Film Studies and Cinematography / Project 1: Story Development
Derin / 0354969 / Design in Creative Media
MMD 60804 / FILM STUDIES AND CINEMATOGRAPHY
Project 1
INSTRUCTIONS
PROJECT 1
Character Study / Analysis
I will be conducting a character analysis on Hanako from 'Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun' because his personality resonates with the character I am developing for my story. I plan to focus on his body language and poses to gain insights into my character's demeanor.
Hanako, or Yugi Amane when he was human, is a ghost at Kamome Academy. He's in charge of the Seven Mysteries and helps keep the balance between humans and supernatural beings in the school. Hanako is friendly, playful, and enjoys having fun. He likes to tease and prank others, showing his mischievous side.
From my study, I've identified the design traits that make Hanako what he is, which I plan to use for my own character development.
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| Fig 1.1 Hanako from 'Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun' |
1. Geometric Shapes
- Hanako-kun's design features a lot of rounded shapes, which is evident in his cloak (it houses an orb-like object like the ones that float around him), cap gakuseibou with gold circles on each side, and gakuran adorned with gold buttons. These elements give him a playful and inviting appearance. Notably, his bright yellow eyes contain a brown circle, reminiscent of the moon.
2. Facial Features
- Hanako-kun's eyes are expressive, transitioning from mischievous to caring, capturing the complexity of his personality. The use of large, expressive eyes, a common feature in anime, helps convey his emotions and intentions clearly. Additionally, his mischievous smile enhances his playful demeanor.
3. Body Language
- Hanako-kun's body language is always playful and whimsical, reflecting her mischievous nature. She often makes teasing gestures and adopts whimsical poses, showing her carefree attitude. He expresses himself a lot with his hands and makes grand gestures with quick movements.
4. Colors
- His general attire, in which dark colors predominate, adds an aura of mystery, in keeping with his identity as one of the Seven Mysteries of the school. In contrast, he has golden elements, such as buttons and eyes. There is also a touch of red in his color palette. Overall, it falls into the warm tone of the color wheel.
Story Exploration
To begin, our task was to watch Pixar short films for inspiration for our story ideas. After viewing these shorts, I managed to develop a couple of ideas.
I explored 4 initial ideas:
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The first idea involved a worker washing machine whose interior transformed
into a portal to outer space, inspired by Pixar's "La Luna."
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My second idea revolved around a mother and son growing distant. During the
son's move into his dormitory, the mother gave him a potted plant, which he
neglected. Despite her attempts to reach out, he always claimed to be busy.
Later in the story, the mother passed away, and the son struggled to cope.
In his grief, he ransacked his room, destroying portraits and glasses until
he noticed the withered potted plant.
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For my third idea, I introduced a twist to the story. It centered on a child
solely focused on the stars, living atop a roof, gazing at them. One day, a
star fell from the sky, coinciding with the revelation that the child
resided in an apocalyptic world.
- Lastly, my concept involved a grumpy old man plagued by a persistent fly that obstructed his vision. His irritation escalated to the point where he lashed out at anyone he encountered. Later in the story, it was revealed that the fly was simply a speck of dirt on his glasses, inspired by Pixar's "Snack Attack."
Initially, I leaned toward the fourth idea since I could already envision the whole narrative. But honestly, the thought of animating an elderly character... like imagine drawing 90 frames of a grumpy old fart? Nuh-uh. It completely dissuaded me. So I opted to write different story, this time conducting research.
I wanted to create a story about dreams. Initially, I envisioned a dream keeper—a guardian who fights nightmares at night. The character took the form of an owl, designed to exude grace and wisdom, drawing inspiration from Stolas' design in the show "Helluva Boss." Eventually, I abandoned this idea, because I wanted a character with more expressiveness.
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| Fig 2.1 Idea Exploration |
Keeping the fact of creating an expressive character in mind, I referred to Hanako from 'Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun'. He is playful, whimsical, yet caring nature became the foundation for my character. Considering the supernatural aspect, I delved into mythological stories about figures associated with dreams, leading me to a Japanese mythological yokai known as a Nekomata.
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| Fig 2.2 Nekomata Yokai |
The lore surrounding Nekomata varied across sources, with some stating it consumed sleeping humans and others connecting it to necromancy. I incorporated some elements that helped in shaping my character. One source mentioned their ability to enter dreams and shapeshift into humans. Instead of shapeshifting, I adapted this ability to alter shapes and appearances within the dream world, as they inherently assumed a human form from the outset.
