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The Pākalā Kids Production Blog
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One last shot to finish off the semester. I finally feel like I can focus. Feels good to finish a rough again.
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Week 17 - Gavin - Wrapping Up
Oh, man... What a semester. Here’s an update on what’s going on:
This Week
I was still feeling overwhelmingly stressed over the week (and not the kind that makes me want to push forward and work hard). I still found it really difficult to focus on animation, so, rather than doing a poor job on two of the most important shots in the film, I just lined and colored another shot.
However, after so much frustration, I finally finished my art class and screenwriting class on Wednesday, and I have to say I’m feeling a lot better. I still have Producing, a speech to write, and my last week working for Brittany, but my head feels so much clearer that I think I’ll be able to finish more than I expected by next Thursday.
Just before posting this, I did a bit more compositing, did a layout of the credits, and added a tiny bit of animation based on a suggestion from Maia. Vicky is currently starting work on a rough sound cut for class tomorrow, so maybe we’ll have some sound to show during class!
For Next Week
Some goals I am setting for myself by next week:
I want to finish the very last shot of the film. I still think I need more time to think and study the final giggling shot, but I should be able to accomplish a walk cycle.
Suky should be finishing the long shot of Pākalā Village next week, so I just have to figure out some distant wave animation for that.
I want to get the end credits finalized. I believe all the text is correct, but I’m going to spend time with fonts (and getting more assets from Sophia) to make it look nice. I’m also not really liking the “Software” card after putting it in, but I’ll keep it there for now to keep the timing for when I have to put in the IndieGoGo card.
I’m FINALLY going to do that Master Use License. Oh my lord, I keep putting that off.
Retrospective
Wow, I just hated this semester. I hate the pandemic, I hate online classes, I hate Zoom. I hate that I lost all semblance of passion and ambition, and I especially hate that this is how I’m ending my college career. It sucks, and it’s been breaking me apart for months.
The Pākalā Kids, despite being the most simple in concept, was becoming my favorite and best film to date. While Midnight Showing was the culmination of everything I’ve learned in ACM, this film took the most important things: Story and Animation, and took a much deeper dive into them.
I’ve spent the past four semesters developing my voice as a filmmaker, and I did find it along the way. The Pākalā Kids is my first film that’s 100% told in that voice (and is well animated... sorry Down the Red Dirt Road). Once finished, I can see this film being my calling card for a long time.
Speaking of Down the Red Dirt Road, it feels like my ACM filmography has come full circle. I’ve always seen The Pākalā Kids as the thematic sequel to that film, and it’s cool to see how far I’ve come, but also how strong my artistic voice has been from the start.
I wish I had been able to finish, and I’m so sure that if I had been able to keep up my enthusiasm and drive, I would’ve been able to finish at least all of rough animation. I know I was riding on the promise that Pua Warriors would be done near the end of April, and I had planned to go full Midnight Showing force with the whole crew to finish Final and Color.
Oh, plans... What a silly concept.
Well, I didn’t get to finish, but what I did do has been incredibly strong. I truly believe that The Pākalā Kids is one of the best displays of character animation in recent ACM years. There are some shots I finished that I didn’t know I could even DO. A lot of that really is owed to the characters, who took a life of their own. As fun as Angel was to animate last semester, he was never quite as developed as Lani and Dixie, and I think strong characterization is the key to taking character animation to the next level.
Moving Forward
Of course I plan to finish the film. My goal, if I get help with Final and Color, is to finish it by the end of May or on the first few weeks of June. Both Suky and Vicky are willing to stay on the project longer, which I am incredibly thankful for.
HIFF submissions are due near the end of June, so I want to be finished well before then. Hopefully I’ll be able to fundraise for other festivals too, though. I already have a strong list of festivals I want to submit to. Just in case, I’m going to save some of the existing budget for submissions.
To be very honest though, if HIFF ends up moving online this fall... I will seriously consider submitting for next year instead. Midnight Showing has been accepted to three now-online festivals (if you count ACM Showcase) and it kind of hurts watching it this way, knowing the ungodly amount of work the crew put into it. Hearing the live reaction of a theater audience is so much better than reading livestream comments or receiving a text about your film. I don’t think my little heart could take that for HIFF.
In terms of other projects: Well, first, I’m graduating! I hate HOW I’m graduating, but at least I’m done with these online classes. I’m coming out of ACM with 6 proper short animated films (4 of those I’ve directed), which is so much more than I ever expected. Looking back, I made the most of my time in ACM, and I’m proud of that. I’ve met so many great filmmakers and friends in this major, and I’ve grown so much with their help.
