Proposal

Be the ONE

The purpose of our film is to raise awareness of the negative impact of bullying and how we can all play a role in fighting against it.  The film touches on the trauma caused by social, verbal, physical and cyberbullying.   From subtle social isolation to unrelenting cyberbullying, bullying can leave its victim hopeless, helpless and overwhelmed.  Through a 360 animated film,  the audience gets immersed in a 3D digital world with inanimate objects coming to life.  The film structured around the three periods of a child's day; the beginning of school, recess and after school. We follow the journey of a carefree and happy character transformed into a hopeless and defeated victim.

The film uses linear structure and experimental visuals to illustrate the facets of bullying.  It starts off as a conventional linear narrative and surprises the audience as it jumps to more metaphoric journey representing the intense emotions the victim feels.  In the end, there is a surprise with multiple POV transitions that jars the viewer.   The film leaves the audience entertained, educated and transformed with the hope of making them think.  What is my role in bullying and what can I do to make things better?  The film's working title is "Be the one."   It is a call to action against bullying as everyone can make an impact. The victim can be the one to seek help.  The bystanders can be the one to stand up against bullying.  The perpetrator can be the one to change.   Everyone can be the one to make a difference! 

During the process of making the film, we would like to use the viewer’s body movement and environment staging to test the VR workflow.   The use of body movement is similar to how eye tracking is used to support the narrative arc of a film.  Also,  props and environment can be used to guide the viewer's attention.  Exaggeration in scale will be used as a transition device and will help convey our characters' psychological state.  Sound and music will be used to support the narrative as well as to help guide the viewer’s attention.

As this is a 360 animation film, the production process is different than a traditional 360 film.  Pre Production planning is essential in making it run smoothly.   With the help of the Flight School, we are planning to use Maya and the Unreal game engine to create our VR experience.   We need to finalize the pipeline and rig the characters before be can animate. As we are planning to use the Unreal game engine,  texturing, lighting and rendering can be done later in the production. 

As animation is very labor intensive, the production will feel like a marathon than a sprint; there will be fewer contributors, but more will ask of the people involved.   There is the possibility of making it into a more interactive experience with multiple stories tailored to the viewer and based on their choices.  If we go along this path, it will significantly increase the scope of the project but can make it more impactful.