Miss Todd is a stop-motion, musical animation about the first woman in the world to build and design airplanes, and our animation graduation film being made at the National Film and Television School. We started out talking and throwing ideas around in January, and by February were writing our first drafts of the script. March was a fun month of development and research, including a trip up into the stratosphere. How could we make a film about flying having never flown in a plane that feels like a plane and not a bus?
Pictured above is Isona Rigau, our Production Designer, and Frances Poletti (Writer) and Chris Duncalf (Our Pilot!), back on the ground after an absolutely fantastic research trip.
The view from the sky was absolutely fantastic! We were lucky enough to be flying on a beautiful day and with a very knowledgeable pilot, Chris Duncalf, who gave us a comprehensive talk about how airplanes work, and how they would have worked back in Miss Todd's day. Somewhat terrifyingly, Chris let me momentarily take the controls and fly the plane! It was thrilling and certainly nerve-wracking! In a plane that size, you can really feel every move that you make with the controls. My favorite part of the journey was probably when Chris explained that planes are engineered to fly, so even without the engine, a plane will still glide. To demonstrate this, Chris powered down the engine, leaving us hanging in the air in eerie silence! The plane did, however, stay in the air.
Having flown and seen the airfield, we began planning the set-build based on the script that Fran and I were writing. We realized that the set that would occupy the most screen-time - the airfield - would also be the most challenging. Planning out every set with mock-up models, we formulated for building the sets and shooting on them. Nick, our cinematographer, did many tests to see what would work with our technique.
Pictured above is Nick Cooke, Cinematographer, Isona Rigau, Production Designer, and myself, looking at a mock-up of the set and planning shots. We are in the edit suite, where Michele Chiappa and I were also working on the animatic. Having the mock-up sets helped us to plan the shots and visualize what the film would look like. Look at those beautiful stairs!!! They are even more beautiful now that they are really built!
More to come soon on the progress of Miss Todd!
Kristina Yee
Director
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