Reading: Developing Story Ideas (Part V) - Michael Rabiger

Expanding Your Work

• Iron out kinks in storyline before expanding it
• Break outline of script in scene cards. This allows you to "try structural alternatives" p. 171

• Consider:
  - Timeline: is it chronological or not?
  - Point of view - the is from the main character's perspective or an omniscient narrator?
• "The point is that emotion often affects how we travel through time, space and memory" p.172

This quote is relevant to my own work as I will be including flashbacks in my film, related to the main character, Manon's emotions and memories.

• Rabiger argues that characters' emotions can distort time. 

This is useful to consider for structuring my narrative as it doesn't have to be linear. I think the structure I'll use will correlate with how the characters are feeling

• Keep the narrative focused from the beginning
• Introduce actors quickly
• Scan each character

It could be useful for me to develop the secondary character, Alecia's backstory in order to make sure that she has enough depth. I don't want her to seem unnecessary, I want her to be a compelling character for the audience.

• "Keep extraneous information till later to avoid information overload" p. 175
  I should try not to reveal too much information at once. Instead this should be spaced out
• Don't give away too much too fast "keep us guessing as long as possible so we exercise our minds and emotions and stay in that wonderful state of anticipation" p. 175
• Keep action going in story as new characters are introduced
• Decide on character's motivation 
• Raise the stakes in characters lives 
• Vary audience reactions - change up rhythm and conflict
• Kill anything off if the story still works without it (scenes, characters, conversations etc)
• Check for multiple endings
• Keep reworking hypothesis

Character Design Sheets

Manon:

Alecia:

Reading: Issues of Representation

This chapter was taken from Maureen Furniss' book Art in Motion (1998). It's important to analyse the way people are represented within animation specifically as it differs significantly from live-action. 

• Caricatures featured in silent era
• Decrease of racist imagery by 1950s - thanks to NAACP
• Yet not an increase of positive imagery
• Depiction of black characters rare until 1970s
• Doug 'neutralise colour issues' with unnatural skin colours like blue 
• Van den vos Reynaerde: anti-semitic - features money grabbing rhino
• Important to consider "whose standards are being employed" p. 233
• Argues that we shouldn't just ignore offensive images but watch them to analyse our own feelings

Gender and the Animation Industry

• Sharon Couzin: "historically the women had no voice at all" p. 234
• Networks trying to hire more female creators and producers
• Women in the media often used "masculine-sounding or at least gender neutral" names to escape gender inequality p. 236
• Lots of women new in management level jobs

Representation of Femininity in Animation

• Idea that males won't watch "female-oriented" programmes
  I'm aware that Disney often try to market their films to appeal to both genders in order to increase sales. For example the film Tangled (2010) was changed from being named Rapunzel to draw the focus away from the female protagonist. Instead they wanted her male counterpart Flynn Rider to be seen as just as much of a central character, so that boys would want to see the film too.
• Geraldine Laybourne from Nickelodeon expressed desire to "demonstrate to girls that we listen to what they have to say" opposed to being treated like property
• References to many live-action shows not animation
• Examples of well represented, female protagonists in animation: Daria (1997);  Pepper Ann (1997); The Legend of Calamity Jane (1997)
  As this book was published in 1998, all the examples given were from the late 90s. I believe female representation in animation improved throughout the 2000s as I recall watching many cartoons with female protagonists. For example I enjoyed Kim Possible (2002) and Powerpuff Girls (1998) which I think appealed to both genders as they prove that females can be superheroes too. 
• Working with predominately males made it hard to create shows about women
• "Male animation creators and directors usually do not design female characters who have substance and provide strong, positive role models" p. 240
  This is why I believe that as a female animator it's important to speak from my own viewpoint and help to erase the already existing stereotypes that prevail in the male dominated genre.

