Saturday April 5th, Annika Kim attended the National Film Festival for Talented Youth to see her film “A Different Frame of Mind”. Unlike the college animation and film students she was surrounded by, Kim had not attended any course on animation and created this film on her own time. Her film was a product of 4 months of hard work and years of interest and practice in animation.
The short film follows a main character who has different interests, mainly art and robotics (similarly to Kim). As she navigates through her different hobbies and friends, she switches colors representing the different aspects of ourselves we feel comfortable sharing with groups of people. “Trying to balance different activities, I think, is like a universal high school experience.” Kim discussed the feeling of needing to pick one personality while suppressing the others. The overarching theme of the film is showcasing the importance of each individual’s differences and quirks. “It’s like we’re cooler when we’re all different,” Kim said.
Another place that gave her inspiration for the film was The Rubicon. Kim’s time on staff gave her a unique perspective that she brought into the film making: “talking to other people through interviews kind of helped me learn about the different parts of themselves, and that ended up being a big theme in the film.” Kim also discussed how a quote her journalism advisor, Kathryn Campbell always says “we all wear different hats in the room” also factored into the theme. “We’re bringing our individual experiences in and making things better.” she said.
So how did Kim create “A Different Frame of Mind”? Kim made the film almost entirely on her iPad using procreate, and ToonSquid. She made final edits using after effects and premiere pro. The character and set design only took Kim a day or so, while animation took the most time. “Each scene was separated to a different file and then I would just do each file individually. I started with a sketch, and then I would line it and then I would color it.” After the fact, Kim also added the background music, made by senior Ellie Putaski, and synched it up with the scenes.
Kim’s film went on to win Best Animation at the EDU film festival, but for Kim her moment of most pride came from witnessing someone share that “A Different frame of mind” was their personal favorite short film on social media after the festival. “It really made me realize that my art could make a wider impact through this screening.” Kim is continuing to develop her animation skills, using input she received from directors at the festivals she attended and already is planning her next short film.
