Theme:
play and objects
context:
According to the theme, I started to consider what I'm going to play with, this week I decided to do something with the mirror. In film and television works, mirror can connect two worlds--a real world we live in and a world we don't know. So I started to do some research and something interesting online as inspiration.
There is a magic video from Zach King, who is good at playing things as a magician, he made his video with fantastic editing strategies, in order to make them more funny, he is like an actor and cooperates with others, he also invites netizens to make similar videos, which inspires a lot of people.
There is also an interesting channel called SoKrispyMedia, they are good at drawing weapons with chalk and using these 'weapons' to play games with each other in real, they draw everything by using chalk and play with them, it's a kind of special effects. And some mirror trick on Youtube, which is quite popular in horror films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlSRMQCnY1g&t=24s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd1EmYRZynw&t=206s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6kj3XX0og&t=220s
They do have fun with objects, 'Play allows us to tap into other parts of our brains, which provides new perspectives and enables us to see things differently. The state of play allows us to “explore the possible.' in the words of Dr. Stuart Brown.
“Bringing the dynamic of play into my work helps me to respond to surprises with curiosity, and it helps me get to get into creative flow with others while getting out of my own head and ego.”- Kendra Shimmell, Head of Service Design, Capital One.
Based on these inspiration, I try to make a simple one, which can be quickly done in a short time.
Method:
I recorded a video when the cat was looking at the mirror, and then put it into photoshop to draw the animation part, when the paw of the cat was touching the mirror, the cat turned to be a cartoon one, with a magical sound added, finally it looks like the cat finds another world in the mirror, and the most important point is when the cat's paw touching the mirror.
There are a lot of artists playing with mirror, such as some mirror trick, such as a person is standing in front of the mirror, when he turns around to leave but the one in the mirror does not turn around as him and staring at him. It's quite interesting to play on audiences' fears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6kj3XX0og&t=87s
Response:
Here is the link of the whole video, acctually it took me a while to record the video of the cat, cause I have to pick out the one that I think is most appropriate. After recording it, I thinked for a while whether I should do with 2d animation or use special effect on it, finally I chose the former.
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/524648057
Reflection:
In fact, it's a 2d animation combined with real shot, after finishing this, I think that it can actually be more creative and interesting, which requires me to explore more on it.
Reference:
Design thinking for museums 2016, Why play is essential to the design thinking process, viewed 7th March 2021, <https://designthinkingformuseums.net/2016/10/31/why-play-is-essential-to-the-design-thinking-process/>
By Sher Zhang
Email Sher Zhang
Published On: 17/03/2021