After listening to our recorded descriptions and transcribing them, it was apparent that the two scents contrasted each other in terms of weight, depth, color, and form. Comparing our descriptions of the two scents, it was evident that we agreed on many of the characteristics pertaining to each scent.

A direction that enticed us was treating each scent as a natural narcotic, each having unique effects: SMELL 1 – fast, light, and sporadic, reminiscent of a stimulant; in contrast to SMELL 2 – heavy, deep, and slow, resembling a depressant. The two scents also reminded me of ‘Takete’ and ‘Maluma,’ a sound-symbolism experiment in psycholinguistics by Wolfgang Köhler, which demonstrates that sounds and forms are connected. We applied this to our scents: SMELL 1 (Takete) and SMELL 2 (Maluma).

From there, we brainstormed what kind of story we wanted to tell. It was here that I was reminded of a concept from Frank Herbert’s Dune, in which a narcotic, “Semuta,” was taken in tandem with music being played.

“The Semuta ritual involved playing dissonant, rhythmic music to amplify the effects of the drug, creating an altered state of consciousness.”

The ritualistic nature of this concept tied in well with the vibe we wanted, as opposed to a strictly habitual or recreational practice. After finding our core concept and our Dune reference spawning us two subjects, we got to work storyboarding and making a rough animatic. We worked parallel to each other, sparring and consulting along the way. Jarl worked on sound, using the animatic as a reference, while I modeled assets and animated scenes.

After three long days and nights, we had a finished animation short. This was my first time animating in Blender. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of hand-keying the characters and seeing them come to life. Additionally, it was an absolute pleasure working with Jarl. Witnessing his expertise breathe life into a world yearning to be heard was immensely inspiring.