Thursday, August 20, 2009

Will I Continue? What's Next?

Is there a possibility that I will continue making Maple films? Yes, there is a possibility. Do I currently have the time for it? No. Please understand that it is crucial for me and my career to basically get top 10% of my law class. I have intentions of transferring to different schools and excelling in my law academic career. As such, I must devote most of my time to understanding the concepts being taught in each of my classes. 

However, I don't believe that people should quit their hobbies altogether. In fact, having spoken to a few law professors, it is unnecessary to do that. They encourage us to continue with our hobbies...with precaution. 

Making a film is hard work. I've finished Love and War sooner than I have expected by (1) sometimes spending more than eight hours a day working on the editing and animating, and (2) sacrificing my time and energy for other things. I dislike leading people on and not finishing. So, if I am to make a film, I want to make sure I have ample time to do it.

WITH THAT SAID...
I would like to announce that YES, I AM currently DRAFTING a new movie. In fact, I have two completely different stories that I am debating over. And, as a reward for those who read my blogs (and pointless banterings), I will let out two secrets. (Everyone else will just have to guess...unless they read this).

1. The idea for my first movie is an action/drama/war film involving five members of royalty seeking revenge on one guy...and an army of 5,000. The goal is to choose to liberate a continent, or seek vengeance. This will not involve traditional definitions of vengeance. In fact, the characters involved in this movie will not be traditional either. 
This film, if I decide to do it, is aimed for the sole purpose of storytelling, and exploiting the limits of special effects and 2D animation. For me, this movie will be MY piece of artwork. This is as much plot as I will write, because I am planning on announcing the existence of this movie only with a trailer. The idea behind it is to shock and elicit audience attention. 
  • Voice Acting = Difficult, prior acting experience or equivalent highly encouraged
  • Plot line = Very much like a series, since it might be told in chapters.
  • Time frame = seems like it will take over a year to complete.

2. The other idea for a movie to work on will be lighthearted and comedic...much like Love and War. I understand that people want me to make a sequel. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but there won't be one LOL (at least not now). This film will involve fewer characters, and involve a love mess (NOT a love triangle)! It will also involve something we are ALL VERY familiar with *evil chuckle*. This story will focus only on storytelling, and much like Love and War, contain few or no visual special effects. 
  • Voice Acting = Simple, but prior acting experience recommended
  • Plot line = Simple, straight forward, with hilarious twists
  • Time frame = Possibly a few months to 1 year for completion. 
I'm not quite sure which I will end up doing, but it will take me some time for me to start on it. So for now, I suppose you can say that I am just testing the waters to see if I can even do a movie. :)

*but I WOULD like to have a break after just finally completing Love and War <_<




Saturday, August 1, 2009

Love and War FAQ's/Q & A

I will address the questions and comments that have been raised for Love and War. I figured it best to just type it out, than to answer every single question/comment. lol.

WARNING: THIS MAY SPOIL the end if you HAVE NOT SEEN PAST PART 8.

1. "Why didn't Levi and Cera get married?"
A: Out of respect for my real boyfriend, I decided not to have them hitched, since my boyfriend's character, and Cera's appear in other movies. I know it IS a movie afterall, but it'd just be funnier to have the Captain marry Amelie LOL.

2. "Did everyone know each other? And did you guys record in the same place?"
A: For the most part, I DID know the actors before they auditioned. Yet, they still auditioned. I did not choose them because they were my friends. And no, we did not record in the same place. I sent them their scripts via e-mail, and they sent me their audio clips the same way.

3. "What happened to Jule?"
A: You can safely assume, that after the appearance of the governor, and having him say "arrest them," that Jule is in prison (and rightly so!). Many of you felt that Part 8 did not connect with Part 6. I don't feel a need to HAVE to animate everything out for several reasons: (1) that'll make the movie unnecessarily longer; (2) the focus isn't on Jule, the focus is on Cera's past and her current dilemma with Cecily and Levi; (3) some films can still make sense without the need to explain everything, I feel this is the case with Love and War.

4. "Will you make a season 2/sequel?"
A: To be honest with you, I dislike sequels...unless I can find a story that would not only be better than the first, but would connect. I can't think of something that could currently replace it...FURTHERMORE...that would necessitate the presense of previous voice actors, and I'm not sure they're up for that (not to mention I'm going to law school and will be absent for at least a year).

5. "Will you be making more movies like this in the future?"
A: Sure, why not. The next one I make, however, will not be a romantic comedy.

***
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

1. "What program did you use?"
A: I am a mac user; I use Final Cut Express 4 to animate and video edit, Audacity to edit sound, and Photoshop CS2 to create graphics.

2. "Where can I find those backgrounds?"
A: I made 99% of them from scratch. I have borrowed maybe 2-3 maps from BSBackgrounds (THANK YOU Kirimy, Light, and Gregio!)

3. "Where did you get your sound effects?"
A: Either I MADE them, or else I found it on www.freesound.org

4. "How did you get them to move?"
A: ...please do a search on youtube for a Bannedstory Animation tutorial. XD I can't even explain this in one paragraph.


GOT OTHER questions? Comments? Leave them here and I'll do my best to answer them!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Love and War's last composition

I've received comments that Love and War isn't really a romantic comedy...since it contains events that weigh the audience down. I want to keep the "light, humorous" feel that this movie originally had at the beginning, yet what I REALLY want to do, is make you guys relate to Cera...feel the way she felt, and realize that this sort of stuff CAN happen. I want to break my audiences' heart, and then put it back together again. To do this, I have combined several elements: the use of narrative, a picture-book like animation, and emotional music. 

