At first glance this might seem like a very pointless project, after all it is combining 2 fantasy characters. When in reality this project involved many parts of science, social studies, and film making.The goal of the project was to create a film about an animal in your predesignated region. In the story the frakenstuffie will have to adapt because of disruption in a matter cycle or in matter cycles.

 

Before I began creating the movie I had to learn about the geography of canada, including the physical regions of canada.

Studying geography was a very fascinating topic. I have always enjoyed that type study, I find geography and in particular canadian geography really interesting. Canada has a such a range of different geographical areas, from the temperate rainforest of BC, to the warm and dry prairies of the central provinces, all the way to the rainy atlantic maritimes.

 

For the frankenstuffie project I was put into a small group, that would all focus their project on one region. For me and my group we had to focus our projects on the cordilleran region. This region is located on the pacific coast, covering nearly all of BC and the Yukon and parts of Alberta. After looking through my house for the ideal stuffie I eventually settled on a duck. It would allow a lot of potential new filming techniques which was very appealing to me.

Now that I was clear on the animal and region I would be using for the project I could begin the first stage of the project. The first stage was to write 6 epistolary episodes including one to set the scene, a few for rising action, one for the transformation, and one for conclusion and falling action. As I developed each individual episode I got a better feeling of the story and how I would film it. By the time I was finished my 6 episodes I was confident in my story to the point that I could write a script for it. So I began to create a script for my story, with a small focus on the actual shots and more of a focus on the actual speaking parts. To figure out all the shots I need to create something entirely different than a script. As I finished the script I spent quite some time curating. Looking back I wish i would have re edited the script again after I created my story board. if I would have done that it would have made it a lot easier when recording the voice overs. After I was confident in the script I spent some time focusing on the storyboard. I did not take this part of the project too seriously and looking back I wished I did a much more detailed and better job at this. Because I did not have every shot on the storyboard, it made me guess when I was filming about the shots I needed. I was able to wing it in the end but I am sure it would have made things much easier if I was to was to bare down a bit more. I began filming in the ensuing days and that was a very fun experience.

 

Filming was another animal entirely different animal. In this project I had to learn about green screens and the many filming techniques used to make non living objects come alive. Using string and other means to make the duck move without my hand interfering with the shot. The main scenes were going to be at a pond and I had decided early on that I would use a golf course pond as my setting. It provided all the needed shots for me and it was lighted well. It was best if I created the half of my story before the transformation, then curate it to make it look the best it can be.

 

I still had a lot to work on but the story was beginning to take shape. Many family members and friends watched the video and I took all the feedback they gave and improved it enough so that I could begin to sew and cut up my stuffy. I began to film the second half of the story and I began to sew my stuffed animal into something completely different. Filming the second half was much better in the sense that I had more experience and I was much more prepared. This is why looking back I wish I made a better storyboard, it is way easier when you are prepared and organized to get the shots you need. After I edited in all the voice overs and shots I followed the same process of what I did with the first half. I made a first draft and showed it to people that I know.

With the feedback I got from them I made the edits to improve the video and came up with this as my final product.  It was a long and very interesting process to create these films and I feel a learned a lot about filmmaking in the process but most of all I think I gain valuable experience in the preparation for a film.