COVID Dystopia: Scientists Stared in Horror

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This scene from COVID Dystopia has wave animation and depth added. I am just noticing that the wall of China rises up above the grey land mass. This will have to be adjusted. I need to slip the wall downward of raise up the grey land mass. It will probably be easier to raise up the gray mass. Though the scene is fast, someone might notice that the wall is floating up in the sky.

This isn’t adding new animation but is a blunt compositing mistake that needs fixing. I will actually make these adjustments today. Film adjustments have been on hold since I am painting Shakespeare Theater posters but I am in a holding pattern waiting for an approval session. This fix will be done as I wait.

I could add some fractal noise to the wave to add more random movement but that will have to wait.

Just one more week before I have to move my studio. Then all will be on hold. I will have to get my Disney Desk set up first so that I can immediately start painting on poster revisions. I had hoped that I might be done with the posters before the move, but I don’t think that will happen.

COVID Dystopia: Ocean into Foam

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This shot in COVID Dystopia pans up to show just how tall the wave is and then there is a fast snap zoom into the foam. I could animate the woman shifting her weight a bit but there really isn’t time to notice such a subtle movement.

The iron beach barricades are from scenes in Ukraine. During the pandemic Russia decided it was time to invade the small neighboring country. War it an amazingly effective vehicle for spreading disease during a pandemic.

America has shown its weakness for allowing this invasion to continue. Of course there is the fear of complete nuclear annihilation since Russia and Americas could end all life on earth ten times over. The virus is ending life in a much slower and more indigenous way that can be ignored until it affects you or your loved ones.

My vote on this scene is, no change,

COVID Dystopia: Churn the Ocean into Foam

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In this scene from COVID Dystopia, the carrier rolls downward from the force of the wave. I used the pin tool in After Effects to add some rolling action to the wave. Some distortion was added to the foreground to get those waves moving.

There is a distant wave that could be hand animated to add motion but I honestly doubt that is needed. The shot is over before the audience can register that they are looking at a sinking carrier. The subtle hint of a skull in the foam is probably lost on most.

I entered the film into the Austin Film Festival yesterday. I visited Austin once and liked its “Weird” vibe. My film is certainly weird so I hope it is a good fit. You never can tell. I am getting better at picking out quality festivals from bait and switch operations who are only in the business of collecting entry fees.

I was looking on FilmFreeway yesterday and was surprised to find one of my location sketches as the header of a film festival. I contacted the organizer to be sure my signature is added. The need to educate even film festival promoters that an artist should get credit for their work is exhausting. COVID Dystopia would never be accepted to this festival since the Film Festival only shows 1 minute films and my film is 4 minutes. Also the festival wants films that promote sunshine and butterflies and my film it the polar opposite. COVID Dystopia shouts bloody murder into the void.

COVID Dystopia: I Saw a Megapod

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In this shot from COVID Dystopia, the life boat surfs down the wave. The implication is that the wave will crash down and capsize the boat. Does all that action need to be animated? I don’t think so. I could animate the wake spray at the bow of the lifeboat and there is one rope hanging from the mast which is hanging awkwardly forward. I should probably just erase the rope.

To add more motion to the crashing wave I rotated the camera as it zooms in. I could also add some fish eye distortion to the ocean which would further curve the wave. Would I, should I, could I? At what point should the short be considered done. Animation has so many variables that any should could always be improved. I am going to compile a list of what I have noted here as possible changes on a spreadsheet. Right now I am swamped with doing theater posters, but when settled into the new studio, I could start going back and making improvements.

I signed up for passes to the Cleveland Film Festival. As a filmmaker, I also get 10 comp tickets to the screening, so if you happen to be in Cleveland on April 12, look me up.

COVID Dystopia: I Saw a Megapod

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This scene from COVID Dystopia simply shows the submarine captain looking through the periscope. No animation was required but depth was added as the camera tracked from left to right.

This was a late replacement scene. Originally the scene showed a 911 operator encased in a glass dome as he looked at computer screens that had large COVID virus images on them.  In that scene I could have animated the fingers typing on a keyboard but such small actions go largely unnoticed in this fast moving film.

