BLOG 7
Inspired by my spare room
or:
Why my approach produces disappointments AND happy accidents.
2016 was well under way and the deadline for the Manchester Animation Festival was only 3 months away… I had my puppet ‘Corky’ and had roughly storyboarded the action for a film starring him. I work from a box room in our house, formerly just a small office space with a desk and printer. Slowly over the months of my animation hobby I had begun to take over this room. My super supportive partner Lucy said she was happy to sacrifice this space as a long term animation (having all my mess and junk in one area was also a positive, I’m sure). So, I started planning and building a filming stage and set for ‘Paper Airman’, my first attempt at a proper short film.
At this point in my animation journey I hadn’t started using any kind of rig supports, compositing or post production - because I didn’t know how to do any of this stuff - but I also wanted to make this film all ‘in-camera’ with wires, pins etc visible, complimenting to the hand-made effect of the puppet. To achieve this, I used a larger version of the set-up from the previous two projects - a mounted frame above a cork base. I would be able to hold the puppet and props in place by hanging stuff from wires and pinning stuff to the floor. I built the set and props in a simple way, using bits of old wooden crate, tea leaves, cardboard and plastic bags. As I only had one basic set, I wanted to make the lighting changeable to keep it interesting and show the passing of time, so I experimented with coloured gels, overhead projectors and silhouettes to create some of the desired effects.
As I previously mentioned, I hoped my non-traditional/experimental/diy approach would cover up for my inexperience and lack of knowledge. I thought I could use the lo-fi, diy, in-camera techniques as an excuse for the dodgy animation, timings and movement. This meant I could try something ambitious before I was really ready to pull it off. I’d made a storyboard for this film but I only used it as a rough guide, allowing for loads of room for (what I thought would be) intuitive and spontaneous animation (but what was, in reality, lots of mistakes and mis-steps). But, with a ramshackle collection of puppet, stage, set, props and plans all in place I set about making Corky’s story come to life… within a two month deadline!
This is how ‘Corky’ fit together, ready to begin filming on his new set…
Filming Paper Airman was tough but fun! I didn’t know any different, but animating without rigs, compositing or post production was very restrictive. However, I enjoyed changing the lighting, playing with shadows and using the zoom lens, something that would’ve made using a rig and editing software nearly impossible. With the skills I had at the time, this in-camera approach was the only way I could’ve gotten any kind of finished result and I am happy that Paper Airman exists. I loved incorporating my love of origami into the film. I loved the little penknife (a replica of mine) and little ‘patience’ suitcase (made from an old playing card pack)… I’ll talk more about the main failure of this project later.
BUT my favourite part of the film, and the main reason I still hold such fondness for it, is the score and how I came to meet the wonderful composer Danny Ryan (www.dannyryansound.com). With Paper Airman nearing completion I began panicking about a soundtrack… I initially planned to use the original ‘If I Only Had Wings’ by Vera Lynn, and to ask someone sample and edit this actual song to fit my film. I mocked up a version of this that just wasn’t right, so I then decided to contact the Royal Northern College of Music (in Manchester) to ask if any of their students would be interested in writing a piano score based on the Vera lynn Song (I had asked Vera Lynn’s representatives if I could do this and they said yes.) The deadline for the final film and score was only 10 days and I offered a measly £100 (plus apologies for the tightness of the time and money). The Engagements Officer at RNCM was lovely and forwarded my email to new graduates. I didn’t expect any one to get back to me but I got five responses and Danny’s stood out. He was very enthusiastic about the score and also agreed to sing on it too! I paid him extra for the singing but still nowhere near what his work was worth and I will always be grateful to him for helping Corky out (and for still working with me to this day). Danny is incredibly talented and has gone on to be a successful composer in T.V and Film and is a thoroughly nice dude.
We made the deadline and I entered the finished film into the Manchester Animation Festival…! And didn’t get accepted… I was pretty gutted but also pragmatic about it. I am not a student, which means I have to enter work into the general ‘Short Film’ category, which encompasses sooo much talent, so I wasn’t surprised my effort didn’t make the grade. I looked on this project as a learning curve so asked for feedback, showed it to other people and looked for ways I could improve it in the future.
The work was pretty naive but my main failure in the Paper Airman film was one of timing and pacing. The storyboard worked for planning each shot, but I didn’t do any animatic or slideshow so couldn’t test the pacing of the film until it was complete. What resulted was an overly long, slow, ponderous borefest… I wanted the film to be ‘poetic’ and meandering to match the puppet’s character but the result was still very badly paced. I later did a new 5 min cut of the film, speeding it up, editing bits, etc. and Danny re-edited the score (but even this edit has some issues with pacing) Anyway, watch the result below!
As I mentioned, I was pretty gutted but not surprised that my film didn’t make it into the 2016 Manchester Animation Festival. However, I didn’t find out about this disappointment till September, so after I completed Paper Airman in July I started planning a few new little projects, one of which was inspired by a good friend and a legend who inspired him. Find out more about both these ‘puppet masters’ in my next blog!
Thanks for reading!
James
Current Project
*FILM PRODUCTION* Mory is moving! I managed to get the workshop tidied and organised ready for filming. I filmed a few practice sequences then started animating two of the easier opening shots. I think these might be ok to use, and I am looking forward to filming the next shot!
*MODEL MAKING* I am going to work on some of the bits for the Rox and Cora models over the next week. I have some sewing for the ears and undercarriage that I can work on when we are driving to visit my family etc. I will make more progress on these 2 models after the Mory film is finished.
*MERCHANDISE/FUNDRAISING* I am currently thinking of little ‘Mory’ merchandise ideas to use when I complete the film. Any merch needs to have a good % return, so as much of the funds go back into making a new film as possible. Something that ties into the themes of the film would be nice too. I have some idea, but feel free to contact me with any suggestions. All my current merch is available on my shop page