Firesail: An Exploration of Story Through Traditional and Digital Two-Dimensional Animation

Abstract

This honors thesis project oversaw the production of a short animated film, drawn completely by hand after foregoing extensive research in Fall 2013 into the development of the characteristics and dynamics of storytelling, traditional animation, and computer-based editing, as observed through storyboard layout and animatic and pencil-test setups. Story development setup followed through pre-production, production, and post-production. Applying techniques learned in fine arts courses, such as color theory, composition, and figure drawing, completed the totality of the developed world within the film. The Spring semester of 2014 included further finalization of story arc and the animation process itself; however with scheduling difficulty, the production and post-production process, including all edits and added musical score, carried over to be completed December 2014. This project, being a first experience of the entirety of the production of an animated film, centers on themes of self-sacrifice, narrative communication, and redemptive love.