Harmony: The Quest For Companionship was born out of my interest in Comparative Mythology and the Hero’s Journey. I was first introduced to this terms in year 2004, when I took my final course of Writing at Foundation Visual Art & Design, instructor Jennica Harper briefly explained story structure, and I was instantly hooked. After graduating, I went back to Peru where I spent some time figuring out where were my strengths and what I really wanted to do with my life.
All of a sudden, my interest on this topic grew and I found myself reading several essays on-line about this fascinating topic. Later on, I found myself writing a brief essay on the Tao-ji symbol (Yin & Yang), and in the blink of an eye – I was already back in Canada trying to figure out what to do for my final project.
In my search for more information about Joseph Campbell’s ideas, as well as C.G Jung’s ideas of the Collective Unconscious, I couldn’t find many visual aids, so I thought it was going to be a great adventure for me. But where should I begin to explain such a broad topic?
It all began by a great research on the topic, trying to focus in the most important and relevant points of someone’s (the hero’s) journey. Two weeks later, and a 3-hour brainstorming session later, I was ready to plan my story in script format. I had already a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to have, so I put it on paper, and after a week, I had already a script that didn’t change much when turned into storyboards. The storyboards turned into a pretty detailed animatic that then went to the Audio Department, where Sound Designers Liam Wong & Craig George would get a basic idea of what sounds to make. During that process, I started doing the drawings and illustrations needed for the animation.
The piece earned me a nomination for Best Project Management in the DD02 Graduation, as well as an award for Best Animation at the My Hero Film Festival.
Watch Harmony: The Quest for Companionship by clicking this link.