I have learned that people remember how they feel more than they would remember facts--and that's what I'm targeting. 

Narrative - What happened to Cera? What is this past that she had with Jule? I figured it to be more effective to keep it a narrative than to have Cera explain it to Cecily. 

Picture-book like animation - seriously...I don't have the time to animate the ENTIRE scene of her past. Yet, that's not the reason why I'm doing this. At the beginning of the movie, Cera had memories stored in pictures. I decided to bring that out one more time. It will allow the audience to focus more on the narrative and the story, instead of being distracted by the technics of animation and the semantics of acting. I want them to start feeling like Cera.

Emotional Music - why settle for just background music, if you can have music that practically paints the scenery for you? I don't believe in having music just to fill in the gap. I believe in having music that can tell a story. The music I'm using for Cera's Past is meant to be listened to, and enjoyed without the movie being there. If you listen to it by itself, you'll hear it telling you a story. The songs i've picked have plucked my heart strings and elicited some emotional response from me. That is why I have chosen what I did. :)

I'm seriously excited for the end of this movie. I want there to be a roller coaster of emotions. I want the audience to feel heartbroken and sad, and then later relieved, happy, and on the verge of laughing. I just wish I had a web cam photo of everyone's face as they are watching it. :) To me, that is success.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Love and War at Close

Working on these last few episodes have somewhat made me a little emotional LOL. I can't believe it's almost over. 

I don't want to leave my fellow viewers disappointed, so I want to put in as much emotion as possible, particularly Levi's feelings for Cera, and Cecily's feelings for Levi. Yet at the same time, I don't want to exhaust my viewers with information, because this movie was intended to be light and humorous, as its title suggests. I don't want to stray away from the style I had set up from the beginning either. 

...I don't want to write this on my channel, but I MUST admit that I think...part 6 and 7 just might be my favorite parts to the movie (besides part 1). I hope there's enough romance to keep you guys satisfied for a LONG time. :)



Friday, June 26, 2009

Things that've kept me busy thinking...

I am in such a rush to finish my projects before I head off to law school. Gosh, I'd hate to leave anyone hanging after having to promise that I would finish the movie.

iRhymu's (Yao's) Alice is REALLY HARD to act for! O_O It's such a lovely script and the movie seems so...alive. I hardly feel adequate enough to capture the feelings of Alice. Nevertheless, it is the most pleasantly challenging acting I have ever done. 

Gosh...Love and War Part 6 is gonna be one tough thing to animate. Can I say...I'm not good at fighting animation? D: 

These are my thoughts for the moment...aside from the fact that I am COMPLETELY in love with my boyfriend and I will be devastatingly sad when I have to move. He'll be about 1 hour and 30 minutes away from me...but I guess I can live. :) We'll be together forever anyways, at least that's what we promised! <3

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Love and War Scene Spoilers: Levi's Prison Scene

~*The following is from the actual Love and War script that may or may not be included in the movie. For those who absolutely want to have a sneak peek, here are some excerpts. THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! :) *~

***
Levi sulked heavily; his back slowly sliding down the cold, brick walls until he practically sat on the moist, mud floors of his prison. 
He would be executed tomorrow, but he did not seem to care. The only thing that weighed on his mind was his apparent wrong-doing. He had stolen and lied since he was a mere child, yet...the idea of hurting her much like Jule did seemed to be a pain worse than facing death. 
His heart was thus unsettled. He did not want to face the gallows until he could speak to her.

Suddenly, his wish came true.

"Cera!?" he cried breathlessly as he watched a figure descend the stone steps that led to the lair.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked awkwardly, walking to his prison door with but only a black cape to conceal her identity.

"...Well, your disguise isn't really that great..."

"I'm breaking you out. Come on!"

"I'm not leaving," he said, feeling determined to atone for his crime. 

"So you want to die, is that it?" she asked, sounding a little offended with the idea that her rescue would go in vain. 

"No. I just don't want to betray your trust," he said truthfully.

"Betray my trust? Levi...you've already done that. I know everything about you now," she said as his eyes gazed into hers, unwavering. "I should have trusted my instincts, but I gave you a chance because Cecily did. She liked you, Levi. She really did! But you're just like every other guy...you're only in it for the money. Shame on you, for toying with a girl's feelings!"

"But i'm not the only one at fault!" he said hotly, as he began to realize that he might be starting something which he will later regret. "What you did to her because of Jule was wrong! Furthermore, you stole the key--"

"--I did that to protect her" Cera interrupted. "from people like you!"

Levi quickly decided not to argue back. He had lost the will to after seeing the edges of her eyes moisten. 

"You don't understand how it feels to be a great matchmaker, but not able to find your best friend a great person to be with," she said before she quickly stated, "of course you wouldn't understand...because you have no feelings!"

"That...isn't true," he said, feeling a very sharp ache in his chest. "I'm different now!"

"I can't say I trust you."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I--" and Cera paused to reflect on what she would say to him. Why was she here? Why would she go through the trouble of (and the fear of being formally sentenced in court for) abetting a criminal? 

"Because I...just can't let the person that saved my life die," she said finally. "It just doesn't feel right..."

Levi stared at her intensely as comprehension slipped into his mind. It wasn't until he remembered the scar on the collar of her neck that he realized what she meant. That scar was apparently longer than he thought it would be.

"That thing that you're protecting," he said. "It's inside of you, isn't it?"

And without so much a word, he watched disappointedly as Cera tearfully rushed out of the prison lair, leaving him to his own thoughts.

***
end Act 2