The Shooting Set Up

Aquatic Elements Begin

This week marks the start of my work on all the underwater elements of the film. On deck is a kelp forest. 

Set Dressing

Shooting this week! I'll be getting through the first part of the film—everything above water. I'm excited to finally get a chance do some set dressing too. 

#GiantStatus

With a Little Help from My Friends

It didn't take me very long to realize I was way in over my head this semester. After weighing my options, I decided to try asking for help. Students and recent alumni have come through big time—donating their time to help me get it all done. I could not be more grateful. 

Autumn Helping Sculpt

Scenic Painting

Autumn and Danielle helped to cut-out and rig this vine element. 

Scenics and Puppet Progress

Style shift!! I'll be making the environments more painterly and planar, and less sculptural from here on out. This change is both aesthetically driven and time saving, so it’s a win-win. Huzzah! 

It’s all in the details

Jellyfish progress. The body collapses and should allow for a little bit of squash and stretch once in the tank. 

Two down, one to go. I'm changing the goddess puppet from last semester. The marionette will be more pose-able and have white costuming instead of red. 

Oxberry Testing

I would really like to use motion control on some of my shots,  but do not have access to a traditional system. So, I'm modifying our school's Oxberry system to capture my "underwater" sets. 

Shooting tests. So far so good! It took me a few tries (and hours) go get a basic understanding of how to run the Oxberry, but I think I'll be worth it in the end. This way I can do multiple lighting/effects passes for my environments. 

Halfway Point! Process Reel:

After a productive internship in New York City this summer, I'm back in the studio at CCS in Detroit and hard at work on this film. I have decided to make a few aesthetic changes to the film. These changes will not only better facilitate the story, but they will also allow what I learned over the summer to influence the art direction of the film and help me stay on schedule. 

Below is a process reel I made to give an overview of the work I have put into the film so far. The reel includes ideation, process, material scouting, and tests. Enjoy!

Password: seniorthesis

PS: The last plate says 2014... but it's a lie. It should say 2015. Don't trust the internet, folks. 

 

Follen Spring Process Reel from Casey Follen on Vimeo.

Environments

Below are a few environment renders, set elements, and a shape language guide. I still have a few more environments to get though, but I'm starting to really nail down the look and feel of the film.

The coral reef will be my most fabrication heavy environment. This set is also the bit of fabrication that I am looking forward to most. I'm going to begin sculpting the bones out of foam this week.

This environment will be the first layer explored by the puppet. I'm debating if I want to animate the branches as stop motion elements or in After Effects using the puppet tool. I think I'll do a few tests to figure out which aesthetic fits the film best. Furthermore, this render helped me to identify my influences for surface textures. Mary Blair is my primary influence. 

Assets to help me define my render style. I'm going for painterly, but graphic in silhouette.

I'm still playing with my shape language—finding that fine line between graphic and geometric. Primary influence: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. 

Hot Wire Construction

After checking out the prices of manufactured foam cutters online, I decided to do a little digging and learn how to make one myself. I checked in with some friends I made while interning in LA, and they gave me great advice. 

Materials:

 12 foot, 16 guage extension cord

Nicrome wire. 16/28 gauge wire 

Bots, washers, and nuts

Scrap wood

1K Variac Dimmer

There are a lot of different ways to build one of these. I found this link to be a good resource. Reading the comments was very helpful:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hot-wire-foam-cutter/

It actually works! Best results with the Variac set between 5 and 7.

Spring Break Studio: Dye Tests

I spent my first evening of Spring Break in my apartment doing a batch of dye tests while catching up on Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Hulu (btw, great show, check it out). I have two main fabrics to work with—a textured white cotton material and a more complex woven upholstery fabric. The cotton took the dye really well. The upholstery worked better than I expected, but it did come out a bit darker than I would like. 

So far so good. The process of using iDye packets is pretty simple and worked as expected (no surprises... which was a surprise). The dye is a powder that you add to water, then add fabric, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 30 minutes. The tests took all evening because I did 4 batches. 

A little goes a long way with iDye—a dusting of dye powder did the trick. 

Huzzah! I didn't burn anything. 

Scarlet, pumpkin, and pink iDye pigments compared to the original fabrics above.
 Far left: upholstery fabric treated with pink iDye.

Testing 1, 2, 3...

First off, I’d like to say that the teachers at CCS are ridiculously awesome. They will do whatever they can to help their students. They have great ideas and are constantly popping into my studio with advice or just to check in. CCS instructors rock!

One of my instructors lent me a large tank to do some key/materials tests. I whipped up puppets (in literally 30 minutes—gotta stick to that production schedule), and spent the evening filming in the studio.

A few quick keys later, and now have some pretty solid test footage to work with. I feel like I’m in a good place (production schedule wise) going into spring break.  

Senior Thesis: Aquatic Puppetry Test 1 (4 sub-tests) from Casey Follen on Vimeo.

Runner Diaries: Munro Crafts

An instructor turned me onto Monro Crafts in Berkley. The have all of the usual craft store items (particularly related to jewelry), but they also have some really specific things that you can’t find anywhere else. I was super impressed by their selection of polymer clays and sculpting tools.

Munro Crafts Bead & Jewelry Supply

3954 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, MI 48072

(248) 544-1590

So. Many. Beads. 

I'm a sucker for good adhesives. I officially love this shop. 

Runner Diaries: Haberman Fabrics

Found a great fabric shop in Royal Oak. I definitely recommend skipping the trip to JoAnn's and checking this place out. 

905 S Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48067
(248) 541-0010 

This place is amazing! Probably the best selection I've found in Michigan. The staff are great and very helpful... and didn't think I was crazy when I explained what I plan on using the fabric for—always a plus.

This is what I like to see!

I want to use this fabric as a base coral texture by adhering/stiffening it and attaching it to my scenic sculpts.
Now I just need to learn how to dye it. 

Couldn't resist! I found this beauty on the bargain rack. I have just under a yard, but if I can even out the coloring, the little bit I have may go a long way.