Studio2 Week 2: Statement of Intention

Question: How do I animate and bring the character “Fire” to animation works without giving it just human facial expression?

RATIONALE

Topic : I am making an animation focusing on “Fire”

Question : because I want to find out how I can narrative /express emotions/ illustrate ideas and metaphors through the movements of the fire element 

Significance : in order to help my field understand how to effectively deliver a story through a non-human character without just simply humanising it.

For the Studio 2 project, I want to create a short animation which represents the concept of the element “Fire”.It could be some fragments of a story or simply just a series of relevant images/activities/movements connected to each other by transformation or transition, just to represent the all characters of the “Fire”. 

I get to be familiar with 2D frame by frame drawing animation in Studio 1, thus, I want to take this project as a chance for skills improvement in the journey of learning through practicing.

CONTEXT

When we mention the element fire in Animated works, it normally comes to special effects or a tool for making an attack/damage that is commonly used. Thus, with the belief that fire is also a living creature, I am inspired to see how the fire demon character Calcifer is built in famous Studio Ghibli’s Howl's Moving Castle. It is not the first time that the fire element is illustrated as a character, since the character Hades in Hercules (Disney) also possesses a fiery hair that was given its own life and movements, but certainly Studio Ghibli made it one to notice. That leads me to my intention of making “Fire” a character without making it look like a human-based character. Throughout the whole animation, the fire/flame will always exist in the picture whether we might not see it: that is also the direction I put under consideration.

METHODS

I will start by thinking about the images/figures that are closely relevant to the “Fire”. Having a thought about the story/qualities/characteristics that they can represent and connect them all together. In the process of making storyboards, I will also work on the visual styles, character designs. Most of the animatic work will be done in TV paint, some will be in ToonBoom and the final piece will be put together with sounds FX in After Effects.

Project plan:

Week 1: Generating concepts and Ideas

Week 2: Developments based on the chosen directions, storyboards n character designs

Week 3 + 4: Making animatic and adjustments

Week 5 onwards: Production and Polishing.

OUTCOMES

Roughly 1 minute polished animation is expected at the end of the course.