Here are the skills I used:
Stop-Motion Animation; 2D animation; Digital Compositing; Storyboarding; Visual Development; Material Exploration; Character Design; Sound Design; Foley; Post-Production;
Here are the softwares I used:
Dragonframe 4; After Effects; Photoshop; Audition; Premiere;
Credits:
Narration: Julia Adler
Music By: Yefim Adler
Capstone Advisor: Veronika Szkudlarek
Sound Design Advisor: Tom Third
Special Thanks: Tommy Truong, Catherine Feraday-Miller, Gustavo Cerquera-Benjumea, Michael Fukushima, Gabrielle Tsilfidis, Tiffany Duong, Evan DeRushie, Philip Eddolls, Mark Krzepis
You have a year; what kind of project do you make?
For my Capstone Project, I wanted to make something that would combine my past exploration of the 'post-soviet' through paintings, with stop-motion, character design and sound design. I wanted, above all, to make something experimental, something joyful and to create through play.
Zhivachka is an animated documentary which centring mymother’s experiences as a child in Soviet-era Moscow. As the narrator, shetells the story of contraband treats and their resulting socio-politicaljourney. The film uses dark comedy to explore the nature of joy in conditionsof scarcity. By centering a defiantly joyful female voice, Zhivachka seeksto subvert the dominant narrative of oppressive misery central to the canon ofthe Soviet Union. The title of the work, Zhivachka, comes from the Russian colloquialism for chewing gum.
My role in this project is multifaceted. I am doing all the visual development, sound and animation myself. I learned a lot throughout the production process. Namely, I really developed my skills in production management, sound mixing, compositing and rotoscoping.
I am incredibly grateful to have worked with some excellent advisors - primarily Veronika Szkudlarek - and also other members of OCAD U's faculty with highly specialized skills. A special thanks is also extended to Evan DeRushie & Philip Eddolls of Stop Motion Department, who opened their studio to me for a couple shots, and who helped me work through a number of production/post-production issues.
