Image rendered with the assistance of Jaykishan Patel and Jenny Boccardi.
Hanami (2020) - A 2D animated film about Japanese-American internment.
Directed by Lisa Maeda.
A young girl trapped within Japanese-American internment laments her dull surroundings. Bored, she chooses to paint flowers to contrast the lifeless environment around her. Her colorful creations, inspired by Japanese traditional wagara patterns, come to life and light up her world. She experiences a beautiful, yet transient “flower viewing” or “hanami,” embracing a Japanese-American identity despite persecution.
The project pulled heavily from my own familial background, but remained research intensive. Photography from Dorothea Lange and real Japanese-American internee art pieces were referenced in the film. The hanami aesthetic was inspired by Japanese wagara patterns.
Software: Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Maya (3D Previz), Toon Boom Harmony, Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, Adobe After Effects, Google Suite
Completed Stills from the Film:
I worked closely with my compositor, Sara Westover, to achieve the ideal color tones for the tone of the film in After Effects.
Background Development:
Many of the backgrounds were sketched by me, and I handled all of the rendering. 3D previz assistance from Gabrielle Robinson.
Poster:
Pre-Production and Post-Production Development:
Full Credits:
Directed by Lisa Maeda.
Produced by Denise Anger. Compositing by Sara Westover.
Original Score by Seersha. Sound Design by J.J. Querubin.
Character Animators.
Caroline Sullivan, Shaurese Foster, Erika Clift, Alex Sellati, Raea Bucher, Donielle Anderson, Emily Rodriguez, John Yun, Jenny Boccardi, Katie Narsavage, Alex LaBarre, Salve Black, Catriona DiNero, Erin Truong, Bay Yates, Sean Co, Mika Pshemish, Taylor Hauber, Amaris Moore.
FX Animators.
Raea Bucher, Shaurese Foster, Emily Rodriguez, Alex Sellati, Jenny Boccardi, Ihmil Herndon.
Flower Rig Animators.
Shaurese Foster, Denise Anger, Raea Bucher, Emily Rodriguez, Gabrielle Gouraige.
Background Artists.
Lisa Maeda, Mae Keller, Alex Sellati, Caroline Sullivan, Amber Ramirez, Tien Do, Arielle Guevara, Lynn McCay.
Clean-Up Artists.
Payton Edwards, Emily Rodriguez, Charlotte Pang, Ayana Martin, Erika Clift, Ellen Simpson, Shaurese Foster, Jenny Boccardi, Joshua Mizrahi, Raea Bucher, Anami Hayes, Ken Yakura, Caroline Sullivan, Chen (Mina) Chen, Julia Kelton, Catriona DiNero, Kassidy Evans, Lex Cooper, Amber Ramirez, Abigail Allardice.
Animation Colorists.
Payton Edwards, Emily Rodriguez, Charlotte Pang, Raea Buch, Shaurese Foster, Ayana Martin, Joshua Mizrahi, Jenny Boccardi, Anami Hayes, Abigail Allardice, Caroline Sullivan.
Produced at Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, 2020