Production blog

The Texas Filmakers Production Fund

2011-12-01T08:45:00.001-08:00

http://www.austinfilm.org/page.aspx?pid=300

Brad, CEO and co founder of Powerhouse recently shared this little gem with me. Lately I have been struggling to find proper funding for my film's orchestral soundtrack, this might just be the ticket. If I can compile my latest shots, add in the shots from Steve Stanchfield and Mel McCann and get Sam Deats to rough out some layouts for the production I think we could have a really solid Leica Reel to show in order to secure the 4 grand needed for the soundtrack.

Things will be kicking into high gear very soon, and I'm still in the process of compiling all I need to send out to my other artists while I tie down more shots from the film.

Posters!

2011-07-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, and my apologies for the long hiatus.

A lot has been happening since my last post. I moved down to Austin TX for a new job, and my friends have all been busy with work, independent projects, and the like. Thankfully things are settling down and I am back full strength on the film.

With this comes two major updates. My composer Aaron Symonds has made a new score sketch for the films soundtrack which will be updated as soon as I can get him a new animatic to look at.

Secondly my good friend Mel Miller has completed the poster for "My Dad the Giant" and it looks stunning! The attention to detail, light, and texture really shows as well as her creativity in finding the right materials like the frame. The color scheme fits my film and explores the renaissance like theme I was going for perfectly. I couldn't be more happy with this picture and for those of you who donated $250 or more you will be receiving one of these in the mail.

Thank you for staying with this project and your continued support. More updates will be coming soon!

Mailing and posters

2011-05-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

The buttons finally arrived in the mail, and I can now sit down and begin writing out all the addresses to everyone who donated. There are about 28 in total who are eligible and didn't opt out of prizes. Both came out better than I expected, and I can't wait to finish up my end of the deal (minus those who have DVDs on the way, those wont come out till after my film is released).

Next up is the poster design.
I finished the design and line work for the poster and now I am handing it off to my good friend and amazing artist Mel Miller. She has a knack for coloring, texture, and everything that will make a good poster great! I am very eager to see how it turns out, and I am giving her a good amount of creative freedom to really allow her to push this thing beyond what my simple knowledge of color design would allow.

After my college, CCS, finishes their student show, I plan to start getting back in contact with all the artists who have agreed to help work on my film. The biggest hurdles are going to be the backgrounds and possibly sound design. I am pretty confident about the animation department, and am nearing completion on that end. These next months are going to be interesting, that's for sure.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. :)
Patrick Stannard

Postcards and Buttons

2011-04-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

The designs for the postcards and pins have been completed. This is what everyone who has donated $5 or more can expect in the mail once the funds are transfered into my account and I can print these. I will be printing these from Zazzle.com and will then mail them out to the addresses given to me by every0ne who replied to my mass emails.

Button Design

Postcard Design

The Poster design is still a WIP but I will post an update as soon as I finish the preliminary. The DVDs will not be released until my film has been released to festivals. Look for your name in the credits if it hits a festival near you. :)

I have also had a meeting with three new illustrators who have shown interest in hoping onto the "My Dad the Giant" production. They are:
Zach Ares
Karli Cooper
Erika Lavin

I have also received my first color key from Kieth and will be working with him to get the first establishing shot down. Background work will most likely not begin until everyone has finished their finals for this year at CCS, as that has priority in these final weeks of school.

Stay tuned for more updates on the backgrounds, animation, and sound in these coming weeks.
-Patrick Stannard-

We Did it!

2011-04-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

With 30 total backers and a combined amount of $2,017 raised, "My Dad the Giant" has officially reached its funding goal!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308950851/my-dad-the-giant

This couldn't have happened without the generosity of so many people through the amazing kickstarter website. Posters are being made, postcards and pins will go to printing, and DVD boxes will be prepped for when these last 9 days come up. The funding raised will help me purchase supplies, distribution methods, and so much to bring this project to fruition. As promised, to everyone who donated over 10 dollars, you get a big thank you from me here on the production blog!

Special thanks go to:

Amaquieria
Teresa and Brian Stannard
Dennis Ahmer
Fil Romero
Tom Conger
Alex Kain
Marcia and Ron Taylor
Amy Baird
Steve Stanchfield
Chris Carden
Matt Penna
Paul Driver
Jay Nungesser
Baree
Mark King
Simon Tesla
Dwight Williamson II
Charlotte Pouzanoff
Joshua Harrell
Bix707
Matt DeWater
Gary Johnson
Simon
Jay Sorensen
Kevin Johnson
Gregory
Kim Termin

Updates
Stay tuned for more updates as we begin to finish this film. One worth noting here today is a list of possible credits to those who are giving their time to help me complete this project.

