Shreyasi's Thesis!: The Mimes

I also enjoy the concept of mimes. The idea of having a mime talk to the camera in an interview-context intrigues me.

First of all, when you think of mimes, you don't think of talking. Secondly, mimes are interesting people to study in the field of animation. Acting without dialogue. Conveying a sense of weight and balance we animators look for, to things that do not tangibly exist in front of them.

There is a possibility that my thesis can revolve around a mime and a carnival/circus. Two different worlds. Two contrasting color schemes that can playfully merge together. It's all quite abstract in my mind right now. Which is why I am hoping that writing will help me make things more concrete.

I need to do more research on mimes. Three books I need/want to read if I am to go ahead with this idea:

*The Last Butterfly by Michael Jacot (I think this is a movie as well)

*The Clown by Heinrich B oll

*Coulrophobia by Jacob Appel Pushcart

After researching, I also found out that a well-known classical Indian dance known as the Kathakali is considered as the non-Western form of mime. This kind of excites me, but I don't know what to do with this excitement. It's interesting, because the world of Kathakali is vastly colorful like that of a circus; completely opposite to the color palette of the mime we know. Not just that, I've made a film (although it wasn't as expressive and "pushed/exaggerated" as I wanted it to be) about a classical Indian dance. And I've made an experimental animated documentary before. It'd be a nice summary of what I've done so far, but I don't know how I would tie it into a possible "story" yet.