Firebird

Firebird

Created by Dasha Prosyannikova at the School of Visual Arts, Firebird follows a figure skater's performance and her encounter with her worst nemesis - untied shoelaces. Through carefully-chosen choreography, vibrant colors, and exciting music, Firebird tells the story of perseverance and determination. The main character asks the audience: what would you do in this situation? 

Meet Firebird

The determined, hardworking, and only slightly nervous figure skater. After years of training, she's ready to go for the gold medal. But what will she do in the face of adversity? 

The Importance of Color

In order to craft the mood of each shot and guide the flow of the story, I turned to the magic of color. Each part of the film has its own color scheme. The beginning has an unsettling anxious blue and purple duality. The middle has vibrant dangerous reds and oranges. The ending of the performance is characterized by royal purples and golden rays of light, and later calm and victorious blues and pinks. 

The Process

The main character went through many stages of development. After experimenting with concept art in Photoshop and Illustrator, Firebird was modeled in Zbrush and shaded in Maya. She was then placed into a skating rink to give the performance of her life (animated in Maya). Finally, the spotlights were turned on, and Firebird was rendered in Arnold. The compositing and color correction were done in Nuke. 

Animation

The most important aspect of Firebird is animation. In order to accurately portray the physics of figure skating, I studied Olympic performances. Figure skaters train for years, all to create just a few minutes of perfect choreography and pure magic! Some of the greatest influences on this piece are Ashley Wagner, Meryl Davis, Charlie White, and Yuzuru Hanyu. 

In addition, I went to figure skating rinks to try to act out some of the movements. Many (hilarious) reference videos were taken at the computer labs, where my peers and I attempted to figure out the choreography. 

Through this film, I hope to share some of my excitement about visual and performing arts with you. Thank you for your time, and don't forget to tie your shoelaces!