Script First Draft

Note:

 I might reconsider the ending depending on how much time I have to design the otter characters.

The Triplets of Belleville

The Triplets of Bellevile has definetly striked me most with its use of perspective in the character design as well as its environment. I really love the use of volume applied to the different characters and how their physicalities represent their personality. The young boy in the story who trains to be the best cyclist has a very skinny body but massive leg muscles and  strong sharp features which also contrasted to his younger more chubby self. I think the fact that his body is so skinny helps to ridiculously but brilliantly emphasise on his main chracteristic of having to be really physically strong in the legs in order to win in the competitions he attends. However, I also think its an emphasised representation of real cyclist on a marathon especially when it comes down to the scene where his grandma uses all kinds of domestic objects to help relief his pain which I think it really helps to emhasise something we feel mentally and internally in a visual way.

The use of animal representation in Madame souza and the "mouse man" is very visible and works very well to apply characteristics and give the the characters different personalities. For instance Madame souza character shows references of a mouse/rat animal with her big glasses that seem to cover the whole of the top of her head as well as her sloppy cheeks. However, she is presented as a very determined and hard working person which again references characteristics of a mouse/rat and how they can be determined and hard working themselves. Likewise the mechanic in the story who created the stage for the cyclist has very obvious animal characteristics. Things like the big ears, the small eyes and the two front teeth and small body as well as his actions of being placed into tiny spaces and the occassional squeak he gives out creates this mental image of a mouse turned into a human. I think this is a very clever idea/device to use when designing characters because it immidiatey gives us a hint of what that character is like or would behave like without knowing much of the story or the character itself.

The other really interesting and significant characters in this movie is what I like to call them the "square mafia". I think this character design continues to show the combination of refrences and risks of fully exaggerating and playing with the character to deliver a strong and memorable emotional response. The idea of these characters having square shoulders and backs and them being completly black and how when they join together they almost become the same person helps to give these characters traits of them being in secret and as if they are hidden which fully visually represnts the mafia in real life.

Animal references

Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Europe

Maurice Burton

Animation shorts Research

I decided to look and find animation shorts that have a similar subject or story to mine in order to develop it, or similar characters so I could take the techniques used to animate those characters.

What I really liked about this short is how the story and the style of animation fit so well together. The animator of this piece shares " I wanted to make something that focuses on how meaningful it is to make food for someone you love. My family's lives practically revolve around cooking for each other, so it's a theme that I'm deeply attached to. " which given the inspiration and backstory for this short film can clearly be seen in the narrative and the relationship between the person and the dog. At the beginning I was interested at the animation of this short only, but I can't help to notice how the animation itself and the characters are actually driven by this story and it's definitely something I will look into more when writing my script.

The reason why I liked this short is, like I have mentioned before, the animation of how animals move and behave in a cooking scenario which is what my story revolves around. Having looked through these shorts, I realised that even though cooking is the main subject of the story, what is more important is the invisible metaphors of what the story is actually trying to tell and in this case is friendship and determination to success which is beautifully presented through the two main characters - the rabbit and the bear. What I have also found similar in this short is the use visual representation of characters mimics their behavior and personality. Likewise with my character, I wanted it to be someone who would be less capable of being able to cook due to his physical traits such as a bear or a big animal with big hands and no fingers which is what is also portrayed in this short helping me to think that I am going in the right direction. 

This short caught my attention as I thought the story of it was so simple but also so very effective. Even though it's more different to the other two, I think it relates in the main subject of that being the escape and having a dream. What I also really liked about the way it ended is that even though it wasn't a happy ending for the fish as it still ended up in the bowl to be cooked I think it definitely made it more realistic and something we can all relate to as facing real life problems and making mistakes and trying to learn from them to achieve our dreams. However, as we didn't really know much about the fish character we haven't made any emotional connections with it although we are on it side, the end of it was possible without a dissatisfaction from the audience which I think is a really clever and well thought way to end that story. 

I particularity liked this short because of the way Mr Bean is portrayed and how he is as a character. I think his behavior is really well portrayed through the actions and emotions showed through the animation and his physicality. The punchline of cooking the pasta in the bath because of it's size is what established the narrative of the story and the quest to make the dinner for him and her partner. Much like the fish short, the ending is very familiar of having a quest and actually failing at in and learning from it.

Visual Narrative - Creating Characters (Character Design)

In class we got to do a fun activity where every person designed a different part of a character to create a completely different and weird type of one that no one would really simply think of. I think it was a great exercise for a starting point with the creation of our characters and probably a great tool to make a character without having to really think about it too much or if you have absolutely no idea what you want to do; kind of like me at this moment. Although, I do have a very rough idea, I am still at the stage of exploring what my character will actually be and look like and I feel it will take me longer than it should. I can also use the exercise we did do in class but by the end of the day of the activity the characters and the stories we made for them ended up being really complicated to explain let alone draw or animate them.

However, I did learn quite a few things from this exercise, the most important being that the story is driven by the character rather than the opposite much like Mary and Max. That is why I think I will be spending a lot more time on my actual character than anything else, and once I am happy with the final version I will start working on the rest of the story and it's elements.

Mary and Max

At first the film seemed like a story about a childhood of an innocent girl in a troubled family with the use of silly and funny answers to her curious questions and her growth to a successful and happy life. However, I think that once we get introduced to the character Max, the story takes on a different turn. In terms of the narrative I think this film has done a very successful job of expressing major dark and melancholy themes that nobody really likes to bring up but are also themes we come across in real life in a very subtle way without focusing on them as the main part of the story where really we are focused on the relationship between Mary and Max. A lot of people also feel that if it's an animated movie surely, it will be something for children rather than targeted at adults. Things like "It could only be done as animation but it transcends that, too, to become a film of great seriousness, unlike most films in that form. It's not for kiddies, either, unless you want to explain what prostitution, condoms and alcoholism are." help to show that the use of this format and visual display choice really plays with audiences perception and false sense of security but also helps to show that animated films are not just for children which I think is something very important.

The use of colour in this film is also very effective and important but it is also very subtle too; something most people won't really notice or consider but plays a major part in the way we view characters and what they are feeling and experiencing. For example, when the scene is set at Mary's home we see some touches of colour but the tones are very dark (grey and brown). The only bright colour in that setting is Mary's hairclip where she loses it when she falls into depression to brings us in with the emotions Mary is experiencing. Likewise we also see this in the red pompom that Mary gives to Max which creates a large contrast between the black and white colours of Max's setting and environment which really helps in understanding Max's feelings and how his life changes for the better when he builds this relationship with Mary. I think this is a device very largely used across a lot of films especially using a spark of red in a black and white setting that helps us identify it or relate it to a specific moment or emotion in the film/character.