Week Commencing: 15-11 File Name: Scene Tree

During the past week I have been working on a scene for the block through, and doing this we can all get a feel for the timing of the animation

I have animated the scene where the Hunter and the Apprentice are in the treetops searching for the creature, which has somehow yet again escaped the Hunter's clutches. Small summary of the scene:

It starts with a pan-up shot to the Hunter overlooking the area, and then peering over to the Apprentice, cutting to a short clip of the the Apprentice looking rather cheerful. There is then a cut back to the Hunter and then to where he is looking, immediately spotting the creature on a far away branch peering back with it's own binoculars. The Hunter is surprised by the creature's salute and then becomes angry. A cut back to the creature shows us he's just fooling around, jeering at the Hunter. A cut to the Hunter now reveals his deep loathing for the creature immediately withdraws his sword. The Apprentice is shocked and is now in disbelief as to what to do, when he suddenly realises he is holding onto the vine that is keeping the Hunter up, he lets go. A cut to the Hunter now shows he is falling and a massive plant (like a Venus fly trap) eats him.

Below are a few shots from this scene:

While doing this scene I found that a quite a few shots cannot be taken literally from the storyboard and animatic. There are a few that need more time to show that character, for example on the first and second shot there needs to be a short hold on the end to establish what the characters have just done and give the audience time to catch up with the images being shown to them. Some shots however need to last considerably longer to get in more emotion and/or actions to tell the story better. The shot where the Apprentice realises he can just let go of the vine needs considerably more time.

I feel there should also be a couple of added shots in order to fully explain the story to an audience because I did feel when I watched all the shots together, that it was too snappy in places and the story of what was happening just wasn't flowing as good as it could. I think while the Apprentice lets go of the vine, I feel there could be another shot or two after that shows the Hunter coming extremely close to his prize, arms outstretched with an expression of manic glee on his face. Then he suddenly falls only just inches away from the creature. (In the background the Apprentice could wave to the creature as we see the Hunter fall /or(or while) the creature is completely oblivious to this then turning around spots and waves back to the apprentice) If this was added I think the story would flow a bit better to the audience and adding a few more comical shots.