2nd Story draft

I still haven’t been able to due much due to the ear infection, but it is getting better, and I have managed to put out a new draft for the story, including the new idea that I have!

The graveyard at night was a dark, lonely place. Snow fell down in white sheets, muffling any other sounds that arose from the site. The wind tore through the headstones, wailing ominously as it passed and from a lone tree, clumps of snow fell in clumps as the weight became too much for the branch to bear. Amongst the cracked, weathered gravestones, stood a newer grave. The stone gleamed softly in the moonlight, and the freshly carved words were clear to see, 'a wife and a mother, she will be dearly missed. R.I.P.'

A small figure stood next to the grave, gazing down on it with sorrow etched upon her face. It was a young girl, bundled up in thick winter clothes. She touched the grave lightly, brushing away some of the snow, before catching an odd sound and twisting around suddenly.

When she saw nothing, she scanned the area quickly, trying to find the source of the noise. It was then that the dog burst out from the shrubbery, leaping over a bush and running towards the grave. With a mighty leap, the dog disappeared into the ground next to the grave, and emerged a few seconds later, holding a strange blue orb in its mouth. It turned to study the girl briefly, and the girl stared back, moth wide open in surprise. A silent challenge seemed to pass between them, and the dog took off, flying away over the snow and leaving glittery shavings of ice and snow behind it. Shaking herself out of her stupor, the girl shook her head and blinked, before taking off after the dog, a determined expression on her features.

They ran from the graveyard, over a deserted, slushy road and off into a field where cows were huddled miserably together. Soon they left the field behind and they were running, flying over snowy hills underneath a clear starry sky.

The farther they got, the more strange the surroundings appeared. Shapes appeared and moved in the sky, a horse galloping, a woman running, people laughing and making merry. As she ran she saw it all, but she couldn't stop and stare. She would loose the dog. One strong looking hunter tipped his hat to the girl as she darted past. Soon more dogs joined her, and she gazed around at the in surprise. They also carried orbs with them, and she had to focus hard to make sure her dog didn't get mixed up with another. The world around her was becoming brighter and more cheerful than the dreary graveyard she had left behind, and the girl began to enjoy herself immensely.

A wave of darkness crashed over her suddenly, and the little girl stopped, stunned, looking around her to get her bearings. She stumbled on in the darkness, and suddenly gates appeared out of nowhere. They were tall, towering over her in an intimidating manner, with great bowls of fire on either side of the great marble pillars. They were the gates of the underworld, and beyond the gate was darkness. The dogs had all disappeared, but a faint glow alerted her to one who had returned. Passing back through the gate, the dog handed the girl the blue orb, and sat on its haunches, watching expectantly. She girl smiled, and fussed the dog, before reaching into her coat to pull out a key.

Walking forward to the gate, she slid the key into the lock and it turned easily. She let go of the soul and together with the dog, watched it float away into the darkness. Patting the dog, she pushed the gates shut, locking them before walking away. She pat her side gently, and the dog immediately followed the unspoken command, trotting up to her to walk sedately by her side. They walked out of sight, until only their shadows could be seen. And it was then that the girls shadow shifted into that of a taller, sharper looking person.

The end.

Ear Infection

On Tuesday I came down with an ear infection and it ended up with a hospital trip. Unfortunately, this is setting me back on my work a lot. I have been in too much pain to concentrate on anything, and am now back at home with very few supplies because I was in a hurry to leave at the time. I am going to try and write up another story draft at least, but I am really worried that this is going to put me behind.

Slight idea change

I have also changed my idea slightly. This is because in all my concepts, I realised that the dog and the girl seemed really friendly with each other, so I got into thinking that they were. And then I thought, 'what if the girl was the god of the underworld in a different form?' And I realised that I really liked the idea, and it gave it a nice twist at the end.

Background Concepts

Concept art

More concept art

Concept art

Since I did the sketches, I have been slowly turning them into finished concept pieces. I found a texture that I really like, and that I think would look really nice as part of my film, so I have been using it in most of my concept art! You can really see a difference between the ones I used the texture with, and the ones I didn't!

Concept sketches

Here are some concept sketches I have done for the girl and dog

First story draft

Here is the first draft of my film story. It isn't perfect, but I think it's a start!

It was deathly cold and the snow came down in large clumps, silencing the entire world. But that didn't stop her from remaining in her place, long after everyone else had left. She stared down at the simple marker through solemn eyes, reading the passage over and over until she had it memorised. 'Here lies …. A wife and a mother. She will be missed. RIP.' There weren't any tears left to cry, only emptiness that reflected the silent world around her.

It was then that she heard a rustle, and with quick startled eyes turned to the source. There was nothing there,but it didn't stop her from glancing all around her, puffs of white breath dancing across the air as she exhaled. A movement to her right sent her spinning around again, and nervously she backed away from the grave, deciding that perhaps it was time to head home. It was then that she saw the dog. It was white with red tipped ears and it almost seemed to glow faintly. She could only stare in awe as the massive dog bounded gracefully towards her, and took a giant leap before disappearing into the ground of the freshly dug grave. She didn't have to wait long before the red tipped ears appeared, and with them the rest of the dog, accompanied by a strange glowing orb. Without even glancing at her, the dog raced away, sending powdered snow flying into the air behind it. She watched in an undisguised awe, before sense returned to her, and she began to realise exactly what had happened. The dog had leapt into her beloved mothers grave, and had taken something with it. Whatever it was, it had belonged to her mother, and she was determined to get it back.

