mreethmandir

The project is expected to be an experimental journey that ends up in a film. The research plan is divided into segments, that would be addressed and completed in different phases throughout the Re:Anima masters program. Considering the nature of the project, the research stage and the development stage of the project are bound to overlap.

For the first stage of the research, at Luca School of Arts, I am setting up the intentions and goals of the project. The research questions that are being asked, will lead me to develop certain parts of the project. Initially, I am collecting sources, references, and inspirations that I will be analyzing to gain an informed perspective of the subject matter I want to address. With the perspective gained, the research will enter the experimentation phase of each research question.

At this stage, I will be making animation tests, character development, storyboards, and other experiments that will try to implement the findings of the previous stage and proceed to provide answers to the research questions. Digital hand-drawn animation has always been my primary media- I also want to experiment with different stop motion techniques with several real-life media. Animating inside Virtual Reality has also shown potential to me. I want to experiment with the media to discover what kind of visuals it may allow me to create. Perhaps, 3D Greese Pencil techniques can also be useful for my visuals. I also want to experiment with different projection methods. I want to explore what potential multichannel (or, multi-screen) projection has for my animation. However, as I have minimal experience with alternative animation techniques- I am curious to find out what other possibilities they hold.

During this phase, I will also consult people who identify with the target group and involve them in the development, incorporating their feedback. I wish to experiment with new and traditional animation techniques and figure out what works best for the project. The particularities of the experiments I want to conduct are to be discussed for each separate research question. By the end of the semester at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, I will be discussing the experiments aiming to conclude the research questions asked. I aim to come up with the narrative structure of the project at this stage, based on the artworks during the experiments.

After concluding the research questions by the end of the second semester, I will be equipped enough to define the narrative structure and visual style of the animation project and(or) film. I wish to develop the production pipeline for the project during the third semester of Re:Anima which will be in Universidade Lusófona, Film and Media Arts Department.

During the fourth semester, my focus will be on completing the project’s production. I wish to dedicate this phase to tying down all the experiences gained in the previous stages.

A summary of the research plan along with tentative time periods is presented below: