As I started going into the production phase of this project, that was when I began to more seriously consider the colours I was choosing.

For each of the 4 rows of 3, I wanted to have its own individuality. That is, according to colour. I will explain each row below and how the colours correspond to the scenes and the outcomes.

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TRANSFORMATION

Transformation visually tells the story of me (as an alternate persona) – as a ninja. The individual frames look like this:

This frame is me as a ninja, killing and (basically doing what a ninja does in this period) but I’m killing with blood lust – hence the two aggressively contrasting colours of red and black. The silhouette is black to make it stand out but the hot red hues are there to suggest  violence in the frame. As a result, the red is then associated with the figure. 

This scene is where I (the ninja) is kicked out of the community for my violence, outcasted and thrown away (I am pictured begging). The colours chosen are meant to suggest the feeling of sobriety and of being somber – the downfall of a character. Again, black is used to give the impression of a definite action – a solid, unmovable shape (there are no hues of black or different shades/tones). The blue is gradated to imitate the dusk/twilight of a day, which signals the ‘end’ to things. It gradually fades into deeper and more intense hues of blue from the top as the weight of the sky appears to ‘descend’ and bog down the silhouette, drawing attention to the figures and their actions. 

This is where I come back, full of revenge, and kill the people who ostracised and cast me out. The story is mainly one of simply violence and anger, and the pale use of negative space with cooler colours contrast with red to show the paradox of killing in cold blood. Calculative, relentless, yet not guilty nor shameful. I wanted to again, highlight violence and harm so I deliberately made the red the dominant hue in this composition to bring attention to the idea of blood and gore.

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RMS TITANIC

This set of frames is to picture me travelling back in time (to 1912) to the RMS Titanic and its sinking. Yet, again as an alternate figure/character, and this time I am the captain of the Titanic itself. It follows my actions as I essentially ‘save’ the ship from its infamous sinking (an easily cliche, heroic daydream). These are the individual frames:

The first frame is me as the RMS Titanic’s captain – an extremely heavy responsibility to bear (considering I’m from the present and I know that the ship will eventually sink). I like to imagine that it’s my responsibility to keep the ship from sinking. And so, I chose sombre colours as well, but keeping it more pastel and paler – not so saturated, to have the notion of dread and fear; the ‘colour draining from one’s face’. It complements the expression on my face; everything is simply a cloud of dreariness and deep thought about the disaster that is to come. 

The RMS Titanic was painted in black and white to have the effect/feeling of being in the past. When I was searching up photos of what the Titanic looked like, she was only pictured in black and white images (understandably, as it was 1912) and I wanted to retain the same sentiment. So, I painted her in black and white, faded and somewhat cloudy to give off the impression of a memory (which is what she is, to us now). It’s nice to complement this effect with me travelling back in the past as the captain of the ship. 

Eventually, however, I end up steering the ship away from the iceberg that caused its demise – instead, sailing away to clearer, lighter waters (the blue is gradated to symbolise travelling away from darkness into something akin to hope, I suppose). The white complements the blue pleasantly and balances out saturation with negative space – and also altogether highlights the black outline of the ship sailing in the ocean.

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ARIANNE THE GREAT

This story is one of me travelling back in time to Macedonia, BC, in the time of Alexander the Great. I’ve always liked the idea of being in power, of having authority and dominion over a nation, and I just wanted to paint out what would happen if I so decided to overthrow Alexander the Great. The idea for this row would be to use each frame as another section of gradation for the intense colour of red. As you go on, the red becomes deeper and more intense – climaxing at the point of my own victory. The individual frames are below:

I am first pictured in pale colours (to contrast and oppose the violent mutineer I become later). Pale browns, yellows, and pinkish reds are supposed to express this peaceful servant girl in the time, ‘harmless’ and not a threat to the oh-so-great leader. 

Alexander is pictured with his horse Bucephalus, mighty and strong. The reds and browns are intensified – contrast between colours is emphasised to show the scene of action and intent. There is a growing plume of red and orange and yellow to signify his power growing, and his flowing red cape helps to accompany this idea. His hair is painted golden to suggest wealth and power, the ‘golden boy’ of his age. 

However, the reds all intensify and come to the breaching point in this scene, becoming darker and more saturated compared to the pale blue cape that lies across the fallen Alexander. I am holding the bloody sword stabbed into him, and behind me the plume that was suggested with Alexander parts its way for my silhouette shape. The black and the red and the yellow has purple in the centre to also tell the intention of royalty and victory.

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OVERCOME THE WORLD

This scene is more abstract than factual (such as the ones above). It is an imagery of me overcoming the cloudy, heavy burdens that result from growing up in the world. From relationships to family, to money and other stress, I am first fascinated by the complicated world to becoming weighed down and pained by the burden. However, by the end, I am at peace with myself, coexisting with my responsibilities and my pains and overcoming my world. The common thread of colour in these frames is how 1) the clouds remain dark and intense – unchanging and 2) how I gradually end up having colour in my skin (from no hope to hope and life). The individual frames are below:

This first frame is me, pale (yet with some colour) as I gaze in wonder at the complicated nature of the world – the cosmos is ever expanding and the universe is in front of me. However, I am pale and stand out in white because I am still pure and untouched, yet also without personality and almost ‘fragile’ in a sense. 

I am becoming tainted with the blue pains of my burden, dripping down my body as my body is shrouded in shadow and black, bearing the giant globe that is growing up. I am still pale, but this time it is to show how tainted and stained I can be, and also to show that I remain fragile and breakable, like porcelain without blood or life in my skin. 

The final frame shows how I have colour in my face, in my hands, and my lips – to show the life coming back into me as I realise that I can coexist with the dark, still stormy cloud of burdens. But this time, my relationship with my pain is peaceful – the negative space shows that I am not so cluttered and confused – my rest is clear as day and without distress or weakness.