OUAN505 - Applied Animation - Research/Pre-Production: Sensory Overload (Interacting with Autism Project) - Miguel Jiron

OUAN505 - Looking into Documentary Animation:

To gain more knowledge and an insight into what kinds of documentary animation is out there and how it tackles difficult subjects, I decided to have a nosey into documentary animation that focuses on mental illness as I have rarely come across any animation that deals with these events. I think awareness is an important thing that animation can bring about subtly. With live action, I can imagine the case of finding subjects willing to open up in front of a camera could be difficult to find, whereas animation can tell someone's story whilst keeping them free from stigma (which sadly still exists).

I had a look on Vimeo for some good examples, and found a good couple that I thought were really touching and gave a good insight into in the day in the life of a someone who suffers with such issues. I also thought I'd check out Samsara whilst I was wearing my "learning hat". It was incredibly moving and did in fact bring me to tears at points (which isn't something I admit lightly)! Albeit a live action film and not an animation, Samsara is a really beautiful piece of art. It shows the lives of people from all over the world over a span of five years in twenty five different countries. Along with the breathtaking shots, dances, events, and costumes, there are very heartbreaking moments of reality thrown in, which shows that in all the world's glory, there is still sadness and horror that we need to change.

So, back to the couple of animations I found relating to mental illness. The first I found was a wonderful look at a boy who went by his usual day living with autism. The style is beautiful, using what looks like a combination of rotoscoping, traditional wet inks, and digital. It featured a young boy going about his day reacting to sounds and events around him. He seemed to be suffering from hypersensitivity to sound as nearer the end, with more and more sounds, everything becomes to full on and he lashes out and collapses on the floor in frustration. The sounds are manifested as synesthesia-like drawings in the animation - squiggles, lines, circles, explosions. It is quite distressing to watch as you can see how difficult it is for him. The animator, Miguel Jiron, has done a fantastic job in portraying such a broad condition and helping us understand just how difficult it can be for some.

The techniques used are fantastic and really help you visualise what is going on in someone's head which would otherwise be difficult to show to the world in an understandable and even possibly a relatable manner.


Sensory Overload (Interacting with Autism Project) from Miguel Jiron on Vimeo.