21T3 Virtual Showcase Perth - BLOSSOM: The Motion Graphic

Samuel Bourke - Isabella Mann - Nex Refulus - Lux Della Vecchia - Yash Perera

BLOSSOM Linktree (Instagram, YouTube & Vimeo)

Forget-me-not, Astronaut.

BLOSSOM is a 5-minute motion graphic that follows the story of a lonesome astronaut who has grown a connection to one of the only living things close to them, a collection of forget-me-nots from the uninhabitable Earth. During their journey, a catalyst that causes them to lose the forget-me-not turns the world upside-down as the astronaut desperately attempts to chase after it.

During their course to retrieve the flower back, they pass through multiple environments and creatures that coincidentally match stages of the astronaut’s current psyche, no less the environment.

Throughout this journey, the astronaut becomes more aware of themselves, their own mental state and truly comes to an understanding of what’s truly going within their own “landscape”.

For the best experience, use the headphones provided below!

According to the Kubler-Ross model, the first stage of grief is the denial phase. Avoidance, confusion, fear. These are key words to describe this stage.

Have you ever tried finding a reason for why you fell out with a friend. Was it your fault? Was it mine? These are questions that linger within you as you contemplate denial, attributing to you feeling numb and nihilistic over this loss.

If you ever feel like this, it's human, we're human. Feel your thoughts, it's okay to be confused and anxious It's only the beginning but you will get through this.

Your feelings harden like a rock. You deny this reality, deny your feelings, deny yourself from acknowledging a devastation to protect your psyche.

Inspired by the expression “hard as a rock”; when you are seen as more stoic and cold when hardening your emotions.
Purple carnations are dispersed all around the creature’s body to resemble something akin to moss growing over a rock over time to show the development of aging and time going by.
Tree branches resemble hands reaching out to something, an action the astronaut does on impulse when the forget-me-not comes out the broken plant bag.
The arms are created to be dragging behind the stone golem, to be interpreted as “holding back on the past”.
- - The cuffs themselves further emphasize being “stuck” in static time aswell.

According to the Kubler-Ross model, the second stage of grief is the anger phase. This phase is filled with a lot of built up frustration, roaring emotions and blame thrown onto others.

Especially from what was built up from denying the harsh reality in the previous stage, anger is a tough but necessary stage to bridge yourself to overcome grief. You might even feel that it is an endless cycle of torment thrown onto you.

It will dissipate. These emotions, although overwhelming, is important for healing. And the quicker you let these emotions out, the better for you. This stage will penultimately bring you back to reality, after the attempts to avoid it, and that is true human emotion.

Amongst the dry and cold harsh landscape for anger,
a beast awaits for no one. nothing but rage and flame approaches.

Inspired to be a hellhound/bull hybrid creature to be “feral”. o Red petunias are used to create an effect of blood with the swords stabbing through its fur.
Three swords used within the design is inspired by the minor arcana of the same name. The arcana itself has attributes that I would to associate with anger:
- Upright it symbolises heartbreak, emotional pain,
  sorrow, grief, hurt.
Fur itself was created in association to fire. This is further emphasized by the bits of fur rising from the creature’s body

According to the Kubler-Ross model, the third stage of grief is bargaining.

After the emotional journey through anger over what's happened, you are tempted to think of ways to elevate the pain situation in anyway possible. "What if I did this?" or "I wish I could..." questions are very common, and to replay these scenarios and think of better possibilities. You may even go to the extent of doing something twice as hard to forgive yourself as an effect of the loss.

In a religious context, people might share their grievances with a higher being, asking "Why God?" or any other questions. Any form of power that could affect your way of life, be it spiritual or physical, you hold onto that hope in order to stop feeling the way you are.

Overall, Guilt is very common within this stage, and yet with this guilt you run ideas and situations through your head to delay the emotion of grief to the loss.

It is a necessary step to healing, and whatever happens through the process, know that it's normal and that you have people there to worry with you aswell.

In a field of marigolds, a winged guardian stands before you,
holding the one last chance for you to stop hurting once and for all.

Inspired by a secretary bird, which is a symbol of “standing your ground” and determination.
I have used some religious iconography to relate back to the religious aspect to bargain with a God or a higher being.
- This can be seen with the halo and the wings being inspired from angels and other deities.
I have drawn further inspiration of using an avian creature from the Egyptian god of the sun and moon, representing power and healing respectively.
The marigold has been used to connect the robe together near the shoulder, a symbol of the guardian’s dominance.
The rectangular shapes from the grass have been replicated in the wings to create the same texture.

According to the Kubler-Ross model, the fourth stage of grief is depression.

