Yesterday as another day of animating lions. I noticed that the human skull on the floor is a bit lost in the quick shot, so I animated the male lion stepping on it. If there was time I would have him bat it about like a kitten with a toy.
I just need to add more paint to the second lioness to tie her into the look of the scene. I do this by first painting shadows and then highlights. The challenge is to try and do this consistently from cell to cell so that the paint doesn’t crawl too much.
Getting the lioness to walk away from the camera was quite a challenge and I am happy that I pulled it off. Other lions in the background will move subtly but I plan to animate then using pins in After Effects. The nurse will also lean forward ever so subtly again using pins to key frame the existing painting.
Yesterday I got a congratulatory note form filmFreeway with animating balloons ext to let me know COVID was a Finalist with the FilmQuest Film Festival in Utah. The note had buttons to share the news on Facebook and Twitter. I punched both buttons in my excitement. After some research on being a finalist, I found out that the film was not accepted to be screened. It was just one of the top 75 films that was cut at the last minute. There is still a possibility that the festival might screen the film online. This makes sense since those who would appreciate the film are likely COVID cautious and thus would not attend a crowded indoor festival.
My list of rejections so far include, Global Peace Film Festival, Film Quest and Saint Louis International Film Festival. My record now is 2 screenings and 3 rejections. I am coming to terms with the fact that I have created a film that no one wants to screen, since everyone wants to forget and move on. Most are vaxed and relaxed. However vaccines do not stop infections or long COVID symptoms. The main point of my film is that the pandemic is not over, and no one wants to hear that. Every rejection hurts, but every time I get bad news I apply to another festival until I find judges brave enough to screen COVID.