Project Overview: Full Send
Connor McDevitt
What is the project?
Full Send is a vulnerable and introspective short film made in a hand drawn rotoscope animation style.
It is 4 minutes and 46 seconds long. It combines rotoscope animation, mixed media, animation, and a short claymation sequence. The film tells a personal story about creativity, fatherhood, identity, and finding balance.
Goals
- Tell an honest personal story that people can connect with.
- Make my longest animated film.
- Write and produce a story close to five minutes long. The finished film is 4 minutes and 46 seconds long.
- Push my hand drawn rotoscope animation further than I ever had before. Most of the new animation was drawn at 12 frames per second. My previous rotoscope projects were usually around one minute long at 6 frames per second.
- Experiment with different animation styles and color palettes.
- Combine multiple approaches in one film: including rotoscope animation, mixed media, and claymation.
- Challenge myself to complete a large scale animation project while balancing school, family life, and job searching.
Where did the idea come from?
Before I started writing I wanted to answer two questions. “What is my story?” and “why do I create it?” Those two questions became the foundation of the entire film.
Challenges
The project was approved on April 30th. I had less than two months to finish before June 25th.
The workload was close to 5,000 frames of animation (5,000 drawings).
I balanced production with caring for my son while my wife had a heavy class schedule. I also have been applying and interviewing for full time work after graduation and am still in the process.
Because of time constraints I reused a small number of animations from past projects where they fit the story. This allowed me to focus my time on creating new animation where it mattered most.
Why is this a Communication project?
This is a Communication project because the goal is to use film to share a personal story with an audience. Writing, animation, sound, and editing are all used to clearly communicate meaning rather than to sell a product, research behavior, or teach formal content.
What did I learn?
I learned the importance of preproduction. Planning the story before animating made the entire process more efficient and focused.
I improved my writing, narration, animation, and videography skills by working on a longer film and experimenting with different animation styles.
I learned how much work it takes to complete a longer animated project and how important it is to plan time carefully.
Other Questions:
Why animation?
Choosing animation let me make this project from home. It also let me visualize memories, thoughts, and emotions in ways live action could not.
Why use different animation styles?
I wanted to challenge myself and explore different visual styles that matched different parts of the story.
Why is it called Full Send?
The film is about committing fully to a project and finishing it instead of chasing perfection.
Why did you reuse older animation?
I had close to 5,000 frames to complete in less than two months. Reusing a small number of older animations helped me manage time and focus on new key sequences.
What are you most proud of?
I am most proud that I finished my longest and most ambitious animated film while balancing family responsibilities and other commitments.
Who is the audience?
Anyone who relates to stories about creativity, family, identity, and trying to find balance.
TOTAL HOURS CONTRIBUTED TO PROJECT: 608 HOURS
Average of 76 hours per week.
