Jelly Donut Studios

2010-03-30T20:54:00.002-04:00

A short test animation based off the old 'travelling cheap' joke.

(ie. bring all your buddies in your suitcase)

Enjoy!

THAC 7 - Guides

2010-01-10T20:07:00.004-05:00

Made mostly in 24 hours for THAC 7.
I got a late start on my film, and as usual, had too big of an idea from the start. After twelve hours, I pretty much gave up on the movie, which really shows near the end. (Thus the lack of sound effects and animation.)
A week after THAC, I dug my entry back up and added the opening scene and fixed most of the audio before posting here. (The original entry can be found here.)

Despite everything, it still was a nice learning experience and good impetus to work harder on other projects. So here, in all its imperfect glory, is 'Guides'!

- E

originally posted 01-10-10

Keep on keepin' on!

2009-03-08T18:51:00.004-04:00

Hey hey, we're still here! Sorry for the lull in updates, but we've had to stop filming and everything else due to our home being on the market, and thus, being unable to keep any sets or anything up for an extended period of time. (Aside from school getting busy, having some very important snow days and breaks, and..... life. XD) But now for the important news.

The bad news is, because it's now early March and we never really started filming, we're postponing the release date for a while.

E: No really, like, a while.

Ian: Like next week a while? Hey, why don't we release it tomorrow and pull an early April fools?

E: ...

Ian: What?

Jay: That one actually wasn't too funny.

Actually, we're gonna keep working, although slower. This has given us more time to let the story steep for a while so we know what's really working and what still needs work. So even though we've had to cancel the original release date, we're not giving up!

E: We're definitely getting this thing done. I've been on several multiple-year projects before, and know we can pull this little one off.

Now for the good news!

Ian: E? What is the good news?

E: Uh.... oh no. I forgot!

Jay: This isn't very funny either.

E: No really, I forgot! Give me a moment while I try to remember.

Ian: (to the audience) Well, while E is trying to remember what the good news is, check out a few of the pictures of the sets we were working on before everything went under E's bed for safekeeping!

E: Hey!

Ian: Well it's true.

E: ....

Ian: (to the audience again) Please excuse how dark the pictures are. I didn't take them.

E and Jay: Hey!

Ian: (to E and Jay) Want me to tell jokes while you two try to remember what the good news was?

E: No!

Jay: I've got one! Okay, there were two cavemen walking down the street. The first one says to the other-

E: I remember!

Jay: That's not what he says!

E: No, I think I remember what the good news.... uh, I forgot again. It was something having to do with the title though. I think.

Ian: That isn't good news.

E: I know. May as well though, since I can't remember what the good news was. (to audience) Well, as you probably know, we now have a title for the movie, right? But we're not disclosing it yet because.... well, just because. Right?

Ian: But we're gonna say what the title is soon, right?

*crickets*

Ian: This is the worst blog post on the blog. I should be the one in charge of this thing.

Thought Process

2009-03-06T14:38:00.000-05:00

E's entry to BRAWL 2009.

Download WMV

The original idea for the film had been something like the book 1984; something along the lines of starting off in a stairwell in a normal public building on a normal day, where the viewer got to hear the peoples' thoughts. Then things would get somewhat creepy until the reader learned that the government was monitoring the peoples' thoughts. So, yeah... No story, really. Just a small film intended as a 'picture' of sorts (which, due to time constraints and lack of sleep, didn't pull together entirely well.)

made 08-30-09

Aaah!

2009-01-21T14:10:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I let time get away from me!
If it wasn't the holidays, it was my computer getting a virus (still haven't fixed it), school restarting, or something else. And it didn't dawn on me I hadn't hit the 'publish' button on the last few drafts I had saved on here! (Below.)

Anyway, quite a bit has happened since I published any new posts. (Most is summed up in the progress bar, but I'll get a little more into that later.)

1. We've decided on the title. (But I'm not going to divulge it yet! XD)

2. We've redone half of the costumes. (And rewrote a few scenes [And just recently added a new one.])

3. We've got a few voice actors!

4. I ('E') joined the Bricks in Motion forums. (And it's already proving helpful.)

5. We tried entering the THAC 6 (Twenty-Four Hour Animation Contest). . . and wound up not getting past the recording stage. (Heheh. Well, there's always next year.)

