Throughout my life, my parents have consistently been by my side, supporting me in everything I do. This project tells the story of my parents’ upbringing, my childhood, and how grateful I am to have them.

1. C a r l y J o h n s o n
0 4 / 1 7 / 1 9
“Grateful :”Process Book

2. T h e C o n c e p t
Throughout my life, my parents have consistently been by my side, supporting
me in everything I do. This project tells the story of my parents’ upbringing,
my childhood, and how grateful I am to have them.

3. M i n d M a p

4. I n i t i a l S c r i p t : Pa r t 1
Falling from the rooftops, sheets of snow covered the ground and sidewalk, blocking the driveway
as my parents grinned from ear to ear, the happiness creating an apparent glow around them, thrilled to
bring their daughter into their home beside the railroad tracks of Lindenwold, New Jersey. Ignorant of
the frozen cold February temperatures surrounding them, my parents carried me through the doorway,
carelessly stepping over the creaky floors, feeling gusts of wind from the floor-bound air conditioning
vents. At six pounds and thirteen ounces, they say I was born smiling. “Happiest baby I’ve ever seen”
my mom wrote in dotted handwriting, embellishing my “baby book” with her everlasting love.
Both of my parents grew up inside cramped trailers and experienced more than their fair share
of hardship. Food stamps and free or reduced lunch were standards from the time they first attended
school. My dad’s parents struggled to feed themselves on their minimal income, let alone seven children,
and my mom’s parents separated the day after her eleventh birthday, her father leaving behind three
daughters with a mother who never had the chance to receive a secondary education. When my parents
first met, my mom used to tease my dad and lovingly tell him: “I only married you ‘cause you lived in a
double-wide; you were rich.” My dad would throw his head back, chuckle, and pull my mom close, his
smile forever reaching his eyes.
As a child, I was gifted with the truest form of love imaginable. With never-ending support,
my parents have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. No matter how unreasonable or
extraordinary, they have consistently been there for me every step of the way, even when my dream was
as outrageous as the endowment of flight. Instead of scoffing at my goal of transforming into a bird,
my parents enrolled me in gymnastics, the closest to flight attainable by a two-year old with the wildest
dreams conceivable.

5. I n i t i a l S c r i p t : Pa r t 2
Upon our move to Texas, I began training strenuous hours in hopes to represent my country one
day. Every day, on the way to gymnastics, my mom and I would do our “secret handshake,” and she
would tell me the same words “You’re going to work hard, harder than everyone else. You’re going to be
better than everyone else. You’re going to be a world champion, an Olympic champion, and everyone’s
going to know your name.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy. Starting at the age of eleven, I spent months in and out of
doctor’s offices until four years later, I was diagnosed with dysfunctional mitochondria. Before this
sickness, I was training to be an elite gymnast. Although I lost the sport I loved, a new door opened,
and that’s how I discovered animation.
Throughout my entire life, no matter what, my parents’ love and support has never once faltered;
they are eternally on my side, cheering me on in everything I do. For that, I am forever grateful. I hope
one day I’ll be half as good of a parent as each of them have been for me because even on their worst
days, they have always put me first. Their love for me never ceases to exist.

6. Re v i s e d S c r i p t
Falling from the rooftops, sheets of snow covered the ground and sidewalk, as my parents grinned
from ear to ear, thrilled to bring their daughter into their home beside the railroad tracks of Lindenwold,
New Jersey. Ignorant of the frozen cold February temperatures surrounding them, my parents
carelessly stepped over the creaky floors, feeling gusts of wind from the floor-bound air conditioning
vents. They always say I was born smiling. “Happiest baby I’ve ever seen” my mom wrote in dotted
handwriting, embellishing my baby book with her everlasting love.
Both of my parents grew up inside cramped trailers; food stamps and free or reduced lunch were
standards from the time they first attended school. When my parents got married, my mom used to
tease my dad and lovingly tell him: “I only married you ‘cause you lived in a double-wide; you were rich.”
As a child, I was gifted with the truest form of love imaginable. My parents have always
encouraged me to pursue my dreams and have consistently been there for me every step of the
way; even when my dream was as outrageous as transforming into a bird, my parents enrolled me in
gymnastics, the closest to flight attainable by a two-year old with the wildest dreams conceivable.
Of course, it wasn’t always easy. We did go through difficult times, but we went through them together.
Throughout my entire life, my parents have always been by my side, cheering me on in everything I do.
For that, I am forever grateful.

7. Ke y wo r d s / P h r a s e s L i s t
• snow
• glow
• daughter
• home
• railroad
• New Jersey
• temperatures
• doorway
• smiling
• handwriting
• trailers
• food stamps
• seven children
• separated
• 11th birthday
• three daughters
• parents first met
• double-wide
• gifted with love
• dreams
• step
• bird
• gymnastics
• moved
• handshake
• “You’re...”
• doctor’s offices
• diagnosed
• door opened
• animation
• parents’ love
• cheering me on
• “Their...”

