Summary:
A Trip to Psychedelia is going to be a three to five minute 2D animated short. The story is centered around an unnamed male protagonist. He is a stereotypical teenage slacker who enjoys skateboarding and listening to music. However one day while skateboarding, he falls into a time portal that takes him back to the 1960’s. Arriving in the 60’s, the boy discovers he’s arrived at the famous music festival, Woodstock. In order to get back to the present he befriends several iconic musicians at the festival. Through music, battles, and twists he will go on an adventure that will change him forever. Using music of the era instead of dialogue to help tell the story, the short will explore prominent music figures of the time period as well. The project incorporates two of my biggest interests in film and music, and will test my creative capabilities by making it an animated short rather than live action.
Introduction and Inspiration:
The short itself will be completely hand drawn using an iPad and animated through different methods such as Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and ProCreate itself. I’ve always enjoyed doodling and drawing in free time but have never drawn a full length project before. I wanted to use this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and attempt to create something I knew I would enjoy doing. I’ve spent countless hours watching cartoons throughout my life and figured as an IMM student, why can’t I make one myself? Over the course of my education at TCNJ I’ve gained many skills that would help contribute to the process of making my own cartoon so with my thesis I’ve decided to try and make it a reality. One reason I’ve always loved animation is because it allows you to tell any story that you can imagine in a way that live action footage is unable to accomplish. While making a normal video might’ve been easier, I wanted to challenge myself for my final project in my college career. Though I mentioned earlier that I haven’t animated anything into a full length project, I believe the skills I learned in various classes and hours on YouTube combined with my appreciation for animation will allow me to accomplish my goal. From a young age I had a major interest in comics and cartoons. I would draw my own comics or filmed videos with friends inspired by shows and other comic strips such as Calvin and Hobbes or The Simpsons. As time has gone on my love for animation has only grown as I have learned to appreciate different styles and understand what goes into making them even better. Even today my friends and I will still gather on the couch and watch cartoons for hours.
When I was younger I was unable to create and edit videos as I didn’t have access to the technology and software. During high school I rediscovered my passion for creating and spent my time learning to edit. I began editing footage mostly just for personal enjoyment and made videos about me and my friends. As mentioned, I still had a love for cartoons but didn’t know how to create them until entering college. Nowadays it’s easier than ever to make an animation with new developments emerging. After getting an iPad and using ProCreate I realized that I could do it too. While the process can still be long and tedious it’s much more accessible for creators. For this project I wanted to create a video but I knew I would be happier if I pushed myself further and made an animated short. As long as I put in enough effort, I knew it was possible.
I am personally inspired by this project because it allows me to combine several of my interests into one full length film. In addition to animation, I have also always loved music from the era in which the story takes place. I wish to use it at certain points in the story to incorporate more influences of my creativity. I want to make something that I am proud of and passionate about. As cartoons and movies have done for me, it’s important to make something that others would enjoy as well. I can’t even count the number of times that my friends and I have had memorable moments together while we were watching TV. To be able to relax and watch something I have created and have others enjoy it would be a proud accomplishment. In the future I’m not sure I will continue to make animations but through the creation process, I will gain many more valuable skills in video editing and a greater understanding and appreciation of what goes into animation. These skills I learn will be helpful in whatever design field or direction I prioritize after college as well. Through the process of completing my thesis, I also might find a great passion for creating these films. It could be what I decide to actually pursue after graduation and allow me to work in a field that I like being in. Depending on how well the project goes, it could even be used as a pilot episode or pitch for a series. I’m not sure if I anticipate it to be that good but it’s not impossible. I know it will at least be something that I can present proudly at a professional level as part of my portfolio. My hope is that since it includes so many of my interests I will be more driven to complete the project to the best of my ability, and it won’t seem like work. This project has given me the opportunity to complete a fully fleshed out film which will inspire me to do work at my fullest potential in order to make something that I am passionate about.
While the entertainment industry is not necessarily a necessity for life, nor is watching cartoons recognized as a luxurious pastime, I believe that it is necessary to spend time doing the things that make you happy. If I can animate a film that others can appreciate or be amused by, then I think that’s useful. Everyone deserves happiness and if people can get that out of watching my film then I think it will be successful. I do not necessarily have a target audience picked out for my current idea, but I think all ages will be able to appreciate it.
Graphic Image:
This image while just a sketch is what I envisioned the title card to be if my short were to be its own show. The doodles around the boy’s head would be moving and the text would be dynamic. I plan on animating this sketch as one of the clips to be shown before the end of the semester. It’s also very close to what I plan on making the character look like when fully colored and animated. I also found a font that relates to the theme of the short and decided to include the title.
History of the Field:
Over one hundred years ago in 1908 the world experienced what is considered to be the first animated film in Fantasmagorie. Looking back on it the one minute clip looks extremely rudimentary and amateur compared to what we see today. Several decades later Steamboat Willie was introduced to the masses as the first cartoon to include sound within it. As time went on, we’ve seen developments from studios such as Pixar, that make these kinds of films seem lifelike. Until very recently however, most animation was done completely hand drawn. It wasn’t until Disney developed CAPS (Computer Animated Production System), when films started being produced completely digitally. The first feature film to ever be 100% was The Rescuers Down Under in 1990. The next year Beauty and the Beast, also produced by Disney, used the same technology, popularizing it amongst animators.
