Introduction: Tying Your Own Shoes
A NFB film by Shira Avni
Summary
Tying Your Own Shoes is an animated documentary portrait of four talented artists, all of whom have Down syndrome. Combining video interviews with each artist’s beautiful animated self-portrait and personal narration, the film provides a surprising window into the world of Down syndrome, as experienced from the inside. The film maker was wanting to provide a forum for artists with Down syndrome to portray themselves as they wish to be seen.
The film also proves that Animation is uniquely suited to communicating complex topics and emotions in a short time frame, and it provides a gentle but efficient means to break down stereotypes and stimulate alternate ways of thinking. In the words of the filmmaker: "I believe this film can open people’s minds to difference."
The animation and interviews in Tying Your Own Shoes were created during an intensive, summer-long animation workshop at the National Film Board of Canada’s Mediatheque in Toronto, in 2007, with some follow-up animation and interviews completed in 2008.
One question asked at the beginning of the project was: Will artists with Down syndrome be able to learn how to animate? All of the artists quickly and joyfully mastered the art of animation, learning to control their cameras and computers without assistance.
Tying Your Own Shoes was animated using different techniques: drawing, paint-on-glass, clay-on-glass and paper cut-out animation, and the images were captured using a digital camera. All of the animation was backlit, which means that the artists worked in a completely dark room where the only light came from a light box placed underneath the artwork. The artists tried out different animation techniques and chose the method they preferred.
The process of animation is long and complex. To create the illusion of movement, each artist had to draw or paint 12 frames (pictures) for every second of animation—that means they had to draw 720 pictures for every minute of film. Each frame is subtly different from the last one, so that when you project the frames one after the other, you create the illusion of life.
The four artists were interviewed about life, love, art, war, relationships, childhood and their experiences of Down syndrome. The interviews took place over multiple sessions and resulted in over 40 hours of video footage. The recordings were then edited together, with input from the artists, who went on to animate their self-portraits.
People with Down syndrome often have smaller mouth cavities and low muscle tone in their tongues, which sometimes makes their speech harder to understand. The artists expressed frustration at being misunderstood, especially since they all had a lot to say. The film maker decided to subtitle the film so the audience could understand all of the subtleties in the narration. The artists’ voices are subtitled in their own handwriting. Additional animation and post-production.
Once the summer workshop was done, the editing and bridging animation work began. With over 40 hours of video and sound to sift through, editor Carrie Haber cut the footage down to 16 minutes and brought a flowing structure to the film. Editing the film was a daunting task, but Haber managed to pull out the most evocative of the recordings.,As there were so many beautiful interviews to work with, filmmaker Shira Avni and assistant animator Lillian Chan created a few short animations to fill in the gaps where there was not enough animation or video to accompany the narration. The majority of animation in the film, however, was created by Katherine, Matthew, Petra and Daninah.
Once all of the animation and editing was complete, it was time to animate the subtitles by tracing sentences five times, to make them shimmer, and placing them into the film. The final step was adding music and sound effects created by Luigi Allemano.
Assignments and Discussion Topics
- In a written response, discuss some of the following about the film:
- What are some of the topics that the artists cover?
- Why is each personal story worth telling?
- How does each artist transform personal experiences into art?
- Did you learn anything about Down syndrome from this film?
- Was there anything in the film that surprised you about the four artists? Explain.
- How does each of the following play a part: technique, style, colour, movement, symbols?
- Why do you think some sections are animated and others shown in live action (video)?
- Why do you think we spent class time looking at this film and discussing it?
- Complete one of the following:
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Pair up with another participant and interview each other about your lives. Then, paint or draw self-portraits based upon the interviews.
- Are you an artist? If so, what do you like most about being an artist?
- What makes you special?
- What do you like best about being you?
- What challenges or difficulties have you had to overcome?
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What is your favourite or least favourite moment from your childhood.
- Create a drawing, painting or comic strip of a moment from your childhood.
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