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Demo Reel

Demo Reel Tips By Full Sail University

Full Sail University recently hosted Sony Picture Imageworks' Vice President of Global Academic Relations Ken Maruyama on campus. Ken spoke to students about his company's work (their visual effects artists and animators have worked on films such as Alice in Wonderland, OZ: The Great and Powerful, and Men in Black 3). Ken also shared insight about what Sony Picture Imageworks looks for in resumes, portfolios, and demo reels. We were able to sit down with him prior to his presentation so that he could share his top five demo reel tips.

Story Revised

Title:  Lights
Genre: Adventure Story
Theme: Man Vs. Environment

3 Act Structure Outline 

Basic Plot 

Inciting Incident 

Anko's Grandmother asks her to take the lantern to the city festival.

Plot Point 1

She ends up dropping the lantern when someone bumps into her by mistake. The lantern goes falling off down the street/walkway. 

First Culmination 

She almost catches the lantern but a strong wind pushes forward over a tall fence leaving nothing but darkness behind. 

Mid Point

Now that the lantern was gone she is left in its fading light. She then begins to walk through the alleyways trying to find a way out. However since she wasn't paying attention when chasing the lantern she becomes lost in the dark feeling depressed.

Plot Point 2 

She walks around the allies lost as the darkness creeps up on her feeling depressed the more she walks the more the darkness seems to creep up until she was in complete darkness. 

Climax 

When the alleyway beings to lighten up pushing away the darkness because the lanterns are starting to float up in the sky due to the lantern festival.

Resolution 

She finial makes it to her destination with and her grandmother is there along with other people who are releasing their lights. She gives her grandmother a sad look because of her failure but her grandmother smiles and points up. Anko then looks up and notices her own lantern up in the air then she smiles while watching it float.
film ends with the lanterns floating in the air.

target audience
Pre-Teen to Young adult (ages 12 to 30 

Storyboards

Question and Answer

The Influence for the city

The Work of Bill Willingham & James Jean 
billwillingham
JamesJean

The Wolf Among Us Based off Bill Willingham
Influence for city's building design and color looking at both a graphic and abstract styles to depict separate worlds to show that my character is completely out of her element.

Influence of the Traditional Neighborhood. 

Color Scheme of Traditional buildings and Main Character 

The film will be vibrant and full of life as to demonstrate the difference in styles both traditional and urban throughout the film as well as Anko's determination to finish her task. 

Anko color scheme was based more off the movie kung fu panda the beginning scene of the movie kung-fu-panda which shows the kind of action and compositions I want in my film when the character is in city facing problems while trying to do the task of delivering the lantern to the city for her grandmother. I want the outside city wall were anko lives with her grandmother to look like this showing he difference in the two separate worlds. 
Bill's Sketchblog

Environments/Setting 

City from the wolf among us 

Images of Harujuku japan 

Sketches 

Character Design/Research 

Anko
I want Anko as a character to appear both naïve and confident in the being believing she can take on the city for her grandmother even though she doesn't want to do the task that had been giving to her. Although feeling duty bound to follow her tasks Anko is still resist to them an tries to follow her own way of doing things which causes problems for her.


Grandmother
Sweet old lady who just wants her granddaughter to be happy she sends her on a task to distract her from the pain of lost hoping to teach her lesson she sends her on a fake deliver run into the city hoping it will be a distraction from her usual environment.

 Mirror's Edge 

Looking more at the 2d small shorts within the game that may be better to use in after effects. 

Big Hero 6 "Go Go Tomago Character Design" 

 A Fan art design of Go Go using flat 2d design.

Looking at her flat color design that may be better for use in after effects. 

Basic Character Sketches 

Story Research 

Flow from Mathijs Demaeght on Vimeo.

Borrowed Light from Olivia Huynh on Vimeo.


Origami (2012) from ESMA MOVIES on Vimeo.
Adventures Big and Small from Olivia Huynh on Vimeo.

Final project structure diagram

Final project pitch

- Introduce the time and place of the film. “Hollywood – 1950’s”. Describe the place a little, paint a real picture – what does it feel like, what does it smell like, what’s going on there?

Welcome to Harajuku Japan a place that is a combination of many things from cultures to fashion and technology its all here.  
- Introduce a character. Give us something really human about him or her – really make him or her feel real.

Meet Yubi and Anko two strong individuals how could hold there own although anko feels like this girl with a sense of duty who is being thrown out of her element when she is ask to go the city to give this lantern  to a old family friend. 
- Describe the character’s plight. What is he or she up against? What is his or her journey going to be in this film?

In the film Anko is on a journey to get to the lantern festival to with an old family friend in the city but being the village girl that she is she gets into a lot of trouble by accident which includes getting the lantern stolen which she feels is a bad sign because of her sense of duty. 
- Describe what your film is about. Remember, what your film is about is not necessarily an outline of what happens in your film. It’s a description of the themes and goals of your film – what you’ll teach or communicate to your audience.

My film is about how both traditional and urban life can come together to make something beauty and different. I also want to express the themes of presernverce and duty which will be seen through the young girls actions throughout the story as they each battle to get the lantern. 
- Close with a hook – something to keep your audience wondering what might happen and wishing for more. A pitch that ends on intrigue is a perfect pitch.

Final project Q and A

Should contain:

-title (even if only a working title)

Twin Lights

 -genre

Action Adventure 

-theme

Man vs Environment

-tone and execution -- what will it look like on the screen? How will these formal decisions compliment / further the meaning of your work?

I wanted a story much like the reward where to two people come together even though they have two completely different mindsets.

The Reward from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.


The color of the film is based of this animation called urbane which is portrayed in an urban city. I wanted the color of the film to match  that of urbance to bring more life into the city to make it appear more an urban fanstasy.

URBANCE Official Trailer from Steambot on Vimeo.

The film will be vibrant and full of life as to demonstrate the difference in this to lifestyles of the two characters Yubi and Anko. 

Anko color scheme was based more off the movie kung fu panda the beginning scene of the movie kung-fu-panda which shows the can of action and composition I want in my film

Yubi and Anko 

Yubi and Anko working color schemes.

Environments 

Based off of Harajuku 

-basic plot 

Inciting Incident 

Anko's lantern is stolen by Yubi Rising action 

Anko chases Yubi down a dark street

climax 

When all the lanterns are lit together and the first lantern is fixed

resolution 

They both go to the festival together each carrying the lantern hand in hand

-any unique angles or aspects that will pique an audiences interest/hook them

-target audience - who does your film appeal to?

Pre teen to young adult  (ages 13 to 25)