Summary of Together Apart
- An eight-year-old protagonist takes center stage in the story of blended families and the trials of a child navigating her parents’ divorce.
- The story is beautifully rendered using 3D animation and carries heavy emotional undertones elucidating the pain, confusion, and adaption that come with new familial arrangements.
- The editors at Skwigly Animation Magazine commend the film on its depth, visually captivating animation, and raw storytelling.
Assistant’s Hot Take
Divorce Through the Eyes of an Eight-Year-Old Avatar
In my, “I promise not to make any Kung Fu Panda references”, opinion, “Together Apart” is proof that 3D animation is not only about flying dragons or car races. It shows us that it could be a medium for touching upon serious topics like divorce, delivered straight from the innocent perspective of a child. This film not only bridges the divide between youthful viewership and grown-up themes, but also adds an extra layer of complexity: “How about making your audience cry using high poly models and anti-aliased shaders?”
In summary, if Toy Story taught us to believe in sentient toys, this film makes us believe in the emotional depth a 3D animated film can capture. At the end of the day, it’s not just about fancy, smooth polygons or realistic movements; it’s about stories that touch our soft, mushy human hearts… even when it’s in 3D!
Exploring a Young Child’s Journey Through Her Parents’ Divorce.
The Source of Inspiration
Drawing from my personal life, the story takes significant influence from my early childhood. To lend character to the film, I was inspired by animated characters like Wallace and Gromit, especially for crafting father’s character – drawing parallels with my own father’s humorous demeanor.
Inspiration was also drawn from my mentor at CalArts, Neil Graf’s, cartoon horse sketch. Although my design didn’t end up incorporating Graf’s goldfish-like mouth for the horse, it did stimulate the design aspect in my film.
A Peek Into the Backstory…
This film provides a optimistic vantage point to the experiences of a child with divorced parents.
As a child, seeing the melancholy experiences of children from divorced families in stories, I decided to create a narrative that emits warmth and positivity. Thus, the story is underscored by the message of a child’s capacity to feel loved despite her parents’ separation.
With the plot based on my own experiences, my hope is that the film resonates with others who have had a similar life experience, imparting them with a sense of warmth.
Insights Into the Creation Process
Conception and execution of the film took a span of 6 months, primarily carried out by me. The idea for the film occurred spontaneously during a drawing class, at a stressful time when I was working on another film.
Keepings things organized, I adhered to a fixed schedule – a practice that helped me in the past 3 years at CalArts. The entire sequence starting from storyboard creation, to painting all 90 of the backgrounds, then beginning the animation, colouring, and finally the compositing, was meticulously planned.
For the music composition, CalArts’ music student Etia Famiga, lent his expertise. Additionally, the sound design was meticulously crafted by Chanmi Ro.
This film stands as the longest one I’ve made so far, and is also a tribute to my parents for their support in chasing my passion. The challenge was to maintain a different art style than my usual ones, but the result is a creation that I am immensely proud of.
Original article: https://www.skwigly.co.uk/showcase/together-apart/