Developing an alternative form of expression

• Jun Falkenstein argues she got her success from thinking/acting like a man
• Women's work focused on "family, the environment and global unity" p. 241
• Faith Hubbly avoids linearity- instead uses cyclical structure
• Karen aqua uses elements of non-modern culture; non-narrative, metamorphosis i.e. in her films Shrine to Ritualised Time (1989) and Katuna (1989)
• Sara Petty used metamorphosis rather than physical actions in her film Furies (1977)
• Carmen Habanera (1995) was made by Aleksandra Korejno who studied painting music and poetry. The films imagery was created using salt

It's interesting to understand the ways in which alternative, female animations differ from the mainstream perceptions

Further reading: 'Racism and Resistance: Black stereotypes in Animation' Cohen

Reading: Understanding Animation - Chapter 3

I was stuck when coming up with an idea for the ending of my narrative. Paul suggested that I read Understanding Animation which discusses alternative narratives used within animation. It analyses the way in which animation is able transcend the boundaries of reality and uses symbolism to explore this. This is particularly useful for my own narrative which is set in an alternative, dystopian reality.

Once Upon A Time: Narrative Strategies

• Different ways of storytelling: linear; parallel series of related scenes; past events (memories, dreams, etc) retold as present; etc.
• "Animation possesses the capacity to create new modes of story-telling often rejecting the notion of a plot with a beginning, a middle and an end, in favour of symbolic or metaphoric effects" p. 68
  This is useful to bear in mind, as I could decide to reject the traditional narrative structure if it works better for my story

Metamorphosis

"Metamorphosis is the ability for an image to literally change into another completely different image" p. 69

• Possible to create a fluid linking of images
• Creates unusual correlation between images

The Street (1976) Caroline Leaf

• Created by using ink on flat glass
• Images flow from one to another using the same shapes in different ways
• Blurs the lines of visible transitions

Betty Boop's Snow White (1933) David Fleischer

• "Disrupting the rationality of a scenario and challenging the very premises of a stable environment" 
• Inanimate objects are brought to life - e.g. The Queen's mirror
• Shapeshifter - one of fairytales dominant characteristics

Metamorphosis is basically used in animation to seamlessly transform images from one to the other.

Condensation
"Animation predominantly occurs in the short form, and manages to compress a high degree of narrational information into a limited period of time through a process of condensation"

• Can be done through elliptical cut and comic elision 
• Use various transitions to shorten/move through time: dissolve, fade in/out, wipe etc
• Prioritises the most important movements "may be called the narrative premise and the relevant outcome"

Home On The Rails (1981) Paul Driessen

• The main character fades into the scene and moves to different locations
• "He deploys a faint transparent illustration of the train as a set of anticipation lines before the train actually passes through the room. This heightens the predictability of the piece and, most importantly, calls attention to the banality of everyday events"

Jumping (1984) Osamu Tezuka

• Text bounces up and down 
• The 'camera' bounces up and down and paces forward to appear like a point of view shot of somebody jumping
• These "jumps" increase in size as the camera plays with scales in ways that aren't true to real life
• "As the figure ascends and descends the viewer sees different events which signify both a temporal and spatial progression"
• Cyclical structure - ending takes the protagonist back to where they started
• Condensation allows animation to manipulate time scales in order to convey a great amount of movement during a shorter space

Synecdoche

"A device by which the depiction of part of a figure or object represents the whole of the figure or object"

• Metaphorical with narrative
• To signify a narrative event

Use instructions (1989)

• Shows a small amount of action then zooms out to reveal the whole imagery
• Drawings look like bums excreting but represent other objects for example a tap and faucet
• "The film operates as a catalogue of the ways in which humankind abuses itself and its environment. This is symbolised by the use of an excreting bottom as the 'part' which best embodies the 'whole' of humankind in its more inappropriate endeavours"

Synecdoches are used as symbols representing an alternative message within animation

Symbolism and Metaphor
"An animated film may be interpreted through its symbolism, whether the symbols have been used deliberately to facilitate meaning or not."

