scoring

So a student here at SCAD messaged me on facebook about scoring my film and I just got around to listening to some of his work. I'm super excited. Here's a link to his music, his name is Mohamed Sinbawy LINK! Though I told him I'm not sure what I want exactly, I love the Middle Eastern flair the appears in many of his tracks. Check him out.

Last Few Supplies

I wrote to "Manic Panic" to see if they might be interested in sponsoring the hair for my two "girl" puppets. I asked them their opinions on synthetic strips or wigs, dyes, real hair strips and even the possibility of two, tiny, custom wigs. We shall see what they say.

Other than that, I went to the "Home Depot" for tie-downs. I'm not sure if the sizes will be right, but it was the best I could do. (I did some research for other Machine Screws but didn't find what I was looking for...not unless I wish to have custom screws made...)

Also, I believe I will be needing more 1/4" Foam Latex Rubber sheets, so I will be looking into that. (I only have part of one sheet at the moment. I have 1/2" sheets, but they're a bit more difficult to work with and I don't want to be caught needing anything last minute).

I bought fake blood yesterday from "Party City" which I'll be photographing later and probably reviewing. I used fake blood in a live action film I shot, it's a mess but I think it's important.

I must pick up big sheets of plywood for my sets, but I'm still deciding where on earth I should shoot this thing. I do have white house paint for the sets, but will probably need more.

The giant box of paper was also purchased from "Staples" and I'm thinking about getting a hold of a paper cutter for that. Does anyone know if there's one on campus? *gulp*

As for shooting, I spoke with someone about Crites and they said that shooting there can be difficult because they have hours, where as Monty does not. I don't know what to do at the moment. I would need for a professor or staff member to email the people at Crites on my behalf, which wouldn't be difficult, but now I'm wondering if I should bother. My boyfriend offered some of his studio space in our apartment, but I don't know if that would work and will need to ask about cameras, software and lights. I've wanted to buy StopMo Pro, this may be my opportunity, but then I would still need a camera and I doubt they'd let me take it off campus, who knows. But that's where we stand at the moment.

I'm pulling together my "Hunt Army" and am just trying to keep pushing. More later folks.

Storyboard Thumbs for Finalized Script

Ok, let me...uh...explain something here. I waver between anal retentive, hyper-clean, neat freak, perfectionist psycho and "let's grab some printer paper and a ball-point pen from a hotel and scribble some thumbnails." This...would be the latter. But, why not show you the whole process, even my messy thumbs. I'm trying to impart some knowledge here. Ha.

To TheNerdAvenger

Thanks for following me. Do you have a blog on here or are you a SCAD student? I'm just curious if you saw my fliers. :)

To Ralere

Hey there Ralere,

I'm fairly confident in my editing skills but I am not going to turn down anyone who wants to help, so maybe we could split the job or something. It's not going to be for a while that I will even shoot the film though, but if you want to meet up with me or anything we can do that. I'd love to talk with you. :) I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner!!!!!

Carmen

P.S. Feel free to add me as a friend on facebook if you'd like. There's a group there too for what I going to start calling the "HUNT ARMY."

Materials

Below are my materials. I include this to show you what I have acquired as well as how much will be needed and so that I can make sure I have everything I need. (Which I found I didn't, so there you go). Oh yeah, and I explain them each a bit for your convenience. I wanted to include prices, but I honesty don't remember how much all of this cost. (I'll try to get a few prices later).

Here's the giant bunch of materials needed. (From Left to Right: 1/4" and 1/2" foam sheets, drinking straws, plastic and wax paper cups, craft sticks, Parts A & B to make resin casts, digital scale, liquid latex, glue gun, Crystal Clear, rubber cement, the bucket is filled with silicone and the blue bottle on top is the activator or catalyst for the silicone, Insta-Set, Insta-Cure and de-bonder, makeup sponges, Roma Plastalina clay, which can be replaced by regular Sculpey, a pack of wet and dry sandpaper in varied grits and Propoxy 20 a.k.a. plumber's putty.)

