Story Ideas

After discussing our ideas with Alan he suggested that we focused more on the editing style to help us formulate a narrative.

This led us to think about how we could use the camera to tell a story, our studio got 'No Cuts' as the editing style so one of the ideas we had was to keep the camera static, focusing on a display in the shop window. Below are a few ideas that could be told by the display:

- Two characters dance around happily together while in the background their home and dreams are building. One of the characters is called to war and leaves the set, shortly follows the destruction of everything they hoped and dreamed about due to the war. Eventually the character returns, a bit beaten up and stumbling, the character is then helped up by the other one and they begin to slowly rebuild their life by supporting each other.

- Toys trying to understand love by watching humans in the street or shop, but they can't grasp the concept as it is a human emotion.

- A young child keeps coming to the shop looking at a particular toy in the window, every day he comes back to the shop and looks at the same toy, checking if he has the money to buy it yet. One day the child notices another child is fixated by the same toy. Eventually after a little while passes the child has enough money to buy the toy, once he has it he walks outside the shop to see the other child looking sad so he gives the toy to the child.

- A young girl walks past and looks into the shop everyday, it becomes like a routine. There is a toy in the window that she wants but can't afford. years pass and the young lady still keeps the same routine of looking into the shop as she walks past, although she notices a child looking in the shop at a toy, a few more days pass and everyday the child is there looking inside. One day the child gets there and the toy is gone, the child looks sad as it walks away from the shop, but it is stopped by the young lady who presents the toy to the child, spreading the joy of the shop.

Another idea to tackle the editing style was to have the camera circle around a music box, this gives a completely different setting and these are a few of the ideas we had for it.

- In the front of the music box two characters walk out of a little house and kiss, looking like they are in love with each other, they then walk back into the house. As the camera circles behind you see that all is not as it seems, the characters go their separate ways and spend their time with different 'people'. 

- A tiered music box has a damsel in distress at the top and a young knight attempts to reach and save her, as he runs around the tiers different obstacles pop out to stop him, he storms forward reaching the damsel and saving her.

We also had the idea of having the camera possibly following characters as they walk around the shop, with this we could tell a story about a couple coming in to find a toy for their child, but they can't agree on anything causes them to argue, this conflict could either be resolved by them finding the perfect toy or it could ultimately end in them destroying their love.

There is also the potential to make the animation Christmas themed, so the toy shop would become Santa's workshop, here the camera would focus on a conveyor belt. Two elves would be there making toys for the festive season, both of them would be competing for Santa's love.