(1).png)
Preproduction: (1/3)
- hankim28
- Sep 10
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 5
9/24/25
This is the end of week 5 (midterm check-in). I revised the animatic to include the comments from our group. We all agreed that the moon was struggling as a character and didn't feel involved in the story-line. From that, we wanted show that the moon wasn't just a stylized light source, but a guardian figure towards the fairy. The fairy and the moon have to work hand-in-hand. The moonlight at the beginning of the film encourages the fairy to emerge from her cocoon. Although it isn't strong enough yet, unlike the ending scene, it helps guide her to walk into the forest. Our sound design team will heavily guide this storytelling detail!
I mentioned to the team that our moonlight should have a sort of "jingle" sound similar, or pitches higher/lower, to the fairy's wings. This would allude to how intertwined the moon and fairy are. Comparably, I would like to have all of the sound effects of the particles, specifically in shot 2B, to have a organic 'hum'. I think it could really add to our theme of rebirth and rejuvenation!
Last Thursday (09/18) we had a a meeting with Xristos to discuss XR stage shoot dates, needed information, and stage expectations.
Notes:
9 Total shots needed on the XR stage
Production Design mock-up
Production Design budgeting
Can we use the motion control rig?
We have a couple of members on our team qualified to handle the XR stage's Red V Raptor camera. I think we have to look into on boarding a DP just in case we need to reserve a camera similar to this for our other shoot dates.
Here are the production design mock-ups I created to send off to Xristos. Other documents need to shoot on the stage were filled out and sent in by Gracie Szymanski.
We want to look into finding a Production Designer to complete these rough ideas.
9/17/25
Before class 10 (midterm check-in), I quickly put together an idea of what the title/credits would look like time-wise. I also incorporated a timecode bar to watch out for the duration of the film. After putting this in, I seriously reconsidered the speed of a handful of shots. This will be corrected.
We have recruited an associate producer to help us recruit film major assistance for on-set shoot days! She has been incredibly helpful with filling us VFX students in on their pipeline and the different roles film students contribute too. I'm hoping we can reserve the camera and lighting equipment the film students have access too: this could heavily change the look of the project (in the best way!).
A crew call poster was made after our meeting with Sabrina (associate producer) with all of the combined roles needed for the project:
My team and I met on a daily basis to check-in on their progress. Some VFX members in our team are in a different class, so I go in to make sure they're also on track with us. As of right now, everyone has been excitedly starting their roles. Environments have been started in Unreal Engine, lighting tests are in progress, and FX studies are underway.
Costume References:
Our Costume designer, and VFX generalist, is picking pieces out based upon VFX standards when shooting on a green screen. Were staying away from anything shear and too white.
LookDev References:
The Monsters:
The antagonists of the film will never be visibly seen; however, I do want to provide context into their existence. They're grotesque, deformed- something too intimidating to meet face-to-face. Heavily inspired by the mutants in "The Hunger Games" movie series.
I promised my professor a more refined version of the animatic. For this one, I made sure the actions, characters, and camera layouts were more in-depth. Because it's 2D now, I wrote up, with the help of Gracie, all of our intended camera movements in the updated shot-list.
There are still some major changes I want to fix that will be completed before class 10 (midterm check-in):
Pacing: Meant specifically for film production and our sound design team. I want to make sure each scene have a general time frame the team can work with.
Title/Credits: General idea of placement and to help navigate the total film time.
Inconsistencies: There are a lot of shots that need revision or removal. The story is evolving more now that our team has a solid idea of what we can really achieve.
9/10/25
The first week back in class has given our team a rough idea of how much we really prepped over the summer. The preparation of this quarter gave us good 'wiggle-room' to adjust things based on our professor's critique. This week has been spent organizing individual responsibilities to our team members and planning our schedule according to our project's needs. My time this week has been dedicated to refining and changing the animatic and story based on our class feedback.
I understood the original animatic and it's movement, but it's hard to convey what's really happening to an audience's perspective. And so, I plan on polishing it up, add/remove shots, and help label camera movement properly in our shot-list. I promised a better, refined animatic for presentation on the 15th.
From the initial revisions I changed for the story, my producer and I agreed on splitting up our shoot dates. Scene one and three will be on the XR stage, and scene two will be completed in the green screen room at the Savannah Film Studios. Filming this way allows for us to explain any irregularities or changes in our lighting from either sets. After agreeing on the decision, we (producer and I) went ahead and started planning possible film dates. Our producer has set up the following shoot dates:
October 4th: Test shoot day for green screen shots
November 8th: Main shoot day for green screen shots
The prior date will be used to test out our equipment and production pipeline, so come November 8th we're prepared and organized during the final shoot.
The next steps going forward will be gathering any additional help we will need to successfully work through the project. Time is an incredibly important aspect of VFX and we understand the amount of it needed to achieve the desired look of Metamorphosis. Collaboration is so important during this.
Comments