Days 11 => 14: The Final Sprint

The last few days were such a rush of finishing up that we weren't able to post every day -- we're so sorry about that! Everybody was working twice as hard as usual, but it was worth it; the film is beautiful! We've compiled some final frames and a shot for you to check out before the premiere in Campbell River on Saturday, October 4th, where you'll get to see the full project and lots more!  The on-line release of the film will be Monday, in celebration of UN World Habitat Day!

 A couple of final shots (don't want to give too much away!)

Some representative frames prior to colour adjustments.

After wrapping up work on Sunday, we had the studio to break down and put back into boxes-- our appreciation for our generous supporter for the loan of our computers and to Annex Pro and Wacom for the Cintiqs!  What a great platform for our creativity and art!!

The Team all returned to their various homes and the film is moving into post-production, with sound design, final picture, scoring, sound mix, colour grade, and output!  Shout out to sound designer Matt Gionet of Earworm Sound and film composer Alain Mayrand for their fantastic contributions that are adding so much to the story and emotion.  Rainmaker Entertainment has enabled our mix with Deluxe and Side Street Post is kindly handling our colour and output.  We have a few more intense days to get the final piece ready for the premiere.

We hope you've enjoyed this peek behind the curtain on what happened during the making of this Team Generous 2D animated film. Please keep checking our social media for updates -- there's more to come! 

Thanks for all your support as backers, readers and active followers during the first-ever Team Generous Canada event and for helping us 'make a film make a difference'!!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 10!

Last but not least (okay, maybe it's at the bottom of the importance list, but it's still key!!) in our TGC2014 Key Message series is "Local Impact". The point of this is that we want to see changes in our community -- the thing about Habitat for Humanity is that it exists in most communities. So instead of shipping off donations to someplace on the other side of the planet to some organization that you don't know the legitimacy of, you can donate your time (volunteer here) or money to changing the world starting from right where you are.

Day 12: Go Team!

With only a few days left in production, the Team is really feeling the pressure -- and is rising to the challenge super well! Our pipeline flows smoothly as the shots move through the different stages. 

Many shots are in production (and now in the grid we posted yesterday), and some are even coming out the other end and are in finalling! Here are a couple snapshots of some pieces of near-finished work:

These shots are still under construction, but they're wonderfully done! The Team is collaborating strongly and their vision and skillsets are coming together into this beautiful film!! 

Remember, if you're in the Campbell River, BC area, to come to our premiere next Saturday, October 4th.  And everyone else can watch for the on-line release of the film on U.N. World Habitat Day, October 6th!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 9!

"Change Drain to Gain" -- Habitat for Humanity's work benefits not only the partner families, but also the community!! How? Because that family now pays property taxes, and is an active part of their environment. Instead of relying on welfare or support when their efforts fail to supply enough for the family and their needs, or renting, they now contribute to the society.

Day 11: Jam On Production!

We are working incredibly hard -- it's clear why full feature films take years to make! Most of the shots have been animated and are in the colour and painting phase. Some shots are already being finalized in After Effects by Sarah Clark, who adds additional shot elements and animation, brings the environment to life, integrates all of the pieces, and sweetens the shot visually -- the last big step before completion!! 

Below is a final frame from one of the few shots that has been through rough animation, colour, cleanup, and into Sarah's capable hands, and a shot still in the rough animation phase:

Thanks to the Campbell River Creative Industries Council (CRCIC) board for providing a delicious potluck feast last night and taking such good care of us!! They also wrote a sweet paragraph about Team Generous on their website before we came; read it here.

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 8!

Habitat for Humanity partners with their candidates (the families) to help them provide stability for their families and a home to grow in. It really is partnership though -- along with a lot of other requirements, families must complete 500 hours of volunteer work on their home and others', and they must show that they're trying to make it work (as in, the parent(s) have jobs).

Day 10: Beginning Character Painting

Yesterday we planned out the pipeline (workflow) for painting/colouring the scenes -- we mapped it out in detail with masking tape and sticky notes on one of the studio doors so we can stay organized!

And yesterday was another production milestone (Wow! Two in a row!) -- we started character painting, meaning that once scenes have been roughly animated with line work, the painters fill in those lines and shapes with colour. There are still several steps to go until the scene is finished, but this is a big accomplishment!

