Dragon in a Fishbowl

Project Type:
Bachelor Project

Year:
2022

Dragon in a Fishbowl is about a girl whose world changed one day when fish fell from the sky. Since then she has lived in her own world, her own fishbowl. It is a metaphorical animated film about depression and anxiety disorder.

In my Bachelor Thesis “Storytelling in Western Vs East Asian Cultures - How is Mental Health being displayed in Movies?”, I analysed how storytelling in East Asian cultures differs from Western. As part of my bachelor project, I have written and drawn my own animated short with the storytelling structure Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu, which is widely popular in East Asia. As my main topic and theme is mental health, which was and still is a major social topic, the animation deals with depression and anxiety in a metaphorical way too.

Tasks and Responsibilities

To come up with the final story and its storyboard, the main events were determined in the Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu storytelling structure. Then, the treatment and the script were written.
After the story has been outlined the main character was given a form. The character sheet was created as a reference as well as the main location - the room. The challenge was, to create a heroine, who fits the story. As the story is supposed to be relatable to everyone, the heroine is a stereotypical school girl.
Based on the script, the storyboard was sketched out. A template, which is often used for animated films, was used. The storyboard displays the scene as a sketch, describes the action happening in the scene, and dialogue (if applicable). It also determines the cut of the scene.
To visualize the final film, style frames of the key scenes were painted digitally.
An animatic is the “movie version” of the storyboard. Its pictures are being deprived and the final timing is determined. Also, music and SFX are used to get a better feeling of the possible final result.