#but I love doing this stuff

[kittick-art]

It's time for another Animatic Deep Dive!!

For those of you who haven't seen me do this before, I always like to do a massive post digging into my animatics after they get uploaded. This'll include a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, HD stills, and a whooole lot of insight into shot choices and cinematic storytelling. All my rambling is under the 'keep reading' break!

Before I say anything, here's the link to the animatic, if you haven't watched it yet or want easier access to it while reading through this post:

I always love showing my shot sheets, and I'm really thankful for them because they manage to somehow keep me sane throughout the entire project. So here are some snip-its of that:

I also want to include my value sheet, because getting the lighting right for this project was very important to me. A bit of a fun fact: the backgrounds for the very first shot (top left) and the entire sequence where Serizawa goes outside are just barely the same value.

Now, the part where I share HD stills & go into shot composition will be meshed together here because it's a little more organized that way. One thing you should know about me is that I'm a sucker for cinematic storytelling. It's why I love doing parallel shots and other little things that help propel the story even further than just "he picks up his umbrella here."

One big example of this is the first & final shots of the video. They both feature Serizawa and his umbrella (which could honestly be considered a character in its own right for this animatic). But the umbrellas in these shots are not the same, and you also get a sense that neither is Serizawa. Where he's all alone and clutching to what's basically his lifeline during the first shot, in the final shot he's surrounded by people who love him and is able to leave his umbrella behind.

And going into a more glaring parallel, and my favorite personally, I want to talk about the two over-the-shoulder shots. They are literally mirror shots of each other, with everything including the framing. But they couldn't be more different, in order to show how much Serizawa has grown. Even the lyrics parallel each other. ("And I wandered through the house like a little boy lost at the mall" // "And I stood there like a businessman waiting for a train")

And while I'm talking about lyrics, one sequence that honestly broke my heart while working on this was the first time we hear that repeated question of "what do I do?"

This whole bit was meant to read like Serizawa was asking that question aloud. And well, if this sequence is his question, then the second time we hear those same words are certainly the answer. As if to say, "This. This is what you did."

Now. I'm a sucker for camera movement. I had a ton of it in my Royai animatic, and it was a lot of fun to figure out. But I really wanted this animatic to read as snapshots from life, like photographs on a wall. And well, photos don't have camera movements. But there is one scene in the entire animatic that does have a camera move, and it's the one where Serizawa gets dressed and the camera pans to reveal his past self staring back at him from the mirror. I think saving the one camera move for this scene really helped, because I wanted it to be as jarring as possible.

And just as a little note, because I had to include them somewhere in here, I was so happy with the two shots of Serizawa and the character I've lovingly dubbed Scaryzawa. I just really wanted to convey the fear that Serizawa had that he was reverting back to how he used to be, and I'm so glad that a lot of people enjoyed these shots as much as I did.

And now, there's one glaring scene that I've avoided talking about til now because it's my absolute favorite, and this whole section is gonna get pretty ramble-y. I'm talking about the scene where Serizawa finally goes outside. Just like I mentioned earlier, the animatic was mainly still shots, and any animation was extremely limited. But going into this scene, I knew I needed to make it special. And the best way, in my opinion, was to make it full of motion.

I just really think there's something beautiful about someone like Serizawa stepping outside and really being introduced to nature again, even if it's unintentional. I put this line in the shot sheet, and I think I've said it to a few people already, but I really enjoyed the idea of Serizawa looking up through the skeleton of his umbrella and seeing the view it never allowed him when it was intact. And trying to capture that beauty and emotion is extremely hard, and something I don't really think is possible in my style. But I'm still so happy with how those two shots turned out.

And connecting myself to this a little bit because I'm selfish...I actually finished these shots and the animatic as a whole on my birthday. It's the day before Serizawa's, and while my own birthday is always a time of reflection for me, I really enjoyed being able to to reflect on someone else's growth for their birthday. Even if he's just a fictional character, Serizawa is very important to me and a lot of other people. I think I really connect myself to fictional characters because it helps me rationalize my own growth and journey. So, all of that to say that this animatic also felt like a birthday gift to me.

ANYWAYS. Wow. This was long. The Royai deep dive was long, but this is long. Thank you if you managed to read this far, seriously. And thank you to everyone who has shown their love for this thing I spent the past month on. I don't think I'll ever get used to having people seriously enjoy the work I do. Just really, truly, thank you. And happy birthday to Serizawa!

