* I gave a presentation about my short film “Stripes” to a room full of people. I’m pretty proud of how it came out. I also watched the other six presentations in the short film category.

* I was awarded a free copy of the professional animation software Animate Pro and Storyboard Pro courtesy of the company Toon Boom. It’s really great software and I wanted it anyway. The software costs several thousands of dollars, so I’m very happy not to have to buy it!

*As part of winning in the competition, I met with three producers and screenwriters in the animation industry who gave me feedback on the Stripes script. I was really grateful that they read the script carefully and gave great comments. There was a lot of positive feedback and some great suggestions on how to make it better!

*Met with a few different production companies who I could hire to produce Stripes if I get the financing. I learned a lot of things about the animation biz this week. One of the companies was a production company from Iran. The guy I met with laughed out loud when he saw a story idea I had sketched. He said that if I wrote it up, their company would finance and produce it into a short series (4 episodes at 2 minutes each). Exciting!

*I had my storyboard portfolio reviewed by recruiters from Sony Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios.

*I met and connected with other cool creative peers – artists, animators and film music composers. It’s really nice to meet other people who love animation!

*I watched a few new animated films: 1. “Tezuka Osamu no Buddha -Akai Sabaku yo! Utsukushiku” – A Japanese film based on Osamu Tezuka’s “Buddha” comics. 2. “The Tibetan Dog” – a Japanese and Chinese cooperative project set in Tibet. 3. “The Rabbi’s Cat” – French film based on a comic.

*I took a few walks around the beautiful “Lac d’Annecy.” I saw a beaver for the first time. And an adorable pair of baby swans!

*Ate lots of pain de chocolat and baguettes and croissants. Mozzarella with heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil. Lots of different kinds of prosciutto. Delicious!

*Learned a smidgeon of French: Bonjour. Au revoir. Voila. Bon a petit. Très bien. etc.

*Overall, I feel very inspired by my trip! I’m excited to get back to lots of writing and drawing

舞台はケニア。縞模様（ストライプス）をした子羊と二人の男の子が繰り広げるショートストーリー。パトリックの日課は、羊たちに牧草を食べさせに行くこと。毎日まじめに仕事をこなす彼の前に、ジョンという男の子が現れる。ジョンはパトリックと友達になりたくて彼についていくけれど、性格がちょっとがさつ。ある日、パトリックの子羊がいたずら好きのシマウマにさらわれてしまう。二人は子羊を取り返すことができるのだろうか…。

I will give my presentation at the Creative Focus, at 11:40 am Wednesday June 8th.

Come and see!

STRIPES is a winner in the Annecy Animation Festival Call for Projects Competition 2011! Woohoo!

The Call for Projects competition is meant for people STARTING animation projects and could use help getting it off the ground. Back in February, I submitted a package of materials regarding the Stripes projects, including an essay of intent, artwork, storyboards and more.

I recently learned that I am one of five short film winners. We will present our projects at this year’s festival and be evaluated for further prizes by a jury. One possible prize is 6500 euros!

The presentations will take place Wednesday June 8th, 2011. 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. If you are going to Annecy, please check it out!

Check out all the winning projects on the Annecy website: here

I’m so excited, I can’t tell you! Yippee!

Opening Credits Color Script

Color script for scenes 1-7

Color Script - Page 1

Color script for scenes 7-10:

Color Script Page 2

I’m pretty excited about these. I feel like I’m just entering the world of color … and its awesome. I wanted to push the colors a bit more … so I will probably take another go at this.

Background painting sample

I haven’t started animating yet, but here is my first attempt at a background for scene 2.

Made with Photoshop and Painter.

Patrick

Early Morning in Kenya

Patrick greets his mother

Patrick and John undercover

Characters!

Characters in poses!

I think the lines are too thick … they don’t have the personality I had hoped they would. I’ll try this again later …

I’ve posted a sample of around 200 photos on Flickr. You can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/larkinheather/sets/72157625742724427/

Or use this cool slideshow below:

Below are the boards from the animatic. I divided this two minute scene into 6 ‘beats’. I defined the beats in the script and tried to hit them in the same way in the storyboards.

Beat One:

In beat one, Patrick is walking behind his sheep, trying to keep any from straying from the group. He gets them to walk in a tight formation and is proud of it. Then, a running figure breaks a branch, causing the sheep to startle. Their tight formation falls apart and Patrick frantically tries to calm them down.

Scene 2 Storyboards -Beat 1

Beat Two:

In beat two, we meet the figure, a boy (John). He’s running and looks happy. He’s accompanied by a lamb tied to a string. But the lamb doesn’t look happy. The lamb tries to stop and the boy jerks him abruptly forward.

Scene 2 Storyboards -Beat 2

Beat Three:

In beat three, Patrick finally gets control of the sheep when John approaches behind him. Patrick gives him a wary greeting, but John, unfazed, gives him an aggressively friendly hug. Then John asks if he can join Patrick and his flock. Patrick reluctantly agrees. Delighted, John turns toward the flock.

Scene 2 Storyboards -Beat 3

Beat Four:

In beat four, John brings his lamb to the inside of the flock and deposits it among the other sheep. He gets up, looking satisfied. They all continue walking. Feeling calm again, Patrick turns back to the road ahead. All is good. Then John starts to get bored and looks around. He notices a strangely striped lamb among the flock. Excited, he reaches for it. Baaa! Patrick startles at the sound of a distressed lamb. He spins around and looks for the source.

Scene 2 Storyboards -Beat 4

Beat Five:

In beat five, John runs up to Patrick, wanting to share with him this interesting lamb. But John carries the lamb in an awkward way and the lamb seems stressed. Horrified, Patrick, grabs the lamb out of his hands. He holds it properly, gives it a chance to calm down, then gently puts it back down on the ground. John looks on in interest. Patrick gives John a angry look before turning away.

Scene 2 Storyboards -Beat 5

Beat Six:

In beat six, Patrick, now annoyed, turns back to leading the sheep forward. He waves his herding stick in an elaborate, stately manner (like his father had in the previous scene). John watches with interest. He then turns, looks around for a stick and runs after Patrick, mimicking his gestures.

Scene 2 Storyboards -Beat 6

Anyway, that’s that. I just wanted to share some of my thought process! One of these days … very soon … I’m going to make a tutorial on storyboarding, if there is interest. I hope this was interesting!