Artist DJ Cleland-Hura adds a base of colour to a scene in Photoshop

It's crunch time now and the Team is heads down working to complete the film -- everyone is very dedicated and collaborating well to solve our challenges as they arise.  

HUGE thank you to Joanne Millar and her team at the Royal LePage office in Campbell River for the incredible spread you set up for us last night! You left us speechless -- the beautiful food, the adorable decorations, and your hospitality. Your thoughtfulness touched us so much!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 7!

You've heard our slogan by now: 'Make a film - Make a difference'. We want to make a difference and use our skills to create a better world. With Habitat for Humanity, we're going to let the world know who Habitat helps and how, which will increase their range of potential partners. It feels so good to "Create Resonance"!!

Day 9: Production!

Yesterday was huge -- we started production!! Originally we were worried that we wouldn't have enough animators to complete the project in two weeks, but artists Laura Bifano and Tara Williamson have jumped to the task and are now animating like pros!

We also planned the workflow for this week so that everyone can just work without any bumps! It's really exciting to begin production after an entire week of preproduction!!

Below are some character designs (final!) and a version of Scene 010 (a work-in-progress!):

360˙ view of the mom character's head

Final coloured character design, painted by Skyler Punnett

Thank you so, SO much to Henry Lui at the Canton Restaurant for providing wonderful Chinese food for dinner last night!! It was super delicious and it satisfied that inner need. Please check the restaurant out!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 6!

"Change Isolation to Community" -- a tree by itself can't survive in a storm. But a forest will be stronger after it.

We post one key message every day, and this is the sixth in the series! Be sure to look back on the other TGC2014 KEY MESSAGES and to look out for more over the course of this week!!

Day 7+8: The Weekend

We packed a whole lot into our half-day in the studio on Saturday (Day 7)! Most of our time was spent reviewing the animatic -- planning shots, breaking down elements, and going over the story. We also tied down character design, and we're now moving into colouring them and beginning animation.

Animator Sarah Clark layered various backgrounds, textures and elements to create this work-in-progress test image

These are the final line drawings of our four main characters

We projected the animatic, cut by Jericca Cleland, onto the large screen for an in-depth team review and discussion

Thank you to 40 Knots Winery and Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Island North for hosting us for a wine-tasting on Saturday -- it was wonderful! We really enjoyed the wine and the live music and everything!! Highly recommended!

Karen Bezaire of Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Island North hosted us for a fabulous dinner at her home with support from colleagues Ron Freeman, Tom Beshr, and Nicole Hamilton.  We had so much fun!!

Also, a special thank you to singer/songwriter Brodie Dawson and guitarist/vocalist Christy Vanden for the awesome house concert -- we all loved your music so much! And you guys sound so awesome together -- rock on! +brodie.dawson @dawson_brodie

Day 8, Sunday, was a play day!!  Everyone out on the water and hiking and enjoying the We Wai Kai campsite and the beauty of Quadra Island. A grateful shout out to Ian, Carol, and team member Tara Williamson for having us over for a delicious cookout!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 5!

"Get it with story"... one of the most important things to keep in mind when creating #shortfilmswithamessage -- or anything in this field, really! Since our short film is meant to be powerful but really (really!) short, getting to people with story is our aim.

If you're in the Campbell River area, please come to our premiere on October 4th! Find all the info at the top of this blog, or here!!

Day 6: Revising Storyboard and Animatic + Design/Style Exploration

Artists Laura Bifano and Skyler Punnett have been storyboarding away and Jericca Cleland has worked super hard to edit the animatic of the entire short film. Meanwhile, the animators have been exploring animation styles while the other artists explored character design and look development. Yesterday was a busy day!

A selection of storyboard panels by Laura Bifano and Skyler Punnett

A sandcastle design sample drawn by DJ Cleland-Hura shows various angles of the structure plus texture and color

Background sky tests done in watercolour by Clive Powsey for various scenes

Thank you so much to Cheryl O'Connell and friends for the incredible dinner last night! We're so grateful to you for cooking for us -- you guys have serious cuisine talent!!

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 4!

