Project Rationale

The project brief is to develop an original idea for a one minute animation. We have to show a clear and

thought out development of our basic story which will then be formed into a short script. My aim is to

produce something that explores ideas surrounding people's reactions and relationships during unusual

circumstances, hopefully inspiring thought in the reader as to what they would do or feel in a similar

situation. We then have to present our idea to industry standards meaning it will need to be thought

out thoroughly in all aspects such as character, genre and the overall form of the story and be

accompanied by visuals such as a storyboards, beat boards or concept art. The additions of these will

allow me to further explore the ideas and reasoning behind why I have chosen the characters and story

form that I have written about.

The first idea behind my story was originally inspired by the Hunger Games (2012) and how they have

to put their name in a draw each time they buy food. This increases risk and uses the idea that people

have to shorten their lives (or risk doing so) in order to survive. The concept for mine was a planet that

gives time - days, weeks, so on, as currency to buy everyday items such as food and clothing. The society

we live in puts a lot of emphasis on aging and dying. People have a fear of wasting their lives, I wanted

to explore using measures of time as currency when we see time as something that is precious. The

expression 'spending time' was also something I found very interesting, we use it every day just in casual

conversation but I wanted to explore what would happen if that expression was to be taken literally

having to actually spend time like money. The idea and exploration of how different characters/ types of

people would react and cope with using their lives to buy things they needed to survive was something I

thought would be interesting. As I shared my idea I was told it was similar to a film called 'In Time'. After
researching the film I realized that there were a few strong similarities and so I decided to try and

change my idea slightly, so that they weren't quite so alike. Which is why I decided to write my idea in a

bedtime story format meaning it wasn't as similar as it was before. The change was also inspired by the

film 'Bedtime stories' in which many different little stories are told within one larger one. I decided to

use this aspect but condensed it down into a shorter story that was better suited to the brief.

The Genre of my chosen story is science fiction/adventure, I decided to write a script for a science fiction

idea because it is the type of genre that interests me. I like thinking about how other planets would

function and survive, the idea of other worlds so different from our own in so many ways and yet with

similar issues and problems. Although my story features a more extreme version of some of the issues

faced in regards to time and aging, I feel like it has a relevance still to current topics and themes. When

thinking of the initial idea and the hunger games inspiration this is what I came up with. The struggle

and hardships faced by the characters in the 'Hunger Games' (2012) and the relationships maintained

throughout these were something else that really made an impression on me. Another aspect that

inspired the way I approached my story was the concept art for the 'Hunger Games' (2012) as seen in

'Figure 1'. I like the look they gave the capitol and it inspired me for the look that I wanted for the new

planet within my story.

Figure 1. Hunger Games concept art; Capitol (2012)

Although originally I planned to have the script as a simple one person narrative, my final script was

different and based more like a bedtime story, so because of this I tried to make most of the language

child friendly and written in a way that is easy to comprehend as it is aimed at children. This is also the

reason most of the characters were kept minimal and simple, so that its suitable for children, with two

protagonists and one profligate. This is a contrast to the ideas and themes within the shorter story itself

which are quite adult and reflect on wider issues like life, death and age. I like the juxtaposition between

the simplistic tone and characters and then the darker ideas behind it. The original idea meant that the

script was told from a first person point of view, however after adjusting the idea it is told in a third

person/narrated perspective. Because the story is told through a narrated perspective it is written to

keep popping in and out of the action in the form of a story that is being told to a child. When children

are being read to or told stories they often interrupt with questions, leading to a slight pause while the

question is answered before continuing with the story. In this way we see the story/action unfold in a

back and forth manner which is entertaining and interesting.

'Fundamental to animation is that metamorphosis is its intrinsic state. Any image can metamorphose

into another and consequently, any story can be told..' (Wells 2007)
I tried to do something similar to this by having the child character within the story asking questions

which in some cases help the story move along. This almost uses the child's questions as a tool for the

reader, giving information and detail which would otherwise take a long time to explain. The 'Creative

Matrix' which is in 'The art and science of screenwriting' by 'Parker. P' helped me plan some aspects of

my story that I hadn't thought of. One of the questions which I found helpful in the 'Creative Matrix'

was;

'Who are the main characters and what form of characterization will they give?'

This helped me think about the characters aspirations which helped drive the story and give it more

meaning. I needed them to have their own personalities and ideas, and even though I knew I wanted

them to be friends and have a relationship, conflict is needed to add tension. In real life you never know

how people will react to the exact same situation which is what adds interest. There are a couple of

other questions from the 'Matrix' that helped develop my script idea and the way in which the story is

told. The script has a couple of specific actions and transitions in because while I wrote it I could strongly

imagine particular things happening with the visuals that would accompany the script. A visual aspect

that I think was important was the time on the characters arms. For inspiration on the designs that went

on their arms I used Crop circle designs as seen in 'Figure 2 '. This was the initial way I found designs for

the arms and then I looked at how the colours could change to represent the time. Which ended up

being the way I thought worked best to represent the time.

Figure 2. Crop Cirlces Photograph (2015)

In conclusion, I'm overall happy with the way in which my story has developed into something different

to what I originally imagined. There are some things which I would do differently next time. Such as,

thinking more about the characters names and not just choosing random ones as well as finding a title

which relates to the story more. Story and script has helped me see how writing a script for a story can

sometimes help you visualize exactly how you want it to look and what happens. I will definitely

consider writing a script when planning an story.

Word count; 1370

Bibliography (Harvard referenced)

Crop Circle Image. Alexander, S. [4 September 2015]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/09/04/13/2BF644D100000578-3222358-image-m-

95_1441369285690.jpg. (2017). [image].

Flattery, T. (2012). The Hunger Games Concept Art. Online:

https://thehungergames2012.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-hunger-games-concept-art/. [image].

Hunger Games. (2012). [DVD] Directed by G. Ross. California: Liongate.

In Time (2011) Andrew Niccol [DVD] Hollywood: Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Strike

Entertainment.

Parker, P. (2006). The art and science of screenwriting. 1st ed. Bristol [u.a.]: Intellect Books.

Wells, P. (2007) Basics Animation 01: Scriptwriting. 1st Edition. AVA Publishing, Singapore.