The plane tickets I ordered from a company called EDreams were canceled. I called my bank to find out if the funds had been taken out of the bank and I was told they were. I preemptively warned the bank of possible fraud. I had to have my credit card canceled and I will get a new one in 5 business days.

Pam helped me order new tickets direct from the airline and they were about $40 cheaper. Hopefully this is a lesson learned. Do research on sites like Kayak, but order the actual tickets from the airline website.

I have to get up at 5am to get to the airport and I will spend much of the day exploring the Cleveland International Film Festival with luggage. At 9:50pm that night COVID Dystopia will screen in the historic Allen Theater which can seat 500 people. Naturally I hope for a full house. I am excited to hear the soundtrack which in now in surround sound. I am now sending out press released to Cleveland media in the hope of generating some interest in the film. Sitting on an airplane being the only passenger masked, and sitting in a 500 seat theater will be the largest risks I take this month in my effort to convince just a few that COVID is far from over.

I found out that three virtual classes were scheduled during the Cleveland International Film Festival. I have to decide if I will teach from the air B&B or if I should be at the awards ceremonies. The festival is an Academy Award qualifying festival so my hope are high but I also know that most minimizers are insulted by the message of COVID Dystopia. Clean the indoor air with HEPA filters, wear masks and isolate when infected. These are pretty simple steps but Americans can not be bothered.

 

COVID Dystopia: Flat Earth

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Willful ignorance is rampant. People base opinions on lock downs, the COVID Virus and vaccines based on social media posts and opinions of politicians whose motives are questionable.

No student has seen my animated COVID Dystopia film. I insist the parents view the film first and grant permission. That step has never been taken. I mentioned my COVID Dystopia film to one of my online students and she went off on a tirade about how vaccines are the cause of all symptoms associated with the virus. She was proud to be unvaccinated. I let her now that I was vaccinated and have not had a COVID infection. She vented her anger at lock downs and vaccines.

Since the parents are likely anti vaccine, I decided I could not correct my student. I realized that my job was not to educate her about the science behind vaccines and airborne transmission of the virus. My student has been infected and will likely be repeatedly infected. The first infection was chalked up as a bad cold in terms of symptoms. Each repeat infection however increases the chances of disabling Long COVID.

We went on with the lesson without another mention of the C word. For those who believe the world is flat you can not tell them it is round no matter how many scientific studies corroborate that fact. Scientific studies can be viewed as misinformation. When Russia bombed a maternity ward in Mariupol Ukraine in 2022, there were API journalists at the hospital who shot video of the carnage. Russia decided that they would combat the footage, saying it was not real, but that actors were playing the parts of the mangled bomb victims. A mother was carried out on a stretched with her belly ripped open. The open would was blurred out on national TV. Her hips were shattered and the baby was dead. The mother pleaded to be put out of her misery, she later died. The information war favors the ignorant.

COVID Dystopia: Brain Damage

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Even mild cases of COVID cause brain damage. Most people don’t like to hear this. Even a case of COVID that felt “no worst than a bad cold” can cause lasting damage to the neurons in the brain resulting in a 30% decrease in a persons IQ. Worst cases of COVID then result in an increased loss of neural activity in the brain. Just mentioning the long term damages caused by COVID can cause a science denying anti vaxer to froth at the mouth. They want to blame anything but the virus.

This scene has the two scuba divers animated as they swim back towards their ship. Presumably they have just finished inspecting some neural damage and need to type up their report back on the submarine.The background was filtered in a free online depth map generator and It allows the camera to zoom towards the making it quite believable that you are moving along the brain neuron. I am quite pleased with the effect

As for myself I feel that it is my responsibility to take basic steps to keep from getting infected. I always wear an N95 mask inside. Air in the studio is filtered using a high quality HEPA filter. I am getting out and sketching in theaters again, but I will be the only person masked as I work on my sketch.

I have been sketching in the Orlando Science Center this week and was pleased to see several staff masked. I am glad a few are following the science.

