During my time at Media Design School, I had the privilege of leading a talented team of eight individuals in the creation of our final team project, "Eye of the Beholder". As the project's director and writer, I was responsible for overseeing the various aspects of production and ensuring that each team member was able to contribute their unique skill sets to the project's success.
As a technical director, I was able to utilise my technical expertise to ensure that our film achieved the highest level of visual quality. Through effective communication and collaboration with my team, we were able to bring "Eye of the Beholder" to the screen, seamlessly integrating various elements of visual effects and animation.
Our hard work and dedication paid off when our film was chosen by industry professionals as the top student short film of our cohort. This recognition was a testament to the commitment and passion that each member of our team brought to the project, and it served as an incredible validation of our skills and abilities.
I am proud of the work that we accomplished as a team and the valuable experience and skills that I was able to gain as a result of my involvement in this project.
AWARDS
2024 - Halicarnassus Film Festival (Best Short Animation Film)
2024 - Halicarnassus Film Festival (Best Short Animation Film)
2024 - Reale Film Festival Bimonthly Awards (Best Micro Short)
2024 - New Zealand Independent Film Festival (Best Animation)
2024 - MegaFlix Film Awards (Silver Award - Best Animated Film)
(Silver Award - Best Student Film)
(Silver Award - Best First-Time Filmmaker)
(Silver Award - Best Poster)
2024 - MegaFlix Film Awards (Silver Award - Best Animated Film)
(Silver Award - Best Student Film)
(Silver Award - Best First-Time Filmmaker)
(Silver Award - Best Poster)
2022 - Media Design School Showing (Voted best film of the cohort by industry judges)
NOMINEE
2024 - AltFF Alternative Film Festival (Super Short)
2024 - AltFF Alternative Film Festival (Super Short)
2024 Summer - Couch Film Festival (Best Animation International)
2024 - Post Cinema Film Festival
FINALIST
2024 April - Rome Prisma Film Awards (Best Animated Short)
2024 April - Rome Prisma Film Awards (Best Animated Short)
2024 - Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival (Best Original Score/Soundtrack)
HONORABLE MENTION
2024 - Absurd Film Festival (Best Lie)
2024 - Absurd Film Festival (Best Lie)
2024 - Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival (Best Animation Film)
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
2024 - MegaFlix Film Awards
2024 - Post Cinema Film Festival
2024 - Emberlight International Film Festival
2024 June - First-Time Filmmaker Sessions
2024 April - Rome Prisma Film Awards
2024 - Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival
2024 - Art All Night - Trenton: Film Festival
2024 - Halicarnassus Film Festival
2024 - AltFF Alternative Film Festival
2024 Summer - Couch Film Festival
2024 July - Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions
2024 - Absurd Film Festival
2024 - Stockholm City Film Festival
2024 - Reale Film Festival Bimonthly Awards
2024 - New Zealand Independent Film Festival
2024 - Clare Island Film Festival
Software I used:
Maya | ZBrush | Arnold | Substance Painter | XGen Groom | Photoshop | Premiere Pro
The Story
Logline: When a janitor in an art gallery accidentally destroys a priceless painting, he comes up with a creative way to fix it.
The first step in creating this short animated film was to pin down the story. Although the idea for the location of an art gallery remained constant, there was a lot of brainstorming. The script went through several iterations to ensure it conveyed the intended emotions and storyline effectively.
As the writer, I aimed to take the viewers on an emotional rollercoaster, with moments of stress and humor, ultimately culminating in a comedic and satisfying ending as it was important to create a balance between the intense and lighthearted moments of the story.
Once the script was finalised, we began creating the storyboard and bringing the characters to life. The story served as a guide throughout the production process, ensuring that every scene and shot contributed to the overall narrative and emotional journey.
Reference
One of the first steps we took after creating the story and storyboard was shooting reference footage. I took on the role of acting as the clumsy janitor, Arthur. By capturing this footage, we were able to properly grasp how our camera angles would look in the final film.
This footage became a useful asset for the animators as It helped them to animate his movements and ensure that they were consistent throughout the film. As a result, our final animation was both visually stunning and captured the essence of the character that would not have been possible without this crucial step.
