Okay, here is the improved version of my final film. I added a background to a scene, changed some colors, worked on backgrounds, fixed a huge typo I found in one of the subtitles (ahhhh that was a big one, so glad I noticed it!)…. Oh and it now has an official title too!
Here is a photo I took on my parents’ farm couple years ago. I love Fukushima. Even though now it’s all contaminated, it will always be the place where I miss the most when I am away, and where I call home.
-Hikari
I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who helped me in a process of making this film. (Christoph, classmates & upperclassmen for giving me helpful feedbacks, friends for putting up with me when I got depressed and bitched about everything lol, and of course my family for always being so supportive!!!)
Our department chair Doug suggested me to submit it to festivals after our all-department critique this morning. it’s not completely finished (I still want to add a background to the “mom & kid walk cycle” sequence, spend some time on other backgrounds, and hopefully find somebody who can compose a little music for the credit roll!) so that’s what I will be doing this summer.
I will also start working on an animation I am making as a surprise gift for my older sister’s wedding, as well as working on some of my short films. And of course I will be shooting pictures with my Pentax and Holga, and drawing random stuffs!
I will post my works on my Cargo Collective website during the summer. That would be great if you could come check it out and maybe leave some feedbacks!! Here is the link.
http://cargocollective.com/hikariokawara
Thank you again, and I hope everybody has a wonderful and creative summer!!! I look forward to seeing you all in fall!
Hikari
A very interesting documentary film about the Fukushima accident made by BBC. One of my Japanese friends sent me the link to this video when I was working on my storyboard for the final, and it really helped me see what really was going on in the plants last March. I really appreciate BBC for making this film, because it has a lot of information that you would never hear if you are watching a documentary made in Japan.
Revised animatic for my final.
I changed some parts, added more images, added a voice narration, added sound effects, and so on.
Now it’s time to animate! Saying goodbye to sleep and hello to caffeine!!!
Please feel free to leave any kind of feedback or constructive criticism! I would appreciate it A LOT!!! This animation means a lot to me and I want to hear many people’s ideas of what I can do to make it better!!
Arigato!!!
Hikari
Here is my character design. I got words “sympathetic” “toll booth employee” who has “different hair everyday”
- Name: George
- Age: 55
- Sex: Male
- Single or in a relationship / married: single
- Do they have kids / family: a dog
- Race/ethnicity: White
(- Species?)
- Profession: Toll Booth Employee
- Education: High School
- Relationship to parents: close to his mom. His dad passed away 5 years ago.
- Relationship to Friends: Not many friends but very close to the ones he has
- Moral / political / religious values: Not religious
- Hobbies: Going for walks with his dog. Cooking. Watching old movie.
- Where do they live: somewhere in the US, possible Colorado
- How do they live: In a small house (like a house from the movie “UP”)
- How do they want to live: he is happy with the house he has now.
- What their goals in live: To help kids who struggle in school for their unique difference like he did.
- What are their dreams: To save up enough money to spend his retired life in somewhere warmer.
- What are their fears: Losing his job
- What their biggest obstacles in life:
- What keeps them from achieving their goals?
- What are their biggest flaws?
- How do they deal with conflict?
- Are they shy or outgoing: shy at first
- Active or passive: active
- Do they love or hate who they are: He used to hate, but now he likes who he is.
- Do they have a sense of humor: yes
- Are they confident around other people?
- What are the power relationships in their lives?
- Do they lead or follow?
- What do material goods mean to them?
Right after he was born, George’s parents realized that there was something different about their son from everybody else. They realized that George’s hair grows a lot faster than other children. They saw a doctor, and the doctor told them that there’s nothing they can do about it. George had his first haircut when he was only three months old, and the speed of his hair growth got even faster as he grew older. By the time he was a kindergardener, George had to cut his hair every single day, as his hair grew 10 times faster than everybody else. He would cut it very short in the morning, but in evening it will touch his shoulders. In school, he got bullied from other children because of his hair. He graduated from high school, but did not enjoy his times in school at all. After high school, he got a job at a toll booth on a highway. He liked this job, because everyone was moving so quickly and never noticed about his hair. One day, he decided to do something different with his hair and made it look like a hair from Dragon Ball. Little kids who were in cars loved his hair, and George realized maybe his hair is a gift. So from that day, he started doing something different to his hair everyday….
George is very hard working, and always nice to others. He is sympathetic to others and always willing to help. He loves being funny and making people laugh with his crazy hairstyles. He also donates his hair to an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.
Since our teacher Christoph told us in class that it’s okay to post works outside of our major studio classes….I am posting one of my assignments from a digital filmmaking elective I am taking this semester!
The assignment was to collect sounds and put it together into a short film. I went to different places in KC during the spring break to collect the sounds.I am not musical at all so dealing with sound was bit of a challenge but I enjoyed it after all.
Here is my animatic for the documentary. I ended up interviewing my mom some more (on Skype). I added a part when she is talking about the earthquake itself.
Hikari