6. We're also trying to animate the opening scene of the movie. (Note: I said 'trying'. [*cough, cough* Ian, can you come over here?])

- E

Happy New Things!

2009-01-01T14:39:00.011-05:00

Check out the new camera I got for Christmas!

Super Snappy! Much better than the old one.
(And yep, we're working on the sets now! More to come later.)

- E

Titular.

2008-12-21T17:56:00.007-05:00

Last Friday, Ian and I started getting serious on the storyboards (as you cans see above.) While Z worked on sorting new lego (free from someone across town) on the other end of the room, Ian sketched brief ideas and I redid them on paper and scanned them into the computer. We got most of the first scene done that day. (Looks pretty cool when I run it through the computer!)

We also have a new semi working title for the movie. (Finally!) However since we're all a bit iffy on it, so we won't be posting it here until we give it more thought. So until then, the movie is still going under the title 'Project Donut'.

I also added a new addition to the sidebar: a progress counter! It's right there underneath the link list. We'll be posting our progress there regularly, even if we're not able to get a new post in.

Some of my Bricklink orders came in too! (We now have more props and characters.)
Yippee!

- E

90-miles-per-hour

2008-12-14T18:54:00.002-05:00

What's small, green and goes 90 mph leaving a trail of smoke behind?
(highlight below to see the answer.)

Yoda with his pants on fire.

- Jay

Ha-HA!

2008-11-29T17:45:00.014-05:00

I finally got the entire first draft of the script done!
(Yippee!)

By itself, the 'script' is 26 and 1/3 pages. If you add the snippet-like-floating-around-aimlessly scenes we still need to work on to the mix, it totals 28-and-a-half pages exact.

Note, this isn't the finished script; only a very rough draft. Many of the scenes are simply summaries one or three paragraphs long, not fully scripted scenes. (However, there are other scenes that are finished and going through storyboarding, so don't think the whole thing is like that.) But still, it's the first full draft we've had of the movie (not counting the chunky summaries we did when starting out - we did a lot of those before even starting on the script) so far, and we'll happy!

For me (being a book writer,) I'm finding it kind of hard to write a screenplay for the first time. I'm used to writing slower-paced, character-driven stories with several sub-themes and multiple smaller plots. However, with a movie, it's dawned on me I can't do that! I'm having to weed out all the little sub-themes I'd thought were so clever all the way down to the story's core, realizing that I'm going to have to fit the whole thing into an hour and a half.
(I'm telling you, I'm a novelist, not quite a film writer just yet.)

Up next: Revision, revision, revision! (And storyboarding, sketching, drawing story reels, finding voice actors, building sets, and finally recording and filming.) It looks like this movie is finally getting its wheels off the ground!

Anyway, happy belated Thanksgiving, and to all a good night!

- E

Tryin' new things!

2008-11-19T21:52:00.005-05:00

- Ian

Organization!

2008-11-09T20:16:00.005-05:00

Pictured is a little over three weekend's worth of work:

four one-and-a-half-dozen-compartment egg cartons of 'fancy' bricks and minifig pieces (full)
two grocery sacks of green and brown basic and non-basic bricks (quarter-full)
one nearly-full grocery sack of window/windsheild pieces
one quarter-full grocery sack of doors
one large tub of variously-colored basic bricks (almost full)
one sack of unsorted slopes (full)
one larger sack of unsorted tiles and plates (full)
six square, three rectangular, and five cylandrical storage tubs (all bursting except for the few which you can tell aren't)

And this is by no means all of the lego we own!

- E

Deadline Over - Aftermath

2008-11-05T23:09:00.002-05:00

Well, with the deadline past, I can finally tally up how much we've gotten done since the end of September. We have:
An estimated fifteen odd pages of the script (many of the old pages rewritten, and others disconnected from each other)
A half-dozen pieces of concept art
Several sketched building exteriors
Names and appearance drafts for most characters all done. (some characters already built)
The 'about us' page done for the website (:D)
A few possible titles for the movie
Main story finalized
And a mess of lego tiles and other white bricks in my bedroom carpet in front of the desk.

