Statement of Intent

Ever since I went into Leeds Arts University and got interested in 2D animation, I have wanted to create my own narrative. With these past years of practicing different styles of animation, learning how to operate software programs, and developing my technique, I believe this is the firm moment where I can culminate my university degree with a substantial piece. Of course, I still adore stop-motion in all its illustrious sublime, however, I have made several such elongated stories, some of which I will revisit with their respective sequels once I graduate. With my thorough research into COP where I have thrown myself into the realm of avant-garde and experimental styles of animation within the Yugoslavian era, I have become infatuated by the versatile conventions of simplicity that, in the end, add more of an aesthetic variety as well as a pleasant journey than does complex details which I have been helplessly spending time trying to perfect. Instead, the exaggerated form of characters can outweigh what’s within them in a variation of “thinking outside the box”. Thinking over the summer, I had been developing several ideas for a narrative within my mind and by sharing them with my friends, I was able to get constructive criticism of both a positive and negative nature. Based on their reactions, I picked one concept of an idea that I then developed into a rough treatment, which upon this statement of intent (and the consequential presentation) I shall start elaborating into a detailed script and story that would hopefully persuade me into using a new visual style with the digital brush set I received from one of my peers and in doing so practicing said technique. Alongside this, I will be collaborating on this project with several Macedonian illustrators, most presumably on backgrounds, so that I may validate my self-dictated case study of working collaboratively through a cyber space, hence for now my artistic future might revolve around me working internationally from back home, where I will return upon graduation. My story is based on one post-mortem testament desire that I relayed to several friends as a joke, which I gradually developed into a plot. Four best friends form a pact to always share their secrets and never break the code of friendship, in a sworn oath fashion. One of them dies, and within his testament it is written that he desires his skull to be detached from his carcass and transformed into an ash tray with two rubies implanted in his eye holes preceding his cremation. This ash tray would symbolically circle around his friends one week per person and with every lit cigarette, the spirit of the character will awaken as we will start viewing the story from his eyes as he catches every single one of his friends sharing a cigarette during their primordial sins that they have kept a secret from him. In the climax, all of his friends will light a cigarette together and awaken the grim reaper assembling from his skull as he confronts every single one of his friends for their dishonesty prior to decapitating them for breaking the seal. In the end, an old man with an appearance similar to the initially dead friend would be trying to interest an old lady in buying one of three skull-shaped ash trays within this mysterious antique shop.