After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the President issued an order that all Americans of Japanese decent, must be relocated to internment camps. You could only take one suitcase with you and must leave everything else behind. This is a story about my Grandmother during the Japanese evacuation to the internment camps, during World War II.
At first, I was upset that I didn't finish and had to cut a lot out of my movie, that there were a lot of problems in the final output and problems during screening. However, I was later proud of everything I was able to do, in the time given. And I'm sure my Grandma would be too. I do plan on revamping the entire project, to suit my vision in the upcoming future.
Scene Descriptions
Family Market
My Grandmother's family owned their own general store, in Alameda, California. She was twenty years old the day my Grandmother heard about the attacks at Pearl Harbor. A young man came running in, saying Pearl Harbor had been attacked. She and the family turned on the radio and listened to the news report. Grandma was very upset about the news and was very confused as to what was going on. Would the other states be next, California, her home?
During my film, I had an elderly lady shopping in the store. That is what my Grandma looks like in more
recent years. The cameo was meant to serve as her reminiscing what happened to her, as she was telling the
story. I don't know what the real store looked like. The inspiration for the layout, was when I would shop in
Chinatown and they would usually have such a small space to store their wares.
Family discussion in Kitchen
Many weeks later, Grandma's father received a letter, ordering them to evacuate and their
relocation instructions. He told the family that they can only bring one suitcase with them and to only pack
the things that will keep you alive. He would have to close the store, sell the house and his car.
My Grandma always told me she was a tomboy. In my film, I focused on her personality at this scene,
to establish her character. The kitchen was inspired after my own kitchen at my house.
The Stranger
During this time, many of the Japanese people couldn't sell their possessions, because they would eventually become abandoned anyway, once they left for the camps. There were horrible people who took these possessions much early on too, and there wasn't much the Japanese people could do. It wasn't uncommon to have someone just walk into your house and take something off the shelf.
My Grandma didn't want anyone to take the family car, so she smashed it up with a baseball bat. The car
was modeled fellow classmate Ori Gellman. The house design was inspired by my Aunt's house. It seemed
more cozy and it really does have a pink tint to it.
Packing in the Bedroom
There's a huge difference between the real story and the movie. What really happened was the family already arrived at the camps, Grandma was unpacking and her father looked to see what she had. The majority of the suitcase consisted of photo albums. He was furious at her for not packing more clothes or necessities. What makes this scenario worse than how I had presented in my movie, is because they were already at the camps, stuck with the suitcase full of photo albums and not enough clothes to change into.
For the story to make sense, I placed that moment in this scene. Yuri's character needed to break at some point before going to the camps, and I felt this was the most devastating (next to losing her dog). Yuri's bedroom is based off of my bedroom's layout, minus the cleanliness. The many picture frames on the walls is to emphasize how important the photo albums were to my Grandma. They are all real pictures and yes, they are all from the surviving photo albums she brought with her to the camps.
*Just thought I should note: I'm a huge fan of the Resident Evil series and the pre-rendered backgrounds and camera angles are a nod to the series. I also added the "item chest" in the bedroom, next to the vanity.
To the Train Station
As part of my other album that contains all of the Clay Armatures in my film, I have a detailed story about what really happened with the Little Soldier Boy.
http://portfolios.sva.edu/gallery/SVA-2010-Senior-Thesis-Clay-Armatures/3981567
I tried to model the Alameda Train Station as best as I could using photographs I found online of the actual site. Originally, I had a train whistle blowing and would gradually get louder, as the screen shook. In every concept, I did NOT want to actually show the train. I felt it was scarier that way. I also intended to have more people at the train station, so I was planned to have people based off of my own family and relatives. However, that would mean 20+ more armatures I would have to make. Story wise, I didn't plan on Yuri getting her photo albums back, but I felt that was too much of a bummer, even for a story like this. Magic would've brought the photo albums back, so that's what I did in my film.
Closing
In my Thesis Research class, I already had an idea for my thesis, but my Grandmother became very sick. I didn't know how much longer she had, so I changed my idea to the Japanese evacuation. I was hoping to finish and she would be able to view the movie in the theater around when I would graduate. Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas, during my Junior year of SVA, my Grandma past away. I did not want anyone at school to know what happened. This was already a sad movie and I didn't want that kind of attention. So I kept it a secret. After winter break was over and went back to school, I announced that I wanted Clay Figures, instead of CG characters, as my medium. They would be shot in front of a green screen and Maya would be used to create the CG backgrounds.
Though this meant I was highly focused on working on this project, it also meant I was in a deep depression and it made me quieter than how I already was and I became distant from fellow students and instructors. But when I the credits of my movie, up on the big screen and saw my Grandma's picture, I was so happy that I did all of this for her. Though there were technical problems during my movie, I still received high praises from students and teachers. It was all worth it, to tell my Grandma's story.
I do plan on revamping the project, and maybe write a book.
