Alone

Our short film odyssey…

Esteban Valdez
Aug 25, 2017 · 5 min read

I’ve been working on this short film for — oh… on and off — for about a year and change now.

The short film was inspired by the discovery of a new planet Kepler 186f and the chats I had at the studio about the possibilities of getting there. Imagining how we humans could travel through interstellar space, but it would have to be through a robot surrogate.

Interestingly, I went home and storyboarded the entire film in a night. I showed the story reel to friends and family to get their reactions and made some adjustments as I felt necessary. For the most part, people reacted the why I had intended even though it was still in the storyboard phase.

So, that was the “easy” part. The next part: raising money to make the short.

Profits made on our commercial projects go towards the short. It’s part of the reason why it’s taken as long as it has to complete it. I could have gone to Kickstarter or IndieGoGo… But I’m not popular enough to make a cent in that space, so why bother?

My objectives with the film are…

Emotion.

I’m with Kubrick when he says film should be like music — a progression of moods and feeling. With this short, what I want to achieve is to get the audience to really feel the hopes and fears of journeying in space.

Lighting.

Live action has a really big advantage over animation when it comes to lighting, and really, that’s where the story’s emotion can be found. Even though films like Klaus play with light, it feels more like a gimmick than it does to drive the narrative. In the short, I try to show the progression of how lighting can change the mood by really changing the entire scene’s lighting arrangement when we go from a completely lit scene to complete darkness.

I’m taking a page out of the Rembrandt book when it comes to lighting and using it to create the atmosphere and the tone.

Sound & Score.

What I hate the most about animation is it’s lack of taste when it comes to music and sound. Not every moment needs to be filled with foley or with filler soundtracks. The sounds and the score should be additional pillars for narrative and even in places we go dead silent in order to push more emotional tension.

The musical scores of Gustaf Nordqvist and Aram Khachaturian have played a big role in keeping the emotional tone and also carries additional narrative messages.

Subliminal Messaging.

It’s not what you think! Subliminal messages have a negative rapport and with all much deserved cred. However, I’ve been playing around with the subliminal messages in most of our projects for a few years now in the form of using the peripheral view in order to give additional information about the story.

In this film, because there is no dialogue, we have to find another way to tell story. Just a hit, but the monitors within the scene tell the story.

What I’m most anxious about on this project…

Is that I won’t be able to finish it this year or that too much time will pass and I’ll lose momentum. That people will find it boring because as an animated film, it’s not full of action nor is it sprinkled with puppies and rainbows. It’s a quieter, much more sophisticated and subtle film.

What has me with white-knuckling anxiety is how by making my work in progress public, I’ll fall short and get laughed at.

What frustrates me the most…

Is the level of detail being put into this is maddening…Finding the time to sit down and do it.

What has me excited about it…

It’s a heavy weight short film. The scenes are beautiful, the score will really send chills, and the lighting really pushes the emotional tones to new levels. It’s a very detail oriented for an animated short and I feel confident people will get their “moneys worth” when it’s all said and done.

Layout showcasing the level of detail we’re putting into it.
How we structure and update the reel.
We screened a work in progress reel at a Comic Con this spring. To the right, additional easter eggs for you science buffs.

When the film is complete — hopefully by end of 2017 — it will be available for purchase online after it’s been submitted to festivals.

Coming clean — I’m heavily inspired by Kubrick, Otomo and Rembrandt. Creatively, I’ve always been envious of the level of artistry they have.

I can only attempt to be as good.


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Thanks!

Script To Screen

“Script to Screen” (STS) is a monthly blog on the Art and Business of Animation, and general thoughts on the animation industry at large. Formerly the official blog of the animation studio, Echo Bridge, STS, is now its own independent platform.

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Esteban Valdez

Written by

A 20-year practitioner of hand drawn animation, creating and producing 2D animated content for various media platforms. Founder of Echo Bridge.

Script To Screen

“Script to Screen” (STS) is a monthly blog on the Art and Business of Animation, and general thoughts on the animation industry at large. Formerly the official blog of the animation studio, Echo Bridge, STS, is now its own independent platform.

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