The Story - Themes and Ideas

I'm at the scriptwriting phase of the animation, and I am thinking about the structure and the content of the script. Judging by the idea, I'd say it would be structured like an animated sitcom episode, that's sort of what I'm going for throughout the series, I'd to the series itself not use a formula but to follow a story arc instead. However, for the sake of this TV pilot, I'll see if I can follow a more basic standalone episode formula, only I'll make it relate to a theme that's relevant to my series and characters.

At this point, I'm sort of questioning the story I've had my heart set on writing. On the other hand, I would rather make the pilot in one location to save production time, maybe even costs, and I can't actually imagine another idea beyond Millie feeling sick that would fit into that category. I'll still go with that because, as it is emphasised in the book Writing Sitcoms by John Byrne and Marcus Powell, "most jokes are only funny the first time you hear them" and imagining how Millie could very stupidly screw up forcing herself to get cured, or even just the idea that she would even attempt it, made me laugh a lot, when I first thought about it. Multiple potential story ideas have come up, but my heart is set on this one so I can't exactly back down now, and can make this one funny. I just need to think about it like I'm writing one episode out of the thirteen or more others that I would if this series got picked up.

In terms of a themefor the pilot, the themes I've had in mind for the series as a whole is emotions, nostalgia, love, friendship, happiness combatting depression and anxiety, childhood, coming-of-age, and independence. I can apply at least a couple of those themes to this story and I'll by describing what I know about it so far. I remember being miserable every time I felt sick when I was a child because I always expected days off from school to be fun but they just weren't. There was never anything good on TV and I had so little energy to actually do anything, so it was boring and painful. Now to put Millie in my shoes, I have to imagine what she would do in this situation. Since she is basically an exaggeration of what I was like as a kid, she is thinking exactly the same thing. This time she has Sillie to share this pain with, who is equally as upset about this because he can't have fun with her at all. Millie, being the crazy girl that she is feels bad about disappointing Sillie, so she decides it would be a good idea to find a way to make herself feel better quickly, and Sillie decides to help her out anyway he can, despite them both having no real understanding of medical knowledge. So Millie is acting on behalf of Sillie due to her emotions forcing her to do this when she really should not have done so. I think I'm on the right path now.

Since I now have a clear understanding of the story and what the characters could develop from it, I guess the next step is to develop a narrative for it.

Extended Practice Rationale

For my extended practice work, I have decided it would be best if I just went ahead and made a TV pilot for a series I have planned. Since my university is full of all the resources I'll need, I may not get another chance to make this after I leave, so it will be a good idea to get it completed before then. I have an entire series in mind for the characters, ever since I came up with them, which every time I think about and relate to the characters, develops further and further than originally only being a pair of silly characters.

The series itself is about a little girl named Millie, who upon struggling with depression, gets visited by a guardian spirit that possesses her favourite doll, Sillie. After this, Millie deals with multiple issues surrounding her life at the moment, such as the divorce of her parents, making friends, her dysfunctional relationship with her brother, and even loss. This is all balanced with a charming and comedic atmosphere with plenty of cringe, satirical, and gag humour used throughout. The focus will be on her friendship with Sillie, and how Sillie, as well as Millie's mother, help her with these issues and developing her independence.

What I need for this is a team ready and willing to help out. A lot of the third years will be busy with their own projects but hopefully they can help out when they are free. I can take a self-directed approach on some aspects but I will need help along the way. I'll be the director, art director, character designer, script writer, and storyboard artist. I might need a couple other storyboard artists to help out too. I'll definitely also need voice actors (I'll voice Sillie, of course), a composer, and background artist.

The pilot will demonstrate what a standalone episode will be like, inbetween the dramatic moments, similar to what Over the Garden Wall's pilot was like. It will establish the dynamic between the two main characters, alongside the kind of gags the series has to offer. This will also target a more PG audience, while purely being focused on a younger audience, aged 7 - 12. The plot of the pilot is that Millie feels sick and her mother leaves to get some medicine. Sillie treats this as a brilliant opportunity for them both to hang out, but Millie is too sick to function. Millie gets the idea to try and heal herself faster, with the help of Sillie who has no knowledge of medical science. This ends badly, as they try searching online for life hacks in order to do this, which are either completely false or they follow the instructions wrong, making her feel even worse. This continues right up until Millie feels completely awful and her mother has to fix her up.

The pilot will be five minutes long minimum, including a title sequence and end credits. This will also be polished enough to be shown in film festivals, and be pitched to networks.