Patrick Stannard - Director/Animator
Steve Stanchfield - Animator

Matt Dewatter - Tie Down Artist
Fil Romero - Tie Down Artist

Kevin Grassia - 3D Modeler

Tyler Scarlet - Background Illustration
Don Kilpatrick - Background Illustration
Kieth Newton - Background Art Director
Eric Olson - Background Art Manager

Justin Norman - Sound Engineer
Aaron Symonds - Music Composer
Greg Powell - Personnel Manager.

I will have creative discussions with Aaron Symonds this Sunday to talk about the scratch track and what specific instruments may be needed for the film's orchestra.

Again a big thanks to everyone who has donated not only money, but their time and experience to this project. I could never have dreamed to be able to do this just on my own.

2011-02-23T01:35:00.000-08:00

Still chugging along. Tomorrow I will meet with Kevin Ingrassia to discuss work on the 3d environment and try to get some simple camera moves for my two moving shots. I am debating how best to tackle my backgrounds. Thus far I have three possible illustrators who may be willing to help work on the project. Another rout I could go would be to do something similar to 'deep canvas' where I use a 3d background but heavily texture paint it. A mixture of the two may even be an option. Stay tuned for more updates!

Below we have a rough of one of the later scenes in my film where the father tries to escape a falling 20 foot painting.

A good friend and Mentor Steve Stanchfield was nice enough to help me on some shots. Here he has taken some of my keys and added a bit of his own personality to the animation. This is still very rough and I will be going in afterward to put the character on model.

2011-02-17T16:26:00.001-08:00

Work continues on finishing up the animation for my film and moving into the 'tie-down'/'clean-up' phase.

I was able to talk to my friend and supporter Doug Stratton, the other day and begin discussion about how else I could promote and fund my project. I plan to hit up the Mitten Movie Project on March 1st and meet with Connie Mangilin, the starter of the festival and the one who contacted me about submitting my film.

In 2010 Doug Stratton interviewed me about my film after I had received the Stratton Scholarship. Many people have asked me about my career in art, my internship, and my film and here I discuss it all. You can find a video of it here:

or check it out at TheStrattonFoundation.org.

After Steve Stanchfield finishes his shots and I can talk with Kevin Ingrassia, I should have enough material to complete a fully animated Lyka Reel. Keep an eye out for it on the blog.

2011-02-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

I took some time to quickly render a background. My skills in the area are limited at best, and like a biology test I always seem to choke when I attempt one. However, as a test I am still pretty happy with the results. As I said before these are 70 frames of a 300 frame animation, and even in this stage it is a WIP. This has provided invaluable experience and trial and error knowledge in the process of cleaning up, shadows, and composting which I would not have had had I given the task to someone else.

Funding for my film has died down a bit since its explosion last week, but a good friend of mine Kerry Newill has expressed interest in coming on as a production manager / producer of "My Dad the Giant". Her skills will be most welcome and I am eager to hear some more specifics she has on the matter.

Lastly I have begun work on the "My Dad the Giant" poster to be available to donors of $100 or more on KickStarter. The poster will also be used in festival promotion. The poster will most likely be around a standard 16"x20" and has been heavily inspired by one of my favorite film posters for "The Third Man".

That's it for now, check in soon for further updates on the progress of "My Dad the Giant" and remember you can always donate and earn your place in the credits of my film at my KickStarter page.

Color Help and Flyers

2011-02-10T12:36:00.001-08:00

My friend Lee recently told me about a large party coming to Michigan. He and his friends will be hosting and over a thousand people are scheduled to attend. Gift baskets will be handed out and he recommended I create fliers to be placed in the basket at the party. I jumped at the opportunity and have now created some nice and cheap 4x6 fliers and will be printing them at http://www.imaxprinting.com/

My good friend, roomy, and fellow artist Mel Miller was kind enough to donate some of her time and help me with my color design. Seen here is a comparison of my original frame and her adjustments. She's an amazing artist, and everyone should check out her blog at MelMillerArt.blogspot.com

Stay tuned for more updates, including a test render of my scene in full shadow/clean up goodness!

To help "My Dad the Giant" become a reality, check out my KickStarter page or IndieGoGo page for more info!