Animation has evolved so much since its inception over one hundred years ago. Today mostly all animated films and shows are created digitally. While some are still hand drawn they are mostly even drawn digitally. One invention that had pushed me to getting back into drawing, were drawing tablets, and more specifically the iPad and pencil. It has become so much easier to create animations in just the past decade with the way technology has evolved. It has allowed for an influx of new animated shows and stunningly detailed full-length films. I only see the creation process of these films and shorts becoming more accessible to audiences and potential new generations of animators.
Leaders in the Field:
There are countless people involved in the animation industry today so I figured I would highlight some of the people that have inspired me with this project and leaders in the field that I look up to.
One man in particular whose work I’ve always found to be impressive is Genndy Tartakovsky. He’s created and worked on shows that I watched in my childhood and still appreciate to this day such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and most recently a show called Primal. After watching Primal it somewhat inspired me to go and animate something myself. It essentially follows the story of Spear, a caveman, and Fang, a T-Rex, and their struggle for survival. The show has only a handful of people working on it and the animation isn’t complex but the body of work as a whole is impressive. One other important aspect about it is that it has no spoken dialogue and the story is told through the animation and sound effects. This relates back to my thesis project because I don’t plan on using dialogue at the moment and want to tell the story through the music of the 1960’s. The fact that the show is able to tackle complex themes through a simplified manner stunned me and also led to it becoming a critically acclaimed award winning show.
J.G. Quintel has been a major source of inspiration in my life even before I decided on a topic for my project. Most known for the creation of Regular Show, and now the new adult animated comedy Close Enough, Quintel is an animator whose work I’ve always related to. Regular Show is perhaps my favorite show of all time and I envied that he made a living making eleven minute comedy episodes with ridiculous premises. In each episode the characters find themselves getting wrapped up in life threatening scenarios while performing mundane tasks. The material in the show influenced the story that I want to tell, in which a teenage slacker gets transported back in time while riding his skateboard one day.
Another well known figure in the world of animation is Hayao Miyazaki. He is a Japanese animator famous for founding Studio Ghibli, a film studio responsible for making some of the most acclaimed animated films of all time. When I was young I remember watching The Castle of Cagliostro and loving it. I had never seen a film like that before and thought that the hand drawn style looked beautiful. I didn’t realize there were older animated films that looked so good at the time. This opened me up to the rest of Miyazaki’s films and now they are some of my favorites of all time including live action movies.
Finally I credit a lot of my early love for comics and cartoons to Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons. I always read the comics and watched the show as a child and it contributed to the kind of humor that I still find funny today. Even though earlier seasons had crude animation, it was funny enough that it didn’t really matter. Now it’s regarded as one of the most iconic shows of all time.
Industry Events & Communities:
Back before I really knew what I was going to do for a topic regarding thesis, and when I needed to find a style for the short itself, I enjoyed attending online art shows via zoom and galleries to find inspiration and to see different styles of art. After viewing many showcases from different artists, I decided on a topic and ultimately chose how my animation would look. I also turned to Reddit, an online forum for help with my decision. While not considered an industry event, it helped me find and connect with more like-minded individuals aspiring to become animators and even professionals themselves. While Reddit has a lot of misinformation and can be seen as a place just for memes, I’ve found that when researching a smaller or niche topic, the communities can be very helpful in providing information. Through different communities such as /r/Animation or /r/AfterEffects I’ve gained a lot of knowledge that I’ve already started using or plan on using in my project. Many threads have been created where people just starting out in the industry like myself can ask questions and get replies from professionals in the field. I am grateful for the information that my professors have provided throughout my education, but they can’t help me with all of my problems. These subreddits and groups allow me to talk directly to people that can answer my questions efficiently and allow me to receive advice from people working on these subjects everyday. Without even actively participating, people can find answers to similar questions asked by others before them just by searching them. Outlets such as Reddit and YouTube have been helpful because they allow me to search for answers for specific questions regarding my project. While I’ve gained many skills throughout my time at the college, I have to credit outside sources such as these communities and other resources for helping me countless times along the way. I know I will rely on them in the future when completing my thesis as well.
Materials & Implementation:
- Laptop
- iPad
- Apple Pencil
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Animate
- Adobe Photoshop
- ProCreate
- Potentially other animation software
- YouTube
Prototype:
Attached below are some rough sketches and storyboards for the short. I have finished storyboarding and my focus is now on bringing each scene to life. I have dedicated dozens of hours towards researching what it takes to fully animate what I want to achieve. Though the process is tedious I believe I have finished enough planning to start moving forward to the finished product, as the animating will take the majority of time to complete. Spending the next semester focused on animating rather than planning will give me time to refine the drawings and make small edits.
Storyboarding was necessary because in animation, editing takes place beforehand as opposed to after filming compared to live action. If I were to fully complete a scene and decided that I didn’t like it, that work would go to waste. My hope is that I can finish a couple of scenes in full color before returning next semester in order to get ahead. I will try roughly animating the whole short before break ends as well, given the extended period of time that we have off this year. Before the end of the current semester my goal is to present some loop animations and story boards previewing where I plan on going from here.
In regards to a budget prototyping has allowed me to figure out what materials will be needed to complete the entirety of my project. Currently I possess all of the materials that I plan on needing. I have accounts and access to all of the programs such as Photoshop, After Effects, and ProCreate which I plan on using for the majority of the process.
