Friday, August 20, 2010

My Turn...

I've been super impressed by people who put up their work! I been getting frustrated with my idea and restarting and re-organizing it a lot, so I'd love to have some feedback and input! (Even though what I've got is in a pretty bland stage at the moment) Here we go!

The Story of a Nice Girl
[Blurb]
Humorous personal exploration of being the ‘Nice Girl’ and coming to terms with that label and all it’s different meanings

(I'll add now that I'm going for something a little more indie and personal. I'm trying to shoot for something honest and use animation as a way of exploring thoughts. I was influenced a lot by a comic done by the artist Corinne Mucha called 'My Every Single Thought'. Here's a short example of the feel of her stuff: http://maidenhousefly.com/blog/2010/02/03/anxie-tea/)

[Outline]
Realization- Label
Looking back- Past
Bad side- Negatives
Inbetween
Good side- Positives
Coming to Terms- Acceptance

[Breakdown]
Realization
-Present- Being called Nice
-Initial Mixed reaction
-Worth Exploration
Looking back- Past
-When first labeled?
-Where did it come from?
-How the Past is similar to the Present
Bad side- Negatives
-When being Nice hurt someone else
-Hurt me
-People’s negative reactions
-My negative reaction
Inbetween/Extreme
-Young- Rebellion
Good side- Positives
-When helped me/benefits
-Helped someone else
-People’s positive reactions
-My positive reaction
Coming to Terms- Acceptance
-Plans to find that balance

I've been wondering too if this is going to be too subtle as an animation. I'm going to break each segment into chapter and insert humorous chapter breaks. I'm hoping the contrast will offer balance (and a chance for me to do a something on the flip side like a crazy fight scene) But let me know if you think that would be too much contrast and would harm the overall flow.

Also I really want to explore the topic though -so interesting moments to explore? Think that there's anything else that should be covered? It's in a weird stage right now, but let me know any thoughts!

cheers! :)

3 comments:

  1. That comic is so you! haha. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

    You have a good list that shows the exact steps of what your character will go through. I suggest you break this down even further and take this step by step. As you do this, slowly picture your character in different situations that define why she is nice or what makes her want to question the word "nice." Look for inspiration from your own life. I know that this is a personal subject for you so it may take you a while to have a "light bulb over the head" moment. But as you explore this concept of being labeled "nice" dont get caught up in details or worry about how you are going to explain this concept to an audience. worry about it a little later. You just need to get ideas flowing for now.

    The break into chapters is a smart idea, since you are working in the past and present. This could make it easier to follow. But the breaks in between may ruin the flow of the story. Maybe you can have longer breaks that are spaced out, so that there are only 3 or 5 chapters rather than 10. Too much contrast can be overwhelming so watch out.

    Keep it up Bean! Also, see if you may want to explore something else too. Don't be so focused on this because you can over think it and ruin your awesome idea. Step back from it a little bit. Good luck Bean Beans

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  2. part 1

    Continuing what Sid was saying about the chapter breaks, if your chapter breaks are after each 'segment', in your outline, then I think 6 wouldn't be too much, seeing as how each segment is going to be different in tone anyway so its not like they will be interputing the flow of emotions from each segment. Just so long as you do keep the mood of each of those segments different, and take care to keep a flow of entering the segment, exploring the segment, and bringing the segment to a close. That way these breaks will play into the flow of the overall story, sort of like a contemplation moment for the watchers to digest what they have just seen, and the emotions you were trying to portray.
    Overall, I think its possible to have as many as 6 chapter breaks, just so long as you keep in mind the balance of the story (and we'll be there to yell at you if you're off) as well as the timing of the segments and these breaks.

    A big player in how these breaks will make or break you piece (haha) is how long you mean these segments to be and how long these breaks are going to be. You probably want to keep the breaks really really short, little couple of liners, while the segments would be longer and more thought and explanation in them. I thought I'd mention this now, on your facebook one of the things I love is your little notes you write as your status, with little humorous moments you had during the day. Thats what I imagine when you talk about these chapter breaks, and I hope you stick to something along those lines. If you are keeping these chapter breaks along this path, then I have some things for you to think about...

    Firstly, make sure that these segments have something to do with the chapters that they are either following or leading, and you must chose them all to follow or them all to lead, they must all be uniform in this respect. And I know that you are putting experiences into the actual segments, that directly conect to what you are trying to say in that chapter, so I'm not saying that these should be so directly connected, but you shouldn't choose moments that are completely random otherwise there will be a feeling of disconect your watchers will have. This will be a more subtle choice, so it will take careful thought, but its kind of like... when your telling a story, and then another story pops into your head that may not be related at all, but the one reminds you of the other. Sorry if thats vauge. It will be easier once you start choosing specfic moments I'm sure.

    Which is another thing I wanted to bring up. Since this is a personal story of yours, with real personal experiences, we won't be able to bring much to the table when it comes to helping you with the 'plot'. At most we will be able to say, 'this story doesn't seam to flow' or 'this segment is really strong with the experiences you put in'. So just be prepared, that that stuff will be completely on you.

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  3. part 2

    Also, I wanted to bring up these 'segments' or 'chapters'. I was wondering how they are going to play out, are they just going to be a lose hashing together of experiences with a narrator voice in the background? Is there going to be a narrator at all or will everything be in real dialog between you and other characters? If you have no ideas on how these chapters will be played out, I have an idea for you to think on...

    You could have you, in the present, have someone call you or bring back up this idea of you being a 'nice person', and then have you start contemplating everything that you spoke of in your outline. You could show yourself in going through some day, all the while thinking in narration about being this 'nice girl' and having flashbacks to specific events. That, at least, is how I imagine your project when I read your post.

    So, to continue what I was saying about how we won't really be able to help you choose what experiences to use in your animation, the one thing we can help you with is the style that you're going to use. So this is going to be 2d, right? I go that vibe. So will there be color? How realistic are you thinking of making the drawings? Will the chapter breaks have a different style than the chapters?

    I think it would be nice with a more minimalstic approach, and maybe have the chapter breaks a little more cartoony or something to also help illustrate that they are meant to be a break in the story you are telling.

    Well, thats about all I have to say (and sorry its so much...). I think the next step for you is really hashing out what kind of experiences, specifically, your trying to go for in each chapter, or tell us of what experiences you have already thought of. Also, keep in mind that if you are using people in our class in your experiences, then things might get awkward at times. So thats kind of your prerogative, if you want to deal with that or just stick to other people. You might want to ask the people beforehand, or something, if the experience is alright with them or something.

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