So yesterday we had a group meeting and discussed many things.
Here's a breakdown.
- On the recent ISO of the bedroom there was discussion about it having curvilinear walls. Will this be more difficult to produce backgrounds during production? Will it be as clear? Not a problem? This was brought up by me, so it could absolutely be a non-issue but any thoughts?
- On character design. Flavia showed us some revised Jessica (the little one) designs and we discussed having upward pointing pigtails vs downward pointing and which would be more fun, cuter, for animation (please comment) we ultimately decided up and short would be best. (Flavia if you could post the drawings that would be awesome). Debra is staying pretty much the same unless someone has a comment. We're going with her hair down instead of up in a bun for the duration of the film.
- On vanity design we discussed it having rounded "feet" instead of rectangular. Michelle built a model for the vanity and gave it to me to use while boarding (Thank you Michelle). We also discussed the functionality of the vanity:
- the four circular sections of the screen will be for Debra's options (eyes, eyebrows, blush, lips, etc)
- She will be able to drag these options to her face which is in the middle of the big screen.
- We also brought up the idea of a drawn face texture being applied to a simple maya build that could rotate as Debra rotates her face. ???
- On make up application we discussed having it be a physical mask that Debra will pick up and quickly apply to her face by pressing it on. Once it is on the mask will "vanish" into her skin tone and become effectively invisible. Then she will use motion control to select and apply the make up via the screen. The vanity will apply the make up onto whatever surface is wearing the mask.
- On acting we discussed having Debra look side to side, widen her eyes, suck in her cheeks, purse and smack her lips and do other things while she is applying her make up to call to mind the familiar ways and faces which women now days apply their make up, instead of her looking bored and waiting for the make up to apply itself.
- On Story: While the story remains basically the same, it will now only take place in the bedroom (with one possible shot in the hall way). Several shots need to be staged a little more clearly by pulling the camera out or slightly repositioning it. I've redone the ending and I have posted that below. Justin suggested the use of a close up or two of Jessica's excited face to break up what would be an extremely long shot with a ton of changes in emotion. I completely agree. Also we discussed having Jessica press a button before the stool descends? What do you guys think?
You're welcome Keith. Hopefully it's helpful. I'm using it for visdev as well. Thank you for typing all of this up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the big write-up. Sorry I didn't comment sooner.
ReplyDeleteThe curved walls should be fine. We can carefully use value to show the change from one "wall" to the next. It should be fine as long as we keep an eye on it in layouts and make sure it continues to read. And the ISO is great, it feels like it fits with the characters.
I gave Michelle some notes on the vanity design in an above post, mostly concerning the "table" part of it. The overall shape language is good, and the four bubbles are nice. I feel like we can really make her interact with it, especially since you're thinking through how it works and how she uses it. I think the rotating head would be a great touch, but might seem weird unless the style really really matches the 2D style.
Love the mask idea, and having Deb move her face around to test it and see how the make-up looks. Fluttering and widening eyes, pursing lips and sucking in cheeks are things you see people do when they are trying to figure out their make-up, so that all sounds great. Also, turning her head to see it from different angles (whether "turning her head" is literal or means she rotates the model in the mirror....) might be good too.
I love the new ending, its very cute. I think one final sheepish button push at the end would be good. Like she's thinking "maybe that'll fix it" or "final touch". By messing with the machine she's messed with her sister, and by pushing that button one more time, who knows what she's doing. :) Acting will be important though.