One of my biggest goals while searching for masters programmes was to find an opportunity to make a grad film. Ever since I wanted to be an animator, I wanted to make a film and this term was my chance to properly develop a short film over 6 months.
However, come January, I found myself debating whether it was worth developing dedicated portfolio pieces or work on someone else’s film. Would it be practical to make a film on my own just because I really wanted to or was there something more useful to do with this chance?
However I decided to go with a film for two main reasons:
- Because I really really wanted to
- A completed animation student film would then grant me access to filmmaker spaces
From other filmmakers I have met and discovered, their directed animation films then gave them opportunities to apply for festivals, host screenings and also participate in talks and events to share their experience on working on their films. A collective of animation students called Ghost Animation, created 4 animated short films and went on a tour across cities hosting screenings and animation meet-ups. Having a film that I have directed and created would become my way of introducing my work to a lot of industry professionals, even if it is only the festival curators who see it.
Since I plan to veer towards filmmaking sometime in the future, I also wanted to try my hand at directing a film, specially one with moving parts, with dialogues and music. I was so excited about it, forgot it was going to be hard, and, well, it is really hard.
There are so many decisions, ‘is the theme of the film coming across’, ‘should I make my film in 2D or 3D based on what kind or portfolio I want to showcase’ or ‘these storyboard panels look nice but will I actually be able to animate this’. I started with just a faint image in my head and developing it into something that would be consistently interpreted the way I needed it to, was quite stressful, which is why it was rewarding when things started falling into place.
Once I started working with the first year student, assigning her work and tasks meant I myself needed clarity on how everything is going to look, how many shots there would be, what brushes, what file settings and naming pattern to use, and so on. I needed to plan, schedule, co-ordinate availabilities and account for things to go wrong. Similarly when it came to recording dialogues or giving feedback on music, or working with a background painter, I realised I needed to have a solid idea of what the film is not, to be able to direct someone towards what it would be like.
I don’t know yet what future this film will have, but being a director gave me indispensable experience and also a little insight into what directors and supervisors have to think about. Time will tell if choosing a film was the smart choice, but it is worth it simply because of how much fun I am having making it.