What Happens?

We gathered for our third (maybe fourth?) official meeting yesterday in order to nail down some specifics about the story we're trying to tell. Specifically, the plot.

We had done a lot of brainstorming already about our main character's background and the world she lives in. But, we stripped a lot of that down to maintain a certain universal quality. Essentially, we want this to be about overcoming your obstacles, taking charge of your independence, and finding peace within yourself.

These were the guides that we stuck with from the last meetings:

- 20 year old female

- Loss of independence

- 1950s housewife (style, motif, attitude)

One person telling one story is hard enough. Three people telling one story is a different story. So, we began our discussion with style. Mood, color, lighting, inspiration, etc.

Here's the list we drummed up - with some notation.

Style

TronIt's both retro and futuristic. Love the coolness of the environment. Harsh angles, electric blues and teals.

Fifth Element

A different take on futurism with a very urban quality. Much warmer, lots of oranges - which is novel. Leeloo is both strong and beautiful, but what she represents may not necessarily be the right direction.

Iron Giant

This is Annie Hughes - Hogarth's mom. She's a tough, gorgeous, single mother. It's also set in 1957, which is exactly within the time we're looking at. She's a little more rough around the edges than our main character.

Amelie

Wonderfully saturated. Greens, reds, yellows. The main character, Amelie, is a sort of blank canvas - ivory skin and black hair. She's also feminine and strong at the same time, which is a quality we're aspiring for.

Kingdom Hearts

We're mainly looking at the dream sequences in both 1 and 2. Falling through water and into an abyss. Amazingly soft looking renders. Absolutely beautiful, heart-warming game.

Final Fantasy XIII

Amazing use of pinks and other pastel colors to paint a somewhat bleak environment populated with strong characters. Lightning is also both feminine and strong. Throughout this discussion, we kept coming back to the color pink. It may be a central theme for the entire short.

Pushing Daisies

Saturation, again! Evokes 50s style while maintaining a modern timeline. Lots of yellows. Beautiful characters. Perfect reference in every way.

So. What happens? Keeping our inspirations in mind, we set out - bullet by bullet - write down what our main character goes through. Her journey, her surroundings, and her feelings.

Plot

- Walks into a bathroom, all made up, and proceeds to take off her shoes, make up, clothes, etc. (pristine, white - my thoughts are on Kingdom Hearts 2 - Castle Oblivion, where Namine resides)

- She slips into the bathtub and falls into a deep blue abyss (again, a la Kingdom Hearts 2... but the environment is more like Asgard from the new Thor Movie)

- Blue to Lavender to Pink

- Comes to a stand (pose?) (new outfit)

- She strolls around the clouds, swirls them around, starts to dance (happily? freely?)

- Kicks up mist, mist clears and reveals vertical tree-like structures (much like the ones in this vimeo-award winning short, Between Bears.)

- Walking past the trees reveals more trees... the color changes into electric teal and black - contrast to the warm pinks and yellows from the clouds. (Tron?)

- Suddenly she's surrounded by trees... she doesn't know where she is. Dark. Scary mist.

- She runs around looking for a way out. Lightning strikes her path, she changes direction. Again, and again.

- She is scared and hides by a tree. She looks up and is determined to escape.

- Climbs the tree. The trunk is bare, and it's very branchy as she climbs higher.

- She reaches the top and sees a beautiful, starry, nebula.

- Deep breath, zolly into/out of her eyes (Ego, Ratatouille)

- Zolly ends with her in the bath tub, warm color flushes her face.

- She takes a deep breath and smiles as she leans her head back and rests in the tub - her clothes scattered around the bathroom.

And there it is! It's a bit scattered - but we're definitely getting somewhere, now.