It Can Be Anything
Short Film
Take a peek into Rachel’s incredibly imaginative world.
About the Film
It Can Be Anything is a short film about Rachel Doucette’s creative journey as 28-year old with an intellectual disability who loves to draw. Her work explores a unique and vast creative landscape. More importantly, her open-mindedness and inclusivity are both beautiful and inspiring. While she has a hard time communicating verbally, her art has a way of connecting with people. The short film represents her outlook and uses the phrase "It Can Be Anything" as a mantra to steer us through her journey.
The Good Form team worked closely with Immediate Group to bring Rachel’s story to life. We are grateful and honoured they trusted us with leading this incredible project.
It Can Be Anything has since gone onto to develop into an art program in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario who also hosted the premiere virtual screening.
Design & Direction
The moment we saw Rachel’s drawings we were blown away by their uniqueness and we were incredibly inspired. We knew we didn’t just want to re-create them, but find our own interpretations and explore different approaches to bring a few of her many drawings to life. Since Rachel’s mantra is ‘it can be anything,’ we knew we could push the limits of our creativity.
Over the course of a year we explored and refined our approach, narrowing in on the drawings that best matched the beautiful script written by our friend and collaborator Nick Blagrave. Typography was an essential element in telling this wonderful story. We spent weeks exploring different type styles, eventually focusing on two main styles to visualize the voices of our narrators and emphasizing Rachel’s often profound responses.
Once the film was mapped out, we began animating in both 2D and 3D, utilizing a mixed media approach with lots of texture and hand built elements.
Lastly, our long time audio partner Jeff Moberg was brought in to compose original music and sound design for the film. This added an intense sonic layer that immerses the viewer in Rachel’s world.
Process
Rachel’s Drawings
Rachel in her element
Credits
Client: Immediate Group
Creative Direction, Design & Animation: Good Form
Direction: Ryan Bergmann
Writer: Nick Blagrave
Music & Sound Design: Jeff Moberg
Producers: Marsha Doucette & Joaquin Cardoner
Additional Design & Animation: Emilie Muszczak & Jonathan Reyes