Far From Home

'Runaways'

by Sitji Chou

Finally! I've uploaded my short film, intended to be the first of 6 small films entitled Far From Home.
Thank you Sitji Chou for the beautiful cover, and Luci Holland for the wonderful sound effects.

Far From Home on vimeo

          I started making Far From Home in 2012, and finished at the end of 2013. When I began I was sharing a flat with a couple of friends in Scotland, and when I finished I was reunited with my partner in South Korea. Apart from how much work I put into the thing, it represented a very turbulent and exciting time. Despite having moved on quite a bit, I'm happy I can share it now, and I'm very grateful to Luci Holland for helping me finish it with beautiful sound effects.

Development Drawings - 

Rusty's Pack Studies

In Far From Home, Rusty is sold to a local farmer who fights dogs. Unexpectedly, he leads the dogs in a revolution. Inspired by his dreams of his wolfish ancestry, Rusty leads his pack into the wilderness with mixed success. The pack ultimately finds peace and happiness when they find a lonely old woman with the means to keep them fed. She indulges their dreams of being wild and independent while feeding them and letting them sleep in her shed.

Malcolm's Dream

While Rusty the dog dreams about his wolfish kin, Malcolm dreams of being a scared ape at the mercy of nature and his own tribe. If he doesn't find Rusty, his daughter will never forgive him.

Mum's Coat 

Gillian has no such anxieties. Knowing full well that her father would continue to let her down, she decides to trust in herself and run away, taking only her mother's biking jacket. But also, lets face it, a lot of other stuff too. She's been preparing for months after all.

 Scott Weiburn

After a best-selling book helps to pass a law allowing the reintroduction of wolves, Scott is personally put on the hook for the various fears about wolves people have from centuries of prejudice.

Mr. MacPherson

The farmer and head ape in Malcolm's tribe. Fights dogs for the gambling profits, and also dreams about his distant ancestry. Sometimes he wakes up terrified of lightning, shadows, and teeth in the dark.

Feelings About Rocks

Sometimes rocks make you feel things.

Das Rad

The Mountain King

An Object At Rest

Pink Dawn

Don't Be Alien

My first published book is available now on iBooks!

This all started when I tweeted someone called Crystal Mahey Morgan after she just killed it on Front Row, which is a British arts discussion show on the radio.

Crystal replied! And even better, hinted there might be something for an animator further down the road. Later, this led to an offer to make an animation for one of her companies flagship products, an ebook featuring music and animation called Don't Be Alien.

It's been a huge pleasure to work on this. Throughout the whole process a great deal of trust and respect has flowed both ways, and I hope I can work with everyone on the team again soon.

Rusty

It's my other main character, Rusty. Rusty was bred for breeding, and as such is a little confused about his identity. Never mind, his terrifying wolf god of dogs will give him all the guidance he needs...

Run Cycle

This is my first try at making something in TVPaint. It was incredibly fun to use! This is Gillian, the main character of my series Far From Home. A scene from the first episode is in my showreel at - https://vimeo.com/115784019

Drinking Problem

 

I got to correct my mistake about which side women have their zips. That means it's definitely her mum's jacket. Thank my errant foot, because her father is tiny and her jacket is way too big to have been made for either of them.

Runaways Line Test EP001_SC007

Bad Dog

"It is time you discovered your true nature.

...elegant, dignified, fierce."

Rationale

I've come to the most challenging part of my story. There are some pretty improbable things to come after this image. Should I explain Rusty's thought processes? They are pretty interesting thoughts for a dog. I don't generally like this expository stuff. Let's see what comes naturally.

Runaways Poster Design

I think it might work a bit better if they're further apart, like in a Where's Wally picture.

Nature

Awe-inspiring, beautiful, spiritual. The natural world is full of wonders.

This Is Fun

They don't eat chips properly in Korea. (From a newspaper in the rain)

Fresh fish and chips in the sun on a white sandy beach is alright for those that can't get any better.

Inbetweening!

My arm aches a bit, but damn its good to be doing this again. Reminds me of the amazing time we had at Ink Digital.

Sharing Khef

I wrote this in an email to a friend and it's as good a window into my thoughts and feelings as I've been able to express so far. -

I just want to make and sell films. The main way I want to do this is by periodically releasing very short, but intriguing films and charging a small amount for the newest one, so the rest build interest. In other words, I won't release the first until I have a second in the bag to sell. I can give the first away, or sell merchandise at festivals to bring attention to the one behind the pay wall. Otherwise, I'd like to attach it to a magazine, newspaper or comic, since a monthly comic is what it's closest to in terms of pace. One 'scene' per episode, with a bit of a cliff-hanger. Think of the way Watchmen is broken up for example, and was originally released as a serial alongside other stories.
I don't know which of these, if any, will pan out, but even if they don't I will have made a new film, which is my goal more than anything else to begin with.

There's no losing along this road, and there's space for the romanticism that keeps me going.

Episode One: Progress Chart

Well it's taken a couple of weeks to put in the last little X. These things end up meaning a lot to you by the end of production, if they survive the initial urge to set them on fire.

Wolf God Layer

A new production drawing for Runaways.

Bird Animation

Runaways Pilot Animatic

The first draft animatic for a series pilot about a girl and a dog, who run away to live independently in the woods.

Wolf God 2

The next stage after the animatic is finished: Creating the objects in Photoshop to animate in After Effects.