slaka16789

I suppose we could draw out a detailed professional (even though this is an ameture animation XD) storyboard off of what we already have.

Professional storyboards arent't always detailed. They only show how much is nescessary to get the story and animation. We don't need to be like Ghibli where storyboards are coloured with water colors xD
But wait with the storyboard until the plot is properly written because I can only tell how much 2D animation we will need after I know the finished plot.

slaka16789

Also is everyone okay with just contacting on AP? Or should we exchange emails, Instant messangers ETC.

Contacting thorugh AP is good because every team member can read the latest developments. Furthermore we all live in different time zones and that would make instant communication difficult.
Plus, we have separate threads for different tasks anyway.

any story development ?

Gomen, still in the midst of exams... which will finish next week, so I'll be all set after that!

Storyboard with watercolours??! Goodness, they must have a huge budget and resources lolz! Do you have an example of it btw? I'm interested to have a look :)

I'm quite happy posting here for now. The group isn't superly active anyways, if anything I'm the one who's been spamming the board with crazy random junk..

Good luck with the exams hammy! ^^

I\'ve actually never seen those colored storyboards but I read on ANN that there were created water colored storyboards for the next Ghibli movie \"Ponyo\". And yes, Ghibli had always had a big budget in their recent projects.

Searched a bit through the net: http://www.ghibliworld.com/images/miyazaki_nhk_professional_2b.jpg
(you can see the colored storyboards on the right)

DaaaAAnnG nice :D I like the watercolor idea actually. If you have a board already developed when it comes time to animate it usually feels faster and easier to animate because you dont need to worry about the overall composition and etc. because in the storyboard its already been covered. BUT since our plot is very undeveloped I'd say its not worth it right now hehe.

~Slaka

It's been a busy week.
I have a few ideas I\'m working on. I'll get them posted very soon.
I would like to finalize the plot and basic screenplay by the end of this weekend..

-I have a good knowledge of animation techniques/gimmicks and camera work that can lessen the workload on the 2D animators without compromising the final production.
For example, 'She and her cat'. A vast majority of the animation is scrolling layers.

As for storyboards, B/W is fine, as long as they are clearly illustrated.

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Maybe we shoud shorten the intro, so we have more time for the main story. That is, unless we decide to extend the total time.

Here is a (possible) basic overview of the story.
Divided into 4 or 5 sections (flashbacks are only suggestions):

Intro - Introduces Selphina and partially explains why she is now stranded in space.
Flashback 1 - Selphina as a teen, recounts her psychological loneliness, hints at her science background.
Flashback 2 - Selphina as a child, recounting her first memory of being alone/isolated.
Flashback 3 - ?
Finale - Floating in space, Selphina connects everything and the complete situation is revealed.

Theme: Loneliness/isolation; how it has affected Selphina throughout her life.

--------------------------

`Cibo
Hmmm To be honest, I think that by having a majority if it in space would show the isolation and loneliness better. I was thinking
Intro - Introduces Selphina and partially explains why she is now stranded in space.
Flashback 1
Selphina in space again, bring up some thoughtful ideas. (example:If she made the right choice etc.) Primarily a reflection of flashback 1
Flashback 2
Space
Flashbck3
Finale: The acceptance of Selphina's demise. Lonliness/isolation/death
(of course we can still have her accept her death, then surivive)

I just think that the topic of death and isolation is more appealing than how she has been lonely throughout her life.

`Everyone:
Another intersting idea I had for the "Psycological bits" Was while I was in Astronomy class...BASICALLY. Everything in a solar system eventually gets recycled. If a star like our suns eventually dies out it emits alot of its matter and etc. So the leftover remains of the dead star eventually becomes building blocks for a new star to be born inside of a star cluster etc. I believe... please correct me if I am wrong I know hamster likes astronomy lol. Just something to get ya thinking on mixing in Space + Story.

