“MK | Chemical: A Match Made in Ping-Pong” is a 60-second stop-motion psychological love story between a ping-pong ball and its paddle, a game of back and forth where the ping-pong ball becomes overly obsessed with the paddle while feeling confused by the physical nature of their relationship and the symbiotic roles that define both their existence.

This write-up provides insights into the creative process behind my stop-motion psychological love story between a ping-pong ball and its paddle for a Parsons School of Design online class. The story was based on the lyrics of a song by musician MK, and I used Ellen Lupton’s book, Design is Storytelling, as well as in-class readings and teachings to come up with a narrative arc that would guide the work.

I detail the thought process while creating the storyboard for the first 30 seconds of the video, explaining how it helped me visualise the narrative structure and pacing of the piece. However, I note that I deviated significantly from the storyboard during the actual creation process because things did not work on both a narrative and visual level. This led me to reflect on whether I needed to work harder on storyboarding or if my creative process is more intuitive and organic, informed by the objects and visual assets I work with.

I also discuss the use of visual aids in my work, particularly Gifs, which I describe as modern-day Chinese characters with incredible amounts of information packed into them. I explain that my work is abstract but has meaning behind it and that I enjoy playing with music and language to convey larger meanings. Additionally, I’m fascinated by all ways in which we communicate, including how non-native English speakers comprehend language with limited English.

Overall, this write-up provides a glimpse into my creative process and my reflections on creating a stop-motion love story inspired by a song. It highlights the challenges and rewards of the creative process and the importance of being flexible and open to change.

This piece was made for the Parsons School of Design online class Time-Based Storytelling at The New School. It was influenced by the book Design is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton and in-class reading and teaching. The story was based on the lyrics of the song by musician MK.

By examining the first 60 seconds of the song's lyrics, I came up with a narrative arc that was first introduced to me in Ellen Lupton’s highly informative book.

The narrative arc I came up with:

• Exposition: Introduction of the ping-pong ball and paddle

• Rising Action: The ping-pong ball becomes overly obsessed with the paddle

• Climax: The ping-pong ball and paddle combine in a game of ping-pong

• Crisis: The ping-pong ball feels confused by the physical nature of their relationship and the symbiotic roles that define both their existence

• 2nd Crisis: The ping-pong ball is further confused and unsure of what it wants

• Falling Action: The ping-pong ball expresses its desire for the paddle

• Resolution: The ping-pong ball and paddle become undividable

• Denouement: The ping-pong ball reflects on the intensity of their relationship and acknowledges that it is too chemical

If you don’t know, a narrative arc is the sequence of events that make up a story, including the exposition, rising action, climax, crisis, falling action, resolution, and denouement. It is the structure that gives a story its shape and coherence and helps to guide the audience's emotional response to the events of the story.

My narrative arc of the lyrics in graph form:

I then came up with a storyboard of the first 30 seconds to visually express what would be represented on the screen and to help inform me in making the video. I used simple icons to break down the information on the screen into simple elements that would give me a springboard to work from. As you can see, my storyboard is a form of sequential drawings or images used to plan out the shots and visual elements of a particular scene or sequence to help visualise the narrative structure and pacing. I also included text to include more information rather than include it visually. If I was working with a team, more so a client, I would have needed my storyboard to be actualised as a scene map, but since I was working alone on this, I used my storyboard as a jumping-off point.

Storyboard:

Visual assets:

Using the lyrics of the song as a starting point, I began to collect the creative assets that I would be using in the piece. For my assets, I use “found imagery”, mostly Gifs, for my work falls under the Fair Use category in that it is a parody of using found imagery already used in popular forms of communication to critique how we communicate and express ourselves in this modern form of communication. I deconstruct it and use it in bite-sized pieces to evoke emotions of pop-cultural nostalgia while also using it as a form of the way it is contemporarily used in society. My work is actively questioning and parodying language, and I must use all forms of modern communication to create such work. I've been fascinated by Gifs as a form of communication from the get-go, for they are culturally densely packed encyclopaedias of knowledge that are timestamps of specific eras.

For my own creative process, I collect both Gifs and use imagery found in the Smithsonian Open Access collection. I do not collect all my creative assets beforehand because the stop-motion work I do informs the creative assets I use and vice versa, and therefore, I take things step by step.

The draft:

The project's first week involved studying the metaphorical relationship between the ping-pong ball and the paddle and how it relates to our relationships in life. The piece I ended up making explored our longing for love and how nostalgia can be tied to a "place" that no longer exists. The ping-pong ball represented the constant movement between places and never having a "home". It touched on how love can be a search for a feeling we once had, similar to how we long for childhood memories or a home that no longer exists. Ultimately, we choose to love, just as the ball does, and we find comfort in nostalgia and memories. The song's "chemical" element may not be toxic, but sometimes what is closest to us can be the most confusing on a human level.

Breakdown of scenes 1-9:

The first takeaway:

What I learned most was that my storyboard was just a place to jump off from, for the creation happens when you are actually making it. I deviated significantly because things didn't work for me on both a narrative and visual level. This may mean I need to work harder on storyboarding or that my creative process is intuitive, organic, and informed by the objects and visual assets I work with.

Although the work is very abstract, there is an attempt at meaning behind it, and I'm trying to see if that is conveyed or to what levels of literalness I need to go. I also like to play with music and language, how we interpret words out of context, and how do listeners, as speakers of English as a second language, comprehend it with limited English. I'm obsessed with all ways in which we communicate, and that is why I like to visually use image aids in my work to bring home larger meanings. I find Gifs like modern-day Chinese characters with so much information packed into them.

Use of colour:

After reading so much on colour theory over the week making this, I should explain my use of colour, but I must admit I'm perplexed by my use of colour and how I come up with the combinations I use. I put a lot of thought into them, and I think there is consistency; however, it is an area that I should be aware more of, and I recognise that.

For example, why did I pick colour #E7D724 for the Cooper Hewitt tapestry that is overlayed (blending mode darkened) in scene 5 above? Because its original colour was #9B4343, but I changed it by using the "change to colour" effect in Ae. Well, my reasoning would be that it had a similar tone to the wooden paddle in the previous scene, and the #E7D724 reminded me of the drapery in the iconic "My Favorite Things" scene in Sound of Music. It also reminded me of bad breath.

So yes, my use of colour is out there, and after doing all those readings, I'm confused by it. It will be something I just need to explore and think more about. I'd like to say my use of colour is similar to a "garage sale" in that I take tons of colours and imagery (anything that one would find in a hoarders garage), put them side by side on the screen (like putting them on the lawn), some clash and some work but at the end they sell.

Articles on colour:

Colour Theory: Brief Guide For Designers by Alina Arhipova

Colour Theory: A Jargon-Free Designer's Guide by Sam Hampton-Smith

Colours and Emotions: How Colours Make You Feel by Allison S. Gremillion

The Science of Color Explained by Art by Invaluable

The final:

In the end, I finally made it to the 60-second mark, and I'm glad I did it because just 30 seconds was too short, and by repeating the graphics and structure, albeit slightly diverging from it to make it more interesting, I think it delivers a more thorough narrative. The first 30 seconds felt stifled for breath a bit, and here I wanted to make it breathe more; although the tempo is faster (a struggle to work with in transitions and I agree that I haven't succeeded completely) and, therefore, the visuals come at a faster rate, it does give some definitive power.

I learned a lot, and I will continue to investigate my use of colour. I like what I read on p. 111 in Design is Storytelling on Pixar's use of "colour scripts" that map out moods in a film. I will try that in my own ad-hoc way in my next endeavour.

Artists who worked on this video:

Joey Foster Ellis

Sandhya Karki