http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=betaRDy1g5Q
http://https://youtu.be/YGjYMHhOuQI
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 to
serious 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.
