I figured I should post here to transform a bit my relationship with this project. I am at a point where I’m confident showing off some images. Those are all stills from the film.
It is a short film made entirely in animation aimed at raising awereness about the phenomenon of erosion, how it will affect the people of Mayotte in the coming years, ways to counter it, all of this woven into a fun fantasy adventure (mostly for kids).
I consider the general look to be more or less established now, and although there is nothing I’d love more than to sand the rough edges, I have to proceed with animating the rest of the film.
I’d like to use this thread to share some of the things I’ve learnt in the process. Producing this on my own has proven challenging and I’ve gained quite a few insights into workflows I had barely touched before.
I was 300 km to the east, on Nosy Be island, Madagascar.
Your images immediately reminds me of those wonderful places: kind of nature, soil and, of course, the cute lemur.
Cranking out the last few shots. Everything is polished except 3 shots at the basic interpolation stage. Sharing this one because I’m unsatisfied with Zarna’s body reaction to Hafez darting off. And I don’t know how it would work better. Sometimes your mind’s eye comes up with nothing. So, moving on.
The boat is a laka, traditional fishing boat from Mayotte. It has no keel, instead it uses a separate piece of wood for stability : an outrigger. There exist variations on it throughout the indian ocean and beyond : some have an outrigger on each side, a sail, etc. but this one is almost always paddle-powered (or yamaha-powered, in recent times).
The hull is carved from a single tree trunk. Because of deforestation, nowadays they’re mostly made from resin. I needed the real deal though, which is where 3D comes in handy. Anything can exist !
