|
|
|
Atul Ranjan Ekka | atulriskatul@gmail.com
|
Martha
|
Guide Sekhar Mukherjee
Sponsor Environment and Forest Department
|
|
| |
 |
Keywords Passenger Pigeons;shot breakdown;thumbnail drafts;wildlife conservation
This project consists of a short animation film of six to seven minutes duration. It aims at creating awareness about the ecosystem and wildlife conservation. The sponsor supplied a written script. The subject of this film is the Passenger Pigeon, a North American bird that became a victim of human-induced extinction. The title of this film is derived from the name of the last Passenger Pigeon named Martha, which died in 1914 at the age of 29 at the Cincinnati Zoological gardens.
The story begins with the introduction of the family members of an American household comprising among others, a nine-year old girl named Daisy and her pet parrot, Parry. While playing in the house they find a bird’s feather. Unfortunately, the feather drifts out of the window and gets stuck on a huge old tree. This is when Daisy comes to know about Passenger Pigeons. She feels sad because these species of birds is no longer alive. She becomes more aware about nature, and becomes sensitive to environmental problems and solutions for the same.
After doing research, backgrounds and inspiring references were collected. As animation is a visual medium, the idea and the story were conceived of as visuals rather than words. Shot breakdown and many thumbnail drafts for the storyboard were made. Animatics and character design were done simultaneously. Different styles and treatments were explored. The final treatment was watercolour on hand drawn classical animation on paper using light box.
The process of making this short animation film was really exciting and offered considerable learning. It has helped clarify the different stages of animation filmmaking along with the experience of working on a professional project. |
|
|
