I have shared some behind-the-scenes photographs of myself working on this project, giving a glimpse into the process and effort that went into creating it. Working on this mostly on my own was sometimes a bit stressful, but at the same time, it was a great learning experience.

Throughout this project, I’ve learned a lot—both technically and creatively. From planning and designing to experimenting with different tools, every stage helped me improve my skills and understand the animation process better.

I’m extremely thankful to my Media Teacher, who supported and guided me along the way. Her help made a big difference in completing this project successfully. I also appreciate the support and structure provided by Cambridge Media Studies, which helped guide me through the project and stay on track.

I truly hope that one day I can become an animated movie designer. Finishing this project makes me really happy, and it feels great to see all my hard work come together in the end.

 From a young age, I’ve always been surrounded by art, mainly because my grandfather is a well-known cartoonist and artist. I used to watch him draw and paint using just paper, brushes, and colors, and it honestly fascinated me how he could turn simple ideas into something so creative. That really sparked my interest in art. At the same time, I grew up loving cartoons and animated films. Watching movies like Finding Nemo, Up, and Toy Story, along with 2D films from Studio Ghibli like Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away, made me really want to become a graphic artist and get into motion film production someday. Those films showed me how powerful animation can be when it comes to storytelling and emotions. That’s basically why I decided to create an animated short film for my Cambridge A2 Media project. It wasn’t easy at all—there were a lot of challenges along the way—but I learned so much during the whole process, and it felt really rewarding to create my own animated short film from scratch.

In my animated short film, I titled is as “Between Us” is about two young lovers in a fantasy world with magic, I realized that the story can have a lot more depth beneath the surface. Even though the visuals might feel soft, magical, and romantic, I can still use the themes to reflect real-world social groups and issues in a powerful way.

One example I can give is, it symbolized a strong idea is social inequality or class differences. One character come from a powerful magical family where spells are natural and celebrated, while the other has no magic powers. Their relationship can reflect how society treats people differently based on privilege, wealth, or background. The magical world becomes a metaphor for real-life class systems, where some people are born into advantage while others struggle to be accepted.

Another important factor, is it represent discrimination and exclusion. In my fantasy setting, I showed how certain types of magic or even certain people are looked down on—like those who don’t have magic, or those whose powers are seen as strange or unstable. Through the relationship between my two characters, I can challenge these ideas and show that those differences shouldn’t matter. This connects to real-world issues like racism, caste systems, and social stigma, but in a more symbolic way. Using a fantasy world helps me present this message in a softer way, while still making it clear that love and identity shouldn’t be judged by society’s narrow expectations.

Finally, since we as teenagers and young adults are growing up in a world filled with conflicts, war, and uncertainty, I wanted my short film to feel like a small escape from all of that. Instead of focusing on those heavy and stressful realities, I chose to create something softer and more comforting for my audience. Through a magical world and a gentle love story, I want to give viewers a sense of calm, hope, and emotional relief—even if it’s just for a few minutes.

 Overall, your fantasy setting is not just for visuals—it’s a storytelling tool. Magic can represent power, identity, privilege, or emotion. Creatures and environments can stand in for real communities and struggles. By embedding these ideas into a simple romantic story, your short film can feel both beautiful and meaningful, connecting emotionally with audiences while quietly reflecting real-world social issues.

Since my target audience is young adults, I want my animated short film to feel something they can really connect with. For me, creating a “brand” isn’t just about a logo or name—it’s more about the overall vibe of the film and how everything feels consistent and recognizable.

First, I’d focus a lot on emotion and relatability. Young adults usually connect with stories about love, confusion, and figuring things out, so I want my characters to feel real and natural. Their relationship shouldn’t feel forced or overly dramatic—it should feel soft, a bit awkward maybe, and genuine. That emotional tone becomes a big part of my film’s identity.

I mainly used Instagram as my primary social media platform. The main reason I chose Instagram is because, after doing demographic research, I found that my target audience—young adults—are more active on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. This made it easier for me to reach them, share updates, post visuals from my film, and build interest around my project.

When I started planning my animated short film, it didn’t just randomly popup in my mind to choose the fantasy romance genre—It actually based on both my personal interest and research. To support this, I conducted a small Instagram poll where I asked young adults what type of content they enjoy the most. The results clearly showed that around 60% of my audience preferred fantasy romance stories, which confirmed that this genre would be engaging and relevant for them. Since Instagram is a platform where my target audience is highly active, this feedback felt very reliable and helped guide my creative decisions.

