A Fond Fairwell to Elizabeth

One last hello!

So my time has ended at Smiley Guy/iThentic and at Humber College. I finished my internship last week and this week was my last week of school. So now onto the next phase!

My last day at Smiley Guy/iThentic was spent continuing to test out an upcoming online game. Even within a few days, there were some big changes in the game that I noticed. I don’t know how they happened exactly…but it was interesting to see the game go through different phases.  

Julie, Mike and Lisa took me out for lunch at Aunties & Uncles, which was just around the corner. I hadn’t really had a chance to go out and check out the neighborhood, so it was nice to see what was out there! All three had helpful tips on what I should be looking into next as well, so it was a great lunch. Plus the food was good too!

My last week at school was fairly busy! I was the producer on a short film that we somehow managed to film over the weekend, and have ready for our last day of class, which was Friday. We were pretty lucky to get it all done and it was definitely a great learning experience!

Thanks for listening and keeping up with my updates! And a big thanks to Smiley Guy Studios and iThentic for letting me come in and experience everything! It was a really great learning experience!

Lucas is Becoming an Inspiration to the Rest of Us

I feel really good about this week! First off, I'm on schedule with the game now! I had a my check with Aman this morning and I got some criticism on the tile set and character. He told me that I should take away the colour of the player overtop of the tiles to make sure there's enough contrast of the two. Apparently, it's helpful for colour-blind people as well as making sure that the player is always clear seen. He is also going to send me some of his previous tile sets so I can make some comparisons. I'm going to make some tweaks on them then on monday we'll lock it. Feels good to not be behind! 

On a side note, I finished my Pilot! I've been doing some work on my own on a TV Pilot. I had finished a treatment and started  the actual spec two weeks ago. Now I'm happy to say that it's done! It's 55 pages. I don't think I've ever written that many pages of anything. Mike said I should send all this stuff to him and we can talk about it. He's already given me some pretty brief do's and don't's of the industry and I'm really exited to hear more. I'll probably start writing more specs. Now that I've already gone through the motions of doing this first one, it should be easier from here on out.

One Good Intern Helps Another

This blog is a little off schedule. Just because the last week and a half has been really wonky. I've been at home with a fever since thursday so I haven't been into the studio but I was able to do some work on my own time. First, I'll start with a bit of a progress report with the game:

 

So as of now, I am done programming. I had to do a quick map loader to use the tiled (.tmx) map files in java but it worked out fine. I have a few very basic maps. The player can walk around and attack stuff and it's all very fun. I'm now starting on the art. I'd like to have time for two really polished tile sets. However, with time restraints I may only have time for one. It won't be the end of the world though. 

 

Also, heres the (very very very) rough tile set that I have been working on:

 

 

 

On a side note, I've been talking to Elizabeth about my interest in television writing. She was able to send me some very useful packages from her classes on things including how to make a good pitch, to a character development sheet. Since I've been home sick with a ton of free time, I was able to complete a 12-page treatment (Like a pitch) and I have about 10 pages of a pilot episode. Elizabeth also sent me some samples so I had a bit of a grasp on what the format should look like. 

 

 

Elizabeth Wrangles Rabbits and IMDB

Hello!

This week I’ve been doing some game testing! I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m coming at it from a total newbie angle. So we will see how helpful my notes are!

I also took screenshots from a recently animated Teleporting Fat Guy episode. I like doing screenshots because it gives me a reason to watch the episode…I’ve become a fan of the series!

Last week I was working on updating various credits on imdb.com. I found it surprisingly challenging. Sometimes they would already have some names on file, but some would still be missing or they were old names. Sometimes the jobs people were credited for weren’t on the database already and so I’d have to add it as a new job. And I wasn’t always sure if someone already existed on the database or not.

School is a bit crazy right now! We’ve got a final project in every class. The one I’m looking forward to working on the most is a show that stars two rabbits as detectives…mainly because we get to play with rabbits all day!

See you next week!

Lucas Full Speed Ahead!

Wow, first blog since I've been back!  There's a lot of progress that's been made in terms of the game that I gotta blab about so stay with me for a moment.

First of all, all the classes are done. It's really been tough to get through it all. I was met with a few unexpected challenges with the code but overall, I'm really happy with it and I'm glad it's mostly done. Now all that's left is to actually put everything where it's supposed to be. For now, I already have a player and some enemy placeholders. I'm using a legend of zelda tile-set for now, just so that I don't have to spend all the time making one from scratch.

 

I've been spending most of my time just building levels. This is really where I shine. Now that the code is done I can really have a lot of fun with the map building. I can have people actually play it and get real criticism. I have run into a few bugs but nothing major that I haven't been able to fix in a few minutes. Hopefully no bigger game-breaking issues arise. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Elizabeth Sharpens Her Producing Skills

Hello!

So I may have to give up the .gif dream. My computer doesn’t have the programs that you need to make them! It looks like Lucas is the .gif master…at least for now!

Last week I helped organize files for an original Smiley Guy Studios show. I was able to take a look at original scripts, characters, backgrounds, pitch documents as well as some animatics. It was interesting to see what it is that Smiley Guy Studios would use to pitch the show!

I’ve also been working on some rough versions of budgets and schedules for another show. Mine aren’t nearly as nice looking or complex as the real ones. It’s good practice though, and I’m getting an understanding of how long animated shows really take to get made!

I have another month of school left! I think it’s going to be a bit of a crazy month but I almost don’t want it to end. I’ve really enjoyed my program and I’m going to miss seeing my friends and teachers on a regular basis.

Here is a sample 'simple' schedule

Elizabeth is a Comedian

Hello!

I sat in on my second production meeting today. It was a meeting about Warren United, an upcoming show that Smiley Guy Studios are working on and I happened to be working on one of the episodes that was discussed during the meeting. I’ve seen its script and its animatic version, so I had an idea about what everyone was talking about when they were discussing its animation. I’m curious to see how it will all turn out.

I just googled how to make a .gif and there’s a website which tells you how to do it in 5 easy steps…so watch out Lucas. I’m going to attempt one for next week.

I’ve been doing a late night class at school for a few months now. We write jokes, sketches or anything that we think a late night show would do. So I thought I’d end my update with one that got a few laughs last night…

Eating sugar causes massive health problems according to the World Health Organization. When asked for a comment, Dr. Pepper said “WHO? Never heard of them”.