Stop Motion: Hope in the Scarf

After feeling disappointed about the loss of a pen-pal (close in age to me) to cancer, I wanted to rewrite the memory of her passing. Avoiding the cliche of bringing the dead to life, I wanted to acknowledge the spirit and hope we can have towards a disastrous illness. So I decided to make this video to spread awareness towards cancer. Some may have lost the battle, including my pen-pal, but there are survivors too, like my dance coach. Together, we can help support and comfort those who desperately need it. I want us all to celebrate life and continue to have hope!

In this video, I have 120 frames that coincide with the song, Ready to Fly (prelude) by Jamie Grace. I wanted to keep the same consistent color pallet with fall colors, orange, red, orange, yellow, and green (occasionally blue to create a disheartened mood), to go with the aura of falling and wilting, but with grace and beauty. I chose watercolor because it’s a medium I felt comfortable with, but do give the foggy memory/dreamy effect that I desired. When developing the process, I had my original idea and listened to this song on my playlist when in my heart, I knew this was it.

So using the song to correlate with my concept, I created the storyline. It begins with a woman feeling good, but stumbles falls, then implies flying to Heaven. Once the scarf gets passed on, the second woman has a hard time reacting to her news, but builds up confidence in herself in addition with the support of her family and friends. She then celebrates her journey with a dance joined by three other women, that all celebrate their survival together. It concludes with a beautiful image of a cancer ribbon, joined by the unification of the scarfs. The scarves of hope.

Please enjoy my process photos!