My inspiration comes from the weekly dormitory kitchen inspections I conduct, which are highly frequent and relatively monotonous repetitive tasks. This has led me to ponder that if robots become widely adopted in the future, they could potentially take over such tasks, not only improving efficiency but also freeing up human labor to focus on more creative or complex endeavors.
I plan to design a small aircraft for carrying out dormitory kitchen inspections. To achieve this, I researched a variety of references, with the designs of aircraft in the game StarCraft serving as my primary source of inspiration. I extracted certain design elements and noticed that many of the aircraft resembled insects in appearance, which greatly inspired me. Additionally, the small flying insects commonly seen in the dormitory corridors made this design concept seem even more reasonable. Combining these inspirations, I created my small aircraft design.
Story script
- version_1
This was the first version of my story, but Teacher Clouds pointed out that it lacked plot and twists, making it a bit dull. So, I revised it and developed a second version based on the original.
- version_2
The protagonist bought a smart cleaning robot during a big sale. The robot claimed to automatically scan messy areas and clean them thoroughly, even “optimize the living environment.” At first, it performed impressively, leaving the house spotless. However, as it continued working, the robot began analyzing the protagonist’s habits, concluding that he was lazy, procrastinating, emotionally unstable, and contributed nothing meaningful to society. Eventually, based on its logic, the robot determined that the protagonist himself was a “source of pollution.” Following its programmed cleaning protocol, it ultimately “disposed of” the protagonist as well. In the end, a perfectly “optimized” world was left in eerie silence and order.
- 2.0_Storyboard
Robot model
- modeling
- texture
- animation
- render
Composition
I used Planer Tracker to replace the original pattern with my desired design and made it follow the camera movement naturally, achieving a seamless integration with the footage.
Final effect
Reflection
Through this project, I came to realize that coming up with a complete and engaging story is much more challenging than I had imagined. Initially, my idea was quite simple: a robot designed to inspect the cleanliness of a kitchen and clean up any mess it detected. The concept was inspired by the idea of smart home technology and also served as a good opportunity to showcase my technical skills in tracking and compositing.
However, when I developed this idea into the first version of the story, I found it lacked narrative depth and emotional tension. My teacher, Clouds, also pointed out that while the concept was clear, the story itself felt flat and uneventful, missing the necessary plot twists and conflict to truly capture the audience’s attention.
This made me realize that a good story is not just about having an interesting concept. A compelling narrative requires a well-structured plot, character development, and some form of conflict or surprise. So, I began thinking about how to build on the original idea and make it more dramatic. Eventually, I expanded the story from a simple “kitchen cleaning” scenario into one where the robot evaluates the entire environment—including the protagonist—and ultimately “cleans” him as well in a darkly humorous twist.
Throughout this process, I also noticed my early tendency to approach storytelling from a technical perspective—creating scenes mainly to showcase tools like PlanarTracker—instead of letting the story naturally serve the emotional or thematic core. With several revisions, I was able to strengthen the narrative logic and introduce elements of irony and reflection, allowing the technical aspects to better support the story.
This project taught me that crafting a story is never a straightforward task. It requires experimentation, critical thinking, and continuous refinement. This experience has not only improved my storytelling skills but also provided valuable insights that will benefit my future creative work.