2D stop motion, animated short film
Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, the original Jabberwocky poem by Lewis Carrol, concepts of nonsense, abandonment of childhood and maturity. The creation process began with research and analysis of concepts,
in order to formalize and develop the idea with; storyboards; narrative script; character bible; illustration, digitization and repainting of backgrounds, characters, and texts; justification of the sound section; animation, using Procreate and Adobe Premiere Pro as tools; and final editing details.
1. Investigation & Inspiration
The investigation rounded the Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", as we had a briefing provided by the Fashion department, which was working on a dress themed with Alice in Wonderland. Centering on The Jabberwocky poem, we understood how it explores a whimsical children's narrative that defies literary conventions with its use of gibberish, nonsense, and portmanteaus. The story follows Alice's journey to
maturity and self-discovery in an absurd world where adult madness intertwines with lost innocence.
We explored the symbolism of characters like the Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat; the fleeting nature of time
and reality's relativity. Additionally, the poem "Jabberwocky" adds another layer of nonsense and heroism, highlighting the triumph of good over evil. This precursor to surrealism influences later artistic movements
by blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination, providing a space for exploring the subconscious and psychological analysis.
2. Concept Choosing & Analysis
After understanding and investigating the Alice in Wonderland theme, we chose 4 concepts to center on.
1. Nonsense: A humorous genre characterized by absurdity, lack of logical coherence, and the use of invented words, in Carroll's characters, they navigate worlds with their own illogical logic.
2. Dadaism: An artistic movement born in response to the chaos of World War I, producing satirical and nonsensical art, aiming to destroy traditional artistic values and create a new form of expression.
3. Maturity: The emotional and psychological impact resulting from the rupture of childhood bonds, leading
to issues such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, as individuals transition into adulthood without the necessary emotional maturity to navigate challenges effectively.
4. Childhood Abandonment: The state of psychological development where an individual is capable of facing and resolving life challenges effectively, characterized by rational decision-making, emotional regulation, healthy interpersonal relationships, and a realistic self-perception, achieved through a gradual developmental process but sometimes blurred by unresolved issues from earlier stages of life.
3. Idea Development
We created the basis for the project, by establishing the format, duration, concepts, atrezzo, genre, characters, sinopsis and screen size. Also continued by developing a quick storyboard, script and character bible.
3. Character Development
For the development of the illustration, the original drawings of John Tenniel have been taken as first
references, maintaining fidelity to the intention of paying homage to the original work of “Alice in Wonderland”, opting for a more cartoon type of illustration than the realism captured by Tenniel. The technique used for the illustration has started from a pencil sketch, generating dynamic images to generate support for the animation itself. Subsequently, it has been inked by hand with pens, generating textures and gradients with the linework, also reinforcing the concept of dynamism. These where illustrated with their body partes separate, for it to be easier to animate afterwards.
4. Backgrounds
After going through realistic and 3D visual ideas, we have decided finally continue with darker filters and sketch style to match the structure mounted around fantasy and illusion. Besides the hole of the rabbit, Alice's room was also set up with the intention of convey to the viewer the feeling of isolation and dissociation. There where also small details like the rock in which Alice stands, which where designed apart.
5. Digitalization
All characters and backgrounds where digitalized and recolored afterwards using Procreate. Conserving the different body parts in separate layers. Giving dark black and white tones for the backgrounds and a sepia look to the characters.
6. Movement and Fluid Displacement
Using Procreate, the animation process, frame by frame, making small adjustments in the displacement and parts of the body, a movement is generated. In Red is marked the way by go through, for reference. For the falls of Alice and the Jabberwocky flight movement a first animation was made of small stop movements motion in procreate, with background green-screen (did not allow exporting in animated png). For later unify this with the background in PremierePro, with the Ultra Key effect (green screen). Then using anchor points position, rotation and size, was generated a more fluid movement both of the backgrounds, as well as of the characters.
7. Final Details & Sound Justification
The animated scenes where put together and given the final details in Premiere Pro, adding the dialog screens (which are parts of the original Poem), and the music. Our proposal is presented as a silent audiovisual, even if this is the case, We think that adding a soundtrack could not only help create a better immersive atmosphere towards the surreal world of the hole, but also It would allow us to delve deeper and explore the psychology of the characters in the work. With With this objective in mind, we began to look for references and ideas that will fit both with the story we want to explain and with the aesthetics we we were developing.