As the director of this film project, I found that acting out Arthur's movements was incredibly helpful in conveying the necessary emotions for each shot. By using my own facial expressions and body language, I was able to demonstrate to the animators exactly what we were looking for in terms of character performance. This allowed us to ensure that the final product accurately reflected the vision we had for the character and his emotions. Overall, I believe that this approach helped us to create a more authentic and nuanced character in our film.
As the director of this film project, I found that acting out Arthur's movements was incredibly helpful in conveying the necessary emotions for each shot. By using my own facial expressions and body language, I was able to demonstrate to the animators exactly what we were looking for in terms of character performance. This allowed us to ensure that the final product accurately reflected the vision we had for the character and his emotions. Overall, I believe that this approach helped us to create a more authentic and nuanced character in our film.
Character
Concept of Arthur by Vincent Wahlmann
In creating the main character, Arthur, I utilised ZBrush to sculpt and model his features and details based on his concept. Once the character's modeling was completed, I handed it over to Vincent Wahlmann to handle the retopology, UV unwrapping, and rigging as I, being the director, needed to start work on other aspects of the film. After the retopology and UV wrapping were finished, Stefhanie Enggano surfaced the character, giving him his unique look and texture. The end result was amazing, and Arthur really came together through the animation and through his design. Overall, the process of creating Arthur was a collaborative effort that produced a character that was both visually stunning and memorable.
I used Maya's XGen to create the fluffy appearance of on Arthur's sweater. This gave Arthur a more realistic and detailed look. To ensure that all the shots in the film had the same XGen settings, I created a tutorial video for my team. This tutorial video provided a step-by-step guide on how to set up the fluff correctly and showed them how to apply the same settings across all shots for consistency. By sharing this knowledge, I was able to ensure that the final product was cohesive and polished with all of the team members being able to achieve the same quality of work.
In addition, I also worked on his skin shader. Using the hypershade menu in Maya, I created a shader that portrayed the subsurface scattering in his skin as well as mixing it with the surfacing Stefhanie had made. I created an exclusion map to adjust the settings in areas where there was paint overlaying the skin, ensuring that the paint texture did not interfere with the subsurface scattering effect. By paying attention to the smallest details in the skin shader, I was able to add another layer of realism to Arthur's design.
I used Maya's XGen to create the fluffy appearance of on Arthur's sweater. This gave Arthur a more realistic and detailed look. To ensure that all the shots in the film had the same XGen settings, I created a tutorial video for my team. This tutorial video provided a step-by-step guide on how to set up the fluff correctly and showed them how to apply the same settings across all shots for consistency. By sharing this knowledge, I was able to ensure that the final product was cohesive and polished with all of the team members being able to achieve the same quality of work.
In addition, I also worked on his skin shader. Using the hypershade menu in Maya, I created a shader that portrayed the subsurface scattering in his skin as well as mixing it with the surfacing Stefhanie had made. I created an exclusion map to adjust the settings in areas where there was paint overlaying the skin, ensuring that the paint texture did not interfere with the subsurface scattering effect. By paying attention to the smallest details in the skin shader, I was able to add another layer of realism to Arthur's design.
Environment
Concept of the Gallery by Stefhanie Enggano
During the production, I worked on the two environments: the Gallery and Storage room. For these environments, I was responsible for modeling and surfacing various props. Additionally, I did the lighting in the Gallery environment, which involved creating a lighting setup that would enhance the mood of the scene and showcase the various elements of the environment. Through my work on these environments, I was able to utilise my skills in 3D modeling and texturing, as well as gain experience in creating lighting setups that enhance the overall look and feel of a scene.
Additionally, as the director, I made sure that all the props being made had the correct "wonky" feel to fit the film's unique style. This involved making sure that the proportions and textures were just right, so that each prop felt like it belonged in the environment and added to the overall aesthetic of the film. Through these efforts, our team was able to create immersive and visually engaging environments that helped to bring the story of the film to life.
Additionally, as the director, I made sure that all the props being made had the correct "wonky" feel to fit the film's unique style. This involved making sure that the proportions and textures were just right, so that each prop felt like it belonged in the environment and added to the overall aesthetic of the film. Through these efforts, our team was able to create immersive and visually engaging environments that helped to bring the story of the film to life.
Credits
