We have done a lot of talking about the artwork and modeling, but it’s important not to forget that at the heart of a film is story. We already have a fantastic story in The Fearsome Beastie. However, there is a difference between telling a story through a book, and laying that same story down on a timeline.
Enter Simon Almark! Although Simon has been in on a few story meetings, this was the first session where we sat down and populated the timeline (using Avid editing suite) with Katie’s storyboard frames.
This session mostly comprised of uploading all of the images, Alison Steadman’s narration and Brain Blessed’s lines, and arranging them roughly for now. We realised there were a LOT of shots not working, and we began questioning scenes that dragged on too long or didn’t move the story along enough.
The following sessions will mean Katie bringing her Wacom tablet and sketching new shot ideas as we sit with Simon and Jon to tighten the animatic. When spending these longs days making decisions like this, a lot of tea and a bit of Farnham sunshine come in very handy!