2011-02-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Help today has come from my friend and fellow CCS'er Kevin Ingrassia (seen above). Two shots in my film require a moving or 3d background for tracing. One shot is a slow dolly in focusing on Emilio as the tension builds, while another is a fast truck back following the shock-wave of Emilio's massive scream!

To do this I require a 3d model of the Atrium in which the film takes place. I will trace the shot and add my characters to each shot. Kevin was kind enough to donate his time, and has already produced a great rendition of my films stage.

Big thanks to him, and added are some screen shots of his work. :)

Shot from the doorside looking up at the large painting Brianelli has been working on

Shot from the painting side looking at the candle sick, record player, and door.

A nice view of some of the extras Kevin has added, like a box filled with paints.

A shot of the left side of the Atrium

A shot of the right side of the Atrium

Stay tuned for more updates and make sure to look for My Dad the Giant on Indiegogo or KickStarter!

KickStarter Page up and running!

2011-02-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

View it @ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/308950851/my-dad-the-giant

Production is moving right along, and already I have $11 donated to the "My Dad the Giant" project, via IndieGo-Go and KickStarter. I have less than 5 scenes to go in finishing the animation on my film. While I continue finishing those scenes, I also spend time cleaning up and finishing my 'Proof of Concept' scene. Below is a picture of one of the frames, cleaned up, colored, and given shadows.

Thank you for your continued support, and should you feel the urge to donate to this project, feel free to check out either of my pages:
IndieGogo
KickStarter
..and look up the cool gifts you can get in exchange for donations.

Animated-Buzz and professional critiques!

2011-02-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

Things have been on track as I complete a shot a day. Here are the latest shots recently completed.

This shot is currently being in-betweened and was the subject of a professional critique I received at AnimatedBuzz.com. If you haven't heard about this website, then you should go check it out immediately! Calling it the facebook of animators is a pretty accurate term. The site hosts a wall and personal page layout much like facebook, but adds video and portfolio sections for artists to upload content and discuss. But the real shining gem of the website is in its Mentoring program.

Jen Hager is a Disney animator, and artist of which I have admired for some time. Through Aniamted-Buzz I was able to receive a professional critique from Jen for only 23 dollars. I paid the amount, sent in my files and within the week got a well thought out, thorough, and specific critique on my work.

I highly recommend any artist or art enthusiast check out this site!

Not much to see here, only the pot being pelted by the brush Brianelli recently threw during his breakdown.

Last but not least is the finished cloth and hair layer applied to my Emilio animation. This shot is currently in the process of being cleaned-up. The multiple layers approach is proving difficult to slap a final line on, and is the source of many a wrist ache.

Because funds are short, and I have a due date set in stone for this film, I have taken it upon myself to check out sites such as Kick-Starter to try and acquire funding for my film via donations. It's a shot in the dark, but one I hope will hit something. If I can pitch my project well enough, I should be able to acquire the necessary funds to finish this film on time.

Production begins again

2011-01-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have been worried that my film might never get produced. Well after a nice hiatus to focus on my portfolio, demo reel, and paying loans off (if only a little bit at a time), I can say that I have regained my barrings and now have an official deadline for my film.

September 9th, 2011 is the deadline to enter my film in the Mitten Movie Project, a local film festival which was shown a trailer of my film by my friend Doug Stratton. Production has already ramped up and is underway to meet this deadline in 9 months. With 80%-90% of my film already animated, these next months will be focusing on finishing up the remaining 10% and rendering the rest. I already have a multitude of names interested in helping me on this project. Frank Paul who is a sound instructor at my school has offered to help me with my sound FX, Steve Stanchfield who is a mentor of mine has agreed to help me finish a few scenes of animation, Don Kilpatrick has proclaimed interest in my project and with his help has also recommended I speak with Keith Newton, a well acclaimed background artist and illustrator. With these names added to my list I can focus on producing a professional film by the beginning of fall.

I also have plans to raise money to help me along with this project. The wonderful website KickStarter.com has a set up where I can request donations of a specific ammount by a set deadline. If I do not reach the amount I was looking for by the deadline, then I do not receive any money. However I am confident that I can make an interesting enough pitch video, show the work I already have done, and help people realize that my film is going to be finished on way or another, but that donations may help me purchase the needed materials without going bankrupt.

Below are various examples of the changes I have made to the film, as well as some effects tests I have recently completed.