• Doesn't necessarily have to be related to the real world
• Different to a sign which just "duplicates" it's meaning
• A symbol is more "precise" and acts as a "substitute" for another meaning  in a more beneficial way

The Hand (1965) Jiri Trnka

• Represents "free expression in the face of totalarian regimes"

Balance (1989) Christoph and Wolfgang Lauenstein

• I believe that the film symbolises trust as the different characters have to work together to stay balanced
• One of the characters finds a box. Subsequently "cooperation becomes a necessary requirement if the box is to be equally enjoyed by all the figures"
• The ending symbolises greed as one character eliminates all the rest to selfishly enjoy the box on his own. Yet his selfishness is left at a price
• Wells argues that this film is open to alternative readings

Fabrication

"An alternative version of material existence, recalling narrative out of constructed objects and environments, natural forms and substances, and the taken-for-granted constituent elements of the everyday world"

• Bringing material objects to life  
• Often used in 3D animation

Jabberwocky (1971) Jan Svankmajer

• A made up world created through the use of images for example a wardrobe moves through a forest
• "Jan Svankmajer's Jabberwocky uses fabricated modes to create related but distantiated worlds, perhaps half-remembered, half-imagined, but certainly reconstructed through the repositioning of objects and materials from a fantastic past"
• 
  

Associative Realism

"Apparently impossible relationships are created through the fusion on contrary figures and forms, placing formerly disjunct or unrelated elements into new conjunctions"

Tale of Tales (1979) Yuri Norstein

• "Tale of Tales refuses all obvious signposts of plot, preferring instead a system of leitmotifs, recurring images that play out their own subtle difference and development as part of a wider scheme of recollection"
• Uses a combination of live-action film tropes and animation language

Sound

In film:

1. Voiceover [omnipotent narration] (non-diegetic);
2. Character monologue (diegetic)
3. Character monologue (non-diegetic)
4. Character dialogue (diegetic)
5. Character dialogue (non-diegetic)
6. Instrumental music (diegetic)
7. Instrumental music (non-diegetic)
8. Song (music with lyrics) (diegetic)
9. Song (non-diegetic)
10. Sound effects (diegetic)
11. Sound effects (non-diegetic)
12. Atmosphere tracks

• Early Fleischer Brothers films similar to music videos - visuals followed lyrics
• Music creates sense of "present tense"
• Voice suggests agenda
• Argues Warner Brothers better at sound effects than Disney

Gerald McBoing Boing (1951) Bob Cannon

• Dr Suess story - uses rhyming couplets
• Minimalist visual style - solid colour backgrounds, shapes left unfilled with colour
• Upbeat backing track; "perky flute music"
• Onomatopoeic - Gerald only speaks with sounds
• Actions are emphasised through the use of sound effects
• "The film successfully foregrounds the language of sound as a narrative tool"

Beauty and The Beast (1991)

• Fairytale-like piano music
• Atmosphere sounds - birds chirping, waterfall, to emphasise forest setting
• Omnipotent narrator non-diegetic

Overall I found this reading to be very insightful as it made me realise there are more ways to animate other than just trying to replicate real life. I found it especially useful to watch all of the examples listed within the text alongside reading Well's accompanying essays, as this gave me a greater understanding of the definitions.

I'm especially inspired by the use of metamorphosis, synecdoche and associative realism and would like to experience with using these techniques within my own narrative.

Character Profiles

These character descriptions describe the characters as their normal lives before the apocalypse


Character 1:

Name: Manon
Place of birth: Aubervilliers, Paris
Height: 5'6"
Habits: Smoker

Everyday behaviour:
She often sleeps in as she likes to stay in bed. She tends to wake up around 10 am. A typical day for Manon consists of going to school (travelling by bus). Although she maintains average grades, she is generally disinterested in school. She prefers to be independent and aspires to be an illustrator post education. After school she'll often hang out with two of her close friends for a couple of hours before going home. In the evening she spends time with her younger sister, Alecia, with whom she watches television. Before going to bed Manon likes to read comic books and sketching.

Attitude/Personality:

She identifies as a realist (not optimistic or pessimist). Often she puts feeling over rational thinking. She is compassionate and brave when she has to be. Manon would do anything to protect her younger sister. Although she may not consider herself to be academically smart, she's definitely street smart.