"Break the cycle of poverty" -- easier said than done! But Habitat for Humanity has helped many families do just that and will help many more in the future. We just need candidates to know how they could benefit from that partnership.

If you haven't seen them yet, the Team Generous films from 2010-2012 are available in the sidebar of this blog -- you can watch them in the sidebar, or click the links on the video to watch them full screen or on YouTube.

Also, don't forget to pick up your own Team Generous Canada 2014 t-shirt/hoodie/fitted tee/long sleeve tee from Teespring.com and support both us and Habitat! Speaking of support, the Team Generous Facebook page has gained 34 likes this week -- and counting! Thank you all so much, and check out our other social media in the sidebar for the full TGC2014 picture!!

Day 5: Animation Tests and Starting Animatic

We're starting to see some major progress -- it's super exciting and encouraging! Team member Jericca Cleland has put together a rough animatic of the first half of our short film, the artists are working away at creating backgrounds and style design, and the animators are running tests and getting used to TVPaint Animation, which is the program we're using. 

If you haven't checked out our Facebook concept art albums, you can find the one with initial art here, and the one with current film art here.

A colour script, drawn by DJ Cleland-Hura, shows the colour scheme throughout the film as the mood and scenes change

A collection of watercolour textures and backgrounds by Clive Powsey

Sarah Clark layers images on TVPaint Animation 

A sample board provides reference for shells, driftwood, stones, and other natural items found at the beach

Team leader Jericca Cleland uses Final Cut Pro to create a rough animatic of the short film

Also, please keep an eye on our YouTube channel because we've uploaded some animation tests from our film and will be adding more shortly! The chronicled animations will show our progress and process and discovery of style!!

Thank you to the Creative Industries Council, based in North Vancouver Island, and Shelter Point Distillery for hosting our evening last night!  It was a lovely mixer for the Team to meet with local professionals in the digital media, entertainment, and technology sectors.

TGC2014 KEY MESSAGE OF THE DAY: Part 3!

Clarifying candidates is something Habitat for Humanity specifically asked us to represent in our short film, because many potential candidates don't realize that they're just that -- people who would benefit from partnering with Habitat. We aim to show people exactly who Habitat helps and how through the key metaphor we identified in Day 3, and show it so clearly that people will realize, "That's me", or "I know that person, let me tell them about Habitat".

Remember to come back later today to read about what we did yesterday! Tomorrow, we will post another key message for you all to see.

Day 4: Storyboarding and Concept Art

Yesterday was an incredibly productive and fundamental day for our short film. We have our story down, loosely, and are working on the style of art and animation now. We've posted albums of both current and brainstorm concept art on Facebook today! Here's a preview of some of the art from those albums...

Sand texture samples, done in watercolor, lie drying on the ground

A section of preliminary storyboard combines beat board panels with text

Footsteps fill in at the tide line

Different sizes of hands sculpt the sand

Abstract shapes explore eroding sand structures and waves

We'll update our albums with new art often to keep you posted on our progress. These albums showcase art from all of the various styles of our artists, so the images are interesting and diverse.

And thank you so much to the Dolphins Resort for the magnificent dinner last night! We will never forget that feeling of being spoiled and loving every second of it!!

Skyler Punnett's Special Assignment?!

Remember when, at the end of Day 2's post, we mentioned that artist Skyler Punnett had a special assignment while the rest of the Team built on the Habitat house? Ready for the reveal?

He was commissioned to paint an enormous Habitat for Humanity logo on the side of a construction container! Here is his process, detailed photos, and footage of the entire team removing the tape and uncovering his art at the end of the day.

First step: clean the dirt off the side of the container and let it dry...

Next, Skyler gridded an image of the Habitat for Humanity logo

After that, he mapped out a scale drawing of the grid...

...And used it to sketch in the logo

Once the logo was drawn in, he used painter's tape to outline and mask

After filling in the gaps, Skyler began spraying the area with paint

Before removing the tape and revealing the image, he let the paint dry

The entire team helped to remove the tape from his logo and it turned out wonderfully!!

That is what Skyler Punnett did on Sunday, and everyone was super happy with it! We'll post some of our film's concept artwork soon, so you can see what else he's created -- check for albums on Facebook and Google+ soon!!