Assignment 2: Capstone Ideas

At this point, I have a pretty clear idea of what my capstone will contain. I have characters developed, story arch fleshed out, some environment designed, and working on the script and storyboards. Those should be finished soon, so after that I will use them to make a rough panel arrangement and a test run on the interactive clicking that will go on in the game.

The things that I still am unsure about, or that need some heavy work, are:

1) Some of the script ( I have a good idea of what I want to happen in the story and how I want it to end, but the smaller details and dialog that are killing me and getting from point A to point B)

2) Programming (I am definitely not a programmer)

3) Storyboards (They are numerous... every 1 page of script creates about 2-4 pages of storyboards, but fast and easy to make.)

4) Sounds, music soundtrack, voiceovers, etc (I know how to use Audition, but that's about it, and I have no connection yet with a band and voice actors. I can probably write the music, but I haven't done so yet...)

5) Alpha and Beta testing ( I find this to be an important step since I helped a few people on capstones before, and saw how bugs and glitches can undermine months or years of hard work. I don’t want this to happen to me)

6) Art things (I have character concept art done and storyboards, but I will need to complete the finished panels for the comic after I make sure the interface works. I will need to further develop environment and the cityscape. I will also need some small animations)

Sorry if this is getting wordy, but I feel it is important in understanding my place right now in the project and how to develop these 3 ideas.

One idea that immediately jumped to my mind is using 3D UDK or Maya to design my city. I sort of did this before in Mat’s UDK class, but I will need something more detailed this time and some interior shots of buildings. My plan is to make a fast easy model in Maya, maybe with simple lighting. Then arrange my camera to line up with my storyboard shot. Then use that render as a reference for my drawing or draw directly on top of it. This way, I can easy get the shots I need, but still have the tactile pleasure of drawing it, and my city shots will remain consistent.

The 3 other ideas I had were to bring in people to help particularly with the animation, music, and programming… that’s all I have right now. I am researching programs like After Effects and Flash to be a module for interface, but research is slow. I can have more direction with the animation and music, since I have a background in both.

Assignment 1: What is a Capstone?

For those who don't go to my school, the capstone is the final project students complete in order to graduate from school. The project content and media can be of their choosing, to hopefully showcase the skills and talents they have. I also view it as this, but much more.

For me the capstone is a way of grabbing employers attention and really showing off yourself. And I see it as a very important personal experience to discover yourself and be able to work on something of your own creation, since, likely, from the time you graduate onward, you will be working on other people's projects or working in stressful conditions where if you don't succeed it will mean getting a pay cut or fired.

I want to challenge myself and put forth my best work. I have so much hope for this project, that I hope to be able to turn it into a long term series after graduation and continue the stories I have made. Doing this now as part of school is giving me the time to test out some things and learn how to set myself up in the future to continue this. It's helping me to learn planning techniques, new technologies, and improve my art and narrative skills.

Another thing I find the capstones useful for on a social scale is to see what others are doing, and what new technologies and methods are being showcased. I guiltily admit I am fairly competitive when it comes to my art, so I enjoy going to capstones to help support my fellow artists, but also to see who might be serious competition, what projects I can learn from in methodology and what I can improve on in my own art to stay "ahead of the game".

One thing I have a hard time with is social networking and promoting my product. The capstone and it's preparation is helping me to improve upon that, get the word out, and start getting an audience that can help make possible my dream of continuing this story and making a profit and living off of it.       

Introductions

This is my blog for my capstone/ multimedia project development class NEWM N420. I will use this blog to complete my assignments and inform the public of the progress of my capstone project, Welcome to Odd Town.


I will likewise be creating a personalized website and facebook account for the series in the near future. You are welcome to view more of my work at my deviantART account and on my professional portfolio.


Thanks for stopping by!
~Bekah C.


dA:  http://exiledchaos.deviantart.com/

Portfolio: http://bekcrowmer.daportfolio.com/

Email: Bek.Crow@gmail.com