Not as much as we'd needed, but hey, not terrible either.

- E

About Project Donut

2008-11-02T22:34:00.006-05:00

Project Donut is a (currently untitled) feature-length animated film to be used (in completion or in part) as E Schilding's high school Senior Project.

It is an action/comedy/drama set in present-day lego world, featuring an original storyline and lots of legos.

The film was originally slated to be released sometime between the spring and fall of '09, but due to *life*, no one knows when the deadline now rests, except for the fact that it is coming. And yes, it will have donuts in it. ;)

For more info, click on one of the label links in the sidebar.

Who We Are

2008-11-02T15:07:00.033-05:00

Jelly Donut Studios is an amateur animation studio made up of four siblings who love to tell stories and have fun.

The Team:

Euphreana ('E')

The eldest of the team and head of the story department, E produces and heads up pretty much most of everything else that goes on here. The only girl in the team and also primarily the one with all the 'big ideas' (sometimes good, but sometimes never working out,) she works on most of the scriptwriting, research, and making sure everything is running correctly. She's also the webmaster of this website.

E is also the one directing Project Donut, though it has been put on the shelf for the time being.

Jay

Jay is the next oldest, and the builder of pretty much everything that appears in the movies or clips. (Vehicles, buildings, interiors, and etc.) Good with art, he also works on storyboarding, concept and design art, and music.
He has a quirky obsession with corny jokes and silly songs, and enjoys bugging Ian endlessly by singing/playing/reciting them. (Jay is the also author of the infamous 90-miles-an-hour riddle, the 'there were two cavemen walking down the street...' line, and most of the other overrated jokes you'll see us using here or in our movies. :D)

Ian

Ian is the official comedian of the group, the go-to guy for anything humorous, and the stockpiler of all 'cool things' (pictures, props, film clips, weapons, etc.) He's also an animator and helps where he can with some storyboarding and scripting dialogue.
Being the ex-youngest, he also enjoys making everyone else laugh one minute and then chase him the next (often because of a very well-timed remark.)

'Z'

Although not officially part of the JD Studios crew, Z (the youngest of the group,) likes to help out with categorizing bricks, making small vehicles and props, and helping Jay bug Ian (and helping Ian bug everyone else, and even bug Ian himself.) He's a more of a 'go-pher' right now, but is hoping to become one of the animators eventually.

Only Nine Days Left

2008-10-22T20:35:00.102-04:00

E here again.
With only nine days left, so far we've gotten a handful of sets and vehicles sketched and drafted; one storyboard drafted (very short and needing editing); all the lego minifigure peices we own sorted, catalogued, and listed (took me all day for one full day since I also had to list which pieces are curretly in use with other sets that other people are using), and a little over the same number of pages of script that we had originally (a little over ten-ish). True numbers on everything will come later when the imaginaly goal/deadline hits, but what's really bugging me is the script. I mean, hey, it's been what, a month, and no real 'new' pages?
As it turns out, as we work on 'new' scenes, 'old' scenes that have been changed or simply don't work anymore are thrown out at the same rate. So yeah. There has been some progress. (There would be more if I figured out how to get more scenes out of verbal form and into written form.)

On another note, Z, the youngest sibling (who isn't 'officially' in the group), has been persistantly trying to get into the movie-making process for the last few months. Today he surprised me when he got onto MonkeyJam (the animation program we use), which I'd mistakenly left open previously. Without any help, he created a short movie of his own lego people walking around my desk. (He's learning how to read, so he know what button said 'Capture')
The result is something obviously created by a little kid who doesn't yet know how to ride a bike. But considering I didn't even know he could read the word 'capture' in the first place, it's pretty good.

*E hums a mix of the Indiana Jones theme song and tobyMac's Face of the Earth as she pulls said animation into another window*

On yet another note, if you're an ex-reader of my blog (itself being sadly un-updated for a few weeks now), you may recall a post about a certain 90-miles-per-hour-leaving-a-trail-of-smoke joke. Well, that joke has spawned over a hundred other punch lines, songs, routines, riddles, and pictures. (The latest being a song by Jay and Ian which goes to the tune of 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'.)
I have to keep repeating to myself "This is not going to make it into the movie, this is not going to make it into the movie, this is not going to make it into the movie. . ."

