Creative Process

What I learned about the creative process...

Throughout my capstone project, I used various techniques and methods in my creative process to bring my vision to life. Drawing inspiration from collaboration and research, I made a story that explores the complexities of familial relationships, personal growth, and overcoming past traumas.

Pinterest Boarding

Utilizing Pinterest boards, I curated a collection of film scenes and animation tips to inform the visual and narrative elements of my project. After collecting these scenes, I created pre-sketches to visualize different compositions and layouts. This process allowed me to explore storytelling possibilities and refine the visual direction of my film, ensuring that each frame effectively conveyed the emotions and themes I wanted to be present.

Screenshots of my Pinterest inspiration and my film scene by scene photo process. 

Youtube Essays

Watching YouTube film essays provided understanding of storytelling principles and narrative techniques. Observing the opinions of film critics strengthened my understanding of what makes a compelling story, which helped me enhance the overall impact of my film.

Some of the film essay content on my Youtube For You page.

Collaboration

I collaborated with creative writing professors on campus who offered guidance in shaping the plot and characters of my film. Their expertise in story structure and character development helped refine my ideas and improved my storytelling techniques. I also conducted interviews with individuals who experienced abusive parental relationships. Their experienced help to create an authentic portrayal of the emotional content in this film.

Some of the intitial scene by scene ideas. This also includes some dialouge I initially planned to add in the film.

Time Management

Time management was a important factor in completing the various aspects of my capstone project. By planning out my work schedule on a weekly basis, I was able to give significant time for research, pre-production, animation, and post-production tasks, to ensure that I met project milestones and deadlines.

Studying Animation/Editing/SFX

Drawing from animation theory books, I applied 2D animation techniques to bring my characters and scenes to life. Understanding the principles of timing, spacing, and motion helped with the the creation of expressive animations that effectively conveyed the narrative and emotional beats of my story. From initial sketches to solid drawings, I slowly found my visual direction for the film. As I continued to finalize my scenes, I then edited the footage in Adobe Premiere Pro. In this stage, I finalized the pacing, editing, sound (SFX) and music for the film. I learned these different skills from Youtube tutorials.

(From Top to Bottom Left to Bottom Right) Some initial & finalized sketches for my main character, A initial animation of one of the beginning scenes, Editing a scene in Adobe Premiere Pro that required a moving background.

By incorporating these techniques and methods into my creative process, I was able to approach my capstone project with a holistic and informed perspective, resulting in a work that is both emotionally impactful and complete.