Film_01 : Spirit

Ember Pettersen
Jan 19
2 min read

Updated: Jan 26

Howdy!

My biggest love in all that is art, has always been film.

My biggest idols being:

the ones who tell stories that remind us we are alive,

the ones who can craft emotions with their hands,

the ones who wish to share it.

Ian Hubert & Felix Colgrave being my favorite examples.

So, I want to make films. Lots of them. It's my belief to be good at something, the best route is to make lots of finished little pieces. Eventually with time they by nature become more complex, refined, and elaborate. Which is the destination I have set my sails upon.

So, to start, I am challenging myself with making a film in a month. To not fuss about results, but to simply move through the motions of the process and see something to completion, and to move on to the next thing.

So here is the collection of work so far for Film_01 : Spirit

Ideation

Noodled this while at work, no plans with it yet, just playing around with characters.

Art Direction

Alright, I like this little fella. What kind of story can I tell?

Sketched this out while visiting family during the Christmas holiday.

Script

Lets put this into words, and block out what are going to be the panels for the storyboard.

Storyboard

A good first pass. Playing with color to tell a story.

Character Design & Ending Change

My partner came up with the idea of the crow giving a gift to show he's a friend. Absolutely loved it!

Storyboard Edit w/ Narration

I want to see how this edits all together and how I want to pace this. Photographed, Edited, and recorded this all on my phone.

Scouting

I want this to be filmed with comp'd CG characters. Needed to find a cave that was filmable, and while on a walk with my partner and my friend Jay by my house, we stumbled upon this incredible tipped over stump that was absolutely perfect!

Prop Hunt

Trying to film a luscious outdoor scene in January required some added flowers.

Mock-Shoot & Animatic

Before barrowing Jays camera & gimble to film this all properly, I went back the day before and filmed the shots I wanted, and redrew the storyboard on top using Blender's Grease Pencil.