Unit 3: Story Telling and Commission - From Script to Screen Intro and First Ideas.

The final out come of the project is to produce a pre-viz of a short story derived from three key elements; an environment, an object and a character.

For my story I got

Environment: Cemetery

Object: Light Bulb

and Character: Tightrope Walker

First Ideas:

1. My first idea with the light bulb was to have it be a source of energy to power something. I thought of having the tightrope walker set up a circus above a burial ground (i.e. the cemetery) and then using new electrical science he raises the dead to perform in his act. The public applaud with amazement and as the man is packing up he turns round and bumps into death. Death sort of waves his finger in an unimpressed attitude and starts chasing the man around the circus.

- Although I do like this idea I feel that raising the dead is the first thing everyone thinks of so I am thinking of more ideas that are original in that aspect. Also need to specify what actual happens between the struggle with death and the man.

2. A second idea of mine involves the dead rising up from the grave at night to then put on a circus with all kinds of acts etc. Later during the night a drunk inventor is walking by and enters the circus. Due to his current state he does not care for the fact that the undead are surrounding him and he proceeds to show them his invention: the light bulb. The skeletons are fascinated by his invention and pass it round to each other in amazement. The inventor struggles to get it back especially when everything starts disappearing due to the daylight coming back. He is about to grab it just as the last skeleton evaporates but he misses and the light bulb falls and breaks on the floor.

- I like this idea for the comical potential that it has, however the problem is that the main character is not the tightrope walker so I may have to scrap this idea all together.

3. The third story actually was with help from a fellow first year where the main character is already dead or dying and death is taking him to the entrance of the underworld. However he feels he does not deserve to go to the underworld and begs death to give him a chance to release him. To humour himself death strikes a deal with the man which involves a physical challenge. Death takes him to a place with 2 huge electrical poles spread wide apart, with a wire connecting the two. The man must walk all the way across the wire without falling off (much like a tightrope walker) he has unlimited tries. Natural he does not do it the first time and carries on failing due to reasons such as a bird flies into him, wind blowing him off, simply tipping, or even death purposely trying to make him fall because he wants to keep him in the underworld.

- I really like this idea mostly because it would be very comical and appealing to most audiences. However there may need to be some re-thinking as to how the light bulb aspect is incorporated.

So thats my first 3.. I will be posting more ideas as and when I get them!