I recently finished the pre-production of my short film, meaning it is time to dive into Blender and make the entire thing. I thought I would post some updates here, in addition to my website https://makingashortfilm.com where I have a lot of stuff you might find fun and useful.
As pre-production, I both created concept art of everything to make it easier to make in Blender later, as well as an animatic for planning every shot in the film and the motions performed by the characters. Here is the complete animatic so you can see what the film will be like:
So, without further ado, I will get started modeling some of the assets appearing in the film. I hope you will like following along on my journey to completed film! Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube-channel to stay up to date, and/or my Twitter / Facebook.
Nice you finished your pre-production, Gustav! I would like to watch it once production and post-production is finished.
In the meantime, why not check out my own WIP about my web-series I told you about some time ago? The first episode will go into production after August 31st, and once my birthday is over (September 1st).
I’d like to have some feedback on my work as I make progress. I have a topic about it as well, so you’d be updated on its progress and some other related stuff.
Hi Daniel!
First of all, thank you. I will definitely check out your project. I saw your PM and have now given you a bit of feedback on the logline you sent! Hope you find it helpful. Good luck!
I have completed the modeling of the Hospital Room where most of the film will take place. I based it on the concept art I drew earlier. I made some small modifications when I got to see it in 3D, but it is mostly the same. Overall, I am pretty happy with the result. The .blend-file is available to get on the website in case anyone wants to take a look.
The hospital bed has been both modeled and rigged now, apart for some deformation in the matress and pillow. This is a pretty important item in the film, since the Old Man spends most of the runtime in it. I made a little video demonstrating the ways it can be adjusted, which should allow me to do all the things required for the film.
I have now modeled and rigged the EKG monitor. It is a very important object story-wise, since it visualizes the reason the Old Man can’t leave the hospital. His heart is weak, and this monitor is a constant reminder of it .
The result is visible below. I recorded a timelapse of the process in case anyone is interested to see it (If you don’t like the speed, YouTube has controls which allows you to go both slower and faster).
The Robot has now been modeled, and I am pretty happy with the result! I made quite a few changes compared to the concept art I drew earlier, both to improve the looks but also to actually make it work. I go into more detail on the blog, where you can also download the finished .blend.file: https://makingashortfilm.com/update?post=45.
Oh yeah, I spent a bunch of time on this one! Since it is one of the two main characters it is super important I got it as good as I could. I do want people to like him, and feel for him.
I have now finished the rigging of the Robot, which ended up a fair bit more complex than I thought it would! Here is a video I made to show the controls, as well as discuss a bit on how it works:
I have now modeled and rigged the bed table with the lunch that is given to the old man. It is a fairly simple object, but it is nonetheless very important. You can read more about the thoughts behind it and how it relates to the story on the blog: https://makingashortfilm.com/update?post=47
Next up is to continue modeling/rigging the various objects used in the film.
The actual hospital room is now completed by the addition of the two curtains. The one by the window is instrumental to the story and will be animated several times in the film, while the one by the bed is static and in basically just decoration.
Here is a short video I made of some tests just to see so the setup works (Which I afterwards noticed it didn’t, since the curtain intersected the railing. This has now been fixed). I will most likely tweak the simulation parameters further when I animate the actual scenes and I know how the characters interact with it.
To download the finished .blend, or read more about how it works and the controls it has, visit the blog: https://makingashortfilm.com/update?post=49
Now I will move on to making the hallway outside of the hospital room. See you next time!
I have now modeled another location in the film, namely the Hallway. It reuses some of the items from the Hospital Room to both save time and create a unified look since it is he same building.
Read more about why it is designed like it is on the blog: https://makingashortfilm.com/update?post=50
Here is the direction from which the Doctor comes:
Just a little note; the film has now passed 25% done! You can see the progess, what I have done and what is left, on the progress page. This was also blog post #50. It has been fun so far, and I look forward to making the rest and writing about it/sharing it with you!
Wow, what a heart-warming comment! I really appreciate it. I am extra happy about the fact that you like the story, I have not received much critique on it (especially the animatic) so it feels like it could be terrible and I just haven’t realized it.
Any news regarding the short film, Gustav? Or are you in full swing with getting to work on the models that you’ve forgot to give us an update on the progress?
How much are you into sculpting your characters’ meshes?
I’d be really interesting to be hearing a response for your film’s production state right now.
Hi, thanks for asking!
“Real life” has gotten quite a bit in the way since Christmas, with school and a completely different project being in focus (unfortunately the short film doesn’t help my economy in the short term which is why it gets a fairly low priority). However, the old man sculpt is basically done! My hope is to finish it soon, hopefully I will have a free day for it next week.
Now I completed the next step in the process, which was to sculpt the first human character! It took some time, but now I have found a shape for the Old Man which I am pleased enough with. It doesn’t look like anything Disney would make (of course), but considering that I am only one person, with very limited experience in character creation, I think he turned out okay.
Here is a short video presenting the resulting sculpture, showing the progression as well as different expression tests:
It’s a good model of your human protagonist, Gustav. Sorry about a late comment, but I was doing book writing and simply hadn’t have time to make a comment of your progress.
First of all, the Robot and the Old Man are an interesting pair for a short film. You’ve done a great deal amount of work on the Robot for getting it right and correctly according to your vision. As for the old man, his “cartoony” style is a welcoming sight to have in a short film. Not all characters have to be of high-poly and very detailed, like those of Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks Animation.
It’s only a matter of time given with great care for how you’ve sculpted the character. I think you’ve made a spot-on human character for a first of your film. I’m looking forward to more of your characters being made later in the year.
Now, for my remarks of your film: The story is something of an interesting concept. It tells what your characters (specifically, the main ones) are going for. As for the title, it’s something that immediately tells that the MCs are going to be out to the sun. I see no reason to change it if you feel like it’s not giving too much away. I hope that you’re going to be less-than revealing of the characters’ goal in your next film once this one is finished.
Overall, this is a great concept. I’m wishing you the best with the rest of your production and post-production stages of the short film.
As from someone from a book I’ve read would say, “Atra gĂĽlai evarĂna du.” (May luck watch you.)
…Sorry 'bout that line. I read the Inheritance Cycle, and I just couldn’t help but write that to you. sheepishly rubs neck while smiling innocently
Hope you find it helpful. Good luck!
I really appreciate it. I am extra happy about the fact that you like the story, I have not received much critique on it (especially the animatic) so it feels like it could be terrible and I just haven’t realized it.
It took some time, but now I have found a shape for the Old Man which I am pleased enough with. It doesn’t look like anything Disney would make (of course), but considering that I am only one person, with very limited experience in character creation, I think he turned out okay.