COVID Dystopia: Just Past the Earth’s Face

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This scene went through quite a few changes. The last was adding an orange glow to the center of the crowd and adding a blue tint to rest. This is the one scene that I left as hand painted animation for the flames. I like the look with the many layers of paint. Working this way was just far too time consuming.

I find it odd that the timeline for the movie does not render when there are captions. I might be better off exporting the captions as a separate SRT file. What SRT means, I have no idea. I need to start researching. I rendered the film yesterday and one of the early scenes rendered with a black warning box over several frames. Oddly the warning box was back behind one of the characters. It was resolved when I closed Premiere Pro and reopened it. I need to figure out what that was all about in case it is an ongoing situation.

Maybe I should just consider the film done with all it’s problems and glitches. Pam keeps insisting that the film is just a distraction. I feel like leaving the known problems unresolved will be an even worst distraction.

The problems with the audio need to be resolved. I may need to work with another talented folly sound technician. Having worked on this alone for so long it is hard to give up the reins. I just have to find someone who is a true artist with mixing sound. Right now the soundtrack feels like it was mixed by a bull in a china shop. I do want the film to be a blunt slap in the face, perhaps the sound reflects that aesthetic. Honestly I can only tell what I have once I hear the soundtrack in a huge theater with surround sound. I will know what I have on April 12, 2024 when COVID Dystopia plays in the Cleveland International Film Festival.

I just realized that COVID Dystopia is the only animated film being shown in the after hours shorts programing at the Cleveland International Film Festival. My film appears with films with titles like Slay, and Meat Clever. It sounds like my film was  correctly curated. I have resisted submitting the film to festivals that don’t screen many animated films. Perhaps I should reconsider that idea. Every day I look at festivals whose submission deadlines are coming up. The ongoing challenge is figuring out which festivals are bold enough to screen this blunt and harsh critique of the human response to an invisible threat. This is a film festivals love to hate as they rush to “normal.” It takes just one minimizing judge to tilt the scales.

COVID Dystopia: Sputnik Vaccine

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This scene definitely needs some touch up work to the painting of the star field. IN the original painting I didn’t bother to paint  black behind the satellite. When I animated the satellite that less than stellar are became visible.

The shot happens in less than a second, so I think no one has time to notice the blotchiness in the painting of space, but I know it is there.

Right now I can only note the work left to be done since my time is fully involved in creating a series of theater posters for the Orlando Shakes.

Each morning I wake up knowing what what poster needs work and I hope to have that poster finished by the time I go to bed. I have two more posters I need to work on. Today I hope to finish the painting for a new play being presented at the Shakes next year.

Tonight I hope to finalize plans to head to Cleveland in April. I will be moving my studio on April Fools day. I already ordered WiFi so I should be able to keep this site up and running on move day. I also need to be ready to start teaching virtual art classes almost immediately. I am making sure I accomplish some moving task each day so that moving day might happen quickly.

COVID Dystopia: Asteroid

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In this scene from COVID Dystopia I tried hand drawn flame animation with this hot of the asteroid but found a better solution using after effects to create the flame animation.The techniques used to animate these flames were then used through out the rest of the film.

I left hand animated flickering at the leading edge of the asteroid. These flames are mostly transparent but give the impression that the asteroid is heating up.

Soon I want to find someone to start fine tuning the surround sound audio mix. The surround sound was thrown together rather quickly by a technician, but now I need someone who can fine tune the n=mix and consider all the subtitles of mixing sound effects with the music.

I asked for two adjustments to the audio on the last round of edits and only one of those adjustments was done. I need to be able to sit down with the person doing the audio.

Andy Matchett mentioned someone who might be willing to do the work. He also might be able to get all the original audio files which will open up vast possibilities inn the audio edit.

At the Cleveland International Film Festival in April, I will get to hear the surround sound mix in a large theater for the first time. I am hoping that the audio glitches that matter so much to me will not be noticed by the audience. I have an Air B&B booked in Cleveland and I need to book the flight tonight.