~Slaka

It was me hamster. :-)

Also, I'm pretty bad about checking threads, and I only do it when I remember, or when people remind me. So if you wanna talk to me about something or get me to check the thread, tell me! My AIM screenname is "lukas8me". I think it's a good idea if we give eachother our sn's just to run a quick idea across w/o posting, because it's really hard to keep up, and most of the stuff being posted isn't important. Maybe keep the threads a little bit smaller and less to read. ( I am so lazy). It's just an idea and I thought I'd mention it. I'm better communicating over AIM, and I'm pretty much always on.

I'll keep working on this, but at least it is an overall view of the story. ->

(We may need a talented voice actor to play Selphina..)
('Earth' is only used as the planet name until we decide otherwise)
(The dialogue will need work yet..)
------------------------------------------------------------

Title, Credits
Cut to distant object in space
Glitch Cut: Mission just entering space. Echo to silence
Cut closer to floating object
Glitch Cut: Alarms, lights flashing. "Pressure destabilizing!" Echo to Silence
Cut closer to object, now recognizable as a human figure.
Glitch Cut: Explosion, Selphina is pulled from ship. "Selphina!" Echo to silence.

Cut to closeup of her face. Her eyes open slowly.
She stares out with a look of sadness.
Cut to view of ship in the far distance, debris. 'I wonder if they are still alive'
Cut to closeup again, she blinks any tears away and looks around her.
Cut to view of the Earth below her.
'Does anyone on Earth know what has happened?'
Selphina looks around.
Looks at wrist, Oxygen meter. '10 hrs.....' (Not immediate death, but very imminent)
'If they are preparing a rescue, all I can do is wait.. and try to conserve oxygen.

(Working on a suitable transitional scene..)

(Music video scene:
Several cuts of Selphina floating in space, Earth slowly passing by, light changing, etc. Ambient isolation music.)
A shadow falls over Selphina.
Darkness falls. Fade to black.

Dream sequence->

(Working on this part... Mostly a flashback)

(**Ending 1**)

Startled awake, in complete darkness.
Looks at her wrist..
'........53 minutes...'
Looking below at the city stars, Selphina breaks into tears as she relinquishes her life and accepts her fate. (working on dialogue for this..)
Suddenly - Light!
Rays of light leap from behind the Earth, pushing back the void of darkness.
An orbital sunrise; the most beautiful site she's ever seen.
Uplifting(?) music.
Slow fade to white.
End credits with music continuing.
Music fades away. Slight Static fades in.. Distorted 'Selphina.., can you hear me?..
Percussion strike, cut to black.
End.

-------------------------------

(**Ending 2**)

Startled awake, in complete darkness.
Looks at her wrist..
'........53 minutes...'
She turns to where her ship should be. Nothing...
Then she notices a bright streak. Her ship, falling to Earth.
She stares and watches it burn...
Looking below at the city stars, Selphina breaks into tears as she relinquishes her life and accepts her fate.
Suddenly - Light!
Rays of light leap from behind the Earth, pushing back the void of darkness.
An orbital sunrise; the most beautiful site she's ever seen.
Uplifting(?) music.
Slow fade to white.
End credits with music.
End.

------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe working it out to use Slaka's suggestions, etc.:

Looking down, she sees a streak. Debris falling to Earth.
She stares and watches it burn...
'That debris.. burning away; sprinkling nutrients over the Earth..'
'Feeding plant, animal... human.'
'Circulating through the food chain; providing energy for the life on this planet.'
'....If I were to fall....'

'Long after I die, my energy will continue to circulate the system of life.'
...random..

-I will keep editing this post with story updates for now...

I like the first ending with the sentence "Selphina... can you hear me?" because that leaves open if she actually is saved or if she already died. The negative ending (ending 2) is propably too clear.

'Long after I die, my energy will continue to circulate the system of life.'

Hm, this is a great sentence but lets Selphina appear as if she wouldn't care about her death. Also I feel as if she could only say something like this when we introduce her as a scientist.

I'm back in action, I guess.

First, some trivial matters...

slaka16789

I know hamster likes astronomy lol.

Actually, I don't, not particularly. I just do my homework and research to know about the subject matter that we're working with.

