Thesis Documentation

The last week I was concentrating on re-editing the script, because I wasn't happy with it and because some of the stories were not going to be interesting visually, but were just interesting to me beause of their topics.

As I've previously siad, I had gotten 3 hours+ of audio of my mother, grandmother and great-aunt talking about anything, everything and nothing. Based on the stories, I chose a few that I would animate and I had decided at the time that only the most interesting/important stories will definately be animated and depending on time, the smaller stories will aslo be animated.

I changed my mind.

This last week, I did a repass and I re-edited the stories to the point where I will no longer have my voice, and it will be a stand-alone conversation and story without me having to explain things to the viewers - or so I hope. So while the stories may not have been told in the way I edited them, the ideas or major points are the same. I tried to get the most important stories to me that all three of them discussed, and if only one them talked about it, I tried to find a relation or a nice transition from one story to the next. I'm pretty happy with the results. It took a long long long time!

This week I also translated the entire script. It helped in my editing and it will help me later when I will revisit the translation and fix it up. It's still slightly awkard at times, and there are some words that I am not familiar with as well. Every now and then I try and touch it up, but it's probably going to be the last thing I visit.

Download script

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here are some more assets that I made. These specifically will be string-puppets for the revolution-stories that Nana, my grandmother tells. I made some abstract soldiers and some Egyptian fellaheen. The fellaheen are going to be attached to a bar, where they will be able to nod their heads, while their bodies float seperately. All of them will be a unit attached to strings that Nasser will "control". I've made galabiya's (traditional Egyptian garb) for them to wear using grey cloth.

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the first-phase of the apartment set where the three women will be sitting around, chatting and drinking their post-lunch tea. It's still going to get more details, but I added some curtains and a rug. More to be done.

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is a fireball that I animated using paint-on-glass animation. It's not easy at all! It's for one of my grandmother's stories:

And here is an articulated paper horse with copper details on the saddle that I made for one of Tante Bisa's stories.

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I decided early in the Thesis-proposal stage that my project will not be interactive. I had debated making it clickable webcomics or webisodes on a dedicated site, but quickly changed my mind. I wanted it to be a narrative that I edited and created in the flow that I choose.

However, my current interaction is with my family and their reactions to the things I pass by them. If there's a certain clip/story that I was going to use, that they prefer left out, I discuss it with them first, and if it's too personal for them and won't change the flow of the story, then I cut it out. I've shown them the characters and have recieved great reactions; they love their characters. If I have a question about context or translation, I've also consulted them. I consider this a cyclical interaction.

My intent is to stay true to the personalities of the women and the heart of the stories and the basic emotions associated with them in the family. But my intent is NOT to be realistic. I'm definately trying to attain a magic realism in the animation.

I would consider this the main interaction of my project. How the subjects of the animation react to how I interpret their stories. Later on, my audience will be the 2nd phase of interaction.

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Abdel Nasser is an enormous figure in modern Egyptian history. He was one of the Free Officers that led the Egyptian revolution of 1952, overthrew the King, and later became the 2nd Egyptian President. Nasser is one of the more controversial figures of Egypt's modern history because there are two camps when it comes to how people feel about him. Most of the population loved him as he stood for Pan-Arabism, Socialism and great ideas for the country. However, many of the intellectuals of the time, landowners, wealthier families, etc hated the Nasser regime. Though his plans were great, they weren't studied and his regime was corrupt. Some believe it was his era that started the downhill spiral of Egypt's quality of life and standing in the world.

He affected my family during the revolution, since my grandfather had a direct relationship with him. All three characters discuss their memories of the revolution and the Nasser regime.

Since Nasser is larger than life, and a very large figure not only to my family but to Egypt as a whole, I decided to make him larger than the rest of the puppets. But since he was a "puppet" - in my opinion -when it came to his foregin policies and decisions with regards to the United States and the Soviet Union, I decided to make him a marionnette with strings attached. Maybe that's a little too in-your-face?

