EXHIBITION STATEMENT
Oftentimes, when people think of animation, they see it as a “genre” that only children can enjoy. It is not a medium equal to that of live-action but instead something with little meaning. This research project will challenge this idea by asking the question, can animated storytelling reflect one’s own emotional journey through life, and if so, how? By exploring themes that everyone can relate to (those of family, self-doubt, and more) I hope to show that all ages can enjoy this medium. This will be done through the analysis of original characters that have been in development for upwards of about 6 to 7 years. The analysis will be inside of a pitch bible that includes concept drawings, descriptions, and an overview of the entire storyline over a course of 3 seasons based on a TV series format. In the end, a 40-second animation will be made to encompass the entire process and show what the final product would look like.
Art therapy was something that was looked into when creating this project since it tends to deal with expressing the patient’s emotions in an artistic format as a way of coping. While various studies have been conducted on art therapy, not much attention has been given to animation and how it differs from typical art therapy techniques. Barton, Graham, and Birgitta, Hosea’s “Animation as Mindful Practice.” argues that animation therapy can teach different kinds of coping strategies called “‘sustainability literacies’, such as attention regulation, personal resilience, focus, and concentration.” (Barton and Birgitta 150). These same strategies will be utilized by the creator in order to inform the story making process.
From an artistic standpoint, inspiration was taken from Marie Lum. Marie Lum is a storyboard and animation artist currently working in the industry. As her thesis project for Otis College is somewhat similar to this one, her artworks will be used as a guide to the professionality that I wish to acquire. Particularly, her use of vibrant colors, stylistic line choice, page formatting, and etc. will be used.
A pitch bible, as it is used in the industry, is a collection of character and story concepts centered around a particular premise for a tv-show. These concepts are formatted in a book format with each page describing a different aspect of the tv-show. A large amount of research was done on how to structure a pitch bible and present it to the public. In exploring this, it was found that brainstorming the general story’s setting, characters, and plot was a good starting point since, in this stage, not much detail is involved past worldbuilding, character traits, and story beats. After these general writing concepts were finalized, artistic designs based on these concepts were being created. A handful of these gesture drawings were then chosen to get turned into more fleshed-out concept drawings with color, shading, and more specific details. Through connections between real life and these drawings and descriptions, the pitch bible serves as a gateway into the story that mirrors the struggles faced by the creator.
The intended audience of this project is those a part of marginalized communities dealing with mental health issues. Those watching and/or reading the script will see the depiction of an emotional journey as experienced through the portrayal of the main characters. The goal is to have someone interpret the story and see parts of the creator in what was made. The themes of failure, success, destiny, and others mentioned previously will be shown from the character's perspective allowing for the audience's interpretation of the message to differ depending on the person. Although art will always be up for subjective interpretation, the goal of this project is to have the audience walk away feeling a camaraderie and connection to the characters. They should be able to see themselves in them in some way, shape, or form.
REFERENCES
BARTON, GRAHAM, and BIRGITTA HOSEA. “Animation as Mindful Practice.” Animation Practice, Process & Production, vol. 6, no. 1, Dec. 2017, pp. 149–171. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/ap3.6.1.149_1.
LUM, MARIE. “‘Barrowdale Village Plaza”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’d like to thank Harold Buress, Heather Bremenstuhl, and Gabrielle Tillenburg for their guidance and instruction in creating this project. I’d also like to thank my family and peers for their help, input, and support throughout this entire process.
