Explainer Video Script (video below)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
For the uninformed, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or simply OCD, is viewed only as concerning oneself over the sanitation of their personal surroundings, leading them to change and alter things around them until they are sure every minute flaw is settled. However, a more in-depth explanation will provide greater information than this.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is defined by recurring, intrusive, and often unwanted thoughts and temptations that a person will feel forced to carry out. These types of actions can interfere with their daily life and cause a considerable loss of time as they feel compelled to indulge in or perform these actions.
Other related disorders such as trichotillomania, compulsive hoarding, and dysmorphophobia can contribute to distorting a person’s perception of themselves to the extent that they may no longer feel familiar with who they are or their surroundings. This can lead to attempts to fix these perceived shortcomings by pouring all of their efforts into resolving them to the best of their abilities.
For further understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder and the related ailments mentioned, consult the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V).
FULL BREAKDOWN:
As this was among one of the first, fully original animation-heavy projects I was tasked to complete during my undergraduate years, with it came many new elements of animation I had very little experience with. From learning how to design appealing and animation-friendly characters in Adobe Illustrator, to discovering and practicing with the various tools and techniques in After Effects, the entire project proved to be quite the laborious, yet ultimately beneficial task, as I was able to build upon what I had developed for later projects.
Picking a mental disorder as the topic of my video was the simplest step of the task. Obsessive-compulsive disorder was, from my perspective, one of the most misunderstood mental disorders primarily due to how simplified it was. For the uninformed, as I go over in the explainer video, the disorder is only viewed as feverishly tending to the cleanliness of one’s personal environment until every flaw or blemish has been corrected or removed. Not only is this a great oversimplification of what OCD actually is, it is also quite dismissive and somewhat offensive to what those who are diagnosed with it have to go through on a regular basis.
My explainer video does not serve as a means to insult those not in the know, but instead to offer them a slightly more detailed explanation of what it actually entails, with accompanying visuals to help them properly understand what is being conveyed. There are very few differences between the original explainer video and this remake, other than the lack of a Cinema 4D-made 3D object – a clock in the original – instead being replaced by a basic 2D illustration. Another difference is the improved, albeit verbose short script I wrote up so as to better illustrate my point, as I no longer believe the original was effective in conveying a better understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The animation process was much smoother and less of a personal struggle this time around, as I already had a clear vision of what I wanted from this redone project as well as prior experience with After Effects and most of its features. However, though my character designs and animation have improved compared to when I first began back in late 2017, I do not believe they are quite at the standard I want them to be at now, hence why the process of animating was much less difficult than it was years ago. Regardless, I believe that redoing this project was a beneficial decision on my part, as it has helped me better understand my shortcomings in terms of the things I want to begin improving on.
I aim to incorporate not just what I have learned from remaking this into future projects, but also improve what needs the most attention in my work. I hope that the improvements will only continue to show.
