Introduction
The title 'Jehovah Mandichengeta' translates to ‘God you have taken care of me’ this short film is inspired by my journey but more importantly the life stories of the women who came before me and the journey African women have taken to reach a point of equal opportunity. As my graduation approached, I reflected how many women were not afforded the opportunity to receive tertiary education thus this story is a tribute to them and a homage to their stories.
Although I have broken this into stages from 1-9, this proved to be a flowing process going back and forth between different stages to achieve the final result
STAGE 1 - SYNOPSIS
A young woman stands on the threshold of triumph, about to receive her law degree with honours. As her name echoes through the auditorium, time seems to slow. As she walks across the stage we are transported in time not hers alone to the paths walked by the women before her.
We journey through a single day in Zimbabwe, seen through the eyes of different women across history: a barefoot girl running in the red soil of kumusha (rural homestead) at dawn, a young mother cooking with children clinging to her side, a maid silently boarding a crowded Salisbury bus, a nurse working under dim light at night. Each moment is brief, yet filled with the quiet strength of hardship, love, and resilience.
Their stories are not told through dialogue, but through color and movement. The soundtrack Mbira Vibe will play in the background. These are the stories she carries forward. The starry night turns back into the bright lights of the graduation stage. As the degree is placed in her hands, she turns to face the audience which pans out her family, celebrating joyfully at home. This short film pays tribute to the historical journeys of African women and is a reflection on how this present moment marks one of the first generations to be introduced to the true possibility of equal opportunity.
Notes
For this generation of young African women, a lot are the first to be educated at a tertiary level due to cultural and later colonial suppressions. This story is a tribute to those women and how they paved the way for us today. The story is meant to be clearly set in Zimbabwe to a knowing viewer and, but the story line is clear enough to be understood by most the story was simply changed to a Zimbabweans woman's journey through the ages to get an education. How that journey looked changed through the process. Having clarity on the story and the message I wanted to show aided in troubleshooting when a certain idea couldn't be executed anymore. It also helped when knowing what to remove as it didn't match the story.
STAGE 2- STORYBOARDING
The storyboard changed largely due to my own technical ability, alternating perspectives and animating multiple characters was beyond me for a solo project. I had not undertaken a project of this scale thus my initial ideation was more idealistic than realistic but that's a part of the creative process. I made changes right down to the final version thus I do not have an accurate storyboard but seeing all the scenes in a storyboard helped me get a better sense of the flow of the story. The re-arrangements of scenes were made so the viewer can clearly follow the story, and the story line is progressive. This is why I moved the climbing up the stairs and the stage scene to the end from the start. There are a clear start and end to the film.
Final Scene Sequence
Scene 1 - In Character's Present-Day Bedroom Scene 2- Lake Sunrise Scene 3- Rural homestead Scene 4- Jungle/ Chimurenga Scene 5- Townships Scene 6- 80's suburbs Scene 7- Night/ On the way to Graduation Scene 8- Steps to stage Scene 9- Graduation stage
STAGE 3- THEME
Theme Title: Zim through the ages
References are the cornerstone to establishing theme and visual direction. A challenge I came across with this was that because my stories is very specific and original, reference images were few and far between thus I had to expand on what I considered reference image. I complied enough of these to get a good idea of what I wanted for each scene. I also took advantage of my project being based on true stories and checked some details with my grandmother and her peers. Initially I had planned to create a 3D animation but as I felt it would be easier to convey deep emotions, however due to feasibility I changed to 2D. Thus, the challenge became to choose a style that would best reflect thus theme thus I complied several reference photos and watched 2D animated short films. I also reached out to some animators who specialize in 2D work and asked them how they approach emotion. The conclusions of my reach were lighting plays a huge role. The version in illustrator is not going to have an emotional feel that is done in After Effects. This helped me move on from references and go straight into making the backgrounds trusting i could make the needed adjustments in After Effects. I didn't have a set color palette and was adjusting colors based on how I wanted each scene to feel. Because of that the transition between some scenes didn't feel harmonious. Thus, I used a main adjustment layer with noise and color corrections to compensate for this. I wanted a clean look which I achieved inn some scenes in others it leans a bit more cartoon. But my personal favorite scene, the Chimurenga scene (Scene 4) is the best example of the theme I wanted to show.
STAGE 4- BACKGROUND ILLUSTRATION
Scene 1
Scene 1 needed a strong start, because it sets the tone for the whole film. I wanted it to feel bold which is why I chose ethe deep colors. I struggled a lot with perspective foe this scene, but I made use of the perspective grid in illustrator and also mad ethe decision to leave the character out. I did want more of an opportunity to do a proper parallax effect using 3D layers and the camera. but I was fixating and had to move forward. I also wanted to animate sun rays. but overall, I'm satisfied with the outcome. The scene ends with a zoom into the mirror which time-warps into Scene 2.
Scene 2
This is meant to be a mysterious introduction: a silhouette of the girl running across the riverbank the runs rise in the backdrop. Going to collect water is one of the most retold stories in African folklore which is why I wanted this point to be the starting point of the past sequence. This scene went through so many changes some which can be picked up in the storyboards. Since I finished the background before I fully knew how to animate her collecting water I created the final version based on the assumption I would not be able to do it but by the end of the project I had good knowledge of how to move different controls in Duik Angela, but I was not going to remake the entire scene. But in the third render I still have some issues with this background the hills are too spiky, and the water needs to be scaled down but rendering was taking two hours, so I had to let it go.
Scene 3
This is one scene is the only scene that stayed true to its original storyboard draft, and one I executed well from the start. Minimal changes were made throughout the development of the project. The yellow and browns of a dry rural landscape, and Baobab trees make it feel unmistakably Zimbabwean. Overall, I am happy with its outcome.
Scene 4
This scene was a last-minute addition after I realized I needed a better transition into the Grocery store (a now deleted scene) and I also felt I had skipped an important historical time. "Chimurenga' the war of freedom is a huge part of Zimbabwean history people were forced to fight for their land and their freedom and the first Chimurenga was lost thus a good transition into the colonial time period represented in scene 5. It ended up being a really strong transition from the freedom of Scene 3 to the battle mode, and the suppression and restricted roles like maids that existed afterwards and depicted in scene 5. The green gradients' and the kudus' animated also helped the scene come to life. With the addition of the battle-ready character this scene came out extremely well and is the favorite of the project.
I felt there was too big of a jump between the rural homestead scene and the townships scene which is why I added the Chimurenga scene and after that this General Store Scene to bridge that gap. But once I finished it felt too plain and the colors washed out the sequence. The style was also too much of a clean vector style ever with the adjustment layer and dust effect. So, despite the work I had put in I scrapped it which created a much better transition. This was a big reminder that the storyboard should be respected and sometimes new ideas that seem good don't serve the story.
Scene 5
This scene shows the character walking through the townships in a maid outfit. The scene is based on the designated one-bedroom homes in segregated areas. It's crowded, cramped and the opposite of the spacious freedom in scene 3. I'm really happy with the accuracy of this scene. The fence was well done detail. Some extra color grading or even rain effect would've elevated the scene, and I would've wanted to add more animated elements like a stray dog or a vendor and his cart but as I go deeper into the next stage, I explain how much I struggled with animation. Overall, I'm satisfied with tis scene.
Scene 6
This scene is 80's suburb style with the Jacaranda lined streets to solidify the Zimbabwean theme. A new age has dawned and there a new opportunity we see the character driving by in a sky-blue car. Though the door was still not fully open as career paths were still very restricted to only nursing and teaching for women. Initially I did wasn't to put the character in those clothes, but they were too similar to the maid's outfit, so I just placed her in the car. Which worked well and also breaks free from the mainstream Africa stories solely focused on struggle. This scene provides a bit of that balance which I like. I did struggle with perspective and made use of the perspective guide in illustrator and ended up with a good scene where the house lights even turn on at the end as the sunsets and night falls.
Scene 7
This scene is the transition between past and present. I struggled a lot with what it would look like and how it would work, but I eventually decided to make it more character oriented. So, I made a simple skyline with dark colors that blend well into the next scene. I feel I could've done more with the streetlights adding a glow effect, but the walk cycle came out well and I'm satisfied with this scene.
Scene 8
Scene 8 is a simple staircase. The scene was pretty straightforward. By the time I had to animate walking up the stairs I was reasonably familiar with Duik Angela so it wasn't too arduous. I added a glowing effect to each step for a dramatic touch which looked could. The only thing I would've changed was adding SFX of her heels on each step otherwise the scene was I envisioned.
Scene 9
Scene 9 is the stage moment the full circle ending. The character is on stage and while the red gradient curtains looked good as an individual asset, they didn't quite match the other scenes, but the red curtains felt plain but perhaps I should've worked on lighting to fix that. It's a simple background overall but works because it keeps the character the center of attention for that moment which is what i needed. I also change these into 3D layers for a more dramatic pull in effect.
STAGE 5- CHARCTER DESIGN
I had one goal for my character design which was to not westernize my character. I wanted to create a black character with black features. Through this process I learned the difficulties' that come with that as there were not many references and the curved I added made rigging the character hard as the body was deforming during animation. I was clear about the image I wanted which helped me create facial features I was happy with, but the body continued to give me issues. The only way to work past this was making the rig slimmer. I also didn't want to do a flat pose this pushed for the 3/4 view even though this was another reason why this process remained challenging. In an ideal world I think I'd have about 4- or 5-character designs and then create the 5 matching rigs to have the full breath of motion, and this would make the scenes in my initial storyboard more feasible. Designing this character helped me sharpen my skills in Illustrator and After effects. Also seeing how the two programs communicate with each other and the importance of naming conventions when and saving as well as resolution changes depending on scale. Overall, I am happy with the character, but it was a grueling process.
STAGE 6- ANIMATION
“Remember, the bottom line is that all the technical considerations are unimportant when confronted with the question of “Does it look right?”” -Ron Brinkmann
Animation was undoubtedly the most challenging aspect of this assignment. So much so I considered would not have 3D been faster as I was learning how to use Duik Angela for the first time whereas I have rigged and animated in Maya but of course this thought doesn't account for backgrounds. ended up being the most challenging part of this project. I tried to simplify things early on by only focusing on a run cycle, but I didn't want to change my character style just to make the animation easier. Certain visual styles fit certain themes, and a simplified "explainer' style would not have supported the story I wanted to tell. So, I stayed committed to the design I created, even though it meant more problem-solving.
I ran into a number of issues with the character rig. I experimented with puppet pins, but Duik Angela ultimately offered the control I needed. But because I had over 90 layers when I had a problem troubleshooting was really difficult and not knowing the cause makes it hard to find the resources to help couldn't accurately describe the problem. For fixing the walk cycle I kept pushing through re-rigging enough times to know where the issue wasn't which helped me find where it was.
Once the body was functional, I moved on to facial animation. I successfully built a blink system and general face controller. I did want to have full control of the mouth and had a complex design with layers for the bottom and top lip teeth tongue and mouth cavity and found it very hard to animate so went for the simple mouth so I would waste time and used a different mouth when wanted the expression to change. simple solutions were the key.
Animating the backgrounds was the next biggest challenge following the character rig as all my efforts to create a background loop were met with failure. Because the character stays stationary during the run cycle the background had to move to complete the effect. I tried CC Reptile, Motion Tile and Offset effects but none worked. Eventually the simplest solution was the correct one duplicate the background parent and slide it. I disliked this remedy as I used the backgrounds in PNG format which made having layers pointless. Then I returned to illustrator and matched X/Y values across the artboard which fixed the loop when expression was applied.
I had success using the puppet pin took on the kudus and environmental elements and have a good understanding of how they work as a system. I also animated the car which was also straightforward. The climbing steps scene also was done when I had gained confidence in Duik thus came out well.
Once the major technical issues were fixed the process became more straightforward, but animation is unforgiving as one cannot move forward if it doesn't look right. I couldn't have her foot snapping even if it was the only thing off, I had to fix it. For this stage it is clear that collaboration and attending the key milestone meeting could've saved me a lot of time but despite the challenged I showed tenacity and gained confidence in working in 2D.
STAGE 7- DRAFT
The goal of this stage was to fix blatantly obvious errors and push the work towards a final finish. after the first render a few issues immediately stood out some fixes some I had to leave as they were due to time. the first draft is always difficult because technically everything is finished but broke bits make it look worse than you expect this stage reminded me why it's important to leave time for polishing as there's no guarantee the first render will look good even if all the scenes are completed.
STAGE 8- SOUND DESIGN
I hoped to achieve more in this stage. The background music really anchored the project and helped push it through, but I could've matched some of the transitions more closely to the music to make it more rhythmic. I did use Adobe audition to make sure audio levels were at broadcast standards and added reverb to make it sound wispier but a multitrack mixdown with all audios would've been a good move as I couldn't hear the car drive SFX and the river felt like it should've been eased in more.