Capstone Part 2: And Now For Something Completely Different!

Last week I decided to change direction on my capstone and beginning working on an animated short using the open source animation software: Source Filmmaker. This software is used by the video game company The Vavle Corporation to create animated shorts for their video games using their game engine as a base. I've been fascinated with 3D animation as long as I could remember, and I thought that creating a project within the software for my capstone would be a great first step to finding a career in animation. However, I know that before starting any of the actual animating, the writing of the short must first be completed to get a good idea as to where the direction of the animation is heading.

Screenshot of Source Filmmaker

My Capstone adviser recommended to me to books to read before I even think about opening up the software to begin working. The first being Ideas for the Animated Short: Finding and Building Stories, which focuses really well on the writing for 2-5 minute shorts, as well as acting and dialogue. The second book is Gardner's Guide to Animation Scriptwriting: The Writer's Road Map, which delves into script-writing with illustrated text and detailed instructions. I have ordered both books last week and eagerly await for their arrival to begin studying. Along side the books, I have found multiple scholarly articles on animation that provide valuable information on animation, albeit some of it a bit dated. I've already began thinking about what kind of story I want to tell with my animation, and I feel like with enough dedication (and tutorials) I can pull off a decent end product by the end of next semester. To demonstrate what people can do with Source Filmmaker, I have provided a video from Youtube below of one of my favorite animations created by an ordinary guy for fun using the software. 

For my first project I know that I won't be able to create something this amazing, but it's the kind of video that I like to strive for one day. For my next entry in this blog, I will discuss putting what I learn from the books I ordered to practice on a script for my animation.