Journey to the Ocean (2023)
Cut-out Animation/ 2’01’’/ Indie Work
Synopsis
Journey to the Ocean is a cut-out stop-motion animation about a girl who, after casually discarding a plastic bottle, is swept into an underwater world where she witnesses the harm caused by plastic pollution and learns the importance of protecting marine life.
Inspiration
I grew up in a seaside, looking at the beautiful ocean, yet I went back this year to find plastic trash floating everywhere on the surface. This saddening fact made me want to make this simple little animation to urge everyone to protect the ocean
Context
This cut-out stop-motion project marks my first exploration into animation during my undergraduate studies, created as a hobbyist with no prior experience. The character design draws inspiration from my favorite animated film, Coraline. I independently completed all aspects of the project, including pre-production design, puppet fabrication, animation, and post-production, such as compositing and editing. The film was entirely shot using an iPad stop-motion app on a wardrobe frame.
Journey to the Ocean is a cut-out stop-motion animation about a girl who, after casually discarding a plastic bottle, is swept into an underwater world where she witnesses the harm caused by plastic pollution and learns the importance of protecting marine life.
Inspiration
I grew up in a seaside, looking at the beautiful ocean, yet I went back this year to find plastic trash floating everywhere on the surface. This saddening fact made me want to make this simple little animation to urge everyone to protect the ocean
Context
This cut-out stop-motion project marks my first exploration into animation during my undergraduate studies, created as a hobbyist with no prior experience. The character design draws inspiration from my favorite animated film, Coraline. I independently completed all aspects of the project, including pre-production design, puppet fabrication, animation, and post-production, such as compositing and editing. The film was entirely shot using an iPad stop-motion app on a wardrobe frame.
Puppet Making
Hand-painted watercolor puppets with varied techniques: armature-based frog, goldfish, and octopus, and a replacement jellyfish. Multiple replacements were made for different angles.
Hand-painted watercolor puppets with varied techniques: armature-based frog, goldfish, and octopus, and a replacement jellyfish. Multiple replacements were made for different angles.
Shooting
For filming, I separated foreground and background. The main animated foreground was shot on an arm-mounted iPad using a stop motion app. The colorful background was created by cutting out individual wave shapes, photographing them separately, and animating them in After Effects before compositing with the foreground.
For filming, I separated foreground and background. The main animated foreground was shot on an arm-mounted iPad using a stop motion app. The colorful background was created by cutting out individual wave shapes, photographing them separately, and animating them in After Effects before compositing with the foreground.