Escapism

I have concluded that my theme is escapism. To escape the sometimes harsh reality around you to something you feel more comfortable in. There are extreme cases where one can be drawn into their fantasy world too much, disregarding reality.

Some people can use escapism to forget problem and relieve stress to calm down, or just to put an end to being bored. Children do it all the time, they will come up with their own worlds to play in. Though when it goes beyond a certain point, it becomes a problem and possibly an illness. That is when it will become a serious matter for someone.

These both apply for my character. He is a small boy who is using the painting as an imaginary world yet, he is doing this to prevent the sadness he suffers in his life, deriving from neglect from parents and having no friends.

The definition of escapism:

"The tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging fantasy."

If that is the case then however, video games could serve as some form of escapism, as player lets themselves be engaged into the worlds of which ever games they are playing, specifically role-playing games. RPGs have entire worlds to explore, taking hours of gameplay to venture. When we play games, we forget the stresses of our lives and only think about what is on screen. This could be considered escapism as the player is forgetting about the reality and only concerning him/herself with the game's virtual world.

I believe that escapism is used to help people get through the day, little by little. But when taken too far, for example, playing too much World of Warcraft, then you start to dismiss duties such as school, caring for kids, working, etc. So, listening to music and playing sport are only minor forms of this. It is only when one is far deep into their world that the term escapism is used, which is where the boy will eventually be, deep into his own imagination.

Synopsis

A young boy was sitting in his attic because he has no friends, all he can play with are the toys he makes himself and his imagination. He stares into an old painting his dad put there years ago. To the boy, the painting glows with colour. To him it is a world of adventure, one that he will never be able to explore.

Everyday without his parents knowing, he'd sneak up into the attic, drawing pictures of what he thought lived there, what he thought was on the other side of hills, etc. He did this for weeks. The painting served him as his home away from home, a place he feel wanted.

Slowly, day by day, this young boy began to turn this world into reality, gradually forgetting the one he was in. Forgetting his family. Forgetting his school. Forgetting his favourite TV shows. One day he prepared himself to enter this world. He sat there, all alone in his attic, staring into this painting, wishing he was there. He did not stop staring, even when it turned night he still stared until he fell asleep right there in front of the painting.

When he awoke, he found himself inside the painting, he'd finally made it into his imaginary world. He was ecstatic. He ran through the fields as if there were no end. The young boy stumbled and rolled on the grass. He turned over on his back and laughed. Nothing could possibly ruin this for him, he thought, he was finally where he wanted to be, where he felt happy.

Outside of the painting however, the small boy was still there, still lying in front of the painting in his attic. He made no sound. He did not move. He just laid there in front of his perfect world.

Picture evolved into a story

I am thinking more about that image I posted before. I could have a boy, locked in an attic, not necessarily tied to a post but just locked in there. He could pretend he's in places he's not rather than being in the reality that he's in a filthy attic. Towards the end of the animation, he could actually walk through the painting and be happy knowing that he no longer has to put up with living in a terrible place. His imagination has come true, yet really, he has actually passed away as if he died while staring into the painting. It was only in death that he could be happy and free.

It is similar to Replay however, so I may have to tweak it a bit. Though of course there are differences. Again, I said I did not want to animate a human... I could do a stuffed bear perhaps, or something along those lines. I am still deciding.

Though I have had some though about this and I may have over complicated it a bit. I know that simplicity is better, but with the outcome I could achieve, this story is getting the better of me. To summarise it: it's a small, lonely boy trying to escape reality and into his own fantasy world. Though, I know that is clearly not as simple as some animations I've seen such as walking through a door. Very simple. But again, I have an emotion I want to get across with this film.

Image of a lonely boy and using an old idea?

I don't think I want to do human characters, I prefer modelling objects. So if I do not model humans, I will have to model something else as a substitute for my animation.

I came across an image online a few weeks ago, I could base something around that perhaps. It was of a small boy tied to a post in the attic staring at a painting with a small sword. It was obvious that he had an imagination as that was all he had to play with. The loneliness of the boy is something use for myself.

I have thought about using an old, rejected idea from my previous CG project. It had an abandoned toy in the garage forced to create a human out of objects in there so it would have a companion, but in the end destroying it because he knew it couldn't compare to the real thing.

Shorts

Sad films I recall are ones such as Replay, a French CG film I saw at FLIP Festival almost 2 years ago now. That was the same day the rest of the people in my course and many other animators saw other shorts like This Way Up, possibly because it was funny..I'm not sure. It was still a brilliant film, but I just preferred Replay.

Here is 'This Way Up':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urosIPyTlsM

And here is 'Replay':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cFHeoXAw8

It's possibly because of the death of the boy in Replay that made me like it. That may sounds bad but it adds effect. It is like how the main character dies at the end of the film, you don't want it to happen, you may even hate that fact it happens, and it upsets you to see him die. For example: Bruce Willis in Armageddon. It's not a film where everyone wins, and everyone lives. It leaves you thinking about the film for a while.

Introduction

Over these past few months I knew I wanted to create an animation rather than a game. I knew I wanted to create an animation with emotion. Not like previous ones with humour, but one more of sadness. It is something I have wanted to do for quite some time.

When I watch animations, the ones that have more of an impact on me are ones with a depressing atmosphere almost. Most films I see are happy and jolly. I don't want to do that. Making a film of the sort I want I hope will hit emotions of the audience the same way I've been hit from films (animated or live-action), songs, books, art, even architecture! Something that makes you stop and think. That's what I want.

Before I have made a few films with humour or something with a light side. That is partially why I want to do this as well. That, I hope, will drive me to work hard for this, as I've been wanting it for a while as I stated previously.