Story Ideas #3

I've been rethinking over my story these past few days as my earlier ideas seem to be somewhat amiss. Its been difficult really as I guess I've tried to push the conceptual side of things too much in contrast to the aims of the brief of a 3 act storytelling. As such, here are some new ideas I'm trying to resolve. Objects are Big Game Hunter, Deck Chair and Castle.

One idea is to have a showdown scenario between the big game hunter and deck chair, using a series of cuts to highlight the characters nuisances for comedic effect e.g. the winkle of a moustache, a twitch of a brow etc. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly serves as a perfect scenario.



Of course, most of this will depend on the embodiment of the character which I'm thinking of a typical gentlemanly stereotype to contrast the absurdity of his confrontation between a deck chair, with the iconic pith helmet and moustache.




Although quite awful to watch, this video captures the typical big game hunter bravado I am thinking of.


Another idea came to mind with some further research, is the big game hunter having devised some sort of elaborate trap, lies in wait in a what is known as a pop up blind.



The shape or form of the popup blind in general could be a mere sand castle to blend into his surroundings of the beach for further comedic appeal. As he waits, a lengthy amount of time passes before the resolution of the final act.

I still have a number of things to resolve namely the final act to bring such a setup to a conclusion, whether the BGH succeeds or how he ultimately and in an absurd way fails to a deck chair. But I thought I get my ideas up now and see what feedback I can get, better here than stuck in my head.

4 comments:

tutorphil said...

Hey Leo,

I think this streamlining of intention is a much more apposite reading of the 'one minute animated short' context; it's all about readability for the audience and visual economy and proving that you can spot the small details that make the narrative cook. I think perhaps some of your previous ideas suffered from an instance of 'over-egging the pudding' - they seemed a bit contorted and 'baroque' (but not without interest!). The resolution of the sand castle hide is great by the way. I look forward to seeing your development.

Leo Tsang said...

Thanks Phil, looking back I agree that the previous posts were too much like a wall of text making it difficult to read. Guess I was just trying to get my ideas up altogether. Will be sure to try make things more 'bitesized' so to speak :)

tutorphil said...

Hi Leo - that wasn't quite my point - I have no problem at all with the amount of text etc. rather, I was talking about the story ideas themselves - that often simple straightforward ideas can make for satisfying stories; for instance, I've just been made aware of this animation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzg2jjH2z8E&feature=related

A very linear, very clear narrative 'thru-line' - staged simply, but delivered beautifully and with great sensitivity. Indeed, this is a pretty perfect 3 act story... There's no clutter or anything 'outside' of the story. It just reads effortlessly.

Leo Tsang said...

Oh I see. Your right in that animation reads perfectly in a simple beautiful way, without the clutter of an over elaborate plot or setup. That was great and most inspiring, I think I know how to better tackle this story now.

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