All at once, she was running, stumbling in the snow in an effort to catch up to the ethereal dog. Calling for the animal to stop did no good, it simply ignored her, and so she chased. Soon she was joined by more dogs, leaping out from behind trees and racing over the valleys. As one passed her, she noticed more orbs travelling with the dogs, and wondered if they had been stolen also. It wasn't long before the landscape began to change, from the snowy hills and valleys to something bizarre, dark at first, and then bright and lively. Strange, inhuman figures past her as she ran, ignoring her as much as the dogs were and going about their business, whatever it might be. Beautiful maidens danced and laughed, and muscled men shot arrows and swung swords and it was almost too much to take in without forgetting about the dogs she was chasing. She began to realise that she was actually enjoying herself. She was not as breathless as she would have expected, keeping the same pace with a stubborn gait, but this new world was bright and joyful, and even something as simple as chasing a pack of dogs provided a lot more excitement than anything at home had to offer, especially now. Soon they left the colourful figures behind, and it became darker and more solemn. The girl didn't notice, too wrapped up in her own joy to care about anything else but running.

And then she hit something hard with a force she did not expect. It sent her flying to the ground and she looked up surprised. In front of her was a blue glow, much like the orb taken from her mothers grave. Except this one was a wall, a great unmoving wall, and while she could see the other side clearly, she could not pass, no matter how much she pushed and shoved at the wall. The last dog disappeared into the distance of the darker world, and with a small sob, the girl called out for them to stop, but they didn't hear, and they didn't obey. Sitting down with a dejected slump, the girl looked around for anything that might seem familiar, but there was nothing and she knew she was lost. With a great sob she began to cry, letting out all the emotions that she had denied herself even at the funeral. It was the sound of a panting dog that caused her to look up from her misery, and she turned to see a dog and a figure walking steadily towards her. There was no orb, but she had no doubt that this was the dog that had taken her mothers orb.

The figure turned out to be a man. He was scary, but he looked noble, and rich, and unused to being disobeyed. Staring down at her with grave eyes, he asked her what she was doing chasing his dogs and sitting at his gates, and she replied that she was chasing the orb that the dog had stolen from her mothers grave. It was then that he smiled sadly and patted her head gently. It was the dogs job, he explained, to take the orb. That it needed to be done so that her mother could rest in piece. She looked at him in confusion, but the man would not explain further than that, only offering that one day, she would be able to understand fully. She nodded reluctantly, and patted the dog slowly. It was then that the man asked her if she was ready to return home. She stared up at him, and asked if he knew the way. He did, he replied, and placed a large hand on her head. There was suddenly snow whipping up all around her, and she closed her eyes against the storm. When she opened them again, everything was calm and she was back in the grave yard, a small distance from her mothers grave. There was someone else at the grave now, sitting in the same dejected pose that she had only recently taken herself, and she could see it was her father. Breaking into a run, she called him, and barrelled into his side. Because she wasn't the only one hurting from his mothers death. I'm still here for you, she promised him, and he smiled, holding her in a firm hug. It was still snowing heavily as they left the graveyard. Still bitterly cold and gloomy. But it didn't matter any more, because they were going home.

- - -

I don't think that the story is anywhere near perfect! In fact, I am extremely reluctant to have the bit with the god of the underworld, but it is there because I need something to fill that space. I think that the ending is nice though, and rounds it off in a nice way.

Target audience?

I was asked at the presentation today who my target audience were for the film. In all honesty,it is not something I have been considering. I am making this film for me,and no one else, if I am honest with myself. However, I think that the film would probably be better suited towards children, but something that adults would be able to enjoy too!

Group meeting

Today we had another group meeting to discuss our films. I showed my character designs to the group, and told them about the changes to my idea. I think things were pretty well received, and I need to focus on refining my idea, and finding a suitable ending. However, I was told that I should simplify my character designs for the girl, because they would be a pain to animate, despite it being very nice, it was a style more suited to illustration than animation.

I am not sure what to think about this. I shall probably simplify the idea a little bit, but I want to keep the base design, and I want the film to look pretty illustration like. One of the things I want to do next is write my film idea up like a story, and perhaps illustrate it!

Concepts and dog designs

Revised Character designs

I have been starting to design how I want the little girl to look in my final film, and I have done a quick turnaround of how I want her too look!

Film Inspiration: The little match girl

This short film is a Disney short, and is beautiful, not only in the way that it is animated, but the way that it is presented. It also has a really nice, sombre atmosphere that I want in my own film!

Film Inspiration: Secret of Kells

The secret of Kells is another fine example of European animation! I looked at this film for its own ties to Celtic mythology,and also because of it's beautiful style, especially the stylized backgrounds!

Film Inspiration: The Snowman

The atmosphere in this film is what I love about this film. It's a type of mood that I would love to recreate in my own film. It also has a very beautiful, illustration like style, and I really like the colouring effects!

Film Inspiration: Nocturna

I have been wanting to post inspirations for the film for a while now. These films are both inspiration in storyline, and in animation, and I am using them partly as research too!

The first is Nocturna. I have known about this film for a very long time, but only recently was I able to get a copy of it. It is a story about a little boy who is afraid of the dark, and discovers that the stars have gone missing, so he must goon a quest to get them back. It is beautifully animated, and has been very inspiring for me!