AMBER LATHAMamberiona.l@gmail.com
ANIMATED SHORTThere Are No Berries on The Exodus
An animated short created as my final year univeristy project. It allowed me to combine several of my creative interests (animation, background design, prop design) with some of my wider interests, including video games, older technology and fantasy themes.
It was an ambitious project, both technically and in scope (teaching me how long five minutes can really be) but one which was very rewarding and contained many valuable lessons.
Concept
The piece developed from an interest in understanding why the medieval period (of the western world) has such an enduring appeal in art and entertainment, albeit a heavily romanticised one merged with fantasy elements, which has come to be known as ‘neomedievalism’.
I first analysed the subject through the critical lens of a video essay, exploring how neomedieval media provides us with escapism from some of the side-effects of industrialised, technologically advanced, capitalist societies by offering us worlds which (generalising to keep this concise) feel simpler, more meaningful, and hold a stronger connection to the natural world.
Following the video essay, I was keen to continue exploring the topic, this time through storytelling, and having experimented with short-form animation before, I was excited to work on a bigger animated piece.
Development
Early sketches testing out different designs
Final character sheet
When to simplify & when to not
With an illustrative style that typically leans into detail, this project meant I had to learn when and where to keep elements simplified, particularly the character design, in order to keep the scope of the project manageable. Looking at animated shorts made by single creators, particularly those with a more ‘lo-fi’ style, helped me understand how I could achieve this.
Background storytelling
The backgrounds and props were the part of the project I most enjoyed. It’s where I was able to add in lots of playful details and inject some humour into the piece, while also using these elements to develop the worldbuilding, and help flesh out the story.
Ready Meal Design - first concept
Ready Meal Design - end design
A good example of this is the ready meal. It was an important prop as it expresses the banality and restrictiveness of the character’s life abord the spaceship. The final version aligns with space instead of fantasy, as this is not an item the character connects with escapism. It also makes more sense that the ship’s government would want to highlight space positively.
The finished piece
