Script

Here is the script for my animation. There is no dialogue, but there are a few sound effects. I created it as a table in the word document like the sample the professor gave us, but I don't know how to post a table on here, so I did it as bullet points instead.

• Establishing shot of a house with a birthday banner above the door, a balloon tied to the mailbox, and a cactus in a pot next to the porch.
• Shot of the cactus waking up and stretching. (Sound effect: yawning)
• Pan of the cactus’ point of view, stopping on the balloon on the mailbox.
• C/U of the cactus’ face.
• C/U of the balloon.
• C/U of the cactus with the balloon reflecting in its eyes.
• Shot of the cactus reaching out towards the balloon and falling over. (Sound effect: thud of falling cactus)
• Shot of the cactus picking itself up and starting to hop to the mailbox. (Sound effect: flower pot hitting driveway as cactus hops)
• Shot of the cactus untying the balloon from the mailbox.
• C/U of the cactus smiling.
• Shot of the cactus giving the balloon a hug.
• Shot of the balloon popping. (Sound effect: balloon pops)
• C/U of the cactus being sad.

Premise

The piece that I want to do for my final animation is simple. There will not be any dialogue and very minimal sound effects. I want there to be music in the background. Hopefully, I can get my sound designer roommate to create a piece, or at least find something without a copyright that will work. My story is fairly straight forward. It is as follows:

There is a house with a happy birthday banner hanging above the door. There is a cactus in a flower pot sitting next to the porch. A single, red balloon with a happy face drawn on it is tied to the mailbox. The cactus wakes up, stretching and yawning. It looks around at the new day, only to notice the balloon swaying in the breeze. It becomes fixated by the balloon, wanting it for its very own. The cactus reaches out for the balloon, but falls over in its pot. It picks itself back up and hops over to the mailbox. Once there, the cactus unties the balloon. Happy with himself, he gives his new friend a hug. Then, all of a sudden, POP!!! The balloon is no more, and the cactus is left sitting heartbroken by the mailbox.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated, as well as suggestions for a title. I never know what to call anything. If I don’t receive any good suggestions, I will get stuck calling it something boring like “The Cactus and the Balloon.”

Illustration Inspiration

Here are some illustrations that I enjoy, find interesting, or want to use as inspiration for my own characters.

I found some on Mojizu.com, but couldn't figure out how to post the pictures on here. So, here are some links for artists that I like:

http://mojizu.com/Pages/mojire.aspx?mjcode=5df1286c-d6f1-41b5-b532-b139980ba0e5

http://mojizu.com/Pages/mojire.aspx?mjcode=f2601eec-1a9e-42fc-af5a-09b98f4390b6

http://mojizu.com/Pages/mojire.aspx?mjcode=6841302d-754d-4b6b-89b2-0a53427d56b8

http://mojizu.com/artist/kozak/Broccoli%20the%20Stardust.aspx

I also found a website by illustrator Michael Slack. The link is: http://www.slackart.com/
Here is one of his illustrations:


I am not sure what it is about adorable monsters, but I find them rather enjoyable. I don't think my project will be about a monster, but I like the style.

One of my favorite animations

I have wanted to be an animator since before I knew what they were called. When I was really young, I saw cartoons and became very interested in how they were made. I grew up on Disney, Nickelodeon, and of course, the Looney Tunes. One of my favorite characters has always been Daffy Duck. One of the best examples of Daffy is Chuck Jones' brilliant piece, "Duck Amuck," which you will see below.




I love this animated short, not just because it is funny and entertaining, but because of how it involves the story of the animator's relationship with the character. While watching most animation, people tend to forget or not think about the fact that someone had to sit down and draw all of those pictures. "Duck Amuck" shows in a fun and interesting way sort of how animation works. I also love the bright colors and the simple, cartoony style of Chuck Jones' animtation. He is one of the biggest influences on the way I want to animate in my own work.

Getting to know me, getting to know all about me...

My name is Sandy Bouman*, as you can see by the title of this blog, and my favorite color is green, as you can see by the color of this blog. I will be graduating at the end of May from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in animation, assuming I continue with my current trend of passing all of my classes. I have a minor in storyboarding, and I have taken enough writing classes to almost have a minor in that, too. I feel that I am a storyteller at heart. I am not what one might consider verbose, so I get most of my ideas out on paper, whether through writing, animating, or drawing.

If you wish for the details of my life story to remain a mystery, stop reading now. If not, I will now tell you breifly about myself.

I come from the tiny town of Waynesville, Ohio. Waynesville was once considered the "Antique capitol of the Midwest," is one of the most haunted cities in Ohio, and is home to the annual Sauerkraut Festival. I have two dogs, and an older sister. I drive a 1998 Saturn SL2 named Carl. The first memory I have of seeing a movie in the theater is Disney's "The Lion King." I have loved drawing since I could hold a pencil. The only other occupation besides animation/writing/art that I have ever wanted to do was when I went through my dinosaur phase in the second grade, and I wanted to be a paleontologist. I happened across SCAD almost on accident during my junior year of high school, I applied, and I got in. The rest is history...


*In case you were wondering, my last name is pronounced liked it would be if it were spelled "Bowman," but apparently my Dutch ancestors preferred the letter "u."