COVID Dystopia: Flesh Dropped Like a Waterfall

Posted on by Thor


This shot from COVID Dystopia pans down from the boat on the surface to a large COVID mine chained to the characters ankle. He sinks fast.

I am waving on the idea of having removed all the snap zoom transitions in the film. Maybe I should add back snap zooms between the different stanzas of the lyrics. In my mind the lyrics are arranges with an introduction which this scene is a part of, then year 1, year2 and year 3 of the pandemic. Of course the pandemic is still ongoing but that is the point of the lyrics at the end… “I can’t wait for the game to end so we can start it again.” In other words the game hasn’t ended. Or if you have a darker outlook, the game of life is not yet over.

While people are busy ignoring COVID, a new threat is spreading across America in the form of H5N1 or the Bird Flu. This virus has been around for decades but mostly effected birds.

Since January 1, 2003 to February 2024 there had been a total of 254 cases of human infection. Of those cases 141 were fatal. That is a fatality rate of 56%.

In the last week America dairy cow herds in distant states are becoming infected with the H5N1 virus. Herds have been infected in Michigan, Texas, Kansas, Idaho and New Mexico. Cats have also been infected. This is a very new development. Now a man has been infected in Texas. This is a very sudden timeline for the spread of the virus. The virus found in the Texas man was found to have a unique mutation associated with adaptation to mammalian hosts. In other words the mutation developed in the man and is not from a bird or cow. It is unclear if human to human transmission is possible. Some believe the man may have been infected through his eyes but influenza is traditionally an airborne virus. If the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s response to this virus is similar to their response to COVID we can expect things to continue to escalate. If the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s response to this virus is similar to their response to COVID we can expect things to continue to escalate.

An advisory has been issued to NOT drink raw milk and be sure eggs are fully cooked.

H5Ni symptoms:

  • Fever (100+ fever and chills)
  • Cough
  • Sore Throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Eye Redness (conjunctivitis)
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Seizures

 

 

COVID Dystopia: Vaccine Inequality

Posted on by Thor


In this shot from COVID Dystopia, The hands animate as they flail and then sink below the surface. I like how this shot lines up with the sound effect in the music.

The woman just stays still but bobs up and down a bit on the water’s surface. It would be nice to fully animate the waves, but I don’t think I will go that far.

I am pleased with how the hand drawn splash animation turned out.

Since I went back through the whole film and took out the fast zoom transitions, there are a few glitches that I need to repair. I tried opening the Premiere Pro file this morning and got the threatening warning the the file is broken and can not be opened. I did manage to open it by going through the history of recent files however. I don’t know what that would work if the file is broken. I need to figure this out beg=fore I push forward. I have had too many instances where Adobe products cause permanent damage to a scene.

Today is actually the first day of the Cleveland International Film Festival. I am not flying up there until the end of the festival when my film COVID Dystopia will be shown during a late night screening. Ironically the festival chose to use the scene I am working on right now for the header to promote the film. I am hoping to finish refining that shot today.

COVID Dystopia: I saw Cthulhu Break the Surface

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This scene from COVID Dystopia shows a giant octopus though the lyrics refer to Cthulhu. A single giant tentacle raises an oxygen canister. This scene was first painted when India had people dying in the streets unable to get oxygen. A religious organization took it upon themselves to offer oxygen in the street.

Cthulhu, first created by H.P. Lovecraft was a gigantic entity worshiped by cultists, in the shape of a green octopus, dragon, and a caricature of the human form. My depiction doesn’t quite live up to that description but I felt it was close enough to tie in with Andy Matchett‘s lyrics.

I picket on particular oxygen canister to animate so that it would tie in with where I wanted the audience to be looking on the next scene.

I was surprised at how well the depth map worked on this scene, the Earth actually looks like it is turning and the foreground tentacles follow that rotation.

I am satisfied with the scene. All the tentacles could be animated but then the audience would not be sure of where to look. I am following the KISS rule. Keep It Simple Sally.

COVID Dystopia: From the Observation Dome

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This scene from COVID Dystopia has a waves crashing against a lighthouse. The movement was created using animation pins in After Effects. I think the shot works as it is.

I made a drastic change to she whole film yesterday. I got feedback from a viewer from South Africa that he felt the film moves too fast. His wife kept asking him to pause each scene so she could take in the details. He wanted me to do an entirely different version of the film that runs half as fast.

I am not going to go back into each shot and add twice as many drawings to extend the animation. I did however decided that all the snap zooms that transition between each shot might not be needed. Each snap zoom happens over 3 frames, so each shot loosed 6 frames to the quick transitions. Most of the transitions were on a separate layer in the timeline, so I simply turned off the visibility of that layer and watched the film again.

Nothing was lost when the snap zooms were dropped. As a matter of fact the animation became the focus since it is no longer competing against the fast transition effects. I still need to do quite a bit more tweaking since the timing of each shot has to be adjusted, but the next cut of the film will be much cleaner and focused.

I discovered that an out of focus scene needs to be re-animated to make it 4K high resolution. I thought I had revised the scene already but apparently the work was never done. I have to move my studio in a couple of days so that scene might start after my Disney Animation Desk is set up in the new studio space.

COVID Dystopia: As the Scientists Stared in Horror

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This NYC tsunami scene is based on 9/11. The black steeple is Saint Paul’s Chapel downtown which was just a few blocks from the collapsing towers but miraculously was unscathed.

In the early height of the pandemic NYC was ground zero for the unchecked spread of the virus in America. The Republican president at the time offered little help since NYC is known to be a Democratic stronghold. The thought was to let the Democrats die. The policy of denial and minimization however backfired since Republicans began taking no precautions and died like flies. We have surpassed 1.5 million deaths from COVID in America and that number continues to rise. America leads the world in weekly confirmed COVID deaths. According to Our World in Data 890 Americans are dying every week from COVID as of the start of March. On average airlines carry 300 passengers per flight. In terms of the number of deaths,  COVID is still resulting in about 3 airline crashes a week. Yet this is no longer news worthy as the economy is the priority. With an election coming up it is better to ignore the virus, claiming victory than to clean the air in schools and public buildings.

This scene was reanimated to be sure the resolution was high enough for a large movie screen. When I started animating I thought 1920 by 1080 would be a high enough resolution for each scene but I was wrong. Many scenes needed reworking so they are double that resolution.

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

Posted on by Thor


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

Posted on by Thor


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

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor


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.