Under Pressure

Download Animation Below or View on YouTube

What:
My animation explores anxiety through themes of transformation and protection. It transforms loud, oppressive noises into calming ripples that fade away into silence — a source of protection from the sensory overload common in anxiety. Thus, anxiety is represented by noise.

To support this symbolism, I leveraged the common associations of nature as a source of peace and technology as a source of anxiety. I created technological models as the source of unpleasant sound and water ripples as the calming sound that fades into silence. This contrast in model types reinforces the loud sounds as symbolic of anxiety. Besides the models, I chose a purple environment that disappears with the appearance of the water. As purple is rare in nature, it has an artificial quality that aligns it more closely with anxiety-inducing technology and further reinforces the contrast between anxiety and peace.

Sound was very important to my animation, as it is the source of distress and relief. I needed to find the right balance between the sound being provocative enough to properly evoke the idea of anxiety, while not being too provocative that viewers are turned off. The haunting bells at the beginning signal to the viewer that something is off, without being directly provocative. Over time, the sound increases in number and volume, until it is hard to distinguish the different audio tracks. Each noise-making technology has its own sound, which is louder when that technology is on-screen and gets closer. This was done in part to make the animation have variety, so the viewers are more likely to retain interest in a gradually more provocative animation. I also included these unique sounds to represent the build-up of anxiety from a variety of sources. Initially, these sounds were added one-by-one, much like how a bad day can snowball into something much worse. Once all sounds were added, they gradually grew louder to create more tension in the audience and represent the exponential growth of withheld anxiety. The audio track for human chatter grew the most, as anxiety can be derived from and exacerbated by social settings. For the end of the animation, I had considered adding in happy music to support the positivity of being freed from anxiety. However, I felt that pure silence fit the best, for many reasons. Firstly, relief from the cacophony of sound is best felt when no sound exists. Secondly, the feeling of being free from anxiety can sometimes feel more relieving than joyful, so silence would better replicate the experience than happy music.

Why:
I wanted to convey the feeling of being slowly overwhelmed and wishing to escape the source of distress. This feeling is core to anxiety. I wanted to find something that would mimic how anxiety is ultimately problematic for anyone who is pushed too hard, even though different situations create different levels of anxiety in different people. I felt that sound fit best, as different sounds can be pleasant to listen to for some, but there is always a volume in which the sound will eventually become too harsh for everyone. Through externalizing often internal struggles, I hoped my animation would resonate with everyone — as everyone experiences nearly insurmountable anxiety at some point — and make them feel heard. With the final moment of silence, I also wanted to convey hope for an eventual release from anxiety.

Audio Credits:

bulbastre. (2013, May 24). dark haunting aquatic underwater synth bass with noise [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/bulbastre/sounds/189286/

deleted_user_4541234. (2018, September 22). vwooooorp.wav [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/deleted_user_4541234/sounds/440975/

Froey_. (2024, October 17). Stress (heartbeat) [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/Froey_/sounds/760372/

NLM. (2009, June 2). droplet.wav [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/NLM/sounds/73414/

Qleq. (2023, March 30). Thailand bells.wav [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/Qleq/sounds/681428/

tec_studio. (2011, July 22). mono_bell_-8_F#_8sec.wav [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/tec_studio/sounds/124753/

Thimblerig. (2022, May 21). Slow Quiet Water Ripples (remix of 338345) [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/Thimblerig/sounds/634753/

UnderASpell. (2023, July 1). Swallowing Liquid 4.mp3 [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/UnderASpell/sounds/693251/

unfa. (2013, November 2). Voices [Audio file]. Freesound. https://freesound.org/people/unfa/sounds/204911/