Practice notes _ Supervisor Meeting 04/30
- issac zhang
- Apr 29
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 30
I am currently focusing primarily on documenting notes in a logical manner. References will be added later. All content's authenticity would be promised.
1.Why Qigong as the theme of animation？
As we talked before in the last two meetings, there are mainly several reasons that I adopt Qigong.
I am fascinated by themes that evoke memories of the past.
Qigong has a very long history that dates back centuries, as a mixture of mysterious beliefs, martial arts and health preservation， etc.
Qigong was a very social trend decades ago, which can evoke people's memories of the past.
Topics of ancient printed books that contained visual information are also correlated with Qigong, such as martial arts, medicine, and ancient astronomy.
Ancient medicine printed book
2.What is a suitable aesthetic and visual style for my animation? -A mixer that combines nostalgia with retro-futurism（TBD）?
The term "nostalgia" was formally introduced in 1688 by Johannes Hofer in his medical dissertation, Dissertatio medica de nostalgia, oder Heimwehe.Pure ”nostalgia“focuses on the reproduction of the past.
But Retro-futurism is a little bit different from nostalgia. Retro-futurism lies in the fusion of past and future elements: it does more than simply replicate the past, reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens. Retro-futurism embraces two overlapping trajectories, often summarised as 'looking to the future from the past' and 'looking to the past from the future（）.
Besides, Chinese prints were not originally in colour but were monochrome until the late Qing dynasty because of technical limitations (this argument needs further documentary support). During the Ming dynasty, many monochrome illustrations were printed in large quantities within books, creating a unique aesthetic.
So， I want to mimic the aesthetic of ancient printed books, producing the illusion that this is an ancient book and blurring the line between past and present. I plan to borrow certain characteristics from 1970s–80s cartoons or Meishu Pian（美术片）, the visuals really capture that distinct vibe of the era. Also, I will take some aesthetics such as early retro-futurism. Using those techniques creates a lively experience that brings on feelings of nostalgia and a solid sense of the time period. My own nostalgia-driven thinking and goals, in fact, help explain why I'm drawn to using a retro or nostalgic style for this animation, which is the reason why I chose to produce a monochrome printed animated book.
2.1 What can I get inspired by the Meishu Pian（美术片） style？
Meishu Pian emerged in the late 1940s as a specialised term in socialist China to distinguish these works from Western-style “cartoons.”. The animation is renowned for integrating Chinese visual arts -ink-wash painting (水墨画), paper-cutting (剪纸), paper-folding (折纸), and folk puppetry, etc...
Take one of the famous Meishu Pian(美术片）- Tianshu Qitan as an example, the animation is distinctive and it feels to me like a tage drama or even a Peking opera. Many of the character motions are highly stylised, with a touch of exaggeration. Moreover, the character designs actually distil a great many traditional Chinese folk-art elements. In addition, the cinematography differs noticeably from modern work: you won't see extreme perspective or sweeping camera moves(like 3d animation does). Instead, it relies almost entirely on basic operations—pans, zooms and simple rotations.
So, the old-fashioned camera movement(cinematography) skills and opinion about respect for traditional aesthetics are something that I can adopt from.
2.2 What can I get inspired by Retro-futurism?
Retro-futurism is full of ideas about the future: spaceships, lasers, and outer space. During the US–Soviet rivalry, both sides studied human superpowers. It was a time of huge imagination. At the same time, China began its own imaginative human-science research called Qigong.
' The latter—' looking to the past from the future'—is closest to my intention of creating this animation: it begins with an obsession for the art, fashion, and traditional aesthetics of earlier styles, then grafts modern or futuristic technologies onto them, creating a hybrid of past, present, and future that instantly evokes an earlier era.
3.Storyboard
I planned the animation to look like a manual or brochure so it would match the printed book（Final physical one）. But the previous storyboard had problems: it looked too much like a real manual. Without showing the story's humour or its absurdity side, the animation would feel like a fake ad or cult propaganda. So I needed to find a special kind of humour that exists within Chinese culture, which made the storyboard hard to revise.
I found some animations that gave me ideas—they tell the story in a wild, nonlinear way, which felt right for the very imaginative theme of Qigong.
I drew inspiration from the featured visual elements of retro-futurism, including spaceships and aliens. I decided to incorporate keywords such as "romantic relationships," "China's entrance exam (Gaokao)," and "medical issues" as themes for the latter part of my animation. These elements aim to reflect the current dilemmas and public concerns in China.
Final storyboard
4.AI VO
The voice-over in the animation effectively conveys the story and immerses the audience in the cultural atmosphere, making it essential for the final product. Since I am not a copywriter, I asked one of my friends for assistance with the voice-over.
Some meeting notes 👇
Final VO - text version 👇
AI VO 👇
5.Animatic _V1 with AI
6.Questions
7.The next plan
32/2 final style frames（do my best）
Polished Final animatic
a printed animation shot（optional）
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