Cineaste: The Whole Process
The Idea
Ever since I could remember, my sacred space has been the movie theater. I cherished the time I was able to spend packed in a dark room with other strangers who came together to experience a film. Therefore, in the fall of 2021, when I set out to create my undergraduate capstone project, I wanted to create something that reflected my love of the movie going experience. Through ideation, I came up with Cineaste: a conceptual movie theater that shows a collection of films from one specific genre every month. Inspired by the preshow at Alamo Drafthouse, which plays clips from films similar to the one you are there to see, I created animations that would play prior to the show.
The Process
Over a period of a few months, I brainstormed, ideated, and planned what I wanted to animate. I decided to create three pieces to show three separate genres: caper, monster, and psychological thrillers. Watching films from each genre, researching tropes, and learning what made each of the genres unique gave me a solid foundation to understand these genres deeply. For proof of concept, I picked varying genres in order to explore how these animations could represent different genres while maintaining a similar visual language. Inspired by the works of Saul Bass, the main title sequence for the FX mini-series Feud: Bette and Joan designed by Prologue Studio, and paper-cut artworks, the aesthetic of the project came to fruition. Bold colors, strong shapes, and a clear understanding of visual storytelling were the unifying thread between these animations.
The Outcome
Ultimately, this project was not only about creating three distinct animations, but also a personal challenge for myself. Diving head first into the creative process of designing an animation from start to finish, I pushed myself to do many things I had never done before. Each genre's animation had different needs and requirements, presenting new challenges throughout the entire project. The outcome was three animations that were similar in visual style and form but with vastly different tones and content. Creating clear visual cues, distinct color palettes, and continually researching and referring back to films from their respective genres, all helped me maintain a distinction between each animation. This project is not only a representation of the visual cues of film genres, but a personal challenge to push myself in ways I had never done before.
