YFE The Animated Adventures Ep 5

Be careful not to meditate too hard, or you might pass-out. 
Yes, I know, WTF?

During 2011, I was recruited by the Canadian band “Your Favorite Enemies” to produce a series of short animations. I was originally invited over with many possibilities up in the air for illustration work, but in the end I settled with time consuming task of animating short episodes which were presented during the band's live Ustream broadcasts, titled "The BlaBlaBla."

As we approach the 2nd anniversary of this missing episode, I have decided to do something with it and post it. It tells the story of Alex looking for locations in Japan to film for his next project while the rest of the band arrive later and do a bit of the usual tourist activities.

Video after the jump...

Towards the end of my stay with the band, my production times started to become more delayed. Episode 5 of the Animated adventures was divided into two parts. Each part was regrettably delayed due to exporting (from my editing software) or uploading the exported video to a file-sharing site (I was in Ireland, the band were in Canada).  Despite the delays, the episode was aired during the French edition of their broadcasts.

Part 1 was broadcast during the French edition on 13th  November 2011.

Part 2 was broadcast during the French edition 10th December 2011. However, it was removed from the "repeat" video that was posted on YouTube.

After the amount of work I put into it (and the fact that I wasn't happy working on it to begin with), I was very disappointed that only a fortunate few French viewers got to see the animation in it's entirety. 

The Story Behind the Animation

or "how much I disliked making this episode"

Don't add a montage to a 3 minute animation!
If it's not a rule, it should be.

Making this animated video was not the typical task. The story was given to me at a time when Alex was busy actually visiting locations to film in Japan. It was also going to be my final animation before leaving the band. I wasn't too happy that it was planned to be a 2-part episode (meaning Part 2 was going to have to be finished when I arrived back in Ireland). I also wasn't too happy about the montage scene in part 1. But because I was given the story by a third party, I wasn't able to express my unhappiness with the montage. 

But I continued with the episode without saying anything further about the matter (even after Alex returned back from Japan), although it had become clear in the office that I wasn't motivated on this project. 

I blame the presence of the montage for the poor quality of the animation. The montage required a lot of different things to happen, and I just didn't have the time to give it the attention it would have needed. Not to mention that montages are usually used as "padding." 

If you need to use a montage in the middle of a 3 or 4 minute animation, chances are there wasn't a good enough story there to start with.

The animation over-all was choppy and minimal due to time constraints, but this shot
(and the proceeding shot) took the longest to animate. I wanted the animation to be a high(er)
quality to go with the mood I was aiming for. 

Part 2 is pretty short, I admit. I think I was losing the will to live at that point. Or I got bogged down trying to make my last animation look impressive with digital painted backgrounds and an extra amount of detail to the animation in the scene with Miss Isabel and the dying plant. Things also got hectic towards the end of November because I was flying back to Ireland. I had to animate the remaining episode in Ireland where my work environment is very different (for example, in Ireland I don't have to live by a ridiculous living/ working schedule).

With Part 2, I wanted to accomplish something more emotional, and highlight Miss Isabel's presence in the band. Up until this point, Miss Isabel was just always in the background, whether it was in live chats or other videos. I wanted to show that she has a valuable presence and to express a caring side to her.

Part 2 was wrote by myself without clearance from Alex. I just went ahead with it, both because I was getting tight for time and also because I wasn't too keen on listening to his pitch [again] for part 2. Before production started, I was given a rough idea about what the episode would be about, I was told that 4 particular characters (instead of he band) would be going up the mountain to get the herb. At the start of the Part 1, you can see Alex walking through a temple courtyard with Kosho (camera-man, photographer, editor and amazing artist), Momoka (video translator, YFE Japanese community liaison, and Alex's latest sidekick) and Tomoaki (friend of the band who accompanies them when they are in Japan, and friend of myself). The idea for Part 2 was that the three Japanese companions would team up with BigByrd (Matt) to find the cure on Mt Fuji.  The four of them would then  take part in a humorous climb up the mountain (I can only assume it would have been another montage).

I want to point out that this was a quick pitch over the phone that I assume wasn't thought out very far. I think Alex was just thinking out-loud when he told me. Looking back, I think he had scrapped that idea himself once he included the rest of the band to join him in Japan.

I would have liked to have digitally painted all the backgrounds (like this one),
but doing so would have required a lot more time.

A playlist of the other episodes I animated for the band.

I like to throw in easter eggs into my work. And I don't tell anyone what they mean.