Animation begins with a story. Well, where does the story begin? It begins with an event and the characters that are cast upon the stage to act it out. So, as the animator, it is necessary to understand the internal disposition of the character when they encounter obstacles they must overcome. But the physical activity is secondary to success; it’s the mind that leads the way. To build a convincing experience, the animator should be intimate with the personal conflicts of the character. It’s within that context of the character’s experience that determines how we paint their world.

When venturing down the road of what might hopefully to be a fruitful production that may provide insight to an audience abroad, what topic should one choose? “Missing Amelia” is about sexual abuse. Not the easiest topic to unravel, as I soon discovered. So when attempting to construct a vision through the eyes of an abused child, the world is never warm and seldom glitters with opportunity and hope. The vision of the child tends to be somewhat blurry and disfigured, dominated by unforeseen fears that have to either be avoided or attacked. Triggers to the senses result in unpredictable responses.

Naturally, the greatest challenge for this production is creating a script that presents the issue but doesn’t overwhelm the sensibilities. Amongst the content experts, a collection of books, the producer, and other reliable sources, a structure begins to emerge. But what that structure begins to reveal is a story that’s not so enlightening. You can hide the issue in symbolic images, but this usually clouds the message. So the script evolves, becomes tighter, and yet it still just doesn’t ring with all those that have to be accountable. The truth may resound with the manner an experience may unravel, but it leaves little hope for the character to overcome such steep obstacles. So, we begin to pull it back, remove instigators and hopefully what remains is a parable that all can reflect on with great regard. It is in attempting to reach this goal that determines whether the story goes into full production. But even if one does achieve such height, in the end it is the financial hammer that determines all. So in knowing this, I present this chronicle as a testament of the effort that went into bringing a story to life as a 3D animation.


Preliminary profiles for modeling the alternate personality of "Anton" the rabbit.

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