Thesis: The Project

For a number on months now I have been planing my thesis project, most of it in my head and some in documents scattered around my laptop. Against my own advice, I have decided to do a short animation. One of the most common problems that plagues college students working on projects is ambition beyond obtainment. We get in our heads a great idea and we refuse to modify it regardless of anyone's opinions. I have done my best throughout the years to keep my projects goals obtainable but polished. In short, if someone tells me they are going to attempt a few minutes of animation for their 20 week project, I will advise against it, but have chosen to do one for my own.

I plan to create an animated short that would be most closely related to the animated shorts created by Pixar. The title of the animation is "Today's Lesson: Be Creative." The short story depicts a young boy in a classroom who is faced with the open ended task of being creative but struggles as those around him make quick work of the assignment. Yes, the story is derived from personal experience.

One of the most important features of the animation are the young protagonists expressions, as it is a film without voice. I want the viewers to experience some form of emotion while they watch it. I want them to worry about the outcome, truly feel for the character, and feel relief if he succeeds. Emotion and storytelling is the primary driving forces of the Pixar animations. It is what makes them successful and is what makes them great. It is also not an easy task to accomplish in only a few minutes.

A full rundown of the story, followed by the shot list and storyboard will be in the next couple of blog posts.

I am going to forward about my ambitions for this 20 week project: I know with a high level of certainty that I wont have a completed animation by the end of the course. Although I will be creating the layout, storyboard, anamatic, and plan of the entire animation, I will be focusing on the main character, his rigging, animation, lighting, skin, hair, clothing, and blend shapes. With this, I will have an important foundation that I will build my animated short around over the next year.

Hopefully I can pull it off.