PRODUCTION SCHEDULE:

Animation Production Schedule
Spring 2oo9


Bleu Blood (Part II)


50 days of drawing [2 months + revisions (10 days)]:


Feb 1. [LIGHTNING: from fade to black, to double and single alternating flashes. “with that, “ “a stroke of lightning…” “then made a flash…”]

Feb 2. [Still flashing in the background, pan to the right to Livius.
i. Transformation grey to black, strobe to grow older as wind blows through hair extending in blue surrounding light. “…of godly…” “…calling…”]

Feb 3. [Lightning is seen striking the ground—flash down. Fade from transition to zapping. “…and a sublime crash…”]

Feb 4. [Dissolve into a golden tone with Livius, shadows part, head raises slowly from being bowed. “His head lifted…”]

Feb 5. [Zoom out from face; eyes still raising; light streams from clouds, lightening the ground the background. “…to view…” ]

Feb 6. [Continue zooming out, hands and arms fall to sides as eyes are not wide open; blue sky and green grass come into full color. “…the world anew…”]

Feb 7. [Whip pan to the right as blue, spring green, pink, and white blurs.]
i.  [A meadow with gradating blue mountains, green, and a flowing river are seen in the background as the ground is still split, with roots coming from below with green buds. “Serene…”]

Feb 8. [Sproutings continue to grow in the same camera angle; a trunk and multiple branches. “…was the scene…”]
i.  [Trees and brushels bloom; camera does not move. “…and it was the…”]

Feb 9. [Zoom out a little; roots hang and last blooms of pink laurels; last roots move into place.]

Feb 10. [From a profile angle, Livius (to the far right) is seen taking steps to the tree (to the far left).]

Feb 11. [Slightly higher left angle, Livius walks over to tree (back of head shown only). “The fellow then sat…”]
i.  [At a higher left angle, zoomed out to a full view of body, he sits down, right hand on ground, left knee up. “…beneath a Knowing Tree…”]

Feb 12. [Frontal medium shot, slightly angled from a higher POV, Livius fixes his right foot to the Lotus position. “…To which his spirit…”]

Feb 13. [Zoom into Livius, frontal view as his palms rest on his feet which are on his knees. “…was one with thee…”]
i.  [Right hand is seen from a back right angle being placed onto the ground. “He felt the ground…”]

Feb 14. [From a ¾ left angle, Livius’ eyes are seen looking down. “…and knew it…”]
i.  [Same pair of eyes lower even more. A heartbeat fades into sound. “,,,was alive…”]
ii.  [Close-up of his eye from a slightly left angle. “He felt…”]

Feb 15.  [Transition into eye. Catchlight becomes the Sun, and his body in a right profile is shown at the top of a waterfall. Arms are up straight and stretched. “…his soul…”]
i.  [Zoom in closer so that eye has dissolved completely. His body curls into a diving position. “…take a…”]

Feb 16.  [From a downward POV of the bottom of the falls, we see Livius jumping head and arms first. ]
[The camera does not move as he enters the mist. “…deep dive…”]

Feb 17.  [As the camera zooms out of his eye, we leave the falls without Livius’ figure (which has dissolved already), and a gasp sounds in the background. ]
i.  [Camera zooms out fast to the slightly lower left ¾ angle face of Livius surprised.]

Feb 18.  [Camera whirls to his front. Double layers—eyes static; background panoramic to the right of the peaceful meadow with random blooming flowers, and birds & butterflies flying in their own patterns. “He looked at everything with new eyes…”]
i.  [He blinks and the panoramic continues with the birds and bees going out of the frame. “There was nothing in the world…”]

Feb 19.  [The background fades as his eyes stare at us, blinking once right before the next shot. “…that he could despise…”]
i.  [Shot of a pair of swans, the closest one dipping his head towards the water—left profile of river, birds, trees, and far-ground of forest past the water. “For everything was beautiful…”]

Feb 20.  [At the roots of the tree (which lies to the left), one squirrel drops an acorn. As it rolls, two others (one coming from the top of the frame, and the other coming from the bottom), come forth. “…and at peace…”]

Feb 21.  [Frontal shot of Livius with his legs crossed, hands on feet, eyes closed, and cut off in the middle of the knees. “And his body was…”]
i.  [Background fades to white with golden sparkles flaring from him as the center. Zooming out of the medium shot. “…full of release…”]

