Introduction
As the most important aspect of animation production, understanding the plot logic and character psychology is essential. This report reflects on the production process of animation.
Story Plot
The fundamental issue with the story plot is the motivation behind the boy's time travel three times. In my opinion, his motivation is his desire for the unknown future and his escape from the overwhelming pressures of the present world. Based on these concepts, the reasons for his time travel can be written as follows:
In his childhood, the boy make time faster because of too much homework, which led him to yearn for adult life and escape the pressure of his excessive assignments. To demonstrate the boy's excessive workload, I used the day-to-night switch to convey his state of constant overnight work. Additionally, I used his imaginary pictures to cleverly give him the motive to accelerate time.
In his middle age, the man travels through time for two reasons: the adult life he imagined in his childhood is drastically different from reality, and his boss gives him too much work. To make the audience understand his motivation, I used a gradually increasing number of work files and an empty desk to contrast his imagination with reality. Additionally, I used detailed character development in the conversation between the man and the demon to illustrate the man's imagination.
In his old age, the man again accelerates time because he still cannot escape the pressure of real life and, in a state of madness, chooses to accelerate time again. To make the audience understand his motivation, I used subtitles to directly indicate the old man's state of mind. Additionally, I used changes in the scene's colour and the old man's unusual behaviour to convey the signal that the old man had lost his sanity.
Additionally, there is another logical issue in the relationship between the boy and the demon and how they form a contract. In my opinion, the demon symbolizes the boy's dark side, so the way they make a contract is through the boy's compromise in different states. In his childhood, the boy's initial motive caught the demon's attention and made him feel the "pleasure" of acceleration. From middle age to old age, the man's motivation became increasingly strong, and his behaviour changed from passive to active. In conclusion, the way the boy and the demon make a contract is the boy himself and his decision to accelerate time or not. Every time the boy accelerates, he pays a price.
Character Psychology Changes:
If the plot of the story is the visible line in the animation, then the character's psychological changes are the hidden line of the animation. It is not as noticeable as the plot but changes with the story through camera language and colour changes.
In this animation, the boy's psychological changes gradually shift from passive to active. His attitude towards the demon changes from fear to compliance, then to coercion. He goes from being afraid of the unknown future to desiring it. These emotional changes also shift with the ups and downs of the story.
In the boy's childhood stage, I focused on depicting his first encounter with the demon. In the camera design, almost all shots of the interaction between the boy and the demon were shot from a low angle. This can magnify the pressure of the demon and allow the audience to feel the relationship between the boy and the demon from a third-person perspective. In the action design, I chose for the boy to not touch the demon, but instead fall off the chair and try to crawl away from it. This action design can tell the audience that the boy's impression of the demon is one of fear.
In the middle-aged stage, I changed the camera scheduling and used more level shots to illustrate the interaction between the man and the demon, conveying to the audience the change in the relationship between the man and the demon. In the action design, I boldly added a scene of the man and the demon shaking hands, enhancing the change in their relationship. In the light and shadow design, I deliberately increased the dark areas on the man's body, foreshadowing the extreme psychological state of the man in his old age.
In the old age stage, I completely used the change in light and shadow on the old man to depict his extreme psychological changes after experiencing things going against his wishes. I deliberately reduced the demon's size, making it less intimidating, and used more overhead angles in the camera shots to express the old man's dominance at this time. In the action design, the old man's actions towards the demon became more intense, with pulling and pushing movements, which also represent the old man's desire reaching its peak and pushing the story to its conclusion.
Overall, the use of camera language, colour changes, and action design effectively conveyed the character's psychological changes throughout the story.
Conclusion:
The logical development of the plot and the ups and downs of character psychology are both standards for measuring the attractiveness of an animation. The psychological changes of the boy drove the time travel and also propelled the story forward. The development of the plot gave the boy a constant motivation to accelerate time and also changed his inner activities. In short, they are complementary and mutually reinforcing, while serving the purpose of the animation's theme. In the boy's continuous pursuit of desire, escape from pressure, and eventually choosing to accelerate time, despite the temporary pleasure, he ultimately paid a price. The theme of the animation is to slow down. As things around us quickly pass us by, people tend to forget everything around them. Instead of constantly complaining about time passing too slowly, it is important to cherish the present moment. Avoiding pressure will not solve problems. It is important to courageously face the pressures of life and keep our inner demons firmly "imprisoned" within our shadows.
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