January 2011 Lyka Reel

Cloth/Color/Shadow Effects Tests

Below is a rough schedule I am attempting to keep. You will notice that I allow for at least two months of buffer room in case I run into any, inevitable, snags.

January
Animate!:
1. First Shot/Title Shot
2. Candles, both being hit and falling
3. Flames on candle
4. In-between first hand shot with brush
5. Paper when Emilio bounds into the atrium
6. Kid looking back up at door after he has been pushed out
7. Kid balancing and falling with chair
8. Kid getting out from under chair
9. Kid in father's hands
10. Tantrum Scene!
11. Record jump
12. Father backpedaling
13. Kid pulling cloth from eyes
14. Father losing control
15. Smashing Record Player
16. Kid running out of room
17. Bedroom Scene

Total time: 3 weeks (21 days!)

February (4 weeks/28 days)
Cloth/Hair/Effects
1.candle flames
2.brushes in cup
3. Record playing
4. Emilio's Robes
5. Emilio's Hair
6. Brianelli's Robes/Hair
7.Paper flying in the breeze
8. Dust and Debris

March (5 weeks/35 days)
Shadow Modeling
1.Shadow over door in title sequence
2. Make sure shadows are always facing away from candle.
3. Emilio shadows subbtle
4. Brianelli Shadows stark
5. When close to candle, Emilio has rim lighting from the doorway.

67 shots total.

April (5 weeks/35 days)
Clean up/Shadow Edges

May - Color
June -Sound Design
July - Backgrounds
Aug - Editing/Buffer
Sept - Editing/Buffer

Thank you for being patient over my break, I will do my best to keep you guys up to date on each production step. Stay tuned for more updates.

Chuggin along

2010-06-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

It's been about a month, and I admit to taking a few weeks off. Things are getting back into the groove as I begin animating a shot a day. At this speed I should have everything animated by August. Tyler Scarlet has picked up the pencil once more after a showing at Comic-Con and our very own Tubman Center. We'll be talking every Tuesday and Thursday over the phone, and should be getting back on track right quick! Below are some examples of what both Tyler and Myself are working on, I've spared you the perspective templates as I doubt they would make much sense to anyone looking in on the project.

Yet another Lyka Reel

2010-05-13T00:44:00.000-07:00

I understand that many may have been confused by my previous Lyka Reels if they have not been keeping track of my progress. In an effort to help against this issue, I've put together a more coherent Lyka Reel, complete with backgrounds, the correct aspect ratio, more detailed keys, and so on. With classes officially over until the summer(june 14th), I hope to put full effort into finishing the animation of this film. By June and July I hope to be moving into final lines and color, August will be primarily set for color.

For anyone following this blog, stay tuned these next months as it will be mainly polish and tweaking.

New Lyka Reel

2010-04-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

It's put to an Enrico Carusso soundtrack, so we're still working on the sound effects. I'm currently tieing down most of my emotional shots and x-sheeting the crying sound from the very talented Ariel Priebe. ;) seeing this together has been very helpful in allowing me to spot timing flaws and continuity errors. These will be fixed for the final project.

Enjoy!

Backgrounds, final Lines

2010-04-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

I hope to upload some animations soon. I've been working hard tieing down my main scenes and roughing out the final 4-5. One of the hardest scenes coming up is the one of Emilio crying as I have to x-sheet it in order to get my timing right. In the meantime my background artist Tyler Scarlet has been bringing the backgrounds of my film to final lines, to which I am very happy to see. I've already overlaid some of my animations with his backgrounds, and so far they are looking great!

Shot 56
Shot 32
Shot 27
Shot 23
Shot 13
Shot 6

Lyka Reel

2010-03-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not updating as often as I had hoped, things have been pretty busy with the film. Scheduled for completion in late August of 2010, here is the latest Lyka reel as of Feb 24th. It's almost a month since then so I plan on making another soon.

Tyler has moved onto doing line drawings of the layouts, and Jay and I will be field recording more sound for my film this weekend. My goal for the end of this semester is to have the major scenes of my film finished and the rest at least to full animation.

Over the summer I plan to finish the rest of the animated scenes, add shadows, color, and prepare the film for film festivals.

Thanks for staying tuned, here is the latest Lyka Reel.

Tyler's Backgrounds and Jay's Sounds

2010-02-07T14:20:00.001-08:00

Another friend, Justin Norman, has joined the My Dad the Giant production team. Even in the first week he was able to produce many 'one hit' sounds that will be used in my Lyka Reel as well as the final film. I plan to gather up some props for him to use in creating more great sounds for the production.

