Information Desk

I Can See is my thesis work at the Bulgarian National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts where I graduated with a Master’s degree in Film Directing and Character Animation. The short was inspired by the song “I Can See Clearly Now”, originally written by Johnny Nash and newly recorded by Neil Finn, and within less than three minutes it tells the story of a comic artist, who desperately tries to invent his own superhero until one animated drawing, eventually, offers him something much better.

Created almost entirely by me, with little but priceless assistance from my parents for the shooting of a few complicated scenes, I Can See combines live-action, traditional animation and trick photography to breathe life into one cartoon drawing. The long and exhausting process of making this short happen and its practically zero budget forced me to play all the roles, both in-front and behind the camera, utilizing any available "means" at hand in order to flesh out my idea. The live-action footage, for instance, was recorded on 8mm home video camera, while the problem of illuminating my tiny studio, which also served as a “sound stage”, was partially solved with an old photographer’s tripod lamp and like a dozen of smaller reading lamps.

As for the animation, I drew not only my lead character but also all additional elements like shadows, reflections and most special effects the “old fashion” way – with pencil on pegged paper over a lightbox. This technical decision was my way of paying tribute to the classic hand-drawn animation that has been inspiring me ever since my childhood years. However, at the same time it presented me with the serious challenge of giving “weight” and credible “presence” to a “flat” drawing in one real, three-dimensional environment. That required the use of a paper model for size referencing in the filming phase, a careful matching of the light in every shot with the shadows on and below the character and the inclusion of physical effects in the form of objects moving as a result of the interaction between the character and the surroundings. Not to mention the countless combinations of blurring techniques, noise addition, image masks, dynamic change of color tones, etc. Also, in addition to the hand-drawn animation, for some special effects shots I resorted to a method called “particle animation”, which I achieved through separate “motion paths” and the individual manipulation of each and every single element along these paths in Macromedia Flash MX.

In conclusion, I dare to say that in spite of the huge amount of challenges and the constant need of inventiveness that accompanied the making of this short film, undoubtedly, the hardest part for me throughout all those years was keeping up the integrity of the whole project and not only having faith that the direction I was moving in was the right one, but also knowing that the end point of that long journey was getting closer and closer. Here’s why I’ll be eternally grateful to my parents for their enormous moral support that even in the darkest hours has always managed to bring me back the feeling that I can see…