Project Proposal

Odium  ˈōdēəm/   

general or widespread hatred or disgust directed toward someone as a result of their actions

Pitch
What talking does to reality we don’t understand,
Worrying about where it will be or where it really was.

Summary
For my grad project, I aim to produce a 6 minute animated short called Odium. It is about a farmer who is faced with a dilemma while being confronted by a tornado.  The aim of this film is to convey the experience of depression.

Synopsis
Farmer Shel comes home to tie up some loose ends after a hard day’s work, although what approaches will keep him from completing it and perhaps for good.

Description
Odium is a drama that is being created for an audience that has experienced, understands, or at least knows someone with depression.  In a broader scope, this film can be catered toward a general audience that seeks out this genre with the exclusion of younger adolescent age groups.

My film begins with the protagonist treading back home where the comfort of family resides.  Although, a noticeable disconnect with his children is evident, creating an atmosphere of mystery and tension.  Odium will use this relationship to make a comment on parent-child relationships and will function to show residual effects from having depression.

The condition of depression affects our minds and bodies, taking control over how we think, what we feel, and what we do.  To include this aspect I chose the tool of metaphor to create an environment where the sky functions as the mind, the ground as the body, and the connection between the two being a disruption in the form of a tornado.  Descriptions of depression often align with the feeling of a vast emptiness, thus I chose the setting of a vast farmland.  That leaves the character to act as the tool for showing what navigating through this type of environment of depression is like.  It is important to emphasize for people who suffer from depression that depression is not who they are, thus the two elements of a character and tornado are separate entities for the audience to see.

Visual Treatment
This film will be done in 2D traditional animation.  A variety of software will be used to produce the visual look.  Animation will begin in programs Flash and TV Paint, with only some elements coloured.  The animation will then be brought into After Effects for compositing, which includes completing the colouring stages by using mattes for both the clothing and tornado effects.  The compositing stage will bring in assets created in Photoshop and Maya and will finish off with overall colour correction that will define a muted, dark visual tone.  The animation style will have qualities that identify with North American 2D animation as well as Anime. 

Sound Treatment
The sound design will help enhance the dramatic tone of the film.  A white noise or shallow ambience will accompany the moments where the rumbling and foley of a storm won’t be necessary.  To accompany the storm and ambience in my film I will include music.  The score will be written and performed by me in piano – recreated digitally.  I will receive assistance from a friend who has agreed to do the sound design and mixing for my film.

Agreements
No documented agreements are necessary to complete this film.

Verbal agreements have been made by:
Connor Krawelitzki – Sound Design
Jose Siman – Reference Footage
Nick Arciniega – Reference Footage
Rajan Lail – Reference Footage