After the inevitability of being presented with the reality of the loss, you feel a sense of emptiness, lost fulfilment and nihilism. Of course, what follows more are feelings of intense sadness.

This stage is very heavy and is probably the most natural reaction for grief. Losing precious connection to never be rekindled again can be hard, as life overall is. The weight of the situation overall makes the user feel cold and numb. Overall, it's isolating.

If you are grieving, be sure to reach out to others, talk to loved ones, share your problems. It may be hard but you will be okay, people will be there for you, I will be there for you if need be. Through BLOSSOM, I convey these emotions into something tangible to view to help through understanding grief and loss.

Laying there in isolation and suspension, a creature sits back to back against you. Even if you can't see it, you know exactly what it's feeling.

Inspired by inky cap mushrooms. Like the name suggests, they drip ink to create a droopy shape.
Blue windflowers are scattered on the cap of the guardian’s designs. Twhis draws eyes to the mushroom cap and the drips coming from it.
Out of the four grief guardian designs, the depression one is seemingly the most monochromatic. Made this choice due to the lack of colour that can be associated with depression in media and psychology.
There is a hole depicted within the design to interpret a feeling of being empty.
- Additionally, the hole is placed to near where the heart would be.
In motion, the drips on the ink cap sway back and forth with the body itself moving independently.

According to the Kubler-Ross Model, the fifth and final stage of grief is acceptance

What would you associate as acceptance? Most people would define acceptance as a means of affirmation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is within a mostly positive context.

This would be the overall tone of this stage. It's bittersweet to accept the reality of what has happened for the loss, and to move on is a powerful move for any individual to accomplish.

Sometimes it's difficult, maybe even impossible, to be the person before this journey, but it's through these stages that a person can blossom and live their life with the knowledge of the loss endured

Remembrance, sentimentality, nostalgia. Through simple means like these, it is always possible the person once lost can still exist. They will live on as a loving memory for you, and that is the best the we can all so after this long journey.

All the pain, the loss, the devastation does not fade away,
but transforms into something anew, and what approaches
at the end is the bright light to the new future that awaits you."

I wanted the design to be simple yet effective, with the primary connection being between them and the flower.
The visor cracks a little bit each time the Astronaut goes through to a different stage; a representation of progression and acceptance of reality.
I have put shadows coming from the right side of the astronaut to keep the designs consistent.
The arms and the legs were all drawn on different layers separate in case they needed to independently move within the motion graphic.
I decided on an outfit that looks similar to a jumpsuit, due to its ease of replication and how the astronaut is see running a lot throughout the motion graphic

Forget-me-not

True Love
Fidelity
Remembrance
Loss
Strong Connection

Purple Carnations

Fascination
Distinction
Capriciousness
Impulsive
Unpredictable

Red Petunias

Determination
Resentment
Passionate
Love
Initimate

Marigolds

"Mary's Gold"
Love Lost
Rejection
Death
Resurrection

Blue Windflower

Forgotten Love
Death
Authority
Truth
Intelligence

White Poppy

Eternal Sleep
Dreams
Imagination
Peace
Remembrance

Each environment is represented by a flower. Each individual flower has its own language, semiotics and symbolism that associates to the stage that is being represented by it. Up above are different keywords that are associated to the flowers. I wanted to pick a collection of flowers that were both recognisable and memorable in terms of both what it represents how it can connect to you or others. With this, there is more of a visual reference for the stages of grief.

BLOSSOM_Animatic_V6_Sound.mp4

stages of grief tracks

Planet0_Concept_v2_Finalization.wav

PLANET 0

Bargaining Final 6.wav

BARGAINING

Daniel Final 4.wav

DENIAL

Depression_WIP_v2.3_Finalization.wav

DEPRESSION

Anger Final 9.wav

ANGER

Acceptance_WIP_1.2_Finalization.wav

ACCEPTANCE

SFX DEVELOPMENT

Shotgun Mic Layout, placed so it was easy to move around.

Layout of the equipment used for recording sounds.

Mat used to muffle impact sounds and for easy clean up.

For SFX used Pro Tools to record the sounds.

Automation volume - footstep.mp4

Example of how I edited the airlock sound, It still didn’t sound good for it sounded a bit weak for it to sound like an airlock, it got replaced later.

Before and after edit - Airlock.mp4

Example of the automation for the Footstep in Planet 0, Decreasing the volume for the footsteps accentuated the glass breaking of the back pack.

Edit of Anger Beast Roar.mp4

Example of how I edited the roar to create more impact, while also showing how each effect changes the audio and transforms it to what it is now.