@lukas - I don't even use AIM. Please, check here and follow the threads. It's not like the writers will only work on the story and the artists will only do the drawing... we're contributing wherever and there are separate threads here for everything so it is best to keep it all in one place for everyone.


On to the story...

I'll wait and see how you're planning to flesh it out, Cibo, since you seem to have a good idea where you want this to go. I'm with harakiri on the ending, the first ending is better.

I'll try and do some research about oxygen supplies... just to make sure the 10 hour duration set for the oxygen meter is a realistic figure. (Of course, this doesn't really affect the story, we'll just adjust the time remaining accordingly. The rest of the scenes remain the same.)

I've narrowed the time period to 'alternate' near future.
Also, for the flashback/dream, I'm open to any ideas. I'll be working to finish up this week, so please check back often as I update the story.
Here are a few random philosophy references:
Philosophy of Death
Life After Death, Nihilism and Modern Philosophy

As far as technical accuracy, I don't think we have to be too strict. It doesn't have to be accurate, only believable in relation to the story/world.

I believe a 10 hour air supply is somewhat beyond what is available today... But, in the near future..

Okay, so I just had an idea for a flashback. What if there she had a flashback to her childhood and her mom or maybe a little further in the future, her bf does that thing where you can name a star. And while she is in space she picks out which one it is, and that has some sort of role in keeping her sane. Idk, it just sort of popped into my head and I immediatly wrote it down here. I'll be thinking about it more. :-)

An updated version will be kept here:
http://www.geocities.com/ciboanime/anime/screenplay.txt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IN PROGRESS SCREENPLAY --->>>
Intro explains how Selphina has been stranded in space.
Followed by her getting oriented and realizing her situation.
Segway into a music vid section which shows how isolated she is, passes time and fades into a dream sequence.
The dream sequence helps establish what kind of person she is, hints at some sci-fi intrigue and philosophy.
Startled awake in darkness, she finds that she has little time left and must face her death.
Then the sun rises over the Earth in a most beautiful site in such a dire situation.
Credits, followed by an audio hint of possible salvation.

(Time in seconds)Cut: Description - {sound} 'vocals'
(most dialogue needs work..)

(2)Black, {Music starts}
(3.5)Title
(10)Credits on Black background
(2){Music ends with percussion.... (reverse cymbal-ish bass hit?)}
(10)Cut: star field, pause, then scroll down and around to a distant object (slow zoom in, slow spin) with Earth atmosphere just showing at edge of screen- {rumble, ambience}
(5)Cut: Mission just entering space. Outside cockpit view
(5)Cut: Interior ship view. 'retro boosters in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, engage'
(5)Cut: Outside ship, boosters fire {rumble}, 'entering orbit vector in 60, start auto-rotation in 10..' {Echo to silence}
(6)Cut: closer to floating object (slow zoom, rotation) {rumble}
(6)Cut: Closeup, Control (cabin pressure, hull stress) lights turn red, flashing. {Single alarm sound, echo away}
(3)Cut: closer to object, now recognizable as a human figure, {rumble}
(2)Cut: Alarms, lights flashing. 'Suit up now!' "Hull destabilizing!" {Echo to silence}
(2)Cut: Selphina full body view. Eyes closed. Slow rotation, slow zoom towards face {rumble}
(1)Cut: Interior view, {metal crunch, explosion} as Selphina is pulled from ship, with debris.
(.5)Cut: Outside ship, body flies out. "Selphina!" {Echo to silence}
(3)Cut: Black. {Reverse mega distorted hit.}
(7 overall) 3(.5)Cuts, progressive distance from ship with gaping hole- close, medium, far.. strobes inside, debris flying. Fast zoom out, medium 3D rotation (end over end). heartbeat for each cut.
*
-----? Selphina floating in space in a dress, flapping in wind. The moment she opens her eyes, she's in a space suit.

