The evocation and expression of emotion through documentary animation

How might an animator distil and study emotion? Could animation itself be a means to unlock meaning that previous experiments have not been able to access? Animation has the power to both highlight and conceal emotions as expressed through body movement and gesture. When we view live-action (human interview) documentary footage, we are exposed not just to the spoken words but also to the subtle nuances of body movements. How much might be lost when documentary footage is transposed into animation, or, indeed, what might be gained, translated through the personal and artistic view of the animator? Drawing on my own previous experience as a games animator, now using research through practice methodology, this article explores the results of the first of a series of animations created to explore the more subtle nuances of gesture. Through the medium of a documentary-style interview, opposing topics are used to evoke strong emotions – first, of happiness, and then of sadness – with a view to accessing real rather than acted (simulated) emotions and their associated body movements.