The majority of this will be used to make molds for resin body blocks which will become the armature or skeleton. First you make blocks to mold out of clay, then cast them in silicone, which is weighed on the scale. The clay is put in a plastic cup (either glued to the bottom with the glue gun or by a stand made of cut drinking straw). Then mix and pour in the silicone. (Mixing will be done with the craft sticks). When the silicone dries you remove the clay and use the mold to make the new blocks with the resin, which also must be measured/weighed exactly and mixed. The resin is mixed in the wax cups with craft sticks because it creates heat when mixed with its catalyst. Then the armature is made out of twisted armature wire and the resin blocks. These are put together with Insta-Cure, Insta-Set and Propoxy. Holes may need to be drilled into the resin blocks to reduce weight. The foam will be applied on top of the armature and adhered with rubber cement. The foam must then be trimmed with finger nail scissors and then covered with liquid latex. The latex can either be applied in thin sheets or "skins" which would need to be created on a glass slab or in a Hydracal plaster mold which would be custom made with the desired texture. At the moment I am debating whether or not to do this. Or you can carefully dab it on with the makeup sponges.

Here are some of the smaller items, though very important. Sticky Tac for holding random bits in place while animating, armature wire for the armatures, a variety of pliers and snips for working with the wires, X-Acto knives for any number of jobs, and wingnuts, bolts and there should be nuts but I have forgotten them (which is part of the reason I wanted to photograph my materials; just incase I forget anything). These last items are for "Tie-Downs." Tie-Downs go into the base of the feet of each character, they are used to secure a character to it's set/stage from underneath. Also, as you can probably see, I need to make sure my sizes are right and because one of my characters has tiny feet I need smaller Tie-Downs for it.

Here are the tools. The Heat Gun and Hair Drier are optional but can be helpful for drying rubber cement, baking Sculpey, etc. The Drill and Drill Bits will be used to twist wires together to make the armatures as well as drill holes in the stage to put the Tie-Downs through and other random jobs including assembling the set, which is also the main use of the Hammer. Also I will be using Saws to make my set, but my boyfriend's Jig-Saw, etc. are buried in his studio.

And though I include these last, you must remember, safety first. The materials above can do a number of things to hurt you so Gloves must be worn when pouring resin and silicone, the Masks are for any dust particles or fumes and the Goggles/Glasses are also for protecting your eyes from chemicals as well as projectile armature wires (believe me, it's common).

Beyond all of this I will need Wood for sets, random Fabric and Objects for props and costumes. I have Acrylic Paints to mix with the latex to create the color skins I want and paint the sets, I also have Paint Brushes, and will need random Screws/Nails, etc. I also have a ton of Printer Paper to make the "trees" for my forest.

More Posters Up

I have added posters to Henry, Wallin and Anderson Halls. Still more to come.

Animatic

I am having trouble with my animatic; the whole process is a bit daunting so I'm trying to draw one version as well as shoot another version with these dummies.

Background Art Direction

Here is the art direction for my backgrounds. My film is going to be set in a forest so I got many images but this one continued to hit me. I then began imagining the set as being covered in drawings that haunt my main character so at the moment the idea is to cut reams of paper into scale sheets for my puppets, then stack and glue them in columns.

Character Design

Though I have not yet done turn-arounds I have finally reached a place with each character that seems right (and the progression thereof). (With the deer, however, I am still a bit troubled about head size).

Updated Script

I have thought long and hard about my story and I feel I have finally nailed it down.

- Fade In -

1. A piece of charcoal flies over a pad of paper in arcs and curves. (ECU)

2. Pages are ripped off repeatedly in frustration and are tossed to the ground; the pages begin to form a circle around the unknown artist. (CU to MS)

3. We see this character’s face for the first time. It is a girl, she is now looking frustrated and overwhelmed by the paper around her and her clear difficulty with drawing. (View behind easel and of face CU)

4. We look at the circle of papers strewn about her feet. We begin to spin. (Girl’s P.O.V.)

5. Reaction Shot: Girl’s face shows frustration, terror/horror and abject humiliation. The speed of the spinning increases.

