Project Proposal

This is the final proposal outline for our group project.

Concept:

Our main goal for this group project is to create a stop motion animation with inspiration from a song. The song we have chosen is Lykke Li with “Dance Dance Dance”. The idea is to tell a story based on the lyrical context introduced in the melody. With the lyrics in mind, we want to create an artistic piece adding our theoretical knowledge through appropriate equipment and software. We would hope to see that the finished result proves our awareness of topics mentioned during lectures and seminars. We see the possibility of exploring Bauhaus, semiotics, typomania, concrete poetry and lettrism as inspiration for our own work. We will also take use of the song itself as a source of creativity for the development of the animation. Our primary decision for choosing to make a stop motion animation was partially based on the influence of watching several lyrical videos on YouTube. Considering the song choice, our target audience would ideally be those who are interested in the specific musical genre. Additionally, our target group would also have to be people who appreciate creative works, seeing that our finished product is supposed to be a portrayal of our imaginative abilities.

Project Requirements:

To make this a successful project we have to estimate the resources required. Our primary support references would firstly be our core textbook, followed by the Internet for additional information needed. With this project we wish to prove our understanding of what the world of digital media entails and how it can be applied in a variety of manners. In order to complete our animation we will have to display our comprehension of software programs such as; Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Illustrator. This means using appropriate imaging, multimedia and audio editing tools with the programs mentioned above. In addition we will use a camera, tripod, string and pencils to create our stop motion. We will primarily be located at school for photographing and specifically the Mac lab for digital editing. We will also have to consider if any additional equipment, rooms or possibly studios have to be reserved in order to complete this assignment. If we encounter the possibility of something not mentioned in this proposal is needed, we will notify our tutor immediately.

Project timeline:

We have divided our project timeline into the following four phases: creating a storyboard, photographing, digital editing and adding music. The first phase is to be finished by week 5. We will brainstorm and thereby develop a storyboard based on the best ideas for the animation. After this we will continue on to the part we believe to take the longest amount of time, photographing. Due to the need of accuracy in this part of the project, we expect to spend around 3 weeks on taking still photos, seeing us done by week 8. The digital editing will also take a fair amount of time. We have estimated to spend nearly 2 weeks for this stage of the task, finishing by week 10. We will need to use various tools in Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro in order for the result to be completed successfully. The editing of photographs will include tasks such as finding appropriate filters and effects for a polished result. The final touch will be adding the music to the short film. This is crucial as the song portrays the actions going on in the animation. Our current estimation is to spend the least amount of time on this stage of the project, therefore narrowing it down to one week and a nearly finished result before week 11.

Product description:

Our goal is to create a stop motion animation based on the lyrics of the song “Dance Dance Dance” by the band Lykke Li. The lyrics will have a concrete and abstract meaning, contributing to the narrative of the film. We don’t have a specific story to tell other than portraying the lyrics in a creative way. Our purpose is to try to remediate the lyrics into actions. The format and presentation of the animation will hopefully give meaning to the audience, proving that we have acquired noticeable skills throughout this project. String and yarn will be the dominant materials in use for the stop motion, along with writing of letters. We would ideally see a natural flow between the narrative and the equipment used in the short film, making the content understandable for the viewers without necessarily knowing the lyrics of the song from before. As a finished product the stop motion animation will be a piece based on song text turned into a new medium.