Research
To help develop my FMP idea and process I did research into different areas so that I could gather some inspiration and advice for the pre production process. All the topics I researched will add to my FMP product and process.
Inspiration for FMP
The main inspiration for the concept of my FMP was the Heathrow Bears Christmas advert. I loved the idea of having toy characters interacting with the normal human world. I like how there is a contrast between the scale of the toy characters and the normal scale of the surroundings which adds to the unique visuals of it. I also found inspiration in the Toy Story films as they also have the concept of toy interacting with the normal world. Previously I did a Animatic about a doll being left on a bench and its journey about reuniting with his owner so I also gathered past ideas from the project to carry over to this one.
The character and design of my protagonist is based off the traditional Mexican ragdoll Lele that is a cultural icon in Mexico. I decided on this because the protagonist's story is based on my own experiences as a international student and it represents me.
Animatic research and inspiration
An Animatic is a animated storyboard, its a rough draft of a sequence that is usually accompanied with sound. Its mean to give filmmakers a idea of what the sequence would look like. To help prepare with creating my own, I looked at a number of sources that would allow me to elevate my animatic and use good techniques.
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I looked at Disney and Pixar side by side comparisons of storyboard Animatics to the final finished product and saw that it was important to include good movement and transition to make it more immersive and convincing. It also fleshes out environments in the sequences, making sure to be clear about where the action is taking place, not just characters in a void. The inclusion of sound really elevates and adds to the story and visuals. Some parts of the Animatics are more animated than others depending on the moment. Slower more impactful emotional scenes may be done with less movement to slow down the moment while other parts are more Animated to demonstrate a specific movement that is wanted or for a scene with more energy like a chase scene.
Storyboard Artist Tips and Tricks
I also looked at the work of a current Pixar storyboard artist Dean Kelly, he works as a storyboard supervisor and posts lots of great tips and tricks about storyboarding on his Instagram. I've been following him for quite a while now and find his work to be super informative and interesting to look at. He posts storyboarding from works like "Coco", "Lightyear", "Soul" and "Turning Red". He gives advice about movement, composition and depth in the drawing stage. He had a post about depth of focus and sorting certain assets into different layers to achieve that depth of focus effect. On Panelforge I could use the gaussian blur for this effect. Another note about Dean Kelly's work is that I really like the way he draws his backgrounds and lighting, they make his storyboards look even more immerssive
Movie Shots and Angles
Usually when I think about what angles and shots I wanna include in the filmic language of my Animatic I look for inspiration in the media I consume. When I watch films I remember what shots and angles I like and then I come back to them whenever I'm trying to think of filmic language to use in a scene. There are certain scenes in my Animatic where I got inspiration from movies.
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There is a scene in the second part of my Animatic where my protagonist Lele is experiencing the tube for the first time. I wanted to emphasise the busyness of the tube and highlight her stature for comedic purposes. For inspiration to looked back to a scene in the first "Paddington" when Paddington first arrives to London from Darkest Peru and experiences that rush of people. Its at a lower angle to show a sort of POV shot of Paddington with lots of people passing by and obscuring the camera to immerse the audience. Below I drew in my rough storyboard Lele getting caught up in the rush and being surrounded.
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Another scene I have in my story is when Lele first enters her accommodation and spends her first night alone in a new country. I wanted a quiet slower scene to give the audience and Lele to breathe. To establish the scene and the new setting I was thinking of a far establishing shot of the room. I then remember seeing a similar scene in Zootopia where Judy Hopps spends her first night in Zootropolis and it had a great birds eye shot of her opening the door to her room and having light spill in. It was a very striking shot that I thought would work perfect. In my shot, I wanted to have the shadow of Lele also leak into the room to establish her presence as well
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In the second part of my story there's a quick cut montage of Lele going through a day in her life, studying in class, using the tube and finally going to sleep. I wanted it to be a quick shot with cut aways that keep in the same place as if to signify monotonous routine repeatedly. I remembered a scene from Edgar Wright's "Hot Fuzz" where the protagonist Nick Angel travels to his new assignment and its shown through quick shots and cuts, a technique that Edgar Wright utilises frequently in the editing of his films. I used this same technique for showing the tiring everyday routine Lele does. At the end of the chaotic sequence, It ends on a close up of Lele in bed in silence while the shot lingers to show the end of the chaos.
