Symbiosis is a mixed-media experimental animation film that delves into the eerie and surreal experience of a young girl named Maya. The narrative unfolds as Maya, weary and contemplative, walks towards her couch and slumps into it. Her TV, initially malfunctioning and displaying only static, suddenly bursts into life with a surprising twist—it begins playing a show titled “Maya’s Life.”

The TV show’s protagonist looks strikingly similar to Maya, yet there’s an uncanny difference; this version of Maya is illustrated, existing in a different reality within the television screen. This startling transformation leaves Maya both shocked and confused, blurring the lines between her reality and the animated world on the screen.

As the plot progresses, Maya becomes deeply engrossed in the animated depiction of her life, which mirrors her own experiences but with a surreal twist. The show reveals intimate and personal moments, leading Maya to question the nature of her existence and the boundaries of her reality. She is confronted with scenes that are eerily familiar, yet portrayed with an exaggerated, almost dream-like quality.

The film takes the audience on a journey through Maya’s emotions and thoughts as she grapples with the bizarre phenomenon. She begins to wonder about the implications of the TV show—will it continue indefinitely, or will it come to an abrupt end? And if it does end, what does that mean for her own existence? The narrative leaves viewers pondering the connection between Maya’s reality and the animated portrayal of her life, exploring themes of identity, perception, and the thin veil between reality and fantasy.

The visual style of Symbiosis is a unique blend of various media, seamlessly integrating 2D animation techniques with stop-motion animation. This artistic choice enhances the surreal and experimental nature of the film, creating a visually captivating experience that draws the audience into Maya’s extraordinary journey.

Throughout the film, the use of color, texture, and motion in both the stop-motion and 2D animation segments creates a dynamic and immersive atmosphere. The juxtaposition of the real and illustrated worlds highlights the contrast between Maya’s everyday life and the fantastical elements of the TV show, adding depth to the narrative.

Film

Character Design

I designed the character for Symbiosis, drawing inspiration from the films Perfect Blue and The Belladonna of Sadness. I aimed for a semi-realistic body and features and decided to name the character Maya, which I like.

Initially, I wanted Maya to have long hair. However, when making the silicone puppet, my professor and committee member advised me to give her short hair to avoid complications. It was my first time making a silicone stop-motion puppet, and I was uncertain about potential issues and worried I wouldn’t have enough time to address them.

I decided to give her a distinctive color palette to ensure Maya was easily recognizable. After trying a few options, I settled on violet hair and a green dress, as they provided enough contrast and fell within the cool color spectrum. Given the film’s grim and serious atmosphere, cool colors seemed like the best choice.

Technique Exploration

The primary focus of my thesis is exploring the combination of various techniques and mediums, particularly integrating stop motion and digital 2D animation, with the assistance of my committee members. During my research, I became interested in animating with yarn to align with my story. However, I encountered a significant challenge when animating the hands of a creature controlling a girl. The separate animation of yarn and character led to timing issues, and I realized that paper cutouts could have been a better choice for attaching yarn to the character.

In the summer of 2023, I digitized the thread by scanning it to preserve its texture and used the Puppet Tool in After Effects for animation, which was successful. Despite its effectiveness, this technique was time-consuming. Given my time constraints and lack of a team, I decided to animate the hands in 2D using Toon Boom Harmony. Then, I applied scratch to film footage in After Effects, visible only over the hands using Set Matte and Extract effects.

In Fall 2023, I took a stop-motion class and, after consulting with my committee, decided to modify the story to integrate stop-motion and 2D animation. The story now features Maya, who exists in two worlds: her actual stop-motion world and a 2D world she sees on TV. The worlds collide at the film’s end when an earthquake-like shake reveals the 2D world beneath Maya’s floor. This was achieved by placing blue card stock paper under the floor and using Keylight in Premiere Pro to integrate the 2D environment footage

Stopmotion Fabrication

I learned the process of making a stop-motion puppet in the Stop-Motion -1 class by Professor Nathan Asquith. I learned to make a puppet armature, model with clay, create a mold, and cast the puppet. Various techs working in the stop-motion studio helped and assisted in some of the process. Their suggestions and helpful tips helped me come a long way in making a functioning animation puppet. Some of the work had to be done under the tech’s supervision as I operated heavy-duty tools and machinery.

Click here to know more about the Stop Motion Fabrication in the film

2D Frame by Frame Animation

I initially did the 2D frame-by-frame animation using Clip Studio Paint because I had technical issues with Toonboom Harmony. I completed the rough animation on Clip Studio and, fortunately, resolved the issue with Harmony by the time I started cleaning up.

It took significant time to determine what I wanted from the 2D frame-by-frame animation. I knew I wanted to animate the character and some props around Maya, but I needed to add something extra to make it stand out. When I shared my idea of creating a custom brush with Professor Michelle Tessier, she provided a helpful tutorial on how to make it. It was part of a recorded Zoom session the professor had conducted previously.

I created a texture brush for Maya’s dress with a two-frame boil. This texture would be placed on top of the character in a separate layer for a more efficient workflow. Additionally, I decided to animate the creature’s hands in 2D and incorporate scratch-on-film footage to give it a unique visual style. A detailed explanation is provided in the “Compositing” section of the process book. I received valuable feedback from all my committee members, which helped me communicate my story better.

Paper Cut-out Animation

I created the paper cut-outs by drawing them on Procreate and then exporting them as high-quality JPEGs. After that, I printed them in color on 250 gsm matte paper and regular legal-sized paper. Then, I cut them into different parts so that I could layer different parts of the environment to give some depth. I carefully taped together objects like the doors and floor to animate them. Keeping the objects in their places was challenging, but it worked well because of careful planning and execution.

I had two drawings of the environment to give the paper cut-out animation a two-frame boil effect. However, when I reviewed my animation, I encountered a major problem with the files. For some reason, the export from Dragonframe was overexposed, so I ended up making adjustments in the composite.

Yarn Animation

I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to animate using yarn. I had different colors of yarn at the beginning, but I did not have enough to cover the entire frame while animating. I had plenty of black yarn, so I used just that. I also used pins to keep the yarn the way I wanted it to stay while I animated. I realized it would not work in the long run as I kept working on it. The camera needed to be fully pointed down. It had an angle that gave it a bit of dimension, but it wouldn’t work with the rest of the animation I will be layering it with.

Once I took the Stop Motion 1 class, I had access to proper stop motion equipment. So, I animated the yarn using a down shoot setup that was taught to the class around the first few weeks of the quarter.

The animation eases in and out as if it consumes the character. At one point, the yarn consumes the entire screen and crawls around. I wanted to convey the feeling of “Heebie Jeebies,” and it worked so well with the rest of the animation. It also worked as a cut to the next environment. I had the opportunity to animate multiple times, so I had various iterations of the yarn and decided to use the one that I felt fit the best in the composite.