Inspirations

So why am I doing this film and what were some of my inspirations?  Last semester I had to write an essay on both these questions.  If you want to read the entire thing there will be a link to the entire thing at the bottom of this post.  Otherwise, I'm just going to write out what it says about my inspirations.


Inspiration 1

Snakes and Ladders

I decided to make this film because I enjoy changing the meaning of things with imagery.  I want to change how people look at board games, even if it is only for the duration of the film.  I would like to shine a different light onto board games and show the game pieces point of view throughout the game.  I chose snakes and ladders because it was my favourite board game when I was younger.  Also, it is a very well known game which will make it more relatable to a larger number of people. 


Inspiration 2


Board game pieces

Another detail I focused on was making sure I kept them all the same size and relatively the same shape as the Snakes and Ladders game pieces.  I did not want to make it obvious to what they actually are but I also did not want to throw off the viewer entirely and make them completely different.  For colour I chose to make them all a neutral colour to help unify them, all the while giving them different colours for each of their outfits.  The colours I chose are the typical colours one would normally see in a board game: blue, yellow, and green.


Inspiration 3

Harry Potter 4

When creating this idea I was greatly influenced by the labyrinth in Harry Potter 4.  I really liked the aesthetic of the hedges and was immediately attached to the maze idea and how the entire labyrinth was covered in a shroud of mist, limiting vision.   I wanted to create a film about the inability to escape and a labyrinth shrouded in mist and darkness fit really well.  


Inspiration 4

9

When I was designing the characters I always had the characters from the movie 9 in mind.  9 has such wonderfully thought out character designs that made it easy for the audience to feel for them and the hardships they had to go through.  Their situations feel very similar to what my characters go through: a small number of tiny characters trapped in a larger world with no know way of escape. 

 
 Inspiration 5

 Luxo Jr.

In terms of animating, Luxo Jr. by John Lasseter is a big influence on character acting.  It is amazing how Lasseter was able to portray father and son characteristic to inanimate objects strictly through movement alone.  It was commented that just by watching the film it was obvious that the filmmakers cared about the characters and made something beautiful.I would like people to see my love for my characters come through in the character acting of my film.  When I animate my characters I want each of them to stand out as individuals.


Inspiration 6

Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki is also a huge influence on my work.  His character acting and story telling are flawless and his worlds are beautiful.  I am mostly fascinated by how he uses hair and clothing to show emotion in his characters.  With subtle movements of the characters hair and clothing Miyazaki is able to convey quite powerful emotions.  Even though my character do not have hair I still want to use this technique to give my characters life and express their emotions with elements such as their shoulders rising or their clothing rising.



Here's the link to the entire paper:

Why Paper