The goal of this project was to show how GIFs can be cinematic when given a flow and story structure. When filming looping video, you must account for forward and backward continuity, which sets it apart from a movie. We made a comical animation to show the power of nonlinear storytelling.

Rather than taking the slideshow route that was shown in class, we created nine GIFs and synchronized them. We took inspiration from Sofya Glebovna’s “All Work and No Play” to maximize the potential of the GIF format. Instead of one loop at a time, there is a continuous loop, kept in time by the blank walls we filmed. Other influences include Adventure Time, J.G. Quintell’s “12 in the AM PM,” and 1930s “rubber noodle” animations like Popeye.

Our story is a runner in purgatory, doomed to be chased by a fiery blob monster. The aim was to create a film that could start at any time, meaning the viewer has no idea who actually started the rivalry. The story peaks with the protagonist drop kicking the blob, but it could just as likely have started that way.

We combined live action GIFs with hand-drawn animation via Photoshop and Premiere Pro. For the live action GIFs, we were able to find a place on campus with a workable backdrop for the scenes. With Walker playing the role of the main character, we recorded multiple scenes of him running from an invisible force. Those shots were reduced from 50 frames to 12 frames. 

Walker and Braeden shared animation duties, working 4-5 GIFs each. This was challenging, as we searched through many formats to attempt this correctly, such as After Effects, Adobe Animate, Krita, and open source platforms like FlipAnim and Brush Ninja. After settling on Photoshop, we took on 100-150 frames per person. Lining up the animation would prove to be the most difficult part of the project. It took some “clicks of faith” to blindly layer the drawings onto the live action video in Premiere. Black columns were stealthily snuck into the project to crop each frame. If done again, we would turn the live action video into JPEGs and draw directly on top of them.

Overall, we believe our project scratches the surface of what's possible with GIF animations. It allowed us to hone our skills through a variety of formats, and it serves as a springboard for more ambitious projects down the line.