Props

At the end of last quarter I had the props done, here they are:

From left to right: Mirror, charcoal, knife and three coins.

Easel.

Puppets

By the end of last quarter I got almost done with my puppets; here are a couple images to show the progress I made. I still need to finish the deer's face and as you might be able to see, the latex on the girl got all screwed up. So I only got so far on her.

Anyway, here's the result:

Final Script (I know, I said I was done before...)

I'm retaking Senior I so that no matter happens I will come out of school with a film I love.

Anyway, here's the final, FINAL script.

Hunt Script:

- Fade In -

1. Pan to character at an easel through a forest of paper stacks. (Pages blow). (LS to Truck In)

2. Cut To: A piece of charcoal flies over a pad of paper in arcs and curves (ECU)

3. 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)

4. Girl is visibly frustrated and overwhelmed by the paper around her; it is assumed failure personified. (View behind easel of face: CU)

5. Camera sees the circle of paper at the girl’s feet. (Camera begins to spin). (Girl’s P.O.V.)

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

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

8. (The spinning) This is interrupted by the rustling of papers (like leaves) behind her. (MS)

9. (Quick Zoom In) Girl’s reaction, she whips her head around to look over her shoulder toward the sound. (CU)

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

11. Reaction Shot: Girl’s face transforms from fear and frustration to interest and a hint of reverence.

12. Reaction Shot: Deer holds a blank expression but is visibly “grand.” The deer’s ear flicks. (MS)

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

14. Girl looks back to the deer who bounds off. (MS/LS)

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

16. Side View: Girl’s face as she steps; defiant. (LS)

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

18. Girl begins to chase the deer. 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. (Varied Shots)

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. (ECU)

22. Cut back to (MS) (Both in frame). Deer pricks its ears; the sound of another can be heard running through the forest. It is a hunter. (MS)

23. Deer bounds off again. (MS to LS) Girl looks toward where the sound is heard. Girl looks back, frantically, in the direction of the deer. (MS to CU)

24. The hunter passes by brandishing a knife. The hunter is an exact replica of the girl. (MS)

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

26. Girl takes off after both hunter and deer. (MS)

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

28. Girl enters a clearing, huffing. She bends down and braces her hands on her knees. She only rests a moment before she catches the scene before her. (MS)

29. (Quick Zoom In) The deer lays dear in a circle of light that filters through the stacks of paper that create the clearing. The deer has been eviscerated. (Body fills most of frame)

30. Girl approaches deer and falls to her knees beside the deer’s body. (MS to LS)

31. Girl runs an open palm over the pool of blood to a few, scattered, gold coins. She fingers the bloody coins and places them back in the gore. (ECU of hands and objects/MS of scene). (Maybe).

32. Girl applies some of the blood that remains on her hands to the deer’s cheek to emulate her own makeup. (MS)

33. Girl 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. (The light of the forest slowly dims). (MS to CU)

34. Over the Shoulder: We barely see her face through the blood on the mirror as she hangs her head to cry. (MS to CU) Light begins to flicker before her. Girl begins to raise her head. (MS/CU) Pull Back to: Deer as it begins to rise again. (A brilliant light glows from its new spirit form). (Charcoal Spirit). (MS)

35. Reaction Shot: Girl is taken aback. (MS) Deer rears its head and juts out its chest in a show of pride, strength and greatness. (Body Fills the Frame, then Zoom into a MS; Worm’s Eye View)

36. Reaction Shot: A smile spreads across the girl’s (now illuminated) face which is still wet with tears. (CU)

Montage:

37. Girl carries/drags deer’s body to original spot. (MS)

38. Camera sees the circle that surrounds the easel and is reminded of the cycle the girl must break. (MS)

39. Reaction Shot: Girl is defiant.

40. Girl carries/drags the body back to the easel, simultaneously scattering the papers, thereby breaking the cycle. (MS)

41. Girl stretches deer’s skin to make a vellum canvas. (Uses same branches that were used to make easel and the deer’s antlers, but formed into a circle). (Varied Shots).

42. We see the girl from behind the easel, she has a great set of antler’s now (use the deer’s if possible). She is putting the finishing touches on a drawing; she is smiling. (MS)

43. View of the Drawing: The girl has drawn the deer just as it looked when it rose again. (CU)

- Fade Out -

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.