Inspiration and Research
First of all, the main inspiration for my film was the remote North Western corner of Scotland. I spent summer exploring the area (plus taking a trip to the Outer Hebrides), collecting stories and information, and sketching as I went.
I wanted my film to conjure up a feeling of this particular location; of the sea, the mountains, the wildness, and the rural way of life. Since the beginning I have also wanted my film to involve themes of nature and the environment - which is perfectly suited to this setting.
 |
My own experiences of living in this kind of environment, research into folk stories and traditional ways of life, and observational work, provided me with a basis for my story!
Fishing is the most important industry here and plays a big part in many peoples lives. Crofting is the next traditional means for making a living. These livelihoods are tied to the landscape. I wanted my film to represent these two distinctive worlds that define the way of life here.
Thus I decided my main characters were to be a fisherman (the sea) and a horse (land).
The horse was initially changeable, but I liked the idea of a horse due to it being a large and powerful animal that is more than a match for the fisherman and that could hopefully echo (through the animation) the force and rage of the sea. I was also inspired by folk stories about 'water horses' and horses that could travel on both land and water. In summer, I used to help out at a local trekking centre which provided me with experience to draw upon (and living subjects to draw from) for animating the horse character!
The story so far...
To sum up my story in one sentence: a troubled fisherman must try to rescue a horse stranded on an island.
My film will revolve around three equally important characters; the fisherman, the horse, and the environment in which they both live. All three characters are connected. They all provide the problems for one another but are also needed to solve these problems, for example; nature is partly what caused the fisherman's grief and troubles, and he is a bit frightened of the horse, but he needs both these things to find his feet again. All three also share characteristics. They are all temperamental and changeable - a bit 'rough around the ages'!
Most of the film will focus on the struggle between the man and the horse, and the landscape and weather will feature prominently in establishing the mood and the action. The fisherman has had an accident at sea and is having difficulty returning to his normal life on land. He is caught between two worlds - he doesn't want to return to sea, haunted my his bad experiences, but he is also not content on land. He feels isolated and an outcast. Then he finds the stranded horse...
The horse has been abandoned on an island. She is literally isolated and turned semi-feral, and like the fisherman, is not too happy in her situation. The fisherman decides to try and bring the horse back to land and the majority of the film will be about the undertaking of this task.
After scribbling out many notes and drawing many thumbnail storyboards, I now have the structure of the film and the general direction of the plot down. At the moment I am still storyboarding; I am working on piecing together some of the more specific action in the film (how the action will play out, trying out different shots and ideas). I have also started to create some conceptual art and thinking about the 'look' of the film.
Next steps - working on some more final character and set designs and starting to do test animation.
I've been using Gantt to create a general schedule and been checking/updating it regularly (apologies for the terrible image - just to give an idea!) It has been very useful for thinking ahead and having a visible plan to stick to. At the moment, all seems to be on schedule! I hope to start animating in November once I am completely happy with the story and design.
