ORGANIZATIONAL STUFF

Hey everyone, I apologize in advance for the cold, no-nonsense tone of the following post. But this organizational stuff has to get done, and I want to state the situation as clearly as possible.

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ THE WHOLE POST

Ok, so there has been some confusion surrounding the Leica and sound files. Steps have been taken to correct this, and it should no longer be an issue. First of all, Kayla has fixed the Leica, so thanks to her for that, it will come in very handy later on when we set about doing a final edit!

Second, I have set it up so that no one should need the Leica to animate their scenes, and have put together a workreel that uses only 3 source files for everyone to use should they need it.

HERE IS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS:

THE ANIMATION SCENES FOLDER

As you all know, in the ANIMATION SCENES folder there are individual folders for every scene in the film.

There are now 3 files in each scene folder:
1. The Storyboard for the scene.
2. The Dialogue Track for the scene
(containing relevant SFX)
3. A low-res MPEG video of the
scene for you to watch.

When you go to start a scene first go to the folder for that scene and watch the video so you know what you are dealing with in terms of action, time, and dialogue etc.

For your audio, please use the audio tracks from these folders, as they are up to date and have been rendered out with only the dialogue and relevant SFX so that they are easier to dope.

The storyboard is primarily there just so that you can check to make sure everything you have is from the same scene. I think everything should be present and accounted for, but with so many numbers it is all too easy to misplace a file or two, so if something doesn't match between the board, the video, and the audio track it is your job to ask questions and get the issue fixed.

THE WORKREEL

I have also created a WORKREEL folder. In side this folder is a Premiere file for the Workreel and the 3 source files it uses (an MPEG render of the Leica, and a WAV of just the Dialogue and a WAV of just the Music/FX). Because of its simplicity this is primarily the file everyone will be using, not the Leica. Tracy will be splicing it into scenes some time soon. There are two main uses for this Workreel:

1. If there are problems with the files in one of your scene folders, you could go and render out new audio or video from this file (using the method Kayla showed in her post). Because there are 3 audio tracks you can select whether you want dialogue, SFX/Music, or both by turning the little speaker button on or off for each track before rendering. (Unless there are real problems please use the audio from the scene folder.)

2. After a shot is checked, approved and tracked at each stage of production (Ruff-Clean-Final) it will be your responsibility to then edit it into the WORKREEL. Place the video on the proper track above the previous version of the scene to replace it. Do not cut or delete anything, just stack them. At full opacity only the video on the top level will be seen.

THE ANIMATION HANDINS FOLDER

I have created an ANIMATION HANDINS folder. THIS IS HOW I WILL BE TRACKING ANIMATION. In this folder there are 13 folders, one for each PLAN B member. When you have a scene done first in Ruff and then in Clean you place it in the folder with your name on it. I cannot sort through the nearly 100 scene folders to see if you have submitted any new scenes for animation checking and tracking, so these will be the only folders I look at to see your work.

There is a README file in the ANIMATION HANDINS folder that explains how the system works and how to name your files. Please give it a read.

Generally speaking it would be a good idea to submit your ruff animation and wait for animation check and approval/tracking before you begin to clean it up, just in case something needs to be changed, at which point having already started clean up would be a big waste of time. The same goes for moving on from Clean Up to Ink&Paint, and from one stage of Layout to another as well.


THE LEICA REEL

The most current version of the Leica reel has been rendered out as an HD MPEG file and is located in the main EvilStevil folder. Please watch it as soon as possible so that you know where your scenes fit in, and if there was anything about them that has changed or that you hadn't noticed before. Also, when you go to start a scene please refer to this file and watch that scene in the context of the film with the scenes around it so that you know everything that is happening with it. Up to this point any confusion regarding your scenes and what is happening in them has not really been anyones fault, and for my part I apologize for not having posted all of this to the server a week ago. However, from now on it is your responsibility to watch the Leica and check out your scenes, and to make sure that you understand them.

NOTE: There have been some changes made to the dialogue etc. so make sure you watch your scenes again (in the leica and/or in the scene folder video clip), and make sure they are either the same as before or that you take note of the changes.


I think that should just about wrap it up. Obviously no system is fool proof and if there are issues don't hesitate to ask myself or anyone else in the group. Group emails or blog posts are a good way to do this if the person you need to ask is not at school. If there are any initial questions post them in the comments section of this post and I will try to respond ASAP. Thanks for your patience everyone, and I hope that this new organization will help us all get through the next 7 weeks.

- Rory


(P.S. To the person assigned to SEQUENCE 1 SCENE 36 the one where ES sees the pea land and runs up stairs:
In the newest version of the Leica I divided this scene into 2 parts, as we had discussed at a group meeting. This is just one way to solve the problem we had with this scene, and it can be discussed more later on. I would hold off devoting too much time to this scene until all of your other scenes are done, because it may still be subject to change. Thanks.)