Metamorphosis- The Animation

The word "metamorphosis" derives from Greek μεταμόρφωσις (from μετα- (meta-), "change" + μορφή (morphe), "form") "transformation, transforming"

Although the process of physical metamorphosis occurs in the insect, amphibian, plant and geological worlds, it is rare in the mammal world and is most often used metaphorically to examine our psyches and relationships with each other and the world around us as beautifully and visually depicted in works by Ovid, Shakespeare, Melville, Marten, Kafka and Carle.

The animation Metamorphosis is a look at how we grow, learn, the journey taken and the manifestations of being, before, and if we’re lucky, when we find our confidence to be. The film is a little jerky, sometimes a little beautiful, mostly it’s a quick reflection on pathways and the literary influence books have had on my sense of self or lack thereof.

“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.” (Borges, 2000)

Ovid (43 BC – AD 18) the Roman poet, explored the relationships between man in all guises and the Gods in all their power and pomp in his 15 book epic poems Metamorphoses, often retelling what had come to be seen as central events in the world of Greek mythology as had previously been written through the works of the Greek poet Homer and the early Roman poet, Virgil .  A reoccurring theme for the epic poems was love and Ovid tied the stories together using characters as links from one transformation myth to the next. These characters, their interactions with each other and the gods, are the primary focus to the works, and became one of the gems of literature with far reaching influence.

…Both Gods, and parents, with compassion heard.
The whiteness of the mulberry soon fled,
And rip'ning, sadden'd in a dusky red:
While both their parents their lost children mourn,
And mix their ashes in one golden urn. (Ovid, 2004)

Shakespeare (1564-1616) a great admirer of Ovid’s Metamorphoses used the Roman’s poems as inspiration and in some cases a template for his plays. Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and others demonstrate transformations on several levels based on Ovid’s series of poems.

A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. (Shakespeare, 2005)

A more literal application of the process of metamorphosis is embodied in the harrowing short story Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, where the character awakes to his transformation and with odd dispassion he attempts to continue life with the overt disability of being a cockroach.

"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. He was lying on his back as hard as armour plate, and when he lifted his head a little, he saw his vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, to whose dome the cover, about to slide off completely, could barely cling. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes." (Kafka, 1992)

As demonstrated, not all transformations are pleasurable or appear to have any positive worth and sometimes they simply don’t and the trauma of change becomes a living scar.

“All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it.” (Melville, 1981)

Thankfully there is enough evidence to the contrary and the process of learning combined with experience contributes to beneficial change and a potentially meaningful sense of being.

“Happy is the man who has broken the chains which hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and for all.
"Be patient and tough; one day this pain will be useful to you.” (Ovid, 2004)

 The visuals in literature and the transformative nature of the written word were the inspiration to make the animation.

“That's what fiction is about, isn't it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?” (Martel, 2001)

The process of making the animation started with the books, choosing the right book with the right animal.  I wanted a caterpillar and a butterfly, but I needed the caterpillar (bookworm) to enter into one book change into the animal within the book then re-emerge as itself to continue on its journey until the final metamorphosis liberates it. After much debate I settled on Butterflies of Australia, The Life of Pi, Moby-Dick and Metamorphosis.
Once the scene was set and background shot, I created each animal in Photoshop and Flash, finally compositing them in After Effects to complete the narrative and overall look.  The final edit and sound was accomplished in Premiere Pro.  Although the animation is short at 1 min 45 seconds it succeeds in telling the story I intended and even with the technical glitches it makes me smile.

Bibliography
Borges, J. L. (2000). Selected poems. London: Penguin.
Braby, M. (2004). Butterflies of Australia. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing.
Kafka, F. (1992). Metamorphosis. London: Penguin Books.
Martel, Y. (2001). Life of Pi. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.
Melville, H. (1981). Moby-Dick. London: Penguin Books.
Ovid. (2004). Metmorphoses. New York: W.W Norton and Company.
Shakespeare, W. (2005). Midsummer Night's Dream. Oxford: Oxford University Press.