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a teeny-tiny apartment, and I set up a corner as my "animation studio". I'm equipped with a camera, and a computer. Here is my animation process, and other labor-related ativities.

My studio:

Cutting glass for one of the characters:

Sewing curtains, and little details on puppet clothing, etc:

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gaga is what we called my grandfather. He passed away in 1997, yet still remains an integral part of these women's lives because of what he stood for and what kind of father he was. In the 3-hour+ audio I have of these women talking, Gaga is a main character and involved in som of the more dramatic stories that happened during their lifetime. I decided he would also be a main part of my script.

I made him as a paper puppet that is handdrawn and in grayscale. I made two versions of the puppet for different scenes and interactions. The ariculated puppet's suit and tie is made of a real grey suit! He is based on my sketches of him that are based on memory.

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the main characters that are telling the story - my grandmother, great-aunt and my mother - I created textured articulated paper puppets. Their faces are made of layered, textured papers, and their clothes are made of cloth, and I use brads for the joints. The puppets were based on my sketches (see previous blog entry).

Making Nana's face:

Finished Nana's face:

Making Mommy's face:

Finished Mommy:

Cutting glass for Tante Bisa's eye glasses:

Making Tante Bisa's face:

Finished Tante Bisa:

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a journal I keep for my animation. This journal is where I sketch out all my characters and sets, write down ideas and brainstorms, and do my storyboarding. My storyboarding style is rough since I plan to use materials and animation techniques that aren't very predictable, so I use my storyboards more as an outline and a general idea, and then let the medium and the tools dictate the rest.

Click here to view more of my animation journal

Continue reading "Sketches, Rough Storyboard" »

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In some of my grandmother's stories there are characters called Ifrit. These Ifrit are beings that are responsible for mishief, the fantastical, and mostly the unexplainable events in her stories. I decided to start making Ifrit shadow puppets for her stories.

Continue reading "Shadow puppets" »

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For my thesis, each generational narrative will have it's own distinct aesthetic, so I've been making different types of characters, sketches, etc. I've created a puppet rig, since one of my narratives will be told through stop motiion animation and puppets.

I created my first rig using wire and sculpey, and I've experimented with a few techniques. I've played with hand-drawn animation for the facial expression and real video overlay. I'm still trying out different techniques until I find an interesting one.

Continue reading "My first puppet rig" »

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the main problems I was facing for my thesis was obtaining good quality audio of my grandmother and mother telling stories about their lives. While I was in Egypt, I tried to get some audio recordings, but I wasn't properly equipped with a good microphone, preamp, etc. I did some research, and I asked around, until I found someone in Cairo who's an Audio Engineer for fun (it's not his day job).

He offered to go record my grandmother, my great aunt, my aunt and my mother speaking about their lives, the political climate they grew up with in Egypt, my mom's emigration, and so forth. He emailed me saying he had approximately 3 hours of audio between them all together. Because they're uncompressed raw wav files, I have to wait until they're uploaded, and then I can download them and start editing.

There is progress!

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Documenting our family history has been an interest of mine for several years. I’m going to follow three generations of women in my family - Egyptian grandmother, Egyptian-American immigrant mother, 2nd generation Egyptian-American me – through stories passed on to me orally.

I want to document this oral history in a digital format that would adequately convey the collective, non-linear narrative structure of my family’s history, and, by implication Egypt’s modern history.

Most stories, animations, movies, etc. have this reliance on an omniscient narrative, but history is never objective, it is actually collaborative and generational.

Our family history covers three generations which consists of three separate narratives. Inevitably something is lost over the years in an oral tradition due to generational, cultural and language gaps.

I want to reconcile my vision with the other truths, and see our history as my grandmother, or as my mother sees it. Furthermore, I want to eliminate the omniscient narrative completely and follow a model that is true-to-life.

Posted by Yasmin Elayat at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)