Feb 22.  [Left profile of trunk and sky. From the right, Livius leans back into the bark, and adjusts for comfort. “He smiled and leaned back into the soft bark…”
i.  [From a high angle, we see Livius raises his arm to put his hand to his forehead. The tree leaves shadow on his face and body. “…glanced up at the sky…”]

Feb 23.  [Blue sky and white clouds drift to the bottom left of the shot. “…and acknowledged its blue stark…”]
i.  [Right profile close-up of Livius’ face with his head still tilted upward, eyes closed, and tree branches and leaves in the background. The clouds are blurry and farthest away. “Then closed his eyes…”]

Feb 24.  [Cut to a zoomed out right profile of his body and the surrounding environment in the same position, unmoving. “…to take a quiet rest…”]

Feb 25.  [From a slightly higher left angle, we see Livius, static. River flows, tree sways. “From his most recent…”]

Feb 26.  [Zoom out even farther so that the other side of the river is seen as well. “…most inspiring test…”]

Feb 27.  [Fade to Livius’ neck and collarbone area. Dark background with heartbeat sounds, fades to black except for thin faded outline, with blue and red veins. “Within his heart…]
i.  [Veins follow to a blue heart which beats and pulses blood going up the tubes. “…he heard a call…”

Feb 28.    [Camera follows one tube up, and we cut to a dear bending down to feed on a patch of grass. When a pulse sounds (bu-dump), inverted colors. ]

Mar 1.  [Camera follows another tube from a different artery and we see a frog jump into frame from the top right corner, and jumps from the center, out the upper left side of the frame. Pulse starts to beat faster. “Around from one…”]

Mar 2. [Camera follows two tubes up. We follo a snail slowly peeling over the grass from the bottom left side of the frame to the middle. Faster beating. “…and all…”]

Mar 3.  [Heart beasts once and fades back to outside with Livius’ right hand over his heart and closed eyes, in a slightly upper right angle. Happy sigh sound. “He loved everything…”

Mar 4.  [Upper angled camera of Livius starting to be surrounded by animals. ]

Mar 5.  [Rabbits, squirrels, the frog, the snail, the swans, and the deer all come over (in order from left to right). “….and everything loved him…”]

Mar 6. [From a back shot, above the river’s water, we see the roots dipping into the sparkling liquid, and the animals closer,; Livius’ legs are outward. “Because he was one…”]

Mar 7.  [Pulse back to the heart with a faded white background and gold sparkles. “…and one within…”]

Mar 8.  [From a back right ¾ angle, Livius is seen with his arm resting on his bent right leg, a carriage is seen coming into the frame from the right in the distance. “A carriage halted…on the road ahead…”]

Mar 9.  [Zoom in flashing to a shaded face. A curtain drapes to the upper right corner. Embellishments on the door. Man turns abruptly to the left (profile) to say “Stop!” The carriage stops moving up and down. Clopping of the horses and wooden sounds stop. ]

Mar 10.  [Camera shot from the steps as carriage door swings open.]
i.  [The man’s feet are seem rushing down. “A person [man?] rushed out…”]

Mar 11.  [Camera is shaky as if handheld, or the man’s POV, running towards the shaded Livius, zooming in slowly. “…thinking he was dead…”]

Mar 12.  [3/4 lower left angle of Livius with closed eyes, interrupted by a shaded pair of arms, swooping down fast. ]

Mar 13.  [Shaky camera POV of an old man’s eyes looking downward. “But to both…”]
i.  [Livius’ eyes starting to flutter open. “…of their utmost…”]
ii.  [Livius’ eyes flash open wide, from a slightly left angle. “…surprise…”]

Mar 14.  [From Livius’ right profile (medium shot), and the man’s left profile with his hands still on Livius’ shoulders, the old man starts tearing. The tree bark and leaves, and blurry meadow can be seen in the background. “…they were old friends…”]

Mar 15.  [From that same camera angle, the two embrace. The old man’s head is seen behind the back of Livius’ head. The tree trunk, meadow and now the road can be seen. Both characters cry. “…they recognized…”]

Mar 16.  [From a higher ¾ left angle of Livius, his right hand raises to point as his face and body are shaded with the tree’s random leaves. Ambient sounds. The old man’s arms are still outstretched. “’You’re the aristocrat,’…”]

