Hybrid 2D/3D Thesis film for UCF Experimental Animation BFA

ARTIST STATEMENT:
In my artistic endeavors, I often struggle to tell grand, overarching stories since I get caught up in the finer details of characters, settings, and plotlines. I pressure myself into telling cohesive stories so much that I become too apprehensive to actually start creating anything substantial. My thesis film, From the Start, completely juxtaposes this notion by utilizing brand-new characters and settings to tell a completely self contained story in its two and a half minute runtime.

On a three-hour drive home from visiting family in Tampa, a song on shuffle sparked an idea. To stay awake, I began crafting a simple screenplay in my head, mapping out character actions and timing everything to the song as it played on repeat. From the Start by Good Kid became the foundation for a charming short story that eventually grew into my senior thesis film. (For those wondering, yes, the song is still stuck in my head.) Without the pressure of a pre-existing plotline, I was free to explore a fear that I believe is relatable to many: confessing feelings to someone close. My goal was to create an endearing character that audiences would root for until the very end. Based on the reactions of friends and family, especially the gasps at the film’s conclusion, I think my goal was met. Seeing those emotional responses reminds me why I love storytelling and its power to connect with people.

Visually, the film is inspired heavily by the art of Brian Lee O’Malley, artist of the Scott Pilgrim series. In particular, his simplistic anatomy when it comes to character design. In his comics, O’Malley largely uses hair and clothing to differentiate his characters, so I wanted to have a similar emphasis on the hair and clothing of my characters. Though they vary in body type a lot more than the characters in Scott Pilgrim, I still wanted to be able to inform the audience of their personalities through their appearance to an extent. I also wanted to be able to tell a bit of a story through the colors used in the background. Each character’s respective settings are textured in a corresponding color so that audiences can easily tell what room belongs to who. In regards to the cafe, I decided to use warmer colors for the interior to convey a comfortable atmosphere while the outside of the cafe is done in cool blues. All scenery is textured monochromatically so as to not draw too much attention away from the main action of the scenes. This also helped me to create more contrast between the inside and outside of the cafe, as the difference was more stark. I think this approach worked especially well for the ending of my film which depicts the main character walking away in the cold, dark exterior while the interior of the cafe remains warmly lit.

Focusing on the character animation also made it easier for me to convey a lot of emotions through movement. Small motions like hair bristling and the size of characters’ eyes allowed me to hone in on selling the characters’ emotions to the viewer. It was incredibly important to me that the audience is able to understand and empathize with the characters, especially the main character.