Finalyz

ing short film plot

1. Opening: A World Washed in Grey (0:00–0:40)

The film opens with the Girl, now in high school, walking through a nearly monochrome world.
Everything is muted except for tiny flickers that never fully form into color.
A narrator (or internal monologue) says something like:

“I used to see colors… until the day everything went quiet.”

Brief flashes show her childhood trauma—not in explicit detail, but as shadows, muffled sounds, and a sudden fade to grey.
The audience feels that her color-blindness is emotional, not physical.

2. Childhood Memory – The First Color (0:40–1:20)

She thinks back to one day long ago:

A Boy, around her age, sits by a playground sketching.
His drawing glows with vivid, impossible colors, shifting and swirling with feeling.
For a split second, she sees the world burst into color.

But she blinks… and it’s gone.
The Boy finishes the drawing, smiles faintly without noticing her, and walks away.
She reaches out—
—but he’s already gone, and she never sees him again.

That moment becomes the only “color” memory she carries.

3. The Mural (1:20–2:00)

Years later, one night, she walks home and passes a massive mural under streetlights.
The mural glows faintly—not fully vibrant, but more saturated than her world usually appears.
Its shapes, brush patterns, and whimsical swirls remind her exactly of the boy’s childhood drawing.

She sees a faint spark of color again—only for a moment.

But she cannot remember who the artist was.
Only that the art style is burned into her heart.

She stands there, hand trembling toward the wall, whispering:

“Why does this feel so familiar…?”

4. The Transfer Student (2:00–3:00)

The next morning, there’s talk of a new student.
When the Boy walks in—now older—he looks ordinary, quiet, tired.

They look at each other.
A faint pause.
A strange tug of recognition…
…but neither of them can place it.

The Boy’s condition:

He’s suffering from a deep creative block.
His sketchbook pages are filled with unfinished strokes, harsh scribbles, faded attempts.
His once-vivid imagination now looks as washed-out as the Girl’s world.

Visual symbolism:

When he sits beside her, a single line he sketches glows faintly—almost color.
But it flickers out instantly.

Both of them think:

“Why does this feel familiar…?”

5. Unintentional Connection (3:00–3:40)

Over the next few days, they are paired for a school art project.

The Girl, who cannot see color, watches him struggle to draw.
The Boy, who once filled the world with color, now feels empty.

He apologizes:

“I used to draw all the time. Now… I can’t do it anymore.”

She hesitates, then softly admits:

“I can’t see colors. Not since I was little.”

There’s a quiet understanding between them—
two broken pieces that seem shaped for each other, without remembering why.

6. The Turning Point – The New Drawing (3:40–4:30)

During the project, she encourages him to try one more time.

He starts drawing.

The strokes are hesitant at first…
…but then something shifts.
Being near her brings back a forgotten feeling—warm, nostalgic, bittersweet.

The drawing glows faintly.

The Girl watches—

And for the first time since childhood,
the colors stay.

Bright. Vivid. Real.

Tears slide down her cheeks.

The Boy stares at his drawing—
realizing his art block just cracked.

He turns to her, eyes widening:

“I’ve… drawn this before. Haven’t I?”

She whispers:

“I’ve seen it before.”

Their memories flash—
childhood versions of themselves under the playground sun, the vivid drawing, her moment of color.

7. Ending – A Promise / A Cliffhanger (4:30–5:00)

The bell rings.
Reality shifts back.

Colors fade again—for both of them.
Only the drawing between them glows faintly.

They look at each other with newfound certainty.

The Boy says:

“Let’s figure this out together.”

The Girl nods:

“Maybe… if you draw, I can see color again.”

He lifts his pencil, smile growing:

“Then let’s bring color back.”

The screen cuts to black—
and one single stroke of vivid color appears, bright and expanding.

Cliffhanger + hope.

Straight Ahead and Pose to Pose

There are two main ways to approach animation: straight ahead and pose to pose. Straight ahead animation involves drawing frame by frame from start to finish. This method creates fluid, dynamic motion but can sometimes lead to mistakes in proportions or continuity. 

Pose to pose animation involves creating the key poses first and then filling in the in-between frames, which is useful for planning complex movements. 

The main difficulty with straight ahead animation is maintaining consistency, while pose to pose can feel stiff if the in-betweens are not drawn carefully.

Arc

Most natural movements follow a curved path rather than a straight line. This principle is called an arc. For example, a character waving their hand or a ball bouncing follows a smooth curve. Animating along arcs gives actions a fluid and organic look, which is more visually appealing than straight-line motion. 

The difficulty is that straight-line movements are often easier to draw but can make animation look mechanical. Planning arcs requires careful attention and practice to get them smooth and natural.

Anticipation

Anticipation is a small preparatory action that signals a main movement is about to happen. For example, a character winding up their arm before landing a punch. This principle is important because it guides the audience’s attention and makes actions feel believable. Without anticipation, movements may look sudden and awkward, and the audience can be confused about what is happening. 

However, The main difficulty is timing the anticipation correctly. Too short a preparation can make the movement abrupt, while too long can slow down the pacing of the animation.

Walk Cycle Animation

For my next animation, I attempted a walk cycle. This exercise is famous in animation because it teaches rhythm, balance, and consistency. Even though it’s usually done in just 8 frames, it’s surprisingly difficult!

I started with the four main poses: contact, recoil, passing, and high point. I drew stick figures first to plan the movement, then refined them into a simple character. Using onion skin helped me keep the spacing and proportions consistent.

At first, my character’s feet were sliding across the ground, which looked unnatural. I fixed this by carefully lining up the foot placement with the ground level in each frame. I also had trouble with the arm swing, making it too stiff. Adding a bit of overlap made it flow better.

When I played the animation back, it didn’t look perfect, but I was proud—it actually looked like walking! The cycle looped smoothly, and I learned how much planning is needed for even the simplest movements.

Learning outcome : This exercise showed me how much detail goes into something we usually take for granted, like walking. 

Researching Character Design Principles

Good character designs are essential for any animation project. just like animation I love the concepts of designing characters. When   it be Since my film will be short, the characters need to be instantly recognisable and expressive. I began by looking at character design tutorials and analysing how professional animators simplify their designs.

One of the most important lessons I found is the idea of shapes. Many iconic characters are based on clear shapes—circles, squares, or triangles. Circles often feel friendly, squares seem stable, and triangles can suggest energy or even danger. This makes it easier for the audience to “read” a character quickly.

I also researched silhouette design. If a character’s outline is easy to recognise, they remain identifiable even without details. This is especially useful for short films where every second counts.

Another principle I studied was exaggeration. Characters in animation don’t need to look realistic, but they should be able to move and emote in a way that feels believable. For example, bigger eyes and clear facial features help communicate emotions faster.

Colour was another factor I explored. Many designers use limited palettes to keep characters simple but memorable. For example, one strong accent colour can make a character stand out without overcomplicating the design.

From this research, I learned that my characters should be:

• Based on clear, simple shapes.

• Easy to identify by silhouette.

• Designed with expressive features that are quick to animate.

• Coloured with a limited, striking palette.