Overall, I would say my review with Industry night went rather well. Of course, I still have a long way to go before I can declare anything is perfect, or ready-to-go. However from what I have gathered from the panel itself, I’m on the right track. Which is always a relieving thing to hear.
The main points made by the panel of people from the industry were pretty straightforward. A small technical detail of my film’s direction from screen right to screen left. We register things better going from left to right, which makes sense, considering we read that way. So I would have to mirror it, an easy fix. Furthermore, they said I could make my film only 45 seconds, keep the same story, but have the second half of my film be a “making of”, to show off the skills I want to show (concept works, research, etc.). My work could also very well be my calling card into getting a lot of people interested in hiring me; or so they said (very flattering, but I know I can still improve).
On that particular note, they also told me to lower the amount of animation in my film to a bare minimum. Make my character small on screen during the walking segments to really show off my environment concepts, with plenty of “still” poses to show off my character designs in ulterior sequences. For my environments, they also suggested I cut back on the number I have, but really embellish those that I choose to put in. So, instead of having seven to eight passable backgrounds, have maybe two or three that are really well executed.
At the end of the day, however, I still need a minute to a minute and a half worth of film. And out of that time, I need thirty-five seconds of polished animation. I really think the idea of having a “making of” for my final film is a sweet idea, which I will (maybe, most likely) do as a side project. But with the panel suggesting this, I realize that I do have skill for concept work, and I should do whatever I can to show this off during my film. I reviewed this feedback, along with the rest, with my professor today. He helped me figure out ways I can cut down on animation and time, but still have a presentable movie that meets the program’s requirements. That, and I really need to push the concepts I already have to their full potential. This means adding volume, thinking of the elements in the background and how I could play with them better (e.g. the lightning for my thunderous beach background). Other than that, I feel I need to keep a realistic output on the tasks I set to myself. Set up a minimum of what absolutely needs to be done, but try to surpass this bar I will set to go even further. In the next few days, I will be having a look at my old list of assets, and be prepping up a new one to follow over the course of the holiday break. A lot has changed while working on my film, so best I review that list anyways.
Story wise, my story is pretty straight-forward. There are little tweaks to be done, but, again, nothing too major to worry about.
I might add on to this as I work more throughout the holidays. My brain is a little fried by the end-of-semester-rush, so more in-depth insights might strike me at a later date.
A huge thank you to those who attended our Industry Night! And to our faculty, that makes such a thing as Industry Night a thing in the first place!