In the west, it's all about the decisions you make; and if there is a choice to be a chicken; there is also always a chance to become...a legend.
Flash film produced in the Classical Animation course at Vancouver Film School. 2011
Flash film produced in the Classical Animation course at Vancouver Film School. 2011
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The main idea for this short was to make something with a specific mood, so I could study classic shots and educate myself with the cinematography language. Therefor, I decided to do a Western. Mainly I took shot references from "Back to the Future III" and "Rango". I know it sounds weird that I haven't been through "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"or "Once Upon a Time in the West", but I like but I like to think that I'm the third [or even further] generation of "Western moviemakers". The other thing I absolutely love and wanted to explore more in this short, is the Graphic Style of the 50s, like UPA or Warner Bros. I'm amazed by how simple they are and still say everything.
At the beginning it was a big challenge to explain the idea of "every decision you make, you left another one behind" and how I would bring it to the screen on a cinematography way, which would make it very clear. Otherwise the short would be very confused with people splitting randomly on the screen. I had an idea of using a Voice Over to conduct the story, but it couldn't be neither a boring voice nor a too explanatory text. It should be a very catching and deep text. The words came up (magically) to me very close to the deadline and I was very lucky to find Ron Selmour, who read the words and recorded in the next day, doing a job I will be forever thankful. It brought the short a completely new level.
Another big challenge was to work in a very tight schedule (1 month from scratch) and, just like I trusted Ron for the Voice, I trusted Jonathan Bonder and Luis Orlando Ruiz for the Music and Sound FX, leaving them free to developed their own work. That gave me room to really focus on Storyboard, Art Direction, Character Design and Animation.
Ron recorded the voice three days before the deadline, Jonathan and Luiz finished one day before and I put all together during the night. At the morning I had a film that not even I was expecting to turned out so touching. Both voice and sound really added a lot to the film. Trusting people and directing - not controlling them - was the best choice to solve the tight schedule challenge, and the biggest lesson this film taught me.
At the beginning it was a big challenge to explain the idea of "every decision you make, you left another one behind" and how I would bring it to the screen on a cinematography way, which would make it very clear. Otherwise the short would be very confused with people splitting randomly on the screen. I had an idea of using a Voice Over to conduct the story, but it couldn't be neither a boring voice nor a too explanatory text. It should be a very catching and deep text. The words came up (magically) to me very close to the deadline and I was very lucky to find Ron Selmour, who read the words and recorded in the next day, doing a job I will be forever thankful. It brought the short a completely new level.
Another big challenge was to work in a very tight schedule (1 month from scratch) and, just like I trusted Ron for the Voice, I trusted Jonathan Bonder and Luis Orlando Ruiz for the Music and Sound FX, leaving them free to developed their own work. That gave me room to really focus on Storyboard, Art Direction, Character Design and Animation.
Ron recorded the voice three days before the deadline, Jonathan and Luiz finished one day before and I put all together during the night. At the morning I had a film that not even I was expecting to turned out so touching. Both voice and sound really added a lot to the film. Trusting people and directing - not controlling them - was the best choice to solve the tight schedule challenge, and the biggest lesson this film taught me.
• STORYBOARD
• CHARACTER DESIGN
• ART DIRECTION & BACKGROUNDS
• FINISHED FRAMES