Emotional personality:
As an ambivert, Manon can often appear to be quite closed and cold, however will open up to those she's close with. She can be quite short tempered, often acting on impulse. When feeling sad, Manon will often hide her emotions and tend to be okay. In instances of conflict, she deals with this immediately rather than ignoring the problem. Her blunt personality may come off as rude, however she is just misunderstood.

Likes/Favourites:

Food: Sushi, salad, quinoa 

Drink: iced tea arizona

Colour: Turquoise 

Book: A Clockwork Orange

Film: A Requiem for a Dream

TV Show: Game of Thrones

Music/Song: Frank Ocean

Possession: Sketchbook

My inspiration for the character:

Katniss Everdeen

Mulan

 Manon's character was inspired by strong, female protagonists seen in film.


Character 2:

Name: Alecia
Place of birth: Aubervilliers, Paris
Height: 5'1"

Everyday behaviour:
Alecia usually wakes up early and watches cartoons before school. She generally enjoys school and performs quite well. After school she has gymnastics practice and then goes back home to enjoy dinner with her family. After dinner she does her homework, sometimes seeking help from her older sister, Manon. After watching some more television she'll go to sleep.

Attitude/Personality:

Alecia is an optimist but can be quite cautious in her everyday life. Her longtime goal is to compete in the olympics.

Emotional personality:
She is an extrovert with a bubbly personality. She isn't afraid to open up and let others see that she is sad. She doesn't like to deal with conflict and will often seek others for help.

Likes/favourites:

Food: Mcdonalds, pizza

Drink: Fanta

Colour: Yellow

Book: Twilight

Film: Shrek 

TV Show: Pretty Little Liars

Music/Song: Justin Bieber 

Sport: Gymnastics

My inspiration for the character:

Willow Smith

Amandla Stenberg

In terms of design, I was inspired by these celebrities.

I used the following websites for references on how to create a character profile:
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/how-to-create-a-character-profile-6986
http://www.creative-writing-now.com/writing-character-profiles.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Highly-Detailed-Character-Profile
http://www.novel-writing-help.com/create-character-profiles.html
http://www.epiguide.com/ep101/writing/charchart.html

Storyboard First Draft

Following the advice given from Dr Lance Dann (see post: Lecture 5) I've made a very (very!) rough draft of my storyboard. Dann suggested to do "open writing" when script-writing, just to get all your ideas out, so I decided to do the same thing with my storyboard. This is just my rough idea so far and I plan to refine the storyboard with fresh eyes.

The story will start off very slow and ambiguous, with the main character sitting outside Sacre Coeur in Paris. She starts walking through the streets and is suddenly reminded of a previous event in the same location. This triggers a flashback of when she and her sister spotted militant forces for the first time. These shots will only last a few seconds to intrigue the audience but not to give too much away yet.

The flashback ends and the main character continues on her journey. She takes the Metro and as she sits on the train another flashback is triggered. The flashbacks show militant forces coming on to the train and beginning to attack civilians

The main character and her family are seated on the train. The main character and her sister then duck down to hide from the militant forces. However their parents are caught and are killed. The flashback ends and the protagonist is shown crying on the train. She then exits the train station outside the Eiffel Tower.

The sight of the Eiffel Tower triggers yet another flashback. This will be the climax of the story. The protagonist and her sister are shown running around frantically along with many other members of the public. They run into a militant with a gun. The protagonist steps in front of him in the aim to help her sister. There is a confrontation.

The protagonist ends up killing the antagonist, leaving her sister traumatised. Her sister runs into the crowd and is lost forever.

Once the flashback ends, the protagonist is still on her own in Paris, but she turns around and her sister is there. The end.

I've realised there are a few plot holes in my story, but it's just a basic draft for now. I think I have a decent structure, however there is more of the flashbacks than the present tense. I might need to balance this out a bit more and add to the storyline of the present tense.

Inspiration for the flashbacks:

I would like my flashbacks to look similar to this, where it is quite glitchy and fragmented. However I'm not too sure how to show this in my storyboard

@00:30:05
I could frame them in a similar way to Akira with almost still shots which last only a frame each

Lecture 5

Producing on the Bleeding Edge - Dr Lance Dann

• Bleeding edge - podcast audio drama series - futuristic, thriller, satire
• Funded by Welcome Trust
• Transmedia (Henry Jenkins)  - fans of products experience them in different forms of media
• Supported by University of Brighton, University of Sussex and Imperial College London
• Produced by Resonance 104.4 FM
• Will be released internationally Spring 2017
• The Flickerman
• Advice: think forward; "what happens if it's brilliant"- prepare for the best and the worst

Bid writing

• Respond to brief 
• What else has been commissioned
• Be pragmatic
• Write positively,  make your project sound engaging and realistic
• Re-draft until perfect
• Respond to advice given (by client/teachers)
• Don't get too lost in describing story (content)
• "Sell the sizzle not the steak"
• Atmosphere and feeling of the piece

Team building

• Spend a lot of time with each other
• Mix it up - people you know and trust and people to keep you on your toes
• Don't just work with people you're familiar with - diversity is useful

Script wiring

1. Open writing

• Throw everything around
• Messy chaotic and surprising
• Work in 50 min sessions
• Use rules and structure as guides but throw away after

2. Closed process

• Focus and controlled
• Shut out doubt
• Commit words to the page
• Don't get too distracted by other ideas
• Take yourself into emotional space
• Listen to soundtracks
• Work in 25 minute blocks, then 5 minute breaks
• Take proper breaks after 90 minutes
• Avoid phones - use/do something different
• Clear mind

3. Editing process

• Take draft and cut it
• Shift, change and bring in new material
• Trust instincts
• Read as objectively as possible
• Be critical

Production:

• Pilot should be amazing
• Sum up spirit of work
• First line is key - has to draw audience
• Production planning
• Keep rolling version of budget
• Predicate for worst
• Schedule early

Although Dann works in Radio, his talk was really useful. I will definitely take his advice on script writing, when creating my storyboard. I tend to get so caught up on having a perfect version that I don't end up writing down anything at all. Therefore breaking it up into sessions would be a useful way to get my ideas out there. Then I can perfect them afterwards.

Aesthetic Experiment 3

As inspired by the film Ernest and Celestine (2012) I experimented with hand-drawing a setting and colouring it with watercolour paints.

I used this picture I took in Paris as a reference.

I tried to draw it very simply, only keeping a few main details.

I then painted the image. It didn't turn out very well since my paints aren't very pigmented. However I like the simplicity of using only a few colours (grey, blue and black). When digitally colouring my images I tend to use too many colours in one picture and it ends up looking slightly jarring.

I used Photoshop to enhance the colours in the image. I used varied solid colour layers but changed the opacity so that you could still see the watercolour texture. I like the way it looks, however I'm not sure how well it will fit with using flat design characters.

Viewing Log: Ernest & Celestine (2012)

Director: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner
Distributor: StudioCanal (France); Cinéart (Belgium)

A bear named Ernest and a mouse named Celestine form an unlikely friendship.

• The film is based on a series of children's books of the same name published by the Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent.

Story

• Ernest the Bear is initially presented as a seemingly unlikeable character. He doesn't speak much and seems to be quite grumpy. By the end of the story, the audience will grow to love him
• The story comments on social injustice - the presumption of bears being superior to mice
• Celestine tries to obstruct the norm

Mise-en-scene

• Aesthetic style similar to story book as it is aimed at kids. It reminds me of other children's books such as The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and We're Going on a Bear Hunt
• Simplistic watercolour backgrounds
• Minimal details within the settings

Camera

• Simplistic use of camera - usually 'shot' face on
• Alternates between establishing shots, mid shots and close ups

Sound

• Orchestral sounds such as violin and trumpet to represent movement
• Ambient sounds - bird chirping, church bells to build up setting

I'm mostly inspired by the design of this film. Although it is aimed at children, I'm quite fond of the watercoloured backgrounds and would like to experiment with using a similar style. I also thought it was interesting how the film had a deeper social context aside from just being about a Mouse and Bear becoming friends.

Practical 9

In class today we were given a recap of using After Effects. Paul taught us how to use the camera tool to adjust perspectives. Also how to adjust lighting with light layers.