-E

Hi!

2008-10-19T16:52:00.004-04:00

Hi it’s me Ian and I’m going to do this post.

1. According to the goal, we have 12 days left to draft the script and sketch sets which may be kinda hard.

2. There's a restaurant we're trying to decide a name for, where Kiddo and Bill meet in a few scenes. So far we’re thinking about a name like ‘Jun-Chi’s Golden Palace’. (Jun-Chi is a character from Johnny Thunder who never appears in the movie but we like having his name in here, and it fits too.)

3. The story has been done for a while. Now we're still trying to draft scenes for everything which is also kinda of hard.

4. And even though we don't like Bionicle, we're having too much fun including some of them in the movie. E is bugging me about not letting them along with the two shorter characters and some cameo characters steal the show. We don't have any Bionicle characters, but we're gonna borrow some (hopefully).

That’s the buzz going on and so for now, cha!

- Ian

Testing, 1, 2, 3. . .

2008-10-12T23:28:00.003-04:00

(E here - Ian and I worked out that he should do the next post if I did this one.)

In the last few days, we've been gone over a few scenes (added a few), and run a few more short animations. The cast now consists of a main character, three supporting characters, two minor characters and a multitude of people in the background. Two (well, two and a half, really) of the characters are short little guys with short little legs, which, having no joints as you can see in the picture, are next to impossible to animate in a walking sequence. Even though we don't actually own any short legs as of yet (gonna wait until the script is finished before ordering, just in case we need to change the color or something). . . I was thinking yesterday that it might be a good idea to try animating a 'short-person walk sequence' anyway. (I got around the fact that we don't have any short legs by substituting a grey 1x2 brick in for the legs, which is pretty the same size and shape and, like the real thing, doesn't 'move' at all.)

The 'walk cycle' consists of substituting slanted bricks in for moving legs after every frame to give the illusion of movement. (Not entirely convincing, but hey, it works.)

About halfway into the clip, I'd realized I didn't have a full-height minifigure in the screen to compare the girl next to! I desperately didn't want to have animate another test character walking into the screen just for comparison so I 'cheated' and had him teleport in instead. (That proved to be the funnest part of the clip)
The whole thing took about a little over an hour for me to shoot, and has a runtime of twelve seconds. (The day before, Ian created an other animation in the same amount of time, but it was thirty-three seconds long. I don't know how that kid is twice as fast as I am! I would upload it here, but the uploader doesn't seem to be working. . .)

Speaking of Ian, he's done a few other test sequences in the last few months that I haven't posted on here. This one I had given him as a challenge; he had three test characters and a sandwich bag of 'props' (guns, swords, flags, radios, etc.), and the objective to to make a scene using the whole shebang.
The point of the challenge had been to get some more actions and expressions out of the characters by using the props, but Ian, seeing as I hadn't exactly clarified on the criteria of the clip (I'd only said to use the whole bag; nothing about how to use it), he found a quicker and easier way to meet the challenge.

. . . and he always seems to end every clip he makes with a short fight.

We're getting there, but what I still don't get is how come he can use the same amount of time as I do to animate something, and still wind up with something else twice as long. (Maybe this is God's way of telling me to work harder on the script and leave the animating to someone else.)

- E

2008-10-08T23:59:00.016-04:00

E: Please don't tell me you forgot to write a post for this Wednesday. . .
Ian: Huh? What post?

Ian: I did make up a really funny joke while you were gone. . .
E: We already have enough jokes to make a comedy routine! No more jokes!

(E: This wasn't my idea. But when your buddy 'forgets' five times in a row, you've gotta do some sort of scrabling to cover for him.
Ian: My idea?? Who said that this was my idea?? And you call this 'covering for me'? What are you covering? I didn't forget five times in a row either!
E: How then-
Ian: Wait, is this thing still recording?)

How may pages now?

2008-10-04T20:29:00.010-04:00

Not enough.

