As I Walked Out One Evening by W.H. Auden - Animated Short Project

The production of this animated short project for now will be completed by me, a prospect that is as thrilling as it is only slightly daunting! This project holds deep personal significance for me, having been a concept I've gradually developed over many years, primarily in my thoughts. While I have a wealth of ideas for it, the project would benefit greatly from a more dedicated and focused approach to ideation, technique development, and thematic exploration. I remain flexible and open to evolving the ideas and imagery I've come up with so far. Below, I outline what I have accomplished to date followed by some ideas/concept imagery, followed by a copy of the poem itself for reference.

Current Project Status

Developed a series of loose, sequential thumbnails depicting scenes.
Produced rough drawings and studies.
Created a collection of illustrations for three stanzas to explore imagery and mood.
Compiled a rough animatic for a scene segment
Currently using W.H. Auden’s own reading of the poem for sound/voiceover. [Youtube link]

Auden portrait-character studies - pen, ink, graphite on toned paper

'O plunge your hands in water' animatic 1

'O plunge your hands in water' animatic 2

As I Walked Out One Evening

by W.H.Auden

(via Poets.org)

As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
‘Love has no ending.

‘I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,

‘I’ll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.

‘The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world.’

But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
‘O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.

‘In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.

‘In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.

‘Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver’s brilliant bow.

‘O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you’ve missed.

‘The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.

‘Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.

‘O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

‘O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.’

It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.