• Don't use already made composition - better to make new comp with correct settings
• Shift and drag to stay straight

• We recapped using key frames to move objects

• Expand layers panel
• 3D layer
• Layer > New > Camera

• Add camera layer (POV of viewer)
• Click on layers to move back/forth (Z, Y, X)

• Light layer - can use different colour
• Creates realistic looking shadows

• Wiggler - could be useful to create chaotic scenes in my animation
• Use RAM preview rather than pressing space

Reading: Ideas for the Animated Short - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Building Better Content
This chapter builds on the first chapter but focused more on what works for short stories specifically. It categorises short stories made by one person as being around 1-2 minutes, however I thought that my own story would be around 5-7 minutes long.

The rules of the playground

1. Story is king

2. Keep it simple

• simple single situations
• one conflict that intensifies
• a single memorable moment
• slices of life
• demonstrations of personality

What doesn't work:

• hero's journey
• epic tales
• uncharted territories/complicated concepts
• little known facts

This section made me question whether my story would be too complicated for a short story. However since my story will be a little longer than what Schumer and Sullivan conceptualised it might be okay. Still, I will try to simplify my story as much as possible.

3. Know your concept, theme, or meaning

4. Avoid cliches

5. Create a memorable character

6. Emotion drives action

7. Show, don't tell
Many short stories tend to use little or no dialogue. Therefore its integral to make actions obvious to the audience, so that the story is still communicated coherently.

8. Create conflict (only 3 types):

• Character vs character
• Character vs environment
• Character vs self

The conflict in my story will surround the idea of character vs environment.

9. Know your ending

10. Entertain audience

11. Use humour
I had imagined my story to be more of a dramatic piece, therefore I'm not sure if using humour will be relevant.

12. Do something you like
I have had a lot of doubts with my story, but I am still enthusiastic about my concept, therefore I'm determined to make it work.

Reading: Ideas For The Animated Short - Chapter 1

I've been struggling a bit with developing my project idea. Therefore I decided to do some further reading into getting ideas to get some inspiration. I found the pdf version of the book Ideas For The Animated Short: Finding and Building Ideas by Gary Schumer and Karen Sullivan. The first chapter was Story Background and Theory.

Important elements of story:

• Character
• Goal 
• Conflict (between character and goal)

Other elements to consider

• Location
• Inciting moment (something unexpected happens)
• Story question
• Theme - deeper message e.g. love conquers all
• Need - character needs to learn something to achieve goals
• Arc
• Ending/resolution

Examples of conflict

• brains vs brawn
• rags to riches
• good vs evil
• role reversal
• courage and survival

Films often have primary, secondary and tertiary conflict

Themes

Three main categories:

1. Physical needs
2. Mental needs
3. Spiritual needs

Within this: food; shelter; security; acceptance; stimulus; love and order

Think about how character may react to situations different than we would ourselves

Short films:

• Dont overcomplicate
• One theme/concept and one conflict (that intensifies/gets worse)
• One or two characters
• One or two locations

Response:

As I was reading the chapter I created brainstorms to try and develop my own ideas in line with Schumer and Sullivan's guidelines.

The means of conflict that stood out the most to me were "quest", "rags to riches" and "courage and survival". I think that "quest" would work as the "primary conflict", since the main character will go on a quest to find her family. Instead of using the "rags to riches" narrative, this would more likely be subverted in my own narrative, as the city of Paris went from being an economic success to a crumbled society. There will almost be elements of "courage and survival" within my story, as the main character will overcome the "environmental struggle" of the post-apocalypse.

Viewing Log: Akira (1988)

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Distributor: Toho

In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after nuking the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles against anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo's supernatural power suddenly manifest. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment's secrets.

