Gung Ho
March 10, 2008
I was right. I’m feeling 100% better about my creativity and motivation at school. I’m glad that it actually didn’t take long for me to get back into the swing of things.
One of the challenges that I’m facing right now is trying to come up with a decent story for my demo reel. As I plan to focus on animation, having a reel with a good story would probably make it a lot more memorable.
While going through different animated shorts and demo reels from other students, solid themes and unique storytelling definitely make a difference. Now that I have a better idea about where my progress is headed, I feel that I should start forming the foundation for my reel.
Looking back at what initially inspired me to go into animation, it’s always been the animated shorts from my childhood that sparked my interest. What made those pieces more memorable than their stories though, were the visual gags. In order to ensure that my reel doesn’t come across as boring, I have to make sure that if I do use gags, I have to make them innovative and intuitive.
One other thing I feel that makes a good sequence of animation, is the aesthetic value. During my experience in the Digital Animation program, I’ve learned that over-stylizing something can often out single out the appeal of your reel to only a specific crowd. The trend in the film and gaming industry seems to be that companies are trying to adapt their themes to a wider audience. By doing this, they can get more and more people to enjoy their productions.
Ultimately, my demo is going to revolve primarily around the animation aspect. Along the way, I will try to incorporate an artistic approach into my work but if the animation doesn’t come out well, it’s not going to help my goal at all.
Picking up on the things that my instructors mention and the trends that I see in feature films, in order to create a certain level of appeal in animation, you have to make sure that the audience can identify with what you’re trying to portray. In order to do this, I’m going to have to research heavily on reference from real life.
So, for the time being, I know what direction my work is headed, but I don’t know what the core content is going to be. Having just started my second term in the program, I’m aiming to have a solid concept within the next couple months.
