520 SENIOR THESIS: MID-TERM STORY & DESIGN PITCH (GUEST FACULTY INPUT)
MID-TERM STORY & DESIGN PITCH
The Mid-term Pitch is designed for seniors to present their ongoing work as concrete thesis projects close to, or at the end of their development process. This is a public pitch where seniors are encouraged to invite faculty from outside animation to chime in on the direction of their projects, just a few short weeks before they are put into production. The Mid-term Pitch is also an ideal time to reach out to prospective musicians or technical partners who would be interested in assisting you on your journey to completion.
Given the diversity of projects being presented, seniors will need to work with animation faculty ahead of time to determine how to best present their work in the Mid-term pitch. Narrative projects will follow closely to the checklist below, while others will need to interpret the elements to best reflect the nature of their projects.
PRESENTOR'S CHECKLIST
Before presenting your projects you will want to have the following elements uploaded to the 520 Mid-term Pitch Submission folder on Base Camp.
1. Treatment: Working title, project description, controlling idea (or theme) and plot synopsis in a single paragraph.
2. Other Written Elements: These may include the following; character biographies, level descriptions, log lines for multiple episodes, intended target audience, etc.
3. Design Workbook: These may include color scripts, character line-ups, pose sheets, prop sheets, character turn-arounds, project inspiration and environment concept.
4. Storyreel: As close to final timings as possible the Storyreel should include a title card, scratch musical score and stand-in sound effects.
5. Early Research & Media Tests: For those of you working in a less defined workflow, early samples and test renders may be an appropriate way to convey the direction of your work. You'll want to renders these in the most accessible format possible.
SOUND DESIGN (This may include other technical partners)
Go here for Deliverables, Dates & Workflow for working with Composers, Musicians and Sound Designers.
If you are hoping to engage a composer or sound designer to partner with you on your project, you may want to include the following elements.
1. Director's notes on Sound Design: You'll want to include a description of how you see the role music plays in your final piece. This can range from a general overview to a scene-by-scene breakdown describing the emotional tone and musical role in every scene.
2. Focused Examples (optional): If you believe it will be helpful, provide a focused sampling of music, short films, or teasers that you feel best exemplify the role that music will play in your project. You may also want to provide a breakdown document explaining how each example relates to your project.
SUBMITTING FILES TO BASECAMP
Please include all pitch elements in a single parent folder in 520 Basecamp Sr Thesis Docs & Files:
Basecamp Folder: simpsonB_workingTitle_midTermPitch
simpsonB_workingTitle_treatment_designWorkbook.pdf
simpsonB_workingTitle_storyreel.mp4
simpsonB_workingTitle_mediaSamples
simpsonB_workingTitle_soundDesign.pdf
Stephan Leeper/Central Michigan University 2021