Story

• Based on Manga comic series
• Considered to be the best animated sci fi film. This relates to my own work as I will be making an animation film in the sci-fi dystopia genre. 
• Civillians are surveilled by the government
• The general public proceed with their everyday lives despite the war thats occuring 

Mise-en-scene

• Overall the film was extremely visually pleasing to watch due to its elaborate set design
• Realistic use of lighting and shadows
• Setting - school trashed: graffiti and rubbish everywhere. This correlates with the dystopia genre and emphasises the war torn setting
• During Testuo's dream: lighter, washed out colours; soft blur - connotes a happy memory

Camera

• Many aerial shots of the city
• Parallax camera effect
•  Canted angles to emphasise chaos

Editing

• When Tetsuo has flashbacks a series of images are quickly presented (lasting about a frame each)
• I would like to use a similar effect in my own work

Sound

• Often sounds are echoed to connote an abandoned setting
• Themes of chaos are highlighted through the use of diegetic sounds such as gunshots and explosions

Overall thoughts:

I did find the film to be extremely confusing, especially as the story progressed and more supernatural elements are added. Yet I can understand why it is culturally relevant, and there are still many ways that I'm inspired by it.

Workshop 9

Funding

• Most funding not open to students
• Crowdfunding
  - compassion based
  - focused and engaged audience
  - friends and family
  - other students 
• Think about who is likely to want to see the project completed
• Be mindful of fees and think about reception
• Which country? (if international)
• Don't promise too much in return
• Host events
  - pub quiz
  - club night
  - raffles
  - cake sale
• Be clear about regulations

Post-grad funding

• Local council funding (borough; neighbourhood)
  - quick turn around
  - set deadlines
  - not a lot of money (few hundred)
  - can ask for advice
  - don't appear naive
• Arts council (Gfta)
  - nation lottery
  - small big grants
  - takes about 3 months
  - can see everything been funded
  - can ask for feedback
  - not for film
  - lottery arts for all > community skills and benefit
• In-kind donations
  - something of value given for free
• Private donations
• Large project grants (3 years)
• Focused funding schemes
• Fabrica gallery mailing list

Tips for application:

• Make them believe in your project
• Explain project idea and why it matters
• How it relates to other existing media

Aesthetic Experimentation 3

Since I am going to set my animation in Paris, I looked at images that I could use as inspiration. I know that the city has beautiful architecture, however this could be quite difficult for me to draw. I used this image because I like the lighting.

I began by tracing around the image using lots of straight lines. I tried my best to simplify it, using the advice I took from 'The Art of Princess and the Frog' (see post: Reading: The Art of Princess and the Frog).

Here is the final result of drawing out the image. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, however it was quite time consuming.

The next step was the colour the image. I tried using the eyedropper tool to select colours from the original image. However I didn't like the way it was turning out. I decided not to continue colouring the image, as I thought it might be better to try again with creating my own colour palette on another picture.

Viewing Log: 28 Days Later

Director: Danny Boyle
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with the "Rage" virus from a medical research lab. When London bike courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma a month after, he finds his city all but deserted. On the run from the zombie-like victims of the Rage, Jim stumbles upon a group of survivors, including Selena (Naomie Harris) and cab driver Frank (Brendan Gleeson), and joins them on a perilous journey to what he hopes will be safety.

Story

• The film follows the trope of the post-apocalypse genre by featuring an isolated (male) character. He is initially shown scourraging for food.
• He continues to wander through the streets of London; conveniently on Westminster Bridge, thus setting the scene for the audience. 
• After some time passes he finds other humans, Mark and Selena, who explain the situation
• Jim is in disbelief when he's told that most people are dead

• Selena is represented as being a heroine, arguably much stronger than her male counterpart. She is seen brutally defending herself against someone infected with the virus. She does whatever it takes to survive.

• The storyline gives the audience hope as they move to a new city in the aims of starting over 
• The most climatic scene occurs when Jim kills all the soldiers. The film gets quite graphic including an intense eye gauging scene. 
• At least it has a seemingly happy ending - a helicopter comes to save them, foreshadowing a new life of happiness

Mise-en-scene

• The colour grading in the film tends to favour red, especially in shots where there is a lot of blood
• Tends to heavily use shadows, wavering between lightness and darkness. When shown at the beginning of the film it creates a sense of mystery as the characters appear to be living in secret.