After graduation, I’m going to take a quick break and come back with a fresh mindset. I’ll continue working on Pua Warriors and see that project through. I also want to finally focus on putting together my portfolio website.
At the end of June, I mayyyy or mayyyy not be working for a certain streaming serviceee. I dunnooooo. Trying not to get my hopes up, but I got a bit of good news last weeeek!
And finally, I wrote a really solid screenplay in Joel’s class this semester. I showed it to Noe and Jared (and Alex, who’s in my class)... and I guess we’re gonna make it? It would be really cool to start development and pre-production this year, and perhaps turn it into a funded independent film. It would be pretty ambitious though. I would love for this to happen, but I’m gonna focus on these current films first.
With all this on the horizon, the future is looking just a little less frightening. So much is still uncertain, but I have hope.
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Week 16 - Sophia - AHHH
I was working on the blocking for 1 of the 2 shots Gavin gave me, take a look:
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Password:lanigirl
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Week 16 - Gavin - I need a break
This week I final lined and colored around 4 shots, and I met with Vicky to go over sound effects more. I tried to animate a shot this week... but I just couldn’t do it. I got frustrated and gave up.
I’m behind in every single one of my classes and that work has caught up with me. My remaining job ends in two weeks, and I also just realized that I’m probably not eligible for unemployment from my theater job, since I officially resigned two days before they shut down. I took so many risks at the beginning of the year to set up a better life for myself, and they’ve all resulted in spectacular failure.
I’m overwhelmed and stressed and defeated, and I’ve lost all motivation to do anything. My mood varies wildly from hour to hour and a lot of my worst symptoms of anxiety are coming back. I’m thankful that my professors have been very accommodating to students these past few weeks, but I am still finding it very hard to forgive myself for feeling so terrible. I can’t animate when my mind is so clouded.
I realized that the last time I’ve had more than a day to rest was before August, and there’s no time to have that break right now. I remember even working extra hard in preparation of taking a break for my Japan trip, but that never happened... and now I’m here. I haven’t even gone out past my driveway in 6 weeks. I know it would probably help me feel better if I went out, but I can barely get out of bed at this point, much less my house.
I hope I can get everything I need to do by next week done. It’s a lot of work, and I’ve been able to do it before. I’m not the same person right now, though. Sometimes I look back at last semester and think about how I accomplished probably twice the amount of work with such ease and drive. That person feels so alien to me now.
Even if it hurts my classes, I’ve planned to spend this coming weekend with my girlfriend. I haven’t seen her in person in 7 weeks, so I hope this gives me the energy and motivation I need to finish this semester. There are at least two shots I want to finish by next Thursday, but they are very difficult and I’m hoping I find the capacity to do them.
Edit: ACM Showcase just got sent out an YO has anyone else seen Ikaika yet? I connect so much with that film. Me and Josh talked a lot about both Ikaika and Pākalā Kids last semester, and they do share a pretty similar tone and theme. Seeing that film finished is almost like seeing a live-action Pākalā Kids, which is so awesome. I was grinning ear to ear watching his film, and I hope to see both films play together on the big screen at HIFF later this year.
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Week 15 - Gavin - Pshhh...No I didn’t accidentally stay up til 5am, whatchu talking about?
This week I again got caught up with other classes, but I was able to finish 2.5 shots and final one shot. The one I roughed and finished was Dixie’s hā, which was animated on twos and I’m very proud of.
I’m sad Chandelle never got to do this shot, but I was able to take a lot of inspiration from what work she did so far. Even though she wasn’t feeling it, I think she did a great job, especially on the expressions.
Right now, there are 7 high priority shots left. 2 of them are Jared’s, but I might take one of them. Once those are roughed, I’m going to try and final line as much as I can before I have to render for class.
Suky will be finishing a handful of those high priority backgrounds. Unfortunately, I don’t think Sequence 1 will have any backgrounds done like I wanted, but that’s okay. She’s down to continue on with the project into May.
I have a online meeting Thursday night—tonight?—with Vicky so we can go over sound a lot better. Other than that, my goal for Thursday is to finish that Master Use license form and put together a rough credits. Then, I’m pretty much free until Monday to just animate.
Oh man... the birds are waking up. Time to sleep.
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Week 14 - Jared - Rough
This week was very stressful, I’m very much ashamed of what’s happening and I don’t have much work to show. I’ve been struggling so much with Screenwriting so much that I’ve been neglecting the films. I’ve only done some underwater effects for one shot...
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Week 14 - Gavin
This was a stressful week and I don’t know what I got done. I think I did 2.5 (3.5??) shots. I finaled at least two.
