Ana's thesis ... this sucks, but I promise it'll be better by the final. :P sorry!

Anastasia Shepherd
IML Thesis Proposal

Title: A New Way of Seeing: The Purposeful Hallucination


Abstract:

I’m interested in creating an interactive art piece that mixes the genres of documentary film, animation, gaming, and expressionistic/symbolic fine arts. I would like to explore the subject of imagined realities in disobedience of social constructs in this piece. I want to visually document situations in which people physically obey societal constructs and the norms of reality, but show through interactive options that the mind is given possibilities without the limits of reality and society. An interactive web-based art piece that combines flash animation with video and traditional animation would be an optimal presentation for this thesis.


Audience:

I would like this piece to reach a more diverse audience than a gallery-style installation video would. By putting it on a website, I hope to make it possible for anyone to look at it and get something out of it. The concept is universal, and I feel that the presentation should allow for universality, as well. The interactive format will help a great deal in accomplishing that goal. Website-based projects democratize art and interactivity allows for a fluid and nonlinear narrative thread.


Methodology:

I am making the argument that the pressures of normality and the constrictions of physical reality are escapable through dreams and fantasies and imagined scenarios. With that in mind, humans have more freedom to impact their own real lives through utilizing their “waking dreams” and learning not to fear them.

By using a creative approach that mimics the decisions to conform or not conform that everyone faces constantly, I hope to show that it is unnecessary to live in your head. To make the impossible real is a worthy goal.

I feel that life is very restricted, and that many or all of these restrictions are self-implemented and can be overcome. Connections to other human beings are feared, shared consciousness is considered impossible, exploration is considered odd, and silliness/whimsicality and imagination are considered childish. I’m personally very tired of these restrictions, and I’d like this project to reflect how things could be different. This project is about personal revolutions, and through the interactivity, I hope to show people a set of new and accessible possibilities for life and inspiration.

Media Presentation and Justification:

Optimally, the thesis will be presented as a website-based piece that includes flash animation, video, and traditional animation. Since the project requires interactivity to give the viewer choices and to let one explore the project on one’s own, it is necessary to have it in this multimedia format. A film would be too passive. The piece argues that the “imaginary” (unreal images that create new meanings in reality) must be explored by the individual. The project’s whole philosophy is built on curiosity and choice, so this medium is perfect. The paths of the project will give the audience choices that have the potential to create a world where reality and fantasy are indistinguishable from one another.

Timeline:
Summer:
- Perfect proposal
- Plan basic design of the site
- Storyboard all scenarios
- Develop conceptual relevancy
Fall:
- Shoot video of scenarios
- Meet with advisor to determine animation styles
- Complete as much animation as possible
- Begin template of the website
Spring:
- Design sound for scenarios
- Program the interface design of the website
- Unify the project through editing/arranging
- Final touches (titles, etc.)
- Look for ways to get the project seen

Budget:

Tapes, filming locations, animation materials, possibly actors, domain hosting, festival fees


Advisor:

Dr. Kathy Smith, Animation Department of the School of Cinematic Arts, (213) 821-1348 kates@usc.edu

Resources:

Flash, Final Cut, After Effects, Frame Thief, various forms of animation, etc.