Tyler Scarlet has been hard at work as always and has produced many great backgrounds and layouts. Here are some examples of what he has been working on.

These first two(Above) are perspective layouts. This will allow me to animate on the correct floor plane so that my characters don't go floating off into space when I make the final edit. Again, he has been producing these with great speed, something I am very thankful for.
Another final line layout. Layouts like this really help my animation along by giving them a solid space to work in.

Every week Tyler comes to me with new thumbnails of backgrounds, we critique and adjust. So far all adjustments have been minor and the project is chugging along nicely.

Some finished thumbnails of the Atrium in which the father works, and a value study of the candle pile(shot 02). Tyler has been able to take my vision and really bring it to life, adding his own touch and expertise. I can't wait to see what the finished backgrounds will look like!

Keep an eye out for my Lyka reel which will be uploaded either late Sunday or early Monday.

Update 01/23/2010

2010-01-23T15:15:00.001-08:00

A quick update on some tests. Many of the tests haven't been exported to quicktimes yet, but here are a few to let everyone know that the project is still chugging along. :)

Emilio Test

2009-12-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

Not a piece that will be in the film, this animation was just a way for me to run through some of my concepts and theories. I have some tight construction that I'm trying out, realistic cloth physics, and a mixture of soft and hard shadow edges.

I don't know if I will be able to do every shot in my film like this, but here's hoping. Animation always comes first, so its the performance I will inevitably be focusing on.

Layout and Backgrounds

2009-11-18T15:39:00.001-08:00

The very talented Tyler Scarlet of my schools illustration department has decided to help me on my project. Here are just a few of the layout concepts he has created based off of my story boards. You can already see the level of quality he is producing, and quick too!

Above: Final thumbnail sketch
Below: Thumbnails, prop sketches, and concept sketches.

2009-11-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Concept: "A commentary on master apprentice relationships in the family."

Brianelli, a world famous renaissance painter, is trying to finish his latest painting but his son Emilio keeps getting in the way. Emilio's struggle for acknowledgment from his giant father conflicts with his fathers alone time. Only too late does Brianelli realize his son looks up to him.

Re-edited down to 4:30 min.

(Left-White Numbers)
Timer Minutes:Seconds:Frames(24 Fps)

(Right-Red Numbers)
Shot breakdown

Inspiring surroundings!

2009-10-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

While I was interning at Disney I noticed that they had the placed rigged perfectly for inspiration! Because my film is set between the 15th and 17th century I wanted to decorate it with a renaissance look. I got everything you see there, spare the shelves, for 14 bucks! Thrift stores rock! Complete with a maquette bust of Brianeli, mirror, and scene shelves it's all the inspiration I will ever need.
A lovely shot here of my roommate and fellow animator's desk adjacent to mine, Mel's features a contemporary roma-irish gypsy decor that is both colorful and delightfully homey. Plus with her so close to me, fist pounds are frequent and powerful.

My Dad the Giant: Character Design

2009-10-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Father Design: Brianeli

Brianlei's, the father, design has been the longest at work. Originally based very heavily on my own father, only much taller. The mouth has remained the same, sporting my father's brushy mustache and sculpted jowls. To make him seem more like the renaissance painter I wanted him to be, I added in bits from other famous artists. The hair from Edgar Allen po with a bit of Leonardo Da Vinci, heavy brows from Michelangelo, the forehead of Beethoven, and eyes, again, from my father. His stature is tall and almost gangly if it not for his beer belly. A lover of food and art, Brianeli has great passion in him, but often it is only shown when is is alone. Reverted emotionally often to his detriment as when he finally releases his emotion, his size making him dangerous to anything around him.

The Son Design: Emilio

The son's design is based off of a candle stick. Bouncy, energetic, and only at the age of six Emilio wants to gain the acknowledgment of his father. Not easily detoured and eager to please. I wanted Emilio to be the exact opposite of his father, outgoing and bright. I thus wanted a design that reflected that. I even wanted his value to be only the brightest in the spectrum, so much that he almost glows. I wanted to push the limits of the natural world without breaking any rules that might disorient the audience. His over sized shirt turned cloak is a symbol of him trying to fill his fathers giant presence. His hair is unkept but stands straight in an effort to show his energy and spirit, as well as his raw emotions, no where near as refined or as repressed as his fathers. Everything it out and nothing is hidden, he's basic raw emotion and a desire to show his father what a pretty drawing he made.