🎥 About a month since I gave up on a "feature-length animation." I found a loophole and ended up making Episode 1.
Hello, this is Bell note.
Today, I have a report on a small "resurrection match."
Actually, about a month ago, I wrote an article like this.
To summarize that article, "I wanted to turn my original novel into a feature-length animated film, but as a solo creator, the workload for 'lip-syncing characters' and 'differentiating character voices' was so enormous that I realized it was physically impossible and gave up." It was a slightly sad declaration of defeat.
Since it was a waste to leave the video material I had made halfway through, I turned it into an introduction video for the original novel and once quietly put that small dream back on the shelf. ...Or so I thought.
An experiment in persistence
But it was still stuck in the back of my mind.
"Is it really impossible? Isn't there some kind of 'loophole'?"
So, while looking at the short promotional video I made last time, I came up with a hypothesis.
"Couldn't I just not force the characters to speak?"
And after trial and error, what I arrived at is the style I released on YouTube this time,
🎬 self-proclaimed [Cinematic Reading Drama]. First, please take a look at Episode 1 (about 5 minutes), which I completed using that "loophole."
[Synopsis of Episode 1] EPISODE 01: Silent Doppelganger
The setting is Tokyo. Kenji Furusawa, a video editor who once dreamed of being a film director, was buried in the boring daily routine of just connecting other people's footage. One day, he and young director Sachiko Aoshima decide to search for past video materials in an underground archive for a TV station project. The theme is London in 1988. It was a place of memories where Furusawa himself had studied abroad chasing his dreams and spent his days shooting his own films.
In a dimly lit viewing room, Furusawa and the others discover an old VHS tape among countless documents. The noise-filled footage that played was, for some reason, "completely silent." What was projected on the screen was the figure of "young Furusawa" himself walking on a subway platform. Furusawa is surprised.
Eventually, the young Furusawa approaches an elderly man sitting on a bench on the subway platform. Furthermore, the old man he confronted through the camera at the time had a face that looked very much like Furusawa's—.
Footage of a past he doesn't remember. What is the silent warning that the "old man who looks just like him" on the screen is trying to convey?
The loophole called "Reading Drama"
What made me despair in the previous article was the calorie consumption of production resources for "scenes where multiple characters converse."
However, I solved it with this style.
Visuals: Move them firmly to create a cinematic worldview.
Audio: Instead of a dialogue drama for each character, make
a reading by a "narrator" the main focus.
By doing this, I no longer had to think about "differentiating voices" and "strict lip-syncing for each character," which were the biggest bottlenecks, and the hurdle for production dropped dramatically.
As a result, I think I was able to create a sense of immersion as a "story to feel," which is different from a "story to read," by combining visuals and narration.
Of course, full animation would be better, but
"This is the best I can do right now."
The small dream that I wrote was "impossible" in the previous article has changed its form and come a little closer to reality.
As a hint for "maybe I can make this"
For those of you who, like me, are hesitant because you 'want to make a feature-length animation as a hobby, but the dialogue synchronization and workload are just too much...' perhaps by adopting this self-proclaimed 'cinematic reading drama style,' you might find a path to finishing your story.
I would be incredibly happy if this video serves as a small creative hint that makes you think, 'Maybe I can make this too.'
📖 Information on the original novel
The mysterious and puzzling story depicted in the video. If you would like to explore the origin and delve deeper into the world and mysteries of 'Code: Mn137,' I would be very grateful if you could check out the original Kindle novel.
📕 SF Mystery Novel 'Code: Mn137'
🧬 To Be Continued...
The story beyond the interrupted record continues in Episode 02. Updates will be 'irregular' so that I can maintain the quality as much as possible, but I plan to weave the story carefully.
If you are curious about the outcome of this 'adult's independent research' in a sense, or if you enjoyed the world-building even a little, please subscribe to the channelandgive it a 'Like'! It will be a great encouragement for the next experiment. See you then!
🔔Bell
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