In class, we explored anamorphic 3D, which I learned is a visual technique that makes 2D screen content appear to leap out into 3D without the need for glasses or special hardware. I found this especially interesting because it shows how perspective and screen placement can completely change how a viewer experiences an image.
We also looked at nDisplay in Unreal Engine 5, which made me think more about how immersive and multi-screen environments can be created in real time. This was useful because it connects directly to the kind of workflow I want to experiment with in my own project, especially as I begin thinking about how my ideas could be presented in more dynamic and spatial ways.
I was also introduced to studios and companies such as Moment Factory, teamLab, Electric Canvas, Naked Inc., Unreal, and Lux Machina. Looking at their work helped me understand how these techniques are used in professional practice, particularly in immersive installations, large-scale visual experiences, and real-time environments. This gave me a clearer sense of how experimental animation can move beyond a traditional screen-based format and become something more interactive and atmospheric.
My project:
For my experimental project, I want to explore how everyday objects can function as emotional archives, holding traces of human presence over time. Rather than using characters, I am focusing on absence, light, and abstract sketch-like traces to suggest memory and past interaction.
I am interested in how memory is reconstructed rather than represented literally, so I want the visuals to feel fragmented and incomplete, like recollections are often partial or unclear. This approach allows me to move away from direct storytelling and instead create something more atmospheric and interpretive. It also raises questions about how much of the memory is an actual image and how much is an emotional impression.
Light plays a central role in the project, acting as the main narrative device that activates memory within the objects. I want to experiment with using light not just for realism, but as a storytelling tool that shapes mood and meaning. This is especially important because I have found that subtle changes in atmosphere can communicate emotion more effectively than direct visual explanation.
I will be exploring the idea of objects as active rather than passive elements, almost as if they carry their own form of memory. The two objects I have chosen — a stuffed animal and a mug — are intentionally familiar and universal, as they are items most people have owned or used. This is important because it gives the scene broader emotional resonance and allows the audience to project their own experiences onto it.
I want to experiment with two different visual styles within the project: one for the main scene and another for the spline or line-drawing elements.
As part of this brief, I also want to use this project to experiment with Cinema 4D and Unreal Engine 5, as these are the tools I plan to use for my Final Major Project. Testing them now will help me understand both their creative possibilities and their limitations before moving into the final project. This feels important to me because the project is not only about producing an outcome, but also about testing workflows, refining ideas through iteration, and identifying which processes best support the emotional quality I want to create.
To support the concept, this is a rough script:
The room is still.
Dust floats slowly in the air, suspended in warm afternoon light.
In the corner, a teddy bear sits untouched. A cup rests nearby.
Nothing moves at first.
Then the light begins to shift.
As it reaches the teddy bear, the fabric subtly compresses — almost imperceptibly — as if remembering the shape of someone who once held it. Thin sketch-like traces begin to appear around it: incomplete lines, child-like gestures, fragments of movement. Not images, but impressions.
A curved line.
A small star.
The echo of laughter.
The marks dissolve as quickly as they emerge.
The light continues across the room until it reaches the cup. Steam slowly rises, at first natural, then becoming softer and more abstract. The vapour twists into fleeting drawn gestures that suggest conversation, warmth, routine, and presence.
The room feels inhabited, despite being empty.
For a brief moment, the objects and the memories coexist — suspended between reality and recollection.
Then the light fades.
The sketch traces disappear.
The steam dissolves.
The room returns to silence.
But something remains.
The objects stay still, carrying the quiet weight of every touch, every moment, every absence.
Final text:
Objects remember.