Progress Report 1

I figure now might be a good time to write up a progress report as it also coincides with an assessment due today.

So far so good, I believe I am well on my way to achieving my week 7 milestones though I admit that I have forgotten what they all were (I should have gotten a copy). So this is a breakdown of what has been done so far.

1. The first scene animation has been been blocked out and I'm testing out the first 2 shots in After Effect in full colour final artwork (unless I tweak it some more).
2. I have finished the artwork panning background for the second scene and animated it in After Effects.
3. I have begun pencil tests for the second scene and now have the horse galloping across the scene, now I will be able to have the ninja interacting with the messenger and his horse.
4. I have nearly finished blocking out the animation for the third scene in the geisha house, there are only 2 or 3 more shots to do.

As far as sound design goes my main concern has been about the music, with absolutely no musical talent of my own I need outside support. I have turned to Nathan for his help, he and his friend will be working on the music but I may seek others to add to it. I want something similar to Looney Tunes but seeing as how I can't get an orchestra nor a composer I  may have to lower my standards a bit. I am less concerned with sound effects at the moment.
So far this arrangement with Nathan has been mostly without complications, the only issue has been with the communication via email but we have agreed to send each other a text when we send an email and when we have received an email to send an email back in reply to confirm we received it

With Nathan going out of his way to work on my music I will be creating the backgrounds for his animation as well as doing some pencil tests for reference.
I have also discussed with Lahiru about doing some concepts and possibly final designs for his backgrounds.

Potential Issues
Besides my concerns over music my biggest issues have been technology and location, the computers are starting have difficulty keeping up with me. I have found that the Macs are more capable but seeing as how I don't own one and few of my classes are in a Mac lab I may have to start fighting for a spot in the edit suite.
One of my biggest challenges has been location and transport, I live in Belgrave a considerable distance from the campus and rely on public transport, I waste 3 hours each day in travel. The big problem being after a full day on a Monday and Tuesday between getting home and getting enough sleep to get through the next day I get little to no work done in the evenings. This will no doubt lead to me working form home more frequently. Another problem though completely out of my power is all the other assignments not related this project. In order to make this production of the highest standard I can make, many of my other assignments may not be of the highest standard or maybe just half-arsed but I figure any potential employer will be more interested in my abilities as an animator than the HD on got on an essay.