Mar 17.  [From the same angle, his hand lowers and the tree shade hovers and sways with the breeze heard in the background. The man’s arms lift and exit the frame. “…he said under the shade…”]

Mar 18.  [From a slightly lower angle of the old man, Livius’ right arm is stretched to touch his face. The carriage is in the background to the left, covered halfway by the tree. The shade is on the old man and Livius’ arm. The old man’s shoulders slump down in relief. “’…of noble blood and delightful fear…’”

Mar 19.  [Zoom into Livius (with his left hand raising to his chest, smiling as his right arm is still outstretched) slowly from behind the old man’s right ear and cheek to the left of the frame. Slightly higher angle. “’I now know who I am…’”]

Mar 20.  [Background of the tree trunk fades. Livius’ right arm and left hand is lowering in this medium shot. “…and I will always love you…”]

Mar 21.  [Frontal medium close-up of Livius starting to close his eyes, still continuing the gradual zoom in. “…my father, my teacher…”]

Mar 22.  [Background fades out to white as we close in on Livius’ face with closed eyes, and peaceful pose. “…my dear…”]

Mar 23.  [Last frame dissolves into dust and scatters in a radial pattern.]

Mar 24.  CREDITS and THANK YOUs.

**NOTE:  WEEKENDS MAY BE TAKEN OFF--fall back (give or take) 2 WEEKS  [END OF WEEK 10, APRIL 10]**

ANIMATIC II

This was going to be the first half of my animation, gradually transforming from a pure line drawing, to a shaded black & white, integrating the color blue into the shaded grayscale...

The second half was supposed to be the change from the monochromatic scale to a full-on colored piece, still hand-drawn, but colored in Photoshop. Blue would still be the overlaying tone of the animation, but the other colors would be tuned down.

However, I think that I will be just sticking with the first half of the poem. I've written before that I was starting to think about changing my piece into a mixed media animation instead of just traditional cel animation. I would be using this ANIMATIC as a blueprint for the next phase. All of my concept art had something "dream-like" as my Thesis II teacher calls it. I want to combine all of my skills to create something beautiful, yet meaningful.

ANIMATIC:

CHARACTER STUDY:

I think this was the most fun for me--drawing all of the CHARACTERS from Bleu Blood.

Knowing my characters are important and essential to me. Visuals on what they wear can be as detailed as to how they dress daily, to what they wear to go to sleep at night. Accessories and jewelry are very intrinsic to character and show their social status in my stories.

STUDIES:



Preliminary sketch of the Royalty:  From the top left (clockwise):  the Professor (to Livius); the King (with Livius as a child); the King (during the second half of the poem, when he returns into the picture); the Queen (Livius' mother).

Livius Age Chart--starting from the top left (clockwise).

Livius Daily Attire--what he would wear around the Palace.

Livius Daydreaming--during the day or night, if he's in the Palace, he will be miserable and feel trapped for life.

Livius Night Attire--As an androgenous character, or as boys used to dress back in the Medieval Ages, whether a noble or a commoner, nightgowns were worn without shame. 

Livius Coming of Age Attire--the ceremony that lasts for only a couple scenes (one main scene), but the climax of the first half.

Livius Commoner Attire--plain clothing compared to the jewels he used to have while he was at the Palace.

Livius Adolescent Commoner Attire--less traditional-looking, and more humble with less AKA sandals, etc.

Livius Adult Commoner Attire--the least traditional-looking garb out of all attires.  He is like a Siddharta figure, humble, yet noble, and finally found himself.

The King's Attire--We see the King usually dressed the same, but he is an important minor character.

CONCEPT ART:

I've had a concept about a noble for a very long time. However, I never knew what to do with it. The idea about having "blue blood" started after I bought a new sketchbook early in 2oo8. I always have themes for every single sketchbook I buy, and I usually have different random colors for them, to code their chronology.

I hadn't done Blue yet, so I figured, why not? I started doodling in the splash page of the sketchbook, and the nobility aspect came into mind. "Blue Bloods" are usually the casual term for nobles, and thus, the idea of my thesis spawned from a single color.

