Prolefeed
“Prolefeed" is a term coined by George Orwell in his novel 1984 to describe the worthless entertainment and propaganda that the Party (the governing body in Oceania) feeds to the proles (the lower classes).
Goal
A clear and sophisticated sequence of events that are engaging to watch. FNL deliverable 30 seconds minimum. client approval is required for projects over 60 seconds.
In context, the project goal is to “Evoke” an emotion from our audience.
This is our Senior year thesis project, and the project is our choice of subject and design.
Research
I wanted to create a thesis that shows the effects of social media, but in a nonliteral way. Creating several abstract scenarios that represent the hollow traps that social media can create in our lives today. This is especially impacting my generation.
Orwell discusses the role of "cheap entertainment" in distracting the working class. In 1984, the government produces shallow content, like "prolefeed," a term he coined to describe low-quality entertainment used to occupy the masses' minds. This includes sensationalist literature, meaningless songs, and mindless shows—keeping people from critical thinking or questioning authority. (George Orwell (1984)
The design piece uses the M.C. Escher-inspired staircase to symbolize the labyrinthine and often paradoxical nature of social media. The surreal environments reflect emotional extremes—chaos, comfort, and validation—mirroring the addictive yet unfulfilling experience of endless scrolling. By ending with an escape to the real world, the animation invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with social media, asking whether the digital labyrinth enhances or detracts from their lives.
My Projectc design was to showcase how social media traps us in a never-ending loop. In the end, it’s all up to us as individuals, if we want to escape and have a more balance lives. My concern is that it appears most of us choose to stay within the loop.
Design Style
The Design revolved around “Photorealistic Surrealism”
My design revolved around “Photorealistic Surrealism”. The visual style is minimal in color, relying heavily on the interplay of light and shadow. This creates a stark, moody ambiance that emphasizes the balance between light and darkness
Design Style Experiments
Initial Approach, Preproduction and DEV
The Original Plan for this story was redesigned around Febuary 2025, after that decision, a new story direction evolved that involved showing various scenarios of how M.C Escher effect impacts people. This design change was made to be a more efficient and clearer way to communicate the story.
Storyboard
First animatic
When the Project First started, I had a rough Idea of how I wanted this to develop. I created this fairly quickly with a placeholder type to showcase the placement I originally had in mind.
Second Animatic
For the project, I tried several type treatments and played with the frames themselves to create more interesting compositions, I worked to find newer approaches to incorporate M.C. Esher-like aspects into the project.
First Pass
As it was getting closer to completion, I removed the type from certain fraemes and landed on a “simpler treatment”. In addition I unified the style of the flower, the moths, and the fish by giving them a paper like feel.
Technical Execution
Initial Development
When I started this project I was building all of my assets from cinema4D,. I began with creating sequences I knew would take longer to render, this way they could render while I was working on the less complex and faster sequences of the project. This project was utilized a combination of Cinema4D, HoudiniFX, LiquigenFluid, & Adobe After Effects.
Cinema4D & Redshift
Most Models in this thesis were modeled by me with a few being from sketchfab & CG trader
HoudiniFX
Houdini was used to enhance the liquigen water simulation, as well as create other compoents
3D animation, primarily done in C4D. This included the Cloth sim for the flower & the bubbles
Texturing, UVMapping & Lighting done in C4D
LiquiGen
Liquigen was used to create the “Canal Stream” and scattered water droplets in the “Validation arc”
After Effects
After effects was used to edit the footage in post as well as add SFX and music made by Kelly Warner.
