Project Proposal Form

Project Proposal Form Name: Kieran Johnston

Unit/ Course/Year/ Date: Final Major Project/ Animation Arts/ Year 3/

1. Project Title

 Teeth

2. Background of research interest

I am looking to create a film that reflects more so on my self. The majority of my previous films have been created for an audience, to hopefully be enjoyed and related to by a wider number of people. I have therefore decided to create a film personal to myself. Looking originally into fears and phobias, I have decided to look into a fear of my own, Odontophobia, which is the general fear of teeth, or more specifically in my case, the fear of losing my teeth.

3. Topic, aims and objectives

As previously stated, the topic is fears and phobias, more specifically looking into a personal fear of mine, Odontophobia. My aims are to express my feelings towards my fear of losing my teeth, and show everything that comes with this phobia. These feelings range from feeling frightened, being curious and being ignorant. As I create the film I hope to display an uncomfortable nature as the teeth are reluctanctly taken from the gums, to a more playful side as to what happens to teeth when they have left the mouth. I want the audience to question what purpose teeth have for falling out, why do we not have permanent ones to begin with, why is it possible that they are able to fall out at all. Although this idea is influenced through personal experiences and thoughts, I hope that it can be relatable to others, whether it be through the same anxieties or whether it be through a completely different fear. It could also help those who do not experience any phobias, to understand why people feel the way they do when it comes to a fear.

4. (Possible) Form of realisation

Realisation could hopefully come to me in a different more unexpected form to most other films. Every time I create a film, I always learn a lot, whether it be technical or mental knowledge I always grow and expand through my films. On this occasion I could possibly come out with a psychological benefit. Through creating a film so personal, I could find myself learning and understanding something that I have detested and tried to avoid all my life. Especially working in stop motion I will have to create and manipulate teeth and gums. The scenes that I plan to carry out involve teeth being pulled from the gums, something that would thereotically send me into a panic attack. However by being the one that physically reinacts this motion I could hopefully become slightly more comfortable with the idea.

5. Research Methods

Most of the research about the subject will come from my own experiences, thoughts and feelings, however just to make sure the film isn’t too self involved, I shall be asking others about their thoughts on losing their teeth. I’ll be looking to understand more what people think about teeth, whether they care or not about losing them, to a more indepth analysis of the unconscious thoughts towards the subject. For example it’s common knowledge that people often have dreams about losing teeth. It’s said to be in conjunction with the worries of growing up, as well as money problems. In terms of animation, I shall be looking largely into traditional stop motion. The likes of Jan Svankmajer and Brothers Quay instantly come to mind. These artist’s use of live action and stop motion combined create a strange, uncomfortable yet relatable surreal feeling. I will also be looking to use over-exaggerated yet natural sounds as well as frequent spells of music. These ideas are also influenced from Jan Svankmajer and other more musical artists such as David Lynch.

6. Audience and viewing context

This film is ideally created for anyone that has experienced any fear or phobia. It can also hopefully create an understanding for those who perhaps have not found themselves in this situation. Although the main intentions of the film are to express thoughts and feelings behind odontophobia, it should hopefully also be visually aesthetic enough to create an enjoyable visual for anyone to enjoy. Even if you put all context aside, the shots and angles should be enough to create a visual experience for anyone to watch at any time.