"PLAY"

Let me start by saying...

"PLAY" is one hell of a project. Being my senior capstone film, “PLAY" acted as my first real, big step into using my identity as an artist and animator. What started as a narrative piece about my relationship with my partner, soon shifted into a social experiment of a film. “PLAY” works to break down the stigma surrounding casual sex within the LGBTQ+ community by juxtaposing bodies and skin with toys and games (which means there's a lot of NSFW imagery so insert content warning here).

Notes, Sketches, and Comics

A huge part of my creative process is writing. It's the first thing I do before I properly dive into creating an any visual project, especially an animated film. Whether it is a stream of consciousness, bullet points, or a whole-ass dissertation, I jot down every little idea my juicy brain squirts out.

From my words come sketches, thumbnails, found imagery, and references. I try to spit out as much as I can before the critic in me deems certain ideas as worthy or not. Small, short comics strips also arise from my writing, and come as another kind of storyboarding process for me.

Deleted Scenes

Deck of Cards

I animated on the spades suit of someone giving oral sex. It was fun to do, but if it was the whole deck of 52 cards, it would have been more successful.

Collage Stop-Mo

This was a short test of found imagery and drawings I shot on the down shooter station. It was a good test, but didn't necessarily fit anywhere into the film, aesthetically or narratively.

Scanner

This sequence was about 13 or so images I scanned of the following objects: a Magic 8 Ball, a joker, and a cracked mirror. I was playing with how you can manipulate what the scanner "sees" by moving the objects while the imagery is being taken. I couldn't get the Magic 8 Ball to show the prediction/fortunes because it was a flat bed scanner, and well, gravity. There also wasn't a well thought out animation so I scrapped it.

"Play" MY PROCESS: FROM IDEA TO EXECUTION