Quarter Till Victory

Summary:

Cody ventures to his local laundromat to do some chores but easily gets distracted by the fancy new space-themed arcade game in the waiting area. Instead of washing his clothes, Cody spends all of his laundry money trying to make it to the number one spot on the leaderboard of the game. The day goes on and despite his many many attempts, he is left with nothing but soggy clothes as he ends with no money left for the dryer.

The Planning Phase!

Quarter Till Victory  is a animated thesis film that I made for my senior year at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. While we students weren't officially tasked with beginning on this film until our senior year, I rolled up my sleeves and started working on this film in my third year of college. During this brainstorming phase, I started to conceptualize and flesh out the idea using various moodboards, color palette tests, etc... 

Pre-Production & Visual Development!

After solidifying the key components that made up the film, I was confident in what kind of film Quarter Till Victory needed. From here, I moved on to the much more fun part of the process and my favorite part of making animated films: visual development!

Character Designs:

At the heart of this film is Cody Landeira, a stubborn 15-year-old who prioritizes fun over busy work. For Quarter Till Victory to succeed in entertaining audiences, Cody needed to be fun and pleasant to watch. Cody is made of round shapes, fun expressions, and energy. From his odd hair sprig to his mismatched socks, Cody was designed to be an easy outlet for viewers to project onto.

I knew the other characters within this film needed to match this colorful world that our star Cody lives in. For Ms. Luciando, I designed her to be made of all things sweet. Her calm smile and knowing look say more than enough, as she is likely used to Cody's antics now. It was equally important to me to create her inviting design, regardless of the fact that her role is minor in this film. 

In contrast, our antagonists could explore shapes and colors that neither of our much kinder characters could. Although they don't speak, Beau, our primary villain, and his partner, Flynn, still find a way to torment poor Cody. I prioritized these characters' expressions and clothing choices—Beau's constant smug grin and his much too dramatic outfit for just any ordinary chore. Flynn is a bit different, with much more casual attire, however, almost constantly appearing disinterested in pretty much anything. Both of them prove worthy opponents for Cody, and his journey meets them at the top of the leaderboard.

Color Design & Concept Art:

With the characters solidified, I quickly moved to color keys and early concept art. This part of the vis dev process allowed me to picture and experiment with the film's final look. 

Color choice is a crucial part of my process as a filmmaker. This film allowed me to use bright, saturated colors, and the changing time of day was a perfect outlet to show variety as Cody gets pulled further into this game. The game and pixel art scenes mixed with the scenes in the laundromat kept the high energy, and the colors were a treat to explore with this high-momentum film.

Style Frames:

Atop some concept art, I had also designed a few style frames based on my boards. Below, you will see some of the style frames I initially made and what they look like next to the film's final look.

Props:

I knew going into this film, that most of the screen time would be spent with the game montage. However, I still wanted there to be an added layer of charm and fun with the time that we do get to spend in the laundromat. This came in the form of the props our characters interact with. The props for this film were simple and they needed to seamlessly blend in with the setting and with the chatacters.

Most of these props belong to Cody, so the basket was designed with stars, and his coins were cartoonish. However, even when creating the game sprites, I needed them to follow the same idea that they would be reminiscent of each of the characters. Cody is a singular tiny blue and orange sprite versus the variety of the red and teal antagonist sprites. 

Location & Background Design

Quarter Till Victory takes place in one location. This laundromat had to be unique! The goal was to make the place feel a bit run down, providing an exciting contrast with the shiny new game machine. The laundromat is well-loved, well-used, and cozy, even in a high-intensity situation like trying to make it to the top of the leaderboard. I started with a layout of the building, then did some sketches of the interior through the different types of days, and then we were ready to bring them to life for the film's final look! 

Music & Sound Design:

Last but certainly not least, music was essential to Quarter Till Victory! It was always the original intention to match Cody's game montage playing to the beat of an original track. Besides the main musical track in the middle of the film, I also planned for some quiet background tracks to play when we were not focused on the game. 

About The Creator & Final Remarks!

Hey And Hello!

I have spoken a lot about Cody and his journey but I have yet to highlight my own. My name is Erin Gonzalez but I simply go by the letter E! I am a Mexican-American vis dev artist, BG painter, and color designer from Houston, Texas. Funnily enough, a laundromat with video games in it actually existed! This project is based off of my own actual desires to play games in my own local laundromat as a kid. Rather than going back to the probably long gone laundromat I realized I can make those wishes come true in the form of animation. This film is for those who want to indulge in their silly childhood memories. My main goal was for audiences to be able to go back and fulfill that itch still lingering inside when thinking about tasks that we may not have been able to fulfill as children. l am making the film as a reminder to my fellow students to do what they think is fun. As adults it’s sometimes hard to remember to do things that are fun, no matter how ridiculous. This film will tickle the memories of the easily distracted kids with a lack of patience who are now navigating adulthood.

This film was a massive labor of love for my fellow students, friends, and family. It couldn't have been made without the support of my artist team and other helping hands along the way. I am proud to have seen this project through while being true to myself and my initial vision. Huge thank you to anyone who believed in me and Cody. 

Thank you!