Shapes of Emotion
Motion design
Sound design
Art direction
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Background
Emotions whether positive or negative, we all have and are dictated by our mood, circumstances, relationships etc.. However, we can experience them many different ways that are unique to us as individuals.
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Shapes of Emotion is a personal project in which I wanted to convey various states of emotions in an abstract way. This came to me as an idea as I struggle to describe my state of emotion in words, so visual representations of these states of emotion better translate to me on personal level.
Objective
When approaching Shapes of Emotion, I aimed to create something visually immersive and engaging for the viewer. I wanted the meanings behind each scene to be easily conveyed as a state of emotion. Visually, I focused on the use of universal elements that could be understood by most people coupled with sound to enhance the experience.
The objective of this project is to Create a 1-minute 16:9 3D animation, showcasing an interpretation of the 4 basic emotions Joy, Anger, Fear and Sadness.
Incorporate ambient sounds to enhance the emotion portrayed
Make the transitions between emotions seamless
Create a consistant theme/element to link each emotion
Conveying each emotion while maintaining a consistent feel
Sound design
Switching between emotions without breaking emersion
Challenges
Solutions
​4 basic emotions
University of Glasgow
New research from the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology at University of Glasgow theorised that there are only 4 basic human emotions that we experience. These are happiness, sadness, fear & anger.
6 basic emotions
Paul Ekman
Paul Ekman theorised that there are 6 basic human emotions that are shared universally through our facial expressions. These include happiness, surprise, contempt, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger.
Wheel of emotions
Robert Plutchik
Robert Plutchick suggested that there 8 basic primary emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, anticipation, anger, and disgust. His wheel of emotion illustrates his theory through the use of colours to show these primary emotions at different intensities.
Inspiration
Historically emotions were seen as a complex spectrum based on 8 core emotions. Later theories suggest that there were 6 basic emotions that translated to body language and facial expressions.
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As individuals, we tend to view our emotions as complex, however, based on recent research, when it comes to the human experience there are only 4 basic emotions.
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These are the theories that I came across in my research. Each one played a key part in my approach to the final product.
Robert Plutchik
Paul Ekman
Concept
To make emotional visuals easy to understand, I used primitive shapes as universal symbols, which inspired the project title (Shapes of Emotion).
The animation starts with "Tranquility," represented by a square that translates into a cube.
Conceptually, the four sides of the square represent the 4 basic emotions, while the cube's six sides relate to the 6-emotion theory.
Finally, inspired by the Wheel of Emotions, colour plays a vital role in conveying each emotional state.
Visual development
He are some image comparisons of the development of the visuals from the beginning stages of modelling and animation to colour grading and applying effects to the final video.
Production process
Here is a showcase of the different visual stages of the production of the animation.
Sound design
Here is a short breakdown showcasing each stage of the sound design process.