After finishing the storyboard, I put the four parts of Stranded Fish together as an animatic so I could see how the pacing, transitions and sound worked as one sequence. The sound is still temporary—I’m currently using copyright-free material, but I plan to record more specific sounds myself, such as real Melbourne tram sounds.
Although the animatic presents the four parts together, they are four linked short animations featuring the same protagonist, rather than four scenes in one continuous story. They are intended to be watched in this order, and the final frame of each part leads visually into the first frame of the next. However, the events are not connected through a literal timeline or a clear cause-and-effect plot: the protagonist does not move directly from the gathering to the tram, then to the classroom and finally become a fish. Each part is a separate situation within the same overall project.
I also made a short animation test for the tram scene. I used 12 fps here because the faster flickering and line movement made the carriage feel as though it was shaking while moving at speed. The other parts will probably remain much slower, at around 4–6 fps.
Over the next few weeks, I plan to continue at this pace and complete approximately one short animation each week. Since the tram sequence is already close to completion, this should leave at least one final week to bring the four parts together, refine the sound and transitions, and complete the final edit.