Thursday, January 20, 2011

Episode Topics/Assignments

#) Topic - Assignee (possible world/subjects within)
 - potential problems

List after the jump


1. Design - Emily (graphic design, feng shui, interior design)
 - room cleaning, unpacking

2. Music - Kirsten (sound art, dance, Brian Cage, John Eno)
 - I can't dance / school dance
 - musical instrument lessons against their will

3. Literature - Kirsten (mythology)
 - writing assignment (book report?)

4. Sculpture - Ha (gardening, fashion, architecture)
 - fort building
 - snowman -winter special?
 - what to do w/cardboard boxes

5. Color and Light - Ha (photography)
 - bored w/life
 - feetwalker (?)
 - Art is everywhere
 - family portraits

6. TV - Allie (videogames, video art, filmmaking)
 - Anti-TV parent

7. Theater - Allie (performance art, fluxus)
 - oral presentation
 - English class presentation
 - school play but not superstar - they only have two lines and they have stage fright

8. Animation - Jonathan (comics)
 - Bored w/still
 - roller coaster line not moving
 - boredom
 * craft - flip book

9. Printing/Engraving - Jonathan (typography, tribal and cave art, PUNKtuation, PUNks)
 - parent printer (newspaper?) and kid not wowed
 - embarrassment/jealousy of other parents


Other possible problems:
 - Character reversal - one of our characters has the problem that needs to be addressed.


Homework: Come up with at least 3 examples of possible artists and worlds for each episode. (Amend problems if you want!) Have them online on Friday 1/21. We'll meet at 2:00 at the Laurel Estate before the jamluck,  and decide then whether we want to meet on Sunday. On Saturday we will:

  • Finalize the problems for each episode
  • Decide the order of the episodes
  • Flesh out a minimum of two episodes  (<---Emily thought: should there be a plot arc for the whole season that binds them? Like the series starts with the two graduating from the academy and being scared of going out on missions by themselves, but by the end they are super-accomplished and get to go to.... some goal place. Or maybe at the end they graduate from the academy?)

4 comments:

  1. If there is an overarching plot that connects the episodes, I don't think it should be the emphasis, but more a side note. It might be confusing to juggle different art worlds alongside a grand scheme, but it would be good to see the characters grow and development within their own personalities. I can definitely get behind the main characters growing in confidence or somesuch.

    If our mains were already graduates, it would cut back on the amount of exposition we would have to include in future episodes, and leave more time for developing the worlds the Imaginauts experience.

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  2. I don't think a connecting story arc would be able to build naturally in the time we have, and our age group is more interested in short bursts of entertainment than careful character development. Most kids' shows are either split into bite-sized ten minute chunks or follow a basic hero vs villain-who-appears-rarely-and-dramatically-but-is-secretly-orchestrating-everything formula.

    Exploring the world is more important than following the nauts through school, so I agree with them being graduates. I do like the idea of them being somewhat inexperienced; I don't yet have a solid grasp on these characters, and I think it's because (in my Mind's Eye) I see them as confident, friendly, outgoing, and intellectual. They need some conflict! Our characters need... character?

    Because the world imagination levels are dropping, it might be feasible that these two are sort of rushed into the field. Maybe they're not the best students, maybe they're both too wrapped up in their concentration to be effective imaginauts, maybe one of them is too easily distracted--whatever will make their partner dynamic more interesting and their characters more accessible.

    Thoughts?

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  3. Yeah, I definitely think we need to take time to make our mains into real people with personalities and faults and insights and talents before we start writing. If we can't imagine who they are now, then how will our audience?

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  4. I agree, Ha and Jonathan! Making the characters relatable to real people will bring warmth to their character! I think one of our next main goals should be to clearly define WHO the Imaginauts are, because this is crucial for writing!

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Fill me with your thoughts.