I'm working on the story alright, but we've got a small breaking point that's splitting the story in pieces. One part I am [edit:was] wondering about would be to take the entire military theme out. It would make some parts easier, but on the other hand, would remove a lot of other things we all like and would force me to rewrite almost everything else. And this late into the game, I'm not so sure I like that.
[E's edit on Sunday: we decided not to do that; we've found another way around that minor problem it was creating.]

I'm in need of clearing my desk/work space (Pictured). So far it's gone from a mess of papers, to a mess of legos, to a mess of wires and legos, to a less-mess that meant I was slacking off. (Either that, or I get a new work space.)

Ian has almost hit the slow-mo. I'm trying to get him back up and in it. (Gonna kick-start some more test filming now that he's waiting for me to finish up the script so he can make more models.) Still thinking about that promised futbol game test sequence, along with some other things. (Ian's itching to do a fight scene.)

Jay started his piano lessons last week. He's made a whole lot of progress even from before then - one thing being the 'recreation' of several movie theme songs by ear and from memory. Good thing we won't be working on music for this movie until after the filming is completed. (And that happens after vocals are recorded, and that comes after I finish this script.)

But so far, not much else to report. (I have made good some progress with the story though.)

- E, who had better soon be replaced by one of her brothers in posting. (*Ahem* Ian, can you come over here?)

You don't mess wit' da big guys.

2008-10-01T22:20:00.009-04:00

(Click on the picture for a better preview.)

As of yesterday, the story is once again rewritten, and a few of the older scenes I'd loved have been re-added. (Food fight included.)

The main characters' outifts are finally drafted (We changed all the uniforms), and Ian has some new models for some scenes. (Have I mentioned that he loves big machines?) And yes, the transport from the last post is the one pictured above. (Not the final product, as you can tell from the odd and mis-matched colors in the above model.)
Another model done is 'the wall' (which in all likelihood will be in two of its own scenes).

I personally think the guns are a little bit of an overkill.

I'm also trying to work out the script; so far I have an estimated nine pages. (:-/)
And now Ian has another idea for a rooftop scene. (Don't ask.)

- E

The Concept

2008-09-28T16:21:00.046-04:00

It's E again.
While I've been working on the script, Jay and Ian have had the job of helping to construct models and concept art.

So far we've been planning out basic sets, scenes, and vehicles; using everything from paper and pencil to actual mock-ups. It's been fun calculating how big the sets will need to be and how many bricks we'll need aside from the ones we already have. (I'm estimating a good several hundred grey and black bricks alone.)

We've also been studying the different ways to set up and frame shots. (When Ian said we've been watching a bunch of other movies, he didn't really mean 'a bunch'; just several good ones I keep on hand for reference.)
One of the challenges I've been facing has been trying to find the balance between a set that's detailed enough to look like real life, but not so detailed it becomes overloaded or distracting. (This is where the simplicity of classic lego combines with the more complicated movie sets.)

Anyway, back to the concept art. Ian is very eager to work on large, heavy vehicles. Check out the sketch for the 'armored and weaponed transport' he's been working on during the last two weeks:

(You should see the newly-finished mock-up that's sitting in the other room. It looks a little better in 3D without all my red notes.) The machine itself is a little big, but I have a feeling it's still gonna be the center of attention of at least two scenes.

On another note, we also have a new challenge: Have the second draft of everything (script, characters, machines, etc.) done by October 31st.
Will we make it? Eh. . . heheh, a little hard to say. (Shoot for the stars, and you'll at least reach the moon; I always say.)

- E

Full speed ahead, Captain!

2008-09-24T23:48:00.031-04:00

Finally! After a painfully-week-long lull in the action, we're finally making progress once again. The main story has been finalized (I'm already knee-deep into the script), the 'schedule' (if you can call it that) is done. (Basically a tangible list of what we need to do and when - a bit of a 'to-do' list, if you will.)
All we have left it the final scriptwriting and editing, set building, recording, animating, and editing (pretty much everything there was in the first place, minus the story itself). . . and we have approximately seven to eight months to do it all. (It's gonna be tight, but I've been through equally tight escapades, and if we don't slack off, we should have enough time to get it all done.)

