an Animated Thesis film
This is just the trailer. If you want to watch the whole film please do message me!
'‘To Ankur’' revolves around a young teenager Madhu trying to deliver a letter to her crush, but faces many obstacles on her way which are all in her imagination. The protagonist tries her hardest to not get distracted by the attractive visuals that keep popping up in her head and continues to rush to the post-box.
It is a 2D animated film of almost 4 minutes long, with a beautiful classical piece that showcases the craziness in the best way possible. The main goal of my film is to express my perspective on Intrusive thoughts in a fun and light-hearted manner while still providing the feeling of being trapped in this
loop of imaginative thoughts, that constantly try to mess up the protagonist's day.
Pre-Production
Initially I had been juggling between three narratives to create a short for but ultimately fell in love with the idea of showing my perspective on Intrusive thoughts portrayed onto a young teenager in love.
I knew I wanted to express the feeling of these wacky emotions and imaginations with really bright colours and an almost childlike drawing style. I started by doodling and listing down random thoughts that pop into my head and that of my friends and family.
I then stringed a narrative with these thoughts in mind and brought to life a little story of a teenager trying to deliver a love letter but faces many hurdles regarding these quirky thoughts.
Created thumbnails of the whole film to get a better understanding of how I would compose the characters and the objects in it.
After thumbing it down, I started working on the storyboard and animatic to get a better sense of timing and sound. It was after completing this I realised I desperately needed a sound designer.
Creating the characters was next on the list. For this film I wanted to add a little hometown flare to both the characters and the overall setting, so I made my protagonist, Madhu, a Malayali teen girl living in Kannur, Kerala!
Her crush, Ankur also lived in the same local and attends the same school as Madhu.
Getting a better idea of the both of them I made a turn around for the same.
Madhu: Honey, Sweet, Nectar, Charming
Ankur: Flower, Bud, Blossom
After laying down the base for the film, I decided to animate in the style I envisioned it to be. I wanted to test out the colours for the film as well.
Since I'm taking inspiration from my own hometown in Kerala and heavily injected the same into my layouts.
Production and Post-Production
For the next month and a half I nearly broke my back with completing the rough animation, clean-up, colour, compositing and editing. I switched between TV Paint and After effects to get the required results.
Tried to keep the poster design just as wacky and crazy as the film, using a ton of bright colours as well to show her emotions in the best way possible.
(Final Poster at end of the project)
And after 4/5 months of blood, sweat and fears, my film was finally done and is currently running across the world through film festivals!
The creation and the creator
Final poster design
Credits
Animation and Direction Nitya Sathian
Sound Design Emily Beth
