Senior Project Update

Hey guys,

I know I haven't posted an animation update within the past week. This is because I'm making some changes to my story. I've spoken with Prof. Webber here at SCAD and he suggested making the squirrel afraid of facing the outside world, rather than being scared of germs. He said that will have a greater emotional impact whereas being a germaphobe is more of a comedic situation. I met with my Senior Project I professor and he agrees. Luckily, changing the story will allow me to remove eight shots while adding one completely new one and making some simple changes to others. I know my friend who's doing my fx animation will be pleased since there wont be a need for disinfecting spray anymore, lol.

Prof. Webber also made some awesome lighting suggestions for my film. He said to keep everything outside bright and happy, and to make the interior of Larry's house gloomy and dilapidated. That way I can have a shot of Larry slamming windows and closing himself off from the outside world. He also said to make sure the raccoon jumps through Larry's window into the light to push the contrasting locations. These are all awesome ideas and I'm very happy that friend who is an equally awesome painter and layout artist has offered to color my backgrounds. =D

The only super challenging part is the shot where Larry has to decide whether or not he will follow the raccoon outside. I have to really sell his internal struggle as well as make it clear that he fears facing the outside world, rather than simply being afraid of going into the light. This will require some major acting skill to pull off, and I'm unsure whether or not I'll be able to do it successfully. I'll have to find a balance between keeping it simple yet still conveying the proper emotion in a sincere manner, which is something I've been struggling with all quarter. I'll do my best though and hope everything works.