Behind the Scenes

Escape (2019)

I've been with the Escape team since August of 2018 - pre production to post and through the festival circuit. It was a lovely opportunity to Produce for an incredible visual journey such as this.

Some of the things I did include:

gathered, vetted, and managed crew of 54 people
worked with director to make most efficient cuts (save time, resources) while still maintaining story integrity
established naming conventions, folder structures, asset organization through Microsoft Planner and Google Drive
established and maintained timelines
organized weeklies (meetings for crew currently on project)
intense problem solving with regards to technical aspects of 2D/3D integration
character animation
animation direction
background painting

Production Work

Below are some of the examples of how we approached the daunting task of communication with a crew who was rarely ever in the same place. Shot breakdowns for each and every shot were crucial to a unified and consistent view from the director to people in different departments. SyncSketch was an invaluable tool for giving and receiving feedback, directly on the screen! A huge factor in project completion was a little thing we called the ReadMe Log. When any of us was working, we'd have a tab to the AirTable form open and log any major or minor events. Things we needed to do in the future, people we'd talked to, errors that occurred and a handy place for pictures. At the beginning of every day the director and I would scroll down the log like a morning newspaper , able to catch up on everything at our own pace and establish the needs for the day. The easily accessible color-coordinated Google Calendar was essential for keeping track of tasks, deadlines, and meetings. Take a peek at how we ran our production!

Example of Animation Direction using SyncSketch

Here is an example of how we used the online software SyncSketch to facillitate communication and reviews in out animation pipeline. This is a frame of my review to an animator.

Example of SyncSketch review

Here is an example of how we used the online software SyncSketch to facillitate communication and reviews in out animation pipeline. This is a frame of my review to an animator.

Example of a Shot Breakdown Chart

These Shot Breakdown Charts were essential to unifying the directors vision within various departments. If one part of the pipeline doesn't know what's expected, either of themselves or a connecting part of the pipeline, how can they be expected to make a coherent contribution to the story?

Color Coded Calendar

This way of being able to color code and toggle calendars off and on was an integral part of production. Being able to see what you needed to tackle each day, what was coming up, and what kind of event it was in a visually pleasing way gave us the structure we needed to be able to focus on the tasks at hand.

Escape ReadMe.txt Log

This is the AirTable form core crew members would constantly have up while working on this CG short film. It's short and simple nature allowed for quickly jotting down non-conversational things that needed to be communicated. With a lot of constantly moving parts, the introduction of this feature greatly enhanced our workflow.

ReadMe.txt Log - Grid View

Here is a snapshot of the 600+ entries made in out 9 months of production. As you can see, it includes WHO logged an entry, WHEN they logged it, WHAT they logged and even a place for HOW things should be followed up on or exansions upong the quick entry itself. The nature of the log means that it is easily searchable and nothing important is lost in the annals of a chat conversation, never to be seen or heard from again.

Log Entry- with photos!

Sometimes something whacky happens and words just don't cover what needs to be shared. Whetehr it was the good news of a toon shader's debut into a scene or weird mesh problems that needed to be solved, file locations or the exact location and hex code of the color in the materials panel, photos were an essential late edition to the game.

More About Escape (2019)

If you're interested in more behind the scenes art, make sure to check out the Director's Page!
Check out our Facebook Page to keep up to date with the latest Escape news!

Director's Page - Yeliz Motro

Facebook Page

Meet some of the 54 people who made this film happen

Cast and Crew List