8. Ke y wo r d s / P h r a s e s A n i m a t i o n I d e a s
• Snow: Roofline, camera down to snowy ground, snowman
• Grinned: Line transforms into a smile.
• Glow: Light illuminates around the two figures.
• Daughter: Shapes unite into the form of a baby.
• Home: Abstract house outline
• Railroad: camera pulls back, railtracks + smoke
• New Jersey: camera pulls back again, shapes collide into NJ
• Temperatures: Thermometer
• Doorway: Door opens
• Creaky floors: Wood grain, sound effect
• Wind: white accents come out of the subtle vent
• 6 lbs. 13 oz.: Baby on a scale, numbers?
• Smiling: Photo effect (flash, still, white frame, camera)
• “Happiest”: Words written in a scrapbook (camera pulls back)
• Grew up: Book binding, pull up into a ruler
• Trailers: ruler becomes tree, trailer= rough shapes
• Food stamps/Lunch: stamp, food/lunch box (red school)
• Struggled: school flattens into plate, pour cereal (7 pieces left)
• Income: cereal->coins, plate->savings jar, dump into a bills jar
• Seven children: seven jars turn into seven children
• Separated: slide right, ripped paper effect, zoom into rip
• 11th birthday: candles on cake
• Three daughters: sisters appear beside cake
• Secondary education: NiNi behind them, looks to backpack
• Parents first met: backpack-Annie, David beside her (lockers)
• Double-wide: lockers turn to singlewide, grows to doublewide
• Pull my mom close: close-up David, hold Annie
• Gifted with love: Present= heart
• Dreams: colorful effects
• Step: Line turns to staircase, three pairs of shoes
• Flight: colorful effects part two, magic wand, poof wings
• Bird: separate parts, reform bird
• Gymnastics: bird flies down, turns into handstand figure; layout
• Wildest dreams: Turns to colorful spiral
• Moved: Spiral turns to globe outline, plane flies across
• On the way: Plane lands, turns into car
• Handshake: Cut to interior car, handshake
• “You’re:” Gymnastics montage/in car, driving
• Unfortunately: Turns to b&w spheres, fall off of beam, beam
drops down out of frame
• 11: Camera follows beam down, another beam drops (11); beams
widen into doors
• Doctor’s offices: series of doors, open/close, shoes in and out
• Diagnosed: Random board of data, green light flicker, dies out
• Elite gymnast: Liquid to left (rewind); more gymnastics
• Door opened: Pull back to closed door, moves left to new door
• Animation: Door opens revealing colorful special effects
• Parents’ love: Color turns into hearts; scenes with parents
• Cheering me on: Foam fingers
• One day: Day to night transition
• Parent: On couch, holding baby
• Each of them: Appear behind me
• “Their:” Baby & couch fade out, camera effect, fade out

9. M o o d B o a r d

10. Vidico Freepik
S t y l e I n s p i r a t i o n
Meg Robichaud Giant Ant dribble.com/lecho
Jessica Meyrick

11. M o t i o n Re f e r e n c e s
“Into The Flame”- Hue & Cry
• Transitions/camera work
• Morphing
• Texture
• Contrast
• Line quality
“NPR Invisibilia- Alien Hand”- Giant Ant
• Simplistic style
• Subtle shading
• Line quality
• Positive/negative space (overlapping feet)
“Lullaby Theories: A Secret Message”- Coat of Arms
• Simplistic style
• Line quality
• Texture
“Lullaby Theories: A Secret Message”- Coat of Arms
• Contrast
• Use of simple shapes
• Camera work
“Perception”- Celia Hsu
• Transitions/camera work
• Morphing from shapes to human form
• Line quality
“Random Acts of Kindness Foundation”- Giant Ant
• Simplistic style
• Soft color palette
• Texture

12. C o l o r Pa l e t t e

13. S t o r y b o a r d
Snow: Roofline, camera down to snowy ground, snowman Grinned: Line transforms into a smile. Glow: Light illuminates around them. Home: Abstract house outline
Railroad: camera pulls back; railtracks Temperature: Thermometer Doorway: Door opens Creaky Floors: Wood grain, soundNew Jersey: zoom out, shapes->NJ
Wind: white wind accents Smiling: Flash, still, white frame (cam) “Happiest”: Written in a scrapbook Grew up: Book binding, pull up->ruler6 lbs. 13 oz.: Baby on a scale; #s?
Food stamps: stamp; (red school)Trailers: ruler becomes tree

14. S t o r y b o a r d
Struggled: ->bowl; cereal (7 pieces) Income: plate->savings jar Income: dump into a bills jar
7 children: 7 jars turn into 7 children Separated: slide right, ripped paper 11th birthday: candles on cake 3 daughters: sisters appear beside cake
Secondary education: NiNi behind them; looks to backpack Parents first met: backpack-Annie Double-wide: grows to doublewide
Dreams: colorful effectsGifted with love: Present= heart
Income: cereal->coins
Pull my mom close: close-up, hug Step: Line->stairs, 3 pairs of shoes
Double-wide: lockers->singlewide

15. S t o r y b o a r d
Flight: Magic wand, poof wings Gymnastics: bird flies down->handstand figure; layout
Wildest dreams: ->colorful spiral On the way: Plane lands->car Handshake: Interior car, handshakeMoved: Spiral turns to globe outline, plane flies across
“You’re...”: In car, driving Unfortunately: Spheres fall on beam Unfortunately: Spheres fall off beam Unfortunately: Beam falls downUnfortunately: ->b&w spheres
Doctor’s offices: doors o/c (shoes)11: Beams widen into doors
Bird: separate parts, reform bird
11: Beam moves down, 2nd beam Diagnosed: Board of data, green light Elite gymnast: Liquid to left (rewind)

16. S t o r y b o a r d
Elite gymnast: More gymnastics Animation: Colorful special effects Parents’ love: ->hearts (scenes) Cheering me on: Foam fingers
One day: Day to night transition Each of them: Appear behind me “Their...”: Baby/couch fade (cam) “Their...”: Fade out
Door opened: Closed door; new door
Parent: On couch, holding baby

17. I n i t i a l S ke t ch e s

18. S t y l e Fr a m e s

19. S t y l e Fr a m e # 1

20. S t y l e Fr a m e # 2

21. S t y l e Fr a m e # 3

22. S t y l e Fr a m e # 4

23. S t y l e Fr a m e # 5

24. S t y l e Fr a m e # 6

25. S t y l e Fr a m e s

26. F i n a l L o o k