Story Board
Story Board
First Rough Cut
Second Draft
Proposal
Across the continent, superstitions exist in every culture. People believe in different kinds of supernatural power that dominate our world. Some countries are more superstitious than others. I was born and raised in Taiwan. Being the neighbouring county of China, the country that was ranked the second most superstitious in the world, superstitions also became an important aspect of my culture. This short video is inspired by several different superstitious stories in my culture. They have shaped me growing up. The older Taiwanese generation believed deeply in superstition and the consequences they bring. There are strict rules about not whistling at night because this will attract lost souls and ghosts. They also believe that when a thought crosses the mind, it will eventually happen. That was the inspiration for my animation. Many people do not believe in superstition and believe they are purely coincidence. However, it is important to learn that whether it is real or not, we should not joke about these things because they may lead toserious consequences. One superstition that exists in nearly all cultures is related to saying or thinking about bad matters. In every different cultures, there is a different saying and possibly a different way to resolve bad luck. In the Western culture, they believe that by knocking on wood one can resolve the upcoming bad luck. In China burning incense is able to remove the upcoming misfortune. Death is a devil that traps us in the past. Everyone has a different way to deal with their sadness. Some keep secrets to themselves, some are eager to be healed though sharing their stories until they become numb to the subject. For me, no words nor isolation can fully represent and comfort my feelings toward the loss of my grandmother many years ago. Through the format of this video, I wish to release my pain and regrets and convey my love and remembrance for her. I recalled an event that occurred in my early childhood which deeply rooted the impression of superstitions within me. It was around ten years ago when it happened. I was sent to after school academy due to my procrastination habit and easily distracted attention that diverted me from completing any school work. I had always hated that place. My mind drifted far away, away from the classroom and even further away from my assignments. I hoped for an early dismissal, and that was when I started thinking for possible ways to escape the boring classroom. The thought of my grandmother going to the hospital suddenly crossed my mind. That was when it all started. Roughly five minutes after, the phone rang and my teacher left to answer it. She came rushing back and told me to pack my things up as my father would come and pick me up soon. I hopped in the back seat and asked him where we were heading. Solemnly, he told me that we were visiting grandma at the hospital. My heart started racing and the back of my spine went cold. I remembered the thought of grandma going to the hospital once crossed my mind. By the time we got there, I learned that my grandma was in the third stage of cancer.For many months, my family ran back and forth to the hospital. One Sunday, when I, my brother and mom were in the courtyard of the hospital waiting, my mother’s phone rang. She picked up the phone immediately. After a few minutes, she ended the conversation and hailed my brother and me over to her. With her face all stiffened and lumps in her throat, she forcefully spit out the news that my grandmother had passed away. Failing to comprehend her message, I thought of that time when I was in the after school academy. Unable to believe what was on my mind ended up happening in real life, I began giggling. There is no scientific proof that superstitions are real. However, there also isn’t a convincing explanation to explain it when it happens other than calling it a coincidence. My main goal is to persuade the audience to be careful with joking about superstitions. They exist in our culture for a reason and it is because they have occurred before. I wish by showing my personal experience with superstition, it can inspire the audience to confront their thoughts and actions with more care.
Treatment
This selection will come in a form of animation and will be exactly five-minutes long. The colour palette is kept simple, only black and white, to deliver a strong contrast. It is also inspired by the traditional Chinese Yin and Yang. One represents heaven while the other one represents hell. It also brings in a smooth transition to my story symbolizing life and death, happiness and sadness. I plan on using mainly white background for the first 3 minutes of the animation. As for the last two minutes, the background will then shift from white to black. The animation itself will be drawn by hand and assembled together using the Animate CC software. The first thirty seconds of my animation will be my title page and a short opening animation sequence. The animation will begin with black background with hand written title in white. After the 30 second introduction, the animation begins looking into my memory at the after school academy. The first frame is going to be a small girl being locked up in the after school academy and being buried underneath books and tests. Toward the end of the first minute and a half, the girl will begin dreaming about the different ways to escape the academy. I am applying shape-tween transition between two different frames to give it a smooth transition. Each transition will be roughly one second long. From one and a half minutes to two and a half minutes, the story develops as I was dismissed early by the teacher. I began by showing the animation of phone ringing and the girl happily packed up her things. It was when the girl learned about her grandma’s health problem. From here, the background would become black. Moving into two and a half minutes to three minutes, the story would show the family running back and forth to the hospital to take care of the grandmother as well as showing the interaction between the little girl and her grandma. The next one and a half-minute would then reveal the grandma passing away and the little girl feeling guilt over the event. The short animation will wrap up in the final thirty seconds with credits and citation. After the animation is completely rendered in Animate CC, I will then import it into Premiere to continue edit the sound. The entire animation will be paired with two instrumental sound tracks. The first music is more upbeat and cheerful. It will be playing quietly in the first three minutes. As for the last two minutes, the music will transition into the second sound track that is slower and more sorrowful. I intend on adding voice over of the narration to add insights to the story.
Statement
For my final bridge project, I decided to draw inspiration from my experience with superstition. I grew up hearing many different versions of stories, but I always assumed the stories were made up by parents to scare their children, until one day when everything changed. In the after school academy, I thought about my grandma being sent to the hospital so I could have an early dismissal from the academy. It was just as random and spontaneous as any of the other images that popped into my head. I did not intend for anything to take place. Unfortunately, my thought came true. So far, this incident has been my deepest regret for years. By creating a short animation, I want to draw attention to superstitions and the potential powers they posses. Whether you choose to believe in superstitions or assume they are just coincidence, we should never joke about things that we would regret later on in our lives. As simple as it may seem, a thought that popped into my head brought a painful consequence. I wouldn’t describe myself being superstition. However, learning from my lesson, I became more careful and responsible with my own behaviour and thoughts.
