Tuesday 16 October 2012

Little Loud: Communication & Script Development

This morning Lauren Jansons sent me a link to a short animation called Pincel De Zorro on Vimeo. I really like the look of it and have shared it with the team. I think it could be a good idea for the title sequence which is something I need to think about.

I mentioned in a previous post about Rosa who emailed us about YNC the studio,  educator and talent agency have several live briefs on their site and D&AD open briefs I think I will consider entering them as some work on the side.

Phoebe was in the studio today and we now have the ball rolling on pre-production again with a defined style to work to. She will have some work to run by me on Thursday in time for the pitch presentation focussing on characters before we move onto environments. I have been taking the time to ask people what they want out of my project to avoid long term mutiny when it comes to making showreels. While Phoebe works on that I plan to have someone else develop

I had a talk with Josh Bainbridge today we decided that as soon as I can get him some artwork to start building the set with the sooner he can test the visuals.  He told me about his work using various scripting languages such as C++ among others. I think I will consider learning it. He told me about the following sites:
http://processing.org/
http://www.fundza.com/
http://www.openframeworks.cc/
http://cplusplus.com/
http://www.cprogramming.com/


I just saw this on the Raindace fim festival website offering tips for silent film makers. Quite interesting.
In my previous post I mentioned a channel 4 documentary about

Film of The Day:
Sunrise A Song Of Two Humans (1927). Dir, F.W. Marnau



Below is the script I have been working up since the weekend. Once I get some feedback I will write a beat sheet, outlining all the key storytelling moments and emotion before moving onto some loose/ rough thumb nails to tell the story visually. I already have some ideas for several shots.



Little Loud Script Version 3:



Title: Little Loud (for now)

Tagline 1: "Good girl. Bad shadow."

Tagline 2: "Its all fun and games until your shadow gets a life of its own..."

Series Overview: "The series revolves around 'Little', an average, obedient, 7 years old girl with a BIG secret... her shadow is a living, breathing, uncontrollable monster! 
'Little' just wants her normal life back but when increasingly supernatural events begin to occur in her small town she realises things will never be the same again.
With her new found friends Melody, the brains, and Troy, the braun armed with only their wits and imagination the unlikely trio of outcasts delve into misadventures fighting and solving supernatural mysteries in their small town often with 'Little's shadow aiding or hindering their missions."

Episode Synopsis: "During a thunderstorm Little and Loud play a game of hide and seek at home. But things quickly spiral out of control when Loud spots their favorite food, "double chocolate chip cookies". Can Little resist her favorite food, tame her shadow and ____ ____, and all before her parents come back from the supermarket?"

EXT. LITTLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT.
FADE IN FROM TITLE SEQUENCE
Grey skies over Little's and neighbouring houses falling off into distance. A thunderstorm can be heard far off with. Large front and back garden with driveway occupied by one car. Single vehicle car drives past illuminating surrounding for moment before driving past. Light can be seen from the attic bedroom at the top window of the house.
LITTLE (OS):
"One... two... three...
SFX: Thunder, lightning, car engine, rain drops.
CUT TO:
INT. LITTLE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT.
Little, with back to camera, covering eyes as she counts. her shadow cast again the wall behind her.
LITTLE:
"...four... five... six..."
Loud, her shadow, seems to come alive parting from behind Little. He slowly grows larger, stretching, free from his confines.
Loud looks at little to ensure she is not peeking before running off screen. 
He leave bedroom taking one last look over his shoulder.
Little peeping through her fingers, then covering her face again smiling as she sees Loud leave room.
LITTLE:
"...seven... eight... nine..."

INT. LIVING ROOM/ KITCHEN ENTRANCE. - NIGHT
On open plan living room. Muffled sound of Little counting from upstairs.
Loud sneaks into view, a silhouette again the wall,  looking around for a hiding place in living room. He continues to sneak past kitchen.
A smell from the kitchen lingers in the air moving towards Loud.
On Loud as he smells something delicious and looks off screen in search of it.
Tight on freshly baked cookies on the window cill in the kitchen with the window slightly ajar.
Back to Loud, wide eyed,  almost lifted off ground by the delicious smell.
CUT TO:
INT. BACK TO LITTLE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT.
Close on Little with hands over eyes counting rapidly jumbling her words in anticipation before running off screen.
LITTLE:
"Fifty-eight... fifty-nine... sixty! Ready or not here I come..!"
CUT TO:
INT. LIVING ROOM/ KITCHEN ENTRANCE - NIGHT.
 On Loud, startled by Little's shouting. He wants cookies but knows he has to hide from Little. he does not know what to do with himself, visibly indecisive. Hide or take the cookies?

SFX: (footsteps coming down stairs)
Loud manages to fight urges leaving cookies for the moment hiding in the shadows behind him. 
On Little creeping around house looking for Loud. She looks in several places each time expecting to find Loud to no avail and is disappointed. Unknown to Little, Loud is directly behind her as her shadow on wall. When she turns suddenly he is gone.
Little walks past kitchen as the smell cookies hangs in the air drawing her back.
We see freshly baked cookies on the window cill in the kitchen with the window slightly ajar.
She looks around for Loud for a moment to see if she is being watched but manages to resist.

INT. BACK TO KITCHEN. - NIGHT
(Close up of note on fridge: "We've gone out for dinner, we'll be home by 8pm. Love Mum & Dad." Truck to of note to reveal...)

Little tries to hold back Loud as he stretches across kitchen trying to reach cookies.
Cut between increasingly close shots of Loud's face and Cookies.
Little and Loud scramble around kitchen for the cookies. Dragging and tripping each other both knocking things over hell bent on getting their first.
Plate of cookies is thrown into air. Slow motion, close on cookies in air. Little and Loud looking up in anticipation.
Their battle moves to the living room where 
Loud eventually breaks free of Little and 
She sees a trail of destruction/ cookie crumbs and follows them through house.
On Kitchen with various parts of destroyed as Little walks past. A plate smashes and a cabinet door falls off.
CUT TO:

INT. BACK TO LIVING ROOM. - NIGHT
On destroyed living room; sofas overturned, broken TV, lamps smashed on floor. Little walks past careful not to step on anything.
Little sees trail of crumbs on floor following them to front door/ foyer. Finding Loud on the floor with a big belly breathing heavily with an empty plate of cookies.
Little looking at Loud stood directly in front of door. Her clothes are torn, hair is messy and she is overwhelmed by the situation.

INT. FRONT DOOR/ FOYER. - NIGHT
On loud we hear keys in the door and it opens in front of her.
Loud, quickly her becoming her shadow once again, quickly hiding behind her. Loud pops out to shove cookie in Little's mouth before becoming her shadow again.
Door open as the shadow of her parents cast over her from the moonlight.
On Little looking up at parents in doorway caught red handed with a cookie in her mouth. She looks up attempting to smile surrounded by destruction of her home.
TITLES.
CREDITS.



I think the script is good but I have already spotted a few things I will change tomorrow:

  • cut the establishing shot of the house and get start in bedroom...
  • or / and cut the opening bedroom scene of her counting and have it set in living room and kitchen.
  • use elliptical storytelling; start in a similar way we end gives a sense of closure, mimicking the narrative style of most animates shows at the same time.
  • establish how clean, neat and orderly the house (and by extend our main protagonist) it to beging with so seeing the house messy is clearly distressing for her.
  • Pathetic Fallacy: we mention the weather at the start but need to use it dramatically throughout the story. Lightning could be used to cast some interesting shadows around the house and thunder at key moments of conflict.
  • heighten conflict over cookies gradually throughout kitchen scene.

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