Hello, We are Team Ravenscroft!
Michelle Tessier
Professor.
The Ravenscroft Express was completed within the span of an unusual 9-week term at SCAD. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the class, "Collaborative Experience in 2D Animation" took place completely online via Zoom and Discord. Prior to this class, most of the team had never met at the Savannah campus. Production on the film spanned time zones and geographical locations from artists living in the United States to the Philippines. It was exciting for me to watch them coalesce as a team. With our usual 10-week schedule compressed to 9-weeks, the team took off like a runaway train, meeting outside of class, generating designs, storyboards, cutting latest edits, pooling together sound effects, and then hired an actor for the voice-over. They cleverly utilized 3D software for layout support, explored more character designs and then dived into animation, clean-up, color, then compositing. Throughout the production they cheered each other on, provided constructive feedback, struggled, and continued to cheer and support each other. In the end, we celebrate their hard work with this film. Enjoy the ride!
Louise Wong
Creator. Director. Animator. Writer. Compositor.
As the original creator of the concept and director, I felt a lot of weight and pressure on my shoulders. It was difficult at first, but I know did my best to support my teammates in every step. We asked for feedback from each other, showing each other our work, asking each other for advice. It felt great to be in a collaborative environment.
As fun as work was, we also joked around with each other. Making memes, sharing videos, showing each other our own personal art. We weren't just a team, we were also like a group of friends just hanging out.
By the end, I am happy to say that we genuinely made something beautiful, it's not perfect, but it's still wonderful nonetheless. Through this experience, I was able to improve my leadership skills and collaborative skills significantly. Not only that, but I also made new friends along the way.
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Overall, I am happy and proud of what we made and the team I was blessed with.
Ian Kelley
Director. Animator. Writer. Editor.
When I signed up as the co-director for this film my first thought was “Huh, I’m the co-director now.” which was swiftly followed by “OH, GOD! I’M THE CO-DIRECTOR! WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF!?!”
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But after a while I got quite used to my role and the anxiety eventually but slowly faded away, as I focused on handling other tasks, not only tackling animation but also editing the footage and writing the poem for the short.
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However, I must commend my team on their efforts on this film, even going so far to help me with animating that dreaded scene with Persephone and Hades (thank you Ashlyn, Hyun-ji and Shannon).
Without their help this film wouldn’t have been nearly half the film you see today.
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In fact this was quite the emotional experience (in more ways than one), and definitely worth giving up sleep to see through to the end.
Amber Dee
Producer. Animator. Compositor.
Being my first major collaborative short film, it was a fun challenge working on Team Ravenscroft in a purely virtual setting. I was lucky to be paired with some of the most hardworking people I have met, and people say groupworks were evil! A virtual workspace tempted me to veer off task due to all the distractions (and really, who would know?), but the constant push and updates of my teammates definitely kept me working hard.
Nine weeks seemed long in the beginning, half of which I spent thinking that backgrounds and props don’t take too much time. Five weeks were indeed spent on these same layouts. I could say with full confidence that layouts and preparation definitely can kick more ass than the actual animation itself. 10/10 will do again.
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Ashlyn Stout
Animator.
This was not the first collaborative animation project I have been a part of. As such I came into the project with a feeling of apprehension, as previous projects I have worked on have been stressful situations rather than pleasant ones. I was incredibly relieved when I began to familiarize myself with other members of the team, and see how far their work has come. Everyone was extremely dedicated to this project and did their very best to make it not just a good assignment, but a wonderful film to watch. I am proud of the work that I and my team have put into this project, and it is gratifying to see the results of our hard work after weeks of dedication.
This quarter has been extremely trying, and I thank my team for their understanding and continued support while I was going through the worst time in my life. It is relieving to know that even when your home life is in upheaval, even when the world outside seems to be ending, and even when your schedule consists of planning out caffeine-induced all-nighters on a weekly basis, there are still people who care and want the best for you. The support that I received helped me stay motivated both in and out of this class. My favorite part of this process was meeting my team members.
