COP Animation - Idea Development and Pre-production

The subject of my essay is the role of traditional animation in the digital age. For my animation, I decided to attempt at traditional and digital animation separately as well as combined. My thesis for the essay is quite simple: traditional and digital animation are different methods of storytelling. Each hold their own characteristics that make them more or less suitable to tell a certain story. 

I began the project by brainstorming a story that had strong sentimental value, something that stood out past the method of animation. I began to explore human connections and relationships especially those of family such as sisters, mother daughter, father son etc. 

I decided to go with the relationship between a woman and her grandmother through childhood and adulthood. The idea is to create a 10 second animation using the traditional method of animation. Then, to recreate the animation with the help of digital means. The story in itself calls for the traditional method, I believe, because there is something aesthetically sentimental about traditional animation.

The story is simple: an elderly woman and an infant appear. The woman picks up the child, sets her down and they embrace. While this is occurring, the elderly woman is ageing as the baby is growing into a woman. After they embrace, the elderly woman disappears and the young lady is left alone holding flowers at a grave.