Which led to the creation of the main character for my story, named Yumeko. Her name is derived from "Yume," meaning dream, and "Ko," meaning child.
Dream Child!! (proud)
The following is her final design! Click here to see the development process of Yumeko's design.
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| Fig 2.3 Final Design |
Character Description
Name: Yumeko
Attitude: Playful, mischievous, and curious
Personality: She is a trickster who enjoys playing pranks on others, but overtime, she became compassionate and willing to help those in need. She is friendly and outgoing, and has a sarcastic sense of humor.
Background: She is a Nekomata, a type of cat-like yokai known for their ability to play tricks in dreams. She has the power to manipulate and alter dreams, which she initially uses for her own amusement.
Appearance: She has feline features, including cat ears, sharp teeth, cat paws as feet, and two tails. She has the ability to take on different appearances in people’s dreams.
Goal: Initially, her goal is to play tricks on people and cause mischief in their dreams for her own amusement. However, after experiencing the power of her abilities, she transforms into a guardian of dreams, using her powers to help those who are struggling and heal their nightmares.
World Description
The story takes place at Gion District in Kyoto, where Yumeko wanders through the roofs of the town. The little girl, trapped in a nightmare, lives in a rundown house. The dream world, a dark and twisted version of reality, is portrayed as a manifestation of the nightmare entity’s power.
Story Arc / Sypnosis
ACT 1
Yumeko loved nothing more than messing with foolish humans’
dreams. Every night, when the town was quiet and everyone was asleep, she
roamed the rooftops, searching for someone to mess with. One time, she
infiltrated a balding man’s dream and made all his hair gone. Seeing her
victims’ reactions is her best source of amusement.
One night, she stumbled upon a house and sneaked into the window. She had a weird gut feeling at that moment, the girl in that room tossed and turned, sweat dripped from her face. Yumeko brushed it off and infiltrated the little girl’s dream. She was shaken. The sights and sounds were unlike anything she had ever experienced. The nightmare was so vivid that it felt like it was happening in real life. There stood a monstrous entity that fed on the fears and traumas of the human mind. Yumeko stood in horror as it fed on the girl’s deepest fears and traumas.
ACT 2
She took a step back. Should she run? And leave the girl
alone with this living nightmare? She may be a trickster but she isn’t cruel.
She tried fighting it at first, but failed. The monster is invincible. Yumeko
realized that the only way to defeat the monstrous entity was to get to the
root of the problem, the little girl. The entity fed off of fear and trauma,
and that if she could somehow eliminate that, she might be able to weaken the
entity.
Yumeko, as a Nekomata, has the ability to alter dreams. She is a trickster who likes to play pranks on people, but it is possible to instead use her powers to make a dream happier and more pleasant. So she decides to use her powers to make the little girl’s dreams happier.
Using her Nekomata powers, Yumeko began to gently manipulate the dream. She replaced the scenes of horror with tranquil landscapes, where the sun always shone brightly, and the skies were painted with the most vibrant colors. In this dream world, the girl found herself surrounded by the little girl’s favorite things (she knows this by looking at the girl’s room)
Over time, Yumeko delved even deeper into the girl’s psyche, uncovering the painful memories and experiences that fueled the nightmarish entity. With great care, she starts to mend the wounds that had scarred the child’s soul. She replaced the scenes of despair with moments of healing and forgiveness. The girl began to confront her fears head-on, finding the strength to overcome them.
ACT 3
As the days turned into weeks, the little girl’s real-life
demeanor started the change. She became more confident, her smile returned,
and her eyes sparkled with joy. The nightmare entity weakened as the little
girl’s life transformed. Yumeko, who initially does it out of pity and sense
of duty, starts to genuinely care about her. She enjoys seeing the joy and
happiness on the girl’s face, and it makes her feel good inside.
She stopped playing tricks ever since and instead focused her efforts on helping those in need. She became a guardian of dreams, using her powers to turn nightmares into dreams of hope and happiness. And as she continued to roam the rooftops at night, it was no longer the fear and screams that brought her amusement; it was the smiles and laughter that warmed her heart.
Theme
Fantasy
Screenplay writing
Mr. Kamal recommended us to use StudioBinder, a website designed for writing screenplays that already has the basic formats to write one. It's really convenient to use.
Fig 3.1 Final Screenplay
FEEDBACK
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Week 6
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REFLECTION
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