READING AND WRITING
Probably one of the best parts about completing any kind of film project is showing it off. You’ve put in hours of planning, filming, and editing and it’s time to find your audience. There are a couple of routes you can go:
Film Festivals
I’m not talking Sundance here (at least not yet anyway) but smaller, easier-to-get into, festivals. It’s better to show your piece at a smaller festival where you are likely to get a spot than to wait for Sundance to accept your application. Package up your project using elements from your creative brief (synopsis with a hook, tagline) along with a director’s bio and a story of the film. Create a title logo accompanied by a still from the film.
Online
One of the great things about the Internet is that content can get shared instantaneously and quickly across the globe. You can upload your film to Youtube or Vimeo and essentially hold your own solo film festival. It also creates an online portfolio of your work that people can subscribe to. And who knows, a film manager can happen upon it, and a slew of opportunities arise from it.
Networking
In addition to sharing things quickly on the internet, people from all over the world can now connect with each other more easily. There are plenty of online groups comprised of filmmakers like yourself that post their films, but also watch and review others' posts. Getting into the habit of reviewing and commenting on the projects of others will entice them to do the same for you.
RESEARCH TO INFORM
There are some animated films or videos that have such advanced techniques that it completely blows my mind. The amount of time, precision, and crouching over a computer screen is something I can’t even imagine. Here are some of my favorites:
I know I’ve probably mentioned this before and it gets used often, but the Game of Thrones title sequence is incredible. I don’t even know where you would start in creating something like this.
Hands down the best part of the Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony was the pictogram performance. It was a mix of animation, live video, and special effects that was truly incredible to see.
“But sometimes I tie a piece of lint to a lentil and drag it around.”
Marcel the Shell is an old-time stop-motion favorite of mine. The voice fits perfectly, and even the typography at the beginning fits so well- like Marcel tried to write it.
CREATE
I loved learning everything in this class, but I think one of my favorites was cinemagraphs. It’s unique and a fairly recent phenomenon in the motion and animation world. Cinemagraphs clicked the easiest for me in terms of using software and gave me a boost of confidence. I also started thinking about how I could turn what I’m seeing in my everyday routine into a cinemagraph.
I was going through photos from this last year and reminiscing about the summer. It’s my favorite time of year and it always seems to go by so quickly. I wanted to make a series of GIFs and cinemagraphs of how I spent my summer: lots of time by the water, drinking Dunkin’, and hanging by the fire pit.
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