Akhenaten Research
From the selection of topics, I chose the most mysterious pharaoh - Akhenaten. (Images have links to other websites.)
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Reference Imagery
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Ancient Egyptian city
Tomb wall paintings
Sekhmet
Ra
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Ancient Egyptian palanquin
Amun
Isis
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Portrayals of Akhenaten
Figure reference
Anubis
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Initial Ideas
'It doesn't need to be a clever idea, just cleverly animated'. I decided to leave the game concepts behind and just focus on an engaging animation.
Script (first draft)
Akhenaten in 1 minute
The most RADICAL pharaoh – Akhenaten.
He changed EVERYTHING when he suddenly proclaimed there was now one god – Aten, the sun,
and that he was the high priest: the people’s sole connection to the sun.
This was unfathomable heresy to the Egyptian public, who had worshipped multiple gods for centuries.
Akhenaten’s next step was to shut down all the other temples. But this was only the beginning – his goal was to build temples for Aten.
Halfway through this major project, a vision instructed him to uproot the capital from Thebes to Amarna, where he constructed a new city with fifty-thousand subjects.
It is impossible to know the reason behind this revolution, but possible motivations were either religious piety, or politics, as all the temple money went to Akhenaten – leaving the corrupt priests out of power – thus ending the dynasties-long power struggle between them!
As this broke the economy and garnered resentment, it is thought he abandoned the old capital in fear, especially as the cause of his death is unknown.
Eventually, his name and image was erased from every building, painting and document. Destroying his image meant destroying his place in the afterlife!
The most RADICAL pharaoh – Akhenaten.
He changed EVERYTHING when he suddenly proclaimed there was now one god – Aten, the sun,
and that he was the high priest: the people’s sole connection to the sun.
This was unfathomable heresy to the Egyptian public, who had worshipped multiple gods for centuries.
Akhenaten’s next step was to shut down all the other temples. But this was only the beginning – his goal was to build temples for Aten.
Halfway through this major project, a vision instructed him to uproot the capital from Thebes to Amarna, where he constructed a new city with fifty-thousand subjects.
It is impossible to know the reason behind this revolution, but possible motivations were either religious piety, or politics, as all the temple money went to Akhenaten – leaving the corrupt priests out of power – thus ending the dynasties-long power struggle between them!
As this broke the economy and garnered resentment, it is thought he abandoned the old capital in fear, especially as the cause of his death is unknown.
Eventually, his name and image was erased from every building, painting and document. Destroying his image meant destroying his place in the afterlife!
Script (second draft)
Key: "narration" [sounds]
"One day, Akhenaten proclaimed there was only one god, the sun Aten'
[rolling boulder] [stone statues collapsing]
'The old temples were closed for good'
[loud, scandalised gasp]
[stomping, running]
[running mob stampede]
[indistinguishable angry mob]
[complete silence]
[engine start-up, car driving away]/[cartoon-style running away] "Off he went to make a new city"
[hammer banging]
"We don't know how he died"
"One day, Akhenaten proclaimed there was only one god, the sun Aten'
[rolling boulder] [stone statues collapsing]
'The old temples were closed for good'
[loud, scandalised gasp]
[stomping, running]
[running mob stampede]
[indistinguishable angry mob]
[complete silence]
[engine start-up, car driving away]/[cartoon-style running away] "Off he went to make a new city"
[hammer banging]
"We don't know how he died"
Final Script
"One day, the Pharaoh Akhenaten proclaimed there was only one god, the sun Aten'
[shining/metal humming]
[rolling boulder] [stone statues collapsing]
'The old temples were closed for good'
[loud, scandalised gasp]
[stomping, running]
[running mob stampede]
[indistinguishable angry mob]
[complete silence]
[servants grunting] [stomping in military jogging style]
'Akhenaten moved the capital after receiving a vision'
[slow footsteps]
[stone rumbling]
'We don't know how this Pharaoh died'
[shining/metal humming]
[rolling boulder] [stone statues collapsing]
'The old temples were closed for good'
[loud, scandalised gasp]
[stomping, running]
[running mob stampede]
[indistinguishable angry mob]
[complete silence]
[servants grunting] [stomping in military jogging style]
'Akhenaten moved the capital after receiving a vision'
[slow footsteps]
[stone rumbling]
'We don't know how this Pharaoh died'
Storyboard
Animation Tests
First mini test
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Full test
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Tutor advice:
- warmer background
- consider how subjects enter frame
- avoid historical inaccuracy from simplifying the facts
- choosing the appropriate angle for drama
- confetti could clash with the tone of the video
- having one god represent multiple confuses the narrative
- warmer background
- consider how subjects enter frame
- avoid historical inaccuracy from simplifying the facts
- choosing the appropriate angle for drama
- confetti could clash with the tone of the video
- having one god represent multiple confuses the narrative
Revised storyboards as advised
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Animation Progress
Final Outcome
Sometimes it starts off in low resolution and changes to the original (1080p) halfway through.