Right now the main goal is to get the script done and sketch the basic sets and characters. We're still moving a little slower than I'd like, but we're moving. (I've also been doing a bit of research; trying to see exactly how many bricks we'll need to create the larger scenes, plus what extra lego pieces (hat? soccer ball?) we still need.) It looks like soccer (called 'futbol' in this movie) might actually be playing a not-so-small part among the military/secret agent-esque theme. (More details to come as the script develops.)

(Yeah, so it's been over a week since the last post. My bad.)
- E

News

2008-09-23T12:50:00.013-04:00

Key:
Red - Project Donut
Blue - Studio News
Green - Release

11-20-10 Project Donut is back! Stay tuned for more details and updates... upcoming. Hopefully soon. (Hopefully.)

01-09-10 E participated in THAC7, and now has a new movie up on the Films page!

08-30-09 E, in collaboration with Jelly Donut Studios, made a film for BRAWL '09. See it on the Films page.

05-08-09 Project Donut unfortunately postponed due to various events.

02-03-09 The first twenty seconds are roughly complete (and edited.) Still working on other sets and scenes (in all stages.)

01-26-09 We got the first eight seconds of the opening scene filmed last night! (Filming has officially started.)

01-19-08 Working a little more seriously on getting foleys (sound effects.)

01-13-09 Started getting voice actors for the movie.

12-29-08 Started building sets.

12-25-08 Got a new webcam!

12-23-08 We now have a working title for Project Donut. (It's about time!)

12-16-08 Script for Scene 1 (final!) is finished. Storyboarding for Scene 1 has also been started, along with main foley gathering.

11-29-08 The full rough draft of the story/script is finished! Now to just go over it a few million times. . . .

09-23-08 Full story drafted. (Now we know where we're going, even though there are some holes.)

Films

2008-09-21T14:37:00.001-04:00

Currently, we've only published two of our films so far.
(Though there a number we really should publish...)

Thought Process

THAC7 - Guides

Ian dances when he has work to do.

2008-09-14T21:17:00.019-04:00

This isn't so much of a post - Jay hasn't been able to get on here yet, so I'm gonna do this one.
Since Ian's last post, I've gone over the draft of the story twice (I'm now on my third time), gone over vehicles and sets (it's all concept art right now) with Jay, reconstructed one character and added another, and gotten Ian to shoot another animation (need to get him to do more.)
Speaking of his animation test, I promised him I'd post it here.

It's his first short with sound. I know the song doesn't synchronize or exactly fit, but it's a start. (10000 points to anyone who recognized that song before the watching credits.) Believe it or not, he actually surprised me with this one. The kid has some talent, considering how fast he thought it up and shot it. (Almost 200 frames in less than half an hour.)
It's a cheesy camera, I know. I'm really trying to get a new one.
Next, I'm gonna try to rig up a way to get in some camera movement, aside from more than one figure moving at once. (I think it's gonna be a soccer scene.)

I also did a test animation last week when I should have been studying. (I'm not posting it now, since it was nighttime when I shot it and my room [where the test set is now] is very dim even with all the lights on, so the whole thing was very grainy.) It was funny though that since I'd once again forgotten to turn the frame rate down from 24 to 16, when I ran it all together, I was wondering why it seemed so smooth, but too quick considering how long I'd been shooting. (I finally went and fixed the default frame rate so it won't be happening again. :D)

I need to start writing the script next.
(For some reason the most productive time to work on is when we're all folding laundry.)

- E

Ian's First Post

2008-09-10T17:08:00.012-04:00

Hi! I'm Ian, the animator and comedic helper. Well actually, I'm not the real animator yet. I'm still being trained by E, who is the director. (Jay, my older brother who will probably post if he has the time, is our sound and music tech.) We have made several movies over the last couple of years already. They aren't as big as we're hoping this one will, but they were pretty funny.
As a learning animator, I have been working on having minifigures walking and giving a few physical expressions, lighting, movement, and a few other things.