At the same time, I also looked at wider industry trends, especially in animation and anime, to understand what audiences enjoy globally. Research shows that the anime and animation industry is growing rapidly, with a huge international fanbase. For example, the global anime market was valued at over 11 billion USD in 2022 and is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, showing increasing demand for animated storytelling worldwide .

(source grandviewresearch.com)

 In fact, anime has become especially popular among young people, with around 60% of the audience being between 18–34 years old, which directly matches my target audience . This made me even more confident that creating an animated film was the right choice.

There are also strong signs that animation in general is widely loved by audiences today. Studies show that around 70% of Gen Z watch animation regularly, and many young viewers prefer animated content because it feels more creative and visually engaging . In addition, about 50% of global Netflix users watch anime, which proves that animation is no longer just for children—it is a major form of entertainment for young adults as well.

Another reason I chose fantasy romance specifically is because it combines both emotional storytelling and imaginative visuals. The anime industry itself includes genres like fantasy, romance, and drama, which continue to attract large audiences because they allow viewers to escape reality while still connecting emotionally with the characters . This is exactly what I wanted to achieve in my own film—something that feels magical and visually interesting, but also emotionally meaningful.

After creating my background illustration in Clip Studio Paint, I used Canva to turn it into a complete postcard-style film poster. In Canva, I added the title “Between Us” using a soft script font to keep the romantic feel, and placed it in the center so it becomes the main focus. I also included a top banner with “A film by SDJ Studios” to make it look more professional and similar to real movie posters. To make the design more realistic, I added film festival laurel wreaths on the side, which helps give the impression that the film has been officially selected. I also included a small “Watch on YouTube” section with a release date to make it feel like an actual promotional poster. 

Overall, Canva helped me combine all the elements—text, layout, and graphics—into a clean and balanced design while keeping the romantic and fantasy mood of my original artwork.

I drew inspiration for my background from the poster of the movie "The Fault in Our Stars", particularly its soft, intimate composition. The way the two characters lie close together on the grass, framed in a calm and natural setting, creates a strong sense of emotional connection and quiet romance. I was especially influenced by the gentle color palette and the top-down perspective, which makes the moment feel personal and almost private.

Via Instagram

In my own design, I aimed to recreate this feeling by placing my characters in a similar relaxed position, surrounded by nature, while adding a touch of fantasy through glowing elements.

In Clip Studio Paint, I constructed my background illustration using 18 layers to maintain a non-destructive workflow and allow precise control over each visual element. I organised layers into groups such as line art, base colours, shading, highlights, and effects, which improved efficiency and editing flexibility. For the line work, I used the mechanical pencil brush to create clean, textured outlines with slight pressure sensitivity, giving the artwork a natural hand-drawn quality.

In my poster, I chose a script-style font for the title “Between Us” because I wanted it to feel soft, romantic, and emotional. The flowing, cursive look helps show the connection between the two characters and matches the gentle mood of the scene. I also used a golden colour for the title so it stands out from the green background and gives a slight magical glow, which fits the fantasy element of my film.

For the text “A film by SDJ Studios,” I used a simpler and more readable font to keep it clean and professional. I didn’t want it to take attention away from the main title, but still be clear to read. I think using these two different font styles works well because the title adds emotion and style, while the smaller text keeps the overall design balanced and easy to understand.

After so many months of working on this project, I’m really happy to say that I’ve finally reached the final stage. Along with completing my blog, I’m now doing the final edit of my animation and adding the intro to make it feel more complete and professional.

For this part, I used CapCut (free version), which made the editing process much easier. I added an introduction at the beginning of the video to properly present my animation, along with background music to set the tone right from the start. It really helps grab the audience’s attention and gives a good first impression.

During the final edit, I focused on putting everything together smoothly—making sure the scenes flow well, the timing is correct, and the sound effects and music are balanced. I also checked for any small mistakes and made final adjustments to improve the overall quality.

Once I finish the final edit, I’m planning to upload my short film to YouTube. This is really exciting for me because it means I can finally share my work with a wider audience and see how people respond to it.

Overall, this stage feels very rewarding. After all the hard work, from planning and storyboarding to animating and editing, it’s great to see everything come together into a finished piece.