Exploratory Practice: Character Animation
Initial Concepts:
- Charging a phone – The animation would be about when you try to put a plug in a socket without looking / late at night. I would exaggerate the feeling by having personifying the socket, making it actively avoid the plug. I could use pose to pose animation to then change the scene into a chase scene between the person with the plug and the socket. Alternatively, I could have something blocking the socket e.g. A monster.
- Getting up in the morning – This piece would be about wanting to rest in bed a little longer than usual, but it feels like everything is forcing you to get up. Some personal examples are needing to use the toilet, feeding my cat and loud birds. I would exaggerate this feeling by having my character have to overcome these minor disturbances in their dream where they would feel major, constantly cutting between the real world and their thoughts. For example, having to escape the shockwaves caused by a giant cat, climbing it to reach its mouth and finally feeding it to shut it up and in turn restoring peace.
- Wasting a day in bed – My last idea would be about wasting a day In bed on your phone. Inspired by the scene in Alice in Wonderland where she falls down the rabbit hole. I could animate the bed engulfing the character, making it impossible for them to escape. I could make hands emerge from the bed grabbing my character.
Concept Development:
My idea is to exaggerate the feeling of having hiccups and show how annoying they can be to get rid of. I want to use animated scenes to symbolize hiccups but also explore myths / childhood rumours of ways to stop hiccupping such as being scared, drinking water and hanging upside down. I will target a younger audience (6-12). However, since my animation is meant to be fun and relatable, I feel older audiences will still be able to enjoy it. The format will be a screen-based animation to assist with my portfolio / Showreel.
Logline:
A young man’s quest to overcome the most gruelling challenge in the world, a relentless case of hiccups.
Synopsis:
A comedic mission where Kay, a rather average guy, finds himself plagued with outrageous hiccups. Determined to find a cure and regain control over his hiccup-filled life, he embarks on a pursuit filled with unconventional remedies. From holding his breath to chugging water Kay tries it all in his journey for a solution.
Statement of Intent:
I intend to create an animated short film between 50 to 60 seconds long with themes of discomfort, relatability and frustration, for audiences aged 6 to 12. I want to explore the feeling of having hiccups and show how annoying they can be to get rid of. Visually, I want the film to resemble kids media, which I aim to achieve by using bright, vivid colours to engage the audience. I want to experiment with mixed media by using 3d backgrounds and through visual tests I will determine if this visual identity is suitable for my film. There is no real antagonist in my film and so narratively, I aim to create a story which gradually builds tension through one character trying to overcome a challenge. The narrative will be simple and lighthearted, making it suitable for children although there may be some mild cartoon violence akin to looney tunes.
Technically, I intend to approach my film solo, taking charge of the character animation as I really want to challenge myself to exaggerate character performance. However, I would like others to create my backgrounds and assist with creating some transitions between scenes and sound design. I plan to start animating at the beginning of April, giving me 2 months to complete my film. I will assist others in post-production towards the end of May to strengthen my aftereffects skills, helping students with textures and compositing. I want to use repetition when creating my sound to play with the idea of hiccups being never ending.
As a final outcome, I aim to have a relatable, humorous, lighthearted short animation. Since I am animating a shared experience, I want my film to be seen by many and so I plan to make my animation accessible online through YouTube and other social media platforms to make it easy to find.
Mindmaps and Moodboards:
Initial Drawings :
I started to sketch ideas about ways to get rid of hiccups. This led me to draw how hiccups feel such as people punching your diaphragm and getting your head pulled upwards.
Character Designs :
Finalizing Character Designs :
Animatics :
Collaborations :
Here is some work I made for Sophie Renton’s film ‘Out of Corner.’ The film is about a terrifying and uncomfortable recurring nightmare that plagues a young women. She begins to teeter on the line of what’s reality and illusion.
Final Film :
super duper cool