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I couldn’t have asked for a better crew.
Haoge Feng
Animator.
It’s actually the first collaborative project I've ever done, I’ve learned lots of stuff and experienced tons of things, it's some kind of decent experience. To be honest, as an international student, a group project is always a pain in the ass to me, but I’ve actually enjoyed it a lot, I mean I’m still not a big fan of a group project, but I’m having a lot of fun doing the project.
Back to the project itself, it’s actually the first time for me to do the animation clean up and coloring stuff, it’s harder than I expected before, keep everything consistent is a hard job, and I believe it requires lots of potential and practice, but yeah, this is just the beginning, there still tons of stuff I need to learn but still the animation turn out perfectly well, and it's a good practice.
Hyun-ji Ra
Animator.
Nine weeks, a group of first-time collaborators, and no access to college resources except the ones we were able to download from what electronics the crew had. I wasn’t sure how things would turn out at the beginning, but I was blessed with being part of a competent crew.
We managed to do a two-minute animation with beautiful layouts, diverse characters, and eye-catching aesthetics. It was a new experience after another. Doing line-less animation, collaborating with eight people, and adapting to a situation such as a pandemic was intriguing to say the least.
Overall we were able to adapt and learn to a different set of circumstances then what was intended.
Jacob Keating
Animator.
This was my first actual collaborative short that i've worked on and it was a great experience to work on and I couldn't ask for a more better or a more clutch team to work with even though they came up with the cruel nickname of “MAYA MASTER” even though i'm the worst at Maya. All in all though we made the best out of an not ideal situation with our team managing to make something we were proud of in a more shortened time span that was already pretty hectic.
I guess my favorite part of the process was working on rough animation, especially the Bat scene on the tracks and I just enjoyed drawing that scene and watching it come together was awesome.
Shannon Kemp
Animator. Compositor.
Like a lot of the other animators, this was also my first collaborative film. In the beginning, I was a bit nervous to work with a group of people, especially since we never actually had the opportunity to meet in person prior to working together. However, we all had one goal in common in completing this film and creating art, and I think that really brought us together despite the lack of resources some of us had and personal struggles each of us were facing.
We were all able to adapt and work together as a team and I think that's awesome. In the future, I can't wait to meet my teammates in person and possibly have the chance to work with them again.
My favorite part of the process would be our long calls of us just working together and having the chance to share critique and help each other improve.
In the end, I'm really proud of the film we were able to create.
Luis "RunnerGuitar" Guerrero
Music Composer.
I was introduced to this wonderful team thanks to Shannon, it had been a while since I had written music for a collaborative project, and it was a very unique experience. Working with the directors and the team to find the right tone for the animation with the music. While I am used to more bombastic orchestral rock, this allowed me to experiment with a focus on emotion through ambiance and melody than through intensity.
Though the music is quite somber, I did want to instill some hope, to show that even through the difficult times, there are reasons to go on.
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One could call these pieces an exercise in limitation, finding how to convey emotion through the melody and chord arrangements, while only using the piano. The feedback from the directors and their clear ideas of what they wanted really helped as well. I felt respected throughout the process and like my input was valued and heard.
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I think we were able to truly convey the struggles of life of Thaddeus, through whom we can share a message of hope and dedication. We hope you enjoy the film and that Thaddeus’ ideas of hope even through the struggle reach you.
Bradley Gareth
Voice Talent.
I was brought onto this lovely project through Louise, who somehow found my email address and blessed me with the opportunity to read for the Conductor!
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I've been at this type of voice over work for about 10 years now, but my forays into animation have been relatively few so far. Looking over the concept art and reading the script they provided, I was taken with how charming and unique the idea was.
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Even though my involvement in the project only lasted through a day or two of going through recording, I still had a spectacular time, and I'm grateful to the whole team for allowing me to be part.
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If you haven't had the opportunity to watch this animation yet, I fully encourage you to come aboard and experience the Ravenscroft Express!