The Circus Showcase?..

I feel now after realising that the number of characters is just too large to design in the time we have, that something has to be done. The film has to be cut down to an achievable amount of characters, without loosing its quick, sharp, lively nature. Taking out characters takes away from the film because its contrast of the quiet, peacefull village and the chaos of the circus needs alot going on in order for the film to be successful.

I then began to think of different ways in which the fim could be done, thinking about Creature Comfort style, creating interviews with the locals and circus characters about their life, whilst things happen in the background. This could limit the character numbers whilst allowing for more detailled animated sequences. Its the same with my other idea, which is to show the opening sequence of the village still, and the circus's arrival, but then to show clips that are auditions for the circus in the town- showing artists performing, but having the locals interupting and getting in the way. This again would keep the character number down slightly.

But still, there would be quite alot of characters to design, and the film may not flow as successfully. At the end of it all, this project needs to show off what I can do, so rather than creating a film that tells the story but doesnt show off any detailed animation, or simply seems like a rushed version of what the film has potential to be, I'm thinking of going down more of showreel route. I could create a trailer for the film mixed with designs and still images, or show the same storyline and flow of the overall film, but only animate chosen scetions, like the start, and blend in detailed shots of the 3d set, stills of what the rest of the characters would look like, complete with the crowds and settings behind them, even making maquettes of certain characters, so that mixed with the portions of animation it will eventually show off illustrations, detialed animation, and 3d sets and characters so will show of as many areas as possible. This way the short animated sections will be able to contain all the details of the backgorund crowd movements, and will be able to show off the potential of the film more successfully, showing what it could all look like if completed.

This way it will hopefully allow for more detailed animation, allow me to show off more skills in other areas, and will work as more of a teaser for the film that hopefully get the audience excited to see the final finished film. Acting as more of a showcase for the film it will mean it wont be rushed and will hopefully show off its potential and as many different aspects as possible. But I need to know whether the 2 or 3 characters I choose to animate in more depth will be the only ones needed to be designed in pre-production, and the ones used in the stills can be designed in full production- that way I can go more deeply into their turnarounds and expression sheets, but I shall see...