Illustration and Visual Narrative —Task 04: Final Project: Animated Video with Caption

Illustration and Visual Narrative -Task 04: Final Project: Animated Video with Caption 

21/4/2025-27/7/2025（week1-week14）

Yuan Xiaoyue ,0367988

Illustration and Visual Narrative

Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Task 4: This task requires us to make a video based on a given script. We need to draw at least three illustrations and add subtitles and background music to the video.

Description of inspiration：

The script I chose is:

"It has been said that time heals all wounds. The truth is that time does not heal anything. It merely passes. It is what we do during the passing of time that helps or hinders the healing process." - Jay Marshall

My inspiration comes from a simple but powerful reflection: "Time does not stop for anyone." At first glance, it sounds ordinary, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt its weight. Time moves quietly—sometimes gentle, sometimes cruel—leaving behind memories, emotions, and change.

I began to imagine: if time could be seen, what would it look like through a person's life? Then, I saw the figures slowly appear—someone waiting under a clock, someone lost in thought, someone gently reaching out, and someone holding a melting clock in their hands. They are not legends or heroes, but ordinary people caught in time’s flow.

This inspired me to use calm colors, flowing lines, and a traditional-meets-modern style to show different moments in time. 

Mood board：

Storyboard：

《 The Shape of Time 》

Introduction to the protagonist: Shi An

A quiet, delicate boy who is full of thoughts about the world. Since childhood, he has had a special sensitivity to "time". He does not chase time, but talks with time, listens to its voice, and feels its shape.

Act 1: "Staring at Time"

Description of the plot:

That year, he was 15 years old. The day his mother left, time seemed to stop. The pointer stopped moving, and the room was so quiet that only his heartbeat could be heard.

Act 2: Waiting Hour Hand 

Description of the plot:

This is where Shi An often came when he was a child. Whenever he was upset or lonely, he would come to this courtyard and sit alone. Now he has grown up and has not been here for a long time, but the clock is still there, as if waiting for someone to return.

Although there is no one in the picture, the breath of waiting and missing lingers in the air for a long time.

Act 3: Myself in Time

Description of the plot:

That year, he was twenty years old. Many friends were chasing the future, but he stayed alone in this quiet courtyard. He didn't know where he should go, and he was not in a hurry to find the answer. He just wanted to spend some time with himself.

This was the first time he really realized that growth is not about rushing, but about understanding one's position in time.

Act 4: Myself in silhouette

Description of the plot:

Nearly thirty years old, Shi An no longer frequently thinks about "what is time". He begins to understand that time is no longer just the hands on the clock, but is hidden in his body. He realizes that he is being shaped by time bit by bit. He is not being controlled, but being quietly carved into another appearance.

Act 5: The Final Appearance of Time

Description of the plot: 

Time does not leave with a bang. It is more like the wind, quietly passing through your fingertips when you are not aware of it. Those people you once loved deeply, the words you said, and the tears you shed will eventually be gently wrapped by time, turning into blurred shadows and quietly sinking into the depths of memory.

All the moments of chasing, struggling, waiting, and thinking are no longer important in the end. What matters is whether you live well in them.

This is the final appearance of time - not numbers, not bells, but the light in life that quietly passes away but never comes back.

Script：

The script I chose is:

"It has been said that time heals all wounds. The truth is that time does not heal anything. It merely passes. It is what we do during the passing of time that helps or hinders the healing process." - Jay Marshall

Detailed information：

Act 1: When he was young, he quietly leaned against a huge clock with a calm look in his eyes. A broken clock fell to the ground, and the pointer oozed red marks, symbolizing the lost moment.

Act 2: The ancient courtyard is silent, the sky is slightly blue, and the clouds are lingering. On the wall of the courtyard, an old clock hangs quietly, the hands move slowly, there is no figure around, only the sound of the wind blowing gently through the leaves.

Act 3: Shi An stands alone in the classical courtyard, with the quiet eaves, rocks and tree shadows in the distance behind him. He looks into the distance, stretches out his hand to feel the wind, as if he is thinking about something.

Act 4: Shi An holds a clock face expressionlessly, and his whole body overlaps with the lines of the clock. His body seems to be made of time and integrated with the clock face.

Act 5: A distorted, melting clock floats in the air, the background is dreamy, and the lines float like flowing emotions.

Rationale：

This short film is based on a movie I have watched. It shows the understanding of time of "Shi An" of different ages, and constructs a journey of inner growth connected by time. The story does not have fierce plot conflicts, but more presents the flow of emotions and the transformation of consciousness, emphasizing "how time silently shapes us".

I use restrained and soft colors, smooth lines, and an artistic style that coexists with tradition and modernity, and express through abstract symbolic pictures: time itself cannot heal everything, it just passes quietly, and what really determines whether we can heal from pain is how we choose to live in time. Time is not the answer, but it gives us space - to feel, to understand, and to grow.

Process：

Final Output：

Techniques Applied：

In this design, I combined the built-in drawing function, real-time coloring system and pen tool of AI drawing software, and also connected a digital tablet to create hand-drawn illustrations. Then I started to create animations in AE software, and made sounds, subtitles, etc. in another Chinese software. When making animations, I referred to the examples provided by the professor and tried to add basic scene switching and task dynamics. However, I found that this direct scene transition effect was relatively stiff and lacked changes. In order to improve the overall visual fluency and viewing experience, I decided to add transition effects when switching screens to enhance the rhythm and expressiveness of the animation.

Self Reflection：

This animation project was both challenging and fun for me. As a creator who has always been interested in visual storytelling, this assignment gave me the opportunity to organically integrate narrative, visual design and sound. I gradually realized that choosing visual elements and materials that can accurately convey the meaning of the script is the key to the entire creative process.

The most challenging part is the planning of the storyboard. I need to clearly convey the information in just a few seconds while maintaining the consistency of the rhythm of the picture and the background music. This makes me pay more attention to the combination of time control and lens language.

Through this exercise, my composition and design skills have been significantly improved, but I also realized that I still have room for improvement in rhythm control and visual storytelling. In addition, in the process of converting character sketches into electronic drafts, I often encounter problems such as unbalanced proportions, messy lines or inconsistent colors. Therefore, I plan to strengthen computer painting training after class to improve the stability and expressiveness of digital drawing.