Spring 2023 Senior Project Version 8
Working Title: Stabbing
I took on a lighter load this week in preparation for a strong week of work next week, and because most of my week I was out of town so I couldn't make progress part of the week regardless. I focused on getting all of the fencing reference footage, which I successfully completed. I ended up adding a few extra shots as well because once the footage was added to the animatic a lot of the touches felt too close together and that there was no room to build tension or appreciate the actions. My fencing club was fairly full that day so there were a lot of people in the background of the footage, but it is clear who the subjects are.
There was some difficulty getting the exact angle of the shots I wanted, because the length of the epees are so long it's hard to get both people in frame at what would be the normal distance in fencing. So, in a few of the shots I cheated the distance, I'll zoom in a bit, and I'll most likely make a few more cheats to make the distance close but more believable as I go to block the shots. I also know I will need to exaggerate the poses a lot, both to create clear, fluid silhouettes but also because in actual fencing there are very few touches that are the textbook correct form. Fencers are taught the correct form but in a bout all kinds of crazy stuff happens as both people frantically fight to get their touch.
An unexpected thing that I will have to adjust from the reference footage is that I stand in en garde and fence very feminine. Since the main character is a male I'm going to have to adjust that posing slightly to make it feel less gentle and the stance more intimidating.
What's Next
This upcoming week I will be making lots of progress. I'm working on prioritizing what I need to complete in order to make the most progress, but I'm definitely going to finish any modeling, the epee rig, and to block and spline as many shots as possible. I have the main shots that I want to focus on in m weeklies, but I hope to make additional progress beyond what I have planned. I'm trying to keep my expectations realistic because I know I tend to overestimate how much time I have to dedicate to this in a week, but with next week being a break I know I will have significantly more time than normal.
I will also be developing the official title for the film! Though "Stabbing" is a little funny, it was never meant to be the actual title. My peers have had many helpful suggestions, so I will be taking their ideas into account and figuring out some possible new titles.
