Introduction
The film is built around three separate stories, each looking at a different way that people exist within systems of power: through emotional distance, proximity to power, and the mass production of ideology.
A recurring fly moves through all three worlds- sometimes in the form of a nuisance, sometimes a witness, sometimes something much harder to place.
Mentored by Soham Sen, this project grew from a larger research project examining how political disengagement is shaped by class, comfort, and the institutions around us.
I wanted the film to look a bit unfinished and wonky! Quentin Blake's loose, scribbly illustrations were a big reference for the visual language.
The Making of
This was my first full-length 2D hand drawn digital animation. I worked primarily in Procreate Dreams, building the characters and scenes frame by frame before bringing the three films together in After Effects.
Visually, I wanted the film to sit somewhere between playful and unsettling. I looked at old hand-drawn animation, Quentin Blake's loose illustrations, exaggerated character design, and more grotesque contemporary animation.
The final style uses washed-out colour, jittery hand-drawn movement, and deliberately unfinished backgrounds to keep the characters at the centre. The film's serious subject matter also made room for satire.
Selected Excerpts
The full film is currently being kept off the site while I explore festival submissions. These are a few selected glimpses instead.
BEYOND THE SCREEN
Zines
The films give you one way into these ideas. These three zines, each responding to one of the films, ask you to go a little further, to actually sit with them and think about what they mean. Reading felt important to me, especially at a time when we seem to be doing less of it. So I made something that demanded it.
Postcards and Bookmarks
These were small-format pieces extending the film's visual language into objects that could be taken away from the exhibition.
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