Grasp is a black and white animation short film with the main themes of ‘hope’ and ‘freedom’. This animation was inspired by certain events that occurred in Hong Kong during summer in 2019. Slightly dark and thought-provoking, the animation leaves room for imagination and is open for interpretation. Within the narrative, the balloons symbolize ‘hope’. The popping of a balloon can be further interpreted as ‘losing hope’ or even more extreme – ‘death’. The animation represents my emotions of disappointment and distrust towards a system. The choice made in using a little girl as the main character is to emphasize the level of anxiety and dread within the society in contrast to the innocence, happiness and hope in that of a child.

This frame-by-frame animation is created with the iPad app Procreate and iMovie. The quality of line is neat but with a human touch. The pencil tool creates a sketch-like image that gives a sense of recording or replaying a piece of vivid memory. The viewing experience is heightened by changing camera angles whilst the sound effects contribute to creating emotional tension.

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