Whiskey Joe and Harry N. Handsome: The Last Standoff

Creating a GIF that looped correctly was a bit of a challenge, but enjoyable nonetheless. My objective was to create an element of surprise, mixed with a comfortable amount of cliché- I wanted to viewer to feel amused as well as surprised, and comfortable as well as slightly confused. 

As you can see from my storyboard sketches, I had a very clear idea of what I wanted my story to be. I wanted a classic Western standoff, interrupted by a strange creature erupting from the sand. This strange creature would then have the head shot off, causing the body to fall and the standoff to resume. 

I knew I would need particle effects to make this work, but I wasn't sure how many and how much. I wanted to keep this light-hearted, so that the objective of amusing the viewer could be met. This meant that the decapitation needed to be light and non-detailed. I decided to settle on having a small amount of green "blood" spray, but I used hexagons to make it less realistic. I also decided to have the head come off in one clean piece, just so it wasn't gross. 

I believe that this part of the animation met my objectives.

My first animation was rather different from my final- I only used one camera shot, a wide shot of the whole scene. The force fields didn't have ripple effects, and the detail was much less. I decided to include multiple shots to meet the Western cliché objective, but also to showcase detail. For example, the cylinders and hammer on the revolver function as they should, a detail that was impossible to see with the wide angle shot. 

Having received feedback that I needed to use multiple camera shots, and having implemented this feedback, I could turn my attention to making it loop. This proved to be exceptionally difficult, but luckily I receive more feedback on how to make it work correctly. My problem was that I was using zoom transitions, where hard cuts were more fitting and easier to use. 

Overall, I find that my project meets my objectives. When I show it to people, they have reactions similar to what I was hoping for. The monster always is a surprise, and fans of Westerns always like the classic elements I've included.