It has been ages since the last update. A lot of university work has been done since I last posted. Plus we’ve started up a little business (zombster.com.au).

Things are moving around on the website as I set up the site as a portfolio. Please do not be alarmed.

Soon all of this university work will be done and I will be much happier. I’m sick of the bureaucracy of the university and welcome change.

My final year is picking up. Mightily busy at the moment. I have a 30-minute presentation next week in which I have to pitch a hypothetical TV animated series with complete Series Bible and Budget Plan. We don’t have budget constraints so very little number crunching. (I even managed to give myself a $150k…) I’m a bit worried about filling up 30 minutes. I’m fine with 15 minutes, but I feel 30 minutes is a bit extreme. (Real pitches are only meant to be 5 minutes anyway so what gives?)

Our final year project is coming along, a bit slower than I would have liked, but lecturers love to give assignments. I’m a bit peeved because the Maya scene of my fish model corrupted during transfer. Never bodes well. (Self Promotion: We have a blog for the production of the project! Down the Line)

Meanwhile outside of my studies I’m having needs to work on my personal projects, but forced to put them aside for now. It always happens towards the end of each semester. Never when I have free time. Also, Kithal is looking to start a business and as much as I want to help him, I don’t think I have the mental capacity for it at the moment.

Keeping an eye out for a lot of productions at the moment. There are a lot of interesting new television series in the works. Also there’s an abnormally large number of animated features coming out in the next twelve months. As happy as this makes me, I worry about the quality.

This is the first week of the last year of the Animation course I’m taking and we all get the wonderful pleasure of working on Animation projects that we the students develop ourselves. Basically the first few weeks of these semester we will be pitching our ideas and then narrowing them down to a few worthy of development. Then the development begins where we write and refine the scripts, develop the Animation bibles (model sheets of characters, environment and props), draw up storyboards and developing a plan of tackling sound design.

I’m not getting within 20 feet of the sound design. I can’t design sound save my life. Probably why I quit my music career way back before it could manifest into a horrible monster of doom, one probably seen in Angel: After the Fall.

Which is why we work in teams! Everyone works according to their skill sets and goals for the future. And that is my problem at the moment. I know Modeling and 3D Animation are a couple of my skill sets, but I also have to figure out what I can do that not many other people can do. What makes my skills special above and beyond the norm. Can’t do a cartwheel so that’s out. My mixed NY/Texan/Australian accent at the moment would make for a very strange voice actor.

I’ll think of something. I also have to hide the fact that I already wrote the script for my pitch, which is dialogue-less, if it should get chosen. Apparently I’m not meant to have a script until like week 5, according to their insanely stupid schedule. Apparently we’re not meant to even animate until next semester, which I find absolutely idiotic. Animation is so key to this project, I don’t see how we can afford to ignore it for that long.

Yes, my stress levels will go up exponentially over this year. I’m hoping for good things to come out of this.

Meanwhile, I’m keeping my eye on the development of Dollhouse. I know nothing is going to be leaked, but it’s kind of fun knowing that across the ocean great minds are meeting to develop what I know will be awesome. (Well, it’s guaranteed to be better than Heroes season 2 so that’s a start.) Yes, I’m a fangirl. But so is most of my Animation group… at least the ones that are girls (even some of the questionable ones). The rest of them are fanboys. We all have our weaknesses. Mine just happens to be one with plot.

When it comes to scriptwriting, everyone knows you need an outline, especially for longer pieces. You need to know the 5 w’s of every scene before you can write that scene, otherwise you find yourself lost in the dark, wandering around with no real direction. Some people may think outlines stifle creativity, but I beg to differ. Even with predetermined goals and outcomes, the events in scenes can really go anywhere. Characters can really take the scene places with their dialogue. As long as you reach your goal it doesn’t really matter how your characters get you there. Just try not to let them ramble on. There are still time constraints.

Outlining my short that I’m pitching for my final project helped me see the structure. It made it easier for me to pick out the weaker points so I could strengthen them.

I have yet to see Cloverfield, but I don’t think I will see it in the theaters. I’ll wait to maybe it’s out on rental. A number of people have argued though on the movie’s character development. Some people say there wasn’t enough while others say “It’s a monster movie! There’s no time for characters to have a heart to heart.” I really think that characters reveal themselves in such stressful situations in how they handle it. Maybe it’s the Japanese filmmaking influence on me, but a lot more can be spoken without words. Maybe it’s time we give actors more power over their characters? Or maybe the directors should be given them better direction? It’s an art, not a job.

Yes, I went and searched for images of the monster. I hate not knowing. Surprises often let you down.

The holiday season has a special way of sneaking up on us. A lot has changed since I last posted. Everything at the moment is “for the year” as next year we have absolutely no idea even what country I’ll be working in. I’d like to work at Pixar, but really who knows.

Anyway, enjoy the holidays and have a Happy New Year. The next time I’ll be posting will likely be on my new Macbook Pro, if it ever comes in.