When the Last Manggis Falls
motion - illustration
"When the Last Manggis Falls" is animated drama that deals with themes of cultural identity, fantasy, grief, and nostalgia. Using color, texture, metaphors, and cultural patterns, this title sequence sets the tone of the film for its target audience of families and young adults.
The word “manggis” is the Indonesian translation for the mangosteen fruit. The overall theme of When the Last Manggis Falls, is the idea of youth ripening and then fading as one faces the trials of life.
Plot
The emotions captured in the title sequence are a complex mix of nostalgia, wonder, and an lingering uneasy feeling of something coming to an end.
Mood Board
The storyboard for the title sequence showcases a shift in color usage through three pivotal acts within the movie. At first brighter are used to capture themes of innocence. Then there is a shift to blue pulling on ideas of being adrift in life or facing some type of barrier. Finally the purple color represents the ripening of the manggis fruit and the subsequent parting of ways between the two main characters.
Process
Design Strategy and Guidelines:
"When the Last Manggis Falls" highlights culture and the passage of time through the batik patterns and metaphors of nature throughout the title sequence's duration. Following the growth of the manggis or mangosteen fruit, the title sequence alludes to the challenges that will be faced by Kirana Gregory as she enters adulthood while assimilating to the home land of her mother and the past that she left behind.
Final
This title sequence allowed me to dive deep into the capabilities of After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Procreate. Facing technical issues of my own computer, I had to problem solve for how to be efficient in the program's processing power by utilizing pre-comps and keeping my files organized.
"When the Last Manggis Falls" is a project that is particularly dear to me due to its ties to some of my earliest memories in Bogor, Indonesia. Weaving my Indonesian heritage into the title sequence through pattern, locations, and the language itself has been an extremely gratifying experience.