I decided to give the title of my thesis a more exotic feel. I really loathe the English spelling of my favorite color, so I decided to backtrack one culture, to Old French; they spelled it: "bleu." I suppose this is where Bleu Cheese comes from. :]


VISIONS:

I wanted my character to look androgenous, to be more universal. I really hate gender definitions--it doesn't matter when it comes to important things in Life. So, my main character originally was a Prince, who was stuck in the palace with traditional dresses as royal garb. After leaving the Palace, he would've changed into a pair of shirt and pants, but still have the jewelry from the Palace on his ears, around his neck, and on his feet. Livius carried on like this for a very long time (approximately 1 year).

However, in late months of 2oo8, I encountered Rotoscoping for the first time. My final for a Flash class was a Prequel I made for Bleu Blood, and I realized that I wanted my character to look more like this. Before the final, I had an iteration of layering live footage of a neighborhood as a possible background. Sadly, it was replaced by a different feathery texture. I do want to try to revisit these methods, and it makes me rethink my medium for the film as a whole. One more thing that completely threw me off after my Animation Production Studio teacher saw the Rotoscoping, I received a suggestion to completely rework the animation to include both genders. I think this will take me to a completely different level that I have never thought of before.

ART:

"3 No's"--"See No King,"  "Hear No King,"  "Speak of No King."  

This watercolor was based on how I would feel if I was under the rule of a tyrant.  I think this is how Livius would have felt in the Palace.

Pencil.  First iteration of Livius, ever.

Pencil.  Second Iteration of Livius, slightly older.

Pen.  Livius version with both child and adolescent ages.

Pen.  Other versions of Livius.

Pencil.  "Crown Off."  Livius in his one of the final versions.  

Pencil.  "Cathedral."  Livius moping on a pile of riches.

Pencil.  "Road of Roses."  Livius in his fantasy environment.

Blue Colored Pencil.  "Livius looking out to Blue."  Livius as a little girl--I wanted to see what the main character would be like as a female.

Pen.  "Livius Dreaming."  Livius miserable even as he sleeps.  He is back to being a male character for now.

Watercolor.  "Blue."  A painting of what I thought the color Blue would be as a person.

Watercolor.  "Livius in Twilight."  The main character androgenous and dressed in a nightgown.

Watercolor.  "Livius Season:  Autumn."  Monochrome (blue-tinted) series of how I would have liked the second half of the animation to look like in "full color."

Watercolor.  "Livius Season:  Winter."  Livius getting older gradually as the seasons change.  Still bound, but making a decision, by taking his crown off.

Watercolor.  "Livius Season:  Spring."  Livius an adolescent at his prime, taking charge of his destiny.

Watercolor.  "Livius Season:  Summer."  Livius as an adult breaking the chains, his bonds of the Palace and royalty, finally achieving freedom. 

Watercolor.  "Livius:  A Blue Butterfly in the Deep Sea."  Livius getting lost in himself as he's trying to find himself.

Watercolor.  "Queen in Blue."  Not sure what I was thinking when I painted this, but it was between the main character being female again, or the mother, the Queen...

Pencil.  "Prince."  I was thinking of making Livius a female knight, kind of like a Joan of Arc.  I kind of like this idea, still.

Photoshop.  "Livius Rotoscoped."  As the title describes--See Rotoscoping Videos below.

Photoshop.  "Blue Boy."  The first digital iteration of Livius ever.

Illustrator.  "Livius Illustrator Test."  What the main character would look like in 2D.

Photoshop.  "Livius Chained to Duty."  The first finished digitally painted piece of Livius.

Photoshop.  "Livius Revisited."  The most recent digital painting.  I tried long hair on the Prince.

Maya.  "Grandfather Clock (I)."  Full view of an object rendered in 3D, inspired by Bleu Blood.

Maya.  "Grandfather Clock (II)."  Close-up view of the clock from the face, and to some of the decorations on the casing.

Maya.  "Grandfather Clock (III)."  Pendelum view of the clock.

Maya.  "Grandfather Clock (IV)."  Bottom view of the clock.

Collage (Photoshopped Google images).  "Livius:  Le Blue."  An interpretation of an androgenous noble in a Blue setting at the Palace.

VIDS:


The first Rotoscoped iteration of want I wanted for the Prequel of Bleu Blood.  Livius dreaming about the outside world in his isolated room.  I was debating on using live footage of neighborhood streets.... 

