Beneath the Surface
Beneath the Surface reimagines the touch-tank experience from the viewpoint of the animal being handled, exploring how human curiosity impacts marine life and asking whether connection can exist without harm.
Beneath the Surface is an experimental short animation that invites the audience into the emotional world of a touch-tank sea creature. The film challenges the familiar “hands-on learning” experience by shifting the perspective to the animal being touched, observed, and handled. Through the creature’s eyes, the animation explores the boundary between curiosity and interference, education and exploitation, connection and consent.
Rather than condemning touch tanks directly, the film aims to create empathy and reflection. It encourages viewers. Especially young audiences. To reconsider how they interact with marine life, suggesting that curiosity can coexist with gentleness and respect.
Storyboards
Core themes being explored
Empathy for Non-Human Perspectives. Asking viewers to experience the world as the animal does invites a deeper emotional connection.
Consent in Human-Animal Interaction. What does “touch” mean when one party cannot choose?
Education vs. Exploitation. Can learning about marine life be immersive without causing harm?
Sensory Overload & Stillness. Contrasting chaotic human interaction with the ocean’s natural rhythm and calm.
