Storyboard Artist | edward.gan80@gmail.com
Echoes of Wonders
Created by Ayon Lim | Edward Gan
Directed by Edward Gan
In the vibrant land filled with mystery and adventure, three brave young adventurers set out on a journey to reach the iconic KLCC. Along the way, they discover diverse cultures, delicious foods, and rich traditions as they navigate through enchanted forests, mystic waters, and the infinite sky. They must also overcome treacherous landscapes and confront their own fears, drawing strength from their friendship and perseverance. Will they overcome the obstacles that stand in their way and reach their destination?
"Echoes of Wonders" is a short film created for Heart of Malaysia: A National PSA, an initiative organized and funded by MDEC and Rtist Malaysia. What began as a small downtime project turned into a passion project for both myself and Ayon Lim. Together, we recruited a small team of 5, and started brainstorming on the idea for the project.
The theme of the program centers on Malaysia's identity, patriotism, and unity as Malaysians. Working with limited funding and time, we choose a montage-driven, music video inspired approached, focusing on the country's environment, atmosphere and diverse culture.
We came up with 3 characters that are inspired by unique Malaysian wildlife, a leatherback turtle, a Malayan tiger, and a Rhinoceros hornbill, each representing the ocean, the land and the sky.
Together, they embark on a whimsical adventure through a reimagined Malaysian landscape in search of the legendary Twin Towers. Along the way, they encounter various forest guardians and unique animals, who guide and assist them on their journey, enriching their experience and deepening their connection to the land.
Based on the world idea, I quickly drafted out some concept arts and then proceed to storyboard.
We know we needed a localized music with traditional instruments to accompany the short, something that brings out the richness of Malaysian culture. So we went to source for inspiration on YouTube. We came across this beautiful music Sadabration by SadaBorneo. It has the energy that fits perfectly for the short. We immediately reached out to SadaBorneo, and they kindly agreed to let us use the track for our project.
With the perfect track in hand, animation production began. Daryl Toh worked on the color moodboard using some selected frames from my storyboard, and I moved on to work on the backgrounds using Daryl's moodboard as a visual guide.
moodboard credit to Daryl Toh
Here's some backgrounds I did for the short using the moodboard as reference.
And some animation linetests by Ayon Lim and Jason Chan.
Lastly, we collaborated with Jessica Soo from Janry Productions to help us with our post-compositing and FX. Lots of color adjustments and glows were added to give the short a more polished and finished look.