The other day when we presented our demo reel ideas to the Dreamcrusher, I and I’m sure all of my classmates were somewhat unsure as to what his opinion of them would be. I thought everyone came up with something that very much suited them according to their interests and animation skills. I didn’t think any person’s demo concept was too far fetched or simple at all. However, Mr. Crusher did happen to drop the hammer on a few people but thankfully I wasn’t one of them. He did mention my Japanese village idea had been done before but that I can make it stand out from others depending on the camera shots I choose.
I won’t lie, I’m sure my concept isn’t anything new to the animation world but for me, it’s something I’m passionate about making come to life in a demo reel. I did a lot of research on it both online and in the library and the more I was able to find, the more I wanted this to be my demo reel. For my Japanese village, my main goal is to try to make it as 19th century as possible without any hint of North American ideals involved. I’m aiming to portray something outside the realms of American influence. This will be a great challenge because not only will it require countless research hours but especially given that I’m about as North American as people come, it will force me to see things I’m not used to viewing in an artistic, 3D manner.
Thanks to my classmate Angelo, he’s given me a few leads on references which I’m sure will be very helpful. One is a Japanese anime called Samurai Champloo and the other is an old movie from the 70’s named Seven Samurai. Both are very much outside of the norm for me. I was never a kid who watched many Asian cartoons growing up, I was always the Transformer type. And as for classical movies, I just could never get into anything without color. So I think doing a demo reel of this kind will allow me to learn new things by looking into references such as these.
With this reel, I’m working towards making it look as authentic to the Edo period as possible because in no way do i want false items or information in it. The last thing I want is for a simple research error to stick out in my reel such as a sword from a different era. Hopefully I’ll be able to incorporate everything I want; an environment, a character and some props. I’m also considering the presentation aspect just as much. I haven’t ran my ideas by any of the teachers yet, but I think a haiku and the bushido character would very much tie into the whole Japanese samurai theme. With the right time management, I’m positive it can be accomplished. If not, I’m sure a certain crusher type of person will voice his opinion and let me know.
Time for me to crash as I’m writing this on very little sleep due to my weekend getaway to Toronto. Apparently, that little known women’s magazine and tv show based out of T.O. called Cosmopolitan thinks I’m worthy of being one of their 12 finalists for Canada’s most eligible bachelor. Very flattering and quite an honor I must say. Good night!
