Claymation 

This is a book trailer for the popular novel: A Thousand Splendid Suns By: Khaled Hosseini.

All components were hand-sculpted with clay and textiles on a Lightbox. Using stop motion techniques, this was shot on a Canon T3. 

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I decided to use clay as the major medium as I wanted to display the piece in the eyes of a woman in Afghanistan. As

clay is modelled with hands, it resembles the feminine role described in the novel. As women held traditional roles in the home and often used their hands to complete chores and cook, this was a way for me to model the unique perspective of the story. I chose to represent the female birds as a white dove to showcase their innocence, beauty

and their strength to stay strong through tough times. For the male characters, they were symbolically represented as black birds because I wanted to showcase the stark gender roles difference in the society they lived in.

 

For the abusive husband, I decided to represent him as a crow as these birds are commonly associated as being violent and hot tempered. I chose to tint the background in a yellow haze to showcase the dusty and sandy environmental conditions of where the story unfolds. I decided to start the piece with the eggs in the nest to represent the innocence and beginning of the tale. I then ended with a lantern to tie in the main quote in the beginning. By tying in these elements, I wanted to emphasis the women's spirit through light. I chosen this particular lantern as its architecture is shaped with geometric shapes and domes that are symbolic of the muslim culture. 

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I used a calligraphic style font to showcase the middle eastern origin of the tale and to represent the era of when the tale took place. As many women in the country at the time came from different backgrounds, I decided to create a book bag necklace of the white bird who was educated. To represent the theme of domestic abuse, I chose to use a cage. This unsettling oppression can be seen and would raise curiosity to a viewer and make them want to read the book. 

 

II made a soundscape from clips of traditional musical instruments in Afghanistan; the Rhubarb and some beats of the “Ataan” a traditional folklore dance. Mixed with bomb sounds from the Soviet war to give a taste of the complexity of tale. Layered together, these different elements come together to create an energetic and moving trailer.

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