The Story of the Eclipse
Pratt Institute Best of DDA Animation Featured Film
Children’s Animation Selected Film, Art All Night - Trenton Film Festival
Student Short Selected Film - Amarillo International Film Festival
Film FOR Kids Selection - Imagination Lunchbox International Children’s Film Festival
On the day of the eclipse, a childish Cloud attempts to break apart the meeting of our galaxy’s star-crossed lovers: The Sun and the Moon.
The Story of the Eclipse is a love song to classic cinema and musicals that have inspired me throughout my career. With my focus for this piece on character animation,
The Story of the Eclipse is a stageplay synchronized to Gustav Holst’s The Planets. The Sun and Moon’s dance sequences are referenced from the Sleeping Beauty ballet.
The films that were the biggest inspirations for me and this animation was Singin’ in the Rain, Cinderella, and West Side Story. As my progress continued, viewers compared the style to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Muppet Movie. I view these comparisons as a success to my intention of producing a love song to cinema.
The Story of the Eclipse is through the perspective of the Cloud character. With her head literally in the clouds, she imagines this stage production and her fellow actors as celestial figures with the power to change the forces of nature. She reflects my experience as a little girl, where sometimes my imagination would get the best of me, too. I hope, with this story, the viewer can experience that nostalgic, childlike relatability of playing pretend once more.
The films that were the biggest inspirations for me and this animation was Singin’ in the Rain, Cinderella, and West Side Story. As my progress continued, viewers compared the style to The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Muppet Movie. I view these comparisons as a success to my intention of producing a love song to cinema.
The Story of the Eclipse is through the perspective of the Cloud character. With her head literally in the clouds, she imagines this stage production and her fellow actors as celestial figures with the power to change the forces of nature. She reflects my experience as a little girl, where sometimes my imagination would get the best of me, too. I hope, with this story, the viewer can experience that nostalgic, childlike relatability of playing pretend once more.
2D Animatic
3D Animatic
In my process, I tried out a new title: Coelestia. It means “heavenly bodies” in Latin. In the last couple weeks of its final conception, I went back to The Story of the Eclipse. It was an easier concept to understand, matched my aesthetic better, and was also easier to pronounce.
In my process, I tried out a new title: Coelestia. It means “heavenly bodies” in Latin. In the last couple weeks of its final conception, I went back to The Story of the Eclipse. It was an easier concept to understand, matched my aesthetic better, and was also easier to pronounce.