Animation Project

Colours of Control

November 1, 2018

This animation explores modes of technological and human control through the image of the traffic light. Traffic lights control us, they tell us when to stop and when to go. They line city streets, standing guard over intersections, confronting us with a question of agency. We use freeze frames, altered frame rates, and variations in motion to illustrate and disrupt the control of the traffic light. However, traffic lights are programmed by humans. A human hand reaches into the traffic light and presses a button, causing it to turn to red. Here the power relationship is flipped and we recognize our autonomy - we assert control over ourselves through technology.

This work was created for the Animation assignment in COMS 374 Intermedia II at Concordia University. Animation by Ana Bilokin and Piper Curtis. Sound design by Piper Curtis. Created using the archival footage Seeing Green (1937) sourced from the Prelinger Archives, original stop motion footage, animated illustrations, and a combination of archival and original sound. View report.

Concordia University | Communications | Bilokin & Curtis