6. The circle becomes like a laughing audience. (Girl’s P.O.V.)

7. The spinning is interrupted but the rustling of papers behind her. (MS)

8. (Quick Zoom In) Girl whips her head around to look over her shoulder toward the sound.

9. There’s a flashing of eyes in the forest amongst the papers. (Girl cropped MS deer cropped LS)

10. Reaction Shot: Girl’s face transforms from fear and frustration to interest and a hint reverence. Antlers begin to sprout from her head with a flicker. (Nubs) (CU)

11. Girl looks about herself at the circle around her feet. (CU)

12. Pull back to show circle and twisting of body and feet. (MS)

13. Back up to include girl‘s face, she looks back to the deer who bounds off. (MS/LS)

14. Reaction Shot: Determination spreads across the girl’s face. (CU)

15. Side View of girl’s face as she steps; defiant. (More flickering from her antlers and more growing)

16. Girl’s foot steps out of the circle. (CU)

17. Girl begins to chase the deer. (Antlers continue to grow). (Varied Shots)

18. Girl chases deer through the “forest.” Stacks of papers wobble and fall. We hear heavy breathing, the sound of the two running and the loose leaflets under their feet. (LS)

19. The chase slows, the deer allows the girl to approach. (LS to MS)

20. The girl reaches out to touch the deer. (MS)

21. The girl’s hand gently grazes the deer’s fur. (CU)

22. Cut back to (MS) so that we can see her antlers grow again.

23. Deer pricks its ears; the sound of another can be heard running through the forest. The sound comes from the (L) It is a hunter. (MS)

24. Deer bounds off. (MS)

25. Girl looks towards where the sound is heard. Girl looks back, frantically, in the direction of the deer. (CU)

26. The other passes by, it is a hunter; the hunter looks just like the girl but carries a knife that catches the light. (MS)

27. (Back and Forth) Moment where girl watches herself go after the deer, she is clearly puzzled and a bit scared. (MS)

28. Girl takes off after deer and hunter (I.e. herself). (MS)

29. Girl runs through forest, terrified. Piles are knocked down in a hail of white. Girl tries to keep up but ultimately looses the hunter. (Varied Shots)

30. Girl enters a clearing, huffing. She bends down and braces her hands on her knees but cannot rest as she soon catches the scene before her. (MS)

31. (Quick Zoom In) The deer lays dead in a beam of light that filters through the stacks of paper around the clearing. The deer is eviscerated. (Body Fills Most of Frame)

32. Girl approaches deer and falls to her knees beside the deer’s body. (Her antlers shed.) (MS/LS)

33. Girl runs an open palm over the pool of blood to a few, scattered, gold coins. She fingers the bloody coins then places them back in the gore. (CU to MS)

34. Girl next notices a broken mirror. She reaches down into the pool of blood again and grabs a shard, wipes it once and then raises the shard toward her face so that she might see her reflection. She can barely see herself. (MS to CU)

35. Over the Shoulder: We barely see her face through the blood on the mirror as she hangs her head to cry. (MS/CU)

36. Light begins to flicker before her. Girl begins to raise her head. (MS/CU)

37. Cut To: Deer as it begins to rise again; a brilliant light glows from its new spirit form. (MS)

38. Reaction Shot: Girl is taken aback. (MS)

39. Deer rears back its head and juts out its chest in a show of pride, strength and greatness. (Body Fill Frame then Zoom in to MS; Worm’s Eye View)

40. Reaction Shot: A smile spreads across the girl’s now illuminated face which is still wet with tears. (She begins to grow antlers again). (CU)

Montage:

41. Girl carries deer’s body back to original spot. (MS)

42. Girl stretches the deer’s skin to make a vellum canvas. (Varied Shots)

43. We see the girl from behind her easel, she has great antler. She is putting the finishing touches on a drawing; she is smiling. (MS)

44. View of the drawing; the girl has drawn the deer just as it looked when it rose again. (CU)

- Fade Out -

Poster

You may have seen this poster about the SCAD campus, you may even have torn off a tab. I am still posting these but I am so grateful to those of you who have called. I will soon be setting up meetings. And certainly, add me as a friend on facebook.