The Other Side - Developmental Stages: Generation of Ideas and Brainstorming

Today, we were assigned our newest module: Animation Process and Production. During the module briefing, we were introduced to the main aims of the module, the outcomes, and all the work we are expected to produce, all of which will develop our skills as animators and creators. The main assignment around which all other investigative and documentation tasks revolve is creating a 25 second 2D narrative animation to be titled "The Other Side". Furthermore, as we fluctuate through the developmental stages of creating an animation, we are to document our progress in a professional manner so that we are susceptible to peer constructive criticism as well as improvement.

The first stage of animation development is the generation of ideas through different cognitive methods. I chose brainstorming, where I jot down all inchoate visual ideas that come to mind when processing the words "The Other Side". Initially, we are all prone to conceptualize ideas as "The Other Side" is provocative of detailed images, from those which associate Heaven and Hell to simpler quandaries of a part missing its complementary. As I brainstormed, I devised 4 ideas, all tackling different concepts of existence and fantasy.

1. Concept of Suicide
Morphine's "The Other Side" plays in the background as we witness a man bleeding out under a bridge with a gun near his corpse, surrounded by the night's melancholic darkness. His soul ascends into the star-spangled sky, as it whimsically dances around being surrounded by all kinds of apparitions of beauty and exuberance (for that is how Heaven is perceived as). However, as he reaches the final light, the sequence ends and we are shown that this was all but a thought in the man's head, who is still alive with a smile on his face. After he dreams of this, he then pulls the trigger, whereas now in reality, he only disappears into the ether, portraying the nothingness that follows death.

2. Concept of Reincarnation
A man appears in a shimmering and radiant space, absent of location. He is completely confused as to where he is, continuously questioning his environment: "Where am I?", "What is this place?" "Did I die from...". As he tries to finish the last sentence, an ambiguous entity appears before him, complete mute, turning him into a soul in the form of an infant as he casts him back to Earth.

3. Concept of Mysticism
A little more whimsical than the previous two. A baritone-rich and soothing voice narrates the scenery of the light side of the moon, as an astronaut ever-so-nimbly floats around, as the stars illuminate the surface of the pale lunar craters, as serenity embraces peace. And all of a sudden, juxtaposed out of nowhere, the narrator turns to the dark side of the moon, where Pink Floyd is being played as moonlings and Moai heads made of moon stone party and dance without limits. Ends with narrator saying "Oh, well...".

4. Concept of Wonder
Ambiguous space where only clouds are tangible platforms, as a man without legs is "standing" on a cloud, yelling out "Where is my other side?". He skips through clots of clouds with weird creatures and constellations performing whimsical feats in the background, still searching far and wide for his legs. After a while, he finds them residing atop a cloud chunk, as he happily jumps towards them filled with satisfaction, reuniting his two parts. Once he does that, there are 2 seconds of him standing on a cloud, right before he protrudes through it, falling down from ascension with a massive "thud" after an anticipated long fall.

The second step of development is storyboarding two of these ideas, making them more coherent and detailed for further production.