I've been getting bogged down in coming up with a good idea. This year feels like quite a big deal and the pressure is making me indecisive!
I've been thinking a lot about materials and processes. While I'm conscious of placing too much emphasis on this (I don't want my film to be lacking in substance in favour of 'style'), I want to make sure that it is engaging - and a good benchmark for this is probably what I like to see in animation. I appreciate a sense of materiality and a haptic quality in films; I think partly because of evidence of the animation process and the labour involved as well as a unique aesthetic appeal. Examples of 2D animation that come to mind include 'Bloomers' by Samantha Moore and Dominica Harrison's 'Ilusions'. I'm also drawn to line work with a scribbly or loose quality for similar reasons ('Menagerie' by Jonathan Hodgson pictured). Either way, the self-referentiality is what appeals to me.
I've landed on the idea of using hand-made, recycled paper to animate or print onto. I like the idea of repurposing scrap paper and I've experimented with this quite a bit in the past (but haven't attempted animation with it). Of course, to animate with the paper will involve producing it on a grander scale - and a lot of testing.
This batch of paper is a bit too thick for animation I think. While I like that you can identify the constituent parts of the paper, I think that it would distract from the imagery and might make the animation process itself difficult (for either tracing or printing). I'd like it to be a bit subtler.
I'll try using a blender to create a finer pulp (before, I just soaked the paper for an hour or so and broke it up by hand). That being said, by incorporating other materials into the paper or using different textures, the paper can play a role in the animation. It could become a distinct part of the narrative and lend itself to the wider themes - rather than become distracting. I suppose it's important that the paper as a material serves a purpose. Otherwise, there's no reason not to use normal paper or a blank photoshop canvas. To ensure this, I could also work in ways of ripping and tearing the paper as narrative or thematic features.
What is the need to use physical recycled paper? I am aware I could use background textures digitally. But I feel there's some importance in a physical product and the truth of the film's materiality. I don't know if this is just for personal satisfaction/ to have a tangible output, or if it serves a purpose, but I think it's worth at least trying!
In terms of the animation process; my options are to either draw directly onto the paper (providing the sheets are thin enough to trace), or to print (with an inkjet printer) digitally drawn frames. In normal circumstances, printing might seem redundant, but without studio access, I think it would be beneficial to work out all the animation and effects before committing them to paper and photographing. I could also then make use of After Effects to add a sense of depth of field in the drawings. In the examples above, I've used a fine liner and watercolours to draw onto the paper. This was a very quick colouring process, but one that required some care as the paint bleeds a little more than ordinary paper. I'm not mad at this - I envision a limited colour palette using block colours and selective areas or bits of drawings coloured in (i.e. mainly black and white line-work).
Next step: Lots of testing.
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