PROJECT 08- PRE-VIZ

In this project we have made a Pre-Viz of our story- based on the storyboard and the 2D animatic. I think that cameraangles and cameramovements are a challenging field, it is not easy to make it look good. When I watch movies (both animation and live-action) I tend to not think about the cameramans job. Thats a shame really.. I need to do more research about camerawork, and improve my skills a lot. In this project I have really learned the importance of making good decisions regarding the shots. I think it goes like this: If the camerawork is good..you dont think about it. If the camerawork is bad..then you really think about it! With this in mind..I must say I dont feel that I have made a perfect Pre-Viz, no. There are things that can be done better.

Here is my first draft



I had a lot of Long-Shots. I made the shots just pretty much as they appeared in my storyboard. I did not "see" any close-ups in my head when developing the storyboard. Both my tutors, Kristian and Deryck commented this.. "you dont have any close-ups"! In an emotional story like this- close ups might be just the thing to make the audience feel what the character is feeling. I knew this- but I didnt make close-ups anyway.. I felt that I wanted the audience to be more of an "observer" ..and not BE the gingerbreadman. But I think that I might have been wrong..and I think that the reason I did not add close-ups also has a lot to do with this: When developing stories I "see" the film in my mind.. And in my mind I dont see things as a cameraman, I see the film more as if I am a flying camera in the scene- observing the action from a distance. What I wonder is...when I am more skilled than now..will I start seeing the action more from a cameramans point of view? I hope so- and I think that if I can start seeing stories this way..then I will make much better shots.

After getting the feedback from my tutors I started adding some close-ups to the Pre-Viz.. The result is not perfect- but I do see why they adviced me to make some close-ups. I really like the close-up that I added after the gingerbreadman looks up at the two characters on the shelf. This improved the emotional setting I think- It just feels very right to see his face and reactions at this point. Deryck also made me aware that one of my shots broke the rule of thirds: And he was right- that shot was just ugly. I have polished it, and also been more aware of the rule of thirds in general. The cool thing is that the more I tested and trained myself in the rule of thirds..the more I actually developed a natural feeling for it. After a while I just felt if the framing was good or bad. When I double- checked the framing with the rule of thirds grid- the objects of interest was surprisingly often just in the right place.

Changes I have made from the draft to the Final Pre-Viz:

*I made the Pre-Viz Shorter, because I did not have time to work with 52 seconds. Its now 32 sec.

*I changed shot 1_B from this:
To this:
The reason is that I wanted a stronger pose/silhouette in the character, and I also wanted the character to be in focus (rule of thirds).

* I have added close-ups, but also made the Long-shots much closer to the character than before. The reason I did this is because I wanted smoother transitions between LS and CU, and I also wanted to see if the it looks nicer when the character is more in focus.

If I had more time- I would polish the shots more.. I dislike the cut between this shot:
...and this:
Something is just bad there, but I have some teories: It would have been more natural to have a close-up of the gingerbreadmans face before showing the "over-the-shoulder" shot of the recipe-book perhaps? I also wonder if I break the 30-degree rule in the cut between the shots.

I also feel that the last shot (when the star flashes) could have been framed better.
The star does not get the proper attention in this shot, also it feel a little wrong to suddenly see the character almost slightly from behind. And maybe there could have been a better transition between this shot, and the previous shot (close-up of gingerbreadman).

If I must choose a favourite sequnce it might be the first shot.
I really like the way the audio and visual work togheter. When the light turns on at the beginning- there is also a "magic" sound at the same time. When the title appears (animated as glazed letters), it happens at the same time as the audio-anticipation of the song. The Dolly in is also well timed to fit the audio. And the sad gingerbreadman appears as the song suddenly turns a little sader.. So this "marriage" between visual and audio really gives the shot a nice feel to it. And one of my biggest challenges when working with animation and music, is to get things to fit.. Really hard to get nice results, because you always have to respect the audio as well..when making shot decisions.