FV - Thumbnails + Style Searching

My current focus is to bring the slime mold to the forefront so that it sticks out from the backgrounds. I'm playing around with having a "low-poly" feeling background/props making everything very angular and sharp (but still colourful!) however making the slime mold more round in shape as they aren't harmful to people. I originally thought about making the slime mold itself geometric and having the backgrounds smooth + circular instead but it doesn't make sense with the nature of slime mold. - So I switched it around.

Right now I'm struggling however to push this aspect of it stylistically and might need to de-poly the backgrounds even more..

As for the character, he's only there for the sole purpose of attempting to slow down the life-cycle of slime mold (hence the water gun) but in-turn speeding it up drastically only to assume that the slime mold is destroying the forest.. realizing at the end that slime mold actually cleans up the forest. To the build up of what will become giant tree-like slime mold will show the different stages of how slime mold appears and changes; as well as what slime mold likes and dislikes. 

^ That is the gist of the story but no clear steps yet. I have a strong idea of the beginning and end but am hazy on the middle. 

FV - Choice & Notes / Slime Mold Speculation

Slime mold reminds me of both eggs and those infectious disease balls you buy at gift shops..

Anyway! I listened to Peter's brief explanation of slime molds and read articles/watched videos of slime molds. There were many, many "time lapse" videos of slime molds doing their thing, because whilst they are very animated it's over a very long period of time. They grow/change at about 1mm an hour. For the sake of viewing and people not getting bored this is probably the best way to go about showing them. 

Most descriptors of Slime molds tend to be positive. "Super-intelligent and harmonious" rather than destructive or dangerous. When it's described to people it's done so in a way that personifies the slime mold instead of being "just cells that destroy everything".

Fact building:

Does not like the cold. (Slows down growth process)

Is intelligent enough regardless of being a single-cell organism.

It will eat everything in it's way but in practical observation cleans up forests by eating decay and mulch. 

Splits and reforms together.

Likes White Fungus.

Very active in Autumn.

My favourite idea about slime mold is that they are more helpful than dangerous. Whilst in massive quantities slime mold wouldn't be too healthy for someone to be around, they aren't toxic to walk past. Just don't eat them. When looking at time-lapses it could look quite terrifying as it seemingly spreads everywhere and eats everything in it's path, however it is an essential part of "cleaning up" forests during autumn so we aren't buried by leaves or decaying matter!

I'd like to aim my target audience towards early Keystage 2. (Or a little lower, even?!) I feel as if it's the age where kids are able enough to take information from imagery whilst not needing to be tied down to cold hard numbers or strings of information on a complex level compared to that of A-Level students. 

As for slime mold itself, it isn't as serious as the 3 other choices, and so the story will probably be much more lighthearted!

Workshop Studies

Scaling and relative-scale is something I desperately need to work on

Storyboard (Unfinished)

Maybe a little confusing with the layout..

I stuck to what  I wrote within the script.

Life Drawing - 25.02.15

Patience With Opposites - SPEC Script

I'd completed the Spec Script, and so without camera directions. Originally Clown's personal items were not supposed to be stand-alone items but moreso his sleeves would transform into the ends of multiple tools. However in the scale of the story it seemed out of place to suddenly incorporate a character feature such as this as it is not a subtle one and probably something that a story would revolve around rather than an "by the way, he can do this cool stuff with his sleeves but you won't see it!" It made more sense to have physical tools that could be passed to Undertaker as tokens of friendship, anyway.

Even More Trains

More Train Designs

For the first time ever... I have been actively using references instead of stubbornly drawing 100% from imagination.

Double-sided Train

I have started to design the Train which on either side fits the design of the Clown & Undertaker.

Contrast Elaboration

Clown Side

Undertaker Side

A comparison between the two sides of the train-station. It's an odd train station mainly due to both sides of the tracks go the same way. A single line train which goes from point A to B and back again. So, because of this passengers get on from either sides of the train. It's always odd when you see people on the other side of a railway because they're there for the same purpose as you are but to go in a different direction. By having both sides getting on the same train going in the same direction, the "same purpose, different direction" becomes much more metaphorical.. But regardless..

Shots of the two sides of the platforms will be extremely short but have to be established to show the contrast between the Undertaker and the Clown; with their own purposes. The passengers will see each other but always be just far enough away never to converse. Each passenger stays in their cabin and does not go out into the narrow hall. If it is done this way the Undertaker & Clown have more one-to-one interaction with the happiness of the party-goers and the grim tone of the embalmed loved one left in the background to contrast their personalities. Ultimately it is a more comical approach to an issue of understanding.

Angry Undertaker

Very angry

Clown + Unicycle

Life Drawing

Clown Colours

Tiny head, overly large sleeves tied to his Unicycle.. and a 1960's colour palette.

Undertaker Colours

Less purple; more brown. I think it helped with making him more mature. His coat doubles as an apron and tapers off around the side (with ruffles!) to reveal a belts of embalming tools for convenience of use. As well as this, it has breathing holes in the top. Though somehow I think this is looking more Victorian than Edwardian onward ++

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