Motion graphics documentary video of Deaf artists of the 21st century

Abstract

Deaf art reflects a unique culture where Deaf people express their life experiences, which are different from those of hearing people. Deaf art also shows the joy and community among Deaf people with their shared language and experiences, expressed through art that includes painting, sculpturing, acting, and writing. In other words, Deaf culture is a celebration where we as Deaf people can bond and share our similar experiences with life struggle in this majority world of hearing people. We often seek out other Deaf artists to connect with and get the sense of “home.” That “sense of home” includes not just gathering in person, but also interacting through communications technologies, such as email, websites, blogs, videos, and chat rooms. However, even though there are many examples of videos of Deaf people expressing their deaf experiences in ASL, these were strictly two-dimensional, very flat because they had limited or no motion graphics. Motion graphics allows for more lifelike, three-dimensional representation of visual images, an appropriate medium to use in representing two Deaf artists who use a three-dimensional means of communication: American Sign Language (ASL). Creating this 30-minutes three-dimensional motion graphics video documentary about two Deaf artists, Jengy Geller and Carl Lil Bear, and their backgrounds and inspirations has brought the language of ASL to where the audience could appreciate the three-dimensional visual images along with special effects that includes a flythrough into virtual worlds of rich contrast colors that portray knowledge.