To help with the stress, I’ve chosen specific scenes and shots I want done by the end-of-semester. Almost all of Sequence 1 is roughed, so I hope to have some of that sequence complete. Some of Sequence 2 will be roughed, and half of Sequence 3 is already done. The challenge is to finish Sequence 4 completely.
I’m kind of worried about keeping up productivity after the semester ends... I’ve always loved to be constantly working... but lately I've been wishing I could sleep for the next several months...
I’m getting concerned about finishing the sound design. Vicky is very responsive and responsible, but she is having internet issues. I don’t really know what to do. I finished the cue sheet except for specific bird sounds, at least.
We did get permission from David Khun to use his tracks, and he even sent over one for free, though I don’t think I’ll be able to use most of that track. The birds on the two tracks I plan to use sound nice and they make me miss Kauaʻi.
Here are some screenshots of things I did:
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Week 13 - Jared - Rough
I worked on one shot this week, I gave what I had to Gavin to give some notes on and in the process of addressing said notes. Taking things slow to make sure I don’t burn out again, but the stress is still pretty bad.
here's what I have:
I haven’t addressed any notes yet.
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Week 13 - Gavin - Relapse
This week I did 3 shots and I did some final lining/color/lighting.
Other than that I feel really stressed, even though I told myself I would not be. What little energy I have is going into this film and I feel like I’m neglecting all my other classes, which is causing more stress. There’s still that voice in my head telling me that I’m a failure if I don’t finish.
I want to enjoy the journey and just produce good shots, but the more I do, the more I want to finish the film. That, in turn, makes me more stressed. But animating for Pākalā Kids is one of my few sources of brief happiness, so I don’t want to just stop. It’s a cruel cycle.
Can I just sleep and wake up when everything is okay?
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Week 12 - Gavin - Learning
I finished 4 roughs this week, and I have posted 3 of them below. One of those shots was a really tough level 3 shot! I think I still have one or two level 3s left, but I’m starting to get into the groove of animating a bit more. It’s a little hard to start going and stay focused sometimes, but I manage.
Other than that, I did a bit more lighting for the finished shots, and I’m starting to work with Vicky more on sound. It’s been tough because we still haven’t gotten the spreadsheet for sound effects yet, so we might just make our own.
Through all this, I’m happy to be learning and discovering new things about animation. Chandelle’s been a huge inspiration since last semester about really studying and experimenting with character animation. I’ve always been so wrapped up in finishing my films that I kind of forgot to take this time in school to learn. These past few weeks have been full of learning, and I think that’s more important than anything else on this film.
I’ve been having fun staying up ‘til roach hour, studying my references and how they move. It’s very nice being able to work with no distractions around and take my time to put out my best work.
While I think I pushed myself slightly too hard this week, I’m still taking care of myself. I’m still having a lot of ups and downs, but the low points are nowhere near as bad as they were on Spring Break, so that’s good.
Even though I’m working with a pretty limited crew, it did take a lot of self-reflection to figure out how to be a director during tough times like these. It’s no fun having even the slightest responsibility to lead when everything feels so hopeless. I’ve just been honest and open with myself and everyone else, and that seems to help morale a little bit. It’s nice to know that you’re not alone even when things feels lonely.
Sophia has begun on 1 of her 2 shots today, and I have faith in her, Chandelle, and Jared to finish their shots at a quality they can be proud of. If they can learn even just one new thing out of these shots, then I think it’ll all be worth it.
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Week 12 - Chandelle - Rough animation
Continuing to work on this shot now. I’m animating Dixie’s head first just to simplify things for my brain.
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Week 12 - Jared - Rough
I’m still struggling with some creative burnout but am slowly getting work done, also working on caring for my mental health while also recovering form my little breakdown a few days ago, I’ve had to redo the shot i was working on last week due to my comp crashing. I haven’t made a lot of progress on it and have only started to in-between the last time I worked on it. The shot so far is not coming out the way i want it to, so I’ll be researching how to animate dialogue more effectively the next chance i get. Thankfully Gavin has recommended a few videos for me to check out and will be looking at those first.
Unfortunately my screenshots refuse to upload, so I will be sharing just the text post for now. i apologize for any inconveniences it causes.
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(Week 12)
Wow, this was the hardest shot so far, but I actually did it really well. It may be my best piece of character acting...ever. And it only took 3 days rather than the expected 4, even though I restarted a few times and filmed so many references.
It took a lot of trial and error, but eventually I overcame it and just got better and better as it went on. I can nitpick it, of course, but it’s right where it has to be.
I hope this shot gets me a job in the future haha!
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(Week 12)
Giggling is hard to animate. Thank god I only have one more shot left to do with giggling in it.
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