Opening Scene: The Bedroom

The witch's house is a very irregular shape, and I knew from the start that I wanted her bedroom to be on a mezzanine level that could be reached via a ladder. I think that this shot is very important for setting the scene as it introduces the Familiar without the audience knowing that he's a magical being- to them he just looks like a snoozing cat enjoying the morning sunlight on the bed.

Bedroom 1

I knew that I didn't want to experiment with colour so much with this shot as I just wanted simple brown colours since her house is made from wood. I wanted to experiment with lighting more, to try and convey a sense of warm early morning light. I'm happy with these colours but at the moment they do look a bit cold and dark, the shot doesn't look warm, cosy, and inviting like I wanted it to.

Bedroom 2

This variation of the bedroom with better lighting is an improvement. I placed an orange layer over this image and added some lighting effects and a lens flare to simulate sunshine coming through the window. For this shot I want the room to slowly light up as if the sun is rising while the cat sleeps peacefully on the bed. I'll achieve this with some simple key framing the levels of opacity.

Bedroom Test 1:

I really like this as a first test, however, there are some changes that I definitely need to make. First of all, I want to change the texture of the Familiar and make him more a solid colour. He's very dark so I want him to stand out and differentiated from the texture overlay I've placed on top. As well as this, I want to get rid of the floating dust particles because I think that there's a bit too much going on with the lighting effect as well. I also think that the lighting transition could be a bit warmer. Lastly, I think that he's breathing too rapidly and it doesn't give you the relaxed feeling that I'm trying to portray. I want to keep the ear flick in though, I think that it's a really nice touch as it's a natural cat behaviour.

Bedroom Test 2:

I think that by making the small changes that I mentioned in the video above it has made a massive improvement. After slowing his breathing down it's given the shot a much more relaxed quality. I think that removing the dust particles was a good move as there was just too much going on, plus I want to include them in a later shot with the plant room and I think that will look much more effective. I've improved the lighting as well by making it softer and warmer, much more like it's the morning.