Our group’s original goal, our core concept, was to capture the differences in imagination between adolescents and adults. While we mainly hope to showcase these differences through our use of media, it will contribute greatly to my editing decision making process to establish an understanding of the differences in brain function between children and adults, so as to establish a desired feel for each individual story.
It is well a documented stereotype that children are more imaginative (or at least more expressive). This isn’t necessarily backed up by research, however. Vygotsky established the the baseline for theory regarding the differences in creative imagination between adults and children in 1931. He stated “The key difference is rooted in the level of maturity. He depicted that a child’s experience is simpler, more elementary, and poorer; on the other hand, an adult’s experience is subtler, more complex, and diverse.”
Vygotsky’s theories become evident in our interviews. Robyn’s ideas are creative, however, she expresses simpler concepts and her ideas are less rooted in the plausible and more in her own experience. Robyn talks about the birds getting on a plane or a bus as a method for the birds to travel, but these are probably rooted in her own travel experience.
Stephen, on the other hand, is naturally capable of much more nuanced ideas. The birds ‘escaping’ or migrating, though dressed up with fun possibilities of being on holiday, are both rooted in very legitimate possibilities informed by his own observations and experience. Stephen also uses word play, e.g. ‘The Canary Islands’ and wit, using his imagination to disprove other theories.
Partial segments of both interviews are posted below, and were used to inform our script writing and discussions on animation style.
As an interesting example, both subjects came up with ideas centered around the ideas of personification. For both subjects, it was amusing to think of parrots engaging in so called ‘human’ behaviours. This is informed in some of the editing, as we depict birds checking in to a plane seat, riding their bike, and playing
I also attempted to take some of the tendencies of imagination into account when editing. For instance, I decided to use shots of Robyn from several angles, so it appears she is moving around the room (which she actually did do quite a bit). This reflects the less linear nature of her thoughts and the way her interview went. Likewise, Stephen remains shown from a static image the whole time, so as to give the mood that he is sitting down to tell us a story.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1931). Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, 42, 7-97.
London's Parrots: Imagining an Urban Legend 