This week we explored Plot, the shape of stories, and hierarchy of knowledge. We looked at the relationship between story and plot, and how narrative devices can be used to move the story forward. My work this week examines the idea of presenting a different exterior to the world instead of who you truly are, in order to fit in with society.
I worked on the premise that I came up with for the class, which was “at the end of the day the zebra takes off its stripes and puts them in the washing machine, then hangs them out to dry”. I started off brainstorming some ideas with a mind map, and eventually came up with a short story that I made a rough storyboard for.
I think that through this storyboard i was able to particularly explore the concept of hierarchy of knowledge. The audience thinks that the main character is a zebra up until scene 5 (refer to storyboard) when it is revealed that he is, in fact, a completely different animal. That is why he is depressed throughout the day and when he finally comes back home he is free to kick back and relax.
This work was actually inspired by the animation we saw in Week 3, “The Swimming Pool” by Alexandra Hetmorova (2010). In it, the audience does not know until the very end that the two characters are in fact, not human, but some other creature. I was trying to go for a similar feel in terms of storytelling, waiting until the end to reveal the truth in a twist.
Through this work I was able to reflect on the theme of self image vs. trying to fit in with the rest of society, and how we often put up an external image just because it is easier to conform, even if that makes us sad. I was also able to put the concepts learnt in class into practice to construct a plot, and I believe this is a great tool to have for developing stories for bigger animated projects in the future.
