It really was an Epic Journey!

I came to school at about 11.45, just in time to meet the rest of the Crewsaders. We found an empty classroom and set up my laptop there and I showed them what I had done. They seemed to like it. This was a final green signal for presentation.

We made our way down to the LT at 12 sharp, only to realize that we were the only group there on time. The lecturers were there too. It was almost 12.15 when Alan told the four of us to go upstairs to the 3D lab to call everyone down if not their marks would be deducted. By the time everyone was down, he told us to have a break and be back by 1 pm, by when the screening will start.

So then, at 1, it started. The day all of us had been waiting for. The first group to go was Sholleh's group. First groups always leave the deepest impressions. I think his group did pretty well. The editing was good, but I felt that the fast-forward sequence was a little bit too long. I liked their ending titles with all the pictures of the MOI people. Oh one thing which I definitely found unique about their group was their set design. I really think that was awesome, because it was so nicely done and relevant.

Anyway, moving on, other groups presented. I guess everyone did a good job, and another group that attracted my attention was Snap. I think they really did a good job. I was just wondering how the skateboard guy at the starting was related to the rest of the video. But nonetheless, good editing. The animation was what that really catched my attention. The animation showreel, however, I was wondering if the part about the iK/fK clip was really their work or not.

After all the groups had presented their works, and we were the last to present. Actually, Kirin's group was supposed to present last, but for some reason, they swapped places with us so that we would be last. Oh well, so we went down to present, I introduced myself and the group. It was an awesome feeling. Our first screening, it was as if it was a movie premiere. I've always dreamt of having my own movie premiere =) So we sat down, as our tape rolled. The sound system in the LT was really good, and it sounded massive, especially the start where the sound effects were exaggerated. The screening progressed, and I realized that whatever I had colour corrected in my machine did not show up properly on the big screen. Everything looked yellowish. I had different shades of colours to make it look epic. Oh well, hopefully the music covered up for it. And then when it came to my part and my 3D lamp in the scene, Mr. Ronald from behind started clapping. Oh mAN!! That was the coolest thing that ever happened to our group, or at least to me. It really boosted my morale like anything. Thanks Mr. Ronald =D And then soon it slowly ended. I'm glad people appreciated it, as there was enthusiastic applause and a little bit of whistling here and there. I was really at the top of the world, and so was my group. Many came to congratulate my group. The day had ended really really well.

Come to think of it, it really was an epic journey since the start of MOI P1. From forming our groups, to deciding on the proper concept, to some things not being able to be delivered on time, to shooting schedules, to rendering issues, to the final product. It was definitely a tough journey. But I'm glad we covered the major stuff that we wanted to... things which we had planned the moment the rough concept was done...

1. Epic look through colour correction
2. Epic music
3. Specific music for opening and ending titles
4. Mountain animation
5. Wendy's mushi animation
6. Greg's dog animation
7. 3D lamp created from scratch and composited into live action footage
8. Map transition

I guess we more or less covered what we had planned, except that the transition from the 3D mountains to the 2D map could have improved. Oh well, reflecting back, being a director was a pretty hard job. I had to see through every single aspect of production. From story, to script, to dressing and costumes, to camera takes, audio on set, Wendy's mushi animation, Greg's dog animation, the background music, sound effects and the all the major stuff that happens during hardcore post-production. It was quite stressful to see over every minute detail, but in the end, it was definitely worth it.

Luckily, everyone in my group had this attitude of striving for perfection:

Jem worked tirelessly on the script with me, coming out with at least five to six drafts of scripts, working really hardcore on the camera angles and shots and coming out with two concepts of the map.

Wendy, needless to say, worked so damn hard on her Mushi animation. She did her animation, showed it to us, and after giving her our feedback, she carried on improving it. I think she definitely did more than what was expected. It must have been really frustrating for her to come to us at least 10 times, showing us the work, and telling her 10 times to get this right and try to tweak that thing a little bit. But it all paid off in the end. She did an awesome job and co-operated well with the team.

Gregory Poon.. my bro! Haha. He was as enthusiastic as ever, right from day 1. He did a good job in contributing to his part of the script. Whenever Jem was in the shot, Greg took over the camera and did an equally fantastic job. And how can I forget his animated dog, which he spent days and days sketching it out and getting the character designs right, and nights trying to animate it. Good job bro!

Thank you guys for working with me. It was really a great pleasure having you guys in my team. But hey, this is not the end of Crewsade. This day, we do not look back. Yesterday, is history. Today, is a possibility. Tomorrow... will be VICTORY!!

The epic journey continues... indeed.