SUZANNE ASHCROFT, Still (2015)
Software Used: After Effects, Photoshop, Adobe Audition
Animation, Art Assets, Audio Design, Voice Acting - Nicole Del Medico
This animation was heavily influenced by the misogyny present in video games as well as the Gamer Gate Movement. The narrative follows a factious young woman named Suzanne Ashcroft who experiences events that are based on different experiences women have had when they have been personally attacked online, as well as some of my own experiences. The aesthetics for this animation were very important, as I specifically created digital puppets that mimicked that of shadow puppets as I began to inject concepts of Critical Play theory into my work. I perceive video game characters to be just like shadow puppets or stop-motion animation puppets. They are lifeless, only gaining a soul through the embodiment of the player or artist, depending on the medium, and that with virtual embodiment of an avatar for example, their behaviours can often speak greater truths about themselves then how they would typically behave in reality.