We also need to get a new camera. The one we are using now is really bad quality. E has found the one we're going to get already. Now we just need to get permission to waste our money to get it. (E: "'Our' money? I'm the one financing this project!)
But we're still doing okay with using the camera we have meanwhile. If you look up at the top of this post, there is a picture of three of the main characters. Down under the next two paragraphs is another shot, this time with a background. E was doing a bunch of test shots today, and we just finished most of the main characters.

On the left is the main character, 'Kiddo' (that's his nickname). In the center is our comic relief (I call him Bill, since we don't have a solid name for him yet) and you'll find out that he is very funny. On the right, we have the sarcastic mechanic, who's a girl (we don't have a name for her yet either).

Anyway, about the new movie: Its a little like the old Lego Alpha Team (as a matter of fact, that's what it was in the first place) that the Lego Company did in 2000. You see, a few years ago we started thinking about hilarious things that could have happenned in the story. We made a lot of scenes then we typed it out and found out we could make it into a script, and then we liked it so much we decided to make it into a movie, and since we have so many legos we decided to do it, and then that's what brings us to right now. (almost.) The story has changed a lot from the original, but it should be good. We have seen a bunch of other lego movies people made, which helped us out a lot with ideas for camera angles and animating.

Well I have to go soon and just to tell you we don't know when we are going to release the movie. As a matter of fact, we might even release it right now!. . . . . just kidding. For one, we just got started, and two, we don't have a good camera yet.
(Note from E: Ian didn't know this at the time, but we're looking at a Springtime release.)
Well, I have to go before my sister finds out what I have been telling you. Ack! Here she comes now I got to go bye!

- Ian

Walking backward.

2008-09-06T22:37:00.017-04:00

The other day, I decided to rig up a make-shift test set for a few walking sequences I knew we were badly in need of running. (Ever wonder how I procrastinate before a math test? I was busy sorting bricks the night before.) I picked up a green city baseplate and pieced together a small building, then quickly dressed the set with whatever I had on hand.
(If you haven't noticed, those large not-building lego objects behind the set are the torsos from my last sculpture which had been collecting dust in my closet for the last several years. You see, I needed something to go in the background, and since after recently disassembling all of our other buildings so as to sort and tally the bricks, the only other things left were a pirate fortress, a medieval fort, and a rainbow-colored studio set [the one we used for our 'Happy Birthday' film].)

That little person posed there next to the (trashcan? light fixture?) was a draft for one of the main characters. (She's just undergone a major overhaul along with the rest of the characters.) I picked her for this animation because heh, she's really one of the only ones I'd been doing a lot of work on, and thus the only figure with a head, arms, and legs. (The others were incomplete.)
Since we still need to get a decent camera especially for brickfilming, I had to use the family's digital camera. A couple hours, wads of of blu-tack, DVD-and-VHS tape-tripods later, I finally came up with a 5-second animation which was sloppy enough to not post here in entirety. No onionskinning; just 82 frames running at 15 fps (frames-per-second) and my computer mouse jumping around like crazy. (I really need to get a new one.)
Terrible really, especially when you consider that I'd forgotten to lower the picture size. (I'd been wondering why it was taking so long to load.)

Yesterday, I was going over the animation with Jay when I noticed something odd: the sequence looked different when I played the frames backwards.

Here's the original (trimmed) sequence we were going over (17 frames running at 12 fps) :

And here's the same thing backwards:

That's when it dawned on me: She's leaning the wrong way!
When walking forward, a person typically leans backward slightly. When walking backward, you lean forward. I'd done the entire sequence the wrong way!

After a short laugh and a repetition of one of our lesser-known favorite phrases ("Backwards, backwards, backwards!" from the book Phantom of the Opera), Jay and I jotted the note down and went on with the sequence.

Today I rewrote the movie's summary and altered the entire cast of characters. Ian wasn't thrilled.

- E

Hi there!

2008-09-06T22:23:00.005-04:00

So this is the website for Jelly Donut studios, the little animation studio run by siblings Euphreana ('E'), Jay, and Ian. (Little brother Z might be making some contributions also.)
It started out as a way for us kids to pass our time (while folding laundry and making wisecracks), and is now being launched as E's senior project.
We'll be posting updates and random pieces about the studio and our new upcoming film as we go. But until then, stay tuned!

- The Jelly Donut Studios team