Week 2

So, this week begins the story planning. We’ve already been warned our ideas could change completely from the original. I’m not so sure I like that trail of thought. I’ve worked pretty hard to try and think up a story that works. However, I’m more than happy to talk through ideas with Andrew because there might be something better than the original that we think of together.
Aims
I’d quite like to have the story nailed by the end of this week and possibly have started thumbnails but that’s unlikely. I also need to write up a schedule and contracts for my part time workers. These include:
James Lawrence
Rob Sidney
Dave Bates
Kyung
Caspar
Desmond
Adam Smith
Other projects I’m involved in.
I’ve offered to help out on a lot of projects- probably too many. I may have to re-think my time especially after I write out my timetable for my film. Here is what I hope to work on and how I hope to contribute.
Asa’s Film, The Day That I Died- Concept Art
Kyle’s Film, Aspiration Point- Animator
Dave Bates, The Muse- Animator
Adam Smith’s, There’s a War in Wunderland- Animator
I wanted to help out on Jessica Do’s and Jono’s but I really think I may be pushing it way too much. I’ll have to see what the schedule looks like.
End of Week 2
This has been quite eventful.
My story has been ripped to shreds. I thought it was pretty good- so much for that.
Andrew and I have been in everyday trying to get the story together. It’s very difficult. Having spoken to Dan we realised that there was a problem with the end as the stamp collector falls out of character- not that he had much character or so to speak.
Andrew and I first noticed a problem as we tried to write up the end of the story in more detail. We came to a total stand still and suddenly were re-thinking the whole story.
Over this week we’ve come up with so many different ideas that I have trouble remembering them all unless I look back at our notes of this week.
Our first attempt to improve the story was to give the old man more character in the beginning as we couldn’t do much with him in the middle as this is all a journey.
We tried to make him more grumpy and anti social so as he walks down the path to get the final stamp he sees a football in his way and a child waiting to get it. He picks up the ball and pops it finally throwing it into the bin. We also wanted the boy’s reaction to be scared. I thought this was imperative to this part as the girl at the ends reaction is more of a shock as she is upset.
I wanted there to be a difference between the reactions, people were originally scared of the collector when he was at home but when he meets the Hawaiian girl he just upsets her. This is a new experience for him.
In addition to this development we also talked about the beginning sequence starting with a squirrel just looking for some food and happen upon a bowl of nuts the stamp collector is eating while sitting by his window. Of course the grumpy collector shoos him away.
I wasn’t sure I really wanted to make the stamp collector a grumpy, angry person. To me he was always a lonely person more than anything else.
This development idea also caused problems as he doesn’t really have any time to develop as a character, the journey to Hawaii getting in the way.
Our next suggestion was to take out the journey as this was causing a lot of our problems. This suggestion didn’t go down well at all as this is the visually beautiful part of our film. This decision was quickly changed- the journey stayed.
We were still unhappy with the way things were going story wise but were determined to carry on.
I’d decided to write down what the old man could possibly be like and what the story message was.
About letting go-you can’t have everything.
Being nice is more important than getting what you want.
The need to have exactly what you want and doing anything to get it.
Grumpy, anti social old man who re-discovers his nice side.
Andrew and I finally decided to go away and think about the story for the evening both of us writing down what we thought could happen, here is my new idea.
The stamp collector is the little girl’s grandpa and when she visits him she’s clearly bored. And the grandpa shows her the stamps. He’s trying to cheer her up. At first she’s still bored but then they embark on a fantastical adventure through the stamps and the beautiful drawings.
Nice idea but it sounded like a lot of other people’s ideas that had already been pitched. The original idea was more unique.
Having got to more dead ends I reviewed what I really wanted the film to say. I tried yet again to write down what I wanted it to mean.
I want him to be a nice person at heart who has just become so obsessed and wrapped up in his stamps that he’s forgotten how to consider other people’s feelings.
He’s quite boring and mundane; there is no longer any colour in his life.
His motive is the stamp but then a dilemma arises, the little girl is the choice.
He must regain his colour.
I wasn’t a big fan of the new ideas, the original seemed much stronger and people liked that one a lot more. I was starting to wonder what the point in changing the idea. The story was becoming pointlessly complex- something I had wanted to avoid from the very beginning.
We spoke to Dan once more and he suggested putting a twist in the end maybe that would help.
Some people were suggesting that the old man was a paedophile. This had never crossed my mind and I was getting pretty frustrated that people were thinking it at all.
I was pretty angry by the time I left college this week.
Did I achieve my goals?
No, not this week. We’re now at the close of week two and I still haven’t got a firm story down. I’m quite upset by this as I thought story wouldn’t take long. I’m fed up with changing things only to decide the original is best.
If I’ve learnt one thing it’s that you can’t please everyone.
I have yet to write up schedules and contracts. Storyboards of course cannot be started without a solid story so I’m a little upset about them too.
Why Not?
Story has just proved harder than I originally planned- there are holes in the plot. For example, why after travelling all the way around the world would the collector give away the stamp if he’s a diehard collector?
On the plus side questions have been asked and flaws have been pointed out.
We still have a lot of problems to fix.