Illusion of Life - Week 2

Can you identify elements of rhythm, timing or tempo that categorize either the animated components or another component of your developing project (eg narrative, gameplay etc.)?

This exercise makes it clear that timing plays a vital role in conveying emotion. However, it also plays a very important role in creating anticipation, which will be another essential aspect of my developing project when setting up each scene. Slow rhythm or tempo in animation can help communicate an air of reflection or consideration, and imply a thought process is taking place.

As one might guess from the general pace of my work in this exercise, thought processes are hardly at the core of my chosen adjective, impulsive. Impulsive means ‘showing behaviour in which you do things suddenly without any planning and without considering the effects they may have’ (Cambridge Dictionary). I selected this term, as I feel it is a central aspect of my animation, which will revolve around social and behavioural filters. A more frantic, fast tempo is integral for describing such a feeling, and will play an important role in the animation of each vignette sequence I shall produce.

Editing is another vital consideration when producing vignette work, the success of which will be greatly determined by timing. The rhythm of the piece must build throughout, to reach a fervorous crescendo of activity, or risk feeling bland and repetitive.

Propose a way to incorporate these into your project or test your ideas in practice with small experiments.

I will endeavor to incorporate a slow escalation of tempo in the editing phase of my project, but that is a consideration for the final stretch of development. In the meantime, I will experiment by creating variations of a few initial concepts in both faster and slower tempos, or a combination. I feel that in the first few vignettes should start slower to create a sense of anticipation, then gradually build in intensity.