As my FMP project has developed, I have made several changes to the original proposal, including the project title, theme, character design, and story structure. I have also updated the storyboard and completed an initial music demo.
These changes are mainly inspired by my personal feelings as graduation approaches. I want the animation to reflect the anxiety, uncertainty, and questions about the future and freedom that I am experiencing as I prepare to enter the working world.
1. Project Title
Rushing Place
The project title has changed from Through the Snow to Rushing Place.
The new title better reflects the feeling I want to express: constantly chasing time, efficiency, and the pace of others without knowing exactly where we are heading.
Rather than telling a specific story, I want to create an experience of constantly moving forward without being able to stop.
2. Project Overview
Rushing Place is an experimental animation exploring urban anxiety and the boundaries of freedom.
The film focuses on a numb but persistent feeling of anxiety. People constantly chase time, efficiency, and the pace of others, often without knowing what they are chasing.
Through stylised black-and-white visuals, experimental imagery, and music that gradually accelerates into chaos, the animation turns this psychological state into an audiovisual experience.
The project is inspired by the uncertainty and pressure young people face as they prepare to enter society. Influenced by social expectations and conventional life paths, we often feel pushed towards the next stage without questioning whether it is truly our own choice.
The film also explores the relationship between freedom and boundaries: does escaping established rules and directions necessarily mean finding true freedom?
3. Character Introduction
Elsa
Elsa is named after my English name and represents my personal emotions and experiences. The entire animation unfolds through her inner perspective.
She often feels trapped in a crowd, her body carried forward by the movement and rhythm of those around her. Time, social expectations, and traditional life stages constantly define her next “destination”. Gradually, she begins to question whether she is choosing her own direction or simply following others.
Elsa longs for nature and freedom. Her thoughts often drift away from the crowded city into open, boundless natural spaces.
However, when familiar structures and directions disappear, she begins to feel a different kind of uncertainty and unease.
She wants to escape restrictions but is also afraid of losing direction. Caught between order and freedom, she continues searching for a rhythm that feels truly her own.
4. Storyboard Development
Following the changes to the project theme, I have redesigned and expanded the storyboard.
Compared with the original version, the new storyboard includes more shots and environments, with a faster and tighter overall pace.
I have focused more on creating fast and smooth transitions between scenes. By using similar compositions, shapes, and movement directions, I aim to connect different spaces naturally.
I also want to use changes in editing pace to reflect Elsa’s emotional state. As the animation progresses, the cuts become faster, allowing the audience to experience her anxiety and the feeling of being constantly pushed forward.
These changes make the animation less dependent on traditional linear storytelling, with a stronger focus on visual rhythm and emotional expression.
5. Music Development
I have completed an initial music demo for the animation.
As Rushing Place mainly communicates emotions through visuals and sound, music will play an important role in the storytelling.
The demo is built around a gradually accelerating rhythm. As the animation progresses, the music becomes faster, with more sound elements layered together, eventually creating a dense and chaotic listening experience.
I also plan to synchronise the music with camera movements, cuts, and scene transitions to create a consistent audiovisual rhythm.
The demo is still an early version and will be further developed alongside the animation.