I was very busy this weekend modeling all sorts of bottles, containers, dishes, bowls and crushed soda cans. Putting these together made me realize I need to model at least a spoon and a knife to help break up the solid boxy shapes the clutter is forming. Need more variety.
Funny how I did the first and last layouts of the film. I helped out another crew member, Ayna, with this layout because she was new to this and I basically had to redo it because she was new to Maya.
Did some more designing for the clutter in the kitchen along with a lot for the cabinets.
Thought about how the two characters (Saul and his mom) would've lived in a cluttered home. Saul would probably drink and eat takeout/ready-made meals more, while his mom couldn't afford takeout and made most of their meals at home but had a lot of dirty dishes lying around the kitchen. Also lots of coffee to get her through the day.
Utah teapot better make it into the film as an easter egg (it was the first object modeled in 3-D I believe?)
Almost done with this... I think...
Keep getting great feedback from the class! We still have some small changes that I need to redraw like the needle simply falling out from his hand and rolling on the floor, but most of it is in there.
Did some new designs based on the comments I received a week ago saying to make the props look more old and lived in. I started with the coffee table because the first real shot of the film is a close up on the table and it is highly important to show the age and the fact that Saul grew up in this house when he was a child and now refuses to move on from the past.
Then I did what is probably my favorite "set piece" of the whole film, the table that the mom sits at that is covered with bills. I did some research into clutter piles (this will show how the stress is mounting up and how that is all she can think about) and found that it is more than just sheets of paper that are spread out. Things like folders, pay stubs, books, receipts and checkbook and calculator adds to the story that the mom is trying to figure out how to pay off her debts and overdue bills to the best of her ability.
Just got the green light from Emily that this animatic seems to good so we can now start previs!
We added in the dove tornado part back in because we needed more time with Saul (with a U now) to get us to believe the emotional change that occurs at the end, as now he feels like he can move on with his life and help get the support he needs to move away from depression and drugs. After the torado, we have a bright flash of light from the dove and it will show all of the drugs, clutter and broken pictures Saul has in his house that he has not noticed before because of the darkness, both in his mind and physically in the house.
At the end we have him calling a phone to help tie into the film a bit better the theme of "you are not alone" as him leaving his house didn't feel like a solid solution to his problems.
Now that this is done, we can finally go into previs and set all of the cameras and get a rough idea of the layout in 3D. Will update once we have something done. For now, prop designs are next.
Did some color studies of the kitchen flashback scene, thought about using oranges, yellows and even tried out a red pallet to help show the anger, stress and danger of the memory that plays out.
I also did a fair number of prop studies, mostly for the kitchen, but also explored some different tables for the hallway or even else where in the house. Also thought of props we could reuse during the whole film like pictures, jars, dishes, ashtrays, and clocks.
I did most of the second half and a lot of the corrections in the first memory with the mom turning around.
Changes are still being made and will be posted shortly.
I am also now going to do some prop modeling/designing because the animatic is wrapping up.
