Stills From Short Film 'The Astronomer's Vision'

Unfortunately I am unable to upload my short film to my blog as it is currently being entered into festivals but here are a few shots from my film. It's been a busy few weeks since the end of the course and I'm already missing my work area and the creative energy which kept us all motivated in the studio. Making the move to London was a really bold decision and knowing I was going to be part of last Pg Dip course at LAS I knew I had to take this chance as animation is my passion and at times I have always questioned whether it was worth pursuing because of the state of the industry over the past ten years. Instead of the creator driven features and television shows which we were blessed with in the second 'golden age' of animation the 90's, nowadays we are being force fed flat lifeless animation or the same gaudy cg film which is released every other month. That being said I'm glad studios like Disney are still creating hand drawn features and Blue Sky are finding ways to continually trying to push the boundaries of CG with enjoyable snappy style animation by beginning to use squash and stretch . I am still yet to see Kung Fu Panda 2 but I hope it can maintain the comedic timing seen in the first and once again they have managed to translate the great character design across to the CG characters which gives hope we don't have to stare at the same Cabbage Patch Doll like characters for the next 5 years. Also since I've moved to London I have had the opportunity to visit great studios and be introduced to companies which are creating exciting work for advertising/ short film which show there is still room for creativity without having to follow the latest trend or fad.

Anyway here are a few shots from my short film which was probably part inspired by this rant!

Rough Cut for The Astronomers Vision

Early Layouts and Backgrounds

Early Development

The Astronomers Vision

The journey continues... I have finally began work on my final short film.
Our short films are a collaboration with the National Gallery through their 'Transcriptions Project' in which we must produce a short film inspired by a painting from the National Gallery's collection

It took two visits to the National Gallery but at 1am whilst browsing the National Gallery website I was inspired by a painting called 'The Astrologer'. Obviously Astronomy and Astrology are two different subjects but I felt a connection with the painting and the idea of exploration.

After further browsing on the National Gallery website I came across two paintings 'The Astronomer' and 'The Young Astronomer'.

The basic premise is about a lonely Astronomer who realises he is coming towards the end of his career. He notices a picture from his childhood and falls into a vision where he sees himself a child exploring space in a fantasy-like sequence and reconnects with his passion for astronomy and remembers that there is more to be discovered.

I will be posting early pre-production work here and also on a blog I have created for the project to log research and inspiration.here