Camera

• obscure angle, close up
• long take, slow pan and emotional story explaining disaster
• lots of canted angle shots

Editing

• begins with news footage and zooms out to reality - glitchy aesthetic - sound and visual editing 
• editing fast paced

Sound

• In the beginning of the film it is almost silent
• Later on in the film elements of horror are introduced with sudden noise and action
• When the characters drive out countryside peaceful non-diegetic music is heard, suggesting that the equilibrium is restored

Overall, I can already notice a lot of similar tropes in the post-apocalypse genre that are present in both 28 Days Later and I Am Legend. For instance the use of an isolated character who finds allies, yet somehow manages to fight off zombies all by himself. The sound tends to be very minimal except for in moments that are intended to shock the audience.

Tutorial

 

I put together another, more thorough presentation with my new ideas to show to Mary.

I still haven't fully mapped out the whole of my narrative, however the main plot will be about a girl who is living in a post-apocalypse Paris. During the story she has flashbacks to the event in which she lost her family. 

I was originally inspired by a technical experimentation I did of a setting in Paris (see post: Aesthetic experimentation 2). In general I think Paris is a visually pleasing location due to its architecture and has so much interesting culture and history. It has also been the backdrop for many animated movies such as Ratatouille (2007), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and Rugrats in Paris (2000).

I did some research into the state of Paris at the moment, following the various terror attacks that have happened. Especially since the terror attacks in 2015, Paris has a high increase in security.

A friend of mine who is doing a year abroad in Paris said that the security is now much higher than when we visited last year. This in effect makes you feel quite uncomfortable and fearful, in a way that reduces the charm that Paris usually has.

I also read an article about how "the streets are emptier than usual" creating an eerie atmosphere "like you're in an episode of The Walking Dead".

"The now permanent presence of thousands of soldiers in khaki across the capital and major cities has transformed the image and mood of France." 

It seems as though Paris is already in a semi-militant state and for my project I would consider portraying a hyperbolic representation of this.

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/paris-attacks-operation-sentinelle-soldiers-patrolling-streets-france-safer

http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-08-22/year-attacks-leave-paris-streets-emptier-usual

I conducted further research into the genre as I wasn't sure whether my idea counted as post-apocalypse or dystopia. It is possible for the genres to be used together, for example in The Hunger Games. However the genres do have distinct features. At present I believe my narrative will lean more towards post-apocalypse, as it will be to do with survival in a barren city, whereas dystopias tend to focus on corruption and fighting against the state.

At the moment I have come up with two main characters for my story. The first will be a female in her early twenties and the second character will be her younger sister. I will develop their characters more once I have considered the outline of my narrative.

In terms of sound, I would like to use little dialogue. This seems to be a trope used in many short film animations such as Somewhere Down the Line where there are only a few lines of dialogue, or The Sandman where there is no dialogue at all. The downside to using minimal dialogue is that it will require a more effective use of soundscape and score, which I am not talented at creating myself. I may need to enlist some help in creating sound for my project. I do still think it will be exciting to look into sound design in films such as Fantasia since they also don't use much dialogue.

Finally I outlined the questions I asked myself about the project about the doubts I had. I asked Mary her opinion to see how well my ideas would work. In terms of using the post-apocalypse genre, I thought it might be too big and too complex for a short film. However there are short films that already exist in the genre such as 9 (2005). Mary said that it is fine to use this genre as long as I'm specific and think about the structure clearly. I'm also quite happy to explore the genre as I think it would give me more creative freedom than doing something factual based.

I worried that basing my idea on the 2015 Paris attacks might be too current and too sensitive for audiences, however Mary argued that this is fine.

I thought that the narrative structure I'd like to use may be confusing for the audience or hard to explain. Yet, it has been done before, for example in the film Love (2015); even I Am Legend (2007) includes flashbacks. Mary reassured my that any narrative structure is okay to use as long as it is planned out carefully.

Further feedback

Suggested viewing:

• 28 Days Later
• Le Jete
• Children of Men
• Blade

Look into:

• Apocalypse narratives
• Religion
• Redemption
• Zombies and superheros
• Vampires and race

Experiment with:

•  Backgrounds and texture