[cannibal-stag]

hannibal is so cringefail because how do you successfully get away with literal murder and cannibalism for years all while being a well respected sophisticate and food connoisseur and then risk it all for a guy covered in dog hair who is also an asshole and also wants to kill you real bad

[inkskinned]

it's been said before and i'm sure said better than i can phrase it. but really, really - if you like making "i'm going to kill myself" jokes, please try switching to being ironically conceited instead.

anytime something goes wrong, say things like "ah well at least i'm beautiful and charming and everyone loves me." when you forget something, try "my big huge brain is so smart and thinking about too many other very big wizardly thoughts you wouldn't even understand." when you're frustrated by one of your symptoms, start talking like you're in My Immortal. "Life has come for me but my eyes are beautiful pools of gorgeous fire and my hair is amazing. I stuck my middle finger up at life and told it to fuck off and it did."

just... try it for a month or two. try saying the most absurdly self-congratulatory shit you can think of.

i know it's tempting to make suicide or self-harm jokes. and for me at least, a decade ago (!) when someone suggested i stop making those kinds of jokes, i was kind of at a loss for what to replace them with. i wanted to make light of these moments, but genuinely (at the time) my first thought really was suicidal ideation. there was a part of me that even felt like ... i was kind of "making light" of that voice. that if i could say i want to die lol, it would help take the sting out of that genuine (albeit passive) desire. like i could turn my illness into a joke.

when i started complimenting myself instead, it felt awkward and stupid. it felt really, really ironic. what i was actually saying was nobody would ever think this stuff about me, that's what makes it so fucking funny.

but. the effect was immediate. first thing i noticed was the people around me. when i dropped a glass and said ah my skin is too beautiful and sleek the glass has swooned and broken for me, other people were suddenly overjoyed to jump in with the joke. rather than making an awkward moment, we'd both start cracking up. ah princess sleek hands, i've heard of you.

i was 19. i hadn't noticed i'd been making others tense when i said i want it all to end. i know now that it's incredibly hard to know how to walk that moment - do you talk to them about your concern? do you potentially make them uncomfortable by asking if they're okay? do you ignore the situation? do you help them pick up the glass, or do they need to do it by themselves? are they genuinely made suicidal over this small moment? and most importantly, how do you - without professional training or supplies - actually help?

most people want to help you pick up the glass in your life, they just have no fucking idea how to do it. they don't want to make anything worse. they don't want to make assumptions about you. they love you, they're scared for you - and being scared makes people kind of freeze up. it's not because they don't love you. it's because they do.

now when something bad happens, my first thought is how can i make a stupid joke about this. it isn't my brain saying you're a dumb fucking bitch. i spend more time laughing. i spend more time being gentle with myself. i spend more time feeling good.

and the thing is - what's kind of funny - is that you'd be surprised by how many people agree with you. the first time i said i'm too pretty to understand that, someone else said to be fair you're the prettiest person in this room. i promise - you really don't know how kindly your friends see you. but they love you for a reason. they sort of reverse-velveteen-rabbit you. your weird and ugly spots fade away and you just become... the love they want to give you.

go love yourself ironically. the worst thing that happens is that you end up tricking your reflection into actually loving you.

[mrgaretcarter]

Challengers + I'm Your Man by Mitski

[binary-bird]

to no one's surprise i ended up liking the character struggling with her own fictionality

[idiotsonlyevent]

i wonder where the idea of chilchuck being a deadbeat came from when theres like. no textual evidence for it ?

he knows what all of them are up to; he still writes to flertom and she sent him his neckwarmer, so that to me implies that they at least have a somewhat positive relationship?

its more ambiguous with meijack and puckpatti, but since meijack is also a picklock, i wouldn't be surprised if he taught her himself, considering how trades are often passed down through families, and because he talks about sending people to her if he dies.

also the way he talks about puckpatti is very like... it's obvious he wants her to take things more seriously, but he's accepting, and his tone here reads more fond to me than anything else.

like, he keeps his daughters' old toys under his desk? that doesn't scream 'deadbeat' at all, it screams 'empty nester' who doesn't know how to reach out or is scared to do so

EDIT: i know a lot of the 'deadbeat dad' stuff is jokes, but some people are Not joking and genuinely think chilchuck is a bad dad. this post is not saying that you cant joke about it; it is just outlining what canon shows regarding his (clearly positive) relationship with his kids.

[eriochromatic]

cross guild poster redraw but with colors inspired by the new ep! 😤😤😤

[karoochui]

He wants to play UNO

[spiderversegf]

i have started asking myself “how can i make this more fun?” in regards to the things i have to do and it is such a small difference but it brings me so much delight

[9474s0ul]

[gatoiberico]

recently played skyward sword and OOF it's so damn good

prints | also playthrough on my gaming channel!!

[sysig]

Permission to headbutt: Granted (Patreon)

[shepscapades]

[dbhc flavored] Hermit a Day May: Day 14 — Doc!

Featuring both a current-day s10 doc and a verrry early s8 post-deviant doc! :]

[oh-gh0st]

i heart these rivals so much. maybe they'll kill each other. maybe they'll kiss. maybe they'll make ou

[saturnvs]

soft n sleepy

[mizgnomer]

Parallel photos: The Tennants and the Shebergs