All great art begins with a concept. In animation the concept is directly related to a good story. It can be funny, tragic, serious and dramatic, traditional or fantasty, realistic or not. Many animated stories exist these days. A good concept will differentiate your animation from just a cute moving character to a fully-developed animated piece. Keep in mind that our class is only a semester and that it takes 10-12 frames of drawing/painting/images to create one second of animation. Create a story for the character you developed. You may choose your original character or any of the morphed versions of it or develop a new one. The story should include conventional elements of story telling such as character development, plot, theme, settings, climax and resolution. Is it a comedy, tragedy, farce, fantasy, realistic, dramatic, romance? What style of animation will best portray what you want to say? Create sets that reflect the story.
Character: Character refers to any individual, object, animal, or force created by the author as a basis for his/her particular piece of work. Character is also the behavior shown by an individual. Example: Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the film Spider-Man.
Climax: the moment in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem at which the crisis comes to its point of greatest intensity and is resolved. Example: The moment where Spider-Man and Doc Oc battle and Spider-Man convinces Doc Oc to break free of his tentacles’ control and then Doc Oc sacrifices himself to stop the explosion.
Plot: is the struggle found in fiction. Plot may be internal or external and is best seen in:
(1) Person in conflict with another Person - Example: Spider-Man vs. Doc Oc in Spider-Man.
(2) Person in conflict in Nature - Example: Bill and Jo vs. the F5 twister in Twister.
(3) Person in conflict with Self - Example: Frodo deciding whether to throw the ring in the volcano or keep it for himself in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Point of view: the perspective from which the story is told.
Exposition: The beginning portion of a plot in which background information about the characters and situation is set forth. Example: The scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where we learn how Harry received his scar.
Falling action: The sequence of events that follow the climax and end in the resolution. Example: the scenes from The Dark Knight after Rachel dies in the explosion.
Resolution: The conclusion of a plot’s conflicts and complications. Example: The scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Fudge acknowledges Voldemort’s return.
Rising action: is the series of events that lead to the climax of the story. Example: The attack in the desert that begins Transformers.
Setting: Time and Place in fiction. Example: New York, 2009
Theme: is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express. Example: Love conquerors all, never give up, or respect nature.
Tone: is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character, similar to mood. Example: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective.
Taken from: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_p.htm
Climax: the moment in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem at which the crisis comes to its point of greatest intensity and is resolved. Example: The moment where Spider-Man and Doc Oc battle and Spider-Man convinces Doc Oc to break free of his tentacles’ control and then Doc Oc sacrifices himself to stop the explosion.
Plot: is the struggle found in fiction. Plot may be internal or external and is best seen in:
(1) Person in conflict with another Person - Example: Spider-Man vs. Doc Oc in Spider-Man.
(2) Person in conflict in Nature - Example: Bill and Jo vs. the F5 twister in Twister.
(3) Person in conflict with Self - Example: Frodo deciding whether to throw the ring in the volcano or keep it for himself in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Point of view: the perspective from which the story is told.
- First person or "I." Example: scenes from the film Cloverfield. (Note: only a couple films are shot entirely in the first person and the technique is rarely used.)
- Omniscient narrator knows everything, may reveal the motivations, thoughts, and feelings of the characters. Example: The narrator in War of the Worlds.
- Limited omniscient narrator, the material is presented from the point of view of a character, in third person Example: The narrator from 300..
- Objective point of view presents the action and the characters' speech, without comment or emotion. Example: Transformers. (Note: most films are shot in this point of view.)
Exposition: The beginning portion of a plot in which background information about the characters and situation is set forth. Example: The scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where we learn how Harry received his scar.
Falling action: The sequence of events that follow the climax and end in the resolution. Example: the scenes from The Dark Knight after Rachel dies in the explosion.
Resolution: The conclusion of a plot’s conflicts and complications. Example: The scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Fudge acknowledges Voldemort’s return.
Rising action: is the series of events that lead to the climax of the story. Example: The attack in the desert that begins Transformers.
Setting: Time and Place in fiction. Example: New York, 2009
Theme: is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express. Example: Love conquerors all, never give up, or respect nature.
Tone: is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character, similar to mood. Example: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective.
Taken from: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_p.htm