...Or, if I should Rotoscope that as well...  

...However, I ended up going with an abstract halo-like texture to create a daydream, self-reverie feeling.  The previous houses were too modern, and out of the fantasical context that Bleu Blood's world revolves around. 

FUTURE PLANS:

ANIMATING: I need to decide which medium I will present the animation. It is a more fleshy narrative, so 2D flat animations will not do. Maya is challenging in the animation area, but I can model figures. Cel animation is the next best option…

As for the reader of the poem, I will be using 2 voices that will tell the story. I will be narrating a little boy/child that will read the first half of the story, when the main character is still in his growing stage. In the second half of the story, I would let adolescence take over and become the realization of the main character’s difference.

Young Livius Character Height Model Sheet.

Young Livius Character Expression Chart I.

Older Livius Expression Chart II.

PROTOTYPE III

An ANIMATIC was done as planned. All the camera movements enunciated the action conveyed in the drawings. Sound also helped the visuals. The viewer doesn’t have to read the poem anymore, and could focus their attention on the visuals only.

I put this up on a website and sent it out to the 3 old students, the 3 new students, and 3 newer students who had not seen or read the poem before. The 6 older students were happy and asked about the final medium I am going to do the animation. Suggestions were given to do the animation in 3D. The 2 out of the 3 newer students responded and they questioned the title “Bleu Blood.” I don’t know if many people understand that nobility and royalty are considered “blue bloods.” That is in the higher layer of interpretation for the animation. The main point is that he is different.

OLD STUDENTS:

i. Age: 17

Great. You animating it next?

Don’t really like classical music, but I digged the harpichord in the b/g.


ii. Age: 15

ohhh! Its soooo cute! Was that YOUR voice? Did you use anything to change it? it sounds really good! Although, is a boy going to read the thing in the end? It’s like a moving comic!


iii. Age 16:

I REALLYY LIKE IT. I DIDN’T IN THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SOME ARTSY THING THAT YOU HAD TO DO FOR SCHOOL, BUT I THINK IT COULD BE REALLY NICE. IS IT GONNA BE IN 3D? OR CUT OUT ILLUSTRATIONS? FLASH? IT WOULD LOOK NICE IF IT WAS IN 3D…


NEW STUDENTS:

i. Age: 17 ¾

Like I said before, you have a nice style. It’s really romantic, and ironic in the way that you put it with the subject matter being a sad, lonely situation. Is it going to grey, black, white, and blue only?

ii. Age: 16

Ohhhh, I see. The voice changes. That’s cool. Was that your voice? I think a guy should read it? well, you’re voice is pretty low, too, thou! No offense. :D

iii. Age 17:

COOL.


NEWEST STUDENTS:

i. Age 18:

Why is the king knighting his son? Is that really a ritual? Or, fantasy? The whole thing is fiction anyway, right? Also, why is the kid picked on so much? Because he’s from a higher class? He isn’t wearing the fancy clothes in the city, thou. Why blue blood? And why “bleu?” he French?

ii. Age 16:

I’d marry a boy with blue blood! Really, I would! If he’s cute~ soooo, I guess the point of the story is not to be born an aristocrat…right? ::laughs:: probably not your point, but I don’t think it makes people genuinely happy. Having w=hat you want is happiness, biut there are a lot of things that can make you happy that aren’t material, too, yea?

Cute, cute, cute~ can’t wait to see the final thing!

ANIMATIC

PROTOTYPE II

My second prototype was also on paper: STORYBOARDS. The next step was to project the visuals of the animation. My user testing would be to send these visuals with the poem cut with their corresponding frames to 4 of the same random students who understood my poem the first time, and see how they interpreted it the second round. I also planned to send these out to 4 new students who have never read the poem previously.

3 out of the 4 old students replied, and had positive feedback to the storyboards. They understood the poem better, even if it wasn’t quite how they envisioned it. 3 out of the 4 new students replied. They, too, were positive on the storyboards, but were already thinking ahead with the animation process. Many questions were asked about how it will be read. Logically, since the main character is a boy, they assume that the reader will also be male. They are interested and anticipate how it will happen…

My next prototype is an animatic, moving the storyboard frames as the camera moving, and including the overall sound effects that the full animation would have in the future.

The finalized STORYBOARDS: