Multi-Technique Animation: the Variant

So after doing some brainstorming, and after having a talk with one of my capstone classmates, I have a variation to my capstone idea. This is how I described it in my intent in the Pool:

I will still be using many different animation techniques. But instead of it being a linear narrative incorporating all the techniques into one piece, I was thinking about using a very short narrative (maybe 30 seconds long), and animating it using each of the techniques (so that there would be a 30-second long 3D computer animation, a 30-second long 1920s-era cartoon, etc.). The narratives would be synchronized with each other, so that the action was happening at the same time in each animation.

After all the animation is over, I would assemble them all together (in Flash, MaxMSP, or something) so that only one of the techniques will be playing at a time. The viewer can then push a button and effectively switch the style of the animation from one technique into another instantly, during playback of the piece (and since the action is synchronized, the switch wouldn't disrupt the narrative much). This gives the viewer near complete control over the visual style of the animation.

The narrative itself is something I am yet to work out, though. It would be very short, though, so that I would still have time to animate all the different techniques. I also haven't decided if I was going to use a normal narrative, or one that loops. Either one would work for this variant.

This might be more work for me in the long run, but it would prove to be a more interesting (and more interactive) piece.