September 16 - December 09, 2024

Ruge Li

Table of Contents

Idea Development

I’ve always wanted to make a film that reflects my creative process. However, I have struggled to narrow the focus of the film to the core issue I hope to explore. The idea and structure of the film have gone through several stages, as illustrated below.

STAGE 01 — Forming the Idea

Week 1-3 (Internal Pitch)

• Inspired by the well-known animation “bible”, Animators Survival Kit, my initial idea for the film is to create an Inspiration Survival Kit, a film about how and where to look for inspiration when you get stuck.

• I made a survey asking people what they would do to actively look for inspiration. Along with my own experiences, I’ve chosen four scenarios to start with:

  • go into the nature
  • read the tarot cards
  • go on dumpster diving in the recycling bin (I’ve seen my sculpture teacher from an elective course picking out possible materials from a recycling bin at ECA.)
  • clean the toilet (I personally feel a great sense of accomplishment from this.)

  

  Notes from sketchbook

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As presented in my internal pitch (Week 3), the initial film's structure follows: an artist is stuck in front of a blank canvas — she stumbles into the canvas and embarks on a playful and surreal journey (four scenarios mentioned above) — she returns to the reality, refreshed and inspired, and makes her first mark.

Initial sketches while generating ideas

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• At this early stage, I was hoping the film would serve as a reminder or toolkit for both the audience and myself, offering ways to switch back into creative mode when you’re feeling stuck and out of ideas.