Movement

For my final project I want a character to summon the four elements, and so I need to consider how he will move. I would like him to be levitating, so I need to consider how he moves through the air.
The last Airbender also tackles a similar challenge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7XyGs8xmhs

This is a link to the trailer on YouTube. In the last Airbender, the characters "bend" the elements through martial arts. What I liked about this film was that their motions reflected the element that they were "bending".
Keeping that in mind (their motions reflect the element they are bending), I would like to do something similar.
Inspirations that I can draw from are: martial arts, swimming, gymnastics, and ballet.

I want fire to be direct and sudden like it's being fired from a gun. With the water, I want the character's motion to look like he's moving through water (similar to when you push off a rock under water). With Earth, I want the motion to be sudden and strong. I want the Air to be summoned with much more graceful and elegance. I feel these motions will reflect the consistency of the elements.

Final Project Inspirations

For quite some time, I have been fascinated by the concept of elemental powers such as FIRE, WATER, EARTH, and AIR.

I used to watch Captain Planet. This show was about Mother Nature gifting five individuals with Elemental rings, that, when combined would create a Super Hero. Each individual had only one power, but when the Super Hero Captain Planet was summoned, all of their abilities would be contained within him.

As I went through grade school I became obsessed with Poke'mon. Poke'mon is an abbreviation for Pocket Monsters. The world of Poke'mon contains monsters with Elemental abilities, and humans who train them. Bad Trainers often abuse their poke'mons' abilities, which provided the plot structure for the series. Several Poke'mon battles occur in which case the Poke'mon are instructed by their trainers to use various fight moves based on their elemental abilities.

Growing up, I enjoyed watching these four elements. For my final project in special effects I would like to create a small scene where a character summons these four powers.