*
(3)Cut: Black, Reverse mega distorted hit.
(10)Cut: silence, closeup of her face. Her eyes open slowly, complete silence (Fade from dress to spacesuit?). She stares out (grey eyes) before gaining consciousness (shiny eyes).
(2)Cut: She looks around several times, looking for the ship.
(4)Cut: Space orbit scene, camera looks around frantically.
(3.5)Cut: closeup again, head turned. head straightens and her eyes drift and fall down, looking dis-heartened.
(6)Cut: view of the Earth below her. Slow camera rotation
(3)Cut: Looks at wrist, Oxygen meter. ' Just over 10 hrs...' (Not immediate death, but very imminent) Orientation boosters empty, flashing..
(5)Cut: Head looks up and she stares out blankly/(worried?).
-music video section-
(6)Cut: Space ahead of her, slow zoom. {Ambient music fades in}
(5)Cut: Far distant shot of Earth, Selphina barely noticeable.
(8)Cut: Camera rotating around selphina's somewhat distant silhouette over stars, Earth, etc.
()Cut:
()Cut:
()Cut:
(4)Cut: Shadow falls over Selphina's body.
(5)Cut: Selphina floating in darkness. {Music fades out} Fade to Black.


(20)Cut: Very slow fade in, {Xyrick Piano playing}, curtains blowing in the wind, {ocean surf}
(10)Cut: View of Selphina playing piano, partially obscured by curtains. {Piano, ocean continues}
(15)Cut: {'Selph..'}{Music stops at Xyrick3, 26 sec in} Closeup of Selphina's hands on piano keys.
{Male-} 'You know how dangerous this mission is...'
Hands curl. {Selphina-} 'This is very important to my work; to everyone..!' -or- 'I know.. but I believe the knowledge we could gain out-weighs the danger.'
{Male-} 'Even if it could cost you your life?'
(30)Cut: From window, curtain partially obscurring Selph, male {Selph puts her feet down, bench slides} Selphina stands
{Selphina-} 'I'm not afraid to die...(3 sec pause) Besides, we've trained for this for years.'
{Male-} 'hmph.. I hope your right; because I can't save you if something goes wrong up there. You have to come back to me.'
Selphina turns toward male. Upper torso view (smile) 'Right.. Or else you won't marry me?'
{Male-} Yeah. See? You don't have a choice.
(smile) Ha..! I'll try not to disappoint.'
()Cut: {Sits back down and begins to play} Fade to white as music drifts off.
()Cut:



Slow fade in.

---- v(88.5+ Sec. total, 14 cuts)v ----

(4, 1?)Cut: Closeup, startled awake (quick gasp for air), in complete darkness.
(1.5)Cut: Selphina's distant silhouette floating in darkness.
(4)Cut: Upper torso, She begins to relax, then moves to look at her wrist.
(5.5)Looks at her wrist.. time is flashing, 'gasp' '.....53 minutes...' (very imminent death..)
(4)Cut: face closeup. Teary eyed, worried.
(3)Cut: Looking below at the city stars {building music starts}
(14.5+)Cut: Selphina breaks into tears as she relinquishes her life and accepts her fate. {building music reaches height}
(3.5)Cut: Selphina's face, suddenly beams of light shine, then Selphina looks towards the light {music breaks into beautiful ambience}
(3.5)Cut: Rays of light leap from behind the Earth, pushing back the void of darkness. {Music starts up again w/chorus}
(6)Cut: Selphina's face, being lit up by the rising sun. 'so beautiful...' Moved to tears by the beauty in such a dire situation. {Music reaches height}
(15)Cut: Sun rising slowly over Earth. Slow fade to white.
(14)Cut: End credits with music continuing, winding down.
(7)Cut: White {Music fades away} {Slight Static fades in..} Distorted 'Selphina.., can you hear me?..'
(3)Cut: {Percussion strike} , cut to black, To be continued...
End.

lukas8me

What if there she had a flashback to her childhood and her mom or maybe a little further in the future, her bf does that thing where you can name a star. And while she is in space she picks out which one it is, and that has some sort of role in keeping her sane.

I like the idea of her mother telling her to name a star. We shouldn't focus too much on the boyfriend because Selphina is about to lose everything - not just her lover. We could do flashbacks about her boyfriend, her mother and maybe something trivial and daily she can't do in space.
We also could avoid showing the people's faces (except for Selphina) to show how isolated she is.