Test Renders and Preparation

The screenplay is finished, at least a version that I'm happy with, and can hand out. Andy is functioning as casting director, and tells me that he's found people to fill all the roles. The whole casting process is more difficult on this movie due to the need for English accents. I'm still skeptical as to what we'll eventually be able to get, but I'm hopeful.

I'm trying to map out a plan of attack for production. With the first two Raven movies, I would animate one shot, and then render it before moving on to the next. That consumed an awful lot of time, and basically locked up my computer for hours (sometimes days) at a time. In the interest of efficiency, I think this time around I'm going to animate the entire movie in one go, and then begin the rendering process. Since I have to make virtually two movies (one for the right eye and one for the left), I plan to render out one version completely, then as the second one renders, edit and score the first.

The only thing slowing me down is the extra time needed to position the 3D camera. I hope that as I get back in the swing of things that will become easier. The test renders are looking good. I'm making analgyphs (red/blue) to check the depth of the images on my computer, and the 3D is working as well as expected. If only there was some kind of Poser plug in that would allow you to see it in 3D as you worked...