Synopsis

Adfectus is an 6 minute animation to music destined as an installation exploring themes of anxiety and depression. The animation expresses a journey or experience through the cyclical transitions of the curve from happiness to sadness and the return back to happiness. It applies simple format and animal characteristics symbolisms and childlike approach to present what are dark themes such as despair, hopelessness, dread, physical anxieties that then lift to a more stable state of mind. 

The video itself will have a silhouette of a person stood still in the centre of the frame, and the animals will be moving naturally in the air above the silhouettes head and interacting with the silhouette, disappearing into the silhouette and reappearing. The shadow remains static however, near the end of the piece 2 silhouettes enters from each side to hold the main silhouettes hands as they represent the help from others that help fight mental issues. The animals, the bear, stag, bull, dog, swan, rabbit, panda, and the beast ( a combination of bear and stag) arrive in a sequence cued to a symbolic arc of happiness to sadness with each animal representing its own emotion, happy, sad, angry, love, fear, depression, and anxiety. The movement of the animals is not a fluid motion but is jittery like that of an old movie or zoopraxiscope. This animation will be created using Adobe Flash.

The main motif of the film is a human shadow/silhouette in the centre of the frame. Coloured shapes representing  animals will be moving around and interacting with the silhouette as if they were the animals they represent and the emotions. They will be moving along to composed piece of music instrumentally based on the song Small things by Ben Howard, which was the inspiration for this project. The reason for the silhouette is for when it is shown in it's final state people can stand, one by one, on a certain point, putting them into that silhouette intentionally becoming one with the piece by putting themselves in it. The video willl then be projected from behind and the person only covers the silhouette already placed.

 I want to create awareness for these problems as they do not get the recognition they deserve (they are more severe then people think) also through this piece I can reach out to others who might be suffering and can give them comfort, as the purpose of the song is a happy ending or up lifting conclusion.  

Using the video game Entwined to inspire the art direction of the animated animals and using the projection style of Swedens, Eurovision 2015 perfomance.