Animation Mentor:
How did you come up with the concept for your short film?
Jimmy Almeida:
I was brainstorming with Mario, a film buddy of mine. We couldn’t think of anything! Everything we came up with was a dud. Then he said, “OK…a guy is in an elevator, the doors open and someone on the outside throws a bomb in the elevator as the doors close!” Then there was a long pause when I said, “AND…?” He says, “and…that’s all I have.” But being an adventure film kind of guy, I was intrigued by the idea. So we built upon it and ripped it apart and put it back together until I have what I have now.
Animation Mentor:
What important lessons did you learn from making your short film?
Jimmy Almeida:
Oh god! Time is never on your side. There is always something to do. I really learned to stick to a schedule and manage my time. It really helped me on Transformers. I also had the very important technique of simplicity enforced on many of my shots. It helped me to understand that I really needed to find out what the main idea of the shot was and stick to that. I had always known that rule as an animator, but I think I never really practiced it or understood its full meaning until then.
Animation Mentor:
How long did it take to complete your film?
Jimmy Almeida:
6 months to the day! I worked a full time job that flew me all over the world and still spent a good 20 hours a week on my film. I was getting kind of burned out on my project, so I decided that once I turned it in at the end of the semester, I was not going to touch it again. Hehehe!
Animation Mentor:
How much planning was put into your short film? Did planning help make the process easier?
Jimmy Almeida:
Most definitely. If you don’t have a plan, and you have a time constraint, you are in deep trouble…at least I would have been. But I can’t take full credit for this. By nature I am a very organized person, but Animation Mentor brought me to the next level.
Animation Mentor:
Do you mind sharing some of the pre-production work with us with a little explanation of what we’re looking at.
Jimmy Almeida:
This was the original pitch with rough thumbnails
This is the full story board. The story is still in the tweaking phase. As much as I love dogs, I needed an ending. Most of the comments were to get rid of the dog being hurt in the end.
A few newer ideas and sets. This is the proxy character phase.
Trying to work out the main poses and necessary breakdowns.
Splined the curves but haven’t added any moving holds or ease in/outs. Checking timing.
Tightening things up and adding some ease in/outs and moving holds. Watching arcs. Starting to add facial animation.
Tightening up any loose ends. Finishing facial animation. Checking continuity between shots.
Animation Mentor:
What obstacles, if any, did you experience during the creation of your short film? How did you work your way around them?
Jimmy Almeida:
The biggest obstacle…which was also the coolest part, was being the guinea pigs for the new character rigs and all the changes that were happening with them up until the last few weeks. It was a great lesson in working under pressure. Coming up with a good ending that was appealing to “everybody” was a huge obstacle!
Animation Mentor:
Tell how your Animation Mentor experience helped you in creating your short film.
Jimmy Almeida:
I can’t think of one way that they didn’t! Animation Mentor is everything that an animation school should be. Not having to worry about creating a character was HUGE! I could concentrate on story and animation. They didn’t emphasize texturing or lighting…just animation and all that applies to it. WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE! :O)
|
