Underwater Disco

Underwater Disco is a short film I made during the  2d year of my course, studying 2D animation at the University of Hertfordshire.

From the get go I knew I wanted to make a lighthearted  film, to somewhat distract me from the stress of life and study under the chaos of a pandemic. Dancing sea critters, warm beaches and funky music...These are elements that I wishfully conjured up in the midst of the UK winter to form this little story. The actual production was less relaxing than the concept, being mostly a solo project and with less time than what would have been ideal(as it always is). The backgrounds where done in Photoshop, but all the animation was done within After Effects. Going into the project I had no idea how to go about animating my story in AE but, with some encouragement from my tutor, I committed to finding out. And though at times it felt like I was engaged in battle with the software, at the end of the day the process has been a massive learning experience and I have learnt so much that will be invaluable as I progress into my 3d year. 

I hope you enjoy the film.

A collection of pre-production material, mostly explorations into the atmosphere and mood I wanted to create with my settings and colour. During the process I found myself leaning into bright and saturated colours, as well as  developing less realistic colours  combinations to support the fantasy of the story. I also strived to keep my shapes soft and curved, as I wanted everything to feel welcoming and relaxing. I still recall explaining my vision for the underwater environments (to my lovely freelancers), stressing that it must  look as if 'you could sleep on the rocks'. I'm not sure I achieved that, but I did put quite a high emphasise on how the visuals of the film would make